Bai Yuqiao couldn't fathom her master's thoughts, but she didn't dare to ask. She only hoped that her senior brother would hurry back. Even if he returned to master's side, he might not notice anything. But there was always a chance. If he was far away in Wintercrow Country, he'd have to help master count the money even if he was sold!
Soon enough, a hawk circled overhead a few times before swooping down to land on Bai Yanqing's arm. Bai Yanqing took off the slip of paper tied to the hawk's leg and glanced at it before tossing it into the lake.
Bai Yuqiao recognized all the hawks that delivered letters to her master, but she'd never seen this one before. That meant she had no idea where the letter came from.
It was unclear what was written on the paper, but Bai Yanqing kept fishing expressionlessly. A full two hours passed before he finally spoke. "Yu 'er, what do you think of Long Fei Ye?"
"Besides master, no one can compare to him," Bai Yuqiao was doubtful. Could it be that the letter had something to do with Long Fei Ye?
Long Fei Ye and Han Yunxi were currently on Celestial Mountain. Could that hawk have come from there as well?
Cang Qiuzi only knew her senior brother, not master. That meant the two had no dealings at all. Could it be that he had dealings with other people on Celestial Mountain? Or perhaps master had planted spies on the mountain?
"Heheh, your master can't compare to him either!" Bai Yanqing chuckled.
"He can't compare to master! Master has a noble status, unparalleled martial arts, and superb poison skills. Long Fei Ye can't compare to you in any of these aspects! "Bai Yuqiao wasn't trying to curry favor.
In terms of birth, master was a descendant of the Seven Noble Families, far more noble than any other member of the imperial clan. Moreover, master had long found out from Grand Concubine Yi that Long Fei Ye was only adopted and didn't have the blood of Tianning's imperial clan.
In terms of martial arts, only Tianshan Kenzō could compare to master in the current martial arts circles. Master only kept a low profile, which was why he wasn't listed on the rankings of Cloud Realm Continent's experts.
In terms of poison skills, Long Fei Ye couldn't compare at all.
"Little girl, you don't know any better. Don't speak nonsense," Bai Yanqing chuckled kindly.
He was probably the only one who could understand the meaning behind his words. In any case, Bai Yuqiao was confused.
Bai Yanqing had the time to fish, but most of Cloud Realm Continent's forces were busy.
The Three Kingdoms was at war, so he had to deal with the Tian An Country as well. He was so busy every day that he didn't even have a foot on the ground...
. win ''s Long''s's, Emperor's Emperor's's to take ''s's troops win win win win't' 'to reclaim. Although Emperor Kang Cheng didn't trust the Chu Clan troops as much as before, he had no choice but to do so at a time like this. Only the Chu Clan troops could resist the Ning Clan troops.
On the other hand, General Mu didn't make a personal appearance in the Tian An Country. Instead, he remained in the Tian An capital to assist Long Tianmo. Young General Mu Qingwu personally led the Mu family troops into battle and won multiple victories. They even took over one of Tianning's major cities.
The Chu Clan Army, the Mu Clan Army, and the Ning Clan Army, these three armies had worked together many times over the years to deal with the Northern Li Cavalry, but now they were killing each other.
They understood each other all too well. If it was a free-for-all between the three armies, Ning Cheng would never lose. But the Chu Clan troops and General Mu had joined forces to attack the Ning Clan troops from the east and west. Moreover, Tianning's internal strife was still ongoing, so there were many who sought refuge with the Tian An Country.
Ning Cheng could be said to be besieged on all sides, but the Chu and Mu family troops admired him for holding out for so long.
Despite their admiration, the Chu Clan troops and General Mu didn't relax in the slightest. Their supplies were limited, so they had to end the battle quickly.
Food was the most important thing to the people, and even more so to the armies. Without grain, even the bravest of warriors couldn't fight on the battlefield.
Western Zhou's agriculture wasn't developed to begin with. They had to purchase grain every year, and their internal strife had long left their national treasury with little grain. On the other hand, Tian An's agriculture was well-developed, but many conscriptions over the years had left much of the farmland barren. It was likely that they'd have even less grain to hand over this autumn.
On the other hand, Tianning had the support of Cloud Realm Trade Consortium, so their grain wasn't as big of a problem as Western Zhou and Tian An.
Thus, Western Zhou and Tian An wanted to end the battle quickly and focus on offense, while Tianning wanted to prolong the war and focus on defense.
Actually, it wasn't just a matter of grain. War was a matter of moving one hair and affecting the whole body. Neither Western Zhou nor Tianning could afford to waste a single battle.
In the imperial study of Western Liang's imperial palace, Ning Cheng was casually leaning against the back of his chair with one leg crossed over the other. His left hand rested on the armrest, looking lofty and domineering. Even though the Ning Clan troops had suffered multiple defeats, his expression didn't betray any of the dejection or disappointment of a loser.
"When will the last batch of red coat cannons arrive?" he asked the black-robed servant, his gaze as arrogant as ever.
Cloud Realm Trade Consortium had already provided two batches of red coat cannons to Tianning. Ning Cheng had used them all on the eastern front to defend against General Mu's attacks. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to hold onto Western Liang's capital with his limited military strength.
"Master, those red coats are still locked up at Three-Way Black Market. They haven't been sent out yet," the servant replied honestly.
Ning Cheng's gaze turned cold. "Who locked them up?"
"The Council of Elders!"
Ning An strode in. "Unless there's no other choice, those red coat cannons can't be used!"
"Only then will there be no other choice!" Ning Cheng retorted Coldly.
He'd led troops into battle for so many years, but when had he ever felt so stifled? Now he was being attacked from two sides. All he could do was defend, not attack.
It was not his style to only defend and not attack.
"Northern Li is a vicious wolf! You never know when it'll open its mouth to bite! "Ning An said seriously.
The two red coat cannons they'd sent out earlier weren't a lot, but the ones hidden at the Three-Way Battlefield weren't small in number. Even now, no one knew where they were. They were Cloud Realm Trade Consortium's final bargaining chip, as well as the Ning Clan troops'. They were meant to guard against Northern Li!
If Ning Cheng used those weapons now, Tianning Country would be the first to bear the brunt of Northern Li's attack as soon as they moved south. When that happened, Tianning would be besieged from all sides and the consequences would be unimaginable!
Moreover, the commander-in-chief's estate in the south would be eyeing them covetously as well, waiting for an opportunity to strike!
"Northern Li doesn't have any battle horses, so how can they move? As long as your lordship has a month's time, I'll definitely be able to take down Western Zhou! "Ning Cheng wasn't being arrogant, but he had enough capital to back his words.
He was certain that Northern Li wouldn't be able to gather enough battle horses within a month. Even if they did, they wouldn't be able to put them into battle immediately. Horses and cavalry needed time to get used to each other.
Within this month, he could deploy all the red coat cannons on the eastern front to pin down the Mu family troops. Then he could focus on dealing with the Chu Clan troops. Even if he could take down Western Zhou within a month, he'd be able to destroy the Chu Clan troops. Once that happened, Western Zhou would no longer be a threat.
"No, you can't take that risk," Ning An wouldn't budge an inch. "The Council of Elders has already issued a ban. No one is allowed to touch those weapons!"
The Di Clan's Council of Elders didn't have the power to control the other clans, but they did have the power to control Cloud Realm Trade Consortium's resources.
"Cowardly old thing, you'll never amount to anything!" Ning Cheng's handsome face was frighteningly dark.
If not for the fact that the situation was dire, his personality would have disbanded the Council of Elders long ago.
Ning An was about to speak when a rush of wind came from outside the door. Ning Cheng immediately rose from his high chair, but at the same time, a sharp arrow whistled through the air to strike the back of the chair.
"Someone, come!"
Ning An was alarmed. He recognized the arrow as a Chu Clan arrow.
Black-robed guards quickly appeared, but Ning Cheng retreated with a huff. Chu Qingge rushed in with an ebony bow in her hands, her expression stern. It was obvious that the arrow just then had come from her hands.
"Ning Cheng, I never thought you'd be so lowly and shameless!" Chu Qingge cursed. "You went back on your word and bullied a helpless woman like me. Are you still a man? Give me back my Witch Aunt! "
Ever since her premature labor had been exposed, Chu Qingge had been enduring all sorts of rumors and slanders. She was in so much pain that she wanted to die. In the end, she simply stopped listening to or caring about anything. Besides asking Ning Cheng about Han Yunxi's condition every day, she spent most of her time hiding in the imperial harem. Unexpectedly, Ning An had sent assassins to assassinate her. She and Witch Aunt had fought for an entire day and night. In the end, Witch Aunt had sacrificed herself to protect her.
Besides Ning Cheng, who else could have incited Ning An to do such a thing? Besides Ning Cheng, who else in the palace could have deployed so many experts?
Ning Cheng glanced at Chu Qingge before resting his gaze on Ning An.
Chu Qingge assumed that he was going to push the blame onto Ning An, so she said Coldly, "A real man dares to take responsibility for his actions. Don't make me look down on you!"
But Ning Cheng didn't push the blame away. Instead, he asked Coldly, "Why is she still alive?"
Chu Qingge sucked in a cold breath before drawing her bow. "Ning Cheng, I'll kill you!"
Unfortunately, she wasn't as fast as Ning Cheng. Before she could fire a full arrow, Ning Cheng had already caught hold of the arrowhead.
"You went back on your word, vile creature!" Chu Qingge struggled, but couldn't move.
Her archery skills were formidable, so Ning An's assassins couldn't kill her. But against Ning Cheng, she was helpless.
"Your lordship agreed to give you Han Yunxi, but I didn't say I wouldn't kill you!"
Ning Cheng said before crushing the arrowhead to pieces. He hadn't intended to kill her, but this woman kept coming to ask him about Han Yunxi every day. It was too annoying.
Chu Qingge was tongue-tied for a while before she cursed Ning Cheng. "Scoundrel!"
She mocked herself in her heart. How could she have misjudged him? This man and Long Fei Ye were like Heaven and Earth. There was no comparison at all!
Ning Cheng dodged the arrow and used it as a sword to stab at Chu Qingge. Chu Qingge used her sandalwood bow to block, but Ning Cheng's move was only a feint. While she was blocking, he viciously kicked her in the stomach.
Chu Qingge flew out of the room and crashed heavily against the door. Ning Cheng looked at her disdainfully. "Your lordship doesn't kill women. You deal with it yourself."
He was in a fit of anger, so Chu Qingge was simply seeking death by barging in!
Without a word, Chu Qingge crawled to her feet and prepared to flee. Unfortunately, the door was already filled with guards. Chu Qingge gripped the bow in her hands as she hesitated.
If she used the Driving Arrow Arts, she might be able to escape, but where would she go? Who would help her deal with Han Yunxi?
Seeing the guards surround her, Chu Qingge finally turned to face Ning Cheng. "Ning Cheng, tell me, are there any survivors of the Shadow Clan?"
Chu Qingge knew nothing about the Nether and Shadow Clans, but Witch Aunt had told her everything before she died.
Witch Aunt said that even if she was a traitor to the Nether Clan, she couldn't die in vain at the hands of the Di Clan.
Witch Aunt said that this secret could threaten Ning Cheng and save her life.
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