On one side of the house was the remains of extinguished fireworks, smoke still lingering in the air. On the other side, corpses were being carried out one after another.
Feng Ruonan lifted her skirt and sprinted through the alley. The passing soldiers stepped aside to make way for her, all of them turning to look at her.
She looked at the smoke-filled abandoned house, then at the densely packed bloody footprints at the entrance of the house she was standing in.
After she was woken up, she didn't know what had happened. She didn't know where her mother had gone, and she couldn't see her father either. A cultivator from the Heavenly Jade Sect had stopped her from seeing him. All she could hear was her father crying inside the house.
Thus, she ran here and followed the bloody footprints into the courtyard. She walked around the Jade Wall and finally stood still. The ground before her was littered with corpses. The central house was badly damaged, and there were signs of arrows piercing the ground everywhere.
When she woke up, the place had become like this in the blink of an eye. It was obvious that a fierce battle had occurred.
So many soldiers had died here, and she recalled how her mother had deliberately knocked her out. If she still didn't realize what had happened, then all those years of being a general would have been in vain.
The soldiers cleaning up the corpses in the courtyard looked at her quietly. Shou Nian, who had arrived first, also turned to look at her with a complicated expression.
She ran into the dilapidated central house and searched everywhere. She couldn't find the corpses of Shang Chaozong and the others.
She ran out again and looked at the two wooden planks on the flower bed. The two corpses on the planks were covered with white cloths. They were especially eye-catching, clearly receiving a different treatment from the other corpses.
Feng Ruonan walked over and reached out, but she couldn't do it. Finally, she uncovered the two white cloths. They were the corpses of her two brothers, Feng Ruoyi and Feng Ruojie.
Tears flowed down silently. Her mind was a complete blank.
The sky had darkened. The people of the Immortal Retaining Sect, Fuyun Sect, and Spirited Beauty Mountain were still waiting outside the southern city gate. They were still refused entry, but the three sects were not in a hurry. They patiently waited outside the city to accompany the sunset.
In another house in the city, the arrowhead in Shang Shuqing's shoulder was finally pulled out. The bone-deep pain was needless to say, but at least he had received proper treatment.
All the wounded on Shang Chaozong's side were treated, but the Heavenly Jade Gate didn't give them freedom. They were all confined together and watched over strictly. They wouldn't allow the same thing to happen a second time.
After washing up, even though Shang Chaozong and the rest were tired, they still didn't have the heart to rest, and finally had the time to ask Yuan Gang what was going on. They didn't understand why Feng Lingbo would suddenly be so desperate.
After listening to Yuan Gang's explanation, they finally understood that Daoye's disappearance wasn't because he didn't do anything. He didn't give up on them either. Behind his silence, there were dark waves surging. He was truly playing a big game with the Heavenly Jade School, and the game wasn't on the battlefield.
On one hand, he urged the imperial court to publicly appoint Shang Chaozong as the provincial governor of Nanzhou; on the other hand, he urged Jinzhou to assemble a large army to attack Nanzhou.
Shang Chaozong and the rest couldn't figure out how Niu Youdao was able to pull off such a grand scheme. Especially when it came to persuading the Gold Prefecture to use force to coerce the Heavenly Jade School. How could the Ten Thousand Grotto-Heaven Mansion and the Gold Prefecture agree to it?
However, Yuan Gang only revealed the gist of it, and didn't reveal a single word of the truth. There were some things that not only Niu Youdao wouldn't publicize, but Yuan Gang and Niu Youdao were in the same boat, so he couldn't reveal the truth either. There were some truths that couldn't be revealed to too many people.
Even so, Shang Chaozong and the rest were pleasantly surprised. They all knew what Niu Youdao's grand scheme meant. They also finally understood why Niu Youdao kept asking them to submit to the Heavenly Jade School. Daoye really put in a lot of effort!
Thus, they also understood why Feng Lingbo would be so desperate. Daoye had already forced Feng Lingbo into a dead end, and now he was going to kick Feng Lingbo out of the game. How could Feng Lingbo not be anxious!
In the room, Shang Shuqing's eyes were filled with joy, and her heart was also filled with joy. She had always believed that Niu Youdao wouldn't abandon them, and reality proved that her judgment was right.
Just like Black Peony, before she died, she had always believed that the ship wouldn't leave, and that Niu Youdao would wait for her.
This wasn't just because of any romantic feelings, but because she had interacted with Niu Youdao for a long time. She believed in Niu Youdao's character. Even if Niu Youdao wasn't a good person, people who interacted with him for a long time would unknowingly trust him.
"When will Daoye return?"
In the end, Shang Shuqing couldn't help but ask.
This was also what Meng Shanming and the rest were thinking. Everyone wanted to meet Niu Youdao to express their gratitude. Daoye had turned the tide and turned the situation around. They couldn't thank him enough.
Yuan Gang looked at Shang Chaozong and said, "That depends on when the Prince can take control of the Southern Province!"
Shang Chaozong was silent, Meng Shanming looked pensive, and Lan Ruoting nodded slightly. They all understood the meaning behind Yuan Gang's words.
Daoye probably wouldn't show himself before they completely took control of the Southern Province. He had forcefully turned the situation around. The Heavenly Jade Gate, especially Peng Youdao, would probably want nothing more than to grind Daoye's bones to dust.
He reckoned that the Heavenly Jade Sect was waiting for the Dao Master to show up so that they could kill him. Only by controlling the Southern Province would they be able to provide the Dao Master with sufficient security and deterrence to the Heavenly Jade Sect. The Heavenly Jade Sect would not be able to bear the loss of benefits and would not dare to act recklessly against the Dao Master …
In the dead of night, inside Yuan Gang's temporary residence.
Covered in bandages, Yuan Gang squatted down in a horse stance. Red mist filled his nostrils and mouth as he breathed. The hemispherical body on his abdomen rolled back and forth.
Yuan Gang couldn't bear the unbearable itch from his wounds. His muscles tensed up, and the bandages on his body snapped. Some fell to the ground, while others hung on his body.
His wounds ruptured again, and fresh blood gushed out. However, this pain was much more comfortable than the intense itch. Yuan Gang calmed himself down and breathed.
With his eyes closed, Yuan Gang didn't notice the changes on his body.
The damaged wounds and the damage to some of his meridians hindered the normal circulation of blood energy in his body. Under the skin around the wound, the blood energy was clearly visible like tiny snakes, swimming toward the wound one by one.
Subtle changes could be seen within his wounds. Tiny granulation tissues were wriggling and connecting with each other, repairing his wounds at a visible speed.
When Yuan Gang inhaled the red mist into his lungs and stood up to pick up the torn bandages on his body, he was stunned. He quickly touched his body with both hands.
He thought he was seeing things, but reality proved that he was right. All the wounds, big and small, on his body had disappeared. Other than some bloodstains on the surface of his body, his skin was as good as new …
At daybreak, a group of people galloped over from the west gate. It was Peng Youzai and the others who had rushed back from Gold Province.
The west gate immediately opened and let them in. Chen Tingxiu personally appeared to welcome them. As she accompanied them back, she reminded them, "Sect Master, the people from the three sects are still waiting outside the south gate."
"Let them wait!" Peng Youzai said coldly with a gloomy face.
He was in a bad mood. The Heavenly Jade School couldn't possibly keep such a major incident from him, so they sent him a message immediately. He had already received a message from the school along the way and knew what had happened. His daughter and son-in-law's family were actually going against the Heavenly Jade School. As the Sect Master of the Heavenly Jade School, how could he endure this? How could he be in a good mood?
Along the way, he had been thinking about how to deal with this matter.
When they arrived outside the magistrate's office, the group of people jumped off their horses and strode inside. Feng Entai appeared to welcome them.
Peng Youzai stopped in front of him and said through gritted teeth, "You can't even keep an eye on your own Elder's Token. What the hell are you doing?"
Feng Entai was speechless. If he had to put it that way, he was indeed responsible. He had to take the blame. To a certain extent, if Peng Yulan hadn't gotten his Elder's Token, this wouldn't have happened.
Feng Entai also knew that this matter would be troublesome for his Senior Sect Master. If he dealt with this matter heavily, it was his own daughter. If he dealt with it lightly, even if the entire Heavenly Jade School didn't say anything, they would definitely be dissatisfied. They would definitely pin the label of unfair handling of matters onto his Senior Sect Master.
Peng Youzai didn't say much at the entrance. He swung his sleeves and snorted coldly. He strode inside and quickly gathered the relevant personnel. He had to first clarify the situation. Some matters couldn't be explained in detail in a short letter. Only after he understood the situation could he make a decision.
At the same time, he also had to inform the higher-ups of the Heavenly Jade School about the results of the negotiations with the Ten Thousand Heavenly Cave Manor. This matter was of utmost importance. If they didn't deal with it in time, the internal strife in the city would be a small matter. Once the Gold Province took action, not only would they lose control of the South Province, the entire Heavenly Jade School might also be finished.
The higher-ups of the Heavenly Jade School gathered together and explained the details of the incident. As for how they should deal with it, no one said anything. This matter involved the daughter and son-in-law of the Sect Master, so it wasn't appropriate for them to say anything. At most, they could only watch from the sidelines and see how Peng Youzai would handle it.
Peng Youzai didn't say much. The topic of the conversation shifted to the Gold Province's army pressing down on the border.
After hearing the report, an Elder cried out in surprise, "What kind of medicine did the Ten Thousand Heavenly Cave Manor take? They would rather kill themselves just to make life difficult for our Heavenly Jade School? Sect Master, are they trying to take advantage of the situation to reap some benefits? We can talk about the conditions! "
An Elder who had accompanied them to the Gold Province sighed, "The Ten Thousand Heavenly Cave Manor doesn't want any benefits. They only want Shang Chaozong to have the secular power of the South Province. If he doesn't agree, they will fight. There's no room for negotiation!"
"How could this be?"
The scene was in an uproar. They couldn't understand why the Ten Thousand Heavenly Cave Manor would do this. It was too abnormal. For a foreign Shang Chaozong, they would disregard their own sect's benefits. Was this normal?
Peng Youzai solemnly said, "Everyone, do you agree or disagree with the Ten Thousand Heavenly Cave Manor's conditions?"
"Sect Master, Niu Youdao's influence over Shang Chaozong is getting bigger and bigger. Especially after such an incident, if we let Shang Chaozong take control, it won't be good for us. It will easily cause trouble in the future."
"It's not good! The key is that the Ten Thousand Heavenly Cave Manor is determined to go to war. Once both sides become hostile, we all know the consequences. Do we still want the South Province's territory? "
Because of this matter, the group of people expressed their opinions. They discussed from early morning until noon. Finally, they came to a conclusion.
After this matter was settled, Peng Youzai sat on the main seat and looked at the sky in silence. Slowly, he said, "Bring Feng Lingbo and Peng Yulan here!"
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