Lord of the Desert

Chapter 421 Extraordinary moves

The snow has not stopped outside the Hexagonal Pavilion.

"Second Young Master, Lord Zhuang, someone from Tiannanxing came to Chaori Mansion to report that Tiannanxing was destroyed by thieves last night and suffered heavy losses!"

Shen Hong took a few steps forward and spoke hurriedly without even having time to salute.

When these words were spoken, both of them were shocked.

"Duke Zhuang, I'll go first!"

Hong Fan suddenly stood up, apologized to Zhuang Liren, and then he gathered up the sand and flew up, sweeping across the city of Xijing for the first time.

Half a quarter of an hour later, Xujiadai.

Hong Fan inspected the scene accompanied by Wen Zhongguan and Hong Fu.

The front gate wall of Tiannanxing was intact, but the shed in the center was half destroyed.

Under the intact roof, eight night guards were lying beside the fire, trying to struggle to stand up and salute Hong Fan, but they could hardly stand due to dizziness.

Looking at the entire scene, the two converters were the most seriously damaged.

The first one fell sideways on the ground, with its furnace wall sunken and deformed, half embedded in the rammed earth ground; the second one flew out of the shed for more than ten feet, smashing the brick house at the back where iron ore was stored. There were three purple-red fist marks several inches deep with five distinct fingers on the pure steel shell.

"Given the weight of the converter, an ordinary innate warrior may not be able to blast it so far."

Hong Fan looked solemn.

"The person who came last night must be a master at the Bit Magnetic level."

"I questioned two night patrol teams earlier. They were all knocked unconscious by a loud shout before dawn and only woke up this morning. Although they were lucky enough to survive, several of the less powerful ones had multiple frostbite on their bodies."

Wen Zhongguan said.

"Before you came, Hongfu and I visited the villagers living within five miles. Many people said that there were continuous thunders last night, but because winter thunder is taboo, no one went out to check."

Hong Fan nodded.

"Old Wen, are the two converters in Kaiming Bank in trouble? When can they be replaced?"

he asked.

"I sent someone to check first thing this morning. Both furnaces are fine. One will take about ten days to finish, and the other will take a month or so."

After hearing Zhongguan's words, he looked embarrassed.

"But Brother Fan, I'm afraid we won't be able to resume production right after the two furnaces are finished. If that man came once last night, he might come twice. There's no way to prevent it!"

"That's the truth."

Hong Fan said in a deep voice, using his fingers to indicate the depth of the fist mark on the steel furnace.

"Just do your work at a normal pace, I will take care of this matter."

······
On the same day, at night.

A row of torches was burning under the temporary repaired shed of Tiannanxing.

Under the firelight, three square tables were placed in a row with seats on each side.

Hong Fan sat at one end, ignoring Shen Guoying's scrutinizing gaze.

"I have carefully checked the damage marks on the converter. There is a 90% chance that the person who came last night was practicing the Bronze Cloud Canon."

Yuan Lingxue said.

Most people present were not surprised when this was said.

"The family technique of the Zhu family in Tongyun Villa?"

Wen Zhongguan confirmed it.

"Exactly."

Yuan Lingxue nodded.

"Before the Xiantian stage, the copper cloud true energy can be released as purple-red copper clouds, which have many wonderful uses; after the Xiantian stage, its true energy can penetrate into the flesh, blood, and bones to form a copper cloud body, making the warrior's body heavier than black iron and indestructible."

"You all saw that the impact scars on the two converters were mottled purple-red, which is the most obvious feature of a Bronze Cloud Canon practitioner. Combined with his unscrupulous style of behavior, I guess the one who came last night was Zhu Shengxiong, the sixth son of the Zhu family, 'Bronze Iron Horse'."

As the head of Shura Sect's foreign affairs, Yuan Lingxue had a wide range of friends and extraordinary knowledge; after her words, everyone no longer had any doubts about the attacker's identity.

"So, Tongyun Villa saw that they couldn't compete openly, so they started to use shady tactics."

Hong Fu folded his arms and looked at Hong Fan.

"Brother, what are your plans?"

"You should go back the way you came."

Hong Fan said lightly, "It's not reasonable to guard against thieves for a thousand days anyway."

"Should we talk to the Zhu family first? There might be some misunderstandings."

Shen Guoying was a little hesitant.

"Our Shen family and the Zhu family have been friends for generations... Well, since we have already intervened in this business, there is no point in saying this now."

He opened his mouth to say half a sentence, then smiled bitterly and couldn't continue.

"Mr. Shen, things have come to this point. With the Zhu family's recklessness, even if we want to talk, we have to fight first. This is a conflict of core interests. We may talk after fighting, but we can't talk without fighting."

Hong Fan looked at the major shareholder and spoke sincerely.

Shen Guoying had no choice but to nod.

He has been in charge of the clan's internal and external affairs for more than ten years, so he naturally understands this principle.

"Hong Fan, I understand what you want to say."

As Shen Guoying spoke, he glanced at Shen Tiexin beside him. The look of Shen Tiexin listening attentively seemed quite unfamiliar to him.

"But you may not know that the fifteenth of this month is Zhu Zhanran's 60th birthday, and the entire Tongyun Villa has been preparing for it for a long time. I am afraid that revenge will happen at this time and make things too big."

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard Yuan Lingxue burst into laughter.

"What advice do you have, Master Yuan?"

Shen Guoying's expression changed slightly and asked.

Yuan Lingxue was about to make amends but was interrupted by Qu Luoyi.

"My sister is laughing at you for not knowing the seriousness of the matter."

He sat cross-legged with his legs open, his fingers resting on the edge of the table, the front legs of the chair under his buttocks lifted up, leaving only the two hind legs swaying on the ground.

"Brother Shen, we in the Shura Sect hate to hold back our anger. If you force us to swallow our anger, we will soon know what it means to really make things worse."

Shen Guoying could not help but remain silent.

Communicating with a jerk like Qu Luoyi was what he was worst at.

Fortunately, Hong Fan came to the rescue in time.

"Mr. Shen, don't worry."

He smiled slightly.

"Just leave this matter to me and Brother Qu. I will handle it properly."

······
Five days later, it was the tenth day of November.

The heavy snow had just stopped in Hongyi City, and the air was dry and icy; the emerald sky was pure and cloudless, like an inverted jade cup.

On the newly cleared avenue in the center of the city, Hong Fan and Qu Luoyi walked side by side, following the sparse flow of passengers through the ten-foot-high red copper gate.

Behind the door, the view suddenly opens up. The 100-meter square is paved with stone bricks, with hundreds of bronze and iron statues placed on both sides. At the front are strange beasts from the sea and land, followed by the zodiac stars, and finally the sacred figures of the three religions.

At the end of the square, there are forty-nine wide white stone steps, on top of which are tall buildings lined up in a row.

When Hong Fan and the other man stepped into the main hall, they were first chilled by the warm breeze that blew towards them, and then they saw a two-meter-high thin-walled bronze bell hanging from the beam in the main hall, which was breathtaking.

"The Zhu family is the most powerful family in Liangzhou. Their trading house is more impressive than the Governor's Mansion."

Hong Fan praised sincerely and felt quite regretful.

"You are so short-sighted."

Qu Luoyi was clearly dazzled and looked around, yet he still managed to argue.

"Before I came here, I heard from my senior sister that in terms of grandeur, Tongyun Pavilion is only second-rate. The real grandeur is Tongyun Villa, which is 40 miles west of the city. It is said that the iron-framed tower that the ancestor of the Zhu family lives in is a hundred meters high!"

The two chatted and laughed and stood under the bronze bell.

The atmosphere was slightly stagnant.

"Come directly?"

Qu Luoyi tightened his sleeves and asked.

"In everything, you must be polite before you use force. You must always meet the host and say hello."

Hong Fan replied, waving his hand to call a waiter over.

"It depends on you."

Qu Luoyi nodded.

(End of this chapter)