Jiangshan Fengwuzhi

Chapter 219: Stand aside
In a small village in the mountains, Gu Jingnian and Ying Yao walked along the winding path.

It was a sunny day with a gentle breeze, and they were in a good mood.

Gu Jingnian also asked about Yingyao's experience after she was separated, such as why she ended up in the southwest. Yingyao said that they didn't know where to escape and were chased without any direction. When they arrived in Lianzhou, she was separated from Master Ma and Huang Hu, and she was forced into Lianxi Mountain by a group of masters.

"I guess Huang Hu was also captured at that time." Gu Jingnian pondered, "I used to think that the cagers and refiners were in Ruiguo, but it seems I was wrong."

He had a guess that someone deliberately drove Ying Yao to Lianxi Mountain, otherwise everything would be too coincidental.

It is even possible that Liu Yuchuan took advantage of those people.

On the other hand, he always felt strange about Liu Yuchuan, such a top master who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The masters from various countries were well-informed, so how could they not know about such a person before?
Gu Jingnian then asked Ying Yao in detail.

Ying Yao was asked so much that she suddenly slapped her head hard and said in annoyance, "I'm so stupid. I can't remember a lot of things."

She slept in Yan's body for too long, and her memory became confused and inaccurate.

"It's okay." Gu Jingnian comforted her, "These things are not important anymore. They are just a drama of the survival of the fittest... We will live in seclusion and lead a quiet life in the future."

"Okay."

Gu Jingnian raised his hand and pointed to a small farmyard in front of him, saying, "It's right there."

Before he went to Lianxi Mountain, he asked Feng Niang to take everyone to hide here and wait for his return.

Ying Yaoxi asked happily: "Can I hug little An Ran? I don't dare."

"Sometimes I don't dare to do that, for fear of burning her..."

As he pushed open the door, the smile on Gu Jingnian's face quickly disappeared.

The yard was empty, and it looked like no one had lived there for a while. In the main house, there was a cradle, and when I touched the fence, I could see a layer of dust on it.

Gu Jingnian stood beside the cradle for a while, silent.

"Young master, don't worry too much." Ying Yao said.

"It's okay. I had expected this and knew where to find them."

Gu Jingnian knew that since he always had spies around him, how could they really wait for him here peacefully?

The reason why he stood there in a daze was that he realized at this moment that escaping and seclusion were not the solutions. If he wanted to protect himself and the people around him, he had to become strong and fight continuously.

"Yingyao, I'm afraid the seclusion you just mentioned is no longer possible."

"It doesn't matter." Ying Yao said, "Let's go find them."

"Let's go."

The two made a simple decision, left the farmhouse in the mountains, no longer hid their special abilities, spread their flaming wings, and flew into the sky.

The next day, the fire phoenix appeared again in the sky over Lianzhou City.

The people looked up at the sky and talked about it, worried that this was a bad sign.

Many fortune tellers counted on their fingers and murmured: "The fire bird appears in the world, the drought will not stop, and the southwest will suffer..."

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Yin Jinggeng quickly walked to the top of the city wall, staring at the figure in the sky. It was not until Gu Jingnian appeared in front of him that a smile appeared on his face.

"I knew you would come back."

"How did Your Highness know?" Gu Jingnian said, "In fact, I wanted to remain anonymous from now on."

Yin Jinggeng said: "No, you are not someone who gives up easily."

Gu Jingnian asked back, "Your Highness, isn't it because you know that my family is missing?"

"I do not know."

"it is good."

Gu Jingnian then smiled slightly, stepped forward with Ying Yao, and said frankly: "I found the Fire Phoenix, and also found the cause of the severe drought in the southwest."

"What is it?"

"Your Highness, don't you know yet?"

"Why would I know that?"

Gu Jingnian asked, "Didn't Qu Jizhi tell you?" For a moment, Yin Jinggeng's eyes showed surprise. After a moment, he laughed at himself and said with emotion, "I trusted the wrong Qu Gong after all."

Gu Jingnian said: "A giant named Pu Fu from Yihai entered Zhongzhou. The people of Jie fought with him, causing the ground to sink. The Xihe River changed its course and merged with the underground fire into an abyss..."

"Wait." Yin Jinggeng took a deep breath and asked, "Does Lord Qu know all of what you said?"

"Yes."

"Come to my study and I will tell you more."

Yin Jinggeng's face was very calm. He put his arm around Gu Jingnian's shoulder and walked down the city wall.

But the moment he turned around, deep worry appeared in his eyes.

In the study, when Gu Jingnian and Ying Yao told Yin Jinggeng everything about Lian Xishan's experience, Yin Jinggeng no longer concealed his worry and let out a long sigh.

“If I said, ‘I know nothing about these things,’ would you believe me?”

Gu Jingnian asked, "Even if Qu Jizhi didn't tell His Highness, didn't His Highness send anyone to investigate?"

"It can be seen that I have many of his people under my command, hiding it from me for him."

"Why did he hide it from Your Highness?"

"Yes, why?" Yin Jinggeng said, "I think there is only one reason. In order to join forces with the masters of various countries, he must have given up a part of Yong's interests. Knowing that I would never agree to this, he had to hide it from me."

Gu Jingnian said, "What if he is doing this for the good of Yong State? He can hand over me, Yingyao, and even the boundary to gain the support of other countries and find out what happened to the breach in Fujie Mountain."

After saying that, he stared at Yin Jinggeng's face, judging whether the other party was worthy of trust.

Yin Jinggeng said: "You don't have to test me, my position is different from Qu Gong's."

Just this sentence was not enough to make Gu Jingnian believe it.

So he paced a few steps, then spoke again, saying something quite outrageous.

"Such a big thing happened, and Lord Qu knew about it, but he dared to hide it from me, the crown prince, and he had the ability to hide it. That only shows that my father must have supported him behind the scenes. This situation is far worse than I expected. I thought I was a loyal and capable minister of my father, but I didn't expect that my father had already begun to suspect me and had made arrangements in advance."

"Your Highness, have you been drinking?"

"I'm not talking nonsense, I'm serious." Yin Jinggeng said, "If it weren't for my father's advance planning, how could Lord Qu have kept it a secret from me for so long?"

Hearing this, Gu Jingnian nodded, indicating that he had begun to trust Yin Jinggeng.

Yin Jinggeng continued, "Let me tell you why Father and Lord Qu wanted to do this. It was not to find a gap in Fujie Mountain, but to strive for an alliance with Yu and Yan to protect themselves and to make peace with Rui. In order to show their sincerity to the other countries, they wanted to hand over the aliens and beasts who were in Yong but were unwilling to serve Yong as tribute."

"How did Your Highness know?"

"The peace talks with the Kingdom of Rui have been mentioned since the time when my father ascended the throne. Since the war between the two countries, it seems that we have always had the upper hand because of your father's defection, but it is impossible for us to break through the Zhenyun Pass. The cost of this war is far greater than that of the Kingdom of Rui. Moreover, the throne has changed, and my father wants to play it safe. As for the opportunity to cease the war, it is alchemy. The envoy of the Kingdom of Rui even said that the Emperor of Rui is willing to become a 'fellow Taoist' with my father."

Although Yin Jinggeng did not see what happened to Lian Xishan with his own eyes, his deep insight into the ways of the world enabled him to easily discern the essence of the matter.

"Gu Jingnian, do you know the root cause of this matter? My father is suppressing me. He would rather make peace with other countries and devote himself to alchemy than to guard against me, his son."

In the face of suppression, Yin Jinggeng did not show any weakness or compromise.

He knew very well that this was the imperial power. It was useless for him to complain or cry. If he begged for mercy, he would have to hand over all his power and hide in the East Palace and wait for twenty or thirty years until his father was finally willing to hand over the throne to him.

But his father wanted immortality, and everything he did was for the sake of immortality.

"I must resist." Yin Jinggeng said firmly, "What about you? Which side are you on?"

Gu Jingnian was also very straightforward and said, "I stand on your side."

"it is good!"

Yin Jinggeng dared to tell Gu Jingnian these words because he knew him too well.

After quickly making his position clear, Yin Jinggeng did not try to win people's hearts by promising Gu Jingnian a bright future and great achievements. Instead, he drew a circle on his map.

"The Xihe River has changed its course, and the underground fire is flowing. I will restore it at all costs and return peace to the southwest. As for the enemy's spies who have entered the country, I will eliminate them all. Are you willing to help me?"

"it is good."

The two young men hit it off immediately without any long-term planning. They just wanted to distinguish right from wrong and break the dispute with force.

(End of this chapter)