It doesn't matter what the lord is.

Bai Huang was like a child who had done something wrong. He clenched his hands together, lowered his head and said:

"I just wanted to ask..."

Bai Feng sighed, put down the pen in his hand, and replied:

"I have made it very clear in the letter. You will gain nothing from this trip except putting yourselves in danger. Bai Huang, listen to your brother. You should grow up."

Bai Huang raised her head, looked at Bai Feng with red eyes, bit her lip and said:

"I'm already trying hard to be an adult! But I still can't understand. Our lives were a hundred times happier before, why did we have to end up like this? You and Big Brother can solve the problem by taking a step back, why do you insist on saying there's no going back? Even if you want Dad's position, you can just let the loser leave, why do you have to fight to the death?"

Bai Feng looked at her, his eyes trembling slightly.

He wrapped his cloak tightly around himself and said to Bai Huang:

"Leave... Where do you think we can go?"

Bai Feng coughed twice and said helplessly:

"Take my eldest brother for example. If he wins, where will I stay? Stay in Yunhai? Maybe one day, I will give up everyone around me, disband all members of [Phoenix Wings], destroy my reputation and degenerate myself, so that I can have a chance to live in Yunhai. But what's the point of this to me? I won't live long anyway. As for leaving Yunhai, it's even more sad. The situation in the world is turbulent now. If one day the place I go to fights with Yunhai, how can I survive?"

Bai Feng walked to her sister, stretched out her sleeve to wipe away the tears on her face, and continued:

"On the other hand, if I win, how will my tenth-level elder brother cope? If he stays in the Sea of ​​Clouds, suspicion will never cease, because he alone has the power to change the world. No one can imprison him, and no one can restrict him. If he leaves the Sea of ​​Clouds, where can he go? Where is he willing to go?"

Bai Huang took a deep breath and said to Bai Feng:

"You still don't trust each other—"

Bai Feng patted her shoulder and said to her:

"Do you remember when we were little? My eldest brother told me that he had no interest in power, and if I did, he would give me the position of Crown Prince. I believed him for many, many years."

Bai Feng rubbed Bai Huang's shoulder and walked out of the military tent. His back looked lonely and determined.

With her snow-white long sleeves fluttering in the cold wind, Bai Feng stepped out of the military tent and said calmly:

"I have never changed, it's him who has changed. As I said before, you should stay here for the time being and don't run around. It's the time of power transfer, the public security outside is not very good, plus your identities are special, I don't know how many people want to use you to make trouble. Although it's boring here, I can guarantee your safety. When the situation stabilizes, I will send you back to Yunyang."

Bai Huang turned around and watched Bai Feng leave.

But Lid didn't turn around, he just asked casually:

"and many more."

Bai Feng stopped and didn't look back.

Lid tapped his cheek and asked:

"I remember there was a man named Nalus beside you. He was a great spearman with the ninth-level perfection. Why didn't I see him today?"

Bai Feng narrowed his eyes and replied:

"He has another mission. What's wrong?"

Lid said calmly:

"Nothing. I didn't bring my guards with me last time, and he scratched me on the face. This time I brought my guards with me to get back at him."

Bai Feng said casually, "You can try it when you have a chance," and left without looking back.

He has the swift and resolute manner of a superior, and will never change what he has decided. In the brief conversation, Bai Feng has made his position clear. Although he said it very tactfully, what he meant was that once he won, Bai Ye would definitely die. One of the most notable characteristics of growth is that people will become more and more rational, from being driven by emotions to being driven by interests. When you are young, you have nothing, but you can also stick up for your brothers, fight for your beloved, and even travel at any time. Maybe when Bai Feng was a teenager, he would reach out to guarantee his brother's life in such a situation, but now he won't, because the name Bai Feng no longer represents him alone, but an entire interest group headed by him.

Lid patted Bai Huang heavily on the back and said:

"What a difficult road ahead... Cheer up, Xiao Huang, what your brother said is true, but nothing is so absolute, right?"

Bai Huang clenched his fists and nodded.

Alayya lifted the curtain with her sword, looked out, and said to Lid:

"Master, we are surrounded here. Do you want to find a way to fight your way out?"

Lid smiled and waved his hand. He looked very calm:

"Don't worry. It's a rare opportunity to experience Yunhai's military formation. Staying here for one more night is a good opportunity. Maybe we can get some intelligence to bring back to Fang Shisan. There's no need to panic now. Bai Feng will definitely not leave the military formation. Even if Bai Ye comes here to assassinate Bai Feng, we are here. On the surface, it seems that we are under house arrest here, but in fact, staying here is also beneficial to us."

Only then did Alayya put away the sword.

Reed found a chair and sat down carelessly, starting to think about what to do next.

What he wants is completely different from Bai Huang. Bai Huang wants to rely on family affection to impress his father and two brothers and persuade them to sit down at the negotiation table again. This cannot be said to be unrealistic, but Li De has never pinned his future on something as fragile as emotions. It is a pity that human hearts are not like water, and waves will arise from a flat ground. Human hearts are inherently fickle. In order to save the lives of Bai Feng and Bai Ye, a huge exchange of interests is needed. Bai Huang does not have this interest, but Li De does. After all, he is the lord of Yunyang.

But Lid also needs to weigh the pros and cons of what price he will have to pay and what rewards he can get in order to get involved in Yunhai's mess.

He would go to the sea of ​​clouds for Bai Huang, because Bai Huang is worth it.

But this is the limit. If he doesn't see any benefits, he won't invest more resources in Yunhai, especially the key resources related to Yunyang's development.

21. Fortune Teller

After thinking about it for a while, Reed couldn't think of anything in Yunhai that could particularly impress him.

This year's Yunhai courtesan may be one of them. The year before last, it was Li De, and the year before that, it was Lingwu Lord, both of whom made a sensation. Last year, it was a bit lame, and it was given to a young lady from a noble family in Xiqin, but it didn't cause any waves. The one who was crowned not long ago this year is said to be the only "three-no" courtesan in many years, that is, no identity, no background, no campaign funds, a pure passerby, who casually signed up when passing by, and ended up beating all the beauties to get the title of courtesan, which is a huge miracle.

Thinking of this, Lid suddenly realized why Yunhai was always inferior to Xiqin, Nanchu and Lingwu, because Yunhai's supplies seemed rich, but there were too few absolutely top-notch things. Lingwu had invincible cavalry, Xiqin had the most streamlined and efficient political system and a large number of talents, and Nanchu had endless money and endless food. But Yunhai was different. The gathering of merchants from all walks of life led to the prosperity of the economy here, but the lack of its own uniqueness also made Yunhai still a step behind the top territories.

Lide thought for a while, and when it was dusk, he tried to leave the military tent to observe the formation of the sea of ​​clouds. However, Bai Feng had been prepared and specially arranged several experienced officers to guard outside. Lide tried several times but still got nothing.

It feels like a half-finished RPG, where after taking a few steps, you're prompted with a crazy message "the area ahead cannot be explored."

However, Reed quickly became familiar with the young man who came to deliver food.

The young man’s name is Yu’an. He has dark skin and is not a member of the army. Instead, he is a relatively marginal newcomer in [Phoenix Wing].

Strictly speaking, he was also Bai Feng's strategist, but judging from the looks of it, he probably didn't get any chance to make suggestions. Instead, he did more things like delivering meals to Bai Huang and Li De. He led the conversation with a bright smile:

"Brother Feng said that the weather might be a bit cold tonight, so he will send two blankets over. There are no beds in the army, so everyone sleeps on the floor. But in this weather, you still need to put a few layers of blankets on top, otherwise the cold air will come up from the floor in the middle of the night and pierce your bones."

While picking up food to eat, Reed chatted casually with Yu'an and soon found out his background.

Yu'an was from Hualiang Territory. When he was young, his family was poor and could not afford to raise him, so they secretly threw him into the cargo compartment of a caravan and let him follow the caravan to Yunhai. In his father's words, the child had no future if he stayed at home, and he might have a great opportunity if he went to Yunhai. Later, Yu'an lived up to everyone's expectations and became a famous beggar leader in Yunhai. Every day, he carried a huge wooden barrel to beg at other people's doorsteps. He was nicknamed "Yunhai Big Barrel Leader". Others had to look at his face when begging for food.

"Later, an old gentleman told me that I could learn fortune-telling from him. But he was so poor that he was starving at the time, and he told me that I would feed him for three days as tuition. Seeing that he was so hungry that he could hardly breathe, I agreed. I didn't expect that after two years of fortune-telling, someone would recommend me to Brother Feng as a rare talent, saying that I was hiding in the city. I said I was hiding my shit, I was just wearing two pieces of tattered clothes, and people could see through me at a glance. The other party said, look, masters are just modest, and they forced me in."

Yu An sat cross-legged on the floor, chatting with Li De. It was obvious that he had traveled a lot and was very talkative.

Lid also smiled and cupped his hands, saying:

"You have nothing to do anyway, why don't you do the math for us?"

Yu An shook his head quickly, glanced at He Ji, and said:

"No one else counts except him."

Reed asked curiously:

"How do you say this?"

Yu An raised five fingers and explained to Lid:

"The old man told me that there are five things that don't count in the fortune-telling he taught me. It doesn't count for the extremely rich, the evil, the people destined by heaven, and the poor. The old man said that the rich can enjoy the best of life while hoping to change their fate through fortune-telling so that their descendants can enjoy the same good life as themselves. There is no such thing in the world. The evil people are too full of blood and their fate is hard to predict. It is almost impossible to predict it except by trying to peek into the secrets of heaven. If there is any mistake, it is easy to backfire on oneself. The people destined by heaven include the destiny of heaven and the disgust of heaven. To tell fortunes for them is to reveal the secrets of heaven and will be punished. As for the poor, you can't make much money from them in the first place, and they may not believe you. It's better to have less trouble than more."

Lid counted on his fingers and asked:

"Aren't you only four? Why can't my Alayya be counted?"

Yu An glanced at Alaiya and said hesitantly:

"The last one... the old man said that women with flat breasts can't be counted."

Lid had a question mark on his face:

"What?"

Yu'an lowered his head and replied:

"The old man said that people like this are petty...it's easy for them to hold a grudge against you if you tell their fortunes."

Alayya put her hand on the hilt of the sword and asked Lid expressionlessly:

"Master, can I beat you?"

Lid nodded:

"Beat him."

Before Yu An could even utter a word "Fuck", Alayya pinned him to the ground and beat him up. After getting up, he knelt down devoutly, looked up at the sky, and muttered to himself:

"Master never lied to me!"

Lid helped him up, patted his shoulder with a smile, and said:

"People will die if they seek death, it has nothing to do with your master. Have you been with Bai Feng all this time? Do you have any interesting stories to tell me?"

Yu An yawned:

"It would be nice if there was one. This place is warmer and fuller, but it's not as interesting as where I beg for food. And there are loud noises every now and then. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night. If you don't know, you might think there's a war. Don't try to trick me, little brother. If I knew any inside information, I wouldn't be sent here to deliver food to you so easily."

Lidd poured him a glass of wine and said:

"It doesn't matter whether it's an inside story or not. What matters most is whether you are brave and careful, and whether you have some skills. If there is no way out for you to stay with Bai Feng, you can try your luck in Yunyang in the north."

Yu An helped Li De and Bai Huang clean up the dishes, picked up the tray, and said admiringly:

"I didn't expect this could be found, but more friends mean more paths. Thank you very much."

Yu'an winked at Lid, and Lid stood up and walked him to the door.

At the door, Yu An said to Li De:

"In the 'Five Not Counted' just now, your guards accounted for three. There are not many people like her. In Yunhai, there is only one person beside Bai Ye. I don't know anything about the others. Even if I know, I can't tell you. Those who understand will understand, and those who don't understand will understand sooner or later. Maybe this is fate. You can't escape it when you come to Yunhai."

Lid looked back at Alaiya.

Alayya looked at her young master in confusion, her eyes full of doubt.

Lid smiled at her, and then said to Yu'an:

"Got it. I owe you a favor."

22. Let’s jailbreak

Late that night, Reed was sleeping on a blanket wrapped in a quilt when he suddenly felt someone approaching.

He opened his eyes and saw Bai Huang, wearing a coat, crawling out of her bed and looking at Lid closely. Lid blinked and asked in a low voice:

"Having a nightmare?"

Bai Huang smiled and said:

"No, on the contrary, I had a good dream. I dreamed about the past. I dreamed that my two brothers were holding my hands and running in the garden, and then I woke up. I told myself to cheer up, and then suddenly I felt that I had to do something. Lid, let's break out of prison."

Reed sat up and put the quilt over her to prevent Bai Huang from catching a cold.

Alayya was also awakened by the conversation between the two. After getting up, she silently covered Reed with her quilt.

Li De sat cross-legged and asked Bai Huang:

"What are you doing out there?"

Bai Huang shook his head:

"I don't know. But I don't want to stay here and do nothing. I know it's dangerous outside, and I know my second brother is thinking about my safety, but I still want to go out. Do you have any ideas?"

Heji also woke up, and the four of them sat in a circle. Heji hesitated for a moment, but still advised:

"Miss, Master Bai Feng is right. You and Li De are both too special. Yunhai is not stable now. If someone were to harm you and Li De and provoke a conflict between the two territories of Yunhai and Yunyang, it would be a fatal loss for both us and Yunyang."

Bai Huang rarely lost his temper with He Ji, but turned his head and nodded with bright eyes:

"I know, what you said makes sense...but I still want to take a gamble, Lid, are you afraid?"

Lid held out his hand and Alaiya helped him put on his coat.

Lid smiled and said:

"What am I afraid of? I promised to accompany you to Yunhai this time. I'll go wherever you go."

Bai Huang clapped his hands and said:

"Okay, let's go find my eldest brother. Lid, you once said that people are not happier the higher they go. I can understand that they are constantly pursuing benefits, but I think there is nothing at the end of benefits! If one day, they can't move forward to get higher things, and everything they have now can't bring them surprises, they will definitely be very lonely."

Lid patted Bai Huang's shoulder and said: