Chapter 429: Secret Alliance
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The empress used the antidote on both Qing Yuan and Hong Luan. Early the next morning, they left the inn as if nothing had happened.
It was just that the two maids were slightly puzzled. Why did Her Majesty wake up so early? She was actually waiting outside for the both of them.
Also, where did the lady boss and her a.s.sistant run off to?
In addition, they both were suffering from headaches, as if they drank too much alcohol the previous night.
After the three of them left, the accident in the inn was soon discovered. Soon after, the warlord’s underlings surrounded the inn. The traces at the scene were a mess. Conversely, this made Warlord Xun suspect whether this was actually Qi Zixiao’s doing. After all, with her abilities, how could such a thing happen.
However, soon enough, the old man at the magistrate’s office dispelled his doubts. From the boxes and bottles there were lying everywhere, as well as the bodies of the waiter, the chef, and the livestock in the backyard, he could tell that the culprit had been testing out medicines.In addition, the slight traces left in two of the rooms were similar to the smell of one of the medicine bottles. After testing the effect of this medicine, the truth came to light.
Even Warlord Xun couldn’t help but exclaim, “Disasters that have been caused by Heaven can still be escaped, but the sins caused by a person can never be escaped!” Warlord Xun had no doubts about that person’s ident.i.ty anymore. Both Jade Blade and Bee Sting were Earth Wheel experts, yet they died so easily over here. Just as he suspected, the other party was definitely a Spirit Wheel expert.
Under these circ.u.mstances, it had to be the person that everyone had on their minds.
At the thought of this, Warlord Xun even wanted to praise himself for being clever. If it wasn’t for the fact that he had thought on his feet, he reckoned that his residence would probably have been destroyed.
When he returned, he would marry a concubine to calm his nerves.
Although he thought this way, he knew that a big change was going to occur. …
Mount Tianyun stretched across several hundred kilometers, and there were many rare treasures located here.
The peak of the mountain went straight into the sky, as if it was connected between Heaven and Earth. As a result, it was called Mount Tianyun and was also the tallest mountain in Tianjing Basin. There was an alliance in Tianjing Basin, a fact that was already known to Ren Baqian.However, he only heard about some of the details later on. This alliance was called the Secret Alliance and was formed over the past 20 years.It wasn’t a person, but a group of people, who organized this Secret Alliance.This group of people had started an uprising against the Hao Nation and had also been defeated by the aboriginals. They had no choice but to sign the agreement and were chased into Tianjing Basin.
Back then, these people had started a revolt against the Hao Nation for the sake of ideals and power, but they ended up in such a state. After entering Tianjing Basin, a portion of them refused to give up, forming the three factions of Tianjing Basin today.
A portion of them didn’t want to compete for power with the Hao Nation. Instead, they formed their own sects and pa.s.sed on their knowledge to others, hoping to leave this place one day.
There was also a portion of them who were completely disheartened and lived in seclusion.
Many years later, several of them rushed about and gathered the experts who were living in seclusion to form the initial Secret Alliance. At that time, Tianjing Basin also happened to be in chaos. All factions were attacking one another, wanting to annex the others to form one sole faction to fight against the aboriginals.
During that period of time, the people in Tianjing Basin had no means of livelihood. Later on, the Secret Alliance roped in all the sects to have a discussion with the three factions. As a result, the current situation arose.However, although the three major factions seemed to have stopped fighting on the surface, they were still continuously playing dirty tricks.After all, during the period when they had been fighting against one another, all three parties had produced a lot of feuds. At the very least, righteousness still prevailed. In the name of righteousness, all three parties tried their best to restrain themselves. At most, there were only a few small disputes and they didn’t start any large-scale war.
At present, the Secret Alliance nominally joined the three factions and all of the other sects to form an even greater alliance. All the power in Tianjing Basin was a.s.sembled in preparation for any battle in the future.
Ren Baqian couldn’t refrain from admiring the Secret Alliance after understanding their history.
Actually, he didn’t admire the Secret Alliance. Instead, he admired Xi Wanya.
There was actually such a large organization right in front of Xi Wanya’s eyes, but he still didn’t know much about it. He could be considered a talent, a talent with only muscles for brains.
If Ren Baqian didn’t make the trip himself this time, he reckoned that this group of people would abruptly create some trouble.
After growing for many years, there were indeed quite a few pract.i.tioners in Tianjing Basin. There were more than 10,000 Man Wheel and several hundred Earth Wheel pract.i.tioners. If they were matched with 100,000 soldiers, many ants could still bite an elephant to death.
If Tianjing Basin got messy, perhaps it would be unbearable for Dayao too.
In particular, the Protectorate of the Northeast was currently fighting with the Yun Nation. In the north, there was Great Xia that hadn’t given up. Lastly, in the southeast, there was the Chen Nation that hadn’t made their intentions known yet. Adding all these aspects together, Dayao might be destroyed.
At that time, he would have to go to the Sixty Thousand Mountains with the empress to farm and hunt. In the future, his son would be running around a stronghold b.u.t.t-naked.
Thinking of such a life, Ren Baqian felt that he wouldn’t hesitate to harm the interests of others for his own benefit.
In that case, you all shall die.
Here, it was unlike the situation at the Golden Ring Residence. When everyone arrived at the foot of the mountain, someone went to notify the person in charge. Soon enough, he came back down to bring everyone up the mountain.
They went along a small road and walked through a forest for a while. At last, they pa.s.sed through a ravine and arrived at a piece of farmland that had a village.
An ordinary village in the mountains.
There were about a few hundred houses spa.r.s.ely distributed in the village, and there was a twisted fence made of wood outside the houses.
Also, there were bundles of firewood in some courtyards. If it wasn’t for the fact that he knew about his destination, Ren Baqian would find it hard to believe that this was the place where the Hidden Alliance was headquartered at.
Weren’t the people here the so-called experts? At the very least, they should look more experienced, right? For example, Huang Yaos.h.i.+, who had a field of peach blossoms and played the flute whenever he was free. Looking at the situation here, however, there was an old lady who was carrying firewood that was stacked as tall as two people. They were too down-to-earth.
[Huang Yaos.h.i.+ is a fictional character in the wuxia novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes and its sequel, The Return of the Condor Heroes, by Jin Yong.]”Are you shocked? I was shocked the first time I came here too.” Zhan Caixian jumped toward Ren Baqian and looked up at him with her pet.i.te face.
“Very shocked.” Ren Baqian told the truth.
“Still, the grandfather and grandmother here are very nice.” Zhan Caixian grinned. Then, she jumped all the way ahead and shouted, “Grandmother Hu, I’m here to see you!”
“Girl, you are here…” said the old lady who looked like she was in her late eighties. She was carrying a stack of firewood that was as tall as two people, but her movements weren’t slow at all. Seeing that Zhan Caixian was here, she turned her head and flashed a smile at her.
“Do you need any help? I can help you to carry a small bundle of firewood…” Zhan Caixian deliberately stretched out a finger and gestured, indicating that she really meant a small bundle.
“That’s considerate of you. This old waist of mine is indeed not capable anymore.” While the old lady spoke, she stretched out her hand and pushed all the firewood onto Zhan Caixian’s head. “A small bundle…” Zhan Caixian quickly raised the firewood with both hands as the pile was tilting downward and would soon bury her.
Although it was just firewood, the density of this kind of wood was high. This firewood weighed almost 500 kilograms, and it was almost impossible for her to lift them all. It could be said that her skills were pretty good since she didn’t get squashed by the firewood.
The people from the Golden Ring Residence immediately rushed over to help her. However, after they rescued Zhan Caixian, her entire forehead already looked like a bird’s nest.
As they walked to the village ahead, Ren Baqian didn’t say anything and followed behind everyone along with Lin Qiaole.
When they arrived the village entrance, there was an old man who wore a traditional costume and had a full face of wrinkles that was reading a book attentively in an area under the shade.
Seeing that everyone was coming over, he looked up and smiled at everyone with the remaining teeth he had.
“Come, come, come, who can help me to check if the second half of the book is written or not. I flipped through a few times, but still don’t know if it’s written or not.”
“Grandfather Qiao, I’ll help you read it in a moment. These days, I have been reading quite a lot of books. Perhaps I might have read it before,” Zhan Caixian shouted while carrying a bundle of firewood.
“You aren’t allowed to read it, and I’m sure you haven’t read it before!” the old man promptly replied.
“Why can’t I read it? How do you know that I haven’t read it before?” Zhan Caixian refused to accept what he said.
“It’s for men to see, not for women! Let alone girls!” The old man shook his head.
When Ren Baqian heard this, he almost burst out laughing.
Old man, how old are you? Even if you aren’t 100 years old, I’m sure you are at least 90 this year? You are still reading sensual books at this age, is your body still alright?