AGM 209 - Hua Xiaoyun
An hour after the drama was over at the Chu Emperor District, the Qin rebel troops began an orderly retreat.
This confrontation was first, to complement Qin Wentian’s plan, and second, a probe to find out the actual defensive strength of the Royal Capital.
In the perspective of the Qin Clan, they naturally wished for the war to be concluded as soon as possible. They already received news that the Royal Clan was summoning back all their forces to trap the rebels in an encirclement. Although their own reinforcements were also on the way, it would definitely heighten the difficulty of conquering Chu if the war was lengthened.
Chu Tianjiao stood on top of the city gates, the sun rays were akin to blood, the countless corpses lying on the ground a testament to the brutality of the earlier clash. There were also several experts amongst those that had fallen.
Several decades had passed since the death of the Wu King, however who would have thought that Chu would witness the true military might of the Qin Clan once again. Sadly, this time round, the arrowhead of Qin’s military might was pointed at the Royal Capital.
Looking at the faces of the retreating rebel troops, even though their friends and comrades were dead, their eyes were still as cold and sharp as before. Their morale was unaffected, as though the fury in their hearts could only be unleashed via this war. Chu Tianjiao then glanced at the Chu’s troops. The troops of the Royal Army were despondent, in grief, their battle intent all withered away. Was this caused by the many years of inactivity? The edge of aggression of the Royal troops had all been worn down by the long period of peace, totally opposite to their enemy.
“Chu Kuo.” Chu Tianjiao shot a look towards a middle-aged man beside him.
“Your Majesty.” Chu Kuo was the uncle of Chu Tianjiao and his greatest supporter back when he was still a prince. Chu Kuo was bestowed kingship with a title - the Han King, and was the commander of the elite crack troops of the Royal Capital.
Chu Tianjiao stared at Chu Kuo, as he commanded, “Uncle, I shall leave this area to you.”
“Your Majesty.” A steely glint of determination flickered in Chu Kuo’s eyes as he stated, “If the city’s defenses are broken through, I shall offer my life.”
“Good. You have full authority here. Don’t disappoint me.” Chu Tianjiao delegated authority to Chu Kuo, he had full confidence in his capabilities.
Chu Tianjiao left. He already knew of the abduction of the little Princess, as well as the rescue staged by Qin Wentian. However, who was that mysterious maiden that had appeared?
Seems like he had underestimated the intensity of this storm brewing in Chu.
As for that group of Yuanfu experts under Qin Wentian, Chu Tianjiao had already deduced their origins. There weren’t many Yuanfu experts to be recruited within the Royal Capital. Under the process of elimination, there was an extremely high possibility that those Yuanfu experts belonged to the Divine Weapon Pavilion, as well as the Mo Clan.
The name of the Mo Clan’s clan leader had the ability to shake Chu. However, he disdained power struggles, and would rather focus his attention on cultivation, seeking an earlier breakthrough. He would often tour the world, and had vast knowledge and experiences. Chu was too small in his heart, and considering how proud he was, there was no way he would let his clan participate in Chu’s dispute for power. If that was the case, the only suspect remaining was the Divine Weapon Pavilion.
Yet the current him couldn’t make a move against the Divine Weapon Pavilion or the consequences would be even more dire.
Today, everything had gone contrary to what he had planned. To the Royal Clan, this was a humiliation. He had already disregarded the prestige of an Emperor when he captured Mustang and Luo Huan to threaten Qin Wentian, but in the end, the other party actually used the same tactic against him.
“Take this authority token and go to the Dark Forest. Summon all Military Palace troops undergoing training back for reinforcement.” Chu Tianjiao tossed a token to a trusted subordinate. That subordinate silently accepted the token, and like a shadow, flickered and disappeared from sight.
Although the Qin Clan’s forces were growing, it didn’t mean that the Royal Clan’s forces had stagnated.
Chu Tianjiao had his suspicions; other than the old grounds of the Godly General Military Palace used for the training of troops, there should be yet another mysterious force hiding in the Dark Forest. Back then, the purpose of him setting the trap for Qin Chuan and Qin Yao was precisely to lure this mysterious power out.
“Pay a visit to the Jiang Clan,” Chu Tianjiao spoke out. The Jiang Clan of the Royal Capital was an aristocratic clan as well. Their power surpassed even the Ye Clan. However, similar to the Mo Clan, the Jiang Clan could also be considered as a source of power that lay outside the control of the Royal Clan. Other than both these clans, there were a few more clans that wouldn’t easily obey the commands of the Royal Clan. It seemed that this time round, he would have to personally pay them a visit.
Meanwhile, rumors of all varieties covered the skies and earth of Chu. The majority of these rumors were all about how the Dynasty of Chu had ended, and a new beginning would soon be heralded.
…….
The Mo Clan was situated at the western region of Chu.
At the moment, Mo Qingcheng brought Qin Wentian into the Mo Clan.
Although this was witnessed by the spies sent by Chu Tianjiao, Qin Wentian had absolute confidence in Qing`er and thus didn’t bother with them.
However, Qing`er disappeared from sight again, so even if Qin Wentian wanted to find her, he had no idea where she disappeared to. Supposedly, she would only appear again if his life was in danger, truly, why was such a powerful maiden like her so adorable as well? Qin Wentian was really more than a little speechless.
Qin Wentian wondered how would Qing`er react, if she understood the definition of adorable.
Since her earliest memories, Qing`er had followed Fairy Qingmei and naturally had blind obedience towards her teaching and words. Fairy Qingmei wanted her to protect Qin Wentian, so she did as asked, and as for the ways of the world, and human emotions, she was completely clueless. That was why before she departed, Fairy Qingmei had warned her not to be taken in by the flowery words of Qin Wentian.
Qing`er would definitely think: should ‘adorable’ be counted as a flowery word?
“Lass, do you know how long it’s been since you’ve disappeared?” Mo Qingcheng’s father, Mo Tianlin, walked out from a nearby building and glared at her.
Mo Qingcheng lowered her head lightly, a mischievous smile appearing on her face as she greeted, “Father.”
Maybe only in front of her Father and a certain someone, would she reveal this side of her personality.
“Do you still have me, your father, in your heart?” Mo Tianlin icily continued. Mo Qingcheng’s smile grew even wider as she pouted, “Father, am I not back now, don’t be angry anymore, alright?”
“Hmph.” Mo Tianlin snorted, shifting his gaze onto Qin Wentian who was beside Mo Qingcheng. This fellow truly caused a tsunami of disturbance in the Royal Capital.
At this moment, the meaning of Mo Qingcheng bringing Qin Wentian back into the Mo Clan needn’t be stated out loud with words.
This caused Mo Tianlin to sigh. Indeed, when a girl comes of age, her heart would no longer be with her clan, but rather, with the one she loved instead. This lass, was beginning to grow up.
Naturally in his heart, Mo Tianlin also quite liked Qin Wentian. This was especially so after he witnessed his potential during the Jun Lin Banquet. He had even initially planned to play matchmaker between Qin Wentian and his daughter.
However, the clan leader had just returned to the Mo Clan and it seemed as though he already had plans for Mo Qingcheng’s future.
This caused Mo Tianlin to be somewhat in a difficult position. After all, the clan leader’s authority superseded his own.
“Oi, oi, oi!” At that moment, a beautiful girl jumped up and shouted in excitement upon seeing Mo Qingcheng. “Qingcheng, you even brought him home. Wow, the development between you two is so fast.”
“Pfft.” Mo Qingcheng rolled her eyes, and sneakily snuck a glance at her father. She wanted to see Mo Tianlin’s attitude. However, Mo Tianlin’s countenance was as calm as before, and she couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
“Let’s go and visit your granddad,” Mo Tianlin spoke to Mo Qingcheng.
“Granddad is back?”
“Mhm.” Mo Tianling nodded, as he walked away. A radiant smile appeared on Mo Qingcheng’s face as she cast a glance at Qin Wentian, prodding his hands with her fingers.
Qin Wentian smiled and nodded in response, the two of them walking together as they followed Mo Tianling.
Mo Tianlin bought them to a pavilion, and within it, there were already two people playing chess.
“Haha, good fellow, to think that your chess skills are so profound.” Hearty laughter echoed. Qin Wentian studied the man who spoke. He looked to be about 50 years of age, yet was still brimming with vitality. This person should be the clan leader of the Mo Clan, the strongest cultivator in Chu under the Heavenly Dipper Realm.
Sitting opposite the old man was a youth with an extraordinary aura of about 20 years of age.
“Life is like a game of chess. Old Mo’s chess skills are extremely profound and forceful.” The youth laughed lightly.
“I’m already old, how can I be compared to you.” Old Mo laughed it off humbly, causing Mo Tianlin to click his tongue in wonder. Ever since the clan leader returned, he had been spending all his time together with this youth.
Not only that, he who was so prideful, was actually so humble before someone of the junior generation. This young man certainly must be someone extraordinary.
However, at this instant, as old man Mo shifted his gaze over, he involuntarily frowned when he noticed Qin Wentian standing so close together with Mo Qingcheng.
“Father, this is Qingcheng’s good friend, Qin Wentian,” Mo Tianlin introduced.
“Hmm.” Old Mo nodded his head. He had heard the name Qin Wentian before, the most talented genius in Chu, champion of the Junlin Banquet.
However, no matter how radiant Qin Wentian was, this place was ultimately still Chu - a small speck of dust, compared to the Nine Continents of the Grand Xia Empire.
“Hua Xiaoyun, Young Master Hua.” Old Mo introduced the youth sitting opposite to him to everyone. Smiling, he added, “Qingcheng, granddad shamelessly beseeched Young Master Hua to look for a suitable teacher for you, and he has agreed. I wish to send you to the Grand Xia Empire for your cultivation. Staying here would only restrict your talent.”
Mo Qingcheng’s countenance faltered as she felt panic in her heart. Her granddad actually wanted to send her away for cultivation. Didn’t this mean that she had to part with Qin Wentian?
After seeing the countenance of Mo Qingcheng, Hua Xiaoyun was moved. Such beauty could even be considered peerless in the Grand Xia Empire. When old man Mo was telling him about his granddaughter, Hua Xiaoyun thought that he was exaggerating. But to think that Mo Qingcheng was really as beautiful as what he was told. He started to feel interested.
However, recently, there were several supreme experts that appeared in Chu, heading towards the Dark Forest. He could be considered to have a pretty close relationship with some of them, so it wouldn’t be difficult for him to introduce a teacher for Mo Qingcheng. Just merely for the sake of her beauty, he would definitely introduce a better teacher for her.
Just like what Hua Xiaoyun imagined, even now there were still several cultivators rushing to Chu on the back of flying demonic beasts. Currently, in the air space above Chu, Ouyang Kuangsheng and Jiang Ting were travelling together. Gazing at the country from above, a smile appeared on both their faces, “This Chu Country is truly extremely remote. I almost can’t believe that that friend of mine, Qin Wentian, grew up and matured here.”
Not only Ouyang Kuangsheng, even people from the Greencloud Pavilion arrived. As of now, Qian Mengyu had already broken through to Yuanfu. Gazing at this tiny and inconsequential country, she couldn’t help but sigh in her heart.
Such a tiny country like Chu actually produced a genius capable of easily suppressing the Swallow Swordsman, Mu Baifei. She wondered how he was doing now.
Ever since their time at the celestial lake, quite a few cultivators were unable to forget Qin Wentian, especially after the test held within the Refinement Grounds. Qian Mengyu, was merely one of many!