"What did you say!" Xiao Qing, who had always been calm, showed a look of panic for the first time.
"The people from the Dark Temple have evacuated Daqian." Xiao Qingqing's expression was not much better than his, "Before they left, they took away all the elixirs stored by the Yinhuan Chamber of Commerce, but they didn't even leave a word. .”
"How is that possible?" Xiao Qing couldn't digest this shocking news for a while, "As long as they cooperate with us, they will have a steady stream of elixirs coming in. Why do they need to kill the goose that lays the goose to lay the eggs?"
"Supposedly, even a fool knows how to choose. Could it be..." Xiao Qingqing speculated, "There is a reason why they have to withdraw?"
"You mean... Wen Dao Academy?" Xiao Qing was not an ordinary person after all, and he quickly adjusted his mood.
"The Holy Land is the only one that can check and balance the Holy Land." Xiao Qingqing expressed what he was thinking.
"You are right." At this time, Xiao Qing had regained his usual calm demeanor. "To be able to make the Dark Temple retreat so decisively, I'm afraid it was the saint who took action."
"Father, what should we do next?" Xiao Qingwu couldn't hide the worry in his eyes. Although he was quite suspicious of the Dark Temple, he also knew that the power of the Holy Land was the Xiao family's greatest reliance on conquering the country.
"If this is the case, there is no need to panic." Xiao Qing showed his aura of taking control of the situation again, "Wen Dao Academy will not interfere in secular affairs. Since the Dark Temple has retreated, the saint will definitely not take action again."
"But without the support of the Dark Temple, our affairs..." Xiao Wuwu hesitated.
"Do you think that without the Dark Temple, there is nothing I can do about Li Jiuye?" Xiao Qing's eyes were filled with light, and he said with a look of disdain on the world, "In the past, I did not take action in order to slowly consume the strength of the royal family, but now I have It’s time to change our strategy.”
"What does father mean...?" Xiao Qingqing's eyes narrowed, and his tone couldn't help but become a little heavier.
"Now the power in my hands is still better than that of Li Jiuye, but I have lost my overwhelming advantage. In a short time, I will not be able to rely on a war of attrition to dethrone him." Xiao Qing's voice was sonorous and firm, " If we keep waiting like this, I don’t know if it will be the Year of the Monkey or the Horse, and it’s time to take the initiative.”
"Father!" Xiao Qingwu could not conceal the excitement in his voice.
"Qing Qing, you should go to the Wuhen Army now and let him contain Yu Xuanji and Zeng Rui's troops for me." Xiao Qing stared into his son's eyes and said word by word, "There will be a storm in the imperial capital soon. Remember , if there is no result here, you will stay at the border and never come back."
"A big event is about to happen, how can a child not do the hard work of his father by his side?" Xiao Qingqing said anxiously.
"As the saying goes, before you seek victory, consider defeat first. There are no absolutes in this world. I will always leave a way out for our team." Xiao Qing said solemnly, "With Jian'er's temperament, he will definitely not want to go to the border to escape. He will only feel aggrieved. is you."
"But……"
"Don't say any more, I have made up my mind to be a father." Xiao Qing said resolutely, "This matter is so big that it is not appropriate to send a message by messenger. I will write a letter right now and you can bring it to Wuhen in person for me. I will leave it to you to handle the outside matters. It’s given to you.”
"Yes!" Xiao Qingqing and his father looked at each other for a long time, and finally sighed.
"The throne of the Nine-Five Supreme Being shall be occupied by those who are capable." Xiao Qing looked out the window and murmured to himself, "People like Li Jiuye who only rely on the protection of their ancestors should have moved their seats long ago."
Zhong Wen came and went in a hurry, and did not have time to say goodbye to Ran Sujuan, Old Master Liu and others. He only entrusted Ning Jie to convey his gratitude on his behalf, which made her somewhat regretful. At the same time, deep down in her heart, she felt a faint feeling of envy for her best friend Ning Jie.
No matter how many years she is older than Ning Jie, she is a second-generation saint who was born and raised in the academy.
Although due to her position, she is much better than Ning Jie in terms of human sophistication, but when it comes to her understanding of men and women, most of them come from books in the academy. Compared with those young girls who love to read novels, they are not as good as Ning Jie.
There is no difference.
She also yearns for the romance of love, and also longs for an unparalleled hero to marry her riding on colorful auspicious clouds.
There are many talented people in the academy, and there is naturally no shortage of gentle and elegant young talents. However, she cannot have any chemical reaction with these uniform and elegant people from the bottom of her heart.
However, Zhong Wen's appearance caused an uncontrollable ripple in her heart.
The young man in white can only be considered handsome in appearance, but he possesses astonishing attainments in theology and literature. His cultivation is also quite good. His excellent cooking skills and somewhat comical temperament greatly surprised Ran Sujuan, who was used to seeing handsome men from the Holy Land.
.
But what really touched her heartstrings was Zhong Wen's firm steps and generous back the moment he stepped into the "path of refining the mind."
If someone is willing to risk their life for me...
Zhong Wen's lazy smile appeared in front of her eyes again, and it lingered, making her feel slightly irritable.
It’s not like a man can only marry one wife. Even if he has Xiaojie, I may not be able to...
It's just that I'm much older than him, so I don't know if he'll dislike it...
While thinking wildly along the way, she unknowingly came to a building outside the Yamashita Academy.
The exterior wall of the building is light yellow in color, with a simple and elegant style. It is about three stories high. On the plaque at the main entrance, there are four large ink characters "Wen Dao Inn" written with flying dragons and phoenixes.
The location here already belongs outside the Wendao Academy.
Among the secular people, there were many people who came to visit the academy, such as Ma Yun, the vice president of the "Tianmao Chamber of Commerce" whom Zhong Wen met in front of the mountain gate that day, and the scribe in white.
The inn was built here nominally to facilitate the secular guests who came from afar but were not as good as those who entered the academy that day.
However, a "Second Generation Saint" like Ran Sujuan naturally knows that life in the academy is hard and limited in food, clothing and accommodation. However, this "Wendao Inn" has food, wine and guest rooms, which can be regarded as a service for the disciples of the academy.
It opened an opening and provided some "entertainment".
Whenever she feels restless and has trouble calming down, Ran Sujuan will come to the "Smell Inn" to drink by herself and have a few drinks to adjust her mood.
When I opened the door, I saw rows of tables and chairs. It was still early in the morning, and most of the students in the academy were still practicing hard. The secular guests were still queuing up at the entrance of the mountain. There were only a few people sitting sparsely in the wide lobby.
The people seemed very deserted.
Ran Sujuan moved lightly and slowly entered the door. Looking around with beautiful eyes, she suddenly made a soft sound of "Huh" in her mouth.
In an obscure corner of the lobby, there was an unexpected person sitting.
"Little Zhuge" Zhu Cong!
"Scholar Zhu, why are you here?" Ran Sujuan couldn't help but stepped forward and asked.
"Miss Ran?" Zhu Cong raised his head, his eyes blurred, unable to conceal his loneliness, and said angrily, "Zhu has already left the academy. Doesn't that count as a violation of the agreement?"
"That's not what I meant." Although Ran Sujuan didn't like this person, she didn't mean to add insult to injury. She said softly, "I just couldn't see Scholar Zhu in the academy, so I thought you had gone back to Qixing Pavilion."
"What about the young man?" Zhu Cong also realized that his attitude was not good, and his tone softened slightly, "Has he won the favor of Miss Ning?"
"Are you talking about Zhong Wen?" Ran Sujuan felt inexplicably uncomfortable when she heard him mention Zhong Wen and Ning Jie, "He and Xiao Jie have known each other for a long time, and they have a good impression of each other. In my opinion, they will probably be together in the future.
Together."
"boom!"
Perhaps because he was slightly tipsy, Zhu Cong couldn't suppress his emotions when he heard this. He slapped his right palm on the table: "It's useless for me to be so infatuated with her. It turns out she already has someone else in her heart!"
"Scholar Zhu, what are you talking about?" Ran Sujuan frowned slightly and said dissatisfiedly, "You want to pursue Xiaojie yourself, so you don't allow her to like others?"
"That's right, I made a mistake." Zhu Cong came to his senses, shook his head slightly and said, "Since Miss Ning has her own heart, there is no point for me to stay here. I will go home tomorrow."
"It would be great if Scholar Zhu could understand it." Seeing his disappointed expression, Ran Sujuan felt a hint of sympathy and said softly, "There is no grass anywhere in the world. After some time, you may not encounter it.
A more preferred candidate."
Zhu Cong lowered his head and pondered in silence. After a long while, he suddenly raised his head and shook the bottle in his hand: "Let's have a drink together?"
"Okay." Ran Sujuan smiled slightly and sat down happily.
Two bottles of wine were served on the table, and the two of them drank one glass at a time without saying anything. They sat at the same table, each thinking about their own thoughts.
Zhu Congjue gave up his pursuit of Ning Jie, and while drinking, he looked at Ran Sujuan with twitching eyes.
I felt that although the appearance of the woman in front of me was a little less graceful, she was still very beautiful with smooth muscles and jade bones, and her figure was even more graceful and charming. Every frown and smile exuded an elegant, charming and mature charm.
Previously, I had only focused on Miss Ning, but I had not noticed that Miss Ran was also extremely beautiful.
Zhu Cong's heart moved and he couldn't help but said: "Miss Ran, in your opinion, is Zhu really not as good as that young man named Zhong Wen?"
Although she is a master of the heavenly wheel, she does not know how to use her spiritual power when drinking to relieve her sorrows. After half a bottle of wine, Ran Sujuan felt tipsy, her cheeks had a charming blush, and her eyes looked brighter.
Some: "Scholar Zhu is already an amazing talent, but Zhong Wen's abilities are unfathomable. Not only did he decipher the stone tablet in front of the mountain gate, but he even let him pass through the 'Heart Refining Road'. Such a monster is unparalleled in the world."
It’s rare, and I don’t know how it was cultivated.”
"How could this young man be so extraordinary?" Zhu Cong had also heard about the "Heart Refining Road" of Wen Dao Academy, and knew that a spiritual master who had entered Taoism had lost his way on this mountain road.
"Yes, it's no wonder Xiaojie fell in love with him." Ran Sujuan murmured half-truthfully, "If they hadn't met first, even I would want to compete with her."
Even you like him!
Perhaps because of the alcohol, Zhu Cong could not help but feel an anger welling up in his heart. He glared at Ran Sujuan's flawless cheeks and bumpy figure.
Full of hatred, but also faintly tinged with covetousness and desire.
You all want to marry him, but I won’t teach you how to do it!
"Sure enough, a hero emerges from a young boy. It's really admirable." Zhu Cong said softly, raising his left hand slightly, and a colorless and invisible powder came out of his sleeve and fell silently into Ran Sujuan's wine glass...