Chapter 161 Millennium Ice Valley
"Without a formal alliance, we have no right to take action in the capital of the Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Qinyu didn't care about the reasons Fang Huiqi said, she just reminded Fang Huiqi.

Marquis Fu'an did have a grudge against Zhu Qinyu, but the ones who had the greatest hatred for Zhu Qinyu were still King Ming and Zhao Yuguang.

Now that Prince Ming has passed away, Zhu Qinyu is furious. She can't let Zhao Yuguang die so easily.

After all, in addition to the old grudge between her, Huang Yuxiang, Zhao Shi and Zhao Yuguang from the Xuzhou Marquis Mansion for more than 30 years, there was also the new hatred caused by Huang Jun a few years ago.

Although the cause of all this was that she and Huang Yuxiang failed to assassinate Fu'an Marquis Zhu Chengwu, the direct and ultimate root of all this was that she and Huang Yuxiang did not retreat immediately, and after failing for the second time, they were chased by Zhao Yugang. She and Huang Yuxiang finally gave up Huang Jun who was left behind...

But none of this matters. In the minds of Zhu Qinyu and Huang Yuxiang, Huang Jun’s death should be attributed to Zhao Yuguang, who captured Huang Jun twice and finally killed him.

In order to realize her plan and avenge Zhao Yuguang, in addition to constant calculations, it is more important to save her own life before achieving her goal.

After all, how can they seek revenge if they have lost their own lives?

There was no formal alliance. As the legitimate daughter of Xuzhou Marquis who had been executed for treason and the representative of the Yuan Dynasty, if Zhu Qinyu dared to take action in the capital of the Ming Dynasty, she would inevitably be besieged by the entire Ming Dynasty.

This is not what Zhu Qinyu wants to see!
If Zhu Qinyu, Cui Shuyun and Zhu Xiumin finally exchanged their children, the only one who would benefit in the end would be the Zhao family. After all, it was the Zhao family's plan that delayed Zhao Qingya's marriage... Everyone knew Sima Zhao's intention.

Zhu Qinyu doesn't want to work for her enemy!
The reason why Zhu Qinyu contacted and formed an alliance with Crown Princess Fang Huiju was simply because Fang Huiju's eldest brother was killed by Zhao Yushan herself.

In terms of attitude towards Zhao, Fang Huiju and Zhu Qinyu share the same stance.

But after dealing with the Zhao family, Zhu Qinyu and Fang Huiqi's positions will immediately diverge!

After dealing with Zhao and Zhao Yuguang, in addition to Fu'an Marquis Zhu Chengwu, the prince, the most beloved son of the late king, was also on Zhu Qinyu's revenge list, and ranked fourth after Zhao Yuguang, the late king and Zhu Chengwu.

After all, the late king had passed away due to old age, and Zhu Qinyu could only pay for his father's debt.

The reason why Zhu Qinyu put Zhu Chengwu, Marquis of Fu'an, before the Crown Prince, the most beloved eldest son of the late king, in the revenge list was simply because Zhu Chengwu had the blood of both Zhao Yuguang and the late king's enemies.

Moreover, Zhu Chengwu's martial arts skills and talents are too strong. If she doesn't hurry to get rid of Zhu Chengwu and achieve revenge, then as time goes by, Zhu Qinyu is worried that she will no longer have the strength and opportunity to take revenge on Zhu Chengwu.

Both Zhu Qinyu and Fang Huiju knew that their current alliance was only due to the threat from their two common enemies, the Zhao family and Marquis Fu'an. Once the Zhao family and Marquis Fu'an were dealt with, Zhu Qinyu and Fang Huiju would be destined to part ways and become enemies.

In order to plan for the future, Zhu Qinyu and Fang Huiju would naturally try their best to weaken the other party's power in the process of dealing with Zhao and Marquis Fu'an.

Zhu Qinyu proposed a formal alliance, not only to protect her own safety, but also to lower the prestige of the prince, and even make him the target of public criticism of the Ming Dynasty in the end, laying a solid foundation for her subsequent actions.

After Fang Huiju tested the prince and found that the prince had no intention of seeking external assistance, he stopped making relevant suggestions in time. This was because Fang Huiju knew that forming an alliance with Zhu Qinyu and the Yuan Dynasty behind Zhu Qinyu would be like drinking poison to quench thirst.

Before, Fang Huiju and Zhu Qinyu reached a cooperation intention only because the threat from Fu'an Hou was too great and Zhao Yushan's actions were indeed excessive. Even if it was just a temporary solution, Fang Huiju could not care less.

But after calming down, Fang Huiqi actually felt a little regretful.

The reason why Fang Huijue still met with Zhu Qinyu in private now was just to try his luck and see if he could persuade Zhu Qinyu to participate in the action against Fu'an Hou's faction without forming an open alliance.

However, looking at Zhu Qinyu's determined look, Fang Huiqi's idea was impossible to achieve.

"With your strength and the current situation in the capital, as long as you are careful enough, you can completely hide your tracks. Who will know that it was you who assassinated Cui Shuyun and Zhu Xiumin? And I will also assist you in secret!"

Although he knew that with Zhu Qinyu's current attitude, it would be almost impossible to persuade them to take action without an open alliance, Fang Huiqi still wanted to try again!
After all, it’s not easy to find a knife that is so easy to use and so sharp!

"My targets are only Zhao Yugang and Zhu Chengwu. As for Cui Shuyun and Zhu Xiumin, it would be best if I can kill them, but it doesn't matter if I can't!
After all, killing Cui Shuyun and Zhu Xiumin would not cause any substantial harm to Zhao and Zhao Yuguang. On the contrary, it might even help Zhao and Zhao Yuguang!
The reason why I agreed to let you take action in secret and eliminate Cui Shuyun and Zhu Xiumin was only because I took into consideration the future alliance and wanted to weaken the power of Fu'an Marquis Mansion for you!
Now that an alliance is seemingly impossible, why would I risk getting rid of Cui Shuyun and Zhu Xiumin?"

Ren Fanghui spoke in a grandiose manner, but once differences in positions and interests arise, it is difficult to convince others with words alone.

Unless Fang Huiju can rely on her spiritual cultivation to forcibly control Zhu Qinyu and make Zhu Qinyu act according to her ideas.

But unfortunately, Zhu Qinyu's spiritual cultivation is even better than Fang Huiju's.

……

Just as the capital of the Ming Dynasty was in turmoil, countless martial artists had begun to flock to the Nanzhu Kingdom, bringing rare popularity and prosperity to this small marginal country.

But unlike the vendors' smiling faces, the real people with lofty ideals in Nanzhu Country all knew that their country's sudden prosperity was false.

Once the rumored high-level rare treasures of heaven and earth are proven to be false, or once the rumored high-level rare treasures of heaven and earth are obtained by someone, the prosperity of Nanzhu Kingdom today will immediately be brought back to its original state.

It wouldn't matter if they were just beaten back to their original form, but what they were afraid of was that the Nanzhu Kingdom would be destroyed because of the fight for the high-level rare treasures of heaven and earth...

Honestly speaking, if they had no choice, the high-ranking officials and knowledgeable people of Nanzhu Kingdom really did not want this sudden popularity and wealth, and they did not want news of suspected high-level rare treasures from heaven and earth to appear in Nanzhu Kingdom.

Unfortunately, with the reappearance of Dai Longfei, a legendary figure of Nanzhu Kingdom who had existed for more than 40 years, everything was out of the control of the Nanzhu Kingdom’s top leaders.

"Dai Qian, surrender quickly! You don't want to implicate your grandson Dai Ziyu, do you?"

Yan Xiaoer, a guard at the Fu'an Marquis's mansion, had just entered the Nanzhu Kingdom in disguise when he encountered the Nanzhu Kingdom's royal guards arresting people in the street.

Yan Xiaoer, who was in disguise, did not want to attract attention and was about to avoid it carefully, but he found that after the guards finished speaking, the young man who was being chased had not responded yet, but dozens of warriors with their faces simply covered with scarves jumped out from the crowd of onlookers.

"Senior Dai, I, Cai Jingliang, have come to help you! Please follow me, Senior Dai! I will clear the way for you!"

"Senior Dai, please don't believe him! He is not Cai Jingliang from Sanhe Sect at all. I, Wang Shujun, am here to help you. Please follow me, Senior Dai! My master, Five Tiger Blades Jiang Xiaoyang, has been waiting for you for a long time!"

"Brother Dai, don't listen to that little bastard! I am Jiang Xiaoyang, the one you personally pointed out forty years ago. Do you still remember Xiaoyang back then? Today I am here to repay you. Please follow me. I will definitely send you out of the city safely!"

...

The dozen or so warriors who suddenly appeared and covered their faces with simple scarves reported their titles and names without hesitation.

If this is the case, what is the point of them covering their faces with scarves?

However, after listening more carefully, Yan Xiaoer discovered that the dozen or so warriors who suddenly showed up to rescue him all reported false names.

This left Yan Xiaoer completely puzzled!

Even though he had received all kinds of teachings from the Marquis of Fu'an Mansion, Yan Xiaoer still couldn't figure out what the purpose of this group of warriors who suddenly appeared to rescue those being hunted down by the officials of the Nanzhu Kingdom was...

If they wanted to hide their identities, they would reveal their identities without hesitation.

If they said they didn't want to hide their identities, they covered their faces with scarves.

If they said they were rescuing someone who was being hunted by the Nanzhu Kingdom's officials, they only let Senior Dai, who was being hunted, go with them, but did not attack or stop the Nanzhu Kingdom's Royal Guards who were chasing them.

If they didn't want to rescue Senior Dai who was being hunted, then why would they jump out to rescue him, risking offending the officials of Nanzhu Country?
You know, no matter what, the Nanzhu Kingdom is also a dynasty and its power cannot be underestimated.

Few warriors are so stupid as to offend the officials of Nanzhu Kingdom without any reason?
Also, the Nanzhu Kingdom’s guards were clearly chasing a young man, so why were they using his grandson to threaten him?

Did the guards say something wrong? Or did the grandson have other intentions in this Nanzhu Kingdom?
Yan Xiaoer had a lot of thoughts in his mind.

However, although he guessed that the scene before him was unusual, Yan Xiaoer knew nothing at the moment, so he chose to watch the situation develop silently without saying a word or doing anything.

Finally, after seeing that those who were being chased, those who were being rescued, and those who were rescuing had all left, Yan Xiaoer took another step and walked to the gate of a courtyard that he had known about in advance.

Dong dong dong~~

Yan Xiaoer knocked three times in a specific rhythm.

"This is a private place. Who is outside the door?"

Soon a reply was heard in the courtyard.

"Excuse me! I'm a merchant from Xuzhou. I have some Xuzhou specialties here! Do you need them?"

Yan Xiaoer replied.

"Xuzhou specialty? What kind of specialty is it?"

There was a noticeable change in the sounds in the courtyard.

"The fiery red lotus that grows in the yellow earth!"

Yan Xiaoer's answer made everyone in the courtyard completely relax, and the courtyard gate opened.

"Please come in quickly!"

The people in the courtyard pulled Yan Xiaoer into the gate, stuck their heads out and looked around carefully, then quickly closed the gate.

"Brother Yan, it's really you! I had already guessed it when I heard your voice just now!" After closing the gate of the courtyard, a leader of the group of people in the courtyard looked at Yan Xiaoer in front of him and said excitedly.

"It's a good thing you didn't recognize me directly, but followed the rules to complete the conversation process to confirm each other's identities, otherwise I would be very disappointed!"

Seeing the familiar figure in front of him, Yan Xiaoer also seemed very happy.

The time for the Marquis Fu'an Mansion to grow and develop is limited, and the time for establishing an intelligence agency is even more limited. Although these intelligence personnel of the Marquis Fu'an Mansion now belong to the Factory Guard, one of the three guards of the Internal Affairs Department.

But they were already colleagues long before that.

Yan Xiaoer has an even closer relationship with Zuo Bensan in front of him.

Yan Xiaoer was Zuo Bensan's half-master and taught Zuo Bensan many skills as an intelligence officer.

Therefore, Yan Xiaoer said that he would be very disappointed if Zuo Bensan did not complete the identity confirmation dialogue process as required.

Because most of these rules and procedures were taught to Zuo Bensan by Yan Xiaoer.

"Of course, I am a soldier under your command!" Zuo Bensan replied with a smile to Yan Xiaoer, his superior who was half master and half brother.

"You~ stop smiling! You came here before me. What do you know about the information about the high-level rare treasures in Nanzhu Country?"

Yan Xiaoer pointed at Zuo Bensan helplessly and then asked.

"Captain, after these days of investigation, we have roughly figured out the source of the incident and the source of the high-level rare treasures of heaven and earth."

Zuo Bensan clasped his fists, changed the way he addressed his superior, Yan Xiaoer.

"Tell me carefully!"

Yan Xiaoer motioned Zuo Bensan to continue.

“Nanzhu is a small country, but forty years ago, two geniuses with extraordinary talents appeared here, Long Fei’s husband Dai Qian and Fiery Divine Sword Guan Shanyue!

Forty years ago, the two of them and another martial arts rookie in Nanzhu Kingdom, Yin Yang, were all disciples of Tong Wuji, the number one master in Nanzhu Kingdom at that time!

But forty years ago, Long Fei's husband Dai Qian and his junior brother Yin Yang colluded with another royal family of Nanzhu Kingdom and intended to rebel!

After Guan Shanyue, the Fiery Swordsman, discovered this, he put Yin Yang aside for the sake of justice and killed him on the spot. Dai Qian was also shot down into the Millennium Ice Valley.

Tong Wuji could not bear such a blow and retired from the court and the underworld.

However, not long ago, a person who looked very similar to Dai Qian from forty years ago reappeared in Nanzhu Country. Dai Qian's first wife and lover confirmed that the person who had lost his memory after being frozen for many years was Dai Qian himself.

After learning the news of Dai Qian's reappearance, Guan Shanyue, the Master of the Fiery Sword who had now been promoted to the commander of the Nanzhu Kingdom's imperial guards, also took action!

But a small country is still a small country. Even though Guan Shanyue is now second to none in Nanzhu Kingdom and can mobilize the official power of Nanzhu Kingdom, he has been unable to take down Dai Qian, and instead made the matter worse!

Later, a knowledgeable person was sure that only the legendary high-level treasure, the Millennium Iced Soul, could freeze a person for forty years and have the person's appearance unchanged after waking up, with everything just like forty years ago.

But after this strange man spoke, another expert objected, arguing that with the special environment of the Millennium Ice Valley, even an ordinary rare ice soul could achieve a similar effect of making time stop for forty years in a human being!
It was also at this time that the news of the existence of a thousand-year-old ice valley in Nanzhu Kingdom was spread and confirmed.

Nanzhu Country is not a place of freezing cold. To form a special terrain like the Millennium Ice Valley in this ordinary Nanzhu Country, according to the speculation of some experts, it is either the influence of the leakage of the power of the formed high-level ice treasures, or the formation of high-level fire treasures that continuously absorb the surrounding fire elemental energy, causing the extreme to reverse…”

Zuo Bensan recounted the intelligence that he and his brothers had painstakingly obtained in the Kingdom of Nanzhu.

"Dai Qian? Mr. Long Fei? His appearance has remained unchanged for forty years?"

Hearing these key words, Yan Xiaoer couldn't help but think of the incident in which the imperial guards arrested people on the street.

"Did Long Fei's husband Dai Qian have any connections with Sanhemen and Wuhudao forty years ago?"

Yan Xiaoer suddenly asked.

"Brother Yan, how do you know? It is said that Dai Qian was a close friend of Jiang Xiaoyang, the unknown Five Tiger Blade of Sanhe Sect, forty years ago!"

Yan Xiaoer's sudden question stunned Zuo Bensan.

But Zuo Bensan still honestly told the information he and his brothers had obtained.

"I see, that's no wonder!"

Yan Xiaoer murmured to himself, if this was the case, then the strange scene he had encountered before made sense.

Seeing Zuo Bensan's puzzled look, Yan Xiaoer told Zuo Bensan about the strange developments in the imperial guards' arrest that he had encountered before.

(End of this chapter)