nashuaworldcup Chapter 1020 Enemy or friend?
Chapter 1020 Enemy or friend?
Jiang Fenghua also met Mr. Ge from the Hidden Camp. As soon as Mr. Ge saw Long Aotian, the two embraced warmly. After exchanging pleasantries, Mr. Ge gave Jiang Fenghua a slight bow.
Jiang Fenghua returned the greeting with a cupped hand. She knew that Mr. Ge was Xie Shang's right-hand man and that he held great prestige in the Hidden Camp, so she dared not be negligent.
Long Aotian already knew that Jiang Jinyan was a member of the imperial court. His sister had such an extraordinary demeanor, and now Ge Ming treated her with great respect. He couldn't help but suspect that Jiang Ruan's identity was not simple.
Ge Ming did not explicitly reveal Jiang Fenghua's identity, but instead introduced Long Aotian's identity to her, praising him, "Lord Long has made great contributions to the Great Zhou, but he prefers freedom and does not like to serve in the court. He has spent half his life protecting the Great Zhou in Red Maple City. Lord Long is a truly benevolent and righteous person."
Long Aotian said, "Back then, it was thanks to Brother Ge's help that Hongfeng City was saved, and the people of Hongfeng City were able to keep their homes. My home and family are all here. I couldn't refuse Brother Ge's many invitations. Thank you, Brother Ge, for taking care of Hongfeng City over the years."
Long Aotian continued, "Brother Ge has come to Red Maple City, so I must accompany you to drink for three days and three nights. We brothers haven't seen each other for so many years, so I must be the host. Lord Jiang and Miss Jiang will come back to the city with me, and we can drink and chat together."
Ge Ming rushed over after receiving news of the Emperor's injury. He said, "We brothers could probably talk for days and nights without finishing. I have important business to attend to right now. After I finish, I can spend half a month drinking with Brother Long. I also think I'll need Lord Long's help next."
Ever since Jiang Jinyan took out the official's badge and approached Long Aotian, he knew something big must have happened. He said, "Brother Ge instructed me to do my utmost to help."
Ge Ming hadn't seen Long Aotian for many years, so he tentatively suggested, "Let's go to Xichuan."
Long Aotian remained silent, a hint of fear flashing across his face.
Seeing his silence, Ge Ming asked again, "Brother Long, are you afraid to go? Is there something you're afraid of?"
Long Aotian said, "To be honest, Brother Ge, I was indeed a little scared when I heard the words 'go to Xichuan.' From the first day I took the position of Lord of Red Maple City, I issued my first order: the people of Red Maple City are not allowed to go to Xichuan. Those who disobey will be expelled from Red Maple City."
Jiang Fenghua asked, "In all these years, has Lord Long never been inside, or seen anyone else go to Xichuan?"
There are many disciples of the Earthly Fiend Sect inside, and Red Maple City is adjacent to Xichuan, so it's impossible that he didn't receive news of people coming and going from Xichuan.
He said, "I also heard some rumors a few days ago that a group of people went to Xichuan. I'm afraid they're all going to die here."
Jiang Fenghua said in a deep voice, "It's not as mysterious as Lord Long said, is it? Crows eating people?"
“Miss Jiang, don’t disbelieve me, crows really do eat people.” Long Aotian added, “Many years ago, I also went to Xichuan and saw with my own eyes that people who went in became food for crows. I was lucky enough to escape back.”
"Therefore, Lord Long is the only person who came out of Xichuan alive."
"No, it wasn't. Just when I thought I couldn't get out of the fog, I remember that I was a god at the time. Suddenly, a gust of wind dispersed the crows. I ran desperately and finally got rid of the crows. I seemed to hear a woman's voice telling me not to go to Xichuan anymore, but when I looked around, there was nothing there. I wandered around inside for five days and five nights and still couldn't get out." Long Aotian spoke very sincerely and didn't seem to be lying.
Jiang Fenghua recalled Ashina Xue's words in her dream: she had guarded Xichuan for a thousand years and sent away many innocent people from Yinchuan Kingdom who had died unjustly. Could it be that Long Aotian was also a person from Yinchuan Kingdom, but he was reborn?
Jiang Fenghua didn't say much, only exchanging a glance with Ge Ming.
Ge Ming is already over sixty years old. His hair and beard are all white, but he still looks energetic and upright, as if years of martial arts training have given him a strong body.
Ge Ming was also unclear about the specifics, so he directly asked Jiang Fenghua, "Miss Jiang, just tell me what you know!"
Jiang Fenghua briefly recounted the events. She didn't know whether Long Aotian was trustworthy, since Red Maple City was the closest city to Xichuan. Did Long Aotian know that Danjimai had raised so many assassins in Xichuan?
However, Ge Ming trusted him, she trusted Mr. Ge, and she didn't mention any legends about the Yinchuan Kingdom a thousand years ago. She only portrayed Danji Mai as a madman who wanted to dominate the world. The madman had some ability and occupied Xichuan on his own, building a palace that belonged only to him.
She needs to break people's fear of Nishikawa so that she can completely eradicate Danjimai.
Upon hearing this, Long Aotian was completely dumbfounded. "Miss Jiang means that you are the people who entered Xichuan a few days ago, and you have all returned safely?"
Jiang Fenghua couldn't say for sure that everyone was safe; at least they had all suffered some injuries, and Xie Shang was unconscious and his fate was unknown.
She said, "We have located the underground palace, and now we need to find a way to destroy it."
Long Ao still couldn't quite believe that they had actually gone in and then come out again.
At this moment, Old Master Feng also arrived. "I once escaped death in Xichuan. Now I think that the terror in Xichuan was only caused by man. They figured out that we dared not enter Xichuan again, so they had the opportunity to build what they considered to be a perfect empire there."
"The Earthly Fiend Sect has deceived countless good sons and daughters, preventing many families from reuniting. They have fabricated mysterious fallacies that inspire people to yearn for and become obsessed with the ways of ghosts and gods, and have caused countless people to die by their swords. The world will not be at peace until the Earthly Fiend Sect is eradicated!" Old Master Feng was much older than them, but his voice was still strong and powerful.
Long Aotian was also furious. Back then, he chose to keep his distance and not provoke them. He only wanted to protect the people of Red Maple City, but he had not thought about the world. He said, "To be honest, I am also familiar with Xichuan. At that time, I felt that the place was too strange. Many people went into Xichuan, but few came out alive. I gave a death order to the people of Red Maple City not to go to Xichuan. I even blocked the main road leading to Xichuan. But I did not expect that there was more than one way to Xichuan, which caused more people to lose their lives."
Ge Ming said, "So I am also ordered to eradicate the cancer hidden in Xichuan. I still need Brother Long's help in how to fight this battle."
Long Aotian glanced at Jiang Jinyan, "So the imperial court wants to reclaim Xichuan?"
Red Maple City was also under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, but the region was different and far apart. The imperial court issued an order to allow the city lord to manage the city on behalf of the emperor, which was equivalent to the prefect or county magistrate in the Central Plains.
If the imperial court sends troops to garrison Xichuan, Hongfeng City will definitely fall under the jurisdiction of the imperial court.