Chapter 305: The Wind Rises

Even though Yang Hu had left, the conversation between Mister Sima and his son didn’t escape his ears.

Crossing into a small courtyard near his own, he saw Gao Yun sipping a cup of piping hot tea.

“The Ice Tea in the northern continent is really something else!” Gao Yun smiled after placing his cup down. “Ever since half of the You Continent was swallowed up by the collision between the worlds, the Ice Tea has been hard to find. Who would have thought that Brother Yang would be in possession of some?”

“I discovered several Ice Tea Plants in the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range and harvest a tael or two every year. If Brother Gao likes it, I have some lying around in the manor. Feel free to help yourself.” Yang Hu smiled. Ice Tea might be precious, but he wouldn’t fuss over such matters when things have progressed up to that point.

After thanking him, Gao Yun turned serious. “Brother Yang, have you not found the Multi World Anchoring Flag?”

Yang Hu’s expression sank and he shook his head. “We are unable to locate Shang Bo’s grandson. Those who witnessed the killing the other day said that they didn’t see any flag-like item among the loot taken away. Shang Bo’s grandson brought everything away and the experts of the three great families of the Ji Continent were the ones who collected his body eventually.”

A sneer formed on Gao Yun’s face. “So… The Multi World Anchoring Flag can be anywhere then? Chen Sanyang could have hidden it somewhere, or it could have landed in Shang Bo Grandson’s hands. It might even be destroyed when Chen Sanyang was killed or the three great families of the Ji Continent might have gotten their hands on it…”

“That seems to be the case. The only possibility that seems unlikely is the flag’s destruction. The flag is sturdy and it’s unlikely to be destroyed along with the self destruction of Chen Sanyang’s spatial artifact.” Yang Hu replied after a short while.

The look of mockery became even deeper on Gao Yun’s face. “No shit! Hmph, why would Elder Guo lose a Martial Intent Realm cultivator anyway? Do you think anyone would believe that he was unable to catch up to a cultivator in the Martial Intent Realm? Not to mention the fact that they decided to avoid our Changfeng City after discovering Chen Sanyang’s corpse…”

“That is true. Moreover, the disciples of the three great families of the Ji Continent left the city before nightfall today.” Yang Hu nodded.

“Hmph. I’m not surprised by their actions at all!” Gao Yun snorted.

After some hesitation, Yang Hu asked, “Brother Gao, do you mean that they managed to obtain the Multi World Anchoring Flag?”

Instead of replying Yang Hu directly, Gao Yun asked another question. “I heard that Chen Sanyang was waiting by the mountain path connecting the Ji Continent to the Changfeng City. From the looks of it, he seemed to be waiting for someone.”

“Yeah, he was.”

“Who do you think he’s waiting for?” Gao Yun continued.

“From the looks of it, the three great families of the Ji Continent are the most suspicious.” Yang Hu replied.

Gao Yun nodded slowly before adding, “I heard that Chen Sanyang received a warm welcome when he first entered the city. According to the plan for the three great families of the Ji Continent, they were supposed to use the Changfeng City as their base of operations. Why would Chen Sanyang run all the way over to the mountain path to wait for them?”

“This… Could they have reached some sort of agreement without us knowing?” Yang Hu frowned. He found it weird too, but he seemed to have thought of the problem. “He learned that the members of the Azure Spiritual World were wiped out! Does he think that we’re behind it?”

“Could he have tried to warn them before they entered the city?” Yang Hu guessed. However, he quickly continued, “That doesn’t seem right. If we were the ones who did it, why would we leave Chen Sanyang alive?”

The look of mockery on Gao Yun’s face remained and he sneered, “He might think that we’re afraid of hurting him and damaging the Multi World Anchoring Flag in the process!”

Yang Hu felt that Gao Yun was forcing the matter, but he couldn’t think of any other explanations in the meantime.

After thinking about it for a moment, he asked, “Brother Gao, if we are unable to obtain the flag, will our plan be affected?”

Gao Yun finally wiped the annoying smile off his face and he muttered, “It will definitely affect our plans. We would have been able to ensure Ancestor Lu possessed 90 percent of his strength if we had the Multi World Anchoring Flag. Now…”

Yang Hu’s heart pounded in his chest. “What happens now?!”

“Brother Yang, calm down. Even if Ancestor Lu is unable to maintain 90 percent of his combat strength, I can still ensure that he has the strength of a Martial Dipper Realm expert. He’s more than enough to sweep away any resistance in the You Continent regardless!” Gao Yun chuckled to reassure Yang Hu.

Seeing the confident expression on Gao Yun’s face, Yang Hu finally relaxed. However, he couldn’t get rid of the final bit of unease in his heart.

…

Shang Xia didn’t expect Hai Min would leave him to watch Yuanyuan. That itself portrayed the immense trust she had in him.

Also, he could guess what she was planning to do. There was no way she was going to leave the city for him. Moreover, she seemed prepared. The moment Shang Xia agreed, she picked up her stuff and got ready to leave.

Yuanyuan looked really unaffected too. She remained obediently beside Shang Xia after Shang Xia agreed to watch her for the day. It seemed as though it wasn’t the first time Hai Min was leaving Yuanyuan alone.

When Hai Min stepped out of the door, she paused for a second before turning back to look at Shang Xia and Yuanyuan. “If I don’t come back today, I hope you can look after her a little while more.”

Shang Xia didn’t seem to understand the meaning behind her words and he said simply, “Don’t worry about us! She’s going to be alright with me!”

Hai Min waited to say something else, but she felt her throat locking up. She eventually nodded her head before muttering softly, “I’ll have to trouble you then.”

When she was done, she left without turning back.

Shang Xia and Yuanyuan went to the entrance of the courtyard and watched as she disappeared down the street.

Yuanyuan, who stood as tall as Shang Xia’s knee, raised her head to look at him. “Uncle, will my mommy come back?”

“Why do you ask that?” Shang Xia raised his eyebrows in shock before kneeling down to look at her more comfortably.

Tears welled up in Yuanyuan’s eyes and she muttered, “Last time, there were some uncles and aunts who would say the same thing. However, they would never come back!”

Shang Xia rubbed her head affectionately and muttered, “Relax. She’ll be back.”

Grabbing Shang Xia’s sleeves, Yuanyuan turned to look at Shang Xia “Uncle, can you help my mommy?”

Staring at Yuanyuan in shock, he asked, “Do you know what she’s going to do?”

Shaking her head, Yuanyuan was on the verge of tears. “No… But I want her to come back!”

“Alright. Follow me. Once we arrive there, I’ll head out to bring your mum back.” Shang Xia thought about it for a second before reaching a decision.

Backing?into the courtyard for a moment, Shang Xia grabbed his bow. They then left for Wu Ji’s forge and Shang Xia bought Yuanyuan several bags of sweets along the way.

Outside the forge, Shang Xia noticed the copper bell ringing in the wind and he brought her directly into the inner courtyard behind the forge.

Wu Ji rushed over to look for him and was taken aback when he saw Shang Xia holding a little kid with him.

“Can you look for someone to take care of her for two days or so? I’ll leave some money with you. If I fail to return, please bring her back to the Shang Clan Manor in the Tongyou City. Tell them my name and they’ll take care of her.” When he was done speaking, Shang Xia brought out a bag of silver essence and handed it over to Wu Ji. From the clinking of the bag, it wasn’t hard to tell that there were hundreds of silver essence in there.

The bag was something Shang Xia obtained from Wang Chengjin of the Jianmen Institution. It was payment for his talismans and Shang Xia hadn’t found a chance to use them throughout his journey.

Wu Ji was visibly shocked, but he quickly waved his hands to reject the money. “How can I take that?! Do you know how much money is in there?!”

“You can’t be stingy when taking care of her.” Shang Xia muttered before stuffing the bag into Wu Ji’s hand. When he was done, he squatted beside Yuanyuan. “Follow this old grandpa for now. I promise to bring your mum back, alright?”

Yuanyuan nodded her head slowly before walking over to Wu Ji’s side. She tilted her head to the side before grabbing Wu Ji’s stubby fingers. “Hello, Grandpa!”

“Oh! Um… Hey, little girl…” Wu Ji was clearly at a loss for what to do. He quickly yelled at his disciple and the disciple scurried away.

It didn’t take long before an old woman appeared from the courtyards in the back.

Wu Ji handed the kid over to her before instructing her to take care of Yuanyuan like she was her own granddaughter before sending them away.

Yuanyuan held the old lady’s hand obediently as they walked away, but she turned her head from time to time to look at Shang Xia.

Sticking his tongue out suddenly, Yuanyuan burst into laughter.

Even after the two of them disappeared, Shang Xia was still staring in their general direction.

“Relax. My wife will take good care of her.” Wu Ji muttered softly.

“Oh?” Shang Xia turned to look at the old blacksmith before finally snapping back to reality. “Where did Mister Bu go? Can I look for him now?”

To his surprise, Wu Ji shook his head slowly. “Mister Bu left for the Tongyou City with Yang Hu early in the morning. He left behind a message for you. He said that Yang Hu was getting suspicious of him. He also told me to tell you to stop everything you had planned. Leave the city immediately and keep yourself safe. Don’t take unnecessary risks, or any risks for that matter! He also asked me to tell you to ensure that none of those outside the city enter. Tell them to stop anything they are planning!”

Even though Mister Bu didn’t mention their names specifically, Shang Xia knew that he was referring to the remnants of the Eighteen Horsemen. Unfortunately, Hai Min had already left the city to meet them!

Shang Xia understood that it was too late to stop them. In fact, they might have already entered the city with Hai Min’s help.