Yun Ya sat down casually and sighed softly, “I go out to gather information and come home, only to face complaints before I can even have a meal. Tell me, who am I working so hard for?”
Home? Feng Miao Jun was caught off guard hearing this word from his mouth, and was slightly taken aback. Seeing his peach blossom eyes staring intently at her, she maintained a stern expression to conceal her subtle emotions, “Whether it’s hard work or not depends on the value of the information you’ve brought back.”
“I’m hungry,” Yun Ya said, then directly seized her bowl of noodles and bamboo chopsticks, using them without permission.
“Hey…” She tried to stop him, but it was already too late. This fellow had already taken several large bites, truly looking like a reincarnated hungry ghost.
Of course, such a handsome hungry ghost was rare to see.
It wasn’t hygienic; she had just used those utensils. Feng Miao Jun’s face grew slightly warm, but this shameless man had skin thicker than city walls. If she were to quarrel with him about this, she would only end up embarrassing herself. So she changed the subject instead: “Now that the Xi-Yan war has ended, what does the Wei Kingdom plan to do next?”
Despite the Wei Kingdom’s numerous attempts to obstruct, the Yan King had finally annihilated the Xi Kingdom. After the battle of Ying Gong City, the Yan and Wei kingdoms now shared a border with no buffer state between them.
The two giants were already at odds with each other. Would they now spark a conflict or would each exercise restraint?
This wasn’t just a concern of hers, but the focus of all those in power across the southern and northern continents.
“Although the Yan King destroyed the Xi Kingdom, he lost the initiative and has paid a heavy price thus far,” Yun Ya said after taking another mouthful of noodles. “My great Wei has been involved in frequent warfare recently and also needs time to recuperate. In my opinion, even if there is to be a war between Wei and Yan, the flames of battle shouldn’t ignite now.”
The Dui Yao war had ended too early, allowing Wei troops to advance into the Northwest of Xi Kingdom, providing support to the Xi army.
Originally, the Xi Kingdom had been on the verge of collapse, but with this development, they regained their footing and began to work with the Wei army to encircle the Yan forces. Although they were inferior to the Yan army in terms of military strength, national fortune, equipment, and personnel capabilities, the Xi people at least had the advantage of familiar terrain. Moreover, with Yu Hai Zhen present, all the mountains, marshes, and water spirits of the land would aid the Xi army in resisting the invaders.
The arrival of the Wei army directly changed the course of the war. In just over two months, the number of Yan soldiers buried in the Northwest was three times more than in the previous half-year! Even several of the Yan King’s generals, all renowned cultivators, perished in surprise attacks by the Wei-Xi allied forces.
Although the outcome of the war couldn’t be altered, the Yan people paid a far more devastating price than anticipated, suffering severe losses in both their army and high-end combat strength. The royal court was in utter chaos. From this perspective, the Wei people had achieved their goal—
The two powerful nations had arm-wrestled fiercely with the Xi Kingdom as their battleground.
Xiao Yan and Yun Ya had never thought the Xi Kingdom could be preserved. Their intention was merely to deplete the Yan Kingdom’s fighting strength to the maximum extent. The Wei army was also fighting away from home, so as time dragged on, the disadvantages became increasingly apparent. Under these circumstances, Grand Marshal He Lian Jia decisively withdrew his troops to preserve Wei’s strength. In Feng Miao Jun’s view, although this approach was cold-blooded, it was also very wise.
However, the Wei Kingdom had successively engaged in the invasions of Dui Yao and then aided Xi, both campaigns being lengthy and intense. As the saying goes, “Kill a thousand enemies at the cost of eight hundred of your own”—no matter how strong they were, they couldn’t help but feel somewhat exhausted and would now need to recuperate their strength once more.
With her keen intuition, Feng Miao Jun could easily determine that a delicate balance would likely be maintained between the two countries shortly.
What about New Xia? What role should New Xia play?
Yun Ya seemed to see through her thoughts and advised, “Now that matters here are settled, you should return to New Xia. Stay away from the Yan King and avoid trouble.”
Yes, she still had a major mystery to solve. Feng Miao Jun frowned and asked, “Why did the Yan King pursue me so relentlessly on the battlefield, even abandoning his own Yan troops? What was the reason for this?” Her description was quite polite; the Yan King’s eyes flashed green whenever he saw her.
Yun Ya stroked his chin, “Perhaps, like me, he was attracted by your beauty?”
“That’s not funny at all.” Feng Miao Jun’s face darkened, “Why do I always feel that you know the reason?”
This girl is still as perceptive as ever, thought Yun Ya with a sigh as he put away the bowl and chopsticks, returning them to the kitchen. Feng Miao Jun waited as he leisurely washed the bowl, then waited again as he rinsed his mouth with sea salt until she finally lost patience: “Hey!”
Fine, he would tell her. Otherwise, lacking this knowledge, she would not be sufficiently vigilant against the Yan King.
“He wants the sacred relic of the Yao Kingdom.”
Feng Miao Jun was stunned. Did he misspeak or did she mishear? “What?”
The sacred relic? The Yan King actually wanted the former Yao Kingdom’s sacred relic, that mysterious metal fragment?
Yun Ya’s expression turned solemn, without a trace of jest: “After you removed the foundation stone of the Yao Kingdom, you must have seen the true appearance of the sacred relic, right?”
She nodded, “Do you know what it is?”
“It’s an ancient artifact from the Hao Li Empire. To be honest, I have a responsibility to retrieve it.”
“What’s so special about it?” Curiosity still lingered in Feng Miao Jun’s heart. “Otherwise, how could the Yao Kingdom use it as their national sacred relic?” This question had haunted her since she first saw the true form of the relic. A broken piece of metal could hardly be considered a divine artifact, so why did the ancestors of the Yao Kingdom choose to use it instead of the Golden City as their sacred relic? Naturally, the Golden City had strategic value, and perhaps its owner was unwilling to part with it, but the key point was that the Yao Kingdom had existed for over two hundred years, and this object had served admirably as the sacred relic, easily bearing the fortune of an entire nation. This suggested that its grade was not far from that of a divine artifact.
So, what exactly was this thing?
“An’an,” Yun Ya’s voice became low and persuasive, “This object is of no use to you whatsoever.”
“How would you know it’s of no use to me if you don’t tell me what it is?” Feng Miao Jun crossed her arms, detecting the reluctance hidden in his voice.
Tsk, this was truly rare! She was determined to get to the bottom of this! “Or is it that I’m not yet qualified to know about this matter?”
Yun Ya stared at her steadily, his gaze mysterious and unpredictable. Just as he was about to speak, Feng Miao Jun said firmly, word by word: “Yun Ya, you claimed you have never lied to me. Now I want to know the origins and development of this object!”
Yun Ya pressed his lips together, and after a long while, he finally spoke: “Do you remember the story I told you about the Boundary God and the Celestial Demon?”
An ancient legend from over a thousand years ago? Feng Miao Jun was surprised by his sudden change of topic but nodded after a moment of hesitation. The Celestial Demon had wreaked havoc in the world, causing chaos, and ultimately attempted to ascend the Heavenly Ladder to reach the upper realm, which provoked the Boundary God to intervene. After that great battle, the Celestial Demon was sealed away, the Boundary God vanished without a trace, the path to the upper realm was closed forever, and the spiritual energy in the mortal world gradually diminished.
Yun Ya spoke in a low voice: “The Boundary God resided in the altar beneath the Heavenly Ladder, and this object could absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to nourish it. However, the battle with the Celestial Demon was so intense that the altar was shattered and fell into the mortal world. The Hao Li Empire spent many years collecting half of the fragments. Later, when the Hao Li Empire disintegrated and the royal capital was plundered multiple times, these imperial treasures were scattered across the world.”