Eternal Saber-Chapter 389 - 98: The Hidden Hand Behind the Scenes
"Clever."
Ming Yue Wanderer praised, saying, "Normally, when the Nanxia martial world joins forces to form an alliance, the position of Martial Arts Alliance Leader would go to the Sword Sect, with no other contenders. But the Sword Sect is indifferent to fame and fortune, its elders are aged, and they may not have recovered from their injuries, so it’s impossible for them to be involved."
"But what about Ye Xuan?" Chen Tang asked.
"Ye Xuan is certainly a candidate, with his background, reputation, and strength being sufficient."
Ming Yue Wanderer said, "But first, he hasn’t reached the level of the Sword Sect, where his presence alone can command complete authority; and second, the Ye Clan of the Sword Pavilion has always been low-key, and Ye Xuan may not even emerge to contend for the position of Martial Arts Alliance Leader."
Chen Tang suddenly thought of a terrifying possibility, saying, "If this Martial Arts Alliance Leader were to wield the power of the Nanxia martial world and joined forces with someone in the Nanxia court who holds military power, who in Nanxia would be their match?"
In Ming Yue Wanderer’s account, the structure of Nanxia over the past century has essentially been a balance of royal power, gate valves, and the martial world, maintaining a delicate equilibrium.
The decline of royal power is considered normal.
The martial world is scattered, and as long as they don’t unite, there is not much threat.
For the past few years in Nanxia, this balance has been maintained.
Until Han Wen appeared, completely disrupting the balance, randomly establishing and abolishing, preparing to overthrow Nanxia and take it for himself.
At this time, the martial forces represented by the East Mountain Sword Pavilion intervened, the Sword Sect acted, causing Han Wen to withdraw and die of illness, thus restoring the balance in Nanxia.
Facing external enemies, Emperor Wu led a southern expedition, and the three forces of Nanxia joined hands to win the battle together.
But now, pushed by the Dongyi Race and the Profound Celestial Sect, the Nanxia martial world is seeking to unite and form an alliance to become a cohesive force.
Whoever, be it the royal power or the gate valves, controls this force will completely disrupt the balance between the three!
Or even, the person controlling this martial force may have even greater ambitions.
Ming Yue Wanderer said, "The various factions of the Nanxia martial world, under the guise of crusading against the Profound Celestial Sect, are uniting the major gangs and sects, a reason difficult to refuse. Furthermore, with the assassinations by the Dongyi Race’s hermit assassins, everyone is on edge, and all factions will gather in response."
"But little did anyone expect that the promotion of a martial alliance was the goal of the Dongyi Race and the Profound Celestial Sect all along."
Chen Tang said, "So, someone is secretly collaborating with the Dongyi Race and the Profound Celestial Sect, fanning the flames!"
"Exactly."
Ming Yue Wanderer pondered, "But I am not sure who this person is; perhaps only the Hidden Sect knows. This person could be from Jianghu, from the court, a certain powerful minister or prince within the royal family, or even Emperor Xia himself."
Chen Tang said, "But regardless of who it is, whoever becomes the Martial Arts Alliance Leader of the Nanxia martial world and benefits the most is likely the mastermind behind all this."
"Indeed."
Ming Yue Wanderer nodded.
Although Chen Tang roughly figured out the scheme behind all this, receiving such a large amount of information in a short time still gave him a headache.
The Nanxia royal family, the strong gate valves, the Martial World, all seem to have a reason to collaborate with the Dongyi Race and the Profound Celestial Sect.
The once-clear structure in Nanxia is gradually becoming blurred.
Forget it, stop thinking about it.
Chen Tang shook his head.
This messy affair has nothing to do with him for now, let them mess around as they will.
When there’s a chance, he would just remind Ye Yushi.
After all, there’s no evidence for such matters.
Even if Ye Yushi trusts him, no one in Nanxia would believe him if he mentioned it; others would just think he’s crazy.
The two chatted for a long time until dawn broke.
Ming Yue Wanderer looked at Chen Tang and Ah Li and said, "You should leave now; who knows if we’ll have the chance to meet again in the future. If you see Your Majesty, tell him about my current situation..."
With that, Ming Yue Wanderer turned and jumped off the sea ship, his body like a wild goose, crossed the Celestial Pot River, turned into a black spot, and quickly disappeared into the mountains and forests.
Chen Tang turned around, looked directly at Ah Li, and suddenly asked, "Did you stop trying to assassinate me later because of Elder Ming Yue’s orders?"
Ah Li didn’t quite understand but still nodded.
Chen Tang sighed lightly and said, "I initially thought it was because I carefully fed you along the way, moving your heart, but it turns out..."
It was just his wishful thinking.
Ah Li lowered her head with a slight twitch at the corner of her mouth.
"Let’s go."
Chen Tang said, "From now on, you’re coming with me."
Ah Li took a few steps with him, then paused and shook her head, gesturing on her face.
"You want to disguise yourself first?"
Chen Tang asked.
Ah Li nodded.
"No need for all that trouble, wearing a human skin mask all the time must be uncomfortable."
Chen Tang said, "There aren’t many people on the ship; this journey to Nanxia will probably take half a year. During this half-year, stay with me, eat well, gain weight, get round, and I guarantee no one will recognize you."
Ah Li found what Chen Tang said amusing.
Round and plump, she doesn’t want that.
Changing her body shape and weight means she would have to retrain her body technique, hand movements, and habits.
The harsh training of the hermits doesn’t allow her such changes.
Ah Li shook her head.
"Elder Ming Yue told you to listen to me from now on. He just left, and you’re already being disobedient."
Chen Tang deliberately put on a stern face and said, "From now on, eat plenty of meat and vegetables; you kids don’t eat properly. From now on, by my side, you’re no longer a hermit, understand?"
Chen Tang couldn’t help but think of Zhiwei, who was also skinny and frail.
Zhiwei’s life had been very hard already.
But compared to Ah Li, she was much luckier.
"I’m not a hermit?"
Hearing this, Ah Li had a sudden flash of confusion in her eyes.
Since birth, she existed to be a hermit, to be an assassin.
If she’s not a hermit, then what is she?
Following Chen Tang... well, she could be a maid. Those young masters and ladies always had various maids to serve them.
Ah Li thought this as she followed Chen Tang.
Chen Tang took Ah Li back to the cabin and first checked in with Ye Yushi.
Ye Yushi knew that Chen Tang might be in private talks with someone, so he hadn’t come looking for him during that time.
At this moment, the sea ship had already left the mouth of the Celestial Pot River.
The shipmaster commanded his crew to raise the sails, use the wind, adjust the direction, and head westward.
Having done all this, the shipmaster looked back.
In the distance, a few small boats trailed behind them.
The narrow and agile wooden boats, paddled by multiple people, made use of the Celestial Pot River’s flow, catching up quickly!
Fortunately, once at sea, these small boats, without sails, shouldn’t be able to catch up to their ship.
But before reaching the open sea, the people on these small boats had already gone ashore.
The river’s estuary bordered Chuansi Country on one side and Moon Night Country on the other!
Once ashore, they headed straight for a few sea ships docked at Moon Night Country’s port.
Old Lu’s heart sank.
He instructed his crew to sail at full speed, then turned, entered the cabin, and explained the situation outside to Chen Tang and the others.
"Can they catch up?"
Chen Tang asked with a frown.
The Moonlit Guard was dead, and the Moon Night Race definitely wouldn’t let it go, but he didn’t expect them to come so quickly!
"Hard to say."
Old Lu said solemnly, "If it’s just about pursuit, they might not catch up, but if there are experts on their ship, they can cross the sea and board us. Moreover, the ships docked at Moon Night Country’s port are all warships equipped with longbows and gunpowder, capable of launching an attack at certain distances!"
"Captain, bad news, there are also ships coming from the north!"
Just then, a crewmate rushed in panicking, looking terrified.
"From the north, ships from Beihai Country?"
Old Lu asked with a frown.
The crewmate nodded repeatedly, stammering, "It seems... it seems there are Mystic Masters who can harness strong winds, and with the wind, their ships are very fast..."
Old Lu’s face looked grim.
No amount of sea-faring experience could withstand such circumstances.
"Don’t worry, just sail at full speed."
Chen Tang patted Old Lu on the shoulder and said, "If it becomes hopeless, I won’t implicate you."
Old Lu thought Chen Tang was comforting him and sighed without thinking much more about it.
"Any plan, we’ll face it together."
Seeing Chen Tang heading out, Ye Yushi followed him.
The two had experienced so much together, sharing life and death.
"No need."
Chen Tang smiled and said, "You just stay on the ship; you can’t really help with this."
With that, Chen Tang exited the cabin, walked to the bow, jumped into the sea, and his figure disappeared instantly.
