Xuecheng is located at the northern end of Dayu country.
In the dead of winter, the heavy snow almost covers the entire city. Due to the harsh living environment, there are not many local people. Many buildings in the city are empty. Only in midsummer will caravans that go out of the city to do business stay here temporarily.
Zhu Yanyin sat in the warm carriage, holding a hand warmer and looking out: "It turns out that this place is quite orderly, which is not what I thought."
Lan Xishan asked: "What do you think Snow City looks like?"
Zhu Yanyin described in a torrent of words how the evil cult committed atrocities and killed innocent people indiscriminately, and the common people had to flee with their families in a hurry, leaving behind an empty city. The doors and windows were mottled and fallen off by the wind, the roofs collapsed due to the accumulation of snow, and there were broken walls and ruins burnt by fire everywhere, and it was haunted at night.
Lan Xishan raised his beard and said, "You said you didn't read those miscellaneous books secretly. Hand them all over to me tonight!"
Zhu Yanyin: …I’m sorry, I was careless.
Lan Xishan continued to educate his nephew: "Those who have time to write those idle books can't be serious people. They are just some failed scholars. These people are full of resentment towards the court. The books only describe the evildoers who are causing trouble everywhere and killing whoever they want. Do they treat the government and the army as decorations?"
Zhu Yanyin shrank back and continued to be stubborn: "But the imperial court has indeed never taken care of the Demon Cult. Aren't those people they killed the people of Dayu the common people?"
Lan Xishan did not continue to blow his beard this time. He just drank a sip of tea slowly to moisten his throat, and then maintained a "what do you know, kid" expression, and asked him: "If the court really doesn't want to manage, how can the Wulin League have a smooth journey and be looked after by local officials everywhere? If what you mean by 'manage' is to dispatch troops to the snowy plains to blockade, then there is indeed no such thing. However, Dayu has had external troubles in recent years, and most of the troops are stationed in the northwest and coastal areas. The control of the northeast is already weak. If they are transferred to the south again, the empty border line will be guarded by you or me?"
Zhu Yanyin: “Really?”
Lan Xishan said, "The actions of the Burning Fire Hall have long attracted the attention of the court. Before the various sects went north, the government had contacted Alliance Leader Wan many times. Since the court allows the Wulin Alliance to exist, they must do their part. They can't just hang a sword around their waist and show off their power like you do and call yourself a martial arts hero."
Zhu Yanyin: "I'm not hanging anymore."
"What you said just now is correct. Jianghu people are also citizens of Dayu, so the Wulin League, which controls Jianghu people, is actually a part of the court. Although these people do not receive salaries openly, as long as they can protect the stability of the area and help the people live in peace, the local government will give them many conveniences. Everyone does their own thing. If you want the court's army to encircle and suppress the Burning Fire Palace, it is like wanting officials from the Ministry of Revenue to manage river conservancy. Although they can do it, what is the point of keeping the Ministry of Works in that case?"
Zhu Yanyin said obediently: "I understand."
So the uncle is not just a middle-aged man with a goatee who can be fooled by his nephew. He is actually very wise!
The leading team had prepared their accommodation in advance. To prevent being defeated one by one by Chi Tian again, everyone lived in the same area this time. Zhu Yanyin still calmly mingled in Wanren Palace—even though his wise uncle had traveled all the way to Xuecheng, he still hadn't completely won over his rebellious nephew.
The room was a little cold, Zhu Yanyin curled up comfortably in Li Sui's arms, holding a topographic map of the Burning Fire Palace in both hands. Li Sui had lived there for many years, and he drew the first version of the detailed map. Later, he published the second version based on the revisions of Gusa Manmai, who didn't know whether he was Gusa Manmai or Chenhui.
There are huge differences between the two maps, and it's clear that Chi Tian hasn't been idle all these years in vain.
Zhu Yanyin was a little puzzled: "You have lived in Snow City for many years, why have you never been to the underground dark room of the Burning Fire Palace?"
Li Sui frowned: "Why should I go to the underground dark room?"
"Aren't you curious?"
"Not curious."
Zhu Yanyin: “…”
Zhu Yanyin said: "I find that you seem to have no interest in anything."
Li Sui thought for a moment and said, "Before I met you, it was true."
He has no interest in his environment, other people's affairs, or even joy or sorrow. Apart from practicing martial arts every day, he leans against the corridor with a sword in his arms, closing his eyes and listening to the sound of rain, wind and snow.
But now there have been some changes. At least he has begun to be interested in Jiangnan, the Zhu Mansion, which is said to have many enthusiastic relatives, and the Lantern Festival lantern tour in the royal city.
Zhu Yanyin touched Li Sui's face and thought, you've lived a very dull life for the past twenty years.
Like a poor little black creature.
Li Sui held his wrist and was about to kiss him when the voice of the shadow guard came from outside the door.
"Palace Master, Sect Leader Pan has also come to the Northeast."
Zhu Yanyin sighed to the sky. He really hated that old man.
Li Sui pinched his neck.
Zhu Yanyin immediately huddled up into a ball: "Will he make any unreasonable demands on you again?" For example, "My precious son is in such a miserable state, he needs 50% of your internal energy to save his life."
"have no idea."
"I don't know where to go. I'll go with you." Zhu Yanyin stood up, intending to see if the other party was still heartbroken and demented. He was even unwilling to show concern for his nephew and started making magical requests.
It turned out that Pan Shihou was quite normal, at most a little tired after the long journey.
After hearing the news, Jiang Shenglin also rushed over. Firstly, it was his duty as a doctor, after all, he was the one who saved Pan Jinhua's life. Secondly, like Zhu Yanyin, he was worried that Pan Shihou would go crazy again. And thirdly, he deliberately changed into new clothes and dressed himself up to be ready to meet the girl he had a crush on.
But the girl didn't come.
Doctor Jiang: “…”
Pan Shihou explained: "Jinhua's condition never improved, and she caught a cold on the way, and she almost died. I was really worried, so I asked Miss Lan to stay in Baitou City to take care of her for me."
Zhu Yanyin thought, your son is in such a critical condition, why do you still want to bring people to the Northeast? Can't he just stay in Tianzhu Hall
Of course, the words he asked were not so direct, and sounded full of concern and very tactful.
Pan Shihou replied: "If we can capture Chi Tian alive, perhaps Jin Hua can be saved. I must come here."
Jiang Shenglin knew Pan Jinhua's injuries best. It would take time to recover. Although he would not cause any trouble if he was unconscious, he could die at any time. If such a fragile and sickly person was left to Lan Yan's care, and if he really died, wouldn't Pan Shihou hate her for the rest of his life
Jiang Shenglin regretted it very much. He regretted that he didn't give her a few more words of advice and remind her not to get involved in Pan Jinhua's affairs. Now, the person hasn't come back yet.
Pan Shihou asked again: "Does the Wulin Alliance have any plans?"
"We have just arrived in Snow City. Alliance Leader Wan will discuss matters with the various leaders in the front hall later." Zhu Yanyin said, "If Hall Leader Pan is interested, please come along."
Pan Shihou nodded, and then tried to probe: "I see there are quite a few troops outside..."
Zhu Yanyin: "They are all to protect me."
Pan Shihou choked and said, "Yes."
They didn't have a deep family relationship, so there was no need to talk too much. After finishing the superficial work, Li Sui sent someone to send him back to his residence. Jiang Shenglin was still leaning on the chair and sighing. He sighed for a long time until Li Sui finished talking to the shadow guard. He still maintained the decadent posture of being abandoned by his lover, with blurred eyes.
Li Sui said simply: "Disgusting."
Jiang Shenglin: "Do you still have any conscience?"
Zhu Yanyin comforted him and said, "It's okay, we will finish this quickly."
But it is easy to say that the battle should be won quickly, but it is not easy to do it. The first problem faced by the Wulin League is that Chi Tian has no intention of fighting head-on, and the area around the Burning Fire Hall is covered with snow and fields. No one knows what kind of trap is hidden inside. If they are not careful, they will suffer.
Wan Zhuyun looked down and asked, "Do you have any good suggestions?"
One person said, "I heard that the imperial army stationed in the northern border has a few sky-blasting cannons. Can we discuss borrowing them?"
After hearing this proposal, the other sects didn't say anything, but they were all grumbling in their hearts. Borrowing silver and rice is easy, but borrowing the Sky-blasting Cannon, Sky-blasting Cannon, can it be lent out casually? If it is borrowed, and the news spreads, the enemy country in the north will take the opportunity to invade, then who will bear the responsibility
The person who proposed it probably knew that this method was somewhat impractical, so he quickly added, "I just said it casually. I really can't think of any other good ideas. If you have any better ideas, please feel free to bring them up."
The scene was completely silent. It wasn't that they didn't want to talk, but everyone had actually thought about it all the way. However, Chi Tian was like an old turtle, hiding there and no one could do anything about it. Go ahead, at worst, you can just rely on your flesh and blood and kung fu to charge forward. Even if you're unlucky and die halfway, it will be considered paving the way for those behind you.
When it comes to defending the way and eliminating demons, the leaders are basically chivalrous - although they usually intrigue against each other and dislike each other and try to sabotage each other, there is always one thing that can bring everyone together.
Someone else asked loudly, "Brother Li, why do you keep stealing glances at Palace Master Li?"
Zhu Yanyin: “…”
Li Sui, who was leaning back in his chair, had been drinking tea nonchalantly without even lifting his eyelids, but this was enough to make the unfortunate "Senior Brother Li" secretly groan. He hurriedly explained: "I didn't look at it. I was looking at what Palace Master Li was doing. I have a squinting eye lately."
Zhu Yanyin once again: "..."
Someone in the audience couldn't help but burst out laughing, but quickly suppressed it.
He had been looking at Palace Master Li, hoping that he could lead the charge, and that he could overturn all the mechanisms with one palm, so that everyone could rush forward. Who could not guess what he was thinking? But no one dared to say it, so he could only secretly hope that there would be a fool who was not afraid of death to shout it out.
When it comes to the choice between life and death, everyone in the Wulin Alliance has a strange sense of contradiction. They are not afraid of death, for example, they are ready to fight Chi Tian to the death at any time, but they are also very afraid of death. For example, until now, no one dares to look directly at the super cold and cruel Palace Master Li, and they always keep as far away from him as possible. It is very confusing.
Zhu Yanyin could also guess why everyone was looking at Li Sui.
But he didn't want him to be the first to rush up. What kind of a trick was this? Besides, even if he could overturn the mechanism with one palm, it would inevitably consume a lot of physical strength. And what about Chi Tian later? Can you win
Then, in the silence, Mr. Zhu stood up bravely and said, "I may have a solution."