Chapter 429 - 328: Please Leave This Place

Han Zhan’s words caused a fleeting panic to cross the face of the Jiuli Clan woman, which he noticed.

Just as he was about to say more, a commotion sounded from outside the door.

Going out, he saw Li Wu surrounded by eight or nine Jiuli Clan warriors, both sides arguing.

"You can’t go in! This is private territory of the Jiuli people!"

"Private territory? Ha, since when did such terms exist? We were sent by the High Priest. Are you going to defy the High Priest’s orders?"

"In any case, it’s not allowed! If you keep this up, don’t blame us for being rude!"

"Rude?" Li Wu chuckled angrily, "I’m a Priest, you’re merely a warrior; you dare be rude to me?"

"Who gave you the courage?"

"I did!"

At this moment, a voice rose above the others’ chatter.

Upon seeing who approached, the Jiuli Clan warriors stepped aside, creating a path.

Chuyun Stockade Priest, Li Zhao.

"Li Wu, Priest, I didn’t expect us to meet again so soon."

Li Zhao, clad in a garment sewn from animal skins, walked forward with a burly physique.

Facing the approaching Li Zhao, Li Wu remained unafraid, blocking the path.

In terms of stature, Li Wu was noticeably taller than Li Zhao.

After all, having undergone Body Tempering multiple times by Han Zhan, even the High Priest of Hejian praised him, reaching a bottleneck, awaiting a breakthrough.

Though Li Zhao was also robust, compared to Li Wu, he appeared somewhat lacking.

Both being priests of the Jiuli Race, neither lacked aura.

"Li Zhao, are you also going to side with them and obstruct our investigation?"

Li Wu tired of disguising himself, even dropping the ’Priest’ title and called him by name.

"Priest Li Wu, I made it clear while eating yesterday. The High Priest is missing, nowhere to be found in Chuyun Stockade."

"If you don’t believe me, you can ask any Jiuli person you meet on the way."

"But your unprovoked act of barging into other people’s houses, I cannot ignore."

"He insulted us." A voice echoed from inside the house.

Han Zhan stepped out of the room, speaking simultaneously.

"They insulted us. Is that not reason enough?"

Li Zhao was evidently stunned by Han Zhan’s words, and he instinctively asked, "Who are they?"

Just then, a warrior from Chuyun Stockade whispered a few words into Li Zhao’s ear.

Li Zhao’s gaze towards Han Zhan changed.

"You’re actually arguing with children?!"

"Which Jiuli rule states that you can’t argue with children?"

Han Zhan retorted to Li Zhao.

"Moreover, the spirits don’t care if you’re a child or not. If they want to possess, they will, possibly exploiting the fact that they’re children."

Adding insult to injury.

In a verbal duel with Han Zhan, Li Zhao was somewhat outmatched, left speechless.

He could only force himself to calm down, taking a deep breath.

"Now then, Lord Han, have you found anything?"

"No, I was interrupted by you all, found nothing."

"You!" Li Zhao’s face turned red with fury, truly agitated.

Suddenly, Li Zhao calmed down again.

A smile appeared on his face as he made a gesture of invitation.

"Lord Han, why don’t we go to my place to discuss it in more detail?"

"Sorry, I still need to continue the task assigned by the High Priest, I..."

"I have the information you want to know."

Li Zhao finished and looked at Han Zhan, "But, only you are allowed to come."

"No way!" Li Wu, who hadn’t spoken, stepped forward. "You have information and don’t report it, and now you dare to negotiate with us here?"

"If the High Priest were to find out, you would surely be severely punished!"

"What punishment?" Li Zhao raised an eyebrow, "Don’t forget, the High Priest is not among the highest authorities of the Jiuli. Above them are the Chieftain and the Great Chief."

"What I want to say, is information. What I don’t want to say, is my ignorance."

"Have you thought it through?"

Li Zhao asked Han Zhan.

"I’ll go with you." Han Zhan used his eyes to stop Li Wu, who still wanted to speak, stepping forward to follow.

...

Li Zhao’s residence was nearby where they stayed.

Entering the house, it was even more modest than the Jiuli home Han Zhan had just barged into.

"Can you speak now?" Han Zhan looked at Li Zhao, who stood with his back facing him, and asked.

Li Zhao remained facing away.

His voice rang clear in the room.

"Lord Han, after observing these past two days, how do you think the people of Chuyun Stockade live?"

"Very prosperous; everyone lives well," Han Zhan said.

This was no lie from Han Zhan.

As he had seen before, the children of Chuyun Stockade were all well-fed and chubby, dressed more splendidly than those in Hejian Village.

Overall, the Jiuli people of Chuyun Stockade indeed lived much better than those in Hejian Village.

Hearing Han Zhan’s words, Li Zhao nodded.

"Then, Lord Han, may I ask again? As a Priest, what do you think his duties are?"

"A Priest’s duty? To seek out spirits for the High Priest, to maintain stable harmony in the tribal camps, to complete various tasks assigned by the High Priest?"

"So how do you think I’m doing?"

Without context, Han Zhan still gave an objective evaluation of Li Zhao’s seemingly out-of-place questions.

"You’re doing great."

"Chuyun Stockade is different from Hejian Village, just a small fortress, with no other priests besides you."

"Being able to maintain order in Chuyun Stockade and have the Jiuli people live peacefully and prosperously in the absence of the High Priest, you’re impressive."

Truth be told.

If this weren’t the Wilderness of Zhulu Fruit World, if it were on Blue Star, Han Zhan would surely extend an olive branch to Li Zhao to develop in North County.

"Thank you."

Li Zhao’s previous hostility disappeared, and he politely thanked Han Zhan.

Then, he asked the most crucial question:

"Since everyone here lives well, without any disaster, peacefully and happily. What difference does it make if the High Priest is in or not?"

"We live well here, everyone is healthy and happy, isn’t that enough?"

"It’s an era of chaos, and no one has it easy. We just want to stay in our own corner and live a good life, is that wrong?"

"Why do you come to disturb us?"

Hearing Li Zhao’s words, surprise flashed across Han Zhan’s eyes.

No wonder there was such a long gap from the High Priest’s disappearance in Chuyun Stockade to the news spreading.

The response time was so long that the High Priest of Hejian only then realized the disappearance of the High Priest here.

So it turns out that the Priest of Chuyun Stockade didn’t want others to know about it at all?

"Is this what you wanted to tell me?" Han Zhan asked.

"No."

Li Zhao shook his head and continued:

"What I want to say is—"

"Please leave this place!"