"..."
Silence.
Still silence.
Fang Yu felt a headache coming on for a moment.
Because for his elder brother Diao Ruonian, there are too many possibilities, and most of them lead to a dead end.
After pondering for a bit, Fang Yu asked.
"The group sent out of the city, is there a list?"
"Of course, there is! But, I donât know."
"Arenât you part of Hui Yao? How come you donât know?"
"...Donât play dumb! You donât believe I am Hui Yao at all!" Zhang Baomian got angry, raising his voice, though fortunately, no one else was in the stable.
But that attitude of impatience was still immediately apparent.
Fang Yu quickly said.
"Two final questions! First, where are the stored medicinal people detained? Second question, where have the slaves sent out of the city gone?"
Zhang Baomian calmed down at this moment, coldly staring at Fang Yu.
"I can answer you these two questions, and even tell you where the slaves from Tianyuan Town are held in the city! But... before that, itâs time to discuss my demands."
Categorization.
Fang Yu suddenly realized that the Hui Yao organization had classified and detained slaves from different source regions!
This made Fang Yu quite excited.
If so, thereâs no need to worry about what type of slave his brother is categorized within the organization; he could directly find where they are detained and rescue him.
On the contrary, if his brother is on the outbound tribute list, if Zhang Baomian could tell him where the list is sent, he would also have a clue to follow.
Fang Yu felt that he had never been this close to finding someone, just one step away!
"Speak! What do you want!"
Fang Yu could roughly guess that whatever Zhang Baomian requested was likely related to those in the stable who bullied him.
The old monsters in Zhang Mansion, Fang Yu had no confidence in dealing with, but killing some of Zhang Mansionâs subordinates, he felt, was not difficult, it just depended on how far he was willing to go to find his brother.
However, Zhang Baomianâs next sentence left Fang Yu stunned on the spot.
"What I want you to do is simple. In the Rebel Army, find a woman named Ding Hui, then... have her contact the Ten Pillars, and tell her that within the Ten Pillars lies what she has pursued all her life!"
Wha...t?
Fang Yu almost thought he misheard.
In this location, this environment, under these circumstances, yet heard Ding Huiâs name?
Moreover, the content of the request was so strange.
Ding Hui? Ten Pillars? Is there a connection between the two? Whatâs meant by the true secret of the Ten Pillars?
Fang Yu couldnât understand what Zhang Baomian was trying to do.
And thinking of Ding Hui, Fang Yu couldnât help but hesitate. But soon, he made up his mind.
"You even know that Divine Doctor Ding is in the Rebel Army... Fine! I promise you, Iâll certainly convey your message!"
Just as Fang Yu finished speaking...
"Capital."
"What?"
"Those qualified slaves, the final place they are sent to, is the Capital."
"The royal capital of Great Xia... the Capital?"
"Yes."
Fang Yu was dumbfounded.
The Jiuyao Organization, sent by people from the Capital??
The biggest slave overlord, medicinal people dealer, was hiding right within the core of Great Xiaâs Capital?!
Great Xia, itâs done for!
For a moment, Fang Yu felt like joining Lan Yuhe might not be a bad choice.
But then thinking of Lan Yuheâs subordinates, those demon eaters...
What a mess.
But maybe, itâs just some people in the Da Xia Capital doing this business, and the higher-ups are clueless?
Compared to those distant issues, Fang Yu was more concerned with the immediate problem.
If his brother was sent to the Capital...
Fang Yu suddenly felt that the more he knew, the more hopeless he became in finding his brother, and this was still the scenario with the highest chance of his brother being alive.
"...And? The premium slaves from Tianyuan Town, where are they detained?"
...
Jiangxin Restaurant.
Supposedly absolute opposites, now amid the storm, the Master of the Foolish Underworld and the President of the Rebel Army sat calmly at the same table in a private room.
Both sat down, yet neither spoke, just silently watching the Jiangxin River beneath the restaurant, the rippling water shimmering under the afternoon sun with the passing breeze.
Finally, it was the Master of the Foolish Underworld who picked up a teacup, drank the tea, and took the initiative to speak.
"The dead cannot be resurrected. It was your people who crossed the line first."
Sigh.
A long sigh.
The President of the Rebel Army didnât look at the Master but spoke after a long sigh.
"That wasnât my intention..."
"I know, but the incident has happened, and no matter what follows, the Rebel Army needs to pay the price first." The Master of the Foolish Underworld spoke very calmly, yet... firmly.
The President of the Rebel Army frowned.
"...Is there no room for negotiation at all?"
"The heads of two ministers, or... deliver the murderer of Xing Xueman to the Underworld, and Iâll handle it personally. If you still want cooperation between us, thereâs only these two choices, no third option."
With that said, the Master of the Foolish Underworld drank tea again.
The President of the Rebel Army frowned even deeper.
The cooperation with the Underworld was something he had been fostering and wanted to see.
The Master of the Foolish Underworld had already wavered, showing intention for cooperation.
Yet now, with this incident, it almost derailed the cooperation entirely.
Whether itâs the Underworld or the Rebel Army, the anger of the middle and lower levels had already been ignited, and it continued to intensify.
If not stopped now, even if the higher-ups reached cooperation later, the subordinates would not rest until one side was gone... Such is the power of hatred.
Moreover, the time left for them was running out.
The President of the Rebel Army took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and remained still.
Until the Master of the Foolish Underworld glanced at him, seemed to know the intention from the other side, and began slowly standing up... the President of the Rebel Army suddenly spoke.
"I will hand over Diao Deyi to the Underworld."
...
[Zhang Shimin:5/5.]
[Zhang Pan:21306/21306.]
[Zhang Xuetui:5000/5000.]
[Zhang Beinuan:3577/3577.]
Another demon?
Now standing outside the stable, conducting the handover with the elder from Shu Sweet Wood Sect who came to assist, Fang Yu saw the second demon of Zhang Mansion.
Fang Yu suddenly kind of understood why there would be a third clause in the Deputy Commanderâs agreement.
It seems the Rebel Army wasnât entirely ignorant of Zhang Mansionâs situation after all.
Could it be because of my precise success in seeing through the true demon forms, they worry I might massacre at Zhang Mansion too?
That might be overthinking it, the Ten Major Familiesâ territory, I wouldnât dare act recklessly.
"A camel! Itâs really a camel! A live camel!!"
A high-decibel voice rang out, it was Zhang Shimin, the leader, who shouted.
"Miss, the Young Master instructed, these camels cannot be harmed." That demon Zhang Pan, like a loyal servant, whispered in Zhang Shiminâs ear, naturally heard by Fang Yu too.
"What do you mean by âcannot be harmedâ! I just want to ride it! What do you mean!"
The spoiled young lady made everyone around lower their heads.
"You! Yes, you! Come over and help this lady get onto the camel!"
Fang Yu:...
Me?
Fang Yu looked around only to see Zhang Pan gesturing at him subtly not to comply...
Fang Yu hesitated on what to do...
"Why arenât you coming? Useless trash! Zhang Baomian! Zhang Baomian, where are you! Zhang! Bao! Mian!! Get out here!!!"
Despite her petite figure, she had an extraordinarily loud voice, clearly with only five points of vitality, yet quite imposing...
"..."
Zhang Baomian, who had just closed a deal with Fang Yu, silently emerged from the stable.
Smack!!
Without warning, Zhang Shimin snatched a whip from a subordinateâs hand and lashed it at Zhang Baomian.
Fortunately, Zhang Shimin wasnât really strong, although the whip caused a big commotion, the damage to Zhang Baomian was minimal, it only made him cry out in pain and kneel down, even with his head lowered, Fang Yu could feel the murderous hatred in his gaze.
"De, Lian, you go to the adultsâ side first, leave this to me."