Chapter 452 - 278: You’re Insane
Chapter 452: Chapter 278: You’re Insane
Where is Asutai?
Liu Hong wanted to know, too.
All this time, he had not only been pressuring the Prefectural Magistrate’s Office and the City Guard Army to scour the city, but had also ordered his personal Death Warriors to investigate in secret.
And the result?
There was no trace of him, dead or alive.
It was as if Asutai had vanished into thin air.
Even the Guard Commander he had sent, Zeng Zhifeng, had also disappeared.
This made him increasingly suspect that Zeng Zhifeng had pulled an inside job—hiding Asutai away or selling him for his own benefit.
But Liu Hong obviously couldn’t say any of this out loud.
He looked at the small, thin old man before him and said in a low voice, "Has the other side put pressure on your king?"
The small, thin old man snorted. "What do you think?"
"This whole thing was an accident. Who would have thought a routine shakedown would end up netting the prince of the Black Bear Tribe?"
"But it’s already happened."
"Even if my king and the rest of the Pirate Alliance don’t want this outcome, we have to deal with it."
His expression turned grim as he stared at Liu Hong and continued, "You are our king’s only ally in Great Wei."
"Furthermore, you’ve dealt with the Barbarian Race before, which is why His Majesty entrusted this matter to you."
"You agreed. You took your payment. So why haven’t we seen Asutai yet?"
Liu Hong fell silent at his words.
After a moment, he sighed. "Everything was going smoothly. My men had already secured the prince."
"But there was an incident. He was abducted."
He paused, then looked at the small, thin old man and said gravely, "Du Cang, since I agreed to this, I will see it through to the end."
"Just give me some more time..."
Before he could finish, the small, thin man, Du Cang, raised a hand to cut him off. "There is no more time."
"My king only gave me ten days."
"And I am only giving you ten days."
"If you cannot give me an answer before I leave, then I’m afraid I’ll have no choice but to apologize for what comes next."
Liu Hong’s brow furrowed, and he asked with a hint of displeasure, "Does your king truly intend to be so ruthless?"
"Hmph. It is not our king who wishes to be harsh with you. The Left King’s emissary has already arrived at the Ancient Tea-Horse Road."
"If we cannot bring Asutai back this time, those barbarians will slaughter everyone along the entire Ancient Tea-Horse Road."
"An emissary? Who?"
"Wen Kela’s first disciple, Yuan Jingxuan."
Du Cang spoke, letting out a cold laugh. He looked at Liu Hong, his tone dripping with amusement.
"I imagine Lord Liu is no stranger to him. During that great war years ago, you..."
Liu Hong’s face paled. He slammed his hand on the table. "Silence!"
Du Cang stopped talking, but his face retained its cold, unapproachable expression as he stared fixedly at him.
The two stared at each other for a long moment.
Liu Hong took a deep breath and slowly leaned back in his chair, his face tinged with exhaustion.
"Go back and wait for news."
"I promise you. Within ten days, I will deliver Asutai."
Hearing this, Du Cang laughed. He gave Liu Hong a long, meaningful look and said, "Very good."
"I trust that Lord Liu is a man of his word. I will wait in the city for ten days."
Liu Hong glanced at him. "And Liu Wu?"
"You needn’t worry about him. I will take care of it myself."
"Are you sure?"
"Hah. What’s so difficult about a Spearman at the Perfection Realm of the Middle Three Grades of Cultivation?"
Du Cang continued as he walked toward the door, "Instead of worrying about other things, you had better focus on finding Asutai."
"That outcome would be best for you, and for my king."
As he reached the doorway, he paused. He turned his head to look back at Liu Hong with a very strange smile.
"I will give you one more piece of news, free of charge—that old friend of yours is not far from Shu State now."
The moment he finished speaking, Du Cang vanished from the study.
Liu Hong quietly watched him leave. He sat there, stunned, for a long time before finally rising and going to the window.
He looked up at the bright moon in the night sky, a harsh, cold look slowly appearing on his face.
’King Landu...’
...
[Opportunity +12.]
[Evaluation: Confrontation between Du Cang, Grand General of the Poshisu Country’s Peacock King Banner Horse Bandits, and Liu Hong, Left Governor of the Governor’s Office, concludes with the latter yielding.]
[To not be present, to not hear, to not witness—to let an Opportunity sent from heaven pass by untaken is the mark of a truly lazy person.]
Elsewhere, Chen Yi’s eyebrows twitched as a screen of light materialized before him.
’A confrontation, and he yielded?’
’It seems Du Cang, the Grand General King Landu sent this time, has a rather unusual attitude toward Liu Hong.’
’If King Landu himself had come and forced Liu Hong to yield, that would be one thing.’
’That could be understood as King Landu and Liu Hong being equals.’
’But for just a General to come—someone whose status is not equal to Liu Hong’s—and still force him to yield...’
That gave Chen Yi a lot to think about.
’Does King Landu have some leverage on Liu Hong?’
’That must be it.’
’If not for some deep-seated fear, Liu Hong, with his current status and hidden trump cards, would have no reason to be afraid of King Landu.’
’The ironware trade?’
Chen Yi inwardly shook his head. The ironware deals were handled by the Ji State Trading Company, with Liu Hong operating from the shadows. King Landu’s horse bandits shouldn’t know about his involvement.
Beyond that, the only other thing he could think of were the deals Lv Jiunan had mentioned previously.
Or perhaps...
’Asutai?’
The name surfaced in Chen Yi’s mind. His expression shifted as he quickly considered the possibility.
’From what I understood before, Liu Hong had entrusted Lv Jiunan with rescuing Asutai so he could be returned to the Barbarian Race.’
’This was Liu Hong’s way of currying favor with the Barbarian Race.’
’And for King Landu and his horse bandits, the reason for wanting Asutai rescued also seemed simple.’
’Fear of incurring the Barbarian Race’s wrath?’
’That would make sense.’
’It seems the Barbarian Race has already made its move... Good...’
At this thought, a smile spread across Chen Yi’s face, and his mood inexplicably brightened.
He looked down at Liu Lang, who was lying on the floor of the ruined temple, and chuckled. "You’re a lucky one."
"If you had delayed me from collecting my Opportunity, I would have definitely left a needle inside you."