Chapter 1669: North and South Reunite
Chapter 1669: North and South Reunite
The unification of the Xia Kingdom was completed far more quickly than anyone expected. In the short span of half a month, the northern region completely surrendered to the royal court. With the execution of Zhu Qinghuo and Si Qing in addition to the crippling of Gong Yuan, their side had lost the powerful Dukes that propped up their region. As a result, the north had no way to resist. When the First Princess led her soldiers across the lands, all of the heavily guarded cities immediately changed their flags, pledging their allegiance to her.
The northern royal court's capital was surrounded and under siege. The one who had taken power on behalf of Gong Yuan was his son, Gong Shenjun. The once-renowned student of the Astral Sage College put up a symbolic resistance for a day before opening up the gates, leading the people out to surrender and begging the First Princess for his father's life. At that point, the segregation and chaos of the Xia Kingdom finally came to an end.
When news of the northern royal court ceding to the south spread, boisterous cheers rang out throughout Xia City. The capital started to recover its liveliness and prosperity. Those who had experienced the strife and despair first-hand understood the true value of the peace they had put their lives on the line for.
The cheers were so loud that they reached House Luolan's headquarters as well. Cai Wei and Yan Lingqing had led the people of House Luolan to Xia City ten days ago. Under Cai Wei's excellent administrative abilities, the headquarters soon resumed its previous bustling life.
The only thing that differed from the past was how crowded the gates to the headquarters were. All of the leaders of the numerous powers within the Xia Kingdom had dispatched greetings, attempting to pay a visit. Their objective was to return many of the businesses and properties that had been taken from House Luolan, giving varying excuses. Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e were well aware of their goals. They all wished to establish some sort of rudimentary connection with House Luolan as anyone with a discerning eye could see who the true leader of the Xia Kingdom was.
However, the duo had no interest in any of this, so they let Cai Wei handle it. She had managed House Luolan for years and was most adept at these tasks. Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e had no intention of expanding House Luolan. They had countless powerful Dukes from outside of the Xia Kingdom at their beck and call, so they could become the most powerful force in the East Divine Continent any time they wanted. If they did so, the paradise within their hearts would be defiled. This was something they absolutely did not want to see.
Thus, after handing the reigns to Cai Wei, Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e made their way to the inner courtyard. An uneasy and restless figure was currently standing there—Xin Fu.
He had spent the last half a month rushing back to House Lanling's headquarters to bring Ye Chengying, who was in critical condition, back to Xia City.
Li Luo knew that Ye Chengying was the only person giving Xin Fu the motivation to live. Without her spiritual support, his broken heart would have long collapsed and he would be an empty, soulless husk. Thus, Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e immediately activated their water and light resonances, condensing streams of source origin that flowed into Ye Chengying's body, revitalizing her life force and stabilizing her condition.
After which, he handed her over to the Pill Saint, who would refine a pill to restore her lost limbs and perhaps even her destroyed resonant palaces.
"Squad Leader! Senior Jiang!" When Xin Fu saw the two, he rushed forward.
Looking at his appearance, his previously sallow and dead face had regained some of its life and hope. It was probably because he had seen Ye Chengying's situation improve for the better.
"You should find Senior Pill Saint and request a pill that can help you heal your face," Li Luo said with a smile.
Xin Fu was a handsome youth, but now his face was riddled with ugly scars, giving him a daunting appearance. Xin Fu shook his head. "This is a minor thing. How would I dare ask Senior Pill Saint to waste her effort on this? Helping Sister Ye regain her limbs is already the greatest favor I could ever ask for. Furthermore, looking like this is also a good thing. No one will be able to recognize me either."
After speaking, he seemed a little crestfallen.
"What do you plan to do in the future?" Li Luo asked.
Xin Fu shook his head. He originally didn't hold much hope for the future, simply waiting for Ye Chengying to breathe her last before following in her footsteps. However, he had never expected Li Luo's return to wrench him out of the pit of despair. Thus, he was a little lost.
"Although the Other Disaster in the Xia Kingdom has been quelled, the entire world will soon descend into greater chaos. If you don't have any plans, you can gather the men of House Lanling and bring some of the trusted elites to join House Luolan as a Shadow Division, serving to gather intelligence and information on Others and the like," Li Luo suggested.
Xin Fu replied shamefully, "Squad Leader, House Lanling has a notorious reputation. I'm afraid it would adversely affect House Luolan."
"Everything that was done in the past was done by House Lanling. It had nothing to do with you. Furthermore, the Shadow Division won't belong to House Lanling. Stop dawdling around. It's settled," Li Luo said.
Xin Fu's eyes welled up in tears. He had been in Xia City for a few days and understood the position House Luolan held. Countless powers and Dukes wished to offer their allegiance and join them, but none were entertained. Meanwhile, Li Luo had directly created a Shadow Division just for him. His generosity couldn't be described in words.
Although Li Luo had mentioned that he would have the task of gathering intelligence, which was one of House Lanling's strengths, the current House Luolan didn't really need this. With just him and Jiang Qing'e around, the numerous powers would all be more than willing to act as their eyes for them.
"Squad Leader, the best thing I've done in my life was using my free time to cultivate in the Astral Sage College for a year," Xin Fu softly said.
That was when he, Li Luo, and Bai Mengmeng had become the best of friends. It was because of them that he now had a chance to restart anew. The one saving Ye Chengying was the Pill Saint, whose status was so high that even Principal Pang Qianyuan didn't dare to so much as look at her. Despite that, she was willing to spend a large amount of time to treat Ye Chengying. Xin Fu knew deep in his heart that this was because of Bai Mengmeng. Once in a while, when the two parties crossed eyes, Xin Fu could keenly sense a trace of warmth.
At this point, the doors were pushed open and the Pill Saint walked out. A wheel chair floated behind her, and a thin lady sat on it. As Xin Fu rushed forward, his eyes were filled with feverish joy when he noticed that the lady's limbs had been regrown, now as white and tender as newborn lotus shoots.
"Sister Ye, your limbs are restored!" He pounced over with tears spilling down his cheeks.
Ye Chengying was much skinnier than before, completely different from her previously well-endowed figure. However, her eyes were red as she reached out with trembling hands to stroke Xin Fu's scarred face, tears also rolling down her eyes.
Li Luo sighed as he looked at them. These two lively individuals had suffered untold amounts of torture and their spirits had been shattered across the years. Fortunately, they had managed to tide it through.
The Pill Saint stepped past them and told Li Luo, "My strength is receding, so Mengmeng will be back soon. I've already established most of the formation required to refine your Divine Fruit wind resonance. Make your preparations over the next few days before you enter your secluded cultivation."
Li Luo nodded as he looked at Jiang Qing'e with great reluctance to leave her. This period of seclusion wouldn't be short, so he wouldn't be able to see her for a while.
Jiang Qing'e grabbed his hand and gently said, "I'll remain in the Xia Kingdom to protect it, awaiting the day you're done."
Their fingers intertwined as they looked up into the sky. The pitch-black rift that resembled a bottomless abyss was squirming slightly, giving off a terrifying aura.
News of Other Dominions descending had come in over the past half-month. It was just that the dominions launched as vanguards were all relatively weak and couldn't cause much of a stir. However, it was likely that in the coming months, the Other Dominions belonging to Devil Kings would make their descent, marking the launch of a period of strife. Perhaps when he exited his seclusion, the world would be completely mired in trouble.