Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 174 - 143: Siege (Two-in-One) _2

Chapter 174: Chapter 143: Siege (Two-in-One) _2

"Why do I get the feeling that you’re a bit uneasy?"

Ran Qingmo took down the curtain and laid it flat on her lap, thought for a moment, and whispered:

"After the formation here was activated, the fluctuation of Origin Qi was very intense, Tianyan might follow the trail of this Origin Qi to find us."

Xu Yuan heard this and chuckled softly:

"We’ve been lost in the Wanxing Mountain Range for over a month, and even we don’t know our final destination, if she could actually follow us here, then I’m resigned to that."

After a pause,

Xu Yuan sighed and glanced at the mist outside the tent canopy:

"Besides, the urgent matter at hand isn’t about Tianyan, but rather hoping that wasteful woman doesn’t make me clean up after her."

"Wasteful... woman?" Ran Qingmo tilted her head.

"Xu Xinyao."

Xu Yuan said with a smile, "My dear foolish little sister seems to have been used by the Myriad Manifestation Sect."

"Oh....."

Ran Qingmo didn’t quite understand, hesitated, but still asked, "Xu Yuan, aren’t we running away?"

Xu Yuan’s reply was rather helpless:

"If we could run, of course we would, but the key is we can’t break the formation, and we can’t get out either."

Ran Qingmo looked at Xu Yuan, her voice very serious:

"Your teleportation sword technique should be able to break through the formation."

"If I get out, what will you do?" Xu Yuan retorted.

"....."

Ran Qingmo pursed her red lips and said nothing.

In the silence, someone gently knocked on the door of the side room from the outside.

"Knock, knock, knock—"

The knocking sound was steady and strong.

Seeing this, Xu Yuan knew that the person he was waiting for had come and immediately stood up, saying:

"Please come in."

"Creak—"

Along with the creaking sound of the wooden door, a sturdy middle-aged man clad in military attire appeared at the doorway, his eyes as sharp as a hawk’s scanning the room before he stepped in and greeted with a salute:

"Zhou Chen, Third Young Master?"

"Indeed it is Zhou here, I’ve met Colonel Wang," Xu Yuan also returned the salute with a fist.

"The situation is urgent, I’ll dispense with the pleasantries," the middle-aged man in military dress was straightforward, and as soon as both men were seated, he bluntly asked, "Third Young Master, for what matter do you seek this old soldier?"

Xu Yuan responded directly:

"My senior sister and I want to borrow a path out of the formation, I wonder if Colonel Wang could accommodate us?"

"Borrow a path out of the formation?" Colonel Wang frowned immediately upon hearing this.

Xu Yuan asked in a low voice, "Is there a difficulty?"

Colonel Wang didn’t beat around the bush:

"Third Young Master, this matter might not be possible for now."

Xu Yuan looked at the burly man, probed:

"Colonel Wang, if you are worried that demonic beasts will disrupt your arrangements, my senior sister and I will handle any demonic beasts we encounter on the way, and I will compensate Shengshan County with ten thousand silver notes."

Colonel Wang shook his head, his voice deep: "That’s not the issue."

Seeing this, Xu Yuan felt a slight sinking in his heart.

Formations were not something unchangeable; laying out a path on top of the Illusory Grand Formation was not technically challenging.

After carefully considering his words, Xu Yuan chose to be direct:

"Could it be that there’s a problem with the Illusory Grand Formation?"

General Wang’s gaze suddenly sharpened, but he didn’t hide anything:

"Yes."

"Not under your Shengshan Border Army’s control?"

"...."

General Wang immediately frowned and showed a scrutinizing look, only to speak in a low voice:

"Third Young Master, this is a matter for our Shengshan Border Army, you are a guest."

Xu Yuan shook his head and took out a Listening Wind Tower token from his bosom:

"Has Colonel Wang heard of my Listening Wind Tower?"

"Are you intelligence dealers?"

"...." Xu Yuan.

General Wang’s eyes flashed. After glancing at Ran Qingmo, his attitude obviously softened, and he asked:

"Apologies, General Wang tends to speak bluntly, Third Young Master, you are not from the Sects?"

Xu Yuan gave a slight smile, "Of course not."

The Dayan Border Army had always harbored great hostility towards members of the Sects, especially places like Shengshan County which suffered from demonic beasts attacks every year.

After a pause,

Xu Yuan asked, "General Wang, was what I said just now correct?"

General Wang pondered slightly and said in a low voice:

"At this moment, our Shengshan Army can still cope with the situation,"

Xu Yuan sighed and said in a low voice,

"Colonel Wang, there is a piece of news about the Myriad Manifestation Sect that I think you’ll find interesting."

Colonel Wang raised an eyebrow, his calloused index finger tapping on the table,

"Oh? Is Young Master Zhou planning to sell intelligence to our Shengshan Border Army?"

"It’s not a sale, it’s a gift."

"Your Listening Wind Pavilion is doing charity now?"

"Perhaps."

Xu Yuan kept his gaze calm and remained silent as he looked at the other party.

Sometimes, silence is more convincing than explanations.

After a quiet moment in the room,

Colonel Wang’s eyes narrowed, and he finally sighed and said,

"Then Wang will listen respectfully."

"The Myriad Manifestation Sect intends to create Ghost Fog in Shengshan County."

".....," General Wang.

Seeing the astonishment and confusion in Colonel Wang’s eyes, Xu Yuan said steadily,

"It seems Colonel Wang doesn’t know that Ghost Fog can be tamed?"

"...."

Colonel Wang remained silent, his brow deeply furrowed.

Xu Yuan stared at him for a few breaths, roughly understanding the situation.

For him, the Third Young Master of the Prime Minister’s Mansion, the taming of Ghost Fog might seem obvious, but for Colonel Wang, it was unheard-of and alarming intelligence.

The technique of using Formation Path to tame demonic spirits is essentially equivalent to a national-level top secret technology.

Xu Yuan reclined gently against the back of his chair,

"The next piece of news is still free of charge, but I would ask Colonel Wang to keep it confidential."

"Formation Path has now advanced to the point where it can control and restrict Ghost Fog. In fact, many Sects in the world are secretly breeding demonic spirits. Powers like the Tianyuan Sword Sect and Tian’an Commerce Assembly have more than one Ghost Fog, and the ’Soul Pills’ circulated on the market are produced by these Sects or commercial companies’ ’Demonic Spirit Breeding Grounds’."

Colonel Wang listened intently and took a deep breath before saying,

"I can believe what Young Master Zhou says about taming demonic spirits, but does Young Master Zhou have any evidence that the Myriad Manifestation Sect intends to create Ghost Fog in our Shengshan County?"

"No evidence," Xu Yuan shook his head frankly.

Upon hearing this, Colonel Wang seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, exhaling a long breath,

"To be honest, Young Master Zhou, I’ve always had no good impression of the people from the Sects. But now Shengshan County has gathered as many as four hundred thousand people; the Myriad Manifestation Sect doesn’t have the guts."

"Why not?"

"Four hundred thousand people. Just let some escape, and once the matter is exposed, the Myriad Manifestation Sect would become the target of public criticism, and no one could protect them."

"Colonel Wang, you’re right."

Xu Yuan glanced at the robust middle-aged man before him, his voice low, "But isn’t it fine if no one can escape?"

"Four hundred thousand people, four hundred thousand pairs of eyes..."

"But now, all four hundred thousand people are trapped in this Grand Illusory Fog Formation. Hmm... there might be tens of thousands of demonic beasts surrounding the outside."

".....," Colonel Wang.

"Knock knock..."

Xu Yuan gently knocked on the table, speaking softly,

"Here’s another piece of information as a bonus for Colonel Wang. Over the past five years, the count of border towns along the Wanxing Mountain Range that were breached by demonic beasts can be counted on one’s fingers. It was the demonic beasts that broke through Shengshan County; the Myriad Manifestation Sect just happened to discover this place was suitable for constructing the Ghost Fog."

"But you still lack concrete evidence," Colonel Wang seemed reluctant to believe this horrifying intelligence.

Xu Yuan could somewhat understand Colonel Wang’s thoughts.

Four hundred thousand people.

If such inhumane acts were proven with evidence, the Imperial Court would definitely take action to annihilate the Sect.

Even if it wasn’t for the sake of the tragically deceased civilians of Shengshan County, to make an example, the Court would be compelled to destroy the Myriad Manifestation Sect.

But on the other hand,

If what he said was true, then the Myriad Manifestation Sect must have made the most thorough and meticulous preparations to carry out this slaughter.

In a situation where the prepared face the unprepared, the current Shengshan County is unlikely to escape disaster.

When such information suddenly comes to light, no one could easily accept it.

Sighing, Xu Yuan looked at Colonel Wang and said in a low voice,

"If you don’t believe it, actually verification is quite simple. Colonel Wang only needs to verify a few things."

Colonel Wang’s fist clenched slightly as he looked at the handsome young man before him,

"What things?"

Xu Yuan said softly,

"The control of the Grand Illusory Fog Formation, the number of demonic beasts around Shengshan County compared to previous years, and beyond that, you can also check the other Protective City Formations on the city walls."

At this point,

Xu Yuan paused, then continued in a low voice,

"Of course, there’s also the most important point, Colonel Wang. You had better go now and see if the Communication Crystal inside the county government office can still operate."

"If it can’t... heh."