Chapter 123: Negotiation (Part 1)

Between the two great empires of Skysoar and Vermilion Bird lay a belt of land beyond the influence of either power. Scattered throughout it were many small kingdoms, each consisting of a single city.

A kingdom of one city did not mean that it possessed only one city. Rather, it meant that the kingdom had a single central city, along with villages and towns under its jurisdiction.

Such kingdoms were common across the continent. As a result, princesses and princes were everywhere—hardly worth anything at all. Ahem, relatively speaking.

Living in this narrow space between two great powers had both advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage was that, because of the complicated balance of forces, no one dared move against them. They remained safe, and their neutral position allowed them to gain certain benefits.

The disadvantage was that they were destined to remain trapped in this narrow space forever, with no possibility of further development. At least where territory was concerned, nothing would change for centuries, perhaps even a millennium.

Among these countless small kingdoms was one obscure little country.

And obscure it truly was. Even most of its own citizens did not know the name of their kingdom.

They knew only that their kingdom was one of the thirteen members of the Thirteen Allied Kingdoms, and everyone simply referred to themselves as people of the Thirteen Allied Kingdoms.

The Thirteen Allied Kingdoms was an alliance that united various kingdoms so they could pool their strength and gain a better chance of survival on the continent.

The alliance had existed for a thousand years. As time passed, everyone grew accustomed to calling it the Thirteen Allied Kingdoms and gradually stopped mentioning the names of its individual members. In the end, even the members themselves forgot who they were.

No one remembered the name of the little kingdom, but everyone knew the name of its city, because it was rather unusual.

It was called Tianjiu City.

Tianjiu? As in Tianjiu cards? Was that really the reason?

To answer that, one would have to ask the man who had founded the city and established the kingdom. According to legend, he had been born a petty ruffian, and his favorite pastime had been playing Tianjiu cards. That was why he had given the city its name. Had someone not objected, he might even have named the kingdom Tianjiu.

Of course, that was only a legend. So much time had passed that no one knew whether it was true. Perhaps it had always been nothing more than a story.

Legend or fact, no one paid any attention to such a small kingdom. Most people who came here were merely passing through, hurrying on their way.

This time, it seemed that another group of travelers would soon pass through...

Yet this group was somewhat unusual. Not one of them appeared to be ordinary. Though they looked somewhat travel-worn, the presence they carried made it clear that they were no common people.

On ordinary days, the appearance of even one such person would have been a rare sight. Now there were so many of them that the onlookers could not help wondering what was going on.

Of course, that impression came from little more than instinct, and most ordinary people would not have paid it much mind. But the men in the group were handsome and imposing, while the women were graceful and noble. Even commoners could tell that these travelers were extraordinary.

They were none other than Ye Lanyu and the others. After nearly a month on the road, they had finally arrived here. Along the way, they had encountered troubles both large and small, which was why the journey had taken somewhat longer than usual.

Perhaps they had also deliberately slowed their pace, hoping to give Ye Lang time to catch up.

Unfortunately, Ye Lang had never caught up.

They had some confidence in their own abilities—or perhaps they simply understood the power structure of the Skysoar Empire too well. They knew that once they left Skysoar territory, they would essentially be safe. No one would be able to imprison them again.

“Once we pass through this place, we’ll be within the territory of the Vermilion Bird Empire. After that, we should be able to sleep soundly without a care,” Ye Chengtian said thoughtfully as he gazed ahead.

“Let’s find somewhere to rest. We’ve been traveling for so long that everyone is tired.” Long Anqi was thinking along the same lines. Yet the closer they drew to the Vermilion Bird Empire, the more frightened she became.

It was the fear of returning home, yet not daring to enter.

So many years had passed, and she had never once returned home or seen her parents and other relatives. Naturally, the thought of facing them now left her uneasy and unaccustomed to the idea.

“Ah...” Long Anqi sighed.

Standing beside her, Ye Lanyu made the same motion and wore the same expression. The mother and daughter looked almost exactly alike.

“Xiaoyu, what’s wrong? Are you thinking about your little brother again?” Long Anqi understood that, apart from Ye Lang, almost nothing else could make Ye Lanyu look like this.

“Yes. It’s been nearly a month, and we still haven’t heard anything. Do you think my brother was captured and taken back?” Ye Lanyu asked worriedly. She trusted Ye Lang, but she could not help imagining the worst. That was not merely a girl’s nature—it was human nature.

“Even if he was taken back, it doesn’t matter. I believe the current Empress would be more likely to beg him for help than to harm him,” Ye Yi said indifferently. “As long as he’s safe, he’ll certainly find a way to escape. That much is beyond doubt.”

“I’m not worried that he won’t be able to escape. I’m worried that Eighth Sister might lose her senses and do something frightening!” The Seventh Princess was deeply concerned. Her Eighth Sister had become a complete stranger to her, no longer the gentle and obedient girl she had once known.

“Actually, you should all have more faith in Thirteen. He may seem absent-minded most of the time, but when it truly matters, he never falters. I had always felt that he was holding something back, which was why he left us to deal with the matter ourselves. As it turned out, he really did have another card to play—he was able to hold back an army of more than a hundred thousand men all by himself!” said the third son of the Ye family.

He held Ye Lang in extremely high regard, and it seemed that the facts supported him.

“Indeed! He held back an army of more than a hundred thousand men by himself. I still don’t understand what that alchemical formation was, or how it could possess such power!” Ye Chengtian was still shaken by what had happened. It was something he would never forget for the rest of his life.

“We can ask him later. For now, we should think about our own situation. Once we arrive in the Vermilion Bird Empire, how should we deal with its people? I’m sure they’ll try to recruit us,” Ye Yi said, waving a hand.

Everyone knew that wherever Ye Yi and the others went, the local powers would try to win them over. It was not merely because of their extraordinary strength. Their other abilities were equally coveted.

Perhaps that was the main reason Zhao Yarou had wanted to kill them. She did not want to gain such formidable enemies, for they would become a constant source of trouble.

Anyone else would have made the same choice. Rather than allow them to join another power and become enemies, it was better to destroy them outright.