Chapter 42

After such a prolonged search without finding the slightest trace, not only Moore, but even the other arbiters were beginning to grow impatient.

This was an unprecedented event. Huang Taiji had submitted a petition to the Great Ming Dynasty expressing his submission as a vassal, and this request had been granted by the Ming court. Consequently, Huang Taiji dispatched a negotiation delegation specifically to the capital for peace talks. Even more unexpected was that the leader of this delegation turned out to be none other than Jirgalang, Prince Zheng of the Later的金.

Her sincere attitude and devout expression completely betrayed her: I am certain that she is preparing theoretical guidance for a long-brewing plan in her heart.

"So, she bullies you, insults you, steals your husband, and splatters you with filthy accusations—and that is all right, that is just fine?" Lu Ying's voice was dripping with mockery. Standing with her hands behind her back, looking down upon Madam Yuan from on high, her arrogance was absolute to the extreme.

"Husband, you have only just returned, why must you lead troops on an expedition once again?" Yuan Fang asked in alarm, feeling a jolt of shock.

It was A-Ci barking. The bark of a Tibetan mastiff is quite different from that of ordinary dogs; it lacks the typical "woof" sound and instead resembles a deep, growling "ao-ao" howl. A-Ci's bark sounded like muffled thunder, possessing immense penetrating power and a chilling deterrent effect.

In the end, after much deliberation, I still decided not to tell Shen Hui about the situation here, because I truly could not bear to do so, nor could I allow Shen Hui to bear this risk alongside me.

Zu Dashou and Zu Dalé did not yet know Shi Kefa particularly well. After all, Shi Kefa had not been in Liaodong for very long, nor was it a time of extreme tension in the region. In other words, the two of them were not fully acquainted with Shi Kefa's capabilities; the only way to demonstrate one's ability in Liaodong was through combat and bloodshed against the Later Jin Tatars.

Easily brushing off a few waves of street thugs in succession made Tian Hen somewhat careless. Seeing four men in black approaching from the surroundings, he didn't pay much attention. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he waited for the men in black to draw close before delivering a devastating blow.

Tao Shang was genuinely honest. Upon hearing his father's command, he naturally froze in surprise, prompting Tao Qian to urge him impatiently, "Go and make arrangements immediately. Remember, do not let anyone else find out." Only then did Tao Shang nod and quickly instruct his servants to summon Tao Ying.

Speaking of this matter, Jiang Xia suddenly thought of Zhao Meixiang and brought it up with Chen Chunying, sharing her own conjectures with her as well.

At that moment, Xu Ze took over command from Xiao Ming, ordering the dozen or so Tier 3 transcendents under his command to launch a ranged attack on the city guards guarding the doorway of the room.

Yang Yu parked the truck at the entrance of the workshop. Together with Geng Hao, they unloaded the stone from the truck bed and carried it inside, immediately laying eyes on the large stone-cutting machine placed within the workshop.

Over on Qin Taibao's side, after accepting the mission, they had not yet left the mission hall. They needed to make proper preparations beforehand before they could set out.

Miao Zhiye had been in the Prince Jing's Manor for two months now. She believed that the people in the manor should have lowered their guard against her somewhat, especially after the assassination attempt in Tianyuan County, Jingzhou, where the hostility from Madam Shen and Wei Dong had noticeably diminished.

"Su Mingcheng, if you don't know how to speak, then keep your mouth shut and close your crow's beak. Eldest brother will definitely pass the exams next year!" The moment Su Mingming heard what Su Mingcheng said, she snapped right back at him.

Ever since Yan Yue had fallen into an icy crevice in the capital while searching for her, Miao Zhiye had to report to Yan Yue wherever she went.

Jiang Xia felt somewhat tempted by what Zhan Mo had said. She rested her chin in her hands and gazed toward the distant location of the imperial palace, filled with anticipation.

However, by the third day, Li Xi had already adopted a nonchalant attitude, swaggering right in to join the discussion.

Hearing these words sounded like heavenly music to Wang Ruofu's ears. Sheng Hong had never proactively spoken like this before, let alone admitted a fault.

Chen Biaoxuan was left speechless by the reprimand, inwardly realizing that the Right Chancellor intended to protect this group of people. He could only timidly assent, not daring to utter another word.

Looking at this testing disk, Ling Xiu wondered how high a power value he could unleash if he exerted his full strength? With the initial stage of his Chaotic Body, he possessed the physical combat prowess of the third layer of Qi Refining. Augmented by the Chaos Force, he should be able to strike with power no less than that of the early Foundation Establishment stage, Ling Xiu thought to himself.

Watching Yang Dong's swaggering back—strutting about like a proud rooster—the lawyer questioned his own professional standards for the very first time in his life. *What the hell, even this works?*

Fifteen years—that was merely reaching a bottleneck. As for breaking through that bottleneck, heaven knows how many years it would take.

"What major event?" Seeing the grave expression on Lin Qinghe's face—as if she weren't joking around—Lin Feng asked out of curiosity, wondering what kind of major event could possibly make Lin Qinghe so nervous.

Zhang Jianhui sent the text message, arbitrarily inputting a number. As soon as he sent it, an immediate text notification popped up: *Failed to send message, please resend.*

"What?" Xia Fengliang frowned slightly, raising his head to look in the direction of her gaze, only to see a man dressed in black and white rushing toward them.

"I don't know!" the manager replied bluntly. How could he possibly not know? He simply couldn't admit to it. In Yueda Hotel, such occurrences were by no means rare.

Damn it! Heaven's sins may be forgiven, but self-inflicted sins leave no way out. If he had only opened the letter earlier, perhaps he might have been able to capture all these bandits right now.

Yet there was nothing he could do. This President Xu was the future heir of the Hongyuan Group, and he certainly couldn't afford to offend this god of wealth.

Right away, he went out and had someone prepare old hen and goji berry soup. Walking back in, he watched as the blood Zhao Ming vomited turned out to be pitch black, and suddenly felt that something was terribly wrong.

Because that unreliable fellow, Uncle Jiu, actually planned on having him lure out the dirty things in the water so that they could all deal with the adversary together on the bank.

Le Tong watched his retreating figure and did nothing further. After thoroughly cleaning the Imperial Garden, she returned as usual to report back to Emperor Rui.

His gaze fell upon Morris. Could the captain really have some connection to those goblins?

The car stopped. The two blindfolded individuals were led through a winding path, and after an unknown length of time, upon hearing the sound of a door opening, Qin Wei's hood was yanked off.

However, Shen Hao did not know what this person's name was; the memories he inherited consisted only of comprehension regarding cultivation techniques and array formations, along with some miscellaneous knowledge.