Free Web NovelChapter 1112: Chapter 335: Tiger Minister_2
Zhu Weiwo had previously been favored unanimously by all the higher-ups, except for Dong Ah who did not quite approve. After Zhu Weiwo’s betrayal, Dong Ah’s judgment gained some more persuasive power.
Then there was Duan Li, the Commander of the Xuanjia in Jiujiang, who truly regarded Du Yehu as his own son. However, given his current state, his words didn’t carry much weight.
He Badao, the Commander of the White Feather Army, didn’t even have time to find a successor.
Huangfu Duanming, the Great General, had never shown any preference nor had any particularly outstanding descendants, only following the Monarch’s commands.
Besides these, including the Monarch, many expected more from Lin Zhengren.
The younger generation of Zhuang Country might stand high in the future, likely the few mentioned. Of course, Du Yehu could probably be disregarded, not just because his supporters had lost influence...
Upon hearing Emperor Zhuang’s question, Li Jianqiu bowed and said, "The list of noteworthy opponents for the Yellow River Gathering has already been organized. It includes information from Jinguo as well as our own summaries."
Saying so, he handed over a booklet.
Emperor Zhuang took it and praised, "Not an easy feat."
Indeed it wasn’t easy. The list Li Jianqiu handed over included participants from the six major nations as well as countries like Wei, Xia, Qu, and He.
Although the information was mostly incomplete, generally limited to names and cultivation levels, for Zhuang Country’s intelligence capabilities outside the Western Territory, to have organized this much was indeed beyond reproach.
Li Jianqiu stated, "It’s my duty, Jian Qiu dare not slacken."
Emperor Zhuang glanced over it briefly before intending to hand it to Du Ruhui, but he paused. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
With no emotion visible on his face, he seemed to casually inquire, "This Jiang Wang from Qi Country, was he born in Zhuang Region?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Li Jianqiu replied without any expression, "According to information from Jinguo, this person should be my junior brother from my days at the Maple Forest City Daoist Academy."
"Oh. Interesting," Emperor Zhuang said indifferently, without a trace of joy or anger, and then handed the intelligence booklet to Du Ruhui, "State Minister, have a look."
Du Ruhui took it without any change in expression and said, "Jian Qiu has worked hard, you may step down and rest. You have just broken through to the Inner Mansion Realm, you should consolidate your cultivation and not be careless."
"Thank you for your concern, State Minister," Li Jianqiu bowed again to Emperor Zhuang, "Your servant retires."
Then, he turned and left the Hall of Benevolence.
Once his slender figure disappeared outside the hall, Du Ruhui didn’t start with the details from the intelligence booklet, but casually said, "The matters of Maple Forest City, Dong Ah didn’t hide it from him. Between nation and family, he has already made the correct choice."
Zhuang Gaoxian neither agreed nor disagreed, only saying, "Considering his timing of entering Qi, this Jiang Wang seems to have left Maple Forest right when that incident occurred. A mere student from a city Daoist institute, how could he have escaped under those circumstances?"
Du Ruhui was a clever man, mentioning Li Jianqiu was enough to prevent the Emperor from developing any rifts. Just mentioning it was sufficient; deliberately emphasizing out of concern for his sage heart would make Emperor Zhuang weary.
He then continued on the topic, "It must be that he concealed his identity, or rather, his strength. He is now participating in the Yellow River Gathering with a cultivation of the Inner Mansion Realm, so his departure from Maple Forest must have been before the complete activation of the Wusheng Formation. At that time, our attention was all on the Bone Tao Body, thus overlooking this person."
This deduction was simple because a cultivator of the Inner Mansion Realm could not have broken through the Wusheng Formation.
Du Ruhui went on, "I suspect before, there was still someone alive in Maple Forest City, and it was this person who killed Dong Ah. It seems now that it must have been this Jiang Wang."
Zhuang Gaoxian simply stated, "If he was the one who killed Minister Dong, he must surely know the truth about Maple Forest City."
"Your Majesty needn’t worry," Du Ruhui naturally understood his student Emperor very well and spoke soothingly, "The battle of Maple Forest City was your campaign to cleanse the Evil Cult, with all of Zhuang Country united, thwarting the conspiracy of the Evil God’s descent. Although there were sacrifices, after this battle, the Bone Tao was completely erased...
Even if Jiang Wang can now participate in the Yellow River Gathering and compete with the talents of various nations with Qi supporting his back, it’s not sufficient to influence the nature of the Maple Forest City affair, which is already a thing of the past, permanently past."
Zhuang Gaoxian was naturally aware of this reasoning, yet he still inquired, "Can we now find out more details about this Jiang Wang? Is he a native-born of Zhuang Country? What was his hidden identity in Zhuang Country?"
Du Ruhui smiled bitterly, "Maple Forest City is completely gone. Even if we could snatch it back from the Underworld rift now, Jiang Wang couldn’t find any evidence to prove the so-called truth. Likewise, we can only get some basic information from the people who have had contact with him, trying to uncover his identity at that time is now impossible."
Jiang Wang’s existence was certainly confirmable. During the debate among the three cities, many from different cities had met Jiang Wang, especially cultivators from San Shan City.
Moreover, Li Jianqiu also had some interactions with Jiang Wang.
But to dig deeper clues, to know why he could escape from Maple Forest City Region, how he knew the truth, was akin to a fool’s dream.
Maple Forest City Region, destroyed too thoroughly. Nothing was left behind...
"Maple Forest City, Maple Forest City..." Zhuang Gaoxian murmured twice softly, then suddenly asked, "Is that Du Yehu still reliable?"
