Free Web NovelChapter 860: Chapter 114 Fantasy
"If you were Jiang Wang, how would you break the stalemate?"
Inside the bamboo building, Granny Bizhu tore small pieces of meat and fed them to the fish while talking to herself.
"Unless Qi Country’s army comes attacking, there is no chance the prison break will succeed. He has seen for himself how heavily guarded the prison is; he won’t seek death by trying."
Bloody chunks of meat plummeted into the aquarium and were devoured in an instant, leaving not a trace of blood behind.
"So in truth, he has no other choice but to try to rely on influential figures inside the Diao Hai Building, such as myself. He’s attempting to use me to shift the rituals of the sea sacrifice. That’s why he has been continuously contacting me, time and again."
"In Qi Country, he’s just a minor hereditary baron with only a town for his fiefdom, with not much to offer. But what resources can Zhongxuan Sheng from the Zhong Xuan Family mobilize? How much is the Zhong Xuan Family willing to pay for this matter? That is the key question."
Granny Bizhu continued, "But the young man’s stance is also very clear. He is willing to spare no resources to save Biqiong, but if it truly can’t be done, he only hopes that Biqiong can pass her last days in comfort. The premise of this attitude is that he knows the task is nearly impossible to complete. So I should give him a glimmer of hope."
Her withered fingers leisurely tore the fresh meat as her hands naturally became stained with blood.
But she didn’t care at all.
"In this world, only the word ’emotion’ is the hardest to resolve. It’s just that young people never understand, often getting deeply entangled in it. He must have fallen in love with Biqiong, which is why he is doing this without regard for reward. I just need to give him a bit of hope, and he will strive to push forward."
As Granny Bizhu spoke, she took a piece of meat roughly the size of two adult fists from a bamboo basket next to her and threw it into the water.
"Actually, perhaps his greatest value is himself. After all, even Hai Zongming is very greedy for him," she said again.
From the lush seabed of the large aquarium, a multicolored fish suddenly darted out.
Red, black, yellow, green, and blue stripes clung closely together, wrapped around it like a dazzling garment.
The creature was only three fingers long and two fingers wide, appearing harmless to humans and animals.
But as soon as it emerged, the fish that had been clustered together scattered in all directions, as if fleeing for their lives.
It didn’t give chase; rather, it just bit onto the meat that had fallen into the water and began to chew.
Despite its small size, the fish ate rapidly, biting and chewing continuously. In less than three breaths, it had swallowed the piece of meat, which was much larger than its body.
Granny Bizhu put her hand into the water, and the little multicolored fish swam up to gently suck on her fingers, cleaning off every trace of blood.
Granny Bizhu merely sighed, "Such a good child."
It was unclear whether she was referring to the multicolored fish or Zhu Biqiong.
...
...
In the Taixu Illusion Realm, within the Star River Pavilion.
Zhongxuan Sheng gently massaged his forehead: "Is she still giving the same old spiel?"
"Yes," Jiang Wang sighed.
During this period, he had maintained frequent correspondence with Zhongxuan Sheng, and when letters failed to convey the clear picture, he expended energy to meet at the Star River Pavilion.
Not long after the visit to the Sea Prison, Granny Bizhu proposed a method to rescue Zhu Biqiong.
She stated she would put forth a proposal during the Sea Ritual, requesting clemency from the Sect. However, her influence alone was not enough to affect the Sea Ritual. Therefore, she needed others to respond.
Granny Bizhu herself would mobilize her connections to seek help from allies and also asked Jiang Wang to do his utmost on his end. She pointed out that the most urgent matter was to persuade the elder Hai Jingping of Diao Hai Building.
This time, the Sea Ritual at the End of the World Platform was ostensibly presided over by First Elder Chongguang Zhenren of Diao Hai Building. freewёbnoνel.com
But in truth, the actual affairs of the Sea Ritual were the responsibility of four elders with real power: one middle-ranking elder and three lower-ranking elders.
Hai Jingping was the only middle-ranking elder among them, a mighty figure known as God Arrives.
"Interesting," Zhongxuan Sheng had already come to understand the situation in the Near Sea Archipelago quite well and thus asked, "Do you still remember the true disciple of Diao Hai Building who was battling Xu Gaoe for fame and affection?"
"Of course, it’s only been a few days," Jiang Wang replied. "His name is Yang Liu, with a somewhat heavy perfumed air about him. For now, he doesn’t seem to be a bad person."
"Yang Liu’s master is none other than Hai Jingping!" Zhongxuan Sheng said.
"Wait a minute," Jiang Wang frowned. "This Hai Jingping doesn’t have anything to do with Hai Zongming, does he?"
"Just a shared surname, no real association. That old crone wouldn’t bury you with such an obvious pitfall. However..."
Zhongxuan Sheng continued, "This shows that she’s very aware of your movements, knowing that you have had interactions with Yang Liu. And she probably guessed the strength of my Zhong Xuan Family’s intelligence capabilities at sea."
He spoke with self-deprecation, "She did not overestimate."
For information like the relationships between Hai Jingping, Yang Liu, and even Hai Zongming, any power rooted at sea wouldn’t find it difficult to discover. Naturally, Eternal Winter Island was no exception. Yet, for more secretive news within Diao Hai Building, the Zhong Xuan Family was powerless.
"I never intended to hide much anyway," Jiang Wang said.
"Fortunately, you have brought Jiang Wuyou into this," Zhongxuan Sheng spoke slowly. "I’ve communicated with Lord Huaying, and the information I got from her is that Granny Bizhu actually had the opportunity to be in charge of the affairs of the Sea Ritual, but she refused by herself. Her reason was to avoid suspicion."
Jiang Wuyou’s base was in the military. Once she went out to sea, she headed straight for Jueming Island. She naturally had some influence at sea, and even... might obtain inside information from Diao Hai Building.
Decisions at the level of influential elders like Granny Bizhu were not something that could leak from ordinary sources of intelligence.
"What on earth does Granny Bizhu want to do?" Jiang Wang asked.
Zhongxuan Sheng said, "What she wants to do is not the most important thing. What’s most important is, do you still have expectations of her?"
"Zhu Biqiong trusted her so much, yet she was harmed by her and ended up in peril, all the while her mind was filled with guilt toward her. I can’t help but wonder if she’s actually a good mentor, and we’ve just misunderstood her?"
Saying this, Jiang Wang’s eyelids drooped slightly, "Alright, I admit it. The longer I stay in the Near Sea Archipelago, the more I realize the horror of Diao Hai Building, the more I realize what an impossible task I’m challenging. It was fine when I was alone, but now that you are all involved, I’m worried that I’ll drag you down. I can’t help but have some weak fantasies, wishing that there would be some room for compromise within Diao Hai Building."
"Treating her well in the past doesn’t mean she will always be treated well. Whether it’s more important to be a good mentor or to pursue a good future for oneself, that old crone has her own considerations," Zhongxuan Sheng didn’t judge his so-called ’fantasy,’ but redefined Granny Bizhu, then said, "We are here to support you, not to be your burden. If we’ve become something for you to worry about, don’t you think Jiang Wuyou and I have failed miserably? My Zhong Xuan Family has two noble lords, distinguished across generations, and now my rank precedes even Zhongxuan Zun. Jiang Wuyou is even more so Lord Huaying, who might one day wield the most powerful influence in the world. What makes you think we can be dragged down by you?"
He fixed his gaze tightly on Jiang Wang, showing a bit of anger, "Think more about yourself. The worst that could happen to Jiang Wuyou and me is that we take a few steps back on the path of fighting for power, while you, Jiang Qingyang! If you face the worst-case scenario, you will die!"
