Jade Bamboo Forest.

Li Suqing sat alone, gently stroking a piece of jade in her hand. A touch of gravity flashed in her eyes. Naturally, she didn't believe what Feng Jiuge said.

She wanted to continue detaining Li Suqing, forcing Chen Yuan to negotiate. Before Chen Yuan arrived at the Goddess Palace, she would not be released. Once he arrived, she would immediately set her free.

They would divide the future power of the Goddess Palace equally, using this as a bridge between them and Chen Yuan.

But…

Li Suqing wasn't stupid. She instinctively felt there was something wrong. Was this really how you negotiated interests?

Why was it necessary to invite Chen Yuan to the Goddess Palace?

There was definitely a problem here.

After pondering for a long time, Li Suqing finally contacted Su Ziyue, telling her everything that had happened that day, along with some of her speculations, leaving nothing out.

She felt that this was a scheme against Chen Yuan, so it was up to Su Ziyue to pass it on to Chen Yuan, letting him decide whether or not to come.

...

Seven Killings Hall Mountain Gate Secret Realm.

It was still that great hall, still those same seats, as if they had never changed since the hall was first built. The Hall Master of the Seven Killings Hall sat in the center, with the other Yama Kings following.

King Chujiang, Chen Huaiyi, sat to the left of the Hall Master of the Seven Killings Hall, his expression indifferent.

The atmosphere within the entire hall was very quiet.

This was also a habit of the group. Almost all of them had risen from the bottom-level assassins of the Seven Killings Hall, and from a young age, they had received the most rigorous training.

Although their personalities differed, they were generally relatively quiet.

"How are the preparations within the Hall?"

The Hall Master of the Seven Killings Hall gripped the armrest and asked in a calm voice.

"Reporting to the Hall Master, 70% of the disciples have already been scattered out, deployed in various locations..."

"Reporting to the Hall Master, 80% of the sleeper agents are safe and sound."

"Reporting to the Hall Master..."

One by one, matters within the Seven Killings Hall were constantly reported by the various Yama Kings. Although they were also assassins, as Yama Kings, they were bound to be in positions of power.

This was also their due.

"King Chujiang?"

"Half of the resources within the Hall have been divided up and all given to Liangshan, and...a portion of sleeper agents have infiltrated it..." King Chujiang, Chen Huaiyi, replied.

"Dong...dong..."

The Hall Master of the Seven Killings Hall tapped his fingers, the sound crisp and clear, as if striking directly into the hearts of the people. His gaze shifted slightly, his sharp eyes sweeping over the crowd:

"Next, this Hall Master has another matter to arrange."

"Please give the order, Hall Master!"

"Please give the order, Hall Master!"

"Please give the order..."

The other six Yama Kings all spoke in unison.

"First, take out another 20% of the resources and give them to Liangshan. Second, send more sleeper agents into the Yan army to hide. Third, and most importantly:

King Chujiang, King Zhuanlun, King Qinguang...accompany this Hall Master on a trip to Yun Prefecture."

"What are we going to Yun Prefecture for? What we need to deal with now is Chen Yuan." Chen Huaiyi frowned slightly.

The Hall Master of the Seven Killings Hall smiled faintly, glanced at King Chujiang, and said:

"In due time, you will naturally know."

Although Xiang Qianqiu asked him to inform Chen Yuan about the ambush, it was impossible to directly say they were going to ambush him. That would be too obvious.

With Chen Yuan's intelligence, he couldn't possibly fail to guess such an obvious intention. It would seem like a naked declaration of where the ambush was, so...it had to be subtle.

Furthermore, concerning the matter in Yun Prefecture, it would be good if Chen Yuan could sense there was a problem within it.

Their goal was only to lure Chen Yuan to the Goddess Palace.

The more they said, the more mistakes they would make.

"Your subordinate obeys!"

"Your subordinate obeys!"

"Your subordinate..."

...

Back Mountain.

Within a massive crack, an ancient, simple bronze divine coffin lay horizontally, held in place by chains.

The Hall Master of the Seven Killings Hall stepped closer and closer to the divine coffin, bowed towards it, and said in a deep voice:

"Disciple greets Ancestor!"

Upon the bronze divine coffin, patterns of mysterious runes slowly lit up. A dry, hoarse voice slowly sounded, like the scraping of two bones against each other.

"What...is...it?"

"Reporting to Ancestor, Xiang Qianqiu sought out this disciple, hoping that Ancestor could be asked to leave seclusion to solve some troubles for him."

"The...thing...?"

"He said that the God Source would be offered up after the fact, with both hands."

"Good..."

...

Shu Prefecture City.

Recently, the atmosphere within Shu Prefecture City had been quite good, seeming very lively, firstly because the Yan army had repelled a million demon soldiers, safeguarding the Central Plains.

Secondly, the New Year was approaching.

The New Year's atmosphere here wasn't strong, but it wasn't light either. Although many households hung white silk, more people still put up red paper, preparing to welcome the New Year.

Chen Yuan wore a plain white robe, his temperament calm and composed. Beside him was Su Ziyue, who was also lightly made up, but her outstanding aura was still quite extraordinary.

Chen Yuan, as the Prince of Yan, solely governed two prefectures, commanding hundreds of thousands of soldiers. He was a first-class prince in the world, with a very great reputation, and many portraits of him circulated.

However, walking on the street in plain clothes, no one recognized him.

The most fundamental reason was that no one would have thought that the dignified Prince of Yan would travel so simply.

Of course, this was only on the surface. In reality, even though Chen Yuan had reduced things a lot, there were still many Embroidered Uniform Guards secretly waiting.

Not to guard his safety. With his strength, he could now almost be called the number one person under Moro, a Yang God True Lord in the world, unmatched by anyone.

They were just there to clear up some troubles.

Su Ziyue held Chen Yuan's arm, leaning against his chest, like an ordinary newly married couple strolling through Shu Prefecture City, occasionally pointing at the lanterns on both sides of the road and laughing.

Showing none of her usual dignified and noble aura.

"This is the first time I've seen this side of you." Chen Yuan said with a faint smile.

"There's a lot you haven't seen yet."

Su Ziyue rolled her eyes at him, chiding him.

"Then let's have a good look tonight?"

"This concubine doesn't mind, but I'm afraid Younger Sister Xu wouldn't be happy."

As women of the inner chambers, they were supposed to have allocated time, and tonight, it was supposed to be Consort Xu's turn. In fact, today's outing was proposed by Chen Yuan.

As his strength and status increased, Chen Yuan only felt more and more lonely, and more and more unwilling to show his other side, only wanting to be cold and domineering.

He even missed it a little, missed the days when he was a constable in Ping'an County.

At that time, his status was low, his strength was weak, and he was single-mindedly climbing upwards, wanting only to be above others, to gain power and status, and he had very ambitious goals in his heart.

And now, he had basically achieved them. While feeling satisfied, he also thought of the past.

Many memories were treasured when one was old, but he, although he had only experienced a few years, the excitement was something that people couldn't even fathom in their entire lives.

"Hehe... it wouldn't hurt if we all came together."

"Look how amazing you are..."

"Am I not amazing?"

Chen Yuan asked back.

"Amazing, amazing, you are the Prince of Yan above tens of thousands..."

"Let's not go back to eat today, let's try something on the road..."

Chen Yuan pointed casually, just about to say something, when he suddenly froze for a moment, his brow furrowing slightly, feeling a bit dazed, because the direction he was pointing at...had a very familiar figure.

Zhou Zhong!

This familiarity came from the depths of his memory. When Chen Yuan was young, he had eaten Zhou Ji's buns many times, and he and Xiao Fang were childhood sweethearts.

And he was Zhou Fang's father.

Compared to the past, he was now even older, as if he had experienced something.

The only thing that hadn't changed was that he was still selling buns.

When Chen Yuan returned to Ping'an County, he remembered asking Wang Ping about Xiao Fang and her father, but the answer he got was that they had left not long after he left.

After that, they disappeared without a trace. Wang Ping used his connections in the surrounding counties, but couldn't find any trace of them.

Chen Yuan didn't say much at the time, just thinking of letting them go.

After all, they weren't people of the same world. Whether contact would be a blessing or a curse was still unknown.

He didn't expect that in his territory, right under his nose, he would actually discover their whereabouts. It had to be said that this was a very fateful thing.

"What's wrong?"

Su Ziyue saw that Chen Yuan had actually been dazed for a rare moment, and subconsciously turned her gaze to the middle-aged man not far away, her brow furrowing slightly.

"Nothing."

Patting Su Ziyue's hand, Chen Yuan walked over calmly. Several shop assistants were busy, while Zhou Zhong was lifting a steamer basket, a cloud of steam rising up, obscuring Chen Yuan's face.

"Uncle Zhou, eight meat buns, please."

"Okay, coming..."

Zhou Zhong, holding the steamer basket, was just about to answer when he suddenly froze, holding the steamer basket still. When the white steam dispersed, he saw a young man in a white robe, handsome and elegant, looking at him with a faint smile.

"You...you..."

"Uncle Zhou, don't you recognize me?"

"Yuan...Young Yuan?"

Zhou Zhong seemed a bit incredulous, his eyes full of shock.

"It's me."

...

On a small square table were two steamer baskets of steaming buns, all filled with pure meat. In addition, Su Ziyue and Chen Yuan each had a new cup beside them.

Chen Yuan unceremoniously picked up a meat bun, bit it in half, and smiled faintly:

"Still the same taste, all good meat."

"Hehe...hehe..."

Zhou Zhong was a bit uneasy, having been like this from the start when he saw Chen Yuan. When Su Ziyue appeared, he became even more so, unsure of what to say.

"Okay, then I'll try one too..."

Su Ziyue picked up a bun and took a small bite, nodding slightly, seeming to find it very satisfactory as well.

"Uncle Zhou, where's Xiao Fang?"

Chen Yuan asked casually.

Zhou Zhong rubbed a slightly tea-stained cup in his hand, and was silent for a moment before saying:

"We got separated..."

"Separated?"

Chen Yuan's hand holding the bun moved almost imperceptibly.

"At first, my daughter and I went to rely on distant relatives, and things were going well, but recently it's been too chaotic, with rebel armies everywhere.

We discussed going to a safe place, and people all said that the Prince of Yan...the Prince of Yan...oh, the prince with the same name as you is very powerful, loves the people like his own children, and that Shu Prefecture is very safe.

So, the two of us, along with a few shop assistants, came in a carriage. Who knew that we would suddenly encounter bandits at night, who robbed everything they could find? It was pitch black, all the refugees were in chaos, and we got separated too.

I searched for a few days and couldn't find her, so I came to Shu Prefecture City first, opened a shop as we had agreed, and see if I can wait for her to come back..."

Zhou Zhong spoke slowly and deliberately, sometimes hurriedly, sometimes angrily, sometimes sadly, telling Chen Yuan everything that had happened to them, along with the tea.

Su Ziyue narrowed her eyes, remaining calm and collected.

Chen Yuan, however, smiled wryly:

"Uncle Zhou, you didn't leave...because of me, did you?"

"No...no...no...of course not..."

Zhou Zhong waved his hands repeatedly.

"Don't worry, since Xiao Fang was separated near Shu Prefecture, I will do my best to find her."

"Ah...then...then thank you, hehe...it's still Young Yuan who is capable, and Fang'er is lucky too. Otherwise, this old man wouldn't know what to do, and can only wait."

"We're all neighbors, just lending a hand..."

Chen Yuan waved his hand. Just as he finished speaking, he saw several young men holding swords and sabers walking arrogantly to Zhou Ji's bun shop, tapping the table with the backs of their blades.

"Old Zhou, how's the matter we talked about before?"

The scar-faced man in the lead asked with a smile, his attitude amiable.

Zhou Zhong's expression was a bit ugly. He glanced at Chen Yuan, and seeing that his expression remained unchanged, he seemed to have gained some confidence and said:

"Master Ma, it's not that I'm unwilling to pay, it's just that this shop has only just opened, and I can't come up with that much money. Please be lenient, next month, I will definitely pay next month."

"Old Zhou, you have to do things according to the rules. Don't blame us brothers. Although you've only been open for a few days, a month has passed. Everyone else has paid, why should you be an exception?

It's not much money, just a token of appreciation. You wouldn't even give us that, would you?"

"No...no..."

Zhou Zhong was just about to say something when suddenly, a young man with a long saber at his waist glanced at Chen Yuan, then stood up, walked up to those people, and said calmly:

"Get lost!"

"You..."

The men stood up with a huff, drawing their swords and sabers.

But before they could move, they saw the tips of their hair falling down in unison, immediately freezing on the spot, their legs trembling slightly.

You know what's what the moment an expert makes a move.

Although they couldn't tell the level of this slash, they knew that they couldn't deal with it. Without saying a single harsh word, they turned around and left immediately.

And Chen Yuan simply ate his bun leisurely. A few ordinary mortals weren't really worth getting angry over.

The man with the saber, seeing the people leave, simply left some money for the meal, turned around and left. Zhou Zhong thanked him profusely, not letting him pay, but he couldn't refuse and had to accept.

Then, Zhou Zhong sat down and sighed softly:

"As expected, even under the rule of that Prince of Yan who is said to be so miraculous, these gangs can't be avoided. This world...is really hard."

"It will get better, it will get better..."

Chen Yuan smiled.

Chen Yuan asked some questions about Zhou Zhong's health, which took a quarter of an hour. Sure enough, soon, the people who had left before came back again.

This time, they directly brought dozens of people, and several constables followed closely behind.

"Boss, it was just here..."

The scar-faced man pointed to the table just now, recounting what had happened before.

The young man called the Boss frowned, seemingly pondering whether it was just a coincidence. He walked into the group of tables with an unchanged expression.

Half of the people, seeing that things were not good, ran away.

The Boss stared straight at Zhou Zhong and said calmly:

"Old Zhou, is it?"

"Yes...yes..."

"Does our Fish Sea Gang collect a lot of money?"

"No...not a lot..."

"Are we diligent?"

"No...not diligent."

"If you don't have money, you can pay on credit, but the rules are here. Everyone else is paying, but you're not, isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

Zhou Zhong didn't say anything for a moment, just turning his gaze to Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan took Su Ziyue's handkerchief, wiped his mouth, turned his head, looked at the young Boss, and asked with a smile:

"Did you make the rules?"