OBS Chapter 176 Withdrawal
Chapter 176 Withdrawal
"Brother Lin! Please come over here and let's talk!"
After Mu Yuansheng finished tidying up, he came into the tent and gave him a wink, as if he had something to hide and didn't want to talk about it openly in front of Qingyao and his younger brother.
Luo Sifan nodded and followed Mu Yuansheng to the outer tent.
Dismissing those around him, Mu Yuansheng stepped forward, his eyes gleaming:
"Brother Lin, I sent someone to check on Mount Limeng, and indeed a sea of lightning has emerged from the mountain! It's exactly as you described!"
"Of course, would I dare to lie to Brother Mu?"
Luo Sifan smiled faintly.
"However, my men have been investigating this Water Jade Lotus for many days, and they have never heard of it before!"
Mu Yuansheng sighed, but his words did not express any doubt about Luo Sifan.
The fox clan from Limeng Mountain were arrogant and proud. Mu Yuansheng was not a member of the royal family, a clan, or a noble family in the Silver Frost Empire. Naturally, the spies he sent could not find out the secrets of the fox clan's upper echelons.
Luo Sifan naturally understood that Mu Yuansheng was concerned about the lives of his son and subordinates, but given the complicated relationship between Lin Qianxiu and Mu Yuansheng, Luo Sifan was not in a hurry to curry favor with him.
“Brother Mu, now that there is a solution to this matter, let’s proceed slowly. The Eastern Land is so vast, we will surely find the Water Jade Lotus. With your esteemed status, Brother Mu, what difficulty would it be to obtain even a single branch or leaf? At that time, I will refine a batch of Immortal Lotus Pills with ease, and I will not hesitate to do so!”
Luo Sifan reiterated his promise and offered Mu Yuansheng a few words of comfort.
"That's all we can do! Thanks, brother!"
Mu Yuansheng said dejectedly, his mind still preoccupied with the water lily that Luo Sifan had casually mentioned.
Outside the tent, a surge of energy arose as Lin Qianxiu led several officers of the Juanyun Army in a hurried manner, entering Mu Yuansheng's tent.
Lin Qianxiu led her men here to discuss with Mu Yuansheng the matter of withdrawing the troops tomorrow.
Luo Sifan couldn't get a word in edgewise and sat quietly to the side.
After the two groups finished their discussions, Luo Sifan took a moment to approach Lin Qianxiu and quietly told her about Niannu and Wu Lingsu being imprisoned by Mu Yuansheng.
"These two..."
Lin Qianxiu had no good feelings towards Niannu or Wu Lingsu. One had sold Luo Sifan to Mu Yuansheng, and the other was a noblewoman from a nomadic tribe with an ambiguous relationship with Luo Sifan.
Given Lin Qianxiu's status and manners, he originally intended to torment the two women, but Luo Sifan's concerned expression and the fact that Lin Qianxiu had just owed him a great favor made him hesitant to act too recklessly.
"You can hand the man over to me, but from now on he will have nothing to do with my Western Expeditionary Army. If anything happens, you will be responsible for it yourself!"
Lin Qianxiu's attitude was serious as she stared directly at Luo Sifan. She had absolutely no desire to get involved with either of these women. Wu Lingsu, in particular, had a special status, and she didn't want to cause any trouble by secretly harboring enemy captives.
"What trouble could those two possibly cause? I'll keep them under strict control, and they won't get into any trouble."
Luo Sifan quickly agreed, and Lin Qianxiu was decisive and didn't pursue the matter of the two women, which greatly pleased him.
Lin Qianxiu took a moment to whisper a few words to Mu Yuansheng. Mu Yuansheng looked up and gave Luo Sifan an ambiguous smile, then beckoned a subordinate over.
After that, until everyone finished discussing, Luo Sifan did not see anyone bring Niannu and Wulingsu over.
Lin Qianxiu, as the commander-in-chief of the Juanyun Army, quickly finished his meal at Mu Yuansheng's place and led his men out in the dead of night.
Luo Sifan had no choice but to carry Qingyao and his younger brother, one in each arm, back to his own tent.
Besides the guards, there were two unfamiliar officers outside the tent. They looked relieved when they saw Luo Sifan coming over.
The two officers explained to Luo Sifan that they were sent by Mu Yuansheng to deliver two people to him.
Luo Sifan's heart stirred, and he lifted the curtain to enter. The two women standing inside the tent had their hands behind their backs and were chained. When they turned their heads and saw Luo Sifan, they were surprised and embarrassed.
A month had passed between Niannu and Wulingsu, and Niannu looked haggard. They didn't even recognize Luo Sifan, whose appearance had changed so drastically.
"Niannu, Wulingsu! It's been almost a month since we parted outside the Netherworld Valley. I'm so sorry you two had to suffer these past few days!"
Luo Sifan was finally relieved. He greeted the two women with a smile and then ordered the two officers to remove their shackles.
"Sir!"
"Young Master?!"
Wu Lingsu was both surprised and delighted, while Niannu was completely bewildered.
After the two officers finished their duties and left the tent, Wu Lingsu spread her arms wide and was about to pounce on Luo Sifan to be intimate with him.
He didn't care about Qingyao's disdain, and instead took Luo Sifan's arm, showing concern for him and being extremely curious about Luo Sifan's experiences in the Netherworld Valley.
Luo Sifan couldn't stand her overwhelming enthusiasm. He gave a few perfunctory replies and then pushed Wu Lingsu's hands away.
After settling Qingyao and her younger brother in the tent, Luo Sifan turned and left the inner tent. He waved for the two women to sit down before explaining how the Western Expeditionary Army had treated them.
Wu Lingsu didn't take it seriously, but Niannu looked miserable.
"Wherever Your Excellency goes, I, Wu Lingsu, will serve you. As long as Your Excellency does not mind, we can go to the ends of the earth!"
Wu Lingsu didn't mention a word about the suffering she had endured from being imprisoned by Mu Yuansheng for the past month, and showed no intention of taking the opportunity to return to the nomad tribe. The excitement on her face didn't subside for a long time.
Niannu remained silent, lost in thought.
"Niannu! Since Lin Qianxiu has already agreed, she shouldn't make things difficult for you anymore, so why are you still so worried?"
Luo Sifan was puzzled and asked Niannu.
Niannu looked distressed and after a while, she finally confessed to Luo Sifan:
“Young master, you may not know this, but my family has been the vassals of the Lin family for generations. My brothers and sisters all do the jobs assigned by the Lin family. This time, after listening to Lord Mu’s words, we were forced to lure you out, which angered Miss. Although Miss is magnanimous and spared my life, I was sent home by Miss. I am afraid that everyone at home will hate me, and it will be no different from being dead.”
Luo Sifan had some understanding of the official and clan system of the Silverfrost Empire, so he wasn't surprised to hear this.
Xiao, Ye, Lin, and Su, the top powerful clans of the Silverfrost Empire, control the core resources of the empire's politics, military, economy, and even cultivation from top to bottom.
The families that attached themselves to them were of various ranks, numbering in the hundreds and thousands. These small and medium-sized families trembled before the four major clans, utterly powerless to resist. Their livelihood depended entirely on the powerful clans to which they were attached.
What Niannu said was not an exaggeration.
Luo Sifan pondered for a while, recalling the fate between Shu Hongyi and Niannu.
"Niannu, if Senior Shu of the Qishan Sword Sect were willing to take you into the Qishan Sword Sect, would you be willing?"
After much deliberation, Losfan concluded that this was still a promising place to go.
Niannu's eyes lit up, then dimmed again.
"After parting ways with Senior Shu, I don't know where he went. Even if I find Senior Shu, I am just a nobody with little influence and low cultivation level, so I'm afraid I won't be of any interest to him."
Luo Sifan smiled faintly:
"If you don't speak up, how will Senior Shu know your intentions? Niannu, don't worry. As long as your intentions are sincere, Senior Shu will definitely consider it carefully."
Encouraged by him, Niannu's face flushed:
"Young Master! I admired Senior Shu greatly ever since I saw his elegant demeanor. If I could meet Senior Shu and express my heartfelt wishes, I would accept my fate, whether it comes true or not!"