Chapter 246: 223 Reverse Ascension

On the black cliff near the official road.

The damp wind from the lake whipped up Yongxiang’s purple dress.

Her long hair danced, tightly bound into a long braid with a white scarf adorned with golden bells.

“Is there anything you want to say?”

The maid in front of her was someone she could never have imagined would betray her.

Because this person had served her for twelve years.

Twelve years….

How many twelve years does one have in a lifetime?

They grew up together, played together, and even as their statuses slowly diverged, they never completely parted.

But now….

“Han Jia, why…. why would you do such a thing?”

The sound was drowned by the howling wind, but it could not conceal the turbulent rise and fall of Yongxiang’s chest.

Not long ago, she had conducted a thorough investigation, thinking everything was fine.

But now….

She no longer knew whom to trust….

The maid, Han Jia, bit her lip, lowered her head, and did not reply.

There was nothing for her to say.

Her potential had reached its limit, and she had only barely reached her current level by overdrawing her body and taking large amounts of medication.

To go further was impossible.

And Yongxiang…..

From the beginning, it was destined that they could not coexist peacefully.

From the moment her entire family was wiped out by the Spirit Court, leaving her the only survivor, everything was already fated.

“Commandery Princess….” Thud.

Han Jia suddenly knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly.

Her forehead continuously struck the hard ground, slowly bleeding, with a dull thud.

“Please, Commandery Princess, spare me! Han Jia truly dared not, it was just a momentary lapse! I was impulsive, just for a moment….”

“Enough!” Yongxiang admonished sharply, cutting her off.

“Tell me, whom were you acting for?” She looked at the woman in front of her with great disappointment.

“Zhenyi Sect!” Han Jia answered decisively. “Zhenyi Sect’s Daoist offered a hefty price to hire me to target Zhang Ying.”

“So you poisoned all our meals?? Are you insane!? Bought off? What did they use to buy you off??”

Yongxiang closed her eyes in exhaustion.

“Forget it, you may leave.” She waved her hand. “Out of our ten-plus years of master-servant relationship, don’t come back again.”

Han Jia also realized she had no hope. She kowtowed to Yongxiang once more before getting up, turning, and leaving.

From the moment she acted, she had not intended to survive.

But unexpectedly, Princess Yongxiang suddenly intervened to save her life.

Thus, she had not thought of an appropriate reason to respond.

She could see the disappointment in the Commandery Princess’ eyes.

But so what…..

For someone born at everyone’s end point, how could they possibly understand the pain of someone whose family has been destroyed….

“Go…. since you’ve already chosen your path. Do not let me see you again.” Yongxiang turned her back and took a deep breath.

“Han Jia….. thanks the Commandery Princess.” The maid turned, bowed deeply, tears filling her eyes, then rose and quickly departed.

“As for the Great Dao Teaching side, I will handle it for you. Go back, change your name, live well… and don’t work for those behind you again….”

Yongxiang instructed, turning back to watch Han Jia’s paused silhouette, lingering for a long time.

Not until the silhouette disappeared did she touch her toes to the ground and leave in a flash.

*

*

*

Inside the convoy.

Zhang Rongfang squinted, watching Yongxiang, who swiftly returned, stood in front of the vehicle, and prepared to rest.

He brought Chen Han and the two others, quickly approaching.

“May I ask the Commandery Princess, what was the outcome of the interrogation?”

“It was just an unintentional mistake. My maid merely mistook you for another evildoer; now the misunderstanding is resolved, and I’ve expelled her.” Princess Yongxiang replied coolly.

“Expelled!?” Zhang Rongfang’s expression turned cold, “What does the Commandery Princess mean by this?” Such words, are they meant to fool ghosts?

“What do I mean? Can’t you hear it?” Yongxiang raised her voice, looking at Zhang Rongfang.

The inexplicable emotions caused by Han Jia’s betrayal were now surging within her.

“It was just an unintentional mistake. I’ve already punished her. There was no one behind her! What? Do you have a problem!?”

All people in the world are the dogs of the royal family, she says what she wants, and who dares to question her who is not of royal blood!?

Her tone and volume had already drawn the attention of those around, who all looked over.

Though everyone dared not openly watch, they all perked up their ears to listen and steal a glance.

Zhang Rongfang looked directly at Yongxiang, saying no more; from the start, he had guessed this possibility.

It was just confirmed now, nothing more.

“How can this poor Daoist have anything to say? In that case, thank you, Commandery Princess, for informing me.” He didn’t hesitate, turning and leaving.

Now that he had seen Yongxiang’s temperament and character clearly, saying more was useless.

Royal bloodline, high and mighty, he couldn’t afford to provoke her now.

The one who attempted to assassinate Zhang Ying was released by the Commandery Princess and left.

This matter quickly spread throughout the entire caravan.

The four members of the Great Dao Teaching and the Yongxiang caravan no longer traveled together but fell slightly behind, clearly creating some distance.

Since then, there was no communication between the two sides.

The caravan set out again, and in the blink of an eye, another half month passed.

They passed through vast lakes, following a ribbon-like large river forward, getting close to the sea entrance.

The caravan finally successfully reached their destination — Cituogang Port.

“Subordinate, Zhao Yanting, Governor of Citong Prefecture, at your service, Yongxiang Patrol Envoy.”

Still on the official road surface, more than ten miles away from the city, there was already a group of officials, arriving in advance under the protection of troops to welcome them.

This group of officials wore bright red, pink, green, and blue official robes. The group gathered together, looking like performers singing opera and variety shows.

In the hot weather, many of the officials who were not skilled in martial arts were sweating on their foreheads, not knowing how long they had waited.

Princess Yongxiang stepped out of the carriage and whispered a few words with the three red-robed officials standing at the front, then returned to the carriage, slowly heading toward Citong City under the escort of the convoy.

Meanwhile, Zhang Rongfang, being a Daoist of the Great Dao Teaching, stepped forward to meet with several chief officials.

The highest-ranking person in Citong was Governor Zhao Yanting.

He was an elderly man with a slightly plump figure, with white hair that looked aged.

Zhang Rongfang glanced around and saw this person was not a martial artist, but the two beside him had a poised stride, agile physique, and eyes as sharp as blades.

This time, Zhang Rongfang came over to serve as the Protector of Teaching, holding the position of Deputy Patrol Envoy, ranking as a third-grade official.

So, although Princess Yongxiang was the core focus, Zhang Rongfang also needed to take on responsibilities and tasks.

From the perspective of the local officials in Citong, the matter of suppressing the chaotic sects should primarily be handled by someone as strong as Princess Yongxiang.

And Zhang Rongfang was just along for the ride to gain prestige.

A Daoist of the Great Dao Teaching, though not as prominent as Princess Yongxiang, was certainly not someone to offend lightly.

The caravan of the Commandery Princess slowly proceeded on the road ahead.

Zhao Yanting then invited Zhang Rongfang to join him in his carriage.

The carriage was drawn by pure black horses, no mixed colors, the carriage was not large, with carved designs on three sides, with incomprehensible scripts carved inside and outside.

Cloud patterns and a bird resembling a long-beaked hummingbird were the main decorations on the carriage.

The entire carriage was black with silver line decoration, extremely luxurious.

Seeing Zhang Rongfang carefully examining the carriage.

Zhao Yanting smiled.

“Does Protector Zhang think this official is being extravagant and wasteful? Is this display more finely adorned than everywhere else?”

He had a very gentle temperament, speaking with a warm and kind voice, merely opening his mouth gave people a feeling of being in the spring breeze.

“It does seem so. This carriage, drawn by purebred horses and decorated with silver lines, must be quite valuable?” Zhang Rongfang nodded.

Zhao Yanting smiled slightly: “Protector Zhang is unaware. These purebred horses, elsewhere, might be exceedingly expensive. But in Citong, with ships of a hundred nations coming and going, these purebred horses aren’t even worth a third of the price elsewhere.”

He continued: “Also, this carriage is due to Citong’s abundant trade, this seemingly luxurious carriage is far cheaper than in other places.”

His voice was straightforward, without any attempt at concealment.

Beside him on the carriage sat the District Governor, a white-haired elder in his seventies, holding a short Catalpa wood cane. His head was wrapped in a thick white headcloth and adorned with a red ruby head ornament.

Upon hearing the conversation, he laughed: “At least half of the Great Spirit’s treasures, silverware, spices, precious medicines, and valuable horses are exported from my Citong.

Here, there isn’t much else, but these so-called luxurious items flow endlessly like a stream in the mountains, seemingly insignificant, but voluminous and never-ending!”

“I see… Thank you, gentlemen, for clarifying.” Zhang Rongfang said with understanding.

Upon hearing the term ’precious medicine,’ he instantly became interested, feeling no fatigue.

The reason he left the Celestial Treasure Palace was precisely to accelerate his own development.

And to accelerate self-improvement, the Golden Toad Skill is of utmost importance.

Now, as long as he finds the main ingredient, the hundred-year-old Red Reishi, he can attempt to begin alchemy on his own.

The Golden Toad Skill requires different pills for each level.

Otherwise, he could have already improved continuously like the Super Grade External Medicine using attribute points.

“However, Protector Zhang should be most concerned about the chaotic sect situation causing trouble in Citong, right?” Zhao Yanting’s smile faded, speaking seriously.

“I request the Governor to elaborate.” Zhang Rongfang clasped his hands. Even if he was going to engage in alchemy, seek medicine, or seek treasures.

He needed to at least roughly understand the local power distribution, faction situation, to avoid losing control in encounters.

“Citong has three land sides and one sea side, naturally forming an inland bay port.

Traffic comes and goes, counting in the hundreds of thousands daily, with ships from various countries continuously bustling, day and night.

There are numerous trade goods, among which many foreigners not fluent in the language often hire various translators and labor gang leaders to quickly connect with local merchants.

Initially, although there were many translators and labor gang leaders, they were scattered and couldn’t form any climate.

But in recent years, a Westerner named Timke rapidly rose, gathering many people to form a major gang called the Chain Gang.

Especially since last year, this Chain Gang has almost monopolized eighty percent of the translating and labor business at the port.

If someone doesn’t hire them, they lock the ship with chains, preventing it from sailing or unloading.

We’ve gone to mediate several times, only to be beaten back.”

“So arrogant? They dare to confront the local government officials?” Zhang Rongfang exclaimed in surprise.

This was truly peculiar, with the Great Spirit being at the top of the world now, yet there were people who dared confront openly?

“There is also a reason for this. The Chain Gang may appear to be just an ordinary gang, but high-ranking individuals support it behind the scenes.”

Zhao Yanting spoke with masked depth, not elaborating further.

Zhang Rongfang understood instantly.

In Great Spirit, none other than the most exalted family would dare treat government officials like this.

Furthermore, seeing the Spirit Emperor dispatch Princess Yongxiang, a royal bloodline expert, to personally resolve this matter.

Thinking about it now, isn’t it to offset the natural suppression of the bloodline?

The waters were too deep, too deep.

No, I’ll just stick to honestly cultivating and practicing alchemy, don’t let these troublesome matters come to me.

Xiang fights life and death has nothing to do with him; cultivation remains the priority.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep