Chapter 139: He Yuanhun, Director Yu Wen Hu, Director Yu Wen Tao (Three-in-One)

From the first time, the arrogant posture displayed by He Meng's group;

to tonight, this group of people before them, who had again trespassed into the Red Wood Ridge to hunt;

these two events had already destined that the Mirror Immortal camp would not only be unable to become a friendly neighbor but would also very likely compress Great Xia's living space.

Although during the hunt for the Demon Sheep just now, this group had displayed a fearless and fierce fighting spirit that made Xia Hong feel a few shades of appreciation.

But an enemy is an enemy.

Any enemy that could threaten Great Xia's survival, whether it be a cold beast, a ghost, or a human, if necessary and if he had the ability, Xia Hong would mercilessly strangle them.

I, Xia Hong, dare not accept!

In the preceding words, Xia Hong's tone had already been extremely low, and anyone could hear the surging anger contained within.

In those last seven words, Xia Hong's voice was even more bone-chilling.

Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan even thought he was about to order an attack, so they drew their sabers and took a step forward in unison.

"Great Xia territory? Isn't this the territory of the Lu Shang camp?"

"Lu He has already said that he ceded this area to my Mirror Immortal camp. Since when did it become your Great Xia territory?"

"We haven't even pursued the matter of Great Xia driving the Gnawing Rat pack into the Arrow Bamboo Forest last time, and now you are actually biting back, saying we trespassed on your territory?"

"Hahahaha, ridiculous. What kind of bullshit Great Xia? You just took a fancy to our prey and had crooked thoughts."

"A mere three people; even if I'm injured, I'm not afraid."

"Boss, no need to talk nonsense with him. Let's just see the real deal in battle!"

Just now, the Mirror Immortal camp's hunt for the Demon Sheep hadn't been easy. More than ten of the twenty-plus people were already lying down. At this moment, only nine people were still standing.

And these nine people were basically all carrying injuries.

Some were even barely standing by leaning on others.

But even so, upon hearing Xia Hong's slightly chilling words, not one of them was afraid. Instead, they all spoke up one after another to refute him with great spirit.

A few whose legs were still nimble seemed to feel that refuting wasn't enough, and like Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan, they also drew their sabers and walked forward two steps.

Their reaction was actually more intense than that of Xia Hong's trio, with a strong urge to fight to the death if things didn't go their way.

Xia Hong's eyes were low. Combined with the ferocity displayed by this group during the hunt just now, the reaction before him didn't exceed his expectations.

At a distance of ten meters, Xia Hong could already see the faces of most of the other party. He Meng, with whom he had dealt in the Arrow Bamboo Forest last time, was not in the crowd, but from the few voices that were shouting just now, he could tell that someone who had been present at the time should be there.

He Meng had also brought fourteen people last time.

Xia Hong focused his gaze on the black-clad person surrounded by the nine people.

Consistent with the voice he had just heard, the black-clad person was indeed very young.

With thick brows and a broad face, his expression as heavy as water, he wore a tight-fitting black martial outfit that revealed his burly physique in full. Whether to hide the injury on his shoulder or not, his hands were resting on the hilt of the broadsword he had plunged into the ground; he stood tall and straight like an upright pine, motionless.

Clearly, he looked at most similar in age to Xia Chuan, but his calm and seasoned posture didn't look like a young person at all.

On the contrary, the nine people beside him were clearly older, some even having middle-aged features, but judging by their demeanor, behavior, and even strength, they looked more like young people than he did.

While Xia Hong looked at the black-clad person, the black-clad person was naturally also looking at him.

The two people's gazes met and lingered in mid-air for a moment. The black-clad person's expression gradually relaxed, a smile appeared on his face, and he cupped his fists and spoke heartily:

"Last time, I heard He Meng say that there was a Great Xia camp here in Red Wood Ridge, and that the leader, Xia Hong, was heroic and unparalleled, leading over a hundred people to kill the Gnawing Rat pack until they were in a panic, almost rushing into the Arrow Bamboo Forest. At the time, I felt respect and originally thought about visiting in a few days. I didn't expect to meet you here in advance tonight.

Mirror Immortal camp, Director Yu Wen Tao, greets Leader Xia!"

Xia Hong's gloomy expression stiffened for a few seconds.

He had thought that Director Yu Wen Tao might react more intensely than the other nine.

Even attacking directly was not impossible.

He had never expected that this Director Yu Wen Tao would be so polite.

Of course, after the stiffness, Xia Hong became even more guarded.

Compared to the straightforwardness of He Meng and the others in the Mirror Immortal camp, this Director Yu Wen Tao, although polite in words, was clearly a more difficult character to deal with.

Although his words were polite, he had mentioned the matter of the Gnawing Rat pack almost rushing into the Arrow Bamboo Forest last time, which was clearly soft but hard.

"Regarding the Gnawing Rat pack, I already negotiated with He Meng last time. The Mirror Immortal camp has only occupied the Arrow Bamboo Forest for three months, and you didn't notify Great Xia in advance. Moreover, the whole matter didn't cause any losses to the Mirror Immortal camp, and more importantly, the Gnawing Rat pack didn't enter the Arrow Bamboo Forest in the end.

If you want to use this to fool me, I'm afraid it's not that simple!"

One doesn't hit a smiling person. Since Director Yu Wen Tao was so polite and expressed the intention to negotiate properly, Xia Hong simply followed his lead, and his tone softened slightly.

Of course, it was only his tone that softened.

After finishing the last sentence, he raised his right hand and waved it lightly toward the rear.

Swish...

Three iron arrows flew through the air from the large trees behind at the same time, sticking directly into the ground two or three meters in front of Director Yu Wen Tao and the others.

The iron arrows were inserted twenty or thirty centimeters into the ground. The force was too great, and the sound of the arrow tails vibrating was exceptionally clear.

Director Yu Wen Tao, including the nine people behind him, looked at the iron arrows on the ground and then suddenly looked up at Xia Hong's rear, their expressions all changing.

Being able to insert so deeply into the ground from such a distance, the strength of the person shooting the arrows was definitely Earth-Digging Realm. Three arrows certainly didn't count for much, but the problem was, who knew how many people and how many arrows were behind Xia Hong's trio?

Director Yu Wen Tao's originally smiling face suddenly became much gloomier, and his mood was no longer as relaxed as before. He took two steps forward and said in a deep voice:

"Leader Xia, when Lu He brought people to merge into my Mirror Immortal camp, he had already transferred all the territory of the original Lu Shang camp in Red Wood Ridge to us..."

"Didn't they tell you how the Lu Shang camp's territory came to be?"

Before Director Yu Wen Tao could finish speaking, Xia Hong interrupted him directly.

"No need to talk so much nonsense. I have no intention of explaining the Lu Shang camp matter to you. Let's be direct. Tonight, considering it's your first offense, I won't pursue it too much. Leave this Demon Sheep behind, and don't step into Red Wood Ridge again in the future. I can let you go!"

Xia Hong also had no intention of explaining and directly stated the conditions for letting them go.

As soon as he proposed this condition, the nine people beside Director Yu Wen Tao, as if they had been stepped on their tails, all began to shout angrily one after another.

"You're dreaming!"

"Boss, don't listen to him. We aren't afraid of death; let's fight him."

"We fought for half a day, and you want to pick up a bargain for free? You're daydreaming."

"Boss, you must not listen to him. If he dares to kill us, when the leader brings people over, the entire Great Xia camp will have to accompany us..."

At this moment, not only Xia Hong, but also Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan beside him, upon hearing what the last person said, their expressions immediately turned cold, and the way they looked at the ten people began to become full of chill.

Slap...

"Shut up!"

Before the last person could finish the word "accompany," Director Yu Wen Tao directly scolded and interrupted him, and even turned around and gave him a fierce slap.

That person was already in an injured state. This slap came, and he flew backward two or three meters, unable to even stand steady, and fell directly to the ground.

"Leader Xia, my subordinate is unruly and talking nonsense. Please forgive me!"

After hitting that person, Director Yu Wen Tao turned back and bowed his head directly to Xia Hong's trio, while unable to stop cursing the nine people in his heart for being complete pigs.

Having not heard a response from Xia Hong's trio for a long time, Director Yu Wen Tao felt more and more drum-beating in his heart. He glanced sideways at the massive Demon Sheep corpse behind him, a look of heartache appearing on his face first, then he gritted his teeth and looked up:

"Leader Xia, in order to hunt this Demon Sheep, our losses are not light. To give the entire prey to you, not to mention what the brothers will think, even I won't be reconciled. How about this: I will take out half of the blood on this Demon Sheep and offer it to you. I wonder, Leader Xia, what do you think?"

Xia Hong, who had been silent, heard these words, and his expression moved slightly.

Clearly, Director Yu Wen Tao had seen the abnormality of his skin and knew that he was also at a critical moment of breaking through to the Frost-Resistant level, urgently needing mid-level cold beast blood.

Should he accept this half of the blood and leave behind a group of potential enemies?

Or should he refuse, take Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, and the others to go up together, and strangle these ten people from Director Yu Wen Tao here?

"Big Brother!"

"Leader..."

Seeing that Xia Hong was hesitating, Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan spoke up one after another. Xia Chuan's eyes were cold, while Luo Yuan was more direct, making a gesture across his neck with his hand.

Knowing that both were urging him to order an attack, Xia Hong was also somewhat tempted.

Although his group had also fought their way here and was not in a peak state,

they couldn't help but see that the ten people before them were even more miserable!

The heavily wounded Director Yu Wen Tao, nine Earth-Digging Realm people who could barely stand.

And on their side, there were nine archers hiding behind the trees!

"Leader Xia Hong, if I'm not mistaken, regarding the Gnawing Rat pack matter last time, He Meng should have had quite a conflict with your camp. When he returned last time, he suggested to our leader, He Yuanhun, to bring people to your Great Xia camp to ask for an explanation. Thanks to my father's dissuasion, Leader He didn't agree..."

Director Yu Wen Tao's expression was slightly nervous. Clearly, he saw the hesitation on Xia Hong's face, and a drop of cold sweat seeped from his forehead. After finishing this paragraph, he didn't forget to continue adding:

"By the way, I haven't told Leader Xia yet. My Mirror Immortal camp has a population of over ten thousand, hundreds of Earth-Digging Realm experts, and the camp even has two Frost-Resistant level experts, Leader He Yuanhun and my father, Director Yu Wen Hu, sitting in command!

Leader Xia, my father has always upheld the philosophy that humans in the Frozen Abyss World should help each other, believing that enemies should be resolved rather than knotted. The Mirror Immortal camp occupying the Arrow Bamboo Forest will be neighbors with Great Xia from now on. Even if the two families are not friendly neighbors, they should not form too deep a grudge. Leader Xia, don't you think so?"

He Yuanhun, Director Yu Wen Hu, He Meng, two Frost-Resistant level experts sitting in command...

Xia Hong, who had originally been indecisive, had a subtle change in his expression after hearing Director Yu Wen Tao's words.

Especially when he looked up and met Director Yu Wen Tao's eyes, finding a trace of subtlety in them, his heart moved slightly.

Director Yu Wen Tao was ostensibly saying that his father, Director Yu Wen Hu, had persuaded He Yuanhun not to implement He Meng's proposal to retaliate against Great Xia, meaning his father had done a favor for Great Xia.

But this was clearly not enough to make Xia Hong let them go. After all, words were empty, and who knew if what he said was true or false.

The subtext contained in the middle paragraph was what truly moved Xia Hong.

Mirror Immortal camp, population over ten thousand, hundreds of Earth-Digging Realm experts—these pieces of information, Xia Hong could have roughly inferred earlier. But Director Yu Wen Tao's last sentence, that there were two Frost-Resistant level experts sitting in command, was the point Xia Hong truly cared about.

Coupled with the subtle look on Director Yu Wen Tao's face, he was clearly hinting to himself that the Mirror Immortal camp was not decided by He Yuanhun alone.

Of course, the deeper subtext was that if he killed them, his father, Director Yu Wen Hu, would definitely change his stance, He Meng's proposal would be successfully adopted by He Yuanhun, and in the end, the two camps of Great Xia and Mirror Immortal would completely become an irreconcilable situation.

=9+Book_Bar

With just such a short paragraph, he was both soft and hard.

Not only did he clarify the huge benefits of Xia Hong's trio not attacking;

at the same time, he also told them the outcome Great Xia would face after killing them, threatening them without leaving a trace.

Was this Director Yu Wen Tao really a young person?

Although there was no expression on Xia Hong's face, he was shocked by Director Yu Wen Tao's seasoned calmness.

Regardless of whether Director Yu Wen Tao's previous words were true or false, at least the last paragraph was true: enemies should be resolved rather than knotted. Great Xia would definitely be neighbors with the Mirror Immortal camp in the future. Forming too deep a grudge would be bad for both families.

And killing the son of a Frost-Resistant level expert was clearly aiming for an irreconcilable situation. Since that was the case, there was even less need.

Kill secretly, and no one would find out?

Xia Hong shook his head. This was the Frozen Abyss, not a normal world. As long as people died on your territory, you couldn't escape the relationship. People didn't need evidence.

As things stood, Xia Hong no longer had the thought of killing the ten people from Director Yu Wen Tao. Even Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan beside him had their killing intent dissipated significantly.

At this point, he could only hope that what Director Yu Wen Tao said about the two Frost-Resistant level experts, Director Yu Wen Hu and He Yuanhun, was true.

Regardless of whether the Mirror Immortal camp's strength was as Director Yu Wen Tao said, before Xia Hong broke through to the Frost-Resistant level, it was definitely stronger than Great Xia. At the very least, this point was beyond doubt.

At the current stage, Xia Hong's biggest reliance in daring to conflict with the Mirror Immortal camp was that the other party didn't know the location of Great Xia's base and could only meet in the Red Wood Ridge.

But this was not safe.

If the people from the Mirror Immortal camp really had the heart, finding the valley was only a matter of time.

The conflict that had erupted between the two families was not too big, so the Mirror Immortal camp shouldn't spend too much effort to find the location of Great Xia's base.

But what about the future?

The two families living as neighbors would eventually meet, and judging by the posture displayed by He Meng's group, future conflicts were inevitable.

The reason Xia Hong was in a hurry to break through to the Frost-Resistant level during this period was precisely because of this.

Before a more intense conflict erupted with the Mirror Immortal camp, if Xia Hong didn't break through to the Frost-Resistant level, the outcome of the Great Xia camp couldn't be good.

He could certainly kill these ten people from Director Yu Wen Tao tonight, but what about afterward?

What if he didn't manage to break through to the Frost-Resistant level in a short time?

Xia Hong needed time, a lot of time!

If it was really like what Director Yu Wen Tao hinted, that there was a factional struggle within the Mirror Immortal camp, then the time he could fight for would be even more.

Moreover, Director Yu Wen Tao had deliberately mentioned his father Director Yu Wen Hu's philosophy just now, which was clearly full of subtext. It was highly likely that the leader named He Yuanhun's philosophy of leading the camp was inconsistent with his father's.

This could also explain why his father had to stop the leader He Yuanhun from adopting He Meng's proposal to trouble Great Xia.

Director Yu Wen Tao's gaze had been on Xia Hong, his expression nervous, and his hands had never left the broadsword from beginning to end. Clearly, he was waiting for his decision.

"Let the blood out!"

After a long time, hearing Xia Hong spit out three words, Director Yu Wen Tao immediately relaxed, his nervous emotions dissipated instantly, and he turned back to instruct the others, a smile appearing on his face.

"Leader Xia, thank you!"

Xia Hong only cupped his fists slightly and didn't give a good look.

Although he appreciated Director Yu Wen Tao, the relationship between the two families could not be called good. Letting them go tonight was also an expedient measure. If he found out later that Director Yu Wen Tao had lied to him, wouldn't the good look he gave now become a huge joke?

Probably knowing Xia Hong's concerns, Director Yu Wen Tao didn't take it to heart. After a dry laugh, he raised his eyes to look at Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan behind him, showing a trace of curiosity first, and then smiled and nodded at the two.

Only at this time did he look a bit like a young person...

Director Yu Wen Tao's slightly childish behavior fell into Xia Hong's eyes, which instead made him feel much more relaxed, and the hostility in his eyes dissipated significantly.

Of course, besides paying attention to Director Yu Wen Tao, he didn't forget to observe how the other people from the Mirror Immortal camp were letting blood from the Demon Sheep.

Several people walked to the Demon Sheep's chest cavity, cut open the outer skin with sabers, and found a red blood vessel with a diameter of three or four centimeters near its heart.

One person stepped forward and cut the blood vessel with a saber. The bright red blood immediately gurgled out, and the others held large leather bags underneath to catch it. Soon, they had caught a full, large bag.

What was miraculous was that during the bloodletting process, the demon sheep's massive body, originally nearly nine meters long, actually began to wither and shrink slowly. By the time half of its blood had been drained, its body had already shrunk by ten to twenty percent, leaving only seven-plus meters in length.

Although this scene made Xia Hong curious, he did not ask, nor did he show any unusual expression on his face; Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan were the same.

The three of them even deliberately turned their heads to hide their curiosity.

There was no help for it; if they were to ask, wouldn't it confirm that this was their first time seeing a mid-level cold beast being bled? Not only would it expose the strength of Great Xia, but their status would also drop significantly all at once.

"Leader Xia Hong!"

Soon, Director Yu Wen Tao threw the sealed bag of cold beast blood over.

Xia Hong reached out and caught it steadily, estimating it to be about thirty jin.

Combined with the processing of low-level cold beasts previously, and inferring from the size of the mid-level cold beast, this was likely the correct blood volume.

After obtaining the blood, Xia Hong did not leave immediately. He looked at Director Yu Wen Tao, his expression gradually becoming solemn, and spoke in a deep voice:

"Since the misunderstanding tonight has been resolved, I, Xia, shouldn't say much more. However, Brother Director Yu Wen, if it is truly as you just said yourself, that you also believe our two sides should be good neighbors, then please, help me take a few words back.

The previous matter regarding the gnawing rat swarm was entirely a misunderstanding. I believe anyone with a discerning eye can see clearly that my Great Xia has absolutely no intention of bearing a grudge against the Mirror Immortal Camp.

The fact that our two sides are neighbors is already a reality. From now on, not to mention living in harmony, at the very least we must ensure that the well water does not interfere with the river water, to avoid unnecessary disputes and conflicts.

From now on, I, Xia, will certainly restrain the people in my camp from setting foot in any area of the Arrow Bamboo Forest, and I also ask that the people of the Mirror Immortal Camp do not cross the boundary without authorization to intrude upon my Red Wood Ridge.

The matter tonight happens only this once.

If it happens again in the future, the Great Xia Camp will show no mercy. Do not say you were not warned!"

"Good, I will certainly convey Leader Xia Hong's words."

Director Yu Wen Tao nodded hurriedly in response. When he looked up again, he found that Xia Hong and the other two had already retreated toward the dense forest to the south.

At the same time, rustling movements came from several large trees nearby; it was clearly the archers Xia Hong had brought along.

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9..."

Director Yu Wen Tao closed his eyes and listened, counting silently to himself. Only when the movements in the large trees completely disappeared did he open his eyes. Looking at the direction where the group from Great Xia had vanished to the south, he let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"Nine Earth-Digging Realm archers—thank goodness there was no conflict!"

Looking at the wound on his shoulder, a trace of relief flashed across Director Yu Wen Tao's face.

He had been watching the changes in Xia Hong's expression the whole time; if the other party had changed their mind, the outcome tonight would have been completely different.

The other nine people were also much more relaxed now, though most of them wore a trace of resentment on their faces, clearly still brooding over that half of the cold beast blood.

"Alright, our lives have been saved, why are you still pulling such long faces?"

As soon as Director Yu Wen Tao finished speaking, the nine of them immediately began to laugh.

One of them even ran to the back of a large tree on the north side and slowly dragged out a behemoth.

It was actually the corpse of a snow mane that had already died.

"Hahahaha, this Xia Hong surely didn't expect that we still had another piece of prey hidden here."

That person dragged the snow mane to the side of the demon sheep and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Hearing this, Director Yu Wen Tao turned his head to look in the direction where Xia Hong and the others had left, and a triumphant smile gradually appeared on his face as well.

"Hahahaha, if I hadn't been afraid that this snow mane would also be discovered, I wouldn't have handed over half the cold beast blood so readily. But this leader of Great Xia is very smart; he cannot be underestimated..."

Director Yu Wen Tao looked back at the nine people, a deep meaning flashing in the depths of his pupils.

"Alright, pack up and leave here quickly. Let's go back first to report to the First Leader and Second Leader; there will inevitably be dealings with the Great Xia Camp from now on."

The group quickly packed up the two pieces of prey, and even carried those who had fainted or lost their lives on the ground on their backs, before following behind Director Yu Wen Tao toward the outskirts of the Red Wood Ridge on the east side.

………………

On the other side, Xia Hong, having gained half a bag of cold beast blood, took Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, and the other eleven people to find Zhu Shun, Qiu Peng, and the other two, and returned to the valley base happily.

(End of chapter)