Chapter 401: Northern North's Formal Decree, Xiang Fuhai's Injuries

Yuan Cheng stood where he was, staring at the formal decree. His expression grew somber, and while a trace of guilt stirred in his heart, he clenched his fists tightly and stepped forward, speaking in a low voice to Xia Chuan:

"Prefect, if the three northern towns truly use this matter as leverage to force our Does Does Da Xia into something, we must never agree. I, Yuan Cheng, am responsible for my own actions; since I am the one who stirred up this trouble, I should be the one to bear the consequences. At worst, you can just..."

"What formal decree? Let me see it!"

Before Yuan Cheng could finish his sentence, his words were cut off by a voice from outside the door.

"Greetings, my lord!"

Hearing the voice, Yuan Cheng did not hesitate in the slightest; he turned around and bowed respectfully toward the back. Xia Chuan, who was sitting in the main seat, along with Qiu Peng and Lin Kai, who were seated below, also stood up quickly and bowed respectfully toward the doorway:

"Greetings, my lord!"

Xia Hong did not dawdle. He walked over, took the golden document directly from Yuan Cheng's hands, and then sat in the main seat that Xia Chuan had vacated, lowering his head to examine the document.

【Northern North's Formal Decree: On the night of the first day of the ninth month, Yuan Cheng, Commandant of the Does Does Da Xia Town's Supply Department, led men to ambush and slaughter the Northern North Town Chamber of Commerce's President, Yang Fan, Vice President Yang Pu, and members Yang Yun, Yang Shou, Yang Ding, Zhu Yiqing, Zhang Hewen, Li Kang, Li Xinyan, Zhou Ying, Zhou Longhai, Zhu Long, and Baidong, totaling thirteen people, in the snow forest thirteen kilometers north of Hong Sect City;

Yang Ning witnessed the atrocities of Yuan Cheng and his party with his own eyes, and Does Does Da Xia cannot deny it. Northern North and your town are both among the nine towns of the southern foothills of the Mo'ao Mountains. We should have cast aside the distinctions of status, joined hands, and worked together to build a home in the southern foothills of Mo'ao. Yet Does Does Da Xia has committed such evil acts, which is truly contemptible;

Northern North has already issued a formal decree to notify all towns. On the eighteenth of the ninth month, we shall all gather at Hong Sect. At that time, we hope Does Does Da Xia will hand over the mastermind and grant Northern North—and all the towns of Mo'ao—justice!

—Yang Zun, Qin Feng, Shangguan Yang】

"This formal decree is actually written quite well!"

Hearing Xia Hong's first words after finishing the document, the four people below were momentarily stunned.

Seeing their reactions, Xia Hong smiled, waved the Northern North decree in his hand, and said: "What is it? Is there a problem with what I said? This formal decree from Northern North is written with reason and evidence. It occupies the moral high ground while winning over people's hearts. Setting aside the Muyin and Jiangxia towns for a moment, if the lords of the other five towns see this, standing from the perspective of the nine towns, it would be difficult for them not to support Northern North!

Qin Feng and Shangguan Yang have already signed their names at the bottom. Even if Cao Ganyang and Long Mingyuan do not support it, I suspect they will not oppose the three towns. It is likely that all of them will come together on the eighteenth."

Upon hearing these words, the four men—Xia Chuan and the others—had their expressions turn significantly more somber.

"The regulations of the nine towns in the southern foothills of Mo'ao dictate that internal edicts are called 'Town Edicts,' while diplomatic edicts are 'Formal Decrees.' Formal Decrees are customarily made public. This document from Yang Zun will spread throughout the eight towns in a few days. On the eighteenth, many people will surely come to watch the spectacle. Yang Zun is clearly trying to roast us over a fire!"

Qiu Peng spoke in a low voice, and after the group pondered for a moment, their expressions grew even heavier.

If they truly handed Yuan Cheng over in front of so many people from the eight towns, Does Does Da Xia would lose all face. Naturally, they could not hand Yuan Cheng over.

But if they did not, with such conclusive evidence, and with Yang Zun having already communicated with the seven towns and deliberately making the matter known to all the eight towns, Does Does Da Xia would inevitably be branded as barbaric. All the good reputation they had painstakingly built up over the past two months would be completely ruined.

Ruining their reputation was secondary. If they did not hand over the man, would Yang Zun let the matter rest? Qin Feng and Shangguan Yang had both signed this decree, meaning the Wu Chuan and Jin Shan towns would fully support Northern North. Thinking of this, Xia Chuan could not help but speak in a low voice:

"Not just these three northern towns; Duan Hong was humiliated by the lord at the Hong Sect Banquet and harbors deep hatred for our Does Does Da Xia. Coupled with their unclear connection to Northern North, Chui Mountain will inevitably stand with Northern North. Cao Ganyang and Long Mingyuan, those two fence-sitters, seeing the strength of the four towns, would not dare to oppose them even if they didn't support them. In this way, we would have to face four towns simultaneously!"

"Will the Muyin and Jiangxia towns not support us?"

Yuan Cheng spoke suddenly, but as soon as he finished, seeing the expressions of Xia Chuan and the others, he immediately shut his mouth, his expression turning even more somber.

Muyin and Jiangxia had received Does Does Da Xia's favor, but in such a situation, it was hard to say what choice the two towns would make. Furthermore, one could not decide what choices others would make; Does Does Da Xia had never had the habit of pinning its survival on outsiders.

"It seems my intuition was correct. This Yang Zun is indeed the most troublesome one among the three northern towns. Hong Sect has only been open for trade for a little over two months, and he is already impatient to unite the towns against us. Interesting!"

Xia Hong mused in a low voice. Looking at the contents of the decree, he asked Xia Chuan: "Are these five people—Yang Fan, Yang Pu, Yang Yun, Yang Shou, and Yang Ding—all direct descendants of the Yang clan? What is their relationship to Yang Zun and Yang Fa?"

Xia Chuan, who had a thorough grasp of the situation in the eight towns, immediately replied: "The second generation of the Yang clan uses the character 'Run' in their names. Yang Fan, Yang Pu, and Yang Yun are all of that generation. Yang Fan is the eldest son of the Town Head, Yang Fa; Yang Pu is the fifth son of Yang Zun; and the last one, Yang Yun, is the eldest son of the third brother, Yang Jian. Yang Shou and Yang Ding are of the fourth generation of the Yang clan and are also direct descendants. Both are in their early thirties and have strength exceeding twenty-five *zong*. Because of their talent, they are known as the 'Six Steeds of the Yang Clan' and have some fame among the eight towns."

Hearing this, Xia Hong's brows furrowed slightly.

Five direct descendants—no wonder Yang Zun was acting so ruthlessly.

"The Yang brothers would not use the lives of five direct descendants just to smear us. Therefore, the killing of Yang Fan and the thirteen others must be true. If Yuan Cheng didn't kill them, then someone from another town deliberately smeared us."

Seeing Xia Hong make such a definitive statement without even asking him, Yuan Cheng felt deeply moved.

Xia Hong did not pay attention to Yuan Cheng. After finishing his own musings, he immediately thought of something else and continued: "No, it might not necessarily be another town. It could also be that Cai Qiu Fanzhen or some other extraterrestrial force that has already infiltrated the nine towns!"

Hearing this speculation, the expressions of the four men grew even more solemn.

Yuan Cheng hesitated for a moment, but finally stood forward and said in a low voice: "My lord, with the four towns united, our Does Does Da Xia..."

"Enough. This is not for you to worry about. Do you think that if I handed you over, the problem would be solved? If I truly handed you over, all the prestige Does Does Da Xia has painstakingly accumulated since April would be gone. Once you make this first concession, there will quickly be a second. And the second time won't be as simple as just handing someone over."

Relations between towns are quite pragmatic.

As long as one side shows weakness, the other side will inevitably press their advantage.

Since the Hong Sect Banquet at the end of April, Xia Hong had been striving to shape Does Does Da Xia into an image of immense power, capable of crushing the eight towns of Mo'ao. This was the reason why his actions—seizing Baishang City from Chui Mountain, taking the Jiuqu Camp from Northern North, the subsequent opening of Hong Sect City, and the trade with the eight towns—had all proceeded so smoothly.

In short, the eight towns of Mo'ao, including Muyin and Jiangxia, were currently in a state of fear toward Does Does Da Xia, and the three northern towns, in particular, likely harbored deep apprehension mixed with their fear. After all, over the past four months, Does Does Da Xia had almost completely transformed the ecology of the nine towns, relegating those who were once high and mighty to supporting roles.

The opening of the port and the trade, in particular, had dug into the very foundations of the eight towns. One had to ask: with so many people from village-level camps flocking to Hong Sect City, what dignity remained for the eight town cities? How could they effectively manage those beneath them?

And among those people, who knew how many had been bought off by Does Does Da Xia?

As more and more people came to Hong Sect, the eight towns became increasingly transparent to Does Does Da Xia. For any camp in the Frozen Abyss, this was a terrifying prospect.

They were now effectively being held in check by Does Does Da Xia.

Even if they were to open up the cultivation resources of their town cities to the village-level camps within their borders now, it would be too late; the people would only be grateful to Does Does Da Xia.

Nor could they issue orders forbidding people within their borders from coming to Hong Sect City to buy goods. After all, they themselves were trading with Does Does Da Xia. If they tried to return to the old ways of trading between town cities and selling resources at a premium to those below, they would only force more people to come to Hong Sect City to buy goods.