Chapter 426: Reaping What One Sows, The Orphan of Hezang, Sudden Change and Hatred

"Cheng Ping is truly not a heinous sinner. I have also met his eldest son, Chengyang. Since childhood, he has been the apple of his father's eye. If not for his memories being tampered with, he would absolutely never have conceived the idea of harming the Lord. Sigh..."

Watching Cheng Ping exit the great hall, Li Longkai let out a soft sigh.

Suddenly, he thought of something else and bowed to Lin Kai, saying, "My Lord, as of last night, the last messenger sent to Beishuo has returned. Now, the portraits of the six people in Chen Cang's group, including the already deceased Chu Dongning—seven portraits in total—have all been received by the Eight Towns..."

At this point, Li Longkai paused, his face darkening as he continued, "Of course, the official dispatches sent to the Eight Towns clearly state that these seven, along with the person who incited the conflicts in the Jiuzhen over the past half-year, all came from the Cai Qiu Fanzhen."

"Good!"

Hearing this, Lin Kai nodded immediately, sneering as he shook his head. "To strike at a child under ten years old within Xia City; to wantonly tamper with others' memories to incite conflict in the Jiuzhen—from the conduct of these eight, one can basically infer the operating style of Chen Cang's upper echelons. They are unscrupulous in achieving their goals, treat human life like grass, and act as if they are the masters of the world, not regarding others as human. Even if such a camp reaches the Fanzhen level, it is a great scourge. Since they enjoy inciting trouble, let them reap what they have sown."

Li Longkai nodded heavily, clearly in extreme agreement with Lin Kai's words.

The facts were indeed so!

That person from Chen Cang, in order to incite conflict in the Jiuzhen, had killed nearly two hundred people in the preceding half-year, and they were indiscriminate killings. Anyone with even a little weight in their respective town cities became his target.

To kill Lin Kai, he could even strike down a child who had not yet reached adulthood, like Cheng Ping's son, Chengyang, which shows the ruthless nature of that person from Chen Cang.

If it were just him alone, it could be called an isolated case for Chen Cang, but Chu Yanger's group of seven infiltrating Xia City and attempting to strike at a group of children in the inner city was very persuasive.

Peering through a tube at a leopard, basically all camps in the Frozen Abyss follow the example of their superiors. If these eight act in such a way, the upper echelons of Chen Cang are absolutely no better.

Thinking of this, Li Longkai could not help but feel a sense of disgust toward Chen Cang, sneering, "There are quite a few Cai Qiu secret agents hidden in the Jiuzhen. Once the portraits of these seven are thoroughly spread, the big black pot of inciting the Jiuzhen will be firmly placed on Cai Qiu's head. Those secret agents will definitely send the news back, and by then, no matter how Chen Cang explains it, it will be useless. The two Fanzhens will inevitably develop a rift because of this..."

Li Longkai had already learned from Lin Kai that framing Cai Qiu for the evil deeds done by the Chen Cang people was Xia Hong's idea. So, at this point, he could not help but show admiration first before continuing with a smile, "The Lord's move is truly too brilliant, hahahaha!"

Lin Kai also could not help but laugh, his face likewise full of admiration.

This move by Xia Hong was indeed too brilliant!

Judging by Cai Qiu's current behavior of only sending secret agents, they are likely worried about alerting the Jiuzhen and causing them to be on guard, so they do not want to reveal themselves to the people of the Jiuzhen too early.

And Does Does Da Xia's move of calling a deer a horse, deliberately labeling Chu Yanger's group as Cai Qiu people, not only completely exposed Cai Qiu but also dumped the debt of nearly two hundred lives created by that person from Chen Cang onto them.

As long as Cai Qiu's upper echelons think about it a little, they will naturally reach the conclusion: Chen Cang chose to kill and frame them to seize the initiative for expansion, deliberately causing the Jiuzhen to be on guard against Cai Qiu.

By then, no matter how Chen Cang explains it, it will be useless!

Does Does Da Xia is, after all, the weaker party and has produced the accurate portraits of Chu Yanger's seven. No matter how smart Cai Qiu is, they would not think Does Does Da Xia deliberately played dirty. Coupled with the fact that both sides now want to expand toward the Southern Foothills, they naturally have conflicts. Whether from the motive or the result, it can only be that Chen Cang deliberately framed them.

"Then, my Lord, since the Eight Towns have all been notified, can we thoroughly publish the portraits of those seven throughout Does Does Da Xia?"

"Of course! Not just those seven..."

Lin Kai gave the answer directly, then paused and continued, "After the failed interception at Fengyang Village, that person from Chen Cang should have realized that his method of tampering with memories has failed here. Theoretically, he should not strike again, but just in case, it is better to thoroughly publish his information to avoid another situation like Cheng Ping's."

Li Longkai nodded immediately. Last October, after the Three Towns Chamber of Commerce case was solved, the Secretary, in order not to alert the enemy, proposed to the upper echelons of the Eight Towns not to disclose this person's ability to alter memories for the time being. The situation in the other eight towns is unclear, but Does Does Da Xia indeed did not disclose it completely.

As of now, only the middle and high-level personnel in various places, as well as military soldiers with higher authority, know about this matter.

The method of tampering with memories wins by being covert and impossible to guard against. Once many people know about it and are on guard, coupled with Does Does Da Xia's method of breaking it, it will be difficult for it to be effective again.

Therefore, making it public can be considered as ending this person's intention to continue inciting conflicts in the Jiuzhen using this method.

"Publish it officially at dawn. Post the portraits of Chu Yanger's seven, including the general information of this person from Chen Cang, all over the inside and outside of the Nancheng. Also, send people to Bashang to notify Lord Xu so that they can synchronize the disclosure there."

"This subordinate will go do it right away!"

…………

Just as Lin Kai and Li Longkai were discussing the results in the great hall.

Nancheng, Residence No. 172, West District.

The main gate was pushed open from the outside. A black-clad youth, looking to be in his early twenties with a gloomy face, walked in quickly. He closed the main gate nervously and then hurried toward the inner chamber.

As soon as the black-clad youth entered the inner chamber, he immediately tore open his upper garment.

On his chest area, a small silver-white cat was tattooed.

The cat's body only occupied half of the youth's chest, estimated to be the size of an adult's palm, but the eight thick and long silver tails behind it almost wrapped around the youth's entire upper body.

The cat was entirely silver-white, only its four claws were black, and a layer of black Qi seemed to linger around the claws. The details of the fur all over its body were clear, and a pair of silver-white pupils were exceptionally conspicuous. It was tilting its head and opening its mouth to reveal sharp fangs, as if it could bite off the black-clad youth's neck at any moment.

The youth looked down at the silver eight-tailed cat, a trace of fear first appearing in his eyes, but then he thought of something and spoke with anger in his voice:

"That Shadow Demon Insect has already been killed. You cannot strike recklessly anymore. The number of people patrolling the Nancheng is increasing these days, and their strength is also getting stronger. I was targeted just for going to the Wanbao Tower to buy pills. If you strike without authorization again, you will harm both of us to death."

After the black-clad youth finished speaking, the cat tattoo on his chest immediately erupted with a burst of strong silver-white light.

And as the strong light rose, the youth's expression began to become painful, and the degree of pain was clearly intensifying, until his expression was twisted to the point of distortion, and he could not help but flop onto the ground.

"Heh... heh..."

This was not over yet. Suppressed and low painful sounds kept coming from his throat. His body kept twisting and struggling on the ground. His waist and abdomen suddenly arched upward, his hands and feet supported him on the ground, and his limbs were also twisting at incredible angles.

As the youth's limbs became more twisted, a layer of fine silver fluff suddenly grew on his body surface. His eyes gradually enlarged, his nose slowly shrank, and his hands and feet also began to become sharp, clearly undergoing some kind of beastification.

It was just that this beastification stopped abruptly after only half-way.

"I lost a life just to bring you out of Hezang, helping you steal so much silver back so you could buy cultivation resources to become stronger. Not only are you not grateful, but you dare to shout at me?"

As the beastification suddenly stopped, the black-clad youth also opened his mouth, but this time, what came out was not his own voice, but a female voice full of chill, clearly issued by the cat demon in his body.

"That sounds nice. You stole the silver... mainly for yourself. Don't think I don't know. You have already secretly infected more than ten people with cat plague. What exactly do you want to do? You saw it last September. This Does Does Da Xia Lord's strength is very strong. If you really lure him over, both of us will die!"

The black-clad youth still refused to yield. After roaring these words, he gritted his teeth and endured the severe pain in his body, continuing, "It was not easy to escape from Hezang. I still have to go back for revenge. Don't even think about harming me to death here. If you act without my consent again, we will break up... ah!"

Before he finished speaking, he let out a scream. The beastification that had already stopped began again, and the speed was faster than before. In less than two or three breaths, his body shrank to less than half of its original size, his whole body was almost covered by silver-white fur, his limbs turned into claws, and his face became completely like a cat's.

"Break up? You think quite beautifully. You think it's still like when we just escaped from Hezang, where we have to discuss everything? Your internal organs have all been completely assimilated by me with cat plague. If it weren't for the convenience of continuing to mix in the crowd, I would have completely occupied this skin of yours long ago, hehehehe..."

The cat demon issued a harsh, cruel laugh, and then said with madness in its voice, "You can only listen to me obediently now. This Hong Sect City not only has a large amount of silver but also so many people with not-low cultivation. It is too suitable for me to heal my wounds. It is too suitable for me, hehehehe..."

………………

Does Does Da Xia Year 9, March 2nd, daytime.

Northwest of Hong Sect, outer area on the south side of Mount Beining.

In the quiet snow forest, a female corpse was lying on its back on the snow. The female corpse looked to be under twenty years old. There was a deep knife wound on her neck, the bones inside were clearly visible, almost cutting her head off directly.

Although one could see that her appearance before death was not bad, she was a corpse after all. At this moment, the posture of her pupils wide open, coupled with the fact that her face still maintained the terrified expression before death, meant she really could not be associated with beauty.

Kneeling on the female corpse was a black-clad youth.

There were two knife wounds on the youth's back, and the blood inside was frozen by the cold air. But judging from his weak breath, unlike the female corpse on the ground, he was not dead, just in a coma.

Even though the youth was in a coma, he still opened his arms, protecting the female corpse below tightly. His face was full of terror and pleading. From his facial expression and the snow stains on his forehead, it was not hard to guess that when he woke up, he should have been bitterly pleading with the murderer not to kill anyone.

"Brother, Dad and Mom were both killed by the Wood Puppet Ghost. What will we do in the future?"

"Brother, the Lord is so amazing, he caught prey again. Can you get a share?"

"Brother, you broke through to the Woodcutting Realm, that's great, hahahaha."

"A-Jiang also broke through to the Woodcutting Realm, hahahaha!"

"Brother, we are going to move to the valley, we are going to live in a new place in the future."

…………

Ji Hong suddenly had a very, very long dream.

The dream started more than ten years ago on a dirt slope in Does Does Da Xia. He was fourteen years old, holding his nine-year-old sister Ji Jiang, witnessing his parents being killed by the Wood Puppet Ghost. That was the darkest moment in his and his sister's life.

Ji Hong remembered very clearly that at that time, he even had the thought of taking his sister to die together, thinking that as long as he did that, he could continue to live with his parents.

But since then, his life had changed.

The Lord Xia Hong brought back prey for the first time; he and his sister got beast meat for the first time; his basic strength broke through five thousand jin, and he joined the Woodcutting Team; he took his sister and followed everyone in the camp from the dirt slope to the valley; he took his sister to live in a wooden house in the main building; later his sister also broke through to the Woodcutting Realm; after the Does Does Da Xia valley reform, he earned enough contribution points, bought land, and moved into a new home with his sister...

After surviving the darkest moment, after the Lord was changed to Xia Hong, the lives of the two siblings had been getting better day by day. Beast meat, clothing, refined salt, fine wine, pills... all kinds of novel materials kept emerging in the camp like bamboo shoots after rain. They lived a happy life they could never have imagined before.

"Brother, I want to join your hunting team, let me go, okay?"

"The Camp Needs Department is too boring, brother, I joined the Xia Clothing Workshop of the Craftsman Department!"

"Brother, I have already broken through, and I have superior combat body aptitude, hahahaha, how is it, am I amazing? Amazing, right?"

"Brother, you also broke through, and you have supreme combat body aptitude, that's great!"

"Guess who I am?"

The dream continued.

His sister Ji Jiang's aptitude was much stronger than his useless brother's. Just after turning fifteen, her basic strength was close to the limit of thirty thousand jin, and she was arguing with him to join the hunting team.

Of course, she was rejected by him in the end.

A girl, how dangerous it is to fight with cold beasts outside. It's better to obediently enter the Camp Needs Department and stay in Xia City safely.

Does Does Da Xia Year 7, his sister actually broke through to the Cold-Resisting level one step ahead of him, and she had superior combat body aptitude. Ji Hong was so happy at that time, he spent a huge sum of money to buy a jin of Fengyang Drunk from the Camp Needs Department to celebrate for his sister.

The dream came to September of Does Does Da Xia Year 8. Because he adventurously cooperated with Xiao Heng to save a group of people in Jiangxia Town, he received a separate commendation from the Lord and obtained a jin of Flood Dragon blood, successfully breaking through to the Cold-Resisting level with supreme combat body aptitude.

As soon as he broke through, he received an invitation letter from Deputy Commander Director Yu Wen Yong, becoming a member of the Long Wu Army reserve, and his reputation immediately resounded throughout the entire Bashang area.

The dream at this stage finally stopped on the night of September 16th, Does Does Da Xia Year 8. He followed the Long Wu Army to transport materials to Hong Sect City, and during the rest period, he planned to visit the Nancheng.

Just as he stepped into the Nancheng, his sister Ji Jiang covered his eyes from behind.

Ji Hong in the dream seemed to have noticed something. A look of panic suddenly appeared on his face. He dared not turn his head to look at his sister, and he did not even want to continue this dream.

However, the dream did not stop because of his resistance.

As soon as the Battle of Hong Sect ended, he found Lin Kai and helped his sister solve the matter with Xu An. Although he suffered humiliation from the Zhao brothers in the middle, as long as he thought of his sister's crisp laughter, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

The timeline in the dream came to Does Does Da Xia Year 9.

In February, the Long Wu Army finally had a vacancy. He changed from a reserve to an official member of the 5th Team of the Scout Battalion. And at the end of February, he welcomed his first rotation after joining the army, with a total of seven days of vacation.

He hadn't seen his sister Ji Jiang for five months. Without any hesitation, Ji Hong packed his things, bid farewell to the captain, and headed straight for Hong Sect City.

"Brother, you have been supporting me for almost ten years. I can finally earn some contribution points now, so I just thought of helping you buy some cultivation resources."

"You rely on yourself for everything, and I rely on you. Your cultivation speed was originally dragged down by me. Brother Xu An is only two years older than you. In the early years, your strength was actually very close. Now the difference is so big because of me. Do you want me to feel guilty for a lifetime?"

"If your strength can improve faster, wouldn't you be able to protect me better?"

…………

Because of the Yangyuan Pill, A-Jiang argued with him. Of course, like the previous arguments, it ended with him compromising in the end.

"If your strength can improve faster, wouldn't you be able to protect me better?"

Ji Hong in the dream repeated this sentence of his sister. He seemed to have suddenly remembered something. He suddenly held his head with a twisted expression, unwilling to let the dream continue. He drew the saber from his waist and slashed wildly in front of him, trying to escape the dream.

However, no matter how hysterical he was, the dream continued...

"Brother, it's so good to have you!"

He learned that his sister's shop was in trouble, so he decided to use the seven days of vacation to take his sister into Mount Beining to hunt and store more beast skin materials for her.

He returned during the day on March 1st. A-Jiang felt sorry for him, so she took him to eat a meal first and let him have a good rest.

It just so happened that Ji Hong was indeed very tired in the army, so he slept until the second half of the night of March 1st.

After waking up, he found that his sister had already packed up.

So the two of them went into Mount Beining together. ===== CHAPTER 427 =====