Chapter 645

"Don't secretly cry by yourself, okay~" Wei Shen clung to the big gate, refusing to leave; nearly two hundred people just vanished like that, and he could see that the king felt quite distressed.

If someone has to cry, if you don't leave, I'll beat you until you cry.

... thinking of the King's iron fist, Wei Shen opened the gate.

Everyone had been driven away; the King himself stood blankly at the edge of the sand table, staring at it, lost in thought.

After work hours, this person still hadn't returned to the sleeping palace; his two main obstacles rushed over eagerly. Xiong and the bear came in, but the King didn't even glance at them, until he heard the familiar lazy voice.

Unable to swallow his anger, he just went out.

The King didn't turn back, "Going past Moxin… it looks like that group left under the banner of the Jin family's merchant caravan. If Ping Kang's feedback is correct, they didn't take those two thousand swords. So what is the purpose of their trip? I smell a familiar scent—who likes to play with this kind of thinking, who likes to turn their thoughts to the Western Regions and the steppes? Who bears such a grudge against the northern border that they'd kill to vent their anger? Either it's the ambitious Han Shu warning me, or it's Jingzhou, which would ally with the Western Regions to besiege the southwestern army."

Bai Ze was still a bit surprised, "The Jin family's merchant caravan—shouldn't you first suspect the Prince of Guangling?"

The King shook his head, "I still understand the second brother. He certainly doesn't accept my ascension to the throne, but he won't scheme outward, collude with foreign tribes; he'll only quietly build his own power in Guangling."

Bai Ze: … It's rare, the Bai Li clan still has… a person.

The King made a small face, researching the route ahead from Moxin—toward Jingzhou, toward Han Shu.

... Once they leave Moxin, they'll enter Xinting, then Xiangshan. After leaving Xiangshan, they'll surely avoid the Qing River, skirting its edge to go to Yanzhou. Even if I order a blockade, the local officials will probably pay lip service while opposing in secret, and they'll truly escape. Moreover, the surrounding area is all the Wang clan's domain; even if the Wang clan loses a few Grand Marshals, it's deeply entrenched, death won't eradicate them.

Bai Ze found that this fellow, after being struck, was unusually clear-headed: "Bai Li Jing is already dead, and it wasn't you who killed him—how do you know the Wang clan doesn't want you to ascend? They'd help Jingzhou, even Han Shu."

The King gave a cold snort: "I'm handling the imperial examinations. The Wang clan will never side with me in this lifetime—how many Xie Yuans are there in the world?!"

Bai Ze raised his paw and pointed at Xiangshan: "Then we'll crush them at Xiangshan, letting them get away unscathed—you won't have a good year."

The King anxiously gnawed his claws: "Exactly. My heart feels like it's burning; I just want to chop off their claws and leave them to be buried with my people."

He paused, then after a moment muttered softly: "I'm really tired of all this chaotic internal war."

"These days, obviously the people can't even eat, yet they have to die in meaningless wars. Next year, I'll borrow money to go south!" Hurry up and unify—he's now more anxious than Mengmeng.

The King was so angry he was almost swearing; after circulating his qi for a while, he then pointed at the sand table: "... Leaving Xiangshan to go to Jiangzhou must pass through the Luo Yun Peak of the Qingya Mountain Range. I've cross-checked the full topographic map and the sand table; if we avoid the Qing River, this is the only route to Jiangzhou. If time permits, combining the full topographic map gives us a huge chance to intercept them.... Unfortunately, the southern route goes to Marquis Dingbei, this 'precious' grass."

Bai Ze made a dangerous remark: "You go yourself; even staying at home you're restless, gnawing your hands." These two years this guy hasn't suffered such a big loss—look at how restless he is.

The King pulled a small face: "Do you think I don't want to? There's no time!"

Even if the enemy lacks good horses and is slow, three days and four nights have already passed; the Black Wind Horse and the White Gold Wild Horse taking shortcuts still can't make it. The only hope is my White Dragon… huh? Can I go myself?

Bai Ze was speechless; he glanced at the topographic map: "Marquis Dingbei is still in Moxin; you're going alone to Luo Yun Peak to take on thirty? Bring Ling Yin along—don't just try to make a big splash for no reason."

The King spread his hands: "There's only one White Dragon." Buying another is absolutely out of his reach. Blind-box draws are too much of a pitfall; with his current finances, buying two would be a strain. And the odds of getting a White Dragon from two horse blind boxes… are about zero.

Bai Ze lifted his chin at the Xiong lying on the rug: "Xiong, you like eating dragon—if you can't catch up to the dragon, could you still eat it?"

The King's eyes lit up, 'Exactly~'

This guy has grown as big as a horse!

Xie Yuan had just returned to his mansion, hadn't eaten dinner yet, when he heard that Steward Zhao had arrived.

Xie Yuan's heart skipped a beat—sure enough. Zhao Bao rushed in, panting anxiously: 'Sir! Not good! His Majesty has left the city, saying he wants to go south to Moxin to have a look! Is he going to the village that was slaughtered?'

Xie Yuan pressed his forehead: 'Do you believe that?'

Zhao Bao grew even more urgent: 'That… really going to pursue the assassins?! What are we to do?'

'Did you bring the Xiaoqi cavalry? How many people, and did you say you'd return before the New Year feast if you couldn't catch them?'

'…Only brought Ling Commander, Zhetian, and Xiao Jin. Bai Ze is still in the Suiyu Hall.'

Xie Yuan: … his head was buzzing.