Chapter 246: Dongfang Dynasty

Gufang Ninglin's emotions collapsed; she sobbed uncontrollably in Jiang Xun's arms, and only after a good while did she finally calm down.

During this time, Jiang Xun used his Spirit Power to dry both of their clothes.

"Thank you," Gufang Ninglin said, looking up at Jiang Xun with tear-filled eyes.

"Don't be so formal, I said I would help you," Jiang Xun looked at Gufang Ninglin and smiled.

"Are you hurt?" Gufang Ninglin asked next.

"Not a scratch," Jiang Xun nodded.

Gufang Ninglin looked into Jiang Xun's eyes for a moment of silence, then couldn't help but kiss him.

Jiang Xun didn't resist; only a fool would pass up a freebie.

After a long while, Gufang Ninglin reluctantly pulled her head away, blushing and lowering her head, not daring to look up at Jiang Xun: "I-I'm sorry... I couldn't help myself."

"It's fine, I'm the one who benefited," Jiang Xun smiled: "Shall we go to the Canghe Dynasty and meet up with your father and the others?"

"Mm..." Gufang Ninglin nodded, and just as she was about to pull away from Jiang Xun's embrace, Jiang Xun simply carried her as he flew out, using his Spirit Power to shield them from the rain so they wouldn't get wet.

To make haste, Jiang Xun tucked Gufang Ninglin's head into his chest so she wouldn't open her eyes, then activated his Crimson Wings and flew toward the Canghe Dynasty at top speed.

By the time Jiang Xun arrived at the Canghe Dynasty, a large number of soldiers were flying out from within the city; judging by the direction, they were heading to the Gufang Dynasty.

It seemed Cang Xingling had already sent word.

"Who goes there!"

Flying was prohibited in the Imperial Palace area; Jiang Xun landed at the palace gate, and the soldiers in front immediately raised their weapons and surrounded him.

The Canghe Dynasty was much more prosperous than the ruins of the Gufang Dynasty, built as a vast oasis in the middle of the desert; while it couldn't compare to the Tianyu Dynasty, it was still quite impressive.

"Tianyu Dynasty, Tian Zeyan."

Jiang Xun let go of Gufang Ninglin and said to the soldiers.

Upon hearing this, the soldiers lowered their weapons one after another, and a man who looked like a squad leader walked up: "So it is His Highness Tian Zeyan. The Holy Emperor has given instructions that you are to go directly to the Imperial Study upon arrival; I will lead the way."

"Mm." Jiang Xun nodded, then followed behind the soldier toward the Imperial Study.

"The soldiers leaving the city are heading to the Gufang Dynasty, right?" Jiang Xun asked while following behind the man.

"Yes," the man nodded: "The Gufang Emperor has already handed over the Gufang Dynasty's Imperial Seal and Dragon Vein Lock to the Holy Emperor. As of this moment, the Gufang Dynasty no longer exists, and that entire region belongs to the Canghe Dynasty."

Hearing this, Gufang Ninglin felt no sadness, only a great sense of relief.

The heavy burden on the Gufang Dynasty could finally be set down; now, she felt light as a feather.

"That many soldiers might not be enough, right?" Jiang Xun asked next.

"Indeed, that is only the first batch. Because the number of commoners is simply too large, we still need time to organize supplies," the man said with a bitter smile.

Jiang Xun nodded and said no more.

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the man stopped in front of the Imperial Study: "Please, you two."

Jiang Xun nodded and led Gufang Ninglin inside.

The interior was in a classic Western Regions style, with imposing totems hanging everywhere; the room was decorated quite luxuriously, with sparkling jewels and an overbearing air of nobility.

Two rows of soldiers with curved blades at their waists stood on either side.

Walking past these soldiers and through a wall, Jiang Xun saw Jiang Yan and the others sitting below.

Looking up, two steps higher, behind a long table, sat a middle-aged man wearing red and green robes and a diamond-encrusted felt hat.

"This must be the little prince Tian Zeyan; it has been a long time," the man stood up immediately upon seeing Jiang Xun.

This action startled Jiang Yan and the others present, and they hurriedly stood up as well.

Jiang Yan couldn't help but wonder in her heart, this... Jiang Xun has such high standing in the Canghe Dynasty?

"Holy Emperor, you mustn't; this gesture is too grand," Jiang Xun cried out hurriedly as he saw the Zanghe Holy Emperor nearly bowing to him.

If you bow to me like this, how am I supposed to explain the reason?

Jiang Xun had saved the entire Canghe Dynasty with the Soul Returning Pill; otherwise, they would have had no chance to take the land of the Gufang Dynasty now. Naturally, the Zanghe Holy Emperor was immensely grateful to Jiang Xun and had long wanted to meet him.

But Gufang Ninglin and the others were still here, and there were so many soldiers around.

"Eh! The little prince is worthy of it!" The Zanghe Holy Emperor seemed to realize his reaction was a bit too excited and hurriedly found an excuse: "The little prince entered the Gufang Dynasty alone and saved over thirty million commoners. This bow of mine is for the commoners!"

It seems that the Holy Emperor of any dynasty is an old fox.

With this one sentence, he not only explained his behavior clearly but also firmly established a persona of loving his country and people more than himself.

"I only did what I could. The work ahead still requires you, Holy Emperor. What I did was insignificant, insignificant," Jiang Xun waved his hand and smiled.

"Quickly, take your seats!" The Zanghe Holy Emperor replied, leading Jiang Xun and Gufang Ninglin to their seats before returning to his own: "Could the little prince tell me in detail what exactly happened in the Gufang Dynasty?"

Jiang Xun realized upon hearing this that Gufang Chennian and the others couldn't speak of it, and Jiang Yan didn't know the details either, so the Zanghe Holy Emperor was still completely in the dark.

So, he gave a rough account of how Jiabuli had been sealed by the Gufang Dynasty.

"It really was Jiabuli!" The Zanghe Holy Emperor looked terrified after hearing this, then looked at Jiang Xun with admiration: "The little prince dealt with Jiabuli and came out without a scratch?"

"Just luck," Jiang Xun waved his hand: "He was already a remnant soul and couldn't even exert one percent of his original strength. My abilities just happened to counter his yellow sand, so he couldn't do anything to me and had no choice but to die."

"That said, what are your arrangements for the Gufang Dynasty, Holy Emperor?" Jiang Xun asked, looking at the Zanghe Holy Emperor.

"To be honest, the Canghe Dynasty as it stands now simply cannot properly accommodate all the refugees, nor can we produce that many supplies, so I have contacted the Dongfang Dynasty," the Zanghe Holy Emperor looked somewhat helpless.

"The Dongfang Dynasty? The number one dynasty of the Western Regions?" Jiang Xun asked.

"Exactly," the Zanghe Holy Emperor nodded: "In exchange, half of the Gufang Dynasty's land will be given to the Dongfang Dynasty, and the refugees will be resettled later. The top priority is to ensure they have food, water, and a place to shelter from the wind and rain."

"Furthermore, we need to sow seeds, build houses, and provide comfort; these are all time-consuming and laborious. It will take some time to fully stabilize."

"Actually, this might not be a bad thing. At the very least, during this time, the Dongfang Dynasty and the Canghe Dynasty can be considered allies," Jiang Xun nodded and smiled; this was a predictable result.

The status of the Dongfang Dynasty in the Western Regions was equivalent to the status of the Tianyu Dynasty and the Lingyun Dynasty in Nanwu and Dongming; it was a top-tier dynasty of the Western Regions with immense strength.