Ch 137: Cooperation
“Let’s stop here! Any further, and we’ll be out of the Border Pass.”
Beside the small river, Lin Che saw that even though Chi Feiwan had walked far enough, she still showed no sign of stopping.
He had to speak up.
Chi Feiwan glanced back, discovering that those Retainers and Warhorses were quite tiny. Regardless of their Cultivation Level, they certainly couldn’t hear them.
She then spoke: “Lin Che, do you know that your trip to Yan Yun Kingdom is a certain death sentence?”
Lin Che offered a faint smile and said, “I’ve heard this kind of opening line many times. The Grand Herald’s records are almost always like this—first, they say I’m in great danger, then you save me. Is that right?”
Chi Feiwan gritted her teeth and quickly said, “Fine. I’ve had plenty of time to understand what kind of person you, Lin Che, are. I’ll give you some inside information. After you hear it, decide whether you want to cooperate with me!”
Chi Feiwan stared straight into Lin Che’s eyes and said, word by word:
“Your Second Prince, Jiang Yanshu! He’s not dead!!”
Lin Che’s pupils constricted upon hearing this.
He wasn’t surprised by the news itself; he had already learned from the Secret Edict that the Second Prince was still alive. What surprised him was that Chi Feiwan would reveal such a huge secret so casually.
Wasn’t she afraid that after hearing this, he would immediately change his mind and not go to Yan Yun Kingdom?
Or did she know that he already knew the Second Prince was alive?
Or perhaps, Chi Feiwan had a deeper scheme? She willingly revealed this information early, just to discuss cooperation later?
Lin Che lowered his voice and quickly said, “He’s not dead? Is he in Yan Yun Kingdom? What is he doing? Did your Imperial Family imprison him, or is he cooperating with your Imperial Family?”
“I saw him die before my own eyes. Why did he fake his death? Why conceal this from me for so many years? Now you tell me, what are your motives?”
Chi Feiwan seemed quite pleased with Lin Che’s barrage of questions.
She proudly tilted her head, smiling, “You have too many questions. You can only get those answers after we cooperate, not now.”
“But I find you somewhat congenial, so I’ll give you a hint. Back then, you were too…mediocre. Or rather, you hid yourself too well. Even if Yanshu had some plans, or our Imperial Family had some plots, you couldn’t help. It’s better to let you just deliver a message back.”
“But now you’re different. Now you qualify to cooperate with me.”
Depressing.
Annoying.
Although Chi Feiwan spoke implicitly, her meaning was clear: Lin Che was too useless before, a liability.
Lin Che didn’t know whether he should be happy or not with such an assessment.
“Why are you telling me this secret now? What kind of cooperation do you want?”
Chi Feiwan smiled charmingly, with a touch of allure. She gently poked Lin Che’s chest with her fair finger and whispered:
“They can’t see it, but I can. Your detour, your assault on the Zhenyuan Army, was all for self-preservation. You want to expand your forces; you want to control your own destiny. Isn’t that right?”
Lin Che was very straightforward; he grabbed her soft hand and whispered:
“That’s right. It seems Princess Yunmeng has a sharp eye.”
Lin Che openly admitted; his actions wouldn’t remain hidden for long.
With over three hundred Military Doctors, he could still get away with it; a few hundred empty Warhorses could also be explained away.
But if he continued recruiting and integrating soldiers, the Blade Servants would inevitably discover his intentions.
“What are you doing? Are you acting like a hooligan? Let go,” Chi Feiwan forcefully pulled away from Lin Che’s grasp, glaring at him in shame and anger.
Lin Che was quite innocent.
How was that acting like a hooligan?
She poked his chest, he didn’t grab her hand back, or reach inside.
Where was the hooliganism?
“Look, you were the one being touchy-feely first.”
Chi Feiwan didn’t want to argue, continuing, “My cooperation with you is simple. I will tell you everything you want to know before we reach Yan Yun Kingdom. All you have to do is follow the route I tell you.”
“What route?”
“Going southwest from here, there’s a dangerous place called Chengzhao. It’s notoriously desolate, with poisonous gas lingering for half the year. Even Daqian abandoned this place…”
Chi Feiwan lowered her voice, “But I know the Original Inhabitants there are all fierce and ruthless. They have dozens of Races, each with their own methods. Aren’t you short of men? You can go there and recruit them as your Retainers. Expand your forces!”
Lin Che was even more puzzled.
What was Chi Feiwan doing? Shouldn’t she be trying to manipulate him?
She was even pointing out places to recruit Military Manpower?
This was illogical.
Strange behavior usually signals a hidden agenda.
Chi Feiwan seemed to see Lin Che’s confusion:
“Don’t doubt me. I’m in your hands right now; if I were to deceive you, your Cultivation Level could kill me instantly. Right now, we’re in the same boat.”
“I naturally have my difficulties. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be cooperating with you, a Daqian Envoy. With just three thousand men, you can’t even escape Lin Pojun’s pursuit, much less survive in the Yan Yun Sixteen Prefectures; you’d be wiped out in an instant.”
“You think that Gong Chengyin’s death means no one will investigate? You will pay for it, and so will I. But if you have tens of thousands of strong soldiers, not only will you survive, but I might also escape unscathed. Do you understand?”
It seemed that the situation in Yan Yun Kingdom was also quite complicated.
Chi Feiwan’s predicament was similar to what Lin Che had faced before.
Second Prince Jiang Yanshu was dead, but Lin Che returned alive, and many people hated Lin Che for failing to protect the Second Prince.
Chi Feiwan was in a similar situation now; with Gong Chengyin dead, countless political rivals would attack her.
She had no other choice but to cooperate with him.
Lin Che was also moved because he had no better choice.
Recruiting troops was his only option. Could he really take three thousand men to Yan Yun Kingdom? Facing an enemy with one hundred thousand troops, even if they stood there letting him cut them down, he couldn’t finish them all.
“Since you’re telling me to subdue these…commoners, it can’t just be empty words, right? If that’s the case, I’ll give you a solution. Go and gather all the soldiers of Yan Yun Kingdom under your command. Even if you kill ten princes, you’ll be fine.”
Chi Feiwan rolled her eyes at Lin Che: “Since I’m cooperating with you, I’m naturally being sincere. To be frank, we’ve already contacted those Original Inhabitants. The idea is that, one day, if war breaks out with Daqian, we can use those Original Inhabitants to create chaos in Daqian.”
“So, if you listen to me, I have a fifty percent chance of subduing a portion of them.”
“Lin Che, whether you’re a dragon or a snake depends on your choice now!”
