Chapter 865: The Wild Iron Spear and Tea in Winter
The prefect of Fengcheng had already arrived in Fengyang County for tomorrow's tea gathering, and the county government office should now be filled with sounds of congratulations.
Upon hearing this news, the people in the teahouse exchanged silent glances, a chill rising in their hearts.
No one had expected that the Prince of Xiang's seclusion would actually succeed in entering the Divine Domain.
This meant that from the moment he crossed that threshold, as long as he did not rebel or oppose the Dao Sovereign, his position in the Great Zhou Dynasty would be unshakable.
Whether in the imperial court or the military, the Prince of Xiang wielded immense power. Now that he had entered the Divine Domain, he had undoubtedly become a true power minister.
Chen Changsheng recalled that Xu Yourong had once spoken poorly of the Prince of Xiang, saying that although this prince was exceptionally talented, he was dissolute and immoral, with no hope of reaching the Divine Domain. Now, it was clear that these were all false impressions.
For the Prince of Xiang to maintain this facade for so many years meant he must have been plotting something significant, which also meant he was very ambitious.
As the most powerful prince in the Great Zhou Dynasty, if he still harbored ambitions, then what he wanted was very clear.
Chen Changsheng was worried about his senior brother, far away in the deep palace.
At that moment, the sound of an imperial edict being read echoed through the streets again.
The Prince of Xiang entering the Divine Domain was not the entirety of this list change.
Three months ago, the sect master of Lishan Sword Sect had purified his sword with his heart and successfully entered the Divine Domain!
Hearing this news, the oppressive silence in the teahouse was greatly dispelled, like a gentle breeze arriving over the river.
Tang Thirty-Six said to Chen Changsheng, "Congratulations."
The National Academy had once had many entanglements and conflicts with the Lishan Sword Sect, even harboring enmity that was hard to resolve, but those were all in the past.
Now the entire continent knew that between the imperial court and the state religion, the Lishan Sword Sect would naturally support the latter, and they were allies with Chen Changsheng.
The Lishan Sword Sect master entering the Divine Domain was certainly good news for Chen Changsheng and the state religion.
Although a Divine Domain powerhouse could not change the imbalance of power between the two sides, it could at least dilute the shock brought by the Prince of Xiang.
Chen Changsheng thought to himself that it was no wonder such a major event had happened at Lishan, which was why Luobu and Guan Feibai were in such a hurry to return.
Everyone was happy, except Zheshe, whose face showed no expression.
Tang Thirty-Six understood why and comforted her, saying, "Don't think too much. Even if the Lishan Sword Sect master hadn't entered the Divine Domain, you still couldn't beat him."
The red goose had finished its message transmission. It must have replenished its food and water at the county government office and rested for a while before taking off again. Following the mountain path of the county, it flew swiftly toward the river. Presumably, once it reached an open area, it would spread its wings and soar through the clouds, carrying the imperial will to more distant and remote places.
The people in the county looked up at the lightning-fast red shadow in the low sky, cheering and applauding excitedly. Countless gazes followed it, and Chen Changsheng and the others on the teahouse were no exception. Their eyes followed the red goose as it flew over the Gorge River, watching it flap its wings and quickly pass over the iron chains, heading into the sky.
Suddenly, countless crossbow bolts shot out from the forest on the opposite bank of the Gorge River!
The red goose had no time to react before it was struck by the bolts, falling from the sky into the river and quickly disappearing from sight.
Everyone who saw this scene was stunned.
Chen Changsheng's expression turned serious.
He saw very clearly that these crossbow bolts were not aimed at the red goose.
The aura of those bolts was terrifying; they must have been fired from divine crossbows.
No matter how important the red goose was, it didn't require such a dense volley of crossbow bolts, let alone divine crossbow bolts.
Moreover, the message carried by this red goose had nothing to do with urgent military intelligence.
So who was the real target of these divine crossbow bolts?
Above the Gorge River, clouds drifted slowly in the sky, not blocking the morning light, and there was no sign of a storm.
But in the next moment, a deafening roar exploded in the sky, like a thunderclap out of nowhere.
Countless divine crossbow bolts shot through the air again, disappearing somewhere, and then more than a dozen eerie and terrifying sword lights appeared in the sky.
A cloud suddenly scattered, and the sound of tearing air howled.
The river suddenly churned, muddy waves surged into the sky, a fierce wind raged through the forest on the opposite bank, countless trees snapped at their waists, and then countless muffled groans and screams rang out.
Countless splashes of blood sprayed from the dense forest, landing on the river surface, just like the red goose earlier, quickly vanishing without a trace.
The iron chain spanning the river swayed violently, constantly clanging.
A pair of very worn leather boots stepped onto the iron chain.
No matter how much the iron chain swayed, no matter how turbulent the river, no matter how sharp the crossbow bolts and sword lights, those old boots stood incredibly steady.
The fierce wind continued to howl over the river, rustling a piece of white paper, its sound drowning out even the clanging of the iron chain.
That person stood on the iron chain, his face covered with a piece of white paper, with a few black holes cut out, still looking as terrifying as before.
But compared to before, the white paper on his face was missing a small piece, and there were some dark bloodstains on it, likely marks from an old injury.
Clearly, he was severely wounded and had been constantly hunted, without even a moment to rest.
Anyone else in this situation would think only of escaping, at least conserving their strength.
But that person did not do so. He carried his famous iron spear, deflected several incoming crossbow bolts, repelled a sharp sword light, and walked toward Fengyang County.
Countless gazes fell on him, following his steps, silent and tense.
That person shouted at the county, "My tea—who the hell dares to touch it!"
The entire Fengyang County fell silent; no one dared to answer him.
With a single shout, the whole city was silent.
This man was truly arrogant.
No wonder he was called Xiao Zhang of the Painted Armor.
...
...
The winter wild tea of Fengyang County became famous because of Xiao Zhang, but due to being wanted by the imperial court, he had not attended the Fengyang County winter wild tea gathering for two years. The box of tea that the elders of Fengyang County had promised him back then had now been sent to the Prince of Xiang's residence. Everyone thought he wouldn't show up this year either, but he came anyway.
So the people in this county didn't know how to respond.
The iron chain clanged with a crisp sound, the river rippled with a dull thud, and besides these sounds, there was nothing else.
Xiao Zhang stepped off the iron chain, stood on the soil of Fengyang County, and then walked up the long stone steps.
At the top of these stone steps was Seven Treasures Fort.
At the highest point of Seven Treasures Fort was the Treasure Pavilion.
In the Treasure Pavilion was a box of tea.
Could it be that he really came for the tea?