Chapter 366: The Great Waves Wash Away the Sand to Finally Know You

Chapter 366: The Waves Wash Away the Sands, Revealing the True Gem

Still, the government at least had the decency not to snatch your horse just because they saw it—better than the Kunlun side in that regard...

Or at least the gatekeepers wouldn’t do it so openly; out in the wild, who could say...

Zhao Changhe couldn’t be bothered with all that and honestly paid his entry fee to enter the city.

In a city that theoretically still belonged to Great Xia, there was obviously a legitimate Demon-Slaying Division, though at this moment Zhao Changhe couldn’t be sure if the local branch still counted as his own people.

Ying Wu’s people were actually more reliable than the Demon-Slaying Division in such matters... but Ying Wu’s organization was a semi-secret one.

In necessary places, the underworld could generally guess where Ying Wu’s strongholds were, since they needed to interface for buying and selling intelligence—usually through gambling dens. But in other locations, they were utterly covert, never revealing their identities lightly. Third Lady ran an inn, Chen Yi ran a tavern...

Under Lü Shiheng’s watchful eye, this place probably wasn’t a gambling den either... so how to find them?

In the martial world, he felt surrounded by friends, yet once in the mundane realm, he found himself without a network. It was rather amusing—no wonder ordinary people struggled to find powerful mentors; to most eyes, these organizations existed only in legends.

Zhao Changhe didn’t dwell on it. He found a random tavern to eat: “Boss, give me the ‘Hero’s Special’.”

The boss was taken aback: “What’s a ‘Hero’s Special’?”

“Oh, two measures of wine, a pound of cooked beef.”

“...We’re not allowed to slaughter cattle here.”

Zhao Changhe was stunned. Back when he first crossed over, he’d considered this, but after wandering so long, he’d never actually encountered a place that didn’t sell beef—he’d completely forgotten about it, only to run into it now.

This actually reflected the abundance or scarcity of resources. Cattle were tools of production, not to be casually slaughtered. But if resources were plentiful, the restriction wasn’t so severe. It showed that from the “impending chaos” of those days, they had now truly entered an era of turmoil.

And this place was one of the war’s epicenters.

Not only was there no beef in the tavern, but there were also very few patrons. The large establishment was sparse, with only two or three tables of customers, barely keeping its doors open.

Zhao Changhe didn’t insist and casually said, “Then just a bowl of noodles.”

While eating, he unleashed his powerful senses, enhanced by his breakthrough into the Secret Treasury, and quietly eavesdropped on the chatter at those two or three tables.

His hearing was now truly absurd. If he focused, he could actually hear the breathing of people several zhang away. Combined with his “Eyes Behind the Back” and the “Moon Reflected in Water” technique, he could oversee the entire tavern hall—sight and sound alike—and even sense noises from beyond the walls.

Opening the Secret Treasury didn’t drastically increase raw power, but it was a heaven-and-earth difference in overall capability.

It was likely that if this state continued to develop, it would become the legendary “divine sense,” though for now it still remained within the realm of martial arts.

“These days are tough... no business at all,” a patron sighed.

“These days?” His drinking companion sneered. “The real problem is autumn! It’s spring plowing now, but the city lord is conscripting heavily, forcing men into the army. The farms outside don’t have enough hands for spring plowing—what will they harvest in autumn? The northwest wind?”

“Aren’t the conscripts being sent directly to garrison farms?”

“The grain from those farms goes to the army. What about us? We’ll harvest the northwest wind and then pay a northwest wind tax, right?”

“Shh, keep your voice down.” The friend sighed. “This is all because of the Maitreya Sect’s rampage. Don’t blame the city lord.”

The first man sneered and muttered, “Better if the Maitreya Sect wins. What’s the point of resisting?”

“Shh!” The friend was alarmed. “Don’t say things like that!”

The man shut his mouth.

Whether it was truly the Maitreya Sect’s rampage, or some people using it as an excuse to raise their own armies, remained to be seen.

The root cause was indeed the Maitreya Sect, but if you traced it further back...

The man finally couldn’t hold back and cursed, “Damn it, that tyrant emperor.”

His friend, who had stopped him from welcoming the Maitreya Sect, actually agreed with this: “He deserves to be childless. Even if he had a son, the boy would have no asshole.”

“And his daughter would be fucked by dogs...”

Zhao Changhe: “?”

Forget it, this was just venting and cursing—nothing worth listening to.

But it showed that such talk, once absolutely forbidden, was now openly voiced in Xiangyang without anyone intervening. Only talk of “welcoming the Maitreya Sect” was “not to be said carelessly.”

Lü Shiheng’s stance was clear. Though he resisted the Maitreya Sect, he held no respect for Great Xia.

These two patrons—one likely a merchant, the other a landowner with farms—were both middle-class, yet they were full of resentment. From their words, the common folk must be even worse off.

Zhao Changhe sighed again. No matter how you looked at it, even if the Maitreya Sect were pacified, Great Xia was tottering.

Now the Four Symbols Sect likely had two goddesses at the Triple Secret Treasury level. They had previously felt they lacked top-tier combat power, but now they had it. One alone might still fall short, but two together—few could withstand them. Xia Longyuan was tied up with the gods and demons, and might not be able to spare the strength to deal with two Heavenly Rankings.

With the Blood God Sect’s ten thousand troops poised to strike, Zhao Changhe felt that the Four Symbols Sect igniting war north of the Yangtze was imminent.

Huangfu Qing’s father was still Great Xia’s strongest general, leading the most elite border troops.

What would happen to Wan Zhuang then?

Just as he was thinking this, another table of patrons happened to be discussing Tang Wanzhuang: “Hey, Dazhou, didn’t someone say that Chief Tang had already reached Jiangnan?”

“Yeah, quite a while ago, right?”

“Why hasn’t there been any news for so long? I thought she’d be directing the war and launching a counterattack. Why nothing?”

“War isn’t that simple.” Dazhou snorted. “You think it’s a martial arts duel, just call Maitreya out for a fight and be done?”

“Tang Wanzhuang should know military strategy, shouldn’t she?”

“Actually... when it comes to battlefield tactics, she’s still just a paper tiger now. Maybe she’s not even as good as her nephew Tang Buqi.”

“How do you figure? Tang Buqi has been even more silent. I hear in two months he’ll age out of the Hidden Dragon List...”

“He’s been through countless battles, held off the Maitreya army in sieges of Gusu so many times. You haven’t seen those scenes—you wouldn’t understand...”

“Like you’ve seen them yourself.”

Dazhou didn’t answer that, but returned to the topic of Tang Wanzhuang: “Tang Wanzhuang coming to Jiangnan—I don’t think it’s to command...”

“Then what for?”

“First, to counter Maitreya. Second, to maneuver diplomatically. With her there, other factions can unite and won’t dare to act treacherously. Don’t let her coughing fool you—if she wanted to take someone’s head in the dead of night, few could stop her. Besides, Great Xia still has a bit of lingering prestige. The identity of Demon-Slaying Division Chief still carries weight. Tang Buqi can’t replace Tang Wanzhuang’s role.”

“You’re just a duck seller—how do you know so much?”

“Fuck you. I’m going back. My braised duck isn’t finished yet.”

Zhao Changhe’s heart stirred.

This Dazhou was a bit suspicious... A braised duck seller, yet his insight into Jiangnan affairs was remarkably deep. And he was promoting the positive value of the Tang family and the Demon-Slaying Division—a refreshing contrast to the other patrons’ tone...

Seeing Dazhou pay and leave, Zhao Changhe quietly finished his noodle soup, paid up, and followed him discreetly.

If he wasn’t mistaken, this might be a Demon-Slaying Division agent... As for his praise of Tang Buqi, Zhao Changhe felt it might be exaggerated. That nephew of his...

Just as this thought crossed his mind, golden light suddenly flashed in the sky.

Zhao Changhe looked up in astonishment:

“End of the first month. Tang Wanzhuang battles Maitreya again on Lake Tai. Maitreya retreats in defeat.”

“Tang Buqi, seasoned in battle for years, reaches the Seventh Gate of the Profound Barrier. Amid the clash of Earth Rankings, he flies across the Maitreya Sect’s Celestial Maiden Maze, slays the three Celestial Maidens of Maitreya, leads his troops to shatter the Maitreya army on Lake Tai. The Maitreya general Fachih escapes alone; the remnants scatter in rout. Countless war boats are burned and sunk. The Tang family’s forces of Gusu march south, pointing straight at Hangzhou.”

“Hidden Dragon List updated.”

“Hidden Dragon Ninth: Tang Buqi.”

“The waves wash away the sands; a gentleman is no mere vessel.”