Chapter 169

  Tang Yin spent nine whole days in the Mountain of Ten Thousand Beasts before coming out, which made Qiu Zhen and Shangguan Yuanguo extremely anxious.

  As the main general, people have important things to discuss and handle with Tang Yin, but when Tang Yin is not around, everyone naturally becomes suspicious and wonders where the county magistrate has gone.

  People can't find Tang Yan, so they come to Qiu Zhen who is closest to him. Qiu Zhen explains that Tang Yan is in seclusion for cultivation, but this explanation might fool ordinary officials, how could it deceive those martial generals? Tang Yan is a dark cultivator of the inner sect, his cultivation doesn't rely on practice and improvement, how can he possibly be in seclusion for cultivation?

  Qiu Zhen was questioned by the generals and had nothing to say, finally he could only say irrationally: "I don't know why the master is in seclusion for cultivation, if you have any questions, let's talk about it when the master comes out."

  "When will the adults go out?"

  Qiu Zhen wrapped her arms around her, tiptoeing and said calmly: "Maybe three or five days, maybe ten days, half a month, who knows!"

  If it weren't for Qiu Zhen's high official position and being Tang Yin's most trusted confidant, the crowd would have probably endured no longer and beaten him severely.

  He could withstand the questioning of the other generals, but he couldn't withstand Fan Min's questioning. Upon learning that Tang Yin had gone missing, Fan Min became anxious like an ant on a hot pot, almost following Qiu Zhen every day, constantly asking where Tang Yin was in seclusion, why he wanted to be in seclusion, and how long he would be in seclusion.

  It's a delightful thing to be chased by such a beautiful woman like Fan Min, but if she were the wife of his own master, it would be a different story altogether. In the end, Qiu Zhen was so entangled by Fan Min that he even wanted to find a place to retreat and cultivate in seclusion; he even suspected that Tang Yin had chosen to go to Wan Shou Mountain just to escape her.

  Just when Qiu Zhen was about to collapse, Tang Yin finally returned to Tian Guan.

  Tang Yin returned, immediately causing a stir among the heavily armed soldiers. As he had expected when he left, some people suspected that his disappearance was a desertion in the face of battle. However, Qiu Zhen's words were tight-lipped, and he insisted that Tang Yin was still within the Tian Guan, which prevented the emotions of the soldiers from getting out of control.

  At this time, seeing Tang Yan 'out of the pass', people's heart calculation is completely let go. What makes the crowd feel surprised is that Tang Yan's cultivation has actually increased a lot, and now it has reached the Ling Tian realm. Even in the entire Huang Tian Empire, cultivators who can reach the Ling Tian realm are extremely rare.

  "Has Senior really gone into seclusion to cultivate?" asked Shangguan Yuanwu and Shangguan Yuanbiao in surprise after using their Insight.

  "Of course!" Tang Yin nodded with satisfaction.

  "But... how can cultivation increase one's attainment so quickly? From the Spiritual Origin Realm to the Spiritual Heaven Realm, it only took you nine days, but my two brothers and I might not be able to reach that level even after nine years of bitter practice." Upper Official Yuan Wu furrowed his brow, extremely perplexed - could it be that Tang Yin was also a prodigy like Second Brother?

  Tang Yin looked up and smiled, saying half-truthfully: "When I was cultivating, I met a giant dragon who said he could help me succeed. As it turned out, he really did help me improve my cultivation quite a bit."

  "What? A giant dragon?" Everyone who heard this was bewildered and couldn't make sense of it, nor did they know whether it was true or false.

  Qiu Zhen reacted extremely quickly, and upon hearing the words, his eyes rolled around, and a surprised and delighted expression immediately appeared on his face. He bowed deeply, with one knee to the ground, and repeatedly said: "Congratulations, sir! Congratulations, sir!"

  He was taken aback by Qiu's sudden congratulations and asked in surprise: "Lord Qiu, what are you congratulating me on?"

  "Of course, it's because the great lord has the help of a divine dragon! It seems that even heaven is on our side, sending down a divine dragon to assist the lord!" He turned his head to look at the other generals and exclaimed excitedly: "It can be seen that in this campaign to punish the rebels, our army will surely win, and the old thief Zhong Tian will surely perish!"

  "What...?! Qiu Zhen's words had just come out, and the crowd was already cheering and shouting in unison: "Zhong Tian will surely perish! Zhong Tian will surely perish! Our army will surely win! Our army will surely win......"

  He had only made a half-true and half-false joke, but it actually brought about such an effect. Tang Yin was also unexpected.

  At this moment, he happened to see Fan Min squeezing out of the crowd. Tang Yin's face suddenly revealed a smile, and he stretched out his hand to pull Fan Min into his arms, while walking towards his own camp, whispering: "I don't have time to idle around with you all here!"

  Tang Yin was gone, but the rumor that he was assisted by the divine dragon also spread and became more intense. At that time, 99% of people were superstitious, believing in the existence of gods in heaven and the existence of dragons. Since Tang Yin could get the help of the divine dragon, he was naturally a chosen person of God, a proud son of heaven, and a successor of the dragon.

  This news spread not only throughout the Tianyuan Prefecture, but also to the entire Fengguo. As a result, Tang Yin's civil and military officials all had legitimate and loud titles, Longzhemen.

  On the third day after Tang Yan returned to Tian Guan, a flying pigeon letter from Lu Fang in Yancheng arrived at Tian Guan. The letter was brief and only indicated that the underground passage was still usable, his friend was willing to lend a hand, and asked Tang Yan to send someone over quickly.

  Having obtained Lu Fang's confirmation, Tang Yin immediately gathered his generals and proposed that he would go to Yancheng, bringing with him the three brothers Guan Yuanrang, Guan Yuanwu, and Guan Yuanbiao, as well as Cheng Jin and other hidden arrow personnel.

  Although many people had mentally prepared, they still felt that Tang Yin's trip was too dangerous. After all, Yancheng was Zhong Tian's old nest, and Tang Yin was the only person in Feng Guo who openly expressed his opposition to Zhong Tian. Going to Yancheng to rescue someone was like pulling out a tiger's teeth.

  Listening to everyone's advice, Tang Yin burst out laughing and said: "Have you all forgotten? I am the one who has received the help of the divine dragon. Since I have the divine dragon helping me, how can Zhong Tian possibly harm me?"

  "...This..." Hearing Tang Yin say this, everyone fell silent, looking at each other in dismay, no one dared to speak again.

  Tang Yin said solemnly: "During my absence, military affairs will be fully handled by Lord Qiu, and government affairs will be fully handled by Lord Shang. Does anyone have any objections?"

  Seeing everyone shaking their heads, Tang Yin said: "Well, it's settled then. I'll set off early tomorrow morning."

  "Wait!" At this time, Cheng Jin said with a difficult expression: "Can we trust Lu Fang? What if he's deceiving us and intentionally leads us there..."

  "No." Before he could finish speaking, Tang Yin bluntly interrupted him and said: "The quality of a knight-errant may vary, but they also value loyalty the most. I believe that Lu Fang will not deceive me, so General Cheng doesn't need to worry anymore."

  "Yes! I understand." Hearing Tang Yin's firm tone, Cheng Jin didn't dare continue speaking.

  That night, Tang Yin took the initiative to find Fan Min to bid farewell.

  Fan Min was very concerned about Tang Yin's trip to Yancheng this time, but she had never taken the initiative to ask him. This made Tang Yin somewhat unexpected. When Tang Yin entered her room, she was distractedly checking the account book. Seeing him, she immediately put down the account book and stared at him with her bright and beautiful big eyes.

  Tang Yin was taken aback and walked up close, asking in a questioning tone, "Xiao Min, what's wrong? Is there something on your mind?"

  Are you going to Yancheng?

  "Yes."

  "Save people?"

  "That's right."

  "Are you doing it to save them, or just to save him?" This was the most concerning issue for Fan Mian. She had long heard about Wu Mei's affairs from Qiu Zhen and also knew that Tang Yin and Wu Mei's relationship was ambiguous. This matter was like a needle stuck in his heart, making her unable to eat or sleep well.

  Tang Yin was slightly stunned, then understood who Fan Min was referring to. He fell silent for a moment before saying: "All of them must be rescued. Without her, I wouldn't have everything I have today. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be able to contend with Zhong Tian. Therefore, both she and they must all be rescued."

  All these are true and there is no concealment at all.

  Fan Min let out a soft sigh, lowered her head and asked in a questioning tone: "Then...do you like him?"

  Tang Yin's mouth twitched slightly, and he finally shook his head and said, "I don't know."

  "Do you like me?"

  Do you like Fan Wei or not? This is certainly affirmative. He nodded and said: "Yes."

  Getting his affirmative answer, Fan Min's heart felt a sweetness, and then she asked again: "Do... you love me?"

  Whenever the word "love" was mentioned, Tang Yin would become speechless, because the person flashing in his mind was not Fan Min, but Shui Jing, or rather, Yin Rou. It's strange that he hadn't spent much time with Yin Rou, and they hadn't met many times during this short period, yet her figure seemed to be etched in his mind, impossible to shake off no matter how hard he tried.

  It had been a long time since Fan Min heard Tang Yin's response, and her face showed disappointment. She looked at Tang Yin for a long time, then reached out to tap his chest, saying word by word as if making a declaration: "I won't give up, no matter who is inside, I will persist."

  Fan Min's persistence and dedication sometimes make me feel both moved and heartbroken. It is like this now.

  He didn't respond, directly stretching out his hand to encircle Fan Mian's waist, pulling her into his embrace, closing his eyes, silently sniffing the unique fragrance of his body.

  He thought that if he hadn't merged with Yanlie, becoming one, his feelings for Yinrou would have been just an experience, and wouldn't be as deep as they are now...

  Loving someone is not an easy thing, but loving someone who is out of reach feels even more painful.

  Tang Yin couldn't help herself. After a long while, she turned around and took out a green crystal the size of half a palm from her leather pouch, handing it to Fan Min, saying: "For you."

  Tang Yin was very careful, he didn't know what this crystal stone was for, nor did he know if it had any side effects on the human body. He had been keeping it by his side for two days and hadn't felt anything unusual, so he decided to give it to Fan Min. As for the other piece, he wanted to give it to the woman who had left an imprint on his soul.

  Seeing such a large green gem, Fan Min was overjoyed and reached out to take it. Through her palm, she felt a cool sensation and couldn't help but ask: "What is this?"

  He didn't recognize him either, and Tang Yin smiled helplessly: "I don't know either, it was given to me by the giant dragon."

  "This... must be very valuable." Fan Min didn't know what it was, but from the look in his superior's eyes, he could tell at a glance that it was definitely priceless, a top-grade gemstone. But how could something so large be so rare?