In the second room next door, the atmosphere was a little quiet and strange.
I saw everyone below sitting at attention, not to mention holding wine glasses and moving chopsticks, but they didn't dare to breathe too heavily, for fear of attracting someone's attention and causing blood splatters on the spot.
Of course, there are also those who are not afraid of death and dare to challenge that person's bottom line again and again.
"Master Lu, I am also considering the interests of you and everyone. As long as the cooperation with the fifth elders is successful, at least half of the southwest plains will be owned by us, and the threats entrenched in our hinterland can be eradicated in one fell swoop. It will be a huge benefit.
And no harm done.
Although something happened to Deacon Cai on our territory a few days ago, the fifth elder knew that the incident must be caused by his opponent, and he also tried to frame you. The purpose was to make us suspicious and hostile to each other, leading to the failure of cooperation. If we do not continue to cooperate with
Didn’t the Fifth Elder’s discussions go as per those people’s wishes?”
A middle-aged man in his forties spoke passionately about the pros and cons of cooperating with the fifth elder, and tried his best to promote cooperation with the fifth elder in his words.
"How dare you use such a clumsy strategy!" He snorted angrily and scolded his opponent for how cheap and simple his methods were, and then changed the subject.
"Fortunately, in recent days, the fifth elder has written to me one after another, expressing his willingness to continue cooperating with us. Sir, it is rare that the fifth elder does not care about the death of Deacon Cai. Why don't we strike while the iron is hot and settle the matter as soon as possible. If you can believe me, I will
, I would like to go to negotiate with the fifth elder on behalf of you."
The person who listened for a long time slowly put down his wine glass, and the sound of falling was neither light nor heavy, but it was particularly clear in the near-silent room at this time.
Except for the middle-aged man who just spoke, the expressions on the other people's faces were stiff to varying degrees.
There are five cities in the southwest, which were originally managed by Qucheng where they were located. However, the previous hall master was not strong enough and only wanted to enjoy himself, so he easily gave away this rich land.
The forces that took over the southwest soon settled here and began to encroach on the nearby territory. After years of expansion, in addition to the five cities originally sent out, a total of eight cities on the left and right sides were gradually separated from their rule.
The reason why the fifth elder wanted them to cooperate was that he took a fancy to the richness of the southwest. One of the conditions he proposed was to have the management rights of the six cities in the southwest for a hundred years.
It is said that you have management rights for a hundred years, but it is hard to say whether you will be willing to return the place to you after a hundred years.
The man sent to negotiate died. The Fifth Elders Council suppressed the matter and ignored it. They simply valued the benefits brought by the southwest cities more. Moreover, because people died under their noses, the losses came first, and they inevitably occupied the upper hand during negotiations.
If you are at a disadvantage, the fifth elder will definitely take the opportunity to make conditions.
It is obviously not good for them, but the middle-aged man is still here to brag and actively promote this matter. Either he is taking the benefits in private and cheating, or he is the fifth elder.
Everyone sitting there had their own thoughts, and even disdained the middle-aged man's statement. However, in this oppressive atmosphere, all of them lowered their heads and stared at the tableware in front of them, and no one dared to speak first.
"Heh." There was a chuckle that could not be heard as joyful or angry. Gu Yuqi slowly raised his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose. This area would be pressed when wearing a mask and would cause some soreness after a long time.
"You are very loyal." He glanced over from the corner of his eye, his lips curved into a half-smile, and then he took out half of the mask and put it on slowly, hiding the gradually smoothed and cold lip line.
.
What a good, loyal dog.
He stood up and left the table, leaving a faint message, "In that case, you should get on your way as soon as possible."
The middle-aged man did not understand the deep meaning of his words, and just thought that he had successfully persuaded others. After hearing what he said, he was overjoyed and quickly stood up to say goodbye, "Yes, yes, I will definitely not let you down."
High hopes.”
Only those who had followed Gu Yuqi for several years felt a chill go down their backs when they heard the last few words. They all looked at each other secretly and saw clear fear in the other's eyes.
I'm afraid it's really going to be on the road.
Gu Yuqi walked out of the door, and after a moment he turned around and entered another wing.
As soon as I entered the door, I saw someone with his head tilted to one side and his eyes lowered, looking at something intently.
The coldness on his eyebrows melted away unconsciously, and he walked over slowly, "I've kept you waiting for a long time."
When I got closer, I saw what she was holding.
It turned out that Tong Yan was reading a book that introduced talismans. After a cursory glance at the text, the author introduced the drawing methods and uses of talismans in an autobiographical way. The description was easy to understand and not too boring.
A shadow was cast in front of him, blocking the light coming from outside, and the page of the book suddenly became a degree darker. Tong Yan stopped reading without finishing his meaning, closed the book, looked up at him, frowned and said, "What's wrong with you?"
The smell of alcohol is a bit strong.”
"...Then I'll change my clothes."
But there is nowhere to change clothes in the wing room.
"Forget it, we don't want to go on a cruise, can we go?"
"certainly."
…
The place where the cruise ship is located is the lake where an unrecognizable human head was fished out a few days ago. Tonight, the dancers from the dance studio will perform a song and dance performance in the center of the lake. Many people rent boats to watch, so there are extremely many boats parked on the lake.
Tong Yan and their boat were very close to the big boat in the dance studio. They were obviously not the first ones to arrive, but they were able to come from behind and stop at the position with the best view.
She also saw someone on Fang's boat coming to their boat, and upon hearing this, she found out that it was Fang Fang who invited Gu Yuqi to come up as a guest, but he was rejected.
There are more and more ships on the periphery, especially in the middle part, one next to the other, with the bow touching the stern, and there is no extra space at all.
In the hazy night scene in the distance, there are boats of all sizes arriving at night, and at this time, the sound of pipa can be heard from the center of the lake.
The performance begins.
A woman in a dance skirt appeared in the audience's sight with smart dance steps following the rhythm of the piano player.
Then the dancers successfully attracted the audience's attention with their skillful and superb dance skills, giving the dance studio a perfect start to the performance.
"...Not many people know about this. I only found out because my cousin is a deacon disciple of Mosha Sect. Their sect master accepted new disciples, but he accepted them as his former disciples. You think this is very interesting."
The onlookers sounded surprised, "How long has it been since Sect Master Shang started to recruit disciples, and he accepted new ones so quickly? I'm afraid he is extremely disgusted with the original disciples."
"Accepting a disciple's disciple as a disciple is indeed a bit disrespectful of old feelings, but you can't refuse to accept a disciple just because of a person who made mistakes.
Moreover, the matter of re-accepting disciples is very low-key, and only a few people knew about it half a month ago, so maybe Sect Leader Shang did it intentionally."
"..."
Tong Yan could no longer listen to the rest of the words. All she could think of was the words, 'Sect Master Shang has accepted new disciples'.
He didn't want her as his disciple, so he turned around and accepted Huo Qizhi as his disciple.
While she was struggling to avoid being hunted, he was thinking about how to recruit new people.
By coincidence, that person was her nominal disciple - Huo Qizhi.
Tong Yan opened her eyes with a dull expression, staring at the lantern reflected on the lake without saying a word. Water mist appeared in front of her eyes unconsciously. She didn't dare to blink, turned around and left in a hurry, leaving Gu Yuqi alone, and had a good time alone.
Walked back to the cabin.
Gu Yuqi, who was suddenly abandoned, slowly raised his eyes and glanced at the two people standing on the boat board not far away talking. When he withdrew his gaze, a trace of anger flashed in his eyes as cold as lake water.
He looked expressionlessly at the closed door after Tong Yan entered, and after a moment he said two words coldly.