If not for the fact that everyone had their own responsibilities, they could have easily spent the entire day relaxing in the beautiful Yao Guang Small World. Fortunately, reason prevailed, and as the evening approached, the group bid farewell to Liao Pantu and returned to their respective duties.
Lin Xiao, recalling that he hadn't watered the Ten Miles Peach Blossom Tree in a while, fetched a bucket of water from the spring at the base of Guiyuan Mountain Residence. Grabbing a few spirit stones, he headed to the mountain path where the peach tree was located.
As he was watering the tree and feeding it the spirit stones, he noticed a figure emerging from the Wenxin Road. Seeing who it was, Lin Xiao broke into a smile.
"Well, well, Jiang He! You're back!"
The person was none other than Qin Jianghe. Upon seeing Lin Xiao, his previously expressionless face lit up with a grin.
"Shixiong, watering the tree?"
Noticing several storage bags hanging from Qin Jianghe's waist, Lin Xiao set down his bucket and asked, "Looks like you brought back quite a haul. So, how's the situation with the campaign against Huan You Kingdom? Did you hear anything while you were in the capital?"
At the mention of the campaign, Qin Jianghe's smile faded slightly, his tone becoming more serious. "The war began about half a month ago. It seems that over the years, Huan You Kingdom has focused so much on Jishi that their military forces couldn't withstand the combined assault from our nation and the surrounding countries. The main fighting is already over."
"As for the cultivators, some remnants of the old Huan You Kingdom have even joined forces with the allied countries to hunt down the fleeing royal family and the treacherous cultivators from sects that sided with them."
"However, Huan You is vast, and many Jishi remnants managed to escape in the chaos of the war. The Alliance has vowed to completely eradicate them, so the region is still considered an active war zone."
Lin Xiao was somewhat surprised. "Old remnants of Huan You Kingdom?"
Qin Jianghe nodded with a sigh. "Yes, I just learned about it a few days ago. Several hundred years ago, Huan You Kingdom underwent a civil war where the royal family was overthrown, and many sects that were closely tied to them were purged."
"Although a portion of the old royal family and their allies managed to survive and preserve some of their traditions, they've struggled under the new dynasty's oppression. They've barely held on for centuries. Now that they see hope through the Alliance's campaign, they've chosen to join forces."
Qin Jianghe paused, then added with some astonishment, "And, believe it or not, they've been secretly protecting the bloodline of the old royal family all this time. They've even requested that the Alliance return Huan You to the old royal family after the war. At first, I thought this request would be rejected outright. After all, Huan You is essentially spoils of war, ripe for partitioning by the victors."
"But to my surprise, the Alliance agreed to the request, and they didn't even ask for any outrageous concessions or significant financial compensation. They only asked for a symbolic offering to cover war expenses. Isn't that strange?"
Lin Xiao was equally taken aback. "Very strange. And the sects didn't object to this decision?"
He wasn't familiar with the sects of the other countries, but the three major sects in Pusi Nation certainly wouldn't pass up such a prime opportunity. Surely, they would have demanded their share of the spoils.
Qin Jianghe shook his head. "I'm not sure. Li Zhouxuan didn't mention anything about objections from the sects, and I haven't heard any rumors to that effect either."
Lin Xiao frowned slightly as he pondered the situation. "That is indeed odd. With Huan You's current state, and its proximity to several other nations, partitioning the land seems like a logical outcome. I'm surprised they chose to hand it back to the old royal family so easily, and without resistance from the sects…"
He trailed off into thought, and Qin Jianghe stood quietly beside him, waiting for his response.
After a moment, Lin Xiao spoke again. "Perhaps there's some kind of historical connection between the royal families and sects of these nations. I wouldn't be surprised if it has something to do with a longstanding agreement, maybe even one related to Jishi."
Qin Jianghe nodded thoughtfully. "That could be it. I've been wondering the same. Normally, I'd expect endless back-and-forth between the sects and the royal families, especially over something as significant as this. But for some reason, they were surprisingly quick to agree to the campaign. The royal courts barely had time to send out the call before the sects agreed to participate."
Lin Xiao added, "That's right. The relationship between the countries isn't particularly close, but they managed to form this alliance so quickly. And now they're returning Huan You to the old royal family without much fuss… It definitely points to some kind of deeper historical connection."
He shrugged. "But whatever it is, it's not our concern. As long as we focus on building our sect, we'll be fine."
With that, they wrapped up the discussion. Lin Xiao finished watering the peach blossom tree, and Qin Jianghe, who had been planning to return to the Finance Hall to handle the results of his latest transactions, suddenly hesitated. After a moment, he turned to Lin Xiao, who was about to head to the cottage to see what Xiaoluan had done to it, and said, "Shixiong, there's one more thing I heard. I'm not sure how credible it is, but it seems that there might be a plague outbreak in a remote area of Huan You."
Lin Xiao stopped in his tracks and turned to face him. "A plague?"
Qin Jianghe nodded. "It was only mentioned briefly in the middle of a batch of other reports, so I didn't find any further evidence elsewhere. According to the source, there's been a small outbreak of an unusual illness. People who contract it suffer from extreme chills, followed by hair loss, then fingernail and toenail loss, and finally their teeth. So far, there haven't been any fatalities."
"Because it's confined to a remote area and hasn't affected many people, it hasn't attracted much attention. The report was submitted, but no further action has been taken."