Lord of the Desert

Chapter 104

Hearing this, Hong Fan already had some guesses in his mind.

The name of the Dragon Soul Tree was not chosen by himself, but it came to mind naturally from the very beginning.

As the name suggests, it is likely to be related to the Dragon Clan—or Zulong.

Now combined with what Wen Zhongguan said, it is very likely that the dragon blood in the glass bottle gave birth to the dragon soul fruit.

Based on this, there is also an explanation for the induction of the Dragon Soul Tree by those two mysterious and undeserved knights—they also bear dragon blood.

"So the one who instigated the airborne attack at sea may be the royal family?"

Hong Fan said in a low voice, feeling absurd.

Liangzhou ranks at the bottom of Kyushu, and Jinhai is even on the border of Liangzhou.

Such an ordinary small city, what qualifications does it have to provoke those natural nobles?
No one answered for a while.

Wen Zhongguan hesitated for a moment, glanced at Hong Fan, and finally said what he was thinking.

"The person behind it may be named Xiao, but he may not be from the royal family."

"The Rebellion of the Thirteen Kings, have you ever heard of it?"

He scanned the three of them and saw that they all shook their heads.

"More than 200 years ago, in the 11th year of Xiansheng, the world was in chaos. Thirteen vassal kings of the Xiao clan joined forces to plot rebellion, and even the two royal martial saints were involved."

"The war lasted for several years. Emperor Shun, who was in power at the time, died, and this line died out. It is said that the Shenjing Xiao family lost more than half of it."

"The Emperor Xuan's lineage that is in power now is a side branch at that time, so it was able to take the throne."

"At that time, the three surnames Yi, Hou, and Feng supported the new emperor and joined hands to quell the chaos. Only then did they win the title of princes and kings by virtue of their inexhaustible achievements."

When Wen Zhongguan said this, he paused.

"Although these things are not forbidden, they are still quite sensitive; I also happened to see the prison records when I was in Xijing."

Hong Jian and the others understood what he meant, and immediately reassured: "Master, don't worry, we know the pros and cons."

Wen Zhongdian nodded and continued.

"The final outcome of the thirteen kings was a disastrous defeat, but not all members of the rebellious Xiao clan were crowned heads; even I heard that they have caused many troubles in the past 200 years."

"So the contents of this bottle may have come from them all the way."

After hearing these words, Hong Fan let out a deep breath, obviously under pressure.

He knew that the high probability of targeting Jin Hai and himself was not a cat or a dog, but he never thought that it might be the former royal family.

Xiao's family biography "Zixiao Hualong Jing", according to Wen Zhongguan's rebellion, the country had been conquered for a hundred years at that time.

Even if all the thirteen kings were defeated, the heritage and strength of the descendants would surely far surpass those of the mere border towns.

"Master Wen, how sure are you of the judgment you just made?"

Hong Li asked in a deep voice.

"It's just a guess, I dare not say I'm sure."

Wen Zhongguan replied.

"I haven't seen the blood essence of the dragon descendant before, but I just followed the picture to find out."

"This is a big matter. I suggest sending this glass bottle to Xijing for inspection by the state department."

"The distance between Jinhai and Xijing is [-] li. The journey by horse-drawn carriage takes about a month, and the results will be available in late January next year."

This kind of treatment was exactly what Hong Fan wanted.

However, just as he was about to express his appreciation, he caught a glimpse of Hong Li's face that hesitated to speak.

In a flash of thought, Hong Fan immediately realized what his uncle was worried about.

Wen Zhongguan previously stated that the blood essence of the dragon descendants is extremely precious, and it is a top martial arts resource.

If the news is true, and this bottle of blood is indeed dragon's blood—how can it be guaranteed to be returned after being sent to Liangzhou Qi for prison?
After all, Hong Li didn't know that the essence in the bottle had already been picked up by the Dragon Soul Tree.

Sure enough, after hesitating for a moment, he asked: "Master Wen, if this thing is really the blood essence of the dragon heir, which can change the constitution and bones, can it be returned to my Hong family?"

"To be honest, Wen can't guarantee it."

Wen Zhongguan replied frankly.

"Zhuang Dajian is an upright person, so he will definitely not covet such things, but the people below can't say it well."

"Wen's status as a master craftsman doesn't really hold much weight in the state department."

"However, if it is sent in the name of Hong Fan, it should be better."

His remark obviously considered the relationship between Zhuang Liren's previous written reply.

Just when Hong Li hesitated, Hong Jian spoke.

"Also ask Mr. Wen to help."

"As long as there is definite news, that's fine; as for whether things come back or not, that's secondary."

The patriarch made a decision, and Hong Li had nothing to say.

"My lord trusts Wen so much, Wen will fulfill his mission."

Wen Zhongguan carefully put away the glass bottle, and solemnly promised.

At this time, Hong Fan said again.

"Teacher, I have some new achievements during this time, which are related to the known multi-point fitting polynomials."

"I named it "Langer Interpolation Formula" and wrote it as an article."

"Would you like to send the bottle to the Department of State?"

Wen Zhongguan was surprised and delighted.

"Okay, you know how to hide your strength and bide your time at such a young age!"

"Hurry up and get it..."

After a while, Hong Fan retrieved the paper.

Wen Zhongguan began to read it impatiently, sighing again and again.

"With your masterpiece to accompany you, the supervisor will definitely pay attention to this matter!"

He hastily studied it, and already roughly understood the value, and his brows and eyes were full of joy that could not be suppressed.

"In this way, I will go back to the Yamen now and order Zhu Jingfu to get ready, and I will take my things and go to Xijing with the team tomorrow."

Wen Zhongguan was about to get up as he spoke, but was stopped by Hong Fan.

This time, the latter took out another 50 tael bank note from his pocket.

Looking at the puzzled faces of several people, Hong Fan explained: "It takes half a month to go from Jinhai to Xijing one way. If Zhu Cijiang leaves tomorrow, he won't be able to come back in time for the New Year."

"Please ask the master craftsman to pass this little money to him. If you can have more good wine and food on the way, you have the right to make amends."

The annual salary of the second craftsman is two hundred stones, which is equivalent to 100 taels.

This bank note is already Zhu Jingfu's income for half a year, so it means more food and wine?
Wen Zhongguan heard the words and was taken aback.

He looked at Hong Fan's too young face, and his copper bell-like eyes suddenly showed frustration.

"Hong Fan, Hong Fan."

"If I had your careful thought back then, I wouldn't have been driven to Jinhai..."

······
Three days later, December nineteenth.

noon.

It has been snowing lightly for two consecutive days, and every shop on Chisha Avenue has dispatched shop assistants to clear the snow routinely.

Three large shops away from Jiaotong Hall, is the Cui family's earliest and largest blacksmith shop - Duanshantang.

In the lobby, three young men were negotiating with a steward.

"Guan Zhang, I want to make a Yanling Saber."

The leading young man has a square face and a regular smile.

His name is Yang Yingxun, and he is a disciple of the younger generation of Feiyan Sect.

"The knife is four feet long, one inch wide, with a ridge half finger thick, and a reverse edge at the tip."

Guanshi Zhang nodded and said with a smile: "This is the iconic weapon of the Guimen, I know it as soon as I hear it."

"I'll find a first-class master to forge it with the pouring steel method. After a discount, the price will be three taels. It will be available in about four days. How about it?"

Yang Yingxun didn't respond immediately, but asked casually instead.

"Is First Young Master Cui in the shop today?"

(End of this chapter)