Lord of the Desert

Chapter 424: Red Clouds and Silent Light
November 25th, night falls.

Outside Hongyi City, Tongyun Villa.

Heavy snow and severe cold.

A large horse-drawn carriage with the Zhu family emblem drove along the cobblestone road covered with a thin layer of snow and stopped outside the village.

The driver drew aside the heavy fur curtain.

Hong Fan and Qu Luoyi got off the car one after another and saw that the main door of the villa was wide open and deserted. There was no one else except a middle-aged man dressed as a butler.

"Their car looks good, but it's still a lot worse than yours."

Qu Luoyi patted the wooden bottom of the carriage covered with gold and said.

"Have you ever ridden in a Junchixing car?"

Hong Fan asked casually, turning back to check.

Behind him, the majestic Hongyi City was no longer visible. Only the rolling mountains stood in the gray mist, like a simple charcoal sketch.

"Didn't you give a car to my senior sister? I don't think she uses it much. I took it here to ride for a few days. Hmm, the experience was okay."

Qu Luoyi made some obvious hints, but seeing that Hong Fan didn't understand, he cursed in his heart and had to change the subject.

"Oh, that's great. They even rolled out the red carpet for us."

The butler who was in charge of welcoming the guests felt a little embarrassed after hearing this and just smiled along.

A group of people walked through the gate.

Under the corridor, yellow paper lanterns emitted warm light, swaying back and forth in the wind and snow.

Hong Fan looked around and saw that many bright red decorations had not been removed. It was obvious that they were for the birthday celebration just like the red carpet before.

Not long after, it became Zhen Gu Tang.

In the hall made of gold and iron, a waiter was carrying a mahogany tray with three cups filled with wine.

Zhu Leshan, whose cheek injury had not yet healed, picked up the glass first, apologized humbly to the visitor, and then drank it all in one gulp.

Hong Fan watched his performance silently, not caring about the hatred in the other's eyes. He drank the wine calmly, and then followed the butler into the hall.

Zhu Shengxiong had been waiting here for a long time.

When he saw the two people coming, he nodded arrogantly and pushed open the bronze door.

There was a loud iron sound.

An icy and cold wind rushed in.

Hong Fan stood at the door, looking towards the wind, and his vision suddenly became broader.

There are no stars or moon in the night.

The falling snowflakes were blown into icy mist by the volley.

A blue brick road divides the villa in the middle and goes straight forward like a knife or an axe. Two rows of tall and straight fir trees stand beside the road, their windward sides covered with white armor from frost and their leeward sides covered with pitch-black scales.

At the end of the field of vision, the Tower of Babel, over a hundred meters high, pierces into the night. Its details cannot be seen through the snow, like the unbendable spine of a centuries-old family.

After taking a closer look at the scenery, Hong Fan lowered his gaze to examine the people closer.

There were about four or five hundred men, armed with swords and torches, also guarding the two sides of the road in two rows, and now they were glaring at them.

"What a good way to be polite before using force."

Qu Luoyi sighed and pulled his hands out from his sleeves.

"I was wondering why there was no one in front, but they were gathered here waiting."

He laughed playfully, flexing his knuckles as if he was itching to move forward.

Hong Fan reached out to stop him.

"Master Zhu Liu, is this a show of power for me?"

He took root and glanced sideways at Zhu Liu.

"The young men in the manor have long heard of your great name, and all want to see your appearance, so they lined the streets to welcome you."

Zhu Shengxiong said in a neither gloomy nor serene manner.

Hong Fan sneered when he heard this.

"Okay, let them withdraw."

He waved his hand.

Zhu Liu was stunned when he saw this.

"Is Master Hong afraid?"

He didn't expect the other party to say that, and he was just trying to provoke him.

Hong Fan has always been sharp-tongued, so how could he follow other people's pace?

"Your family was polite at first but arrogant later today. Do you want to talk or not?"

His voice was full of impatience.

"If you are not sincere, please speak frankly. I will go back now." The voice came through the snow.

Zhu Shengxiong was speechless. He stood there for a moment with his fists clenched, and had to withdraw.

Only then did Hong Fan lead Qu Luoyi out of Zhengutang.

The long wind carries the snow like waves.

Hong Fan and the other man walked forward, walked along the hundred-meter-long avenue, and saw a tall and thin young man standing in front of the tower gate.

"Chisha Hongfan, hearing about him is not as good as meeting him in person."

This man was wearing a navy blue straight-collared double-breasted cloak, and his eyes were as sharp as an eagle's.

"Please state your name, sir."

Hong Fan stopped and asked.

"The current eldest son of the Zhu family, Zhu Leshui."

The man in green robe spoke proudly, and his next words were spoken especially loudly.

"The one who was taught a lesson by you two in Tongyun Pavilion was my useless second brother."

Hong Fan nodded slightly and saw Zhu Leshui take a step forward. He lifted his copper-like palm from under his cloak and clenched it into a solid steel fist.

"I wanted to ask Master Hong for advice today, but I guess I can't do that now."

He stared provocatively.

"Ask me for advice?"

Hong Fan raised the corners of his mouth, as if he had heard a joke.

"Master Zhu, even if I am concerned about something important and don't want to take action, isn't there Brother Qu from Tianpeng Mountain here? You asked me instead of him, is it because you don't dare?"

Zhu Leshui's face suddenly turned red.

"As the rumors say, he is really sharp-tongued..."

He glanced secretly at Qu Luoyi - the latter had his cervical vertebrae cracking and was grinning at him happily - and felt caught in a dilemma.

At this time, a sound like a huge bell came from far above the crowd, blowing away the thick snow curtain.

"Let Hong Fan come up; Qu the Young Master is waiting below."

It was obviously Zhu Zhanran who was speaking.

Hong Fan looked up, his gaze extending along the intricate and precise circular lightning patterns on the Tower of Babel to the dark black sky covering the top of the tower. He felt as if the iron wall was about to collapse and he felt dizzy.

The heavy snow came back, blurring everyone's vision.

"Brother Qu, please wait here for a moment."

Hong Fan took several deep breaths, pushed open the heavy bronze door, and strode in.

There were no lights or fires in the tower.

After a moment, Hong Fan's eyes adjusted to the dim ambient light and he looked around.

This is a giant tower with a diameter of about 30 meters. It is made of gold and iron inside and out, and has a floor height of about 10 meters.

Several small rectangular windows were opened high up on the iron wall, through which thin cold light and pure snowflakes filtered in and accumulated at the bottom of the tower.

Hong Fan climbed up the circular staircase and saw relief carvings on the iron walls of each floor, depicting the Zhu family's achievements over the past hundred years.

Until the ninth floor.

The walls on this floor are empty, with only a couplet carved on the side of the upward staircase, and fingerprints are clearly visible where the strokes are.

[The moon shines brightly, clear inside and out;

The solitary light shines on itself, and the heart and gallbladder are as cold as ice and snow. 】

Hong Fan read it silently three times and straightened his appearance.

Along the way, he saw that although the walls and floors of the tower were made of thin materials, because it was over a hundred meters high, it would take at least tens of thousands of tons of metal raw materials, which was definitely not something that ordinary craftsmen could build.

If calculated based on the prices in Liangzhou in the past, the materials for building this tower alone would be worth four million taels. However, thanks to Tiannanxing, its estimated value would soon shrink by five or ten times.

Hong Fan climbed up the stairs and walked out of the top of the tower.

I don't know when the wind and snow stopped.

He raised his eyes and saw red clouds dotting the sky. The entire sky was tilting over, emitting a charcoal-like red light, leaving spots of fire on the surface of the iron tower.

breathe……

Hong Fan turned around and looked up to see a majestic figure sitting on a steel throne. The man had simple features and wore a tall red copper crown. Although it was the coldest time of the year, he was still wearing heavy armor.

"Come!"

The man called out, and it was the same voice as Zhu Zhanran just now.

Hong Fan took a step forward upon hearing this, but his body suddenly became heavy. After taking five steps, even his bones began to creak. He had to circulate his blazing fire essence at a high speed to evaporate all the snow at his feet.

It seemed like a year had passed before he finally crossed the mere ten meters and faced Zhu Zhanran across the table.

(End of this chapter)