Chapter 249: Surrounded by Wolves (3)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
At night…
Deep in the Wu Mountains, in the Hidden Dragon Cave…
The Hidden Dragon Cave was a naturally formed karst cave. The entrance was more than 30 meters tall, and the cave was 10 kilometers long. It meandered like a coiling dragon and was named Hidden Dragon by the Prince of Wu.
The Prince of Wu had only secretly developed the Hidden Dragon Cave in recent years. The area within a radius of dozens of kilometers was full of dense forests that humans rarely visited, and tigers and leopards roamed freely in the forests. Even herb pickers who went into the mountains to collect herbs rarely set foot in this place.
In the middle of the night, the outside of the Hidden Dragon Cave was as dark and silent as usual. But 250 meters into the depths of the karst cave, one could see a wall built of mountain stone. There were nearly a hundred elite soldiers in excellent armor inside, leaning against the wall and resting silently.
After passing through the stone wall, flames began to appear in the karst cave, and from time to time, servants were running on the winding path.
Deep in the cave with open terrain, there were countless torches on the walls.
More than a hundred large iron cages were placed at the corners of the cave. In each cage, there were two or three lifeless men. Some soldiers holding rice buckets knocked on the iron bars and poured food into the food troughs.
In a small cave not far away, it was much cleaner and neater. There was a carriage inside that people could lie on.
The Prince of Wu, Dongfang Heng, who was wearing a silver python robe, was sitting on the luxurious carriage. Although he was over sixty years old, he had lived a pampered life all year round, so his appearance was still young and stout, and he looked to be in his early fifties.
However, he had suddenly met with a calamity. All his subordinates had scattered, and he was surrounded by enemies on three sides. Even escaping was an extravagant hope. The Prince of Wu clearly wasn’t in a good mood. He just sat alone in the carriage and stared blankly at the cave that might be his burial ground.
After a long silence in the cave, footsteps came from outside.
The Prince of Wu looked up and saw that it was his aide Bai Siming. He immediately stood up and said, “Siming, how’s the situation outside?”
Bai Siming was the Prince of Wu’s chief advisor and number one expert. He was among the top martial artists below the Eight Chiefs.
The Prince of Wu’s plan to support the deposed emperor had been exposed in advance, causing his troops to disperse and him to be isolated. There was basically no possibility of success again.
But the Prince of Wu had been working hard in Wu Province for many years, and he had not completely lost his foundation in just a few days.
When the Prince of Wu planned to save the deposed emperor, he had been afraid that using Wu Province martial artists would arouse the suspicion of the Imperial Court, so he had bribed foreign martial artists.
As for the Jianghu forces and peak martial artists that he had secretly developed in Wu Province, he had not used them. This was one of the remaining forces in his hands.
Although the forces of Jianghu couldn’t allow the Prince of Wu to rebel, if he used them well, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to break out of the encirclement and escape outside the pass.
Bai Siming was in his early forties. He was dressed in a scholarly robe and holding a folded fan in his hand, tapping it gently in his palm. Behind him was a man wearing a bamboo hat.
Bai Siming walked over and said calmly, “Your Highness, there’s no need to worry. We merely lost twenty thousand useless soldiers. Everything else is fine, and the situation is still under control.”
When the Prince of Wu heard that Bai Siming was still saying this calmly despite him being at a dead end, he knew that he was saying it for the outsider to hear.
The Prince of Wu looked at the bamboo hat man behind Bai Siming and asked, “This is?”
The man in the bamboo hat took a step forward and cupped his hands. “Lu Fang of the Cutting Cloud Palace greets Your Highness.”
When the Prince of Wu heard the words ‘Cutting Cloud Palace’, his eyelids twitched. The Cutting Cloud Palace was one of the top forces in Jianghu. It was far away from the authority of the Imperial Court, and it seemed to have no connection with the overall situation.
However, the Cutting Cloud Palace was a force in Yan Province. Since the Prince of Wu could secretly get Iron River Manor, the Grasping Moon Tower, and other Jianghu forces to run errands for him because it was inconvenient for him to appear, if the Prince of Yan wanted to do something that might arouse the suspicion of the Imperial Court, how could he appear in person?
Now, the only person in the world who had the strength to save the Prince of Wu’s old life was his half-brother, the Prince of Yan.
When the Prince of Wu saw that someone had come from Yan Province, he knew that the Prince of Yan was probing him. He didn’t even care about the bearing of a prince. He went forward and raised his hand. “Mr. Lu, there’s no need to be so polite. The situation in the Wu Province has been unstable recently. I’m temporarily recuperating here, so it’s not convenient for me to receive you. I hope you don’t mind the poor reception.”
Lu Fang had taken a lot of risks to come here. He didn’t say much and went straight to the point. “In the past, my brother worked in Wu Province and was treated well by Your Highness. The day before yesterday, he found out that Your Highness was in trouble, so he specially sent me over to see if I could help Your Highness. However, the guard is too tight. The main roads to and from Wu Province are blocked by the Imperial Court, and officials and troops have arrived one after another. It’s very difficult to bring Your Highness to Yan Province…”
The Prince of Wu understood that he was asking for a bargaining chip. “I have been working in Wu Province for decades, and I have connections all over Wu Province. As long as I can settle down safely in Yan Province, these things will be of great use one day.”
What the Prince of Wu meant was that he had a lot of influence in Wu Province. If the Prince of Yan wanted to rebel one day, he could rely on the military, political, and business connections that the Prince of Wu had accumulated in Wu Province over the years to support him.
Unfortunately, the Prince of Yan didn’t care about the Prince of Wu’s useless connections at all. Lu Fang had only come this time to squeeze out the little remaining value of the Prince of Wu. “My brother knows. My brother heard that Your Highness has an apothecary under him who has outstanding skills and is researching a secret medicine that can greatly increase people’s internal energy. I wonder if this is true?”
Prince of Wu blinked. “Sect Master Lu is quite well-informed… This is indeed the case. Mr. Lu, follow me.”
The Prince of Wu turned around and walked to the side of the karst cave. After passing through the mountain of medicinal herbs, he arrived near the dark river deep in the cave.
Beside the dark riverside was an artificial stone platform, which winded like a snake for 250 meters. Nearly a hundred medicinal furnaces were lined up on it, and more than ten apothecaries were running back and forth to check the fires.
On the stone wall of the cave, there was a carved-out room with several rows of bookshelves inside, all filled with medical books.
Sitting at the table in the middle was an old man with a goatee, disheveled hair, and a dirty body. He was writing on a book with a brush..
