Desolate Era (Book 6 - Book 10)

Clap! Clap! Clap! The black-uniformed youngster suddenly began to clap his hands. “I am Northmont Baiwei.” The black-uniforned youngster laughed. “I imagine all of you from the Ji clan know why I have come on this trip. I’m here for that elemental ore mine within the borders of your Ji clan’s domain. My goal is simple – I wish for your Ji clan to transfer the rights to the elemental ore mine to the Marquisate of Stillwater, and our estate will also give your clan 30%!”


Ninefire stuttered, “But, but we’ve already report this to the Grand Xia Dynasty…” “No need to worry.” The black-uniformed youngster shook his head. “The Marquisate of Stillwater arrived first. After we sign a transfer agreement, even if the Celestial Envoy of the Grand Xia Dynasty arrives, it will be to no avail. The Marquisate of Stillwater will naturally shield you in this matter.”

The members of the Ji clan all let out sighs of relief. To the Ji clan, transferring the mine to the Marquisate of Stillwater or to the Grand Xia Dynasty made no difference. Within the Stillwater Commandery…the Marquisate of Stillwater had a status that was equivalent to the Grand Xia Dynasty’s, because this land had been enfeoffed to the Marquis of Stillwater. If the Marquis of Stillwater chose to take control over certain matters, not even the Grand Xia Dynasty would find it easy to casually intervene.

“Are you willing?” Northmont Baiwei smiled. “Willing, willing!” Ninefire said hurriedly. Ning and the others didn’t speak out in opposition. “Excellent.” Baiwei smiled, then nodded. “I will order my people to go and investigate the quality of this elemental ore mine. Also; the rest of you can retire, but Ji Ning is to stay behind.”

Ji Ning was to stay behind? The Ji clan was startled. The nearby Dong Fanyu and General Dong all bowed and immediately said, “Yes,” then obediently departed. Although the Ji clan was puzzled, they still acknowledged the order and left.

…….

“Ji Ninefire. Congratulations.” General Dong, walking atop the wide planks of the ship, said with clasped hands. “Luck, all luck.” Ninefire hurriedly laughed, but a look of surprise was on his face. “Our Ji clan didn’t make a report to the Marquisate of Stillwater. How did they manage to send someone over so quickly?”

“How should I know?” General Dong shook his head. “If I sent someone to make a report, they probably wouldn’t even have arrived at the city of Stillwater yet.” Ninefire nodded lightly.

Everyone in the Ji clan was rather worried about Ning, who had remained in the hall. Dong Fanyu, off to the side, was gnashing his teeth. Even Adept Xu Li had died. He felt completely unable to accept this.

……

Within the hall. Only Northmont Baiwei and Ji Ning were present, along with two maids.

“Young master, might I ask why you have asked me, Ji Ning, to stay behind?” Ning said with great courtesy. “No need to stand on ceremony.” Baiwei sat down, the pointed at a nearby black chair and said, “You can sit as well. Also, my name is Northmont Baiwei. You can just address me as Baiwei; I don’t actually have an official position.”

“Thank you, young master Baiwei.” Ning sat down. Baiwei looked towards Ning. “At eleven years of age, you slaughtered the criminal Bei Zishan, who the Raindragon Guard was pursuing. You should now be sixteen years of age. If my guess is correct, the reason why the Ji clan was able to exceed everyone’s expectations this time and cause Snowdragon Mountain to suffer major losses was because of you, Ji Ning.”

Ning was startled. This young master, Northmont Baiwei, seemed to know quite a few things. He even knew that Ning was the one who had killed Bei Zishan.

“No need to worry. I didn’t investigate you on purpose.” Baiwei smiled. “To be honest, this is the first time I’ve come out on a mission on Father’s orders. Naturally, I must be cautious when carrying out my first assignment. Although this mission is a simple one, I still did a careful investigation into your Ji clan.”

Ning was secretly startled. The Northmont clan of Stillwater was an ancient clan that had existed for as nearly as long as the Grand Xia Dynasty itself had. The descendants of a clan like this were simply extraordinary; even when serving as an envoy to a minor clan like the Ji clan, they would first investigate everything clearly. From this, one could tell how cautious they were.

“You killed Bei Zishan at age eleven, then Jadechild and Xu Li at age sixteen.” Baiwei sighed, impressed. “Even though you relied on the supporting power of a formation, I must admit that I am in admiration for your record in battle.”

“I risked my life, and luck was on my side.” Ning shook his head and sighed. “My Ji clan very nearly perished, there at Oxhorn Mountain.” When he thought back to the twists and turns of the battle on Oxhorn Mountain, Ning still felt some lingering fear.

“You had luck, but you also had strength.” Baiwei said. “A genius like will truly be stifled in a small place like Swallow Mountain. Given your talent…if you don’t have a formidable master instructing you, I fear that in the future, it will be hard for you to achieve great things. For example, if you don’t have access to some supreme training techniques, it will be hard for you to even become a Wanxiang Adept.”

Ning nodded. “I do indeed have the intention of going on a journey and also paying respects to a teacher and master, but I must wait a period of time first.” Baiwei nodded. With a wave of his hand, he produced an insignia. “If you go to the city of Stillwater, you can come seek me out.”

Ning was startled. An insignia? If he accepted it, that meant that he was accepting a favor from this person. This Northmont Baiwei had an exalted status, but he acted in a cautious manner, and treated Ning, a Zifu Disciple from an ordinary clan, with such courtesy. A person like this was worth befriending.

“Thank you, young master Baiwei.” Ning hesitated slightly, then accepted the insignia. The front side of the insignia had the characters ‘North’ and ‘Mont’, while the other side had the characters ‘Black’ and ‘Tiger’. Ning couldn’t help but mumble in a low voice, “North Mont Black Tiger?”

“That refers to my father, Northmont Blacktiger.” Baiwei smiled. Ning immediately said, “When I go to Stillwater City, I will definitely pay you a visit, young master Baiwei.”

“My subordinates will spend quite some time investigating the quality of this elemental ore mine. Let us listen to some music and wait for them.” Baiwei waved his hand lightly, and instantly, the maids appeared from behind the curtains at the sides of the hall. They were carrying musical instruments and were all extremely beautiful. Soon, music began to ring out.

At the same time, other maids delivered delicacies for them to eat. After a long period of casual conversation, Ning began to feel an increased sense of goodwill towards this Northmont Baiwei. But suddenly…

“The Raindragon Guards have a mission to capture the members of the Ji clan for interrogation. I would like to ask the master of this warship to assist me in this.” A cold, sharp voice rang out from straight ahead, echoing within the warship. Even Ning and Baiwei, who were within the main hall, could clearly hear this voice. Ning turned his head to stare out through the glass. He saw, from afar, a red-clothed youth who stood there above a red cloud. The youth was staring coldly in their direction.





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Book 6, Chapter 37 - Matters Resolved


Atop the warship. Ji Ninefire, Ji Yichuan, and the others all felt shock in their hearts. The Raindragon Guards had come to arrest them for interrogation? Their Ji clan had never committed any grave sins.

“This Raindragon Guard is most likely a member of Snowdragon Mountain.” Ji Truekeep sent. “Right. He came quite quickly. He hastened here in just two short hours from the main Snowdragon Mountain sect.” Ninefire nodded as well.