A rebel who called himself Xiaofei?

A wave of excitement washed over Ye Qingyu.

Since Linghu Buxiu mentioned it, it must mean that this piece of news came through official sources and it was no longer just his own speculation. [Quasi-emperor Xiaofei] had indeed taken over the Fire Province. This was the first time he heard news of [Quasi-emperor Xiaofei] since the previous battle.

He was now sure that the Human Race prodigy who had worked so hard for the Human Race in the Vast Thousand Domains was still alive.

Also, did Linghu Buxiu also mention a giant white dog?

Ye Qingyu thought that there was something vaguely familiar about this dog.

Linghu Buxiu continued, "There's something odd about that giant white dog and I guess it must be some kind of foreign species. It is a hardy fellow who has allied itself with that rebel Xiaofei. I've heard that it is extremely ferocious and it is immune to attacks that draw on yuan qi and the power of laws, so there's no way of killing it. Moreover, it can swallow anything and I've heard that it once swallowed a Quasi-emperor whole, so it is indeed a terrifying creature..."

As Lingh Buxiu spoke, Ye Qingyu grew more elated.

Wasn't that the silly dog, Little Nine?

It was definitely the silly dog.

He hadn't expected Little Nine to show up at the Dark Realm after it disappeared from the Reincarnation Hall of the Chaos Demon Emperor, and for some reason, Little Nine was now by [Quasi-emperor Xiaofei's] side.

Furthermore, how had this silly creature gotten so powerful that he could now defeat a Quasi-emperor ?

Then, Ye Qingyu thought of Hu Bugui.

The chief bandit had disappeared from the Reincarnation Hall of the Chaos Demon Emperor, just as Little Nine did. Did this mean that he might also be in the Dark Realm?

Could Hu Bugui also be at the Fire Province?

"Who are the other powerful men working for the rebel Xiaofei?" Ye Qingyu probed further as he tried to gather more information.

Linghu Buxiu shook his head, "I'm not too sure about that since the Fire Province had fallen to the rebels so suddenly. Large swathes of the Fire Province fell in a matter of days, and the governor of Fire Province died in battle before he could send news of the rebellion. The rebel Xiaofei was incredibly cunning and swiftly seized control of the Fire Province. The elders of the Royal City were livid when they found out what happened and sent the King of Zhenyuan to lead a punitive expedition against them, and Marquis Tingtao was to be his vanguard. However, it wasn't that long after the expedition set off that there were several incidents that ultimately resulted in Marquis Tingtao being forced out. Basically, the King of Zhenyuan and his men have full control over the information flow about the Fire Province and Marquis Tingtao had always avoided speaking of the Fire Province and barely mentioned anything in the report he submitted after he returned."

"Oh," Ye Qingyu said as he rubbed his temples.

He was a little disappointed not to hear news about Hu Bugui and the others.

He paused for a moment for he asked curiously, "Did you say that Marquis Tingtao was forced to return from the front line? Do you know what happened? Did he fall out with the King of Zhenyuan? Is the King of Zhenyuan that a.s.sertive and overbearing?"

"Everyone knows that the King of Zhenyuan has always been a.s.sertive and domineering, and this is a fact known throughout the Dark Realm. But I'm afraid this isn't as simple as a matter of the King of Zhenyuan being a bully," Linghu Buxiu spoke without any reservations and told Ye Qingyu all that he knew.

He glanced around the crowd that was drinking merrily before he inched even closer and whispered furtively to prevent anyone from eavesdropping, "Recently, I heard whispers that Lin Xuan was not forced out of the expedition but that he had escaped from an attempt on his life. The King of Zhenyuan had planned to kill Lin Xuan together with the eight thousand men under him, but Lin Xuan was narrowly escaped with his life and returned to the city."

"What? How could this happen?"

Ye Qingyu's mind whirled.

There were indeed several incidents of Chief Commanders who killed their vanguards across history.

The Chief Commander also had the authority to kill any man in the military who had violated a military order.

However, this matter was clearly not as simple as the Marquis going against a military order because the King of Zhenyuan wanted to kill Lin Xuan together with all his men. This was odd and it seemed more like a cover-up operation. What seemed even stranger was that Lin Xuan seemed safe after he returned to the Royal City, as though the King of Zhenyuan had temporarily abandoned his plans to kill him. Lin Xuan's strange behavior and words earlier made him even more certain that there was something fishy about this incident.

Ye Qingyu was very interested in finding out the secrets behind this incident.

He instinctively felt that this might be related to the great secret behind the Fire Province, and this could potentially involve [Quasi-emperor Xiaofei] and the others.

"What's the current situation of Marquis Tingtao's residence?" Ye Qingyu asked.

Linghu Buxiu shook his head and said, "They are in a very precarious state!"

"Is it really that bad?"

"It is. Although the King of Zhenyuan is not at the Royal City, he has already proclaimed that he would personally return to get rid of Marquis Tingtao after he quells the rebellion at the Fire Province. Marquis Tingtao tried to call on his esteemed teachers and old acquaintances, but they have all turned him away. Most of his servants have been sent away as well, so the huge Marquis residence is now like a teetering wall on the brink of collapse, and no one wants to a.s.sociate themselves with him," Linghu Buxiu said with a sigh.

Ye Qingyu smiled and said, "Brother Linghu Buxiu, you seem surprisingly sympathetic to Marquis Lin Xuan's plight, so I guess you must be on rather good terms with him."

"You... noticed that?" Linghu Buxiu's heart skipped a beat, then he sighed and said, "Brother Lin Xuan... he's actually a good man."

"Everyone wanted to keep a distance from him, but since you invited him to this banquet, I could tell that you wanted to help him in some way," Ye Qingyu said with a faint smile.

"I must admit that this was an oversight on my part since this was supposed to be a banquet to celebrate your new appointment. If news of his invitation gets out, others might just a.s.sume that you had invited him..." Linghu Buxiu's heart raced when he saw Ye Qingyu's smile and interpreted that smile as a sign of displeasure at Marquis Tingtao's invitation tonight.

Ye Qingyu chuckled and said, "Don't be mistaken, Brother Linghu Buxiu. That wasn't what I meant. Ha ha, I wouldn't fear even if word gets out since I'm used to people bearing grudges against me. Everyone else might be afraid of the King of Zhenyuan, but I'm not. He he, anyway, I'm currently at loggerheads with him myself."

Linghu Buxiu gave a small chuckle.

Ye Qingyu was right.

He had almost killed the King of Zhenyuan's daughter, and killed his housekeeper, an imperial attendant, and dozens of experts from the King of Zhenyuan's residence, so this was a huge slap on the King of Zhenyuan's face. Moreover, Nie Tiankong was making full use of this opportunity to continue to suppress the King of Zhenyuan's influence, so the King of Zhenyuan would definitely be in for a rude shock when he returns.

"I'd like to call on Marquis Tingtao tomorrow, so I wonder if you'd like to come along to make the introductions once again?" Ye Qingyu asked sincerely.

Linghu Buxiu paused for a moment, then a genuine smile spread across his face. There was a hint of grat.i.tude in his voice as he said excitedly, "Ha ha, sure. I'd definitely make this trip with you."

It was true that he wanted to help Marquis Tingtao.

As for the reason, this was something that was known only to him.

The banquet only ended just before midnight.

Ye Qingyu had already befriended the hundred military officials who had allied themselves with Nie Tiankong and this banquet had turned out better than Linghu Buxiu had expected. During the banquet, Linghu Buxiu had witnessed Ye Qingyu's magnetic personality and this was something that was hard to describe in words but clearly, the military officials had formed a good impression of the newly appointed [Military Judge of the Nine Swords].

After Ye Qingyu and the others had left, the shopkeeper of the restaurant recorded everything that he had seen and heard in a secret missive and sent it to the military headquarters.

Obviously, only one or two people knew about this secret missive, and it was a closely guarded secret.

The next morning.

Linghu Buxiu came alone to the inn at the appointed time, dressed in casual clothing. After he met with Ye Qingyu, they set off together to Marquis Tingtao's residence.

They did not bother to cover their tracks as they headed toward Marquis Tingtao's residence.

Marquis Tingtao's residence was not located in that luxurious n.o.blemen residential area that Ye Qingyu had seen the previous time, but it was located in another district nearby. The architectural style of the building was much simpler and it was made entirely out of black rock. Nonetheless, it was still in a rather affluent area.

When they were about one kilometer away from Marquis Tingtao's residence, Ye QIngyu stopped by a nearby stall to buy five hundred grams of snacks and said with a smile, "I can't visit the Marquis empty-handed."

Linghu Buxiu couldn't help but smile.

Five hundred grams of snacks - this was the perfect amount for a gift.

Soon, they could see Marquis Tingtao's residence.

It was an old mansion that was more than six thousand six hundred square meters and it was carved out of black rock. It was plain and simple, but exuded an air of grandeur, as though it was military castle.

They suddenly heard a commotion in front of the main gate.

"Hey Lin Xuan, come out now to face me. I'm going to smash open the doors if you continue to hide inside your residence like a coward," a sharp voice rang out from the main gate of Marquis Tingtao's residence.

There were several dozen men holding weapons that stood ferociously by the main door and blocked the entire entrance. Their leader was dressed in a brocade robe and wore a scarf on his head. He was short and chubby and looked like an amicable fellow, but the words that came out of his mouth were rude and arrogant.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

They pounded loudly on the doors.

Ye Qingyu and Linghu Buxiu exchanged a look. What was going on?

No matter how far the Marquis had fallen from grace, this didn't mean that anyone could come right up to his door and demand the Marquis to open his doors to them. Moreover, these people didn't seem to be officials. They looked more like the businessmen or gangsters in the city. When did such people have the guts to come right up to a t.i.tled Marquis' residence and hurl insults at him?

Then, the doors opened.

A white-haired servant emerged from the residence and when he saw who was causing the scene outside, he was immediately enraged. He trembled in rage as he yelled, "Zhou Hailong. you're a beast! What are you doing here? How could you be so heartless? Huh? His Grace has always treated you kindly and if he hadn't saved you back then, you'd be nothing but a pile of bones in a ditch. Forget about repaying his kindness, His Grace didn't even blame you when you left after he fell into dire straits, but now, not only did you betray His Grace, you've even banded together with outsiders, plotting to steal all of His Grace's a.s.sets. You're worse than a beast..."

"Pfft, old man. Get out of my way if you know what's good for you. You're not needed here,'" the chubby middle-aged man named Zhou Hailong said with a menacing laugh. "Times have changed and every man needs to fend for himself. If you want to blame someone, then blame Lin Xuan for being a man of poor judgment. He shouldn't have saved me then, ha ha."