Chapter 744: All the plans of men cannot amount to Heaven’s will Original and most updated translations are from volare. If read elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft. (1/2)

If I hadn’t come, all of these things wouldn’t have happened. It seems the sword sect master and Granny You’s words weren’t completely abominable. Their fears are well founded, Han Yunxi thought.

Long Feiye looked at Han Yunxi for a long time before he remarked, “Whether or not you want it, your birthright isn’t something you can throw away. You’d have to acknowledge it sooner or later.”

Han Yunxi knew as well. She couldn’t very well hide her Poison Sect connections for a lifetime, right? How spineless that would be! Now all their hopes laid in the upcoming ranking matches.

“Has there been any movements from Northern Li in the past month?” Long Feiye asked.

Xu Donglin hastened to report. “General Baili uncovered something, but we don’t have any details yet.”

“Speak,” Long Feiye intoned coldly.

“Jun Yixie, the crown prince, and second imperial prince went to the Wintercrow Country1 north of the snow mountains. General Baili suspects they’ve gone to buy horses,” Xu Donglin said in a low voice.

“It looks like the Northern Li emperor is getting impatient,” Han Yunxi remarked.

“He’s been restless this entire time,” Long Feiye mused. If Jun Yixie can buy horses from the Wintercrow Country, take them back, and train them with the cavalry forces, the quickest time he’d be able to use them would be just as winter sets in.

If he wanted to be more prudent, then Northern Li could be combat ready after winter sets in, seizing the advantage from the deadlock between three nations.

“Once Northern Li joins the fray…” Han Yunxi trailed off meaningfully. “Would they be able to tie down Ning Cheng?”

Western Zhou and Tianan had balanced out the might of Ning Cheng between them, leaving Long Feiye to watch and wait to reap in the gains. But once Ning Cheng gave up defending the north to threaten Tianan with red coat cannons and fight Western Zhou in earnest, his chances for victory had increased. In truth, the actual strength of the Mu Clan troops weren’t very strong. Although they were brave and battle-wise and led by truly talented leaders like Great General Mu and Mu Qingwu, their armor and grain supplies were limited. Long Tianmo could only give them so much support. Moreover, the internal strife within Tianning Country meant that the Mu Clan troops had to uphold Long Tianmo’s rule single handedly, wasting much of their resources. Even constant conscriptions weren’t enough for them to regain their former glory. No matter what, the Mu Clan troops were no match for Ning Cheng’s cannons.

Once the Mu Clan troops fell, Ning Cheng would definitely turn the red coat cannons towards the western front and its Chu Clan troops. With that, he’d conquer both sides. Knowing the man’s personality, he’d team up with the medical academy next to enforce sanctions against South Ning with military strength.

“Exactly!” Han Yunxi’s words agreed with Long Feiye’s thoughts. “As long as Northern Li can keep Ning Cheng in check, we can buy back at least two months of time to deal with Medical City’s sanctions!”

Since Medical City currently had no proof that Han Yunxi was related to the Poison Sect, they couldn’t punish South Ning’s commander-in-chief’s estate completely. Medicine City could hold out for a while, just as Gu Beiyue and Baili Yuanlong could stand firm themselves. Thus, Long Feiye had to quickly conclude business here on Celestial Mountain so he could rush back to South Ning and prepare to deal with Medical City. All the plans of men could not amount to Heaven’s will. As the saying went, one might lose in the east and gain in the west–make up on the roundabouts what one loses on the swings!

Long Feiye immediately wrote a letter for Xu Donglin to take via flying messenger hawk to Gu Beiyue. He should try to delay Medical City for as long as possible, at least until Northern Li released their own troops. Although they’d received nothing but bad news, at least none of it led to a dead end. Han Yunxi silently exhaled at the thought.

“That’s right, Your Highness, Su Xiaoyu vanished out of the blue. They still can’t find any sign of her whereabouts,” Xu Donglin said anxiously. Han Yunxi had long told Long Feiye the same thing.

“I know,” Long Feiye intoned. “Instruct Chu Xifeng to contact Chu Tianyin so they can both search.”

“They stole her away but didn’t come asking for ransom. What kind of secret’s hidden there?” Han Yunxi wondered.

“It might be a long standing grudge. Or maybe it’s not the right time to come knocking just yet.” Long Feiye didn’t seem overly concerned with the incident. “Just wait,” he murmured.

Once Xu Donglin left, the room fell silent. It was currently right after noon, the quietest time on Celestial Mountain. Han Yunxi leaned against the window to look down at the peaceful scene below, her heart filled with emotions. She knew that the serenity of Celestial Mountain had long been churned up into tempestuous waves. Cang Qiuzi had to be making his preparations now, while the Heretical Sword Sect were probably ready to make trouble too. The same went for the Sword and Scripture Depositories. Granny You would be an excellent ally, but her vitality had been greatly injured from healing Han Yunxi. It would take a year and a half before she recovered completely.

Meanwhile, the branch factions from the lower mountains were probably watching everything as well. They used to be strong supporters of Long Fiye, but how many of them still stood on his side now that Han Yunxi’s identity had been exposed? The sword sect master had only imprisoned Duanmu Yao, while Cang Qiuzi was still running amok. In the end, nothing had been resolved about her Poison Sect lineage. Although none of the Celestial Mountain disciples dared to bring it up, they were definitely waiting for the conclusion!

The sword sect master will probably make his final decision at tomorrow’s ranking matches, Han Yunxi thought to herself. There’s so much at stake.

While she was drawing a blank, Long Feiye had long approached from behind to wrap his arms around her. He rested his chin on her shoulder and asked, “What are you thinking about?”

“I’m thinking…” Han Yunxi’s words stopped as Long Feiye covered her mouth.

“Don’t think about anything. It’s rare to have an afternoon free, come accompany your lordship.”

Han Yunxi smiled. “I’ve been accompanying you the entire time.”