The Mysterious Pavilion, the largest intelligence organization in the Great Yan Kingdom for the past hundred years.
Moreover...
Not just anyone can obtain intelligence from the Mysterious Pavilion. Even if one has money, the Mysterious Pavilion may not necessarily provide it. To exchange for intelligence, one must meet a certain requirement set by the Mysterious Pavilion.
The Mysterious Pavilion thus reaps profits from this, and intelligence can be continuously obtained.
Since the emergence of the Mysterious Pavilion, the master of the Mysterious Pavilion has been extremely mysterious. Except for the high - level personnel within the Mysterious Pavilion, no one knows whether the master is male or female, old or young.
So, when Chu Zhan said that the Mysterious Pavilion was his, Chu Qing was first stunned, and then somewhat incredulous.
But looking at Chu Zhan's serious expression, it didn't seem like he was lying to her.
Chu Qing frowned. She always felt that something was a bit off.
Ah!
Wasn't the Mysterious Pavilion established a hundred years ago?
Chu Zhan was not yet thirty. How could he become the master of the Mysterious Pavilion?
Therefore, Chu Qing hurriedly asked.
Hearing Chu Qing's question, Chu Zhan raised his eyebrows and said unhurriedly, "Do you think your brother would lie to you?"
"Don't try to evade. You're so young. How did you get the Mysterious Pavilion? Could it be... you're not my brother? Or... you've actually lived for a hundred years?!"
Hearing Chu Qing's increasingly absurd words, Chu Zhan quickly stopped her from continuing and could only explain honestly, "Can't I have gotten it from someone else?"
"Gotten it from someone else?" Chu Qing frowned.
Who would be so stupid as to hand over something so important to someone else?
Unless...
Hmm...
No way?
Their Chu family...
Shouldn't... be so deep - hidden, right!
As expected of Chu Qing's elder brother, Chu Zhan only needed to look into her eyes to know where her thoughts had gone. He gently tapped her head and said, "What are you thinking? Although our Chu family is... well, quite wealthy... but! It really has nothing to do with our parents."
"Um..." Chu Qing pouted.
However, there was still a tiny bit of... regret in her heart?
She had thought that their Chu family was deep - hidden!
It turned out that only Chu Zhan was!
But she was already content.
Chu Zhan glanced at Chu Qing's tangled little face and then began to seriously tell her what had happened before.
...
Ten years ago, he followed his family's merchant caravan far to the northwest of the Great Yan.
There was a desert in the northwest. On either side of the desert, one was the Western Liang, and the other was a tribe of the northern nomadic people.
At that time, they took a risk and went to that nomadic tribe to exchange for agate stones.
After all, agate stones were very popular among the ladies and young misses of the noble families in their Great Yan Kingdom.
However, this long - distance journey was not smooth. Just two days into the desert, the group encountered a sandstorm. The yellow sand and strong wind swept across the sky and the earth, making people feel extremely vulnerable and tiny in the world.
When Chu Zhan thought he was going to die there, he fell into a cave while running away and then fainted. When he woke up again, he realized that this cave might have helped him avoid the sandstorm because he could no longer hear the howling wind outside. But just as he was about to stand up and go out, he felt someone tugging at his robe.
When he looked down in horror, he saw a half - naked... woman?
...
Hearing this, Chu Qing couldn't help but get excited with her eyes shining.
A woman!
This kid... actually had such an encounter!
There must be something he wasn't telling.
Sure enough, what Chu Zhan said next was nothing more than that he saved her and she was touched by his noble character.
Chu Qing squinted her eyes like a fox and said, "So... after telling me all this, what's the connection between this woman and the Mysterious Pavilion?"
"Well... she gave it to me..."
"She gave it to you?! Just like that?" Chu Qing looked shocked.
Just give it away. Was the Mysterious Pavilion some cheap item?
Moreover...
"Um... Brother, how old is that woman?" Chu Qing couldn't help but ask carefully... If she was about the same age as Chu Zhan, it would be okay, but if she was... forty or fifty...
No, no, definitely not!
Her brother Chu Zhan was so handsome. How could he be with a woman so much older than him!
At this moment, Chu Qing completely forgot her soul's real age...
Hearing Chu Qing's question, Chu Zhan replied, "About the same age as me."
After hearing this, Chu Qing let out a long sigh of relief.
But then she thought about it and continued to ask, "This woman should not be the first master of the Mysterious Pavilion, right?"
"She's the second master. The first one was her father." Chu Zhan patiently answered the curious Chu Qing.
Chu Qing's eyes were a bit strange at this moment. With a hint of playfulness, she slowly said, "Brother... don't tell me you've become someone's... son - in - law. Otherwise, why would she give you the Mysterious Pavilion so easily?"
Chu Zhan, who had been smiling, suddenly blushed at the base of his ears and then coughed lightly as if trying to cover something up.
"She just wanted to repay me for saving her. Don't think too much. Come on, I'll take you to see the Drunken Fairy Pavilion." Chu Zhan stood up and, regardless of whether Chu Qing agreed or not, pulled her and walked outside.
Seeing this, Chu Qing pouted and didn't say anything more.
If she believed this kid's nonsense, she would have lived in vain all these years!
Even though her experience was not rich, she had read a lot of storybooks!
During those years in the Buddhist hall...
Well... how should I put it? How could she have been reciting Buddhist scriptures all the time!
She could be said to be very familiar with the affairs between men and women in those storybooks.
There were stories about the domineering prince and the iron - blooded female general, the infatuated young master and the cold - hearted maid, the emperor and the female knight, the general and the dancing girl.
There was nothing she couldn't think of that she hadn't read.
She didn't know what strange and wonderful ideas were in the minds of those who wrote the storybooks. Although some were a bit absurd, they really suited her taste.
Um... In a blink of an eye, her thoughts had wandered far away again.
Seeing that Chu Qing no longer asked in detail about the Mysterious Pavilion, Chu Zhan secretly let out a sigh of relief.
But a deep color flashed through his smiling eyes for a moment.
...
Three days ago, in the prefect's mansion of Chuanzhou.
"Two princes, if this succeeds, I hope the two princes can do what you promised us before." A middle - aged man in a blue - brown robe drank up the bowl of wine in front of him and spoke loudly.
Hu Yan Longhao replied with a smile, "Naturally. This prince has long heard that Chief Alana of the Aqitu tribe is always straightforward. Now that I see him, the rumor is not false."
Alana, who was praised, smiled proudly and said, "All of us in the Aqitu are like me, and each one of us is powerful and tall. By the way, Second Prince, are you sure that the Prince of Ning will..." At this point, Alana's expression became solemn.
He had always heard about the Prince of Ning. If possible, he actually didn't want to go against him.
But the conditions offered by the Hu Yan brothers were really too attractive. He had to take a risk.
You should know that unifying the various tribes on the northern grasslands was the dream of every grassland man.
Now this dream seemed about to come true. How could he not be tempted?
But he wasn't acting on impulse. The Western Liang Kingdom had hostages in their hands. He didn't believe that they would renege on their promise after the matter was done!
Thinking of this, Alana picked up the bowl filled with wine again and said, "The grassland god will bless us!"
After exchanging a look, Hu Yan Longhao and Hu Yan Longchang also picked up their bowls filled with wine and said, "The high - altitude goshawk will bless us!"
After feasting and drinking, Hu Yan Longhao said he couldn't hold his liquor anymore and left the banquet.
He walked straight out of the prefect's mansion and came to a dilapidated cottage on the edge of the city.
After opening the door, the smell of medicine in the room was so strong that it made people's eyes water.
Hu Yan Longhao frowned and then said to the figure on the bed, "You should be able to move around, right?"
The figure on the bed coughed heavily a few times and then said, "Yes. Thank you..."
"You should know that there are requirements for saving you."
"I know."
"All in all, our goal is the same person, so..."
"Happy cooperation." The man's lips curled up, but it looked extremely strange in the shadow.