Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Change Course Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Change Course Originally, she had wanted to take a detour around another mountain and bypass the troops to reach Cold City, but that seemed impossible now.
Heaven knows if the area behind the mountain was all occupied by these people.
Bai Junjun retracted her Special Ability, opened her eyes, and then signaled Old Uncle Qiu to retreat with her.
Although Old Uncle Qiu did not possess Bai Junjun’s abilities and could not sense the concentration of carbon dioxide emissions, he also sensed that something was amiss from the minor details.
The two of them stealthily retraced their steps until after a long while, Old Uncle Qiu murmured.
“I’m afraid the Xuanwei Army has occupied the whole mountain.”
“Yes,” Bai Junjun affirmed confidently.
Perhaps they were lucky to have taken a route not yet occupied by the Xuanwei Army; if they had recklessly continued forward, they might have been devoured to the bone.
“What does the Fifth Prince plan to do with so many troops?”
Actually, Old Uncle Qiu had a rough answer already, but he couldn’t help asking aloud.
People are like that, not necessarily needing an answer because the answer is already in their heart, but they want to find companionship and support in the process of asking.
Bai Junjun briskly became that empathetic person, boldly commenting.
“He probably wants to unite the whole world.”
Old Uncle Qiu sighed repeatedly, thinking why the Fifth Prince would bother, wasn’t being an idle prince fine?
But considering the current fragmented state of Baiju Country and the widespread famine, he had nothing to say.
“Nowadays, avoiding war is not something the Fifth Prince can resolve by himself. Even if the Northern Lands are temporarily stable, once his three brothers finish their internal strife, they will inevitably point their swords northward.”
Rather than waiting for the south to unite before facing battle, it’s better to muddle the waters now. At least the three princes will be suspicious of the Fifth Prince, giving him a chance to defeat them one by one. If only one remains, he would be difficult to deal with.
Therefore, both the Fifth Prince and Lao Jiu have entered the fray.
It’s just uncertain whether the Fifth Prince and Lao Jiu are allies or adversaries.
If they are pretending to fight, then this elite troop is undoubtedly meant to deal with someone else, and who else is nearby? It’s merely the Eldest Prince’s Cold City.
If the Fifth Prince and Lao Jiu are truly fighting, then the Fifth Prince intends to use this elite troop as a surprise force, deliberately recruiting heavily to create chaos among the Xuanwei Seven Cities, thus numbing Lao Jiu into lowering his guard, and then striking him unexpectedly.
No matter what the Fifth Prince intends to do, the route to Cold City is definitely blocked.
Speaking of which, perhaps when the Fifth Prince proposed building the official road years ago, he was already thinking of using this mountain range as a training ground, right?
He truly played a great game of chess.
Bai Junjun could not help but admire the ancient strategist.
This premeditated layout and tactics, if one were to delve deeper into conspiracy theories, it might be that the turmoil in Baiju Country three years ago was orchestrated by the Fifth Prince himself.
Bai Junjun admired the Fifth Prince to the extreme.
Having clarified the situation ahead, their return journey was even more urgent.
After all, not knowing is not a crime; they could still delightfully stroll and enjoy nature leisurely. But once they realized they were on the edge of a dragon’s lair, knowing they had been lingering at Ghost Gate Pass, they grew much more anxious.
Thinking about how everyone was joyously sightseeing these past few days, completely unaware of the danger, really made them sweat coldly.
They must have borrowed courage from the heavens to dare do so, right?
The two hurried back to their starting point, where Qiu Da and the others were hiding on the side and watching.
Seeing their father and Bai Junjun return completely unharmed, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Dad, what’s the situation ahead?”