Secular Immortal of the Nine Realms - Chapter 119
Chapter 119: Six Months of Heat, Six Months of Cold
In Great Xia’s imperial palace, the empress passed an envelope to the emperor and said, “Chen’er said that he ought to do something for Great Xia now that he’s the Xia Imperial Duke, so he plans on bringing the Fang Clansmen to the southern region and resolve the problems there that have accumulated over the past few centuries.”
The emperor took a look at the letter. The words written were majestic and powerful, giving off an imposing disposition.
“It’s no wonder Fang Canghai resigned a few days ago,” the emperor murmured. “He was planning on moving to the southern region. That makes me miss him a little.”
“Your Majesty, you should be relieved now that none of the Fang Clansmen are in the imperial court?” the empress asked.
“My empress, what do you take me for? When have I ever feared the Fang Clan? I appreciate Fang Chen taking the initiative to deal with the problems plaguing the south,” the emperor said with a chuckle.
His heart felt much lighter. If the Fang Clan had continued residing in the capital, it was only a matter of time before their prestige overtook the imperial family. That would have felt like a knife pointed at his heart; he would have never been able to rest at ease.
“This matter has to be kept confidential first. Even the Fang Clan’s prestige won’t be enough to drive fear through the hearts of those greedy scoundrels. Those people won’t give up on their interests so easily,” the emperor said.
The empress nodded in agreement. She understood this logic too.
In the crown prince’s manor, a frowning Xia Yu first looked at Tao Yu, followed by Li Huafeng, before asking, “What is the Fang Manor up to?”
Li Huafeng pondered before replying, “He’s likely planning to purge the southern region… but the problems there have built up over the centuries, and the corruption runs all the way from the top to the bottom. He might have reached Earth Profound realm, but it won’t be easy for him to tackle this issue.”
“Fang Chen is already the Xia Imperial Duke. Why does he bother with the southern region’s mess? He has built up so much prestige here that even I would have to bow to him. He’d have been better off staying in the capital.” Xia Yu was perplexed.
It was no secret that managing the southern region was a pitfall. Not only were there no benefits, but they would also offend the southern region’s martial artists and many soldiers in the military.
What was scary was not offending the generals but the mid-tier commanders. Losing their support would be a huge blow to the military.
For that reason, the capital had left the southern region to be as long as they made no attempt to rebel. Unfortunately, this meant suffering for the southern region’s common populace.
“That might not be so. If the Fang Manor truly wanted to deal with the matter, Fang Zhentian would have already made a move back in his era. There was no need for them to wait till now. Perhaps, the Fang Clan might have left the capital because of his title as the Xia Imperial Duke. It might have been an intentional move for them to stay away from the capital, lest His Majesty see them as a threat,” Tao Yu suggested.
“That’s possible.” Xia Yu nodded. He was more inclined to this explanation too.
Now that the Fang Clan was no longer involved with the imperial court, there was no benefit for them to manage the southern region.
“The Fang Clan would be the number one martial arts clan in the southern region, towering above the Four Great Sects. That’s better than being an official in the imperial court,” Ye Qinghe suddenly spoke up.
“But it’s the southern region we’re talking about here. Forget it, it doesn’t matter what the Fang Clan is thinking. They won’t affect us anymore now that they are moving to the southern region. This might be for the best,” Xia Yu replied with a smile.
Xia Ji was dead, and Fang Chen was leaving the capital. This was like a dream to him.
…
Speculations floated around different factions in the capital. Some even ordered their men to head to the southern region to investigate the matter.
However, none of these were important to Fang Chen. None of their deductions and movements could hurt him. What Fang Chen was going to do far surpassed their wildest imagination.
It didn’t take long for the Fang Clan to arrive in the South Immortal Commandery.
The scorching sun produced heat waves that left many of the younger Fang Clansmen feeling light-headed. Some even showed signs of heat exhaustion. They finally understood why the southern region was so barren.
It was too hot for crops to thrive here. It was no wonder normal civilians struggled to fill their stomachs here.
“Big brother, Chen’er wants to live here from now on?” Fang Cangyou asked with a frown.
He had long removed the blanket that was usually on his lap. Even as a Ki Explosion martial artist, this heat was too much for him to take.
“The South Immortal Commandery doesn’t go through the four seasons; it only has six months of heat and six months of cold. The climate is already better than the other eight commanderies. I doubt that you can last even a month in the other commanderies.” Fang Canghai chuckled.
“No wonder His Majesty turns a blind eye to the southern region. If I was the emperor, I would have done the same too,” Fang Cangyou mumbled.
Those were blasphemous words, but Fang Canghai didn’t react to them. The Fang Chan had always put the people above the emperor, which resulted in them sometimes acting contrary to the emperor’s will. This was also partly the reason the emperor wasn’t fond of their clan.
“Big brother, Chen’er should have made arrangements for our businesses in the capital, right? We shouldn’t throw those businesses away just because we’re moving to the south. We have an entire clan to feed here,” Fang Cangyou said.
“Chen’er will make arrangements,” Fang Canghai replied.
“That’s good.” Fang Cangyou noded. All of a sudden, his eyes lit up. “There’s a teahouse there.”
“We have too many people. We shouldn’t disturb them.” Fang Canghai shook his head.
“Father, Second Uncle, there’s a cold spring around thirty kilometers ahead. That’s our destination.” Fang Chen galloped over and pointed in a direction.
Fang Canghai and Fang Cangyou’s eyes lit up.
The customers at the teahouse looked at the massive Fang Manor’s procession with a curious glint in their eyes. They could tell from their clothes that they were from the north.
“An affluent clan from the north is traveling to our south? Are they here for a holiday?”
“Who would be so dumb as to go on a holiday in our southern region? Are they looking to be turned into jerky?”
“Could it be a new official taking post in the southern region?”
“Looks like it.”
Among the crowd, there were some who lifted their brows upon seeing the Fang Manor’s procession, and they quietly slipped away.
The Fang Manor’s procession continued making their way toward the cold spring. Soon, the air began to turn cool. In the distance, a pristine spring could be seen.
The villagers fetching water weren’t surprised to see the Fang Manor’s procession, as if they were already accustomed to it. They simply fetched their water and took their leave.
“Chen’er, this cooling place is like a haven for the sweltering southern region. I’m curious to know why there aren’t any houses in the vicinity,” Fang Canghai asked.
Fang Chen had previously gotten to the bottom of this matter.
“The special nature of the spring water draws in ferocious beasts that are much larger than usual ones. From time to time, they would drop by this area to take a sip of water. Anyone staying here will just become food to them. It’s common for those fetching water to be taken away by them,” Fang Chen replied.
Even beasts that drank the spirit spring water every day would start to become intelligent and powerful, such that ordinary martial artists struggled with them.
“Also, when it reaches the cold months, this place will be colder than other places. Ordinary people won’t be able to withstand it. It’s for these two reasons that no one tries to reside here anymore,” Fang Chen replied.
If not for that, a small town would have long appeared here. Otherwise, a major clan in the southern region could have occupied this spot too.
