Chapter 764: Chapter 53 Things Remain but People Change Chapter 764: Chapter 53 Things Remain but People Change Hong Liangyu had a grave expression on his face, but the Red Dragon soldiers, who had just regained consciousness, saw that the one holding Hong Liangyu hostage was merely a foreign old man with a playful smile, as well as a tall and thin man holding a notched empty bowl. They exchanged uncertain glances, still hesitating.

Li Yan saw someone stealthily reaching for a weapon and, with a thought, a huge hole tore open in mid-air. Several golden jellyfish, each over three meters tall, carrying thick water vapor, drifted around above the heads of the soldiers. Although they were not particularly terrifying, the sheer pressure of the massive creatures hovering overhead caused several skinny horses to panic and flee. The soldiers subsequently scattered, not to be mentioned further.

“I say, when can the Five Dragon Sect Master come?”

Li Yan asked with a smile.

Seeing that Li Yan hadn’t made it difficult for her subordinates, a wave of relief passed through Hong Liangyu. She suspected that the giant jellyfish were simply an illusion and obediently replied, “The Sect Master moves unpredictably, in an effort to strike at foreign demons, just a few days ago, he ascended into the sky during the day and flew tens of thousands of miles to set London ablaze. The Five Dragon Envoys usually contact him by burning Yellow Talisman Paper cranes.”

Saint Watson snorted with laughter. When Hong Liangyu glared at him, he laughed even harder, bending over with mirth.

Li Yan also shook his head. Theoretically, his Driving the Nine States technique could cover a thousand miles a day, but the furthest he could travel in a single use was only about a dozen kilometers. To truly traverse the Eurasian continent with his physical body, he would surely exhaust himself to the point of coughing up blood. Apart from a few from the Six Ministries Peak who were proficient in such feats, most representatives of the Yan Zhao Club couldn’t achieve ascension for thousands of miles during the day. That Jiudou Sect Master was obviously full of hot air.

“My patience is wearing thin, three days, if that Five Dragon Sect Master doesn’t show up, I’ll have no choice but to capture all of you Dragon Envoys one by one.”

Hong Liangyu, for some reason, became angry, “Nowadays, the war is tense, and everywhere people are dying. There are more than a thousand Tiger Vein Token Soldiers in Hepu County Town, sweeping through every corner. If you capture one Dragon Envoy, thousands of church brothers will be tortured and killed by the officials. Among them are many former affiliates of the Red Flag, do you really have the heart to let them be heart-carved and skinned by the government?”

Li Yan tossed the notched bowl up and down, sighed, and said, “I am nothing but a demon impersonating a Tianbao kid, what do the life and death of former Red Flag affiliates have to do with me?”

Hong Liangyu’s chest heaved, but she clenched her teeth and said no more.

“Let’s make a deal.”

Li Yan sat down beside Hong Liangyu, “I’ll help you fend off the Tiger Vein Token Soldiers in Hepu County Town that you just mentioned, and in return, you’ll tell me everything you know about the Five Dragon Sect Church, in every detail. Does that sound good to you?”

After a moment of silence, Hong Liangyu said, “How many soldiers do you have under your command now?

Li Yan glanced at Saint Watson, “Including him, two.”

“I’m not under your command.”

Saint Watson hastily objected.

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“You’re saying Brother Liangyu was kidnapped by a demon? Where?”

The speaker was an armor-clad female general with slender eyebrows and phoenix eyes, carrying a golden blade, her face showing intense concern and worry.

“Just east, in Xijiagou, less than five miles from here. We were originally patrolling and setting up defenses with the Dragon Envoy when…”
“Summon someone.”

The Golden Blade Female General was about to muster her troops and rush to Xijiagou to rescue them when Shark Peng stopped her. This elder, who hailed from the Red Flag, listened carefully to the messenger’s detailed account of the events and frowned, “Are you saying that the Red Dragon Envoy claimed that the demon impersonated the current Sect Leader? What does he look like, exactly like the Sect Leader? Tall and thin, with a buzz cut?”

The soldier was taken aback, “I have never seen the true face of our Sect Leader, so I can’t say whether that person resembles the Sect Leader, but he definitely is tall and thin.”

“You may leave now.”

After dismissing the soldier, Shark Peng first tried to calm his granddaughter, “I believe the Red Dragon Envoy is not in immediate danger. You don’t need to panic. Just recently, the Bai Dragon Envoy took away two thousand brothers. Now, our camp has limited manpower, and there are over a thousand Tiger Vein Token Soldiers in Hepu County Town watching us closely, we cannot act rashly. Why not wait for the return of the Bai Dragon Envoy’s forces before we make our move?”

The Golden Blade Female General urgently said, “I fear any delay may bring trouble! Now only you and I, grandfather and granddaughter, are in charge in the camp and can give our all. If we mobilize the brothers to save Liangyu now, it will be different once Jing Old Man comes back. He has always been at odds with Liangyu, and being one of the Five Dragon Envoys, military rules dictate we are under his command. What if he harbors ulterior motives and deliberately refuses to save Liangyu? What then?”

The Golden Blade Female General seemed heroic, but her heart was full of complex thoughts. The Five Dragon Sect Church might sound powerful, but beneath the surface, it was rife with undercurrents and intrigue, with the Five Dragon Envoys engaging in constant struggles for power.

The origins of the Five Dragon Envoys were complicated. Most of the troops in the camp had previously followed Monk Shi from Wuzhou, the main force of the Xiang Army. On the night of the great assembly, when the Five Dragon Sect Church’s forces surrounded Living Fish Valley, they were partly persuasive and partly forceful, attempting to reclaim this severely weakened Volunteer Army force and the various warriors. The Sect Leader was mighty and inscrutable, and the Bai Dragon Envoy was even more formidable, unmatched by anyone present.

Shark Peng, with no other choice, used Monk Shi’s predetermined successor to buy time before his death. Needless to say, that successor was none other than Liangyu, who had coincidentally stolen the limelight at the assembly in Living Fish Valley.

Yet, the Jiudou Sect Master did not expose this lie and instead graciously stated they would first help the Xiang get through the tough times, jointly resist the official military forces that came to eliminate them, and worry about Liangyu’s whereabouts later.

As for Liangyu, who had originally planned to retire to a peaceful life in the countryside, it was a dire tragedy how he ended up as the Red Dragon Envoy, charging into battle for the Five Dragon Sect Church…
“Impossible! This matter is not that simple. You should know Liangyu’s capabilities. You’ve also just heard, in today’s world, who can capture him single-handedly? Moreover, Liangyu even recognizes him as the fake Tianbao Dragon Head who once impersonated a figure from the Red Flag Gang?”

The astute Golden Blade Female General blurted out, “Are you saying he’s the real deal? Ah, no.”

Seeing Shark Peng’s sharp gaze, the Golden Blade Female General realized her slip of the tongue, but she didn’t correct herself, “Grandfather, since there are no outsiders in the camp at the moment, let’s just be open about it. Do you think the current Jiudou Sect Master is a fake Tianbao, and the one who captured Liangyu is the real Tianbao?”

Shark Peng spoke with seeming depth, “I’ve been out of the game for decades. Although I’m an elder of the Red Flag, I’ve never met the Tianbao Dragon Head, so I can’t tell who’s real or fake. Among the entire Five Dragon Sect Church, only a handful of people like Liangyu truly know Tianbao’s face. And among them, Liangyu has the highest standing. Since he has sent word that the one who captured him is a fake Tianbao, it must be a fake.”

The Golden Blade Female General suddenly let out a cold laugh, “Even if he is real, look at Guangdong today. How many remain loyal to the Red Flag? Those who come from the Five Dragon Sect are either refugees displaced from the southern provinces or landlords with ambitions. The Five Dragon Sect Church has come a long way from humble beginnings; it no longer relies on the foundation of the old Red Flag Gang. His reappearance now is too late!”

Shark Peng muttered to himself, “Maybe both are fakes. The real Tianbao might have perished at sea long ago.”

“Hahaha, Li Yan! I now feel that even if you were to expose the fake Tianbao right to their faces, they wouldn’t be convinced,” said Saint Watson with a touch of schadenfreude as he sat by the campfire, listening to Liangyu’s description of the rise of the Five Dragon Sect Church.

Li Yan nodded, his expression unchanging, “Although many of the Five Dragon Sect Church’s key members are from the Red Flag, most are peripheral members whom I’ve hardly met. The one who has been conquering lands with them is the fake Tianbao. If I brazenly show up now, I’m afraid those with a ruthless streak might see me as a thorn in their side, eager to eliminate me for good.”