“City Lord, are you keeping Xie Rui alive because you want to exchange for more resources?” Chu Yun was a little puzzled. Based on Su Ying’s actions in the past, Xie Rui’s bones would have been chewed clean by the wild beasts by
now.
What Su Ying wanted was not just that bit of resources.
-There’s an iron-smelting technique in the Jin State which can make the best use of the mined iron ores.” Although the Chu State also had iron-smelting skills, their know-how was still inferior to the Jin State’s.
During this period, she had repeatedly made requests to Xie Rui’s henchmen to test their bottom line. She wanted to know how far these people would go to save Xie Rui.
Thus, before that, Xie Rui had to stay alive.
If the guard was acting on someone’s order, it meant that there was someone with ulterior motives hiding near her.
It did not occur to Chu Yun that Su Ying would want the Jin State s iron-smelting technique. Due to this iron-smelting technique, the Jin State had more weapons stocked up than the Chu and Nan States. In addition, there had been no war in the Jin State for the past few years, so one could deduce that the Jin State’s weapon reserves were much bigger than the other two kingdoms.
Would the Jin State really hand over such important technical know-how for
the sake of a prince?
Chu Yun felt that the possibility of such an outcome was extremely low, but there was no harm in trying. What if it worked?
The next morning, Xie Rui woke up.
He opened his eyes, and a slender figure immediately came into his sight. The hair on his body instantly stood on end.
Su Ying slowly turned around and looked down at him from a high vantage point. “I’m surprised that the person who wanted your life managed to sneak into my city.”
Xie Rui’s expression changed at once. “What do you mean? Don’t you want me to die?”
Su Ying curled the corners of her lips icily. “If I wanted you dead, you wouldn’t have lived until now, First Prince. You are more valuable to me alive.
Xie Rui was silent. It was undeniable that what Su Ying said made sense, but he had too many enemies. He couldn’t think of anyone who could reach so far that he was able to send people to this damned place to take his life.
Su Ying sat down by his bed. Even if she was just sitting there, Xie Rui felt a pressure that could not be ignored assaulting him. It pressed down on him until his entire body felt unbearable.
“Actually, I don’t want to be enemies with the Jin State. It’s just that you’ve done so much harm to my city inhabitants that I have to extract some
compensation from you.”
Xie Rui’s heart was racing. He felt that Su Ying’s words had a hidden meaning.
“If you have something to say, just say it.
-I do intend to let you go. It depends on whether your people have the
sincerity.”
“What do you want?”
“Iron-smelting technique.”
“What did you say?” Xie Rui thought he had heard wrong.
He thought that Su Ying would ask for all kinds of gold, silver, and treasures, but he didn’t expect her to be so bold. The iron-smelting technique was the mainstay of the Jin State’s existence, so how could anyone simply give the knowledge away so flippantly?
“Do you think I own the iron-smelting technique and can just give you whenever I want? You think too highly of me!”
Su Ying was not in a hurry. She simply said leisurely, “If this thing were so easy to get, then it would not be worthy of the First Prince’s life. I heard that the health of the Jin State’s ruler has been deteriorating over the past few years. He is becoming more and more physically helpless in handling state affairs though he has the will. I think it will not be long before the Crown Prince is appointed. If you continue to stay in my city, First Prince, I’m afraid you will miss the good opportunity.”
Xie Rui knew the truth of what Su Ying said, of course. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so anxious that large clumps of his hair had fallen out.
“You can think about it carefully. Once you’ve thought it through, write a letter to your men. I believe they will do everything they can to get you out of here.” With that, Su Ying turned around and walked out, leaving Xie Rui alone to weigh the pros and cons.
It was definitely very difficult to obtain the iron-smelting technique, but compared to his own life, it was nothing.
Without thinking for too long, Xie Rui told someone to pass a message to Su Ying, saying that he agreed to Su Ying’s request on the condition that he could meet his trusted aide in person. There were some things that he needed to say to the other party personally.
“This is no small matter. It won’t be easy for them to take such a big risk just based on a letter. City Lord should understand what I mean.”
Stealing the iron-smelting technique was a capital crime that entailed the execution of one’s whole clan.
Su Ying agreed to his request.
After receiving Xie Rui’s letter, Lord Wang immediately brought it to Zhou Wei.
“Third Master, take a look. Do you think this is real or fake?
The letter stated that Lord Wang should meet Xie Rui in the northern wilderness three days later. However, the strange thing was he was still in the hands of those people.
Zhou Wei read the contents of the letter repeatedly. He finally confirmed that it was indeed written in Xie Rui’s handwriting.
“I’ll go.”
Lord Wang got a big shock. Xie Rui was already in the other party’s hands. If he ended up losing Third Master Zhou to them as well, then he could seriously forget about going back.
“Third Master, this may be a trap. You have to think twice.”
Zhou Wei shook his head. Xie Rui did not know that he had already arrived at the border city. Therefore, the people of the northern wilderness would definitely not know either. In that case, there was no possibility of them using a trick to lure him over.
The other party definitely knew that Lord Wang was just a person who worked for them. Why would they go through so much trouble to capture a person who merely worked for other people?
From this, it could be inferred that the other party really wanted Xie Rui to meet up with them.
Therefore, if he went, he would be able to understand the other party’s intentions more clearly.
“No worries. Just get the things ready. Send a message to our people and see if they have found any useful information.”
“Yes, Sir. I’ll send someone to check with them now.”
Zhou Wei was not in a hurry. Instead, he waited until the appointed time stated in the letter before bringing a few carts of goods to the stipulated location.
Qiao Yang had been waiting there for a long time.
After confirming that Zhou Wei was one of Xie Rui’s men, he led him into the northern wilderness before heading for Sky Alpha City.
Zhou Wei was blindfolded throughout the entire journey, so he had no way to check out his surroundings.
When Zhou Wei’s blindfold was removed, he saw a figure lying on the bed. After a few days, Xie Rui’s body had recovered a little, but he was still weak. Xie Rui looked at Zhou Wei with some doubt. He did not recognize Zhou Wei who was in disguise.
“Is Your Highness alright?” Zhou Wei asked softly as he walked forward.
Upon hearing Zhou Wei’s voice, a trace of shock flashed across Xie Rui’s eyes. He quickly glanced at the door, and immediately hid the expression in his eyes, fearing that someone would notice something was amiss.
“You’re here. I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
In a spot where the people outside the door could not see, Xie Rui gripped Zhou Wei’s hand tightly. He desperately wanted to know if Zhou Wei could get him out of this place or not.
Zhou Wei squeezed his hand back in return and shook his head slowly, “Your Highness, there’s no need to be anxious. Let’s talk slowly.
Xie Rui quickly shot a look outside the door. “They want the iron-smelting technique.”
Zhou Wei’s eyes were filled with shock, but he quickly restrained his expression. “Such arrogance.”
“If they obtain the iron-smelting technique, they will let me go. Otherwise…”
“Tell me what you know about this place.”
Xie Rui frowned and told him everything he knew.
When Zhou Wei heard this, his brows furrowed together. Xie Rui had been here for so long, but he had only managed to find out so little?
