Chapter 402: An Eminent Person Has a Short Memory
Translator: Subudai11 Editor: Chrissy
The leader of Eternal Tree Sacred Leaf was the wife of the king of Harmony River?
Upon hearing A Ye's explanation, Wang Lu finally understood why this person, who he thought to have dubious IQ, could confidently say that the alliance between Harmony River and Eternal Tree was unbreakable. It turned out that the two were actually husband and wife! For such a relation, with A Ye's temper, he indeed genuinely thought that the alliance between the two forces was unbreakable. And Wang Lu also thought that A Ye would say: "With how handsome I am, which of my allies that would be willing to betray me…"
It was obviously not the first time for Zhou Mumu to see the Sacred Leaf. Hearing how A Ye showed off his wife, she sneered. "Be careful, your wife is now your competitor. Under the background of the struggling for the five blood spirit crown, a fall out between husband and wife is not uncommon."
As a result, A Ye burst into laughter. "I am so handsome that my wife will not be willing to betray me."
"..." Zhou Mumu thought otherwise and even snorted contemptuously, but she also knew of A Ye's temperament. He might be persuaded on other things, but once he firmly believed in something, he would not look back anymore, especially regarding his handsomeness. Therefore, Zhou Mumu was too lazy to continue. After letting out a few sneers, she completely ignored him.
Not long afterward, the green cloud descended down from the sky. The Sacred Leaf of Eternal Tree, Shaman, leading her two children, came to the front of the crowd, and then slightly nodded towards Wang Lu and Lan. Shaman's gesture was graceful and elegant, so graceful that even the most demanding nitpicky person would not find anything improper to pick at.
Compared to Shaman, A Ye was much more passionate. He ran straight to hug Shaman, deeply planted kisses on Shaman's cheeks, and then touched his two children's head. Then, under his children's cheers, he carried them on his shoulders and then pointed at Wang Lu and Lan and said, "These two people are from Grey Mountain, the earth spirit Wang Lu and a waste girl. Come and say hello to them."
The two almost-exactly-the-same little boys smiled and waved at Wang Lu and Lan, but did not speak.
A Ye explained, "Don't look at their already-grew-so-big body, they're actually just one year old, so they still can't speak. However, they are very sensible, much stronger than when I was a kid, and they completely inherited their mother's special ability. Later, when they become the king of Harmony River and Sacred Leaf of Eternal Tree, the alliance would become even more unbreakable. Ha, the luckiest thing that happened to me in my entire life is marrying a good wife and having two good sons."
While speaking, A Ye's face revealed a deep sense of love.
However, just as A Ye was still immersed in his family's happiness, an untimely voice rang out.
"I'm hungry."
Lan touched her stomach and coldly said.
A Ye was startled, and then coldly and haughtily said, "We don't give food to a waste here."
Before he could continue, the Sacred Leaf of Eternal Tree slightly furrowed her shapely eyebrows. "A Ye! She is our guest!"
Upon hearing those words, A Ye was immediately covered in shock. His frosty expression instantly melted, replaced by an almost flattering smile to Lan. "If you're hungry, then let's eat! Come in, join me in the house." While saying that, he walked into the house.
"Alas." As A Ye's follower, Zhou Mumu could only sigh when seeing this.
On the other hand, Wang Lu looked at this couple with interest. While following A Ye into the house, he said to Shaman, "Do you feel troubled in looking after him?"
Shaman let out a modest smile. "A Ye is mostly a passionate person, so sometimes, he might not conform with common etiquette. But everything that he does always comes from the heart. I think that this sincere heart is very commendable, so I never feel troubled."
Wang Lu nodded and seemingly unintentionally asked, "I see that A Ye has no interest in the state affairs, do you usually help him take care of it?"
Shaman was startled by this, but A Ye who walked at the front already answered it for her, "Shaman helps me in all of them. Now she often has her hands full in managing the affairs of the two countries. But if I have to handle those affairs, I'd be sick to death."
"Oh, then you're really married to a good wife," Wang Lu said and then cast a profound glance at Shaman.
The woman gazed affectionately at her husband and said, "This is A Ye's trust in me. Other people only know that he is incompetent in governing the country and ignorant in the state affairs. But who can really have his easy going attitude and sincere heart? With such a pure heart, it is possible for miracles to happen around him."
Wang Lu said with a smile, "You make him sound so good, are you trying to help your husband win me over? I thought that your position wouldn't be this mild."
Shaman slightly lowered her head, but she actually changed the topic, "Not long ago, I strongly urged A Ye to go to Grey Mountain. I said to him, the war to contend for the five blood spirits crown has too many variables that even though water and wood are in it together, it can't give us absolute guarantee in security. And among the five forces, the Grey Mountain is the weakest. If we eliminate the Grey Mountain first and collect the power of the earth spirit, then our position would become impregnable. As a matter of fact, even now, I still think that this judgment is not wrong. But since A Ye actually brought you back, obviously he has his own judgment, and I, no matter what, will respect his wishes."
Wang Lu said, "Even in terms of true authority, it is clear that you are the Queen that is responsible for the affairs of the two countries, so shouldn't you be the one who decided this?"
Shaman said, "Between husband and wife, how can we decide everything by the strength of authority? I respect him and love him, what does it have to do with power and influence?"
During this, the group crossed the fine courtyard. Upon entering the house, A Ye went straight for the dining room. In the round table in the hall, he didn't pay attention to the difference between guests and hosts, and just casually told everyone to sit down. He then clapped and shouted, "Guys, we have guests here, bring out your best craft!"
Before long, from the kitchen came out a group of dwarves wearing white hat. With various antics, they brought all kinds of wines and dishes to the table.
Although these cooks were not handsome, they were amazing in cooking. The foods on the table weren't really exotic delicacies, and they also didn't have any precious ingredients, but they have the look and taste of rare and precious fine food. In particular, the wine on the table was an even more extraordinary product. Allegedly, it was brewed using the essence of the Harmony River personally collected by A Ye and rice grew from Eternal Tree. When it entered the mouth, it was unbearably hot, but when it has already entered the belly, it gave off a trace of cool and refreshing feeling.
With wine on the table, amidst the lively scene, the conversation gradually turned deeper.
Perhaps the real reason A Ye invited Wang Lu home was just to be able to drink merrily with a talented person that he likes, establishing friendly contact. However, in reality, only A Ye and Lan were truly immersed in the drinking and eating on the table. A Ye continued to drink the wine incessantly, while Lan, in an elegant posture, continued to swallow most of the food on the table with astonishing speed.
Apart from these two "rare and beautiful flowers", the rest of the people have their own mind. Even Wang Lu, after dabbling with the food for a moment, most of the time he spent his time talking to Shaman.
Between the husband and wife, the one that truly could make all the decision was Shaman. No matter how headstrong A Ye was and thus could ignore Shaman's request and behave in an arbitrary way, if Shaman insisted him to kill the earth spirit at all cost, would A Ye refuse?
The peace at this time was nothing more than Shaman thinking that it was more advantageous to maintain the peace. After all, at this moment, since she realized that Wang Lu was not the kind of opponent that could be easily dealt with, then Harmony River and Eternal Tree needed a living earth spirit as an ally.
And the topic on the table also revolved around the alliance relationship on the battle for the five blood spirits crown.
"This dispute has caused unrest in the whole region, and it is difficult for any party to stay out of it. Right now, Golden City is simply too powerful that it's difficult for any side to contend with them. Only by joining forces could the other powers have the chance of defeating them. But as far as I know, in the history, most of the alliance of several weak forces against a strong force ended up in the defeat of the weak forces, even if the sum of the weak forces was far above the strong force. It's because the weak forces always can't cooperate with each other sincerely. Instead, each harbored ulterior motive, so much that they actually impede each other."
On the dining table, Shaman gently sipped her husband's brewed wine, temporarily put down her reservations as the Sacred Leaf and candidly interpreted the situation according to her understanding.
Regarding Shaman's analysis, Wang Lu nodded his approval. "Indeed, regardless of how much effort is put into it, the alliance between weak forces would always be flawed, which could be easily taken advantage of and broken down. After all, among the forces, their hearts are different, unlike a strong and unified force that could be moved freely and effortlessly. Therefore, from your point of view, persuading A Ye to go to Grey Mountain to harvest the earth spirit is indeed the correct choice."
According to the rules of the battle for the five blood spirits crown, when a blood spirit was killed, the killer would gain the power of that blood spirit; the five blood spirits crown would be obtained after all of the four blood spirits were killed. Although this would be inevitably accompanied with some losses, after all, the strength was grasped in one's own hand, so it was stable and free from anxiety.
Shaman said, "Currently, among the five spirits, three have gathered here. Although the number is more than half, the combined strength is at most one or two notches above Flaming Valley, still not enough to contend against Golden City. At the moment, the best policy is to unite with Flaming Valley against Golden City. However, the situation of Flaming Valley is very special, so it would be very difficult to create an alliance. Moreover, as previously analyzed, the more powerful the alliance, the more difficult it is to maintain the cohesion of the alliance. At the appointed time, not only the convenience of an alliance could not be enjoyed, the members would be deeply harmed instead."
Wang Lu said, "So, what is your opinion?"
Shaman said, "In my opinion, it is best if Golden City wars against Flaming Valley until both of them are mutually wounded, then we will reap the benefit."
Wang Lu laughed. "This is too whimsical, right now, regardless of Golden City or Flaming Valley, clearly we're the highest priority target—if it's me, I would never go into battle with another powerful unified force at this time and let go off such a suitable target."
Shaman smiled somewhat mysteriously. "But what if they have a reason to go to war? Once the war happens, it would not be so easy to control. Although Flaming Valley only has sixty to seventy percent the strength of Golden City, but in five elements, fire overcomes gold. So if there's an all out war, Golden City would not be able to quickly end it, they would get sucked into a deep mire."
Wang Lu asked, "Do they have a reason to go to war?"
"None at the moment, but one can be created for them!"
When Wang Lu asked his question, a hearty man's voice came from outside the dining room. Then, in a flash, a lightning came into the room far faster than the voice. Then gradually, a man's figure became clear, who then cheerfully smiled towards Wang Lu.
"Long time no see, Junior Brother Wang Lu."
Wang Lu looked at the figure with a slight surprise, and then got up and said, "The Flash?"
"... Junior Brother Wang Lu, after a few years have passed, you have forgotten about me?"
Zhan Ziye's grief and indignation were indescribable.