Chapter 142 Yang Hongxia's Worries

Fang Yue had just managed to coax Qing Si’s Dou Hongyi, and was only a step away from obtaining his final identity, which would allow him to participate in the martial arts competition under his original white-robed identity, getting everything back on track.

But with Yang Hongxia’s sudden appearance, if seen by those with ulterior motives, variables might arise.

“Lord Ye, you haven’t contacted me for two days… I, I’m a little scared.”

“Scared?”

Fang Yue looked at her, puzzled. “Scared of what?”

Yang Hongxia didn’t speak, but bit her lower lip and clenched her fists slightly. “No, nothing.”

The Da Yang Merchant Troupe had suffered a massive upheaval, with her family members meeting a tragic end, and Steward Hai passing away.

Now, the entire Da Yang Merchant Troupe was relying on her alone to hold it together.

People were naturally inclined to seek profit and avoid harm.

Many servants had seen the decline of the Da Yang Merchant Troupe and began to request resignation.

The Da Yang Merchant Troupe was like a candle in the wind, flickering and on the verge of collapse.

Although Yang Hongxia had raised wages to temporarily appease the people, a merchant troupe that couldn’t demonstrate actual strength would ultimately fail to retain its people.

The merchant troupe that her father had painstakingly built, and that Steward Hai had worked hard to maintain throughout his life, absolutely could not fall into her hands.

A determined look flashed in Yang Hongxia’s eyes, and she took a deep breath before asking.

“Lord Ye, I wonder when you can return to Da Yang Prefecture? Even a temporary stay of a few days would suffice.”

With Fang Yue in charge, gossip in the prefecture would dissipate.

Without Fang Yue residing in Da Yang Prefecture, people were panicking and losing hope for the future of Da Yang Prefecture.

“It should be in the next few days. The matter I asked you to sign up for can be put on hold. I’ve found another way to clear my name and resolve the issue.”

Hearing Fang Yue’s words, Yang Hongxia’s eyes lit up instantly, and a smile bloomed on her face as she excitedly stepped forward and took Fang Yue’s hand.

“That’s wonderful! I, I’ll be waiting for you to return to the prefecture…”

As she spoke, Yang Hongxia’s voice lowered, because she realized that the hand she was holding was very hot.

The back of his hand, wrapped in a handkerchief, was burning hot.

Just as she was about to let go…

Drip.

The cold night rain fell on the back of her hand.

Accompanied by the number ‘-1’ popping up above her head, she froze completely, her pupils constricting.

“…Night… Rain? Lord Ye, what exactly is…”

“Just a guizhou curse, it’s nothing serious.”

Fang Yue calmly withdrew his hand and instructed, “You should go back first. When the time is right, I will naturally return to Da Yang Prefecture.”

Feeling a hint of estrangement in Fang Yue’s words, Yang Hongxia felt a moment of loss, but quickly cheered herself up.

Lord Ye’s beloved is already dead, my chances are very high… When Lord Ye moves back to Da Yang Prefecture, being close will give me an advantage…

Thoughts flashed through her mind, and Yang Hongxia lowered her eyes and was about to leave, when she suddenly remembered something. She paused and said, “Lord Ye, do you know that the Old Eagle Merchant Troupe was attacked last night?”

Huh?

Fang Yue was taken aback. Something like that happened? He didn’t even go out last night.

Fang Yue pondered, he had been diligently cultivating last night, and didn’t even plan to trouble the Old Eagle Merchant Troupe anytime soon.

How did they run into trouble themselves?

After thinking for a moment, Fang Yue said, “The martial arts competition is imminent, and the competition among the top ten merchant troupes is fierce. Maybe they’re messing with each other, you don’t need to worry about it.”

“…No, according to the information I’ve gathered, the Old Eagle Merchant Troupe was attacked by a ghost! And that ghost even slaughtered all fifty-plus members of a small merchant troupe earlier, leaving no one alive!

That’s also one of the reasons why I suddenly came to your door… Chu Nuan City is not very safe these days. If Lord Ye is in the prefecture, I’ll feel more at ease.”

As she spoke, Yang Hongxia showed a pitiful expression, but Fang Yue, after being stunned, stroked his chin and said.

“Chu Nuan City is such a big city, can ghosts even enter? Can’t the Tian Shang Alliance handle it? As for the possibility of Da Yang Prefecture being attacked, if something happens to you, send a request for help as soon as possible, and I’ll rush to rescue you. Or you can move to the Tian Shang Alliance’s station and stick together for warmth, that’s also a method.”

Yang Hongxia, whose expression was wasted, bit her lip and said, “There are conditions for joining the Tian Shang Alliance headquarters, without special connections, or paying a high temporary residence fee, they won’t let merchant troupes in.”

As for ghosts entering Chu Nuan City, it was relatively common.

Because Chu Nuan City focuses more on commerciality in its external strategy, which in short, means valuing money over life.

The inspection of such matters is basically perfunctory, and most of the time it relies on Chu Nuan City’s array to detect ghosts, the success rate of which is still very high.

The remaining ghosts that are highly concealed but lack lethality, the trouble they cause after entering the city, are all investigated and eliminated by the government, that is, the Qing Si.

So Chu Nuan City has its own set of methods and strategies for dealing with ghosts.

It’s just that this time… the ghost that entered the city, for some reason, was extremely destructive, and in terms of concealment, it could even evade the array’s inspection.

Although it was the first time encountering this situation, the Tian Shang Alliance and the government would not allow the situation to continue to escalate.

After all, this is Chu Nuan City, which relies on population flow, and is based on commerce for its development.

If ghosts run rampant, causing a large number of casualties, even if the merchants are profit-driven, they have to have the life to enjoy it.

If the risk is too high, even merchants will be dissuaded.

So the matter of ghosts should be resolved, the problem lies in which merchant troupes might be attacked and die tragically at the hands of ghosts before the ghosts are resolved.

Yang Hongxia didn’t want the Da Yang Merchant Troupe to become one of the innocent stepping stones, so she hoped that Fang Yue would return as soon as possible.

As for joining the Tian Shang Alliance headquarters and seeking protection.

As mentioned earlier, they didn’t have the conditions.

“I see… in that case, Da Yang Prefecture is indeed a bit dangerous. Tell me the details, and tell me everything about that ghost, I’ll judge whether or not to risk going directly to Da Yang Prefecture for a temporary stay, to protect you.”

Fang Yue did have a little friendship with Yang Hongxia and the others, and didn’t want them to die at the hands of ghosts.

However, as Yang Hongxia reported the information she knew one by one, Fang Yue was stunned.

“Small hands… are you talking about the small hands with mouths?”

“Yes. The Old Eagle Merchant Troupe suffered heavy casualties last night, attracting many onlookers, the information has already spread.”

“…”

Fang Yue didn’t speak, because he had already heard what the ghost that caused trouble last night was.

Why would the Nuo Mian Ghost appear in Chu Nuan City??

Could it be that back then… it followed me to Chu Nuan City, and even successfully sneaked into the city?!

Fang Yue was shocked and quickly asked, “My horse? How is Lie Hong Ma?”

Hearing Fang Yue mention this, Yang Hongxia awkwardly looked away: “No, nothing, it’s fine.”