Chapter 1666: Mutiny

Twilight.

Under the bridge.

The blood-like setting sun gradually sank into the earth. Before the dilapidated bridge, a bonfire burned with a crackling sound.

The firelight flickered, causing the hot pot above to boil with steam. A figure draped in theatrical robes was sitting alone by the hot pot, holding a pair of chopsticks, gently stirring the ingredients inside.

On the dark golden street, a figure wearing white martial arts clothes was carrying a large bag of things, walking straight toward here.

The current Lord Hongchen was much more haggard than when Chen Ling last saw her here... even her usually spotless martial arts clothes had some stains on them from somewhere.

She walked on the deserted street, and at first glance, she didn't look like a Nine Lord at all, but rather like an ordinary worker who had just finished work and bought groceries to go home.

"Did you bring the ingredients yourself?" Chen Ling smiled slightly.

"No, these are all seasonings." Lord Hongchen shook her head, sat down opposite Chen Ling, and took out small bottles of seasonings from the bag, with all kinds of flavors available.

"Food in the Tianxue Domain is also a bit scarce now, so even I couldn't bring out more ingredients."

"Oh, it doesn't matter, I have some."

"What's... floating inside? Is it chicken?" Lord Hongchen's expression was a bit strange.

"Yeah, I couldn't get other meat for a while, so I just got a few chickens."

While speaking, Chen Ling glanced at the chicken coop that had been fenced off under the bridge, and as if recalling Jin Fugui's heartbroken expression, he spoke with a light smile.

Lord Hongchen nodded: "Chicken is not bad either."

Lord Hongchen opened all the bottles and jars at hand and began to prepare the sauce for her bowl.

"Why did you suddenly want to meet here?" Chen Ling asked the doubt in his heart. "I thought the things we talked about would need to be more formal..."

"I wanted to have another hot pot." Lord Hongchen paused for a moment. "After this... there probably won't be a chance."

Chen Ling's hand holding the chopsticks paused slightly.

Chen Ling had come to the Tianxue Domain specifically this time to persuade Lord Hongchen to help the Twilight Society restart the world... But now it seemed that Lord Hongchen had already prepared herself mentally before he arrived.

Lord Hongchen's target was definitely not himself; otherwise, she couldn't be sitting opposite him eating hot pot. Since that was the case, her target could only be...

Lord Lingxu.

Before Chen Ling arrived at the Tianxue Domain, he had already obtained first-hand intelligence from the Lingxu Domain. He knew that the Tianxue Domain had not replied to the Lingxu Domain's request for help, and the Lingxu Domain had completely closed itself... All of this could actually infer Lord Hongchen's attitude, but it was only at this moment that the guess in Chen Ling's heart was completely confirmed.

At this point, the probes and rhetoric Chen Ling had prepared at the beginning were no longer important, so he simply got straight to the point:

"If you encounter Lord Lingxu... what are your odds of winning?"

Lord Hongchen was silent for a long time: "If it's on my home turf, about 40%. If it's on his home turf... less than 20%."

Chen Ling's heart went cold.

He knew Lord Lingxu was strong, but he didn't expect him to be this strong. Even Lord Hongchen in her prime was so wary of him to this extent...

"I might have some good news here." Chen Ling mused.

"What good news?"

Chen Ling recalled the most internal and hidden intelligence of the Lingxu Domain that the Gray King had just relayed to him. He looked into Lord Hongchen's eyes and said word by word:

"The Lingxu Domain... is experiencing a mutiny."

……

Lingxu Domain.

*Swish swish swish—*

Coffee beans were constantly ground in the blades, and wisps of powder fell into the cup.

A figure wearing a chef's hat cautiously swept his gaze around. His fingertips flicked from his cuff, and a wisp of powder exactly the same as the coffee powder was silently mixed into it.

Just as he was about to continue brewing, a voice sounded from the side:

"What are you doing?"

The chef's body shook violently. He turned his head to look, only to see the head chef, wearing a taller hat, standing beside him with a frown, squinting at the coffee powder in his cup.

"Ch... Chef..." His voice trembled a little.

The conversation here immediately attracted the attention of several chefs around. These chefs were either old men nearing sixty or haggard-looking women. Their gazes gathered on the head chef, their brows furrowed, and they began to exchange subtle glances with each other...

Then, they moved toward that direction as if nothing had happened.

"Don't dawdle when doing things." The head chef looked into the chef's eyes, his gaze a bit complex. "Lord Lingxu has been urging for a long time... hurry up and finish it, then send it to him."

The other chefs stopped in their tracks upon hearing this... and then continued to work as if nothing had happened.

"...Yes!"

The chef wiped his sweat, hurriedly brewed the coffee in the cup, and then carried the coffee cup and walked out quickly.

After pushing the door out, there was a straight, semi-open corridor. He handed the coffee to a secretary-like character who had been waiting for a long time outside the door. After a brief exchange of glances between the two, the secretary nodded silently and carried the coffee toward Lingxu Mountain.

Without a single word of dialogue, their movements were fluid and perfectly synchronized, as if they had done the exact same thing many times before.

As the secretary reached the T-junction in the corridor, a figure wearing amber knight’s armor "happened" to walk in from the other direction. Their stride length and frequency were identical, and they continued walking side by side.

"Is it today?" the secretary asked softly, looking straight ahead.

"Yes," the Amber Knight nodded. "After accumulating for so long, it should be about time..."

"What do you need me to do?"

"Just guard the door and don't let anyone else in."

"I'm just an ordinary person. If a God-Path user tries to force their way in, I won't be able to stop them."

"Don't worry," the Amber Knight paused for a moment. "Today, not a single knight will come anywhere near here..."

The secretary glanced at him with some surprise. "So many people know about your plan? Aren't you afraid someone will tip him off?"

"In the current Lingxu Realm, there is only one enemy... what we are doing is justice." The Amber Knight took a deep breath. "Justice resides in the hearts of the people."

A flash of complexity crossed the depths of the secretary's eyes, as if resonating with the Amber Knight's inner thoughts.

"Are you... really sure about this?"

"No," the Amber Knight shook his head.

"But some things just need to be done... Since he is the enemy of the Lingxu Realm while awake, let him fall asleep once more... A sleeping Lord Lingxu is the Lord Lingxu we truly need."