The Eastern Continent Swordsman
87. ZHOU FU'S GUESS

“Do you think they've caught your friend?” Mr. Zhengyi frowned, his index finger pointing right at the face of the figure of the beautiful girl in the painting, “on what basis? And with what purpose do they do that?”

“It seems I already have an idea of why they are doing this all,” Zhou Fu replied with one hand massaging his chin.

“About what?” Lord Zhengyi asked again.

“In the first invitation letter, they explained in great detail about the sequence of trips I went through before arriving at Caihong. They found out that if I had been around Dengguang, boarded Guichuan's ship and confronted Shamo's troupe who was about to smuggle poisonous plants into Caihong,” Zhou Fu paused for a moment to chug down a drink, then he resumed his sentence.

“They also know if I saved the citizens of Yimin from a great fire. Then, the most recent thing was, they had heard that I had managed to finish off the life of the swordsman Wei Sihao while at the border of the Juda River. That means, there's one stopover location I didn't mention!” zhou Fu said a little slowly to make Master Zhengyi and Feng Yaoshan forced to close his head towards Zhou Fu.

“One location? Where?” ask them simultaneously.

“There was a period of travel that they did not mention in the first invitation letter. It should have seemed awkward, from the way they showed how much they knew about my journey to Caihong, they should have also known that Miss Shen and I had visited somewhere other than Dengguang, Yimin, and the Juda River.”

Zhou Fu paused for a moment, his gaze slightly leaning upwards as if he was imagining an event in the past. Then, he continued his sentence again.

“They seemed to be hiding it inside the invitation letter. It seems, this call has something to do with my presence in that location,” Zhou Fu said.

“I still don't understand,” Mr. Zhengyi shook his head.

“I'm afraid I haven't been able to explain clearly, Sir. At least that's all my guess. I guess they were very curious about what I was doing in that place, which is why they made it look as if they were inviting me. Then, Zhao Yunlei was deliberately used as a backup plan when their invitation I declined. They seemed to have learned my attitude, if I couldn't possibly leave a friend. Currently, they are using it as my main weakness.”

“You sure of your guess? Isn't that too far-fetched?” Feng Yaoshan asked.

“I'm sure of my guess, but there's a big doubt in my mind right now. Mr. Zhengyi, it's not that I'm asking you to return the favor, but it seems that I have one request to Master,” Zhou Fu turned his face to Mr. Zhengyi.

“Specify your request, Young Man!”

“There's a chance I'll trade myself for Ms. Zhao's freedom. I hope Mr. Zhengyi is willing to accommodate Miss Zhao and ensure her safety. Please use your power to protect this girl. I'm sure the government can't give Miss Zhao a legal snare if there's a Master who's been holding her.”

“Then, how about you?” it was Feng Yaoshan's turn to ask.

“I've thought of a way to escape if pressed.”

Everyone was silent for a moment. They did not initially believe in all the information that Zhou Fu described. But the seriousness of Zhou Fu had finally made Feng Yaoshan and Master Zhengyi agree to believe everything Zhou Fu said without putting the slightest hesitation.

“Wait, if that one place you're visiting becomes a sensitive issue for our government, won't my daughter also get involved?” Master Zhengyi started to feel worried.

“Ya, Sir. Shen Shen would not be surprised if then he got involved in this matter. Just a matter of time, maybe the government will also call him by various means,” Zhou Fu replied without a doubt.

“Hey, don't talk! It wasn't me who dragged Shen Shen into this matter! But otherwise!” Zhou Fu defended himself. Of course, the business of his arrival to the Luzon Sea was to fully follow Shen Shen's invitation. And Zhou Fu was sure, his invitation to the palace was related to his visit to the place.

Meanwhile, regarding the fact about Zhou Fu's ability to read Shufashen, Zhou Fu thought the Caihong government was not necessarily thinking there. His summoning, according to Zhou Fu, was due to Zhou Fu's arrival to the Sinking Civilization in the Luzon Sea. It could be that the Caihong government was worried that Zhou Fu might find something that would likely harm the government in Caihong. At least that was how Zhou Fu had guessed so far.

“What do you mean Shen Shen dragged you into this matter? Why is Shen Shen fishing trouble?” Master Zhengyi asked with a worried look on his face.

“You could say he's not looking for trouble. He was just looking for the truth, that's all. Ah, I can't say too much, sir. If Master is worried about Miss Shen's safety, it means that Master must entrust Shen Shen to me.

“Damn, what do you mean?” Feng Yaoshan still couldn't take it.

“Whatever you think, at least I've said the most honest thing I can say. If Shen Shen was involved in this matter, then the safest place for him would be not far from me!” zhou Fu said as he stood up and prepared to leave.

“Alright, gentlemen, I'll be leaving soon. Give my regards to Miss Shen and Miss Yang.”

Master Zhengyi and Feng Yaoshan looked at each other for a moment, but then the two of them could neither do nor say anything else because Zhou Fu had said goodbye. Zhou Fu hurried off to break through the welcoming party of Shen Shen and Yang Zi's arrival. He intended to catch up with the palace warriors who had picked him up a while ago.

Zhou Fu's black horse was driven very quickly to catch up with a troupe in Caihong military uniform. It was the group that was indeed assigned to pick up Zhou Fu to be invited to the palace.

“Hey, look, it's Young Master Zhou. Speech of the palace advisor is always right, see he now comes alone to meet the invitation!” exclaimed the leader of the group when he turned his head back because he heard the sound of the foot of the horse driven at maximum speed.

“Gentlemen, I changed my mind, it looks like I will be joining your entourage to the palace!” zhou Fu said when he was close enough to the two people in the front row. The two of them were the ones who a moment ago had come to him in the banquet hall of Lord Zhengyi's residence.

“Good, Young Master. Young Master can rest inside the horse carriage, while we will take care of Mr.”'s dark horse Answer one of them.

“Alright, looks like it's a pretty good idea.”

Zhou Fu accepted the proposal of the two palace soldiers. The last few days he had also not rested properly enough. So, it's good that he rested while recharging the power inside along the way.

When Zhou Fu entered the horse carriage, he was greeted by some beautiful maids who had been inside the carriage. The women were part of a given facility in order to bring Zhou Fu to the palace.

The palace had chosen young girls who were beautiful and innocent, hoping that their guests would quite enjoy the trip to the palace.

“Sorry, it looks like I want to be alone in the car!” Zhou Fu closed the curtains of the carriage and asked the bodyguards to clean the carriage from the girls.

The guards immediately obeyed Zhou Fu's orders, at least now they knew that the young man was not interested in women. That means, there are still two more possibilities that will make the young man interested, one is a treasure, and the other is a throne.

Meanwhile, at another place at the same time, in a room, an albino-skinned girl was seen biting her own fingertips. He hoped that what he was worried about would not happen. He hoped that Zhou Fu would not come to the place. Or even, the girl hoped that Zhou Fu would never set foot into Caihong.