met free Chapter 1922 I Need Allies
Chapter 1922 I Need Allies
"This is……"
"Order Token." Mingchuan retrieved the token. "The gatekeeper's keepsake."
"Did Yueyao tell you what Guixu really is?"
The Third Prince shook his head: "She only said that it was an ancient forbidden land, containing power powerful enough to overturn the entire Holy Domain."
“She’s lying to you,” Mingchuan said calmly. “The Ruins of Return is not a forbidden land, it is the end. It is the end of the destruction of all things, the grave of all existence. It is not a source of power, it is an abyss that devours everything.”
"Yueyao wanted to open it not to borrow its power, but to take advantage of the chaos and fish in troubled waters while it was devouring everything."
"She can disregard the destruction of the Holy Land and the fall of billions of lives because she has plenty of places to hide and ways to escape."
"But Your Highness..."
Mingchuan looked at him and said, slowly and deliberately:
"Can you escape? Can your people escape?"
The Third Prince's expression changed.
He recalled Yueyao's expression when she spoke those words to him—that composure, that certainty, that confidence as if she had everything under control.
At the time, he thought it was because she was confident.
Now he understood that it was because she didn't care at all.
"She..." The Third Prince's voice was hoarse, "How dare she..."
“Why wouldn’t she dare?” Mingchuan countered. “To her, the Holy Land is nothing more than a chess piece on her chessboard. If a piece breaks, she can simply replace it with another.”
"But for Your Highness, the Holy Land is your root. Without the Holy Land, what meaning would it have even if you sat on that position?"
The Third Prince remained silent.
He lowered his head, staring at the cup of tea in front of him that had gone cold, and remained silent for a long time.
Mingchuan didn't urge him either.
He just sat there quietly, waiting.
After a long time, the Third Prince finally raised his head.
His eyes changed.
What do you need me to do?
Mingchuan looked at him, and a smile finally appeared on his lips: "It's very simple."
"First, tell me exactly what Yueyao said to you, and what she plans to do next."
"Second, help me put on a show."
The Third Prince looked at Mingchuan, a hint of interest flashing in his eyes.
"Acting? Who are you acting for?"
"It's a performance for everyone to see."
Mingchuan picked up the cup of tea in front of him, which had gone cold, and took a small sip. "I'm putting on an act for Yueyao, for your older brothers, and for those courtiers who are waiting to see you make a fool of yourself."
"You just said that you have nothing. No support from your maternal clan, no military power, half of the opportunists in the court are waiting to see you make a fool of yourself, and the other half have already been bought off by your eldest and second eldest brothers."
The Third Prince's expression darkened slightly, but he did not refute it.
"But have you ever wondered why they were able to bribe those people?"
The third prince was taken aback.
"Because they have leverage."
Mingchuan put down his teacup and looked at him calmly. "Your eldest brother has the title of Crown Prince, that's a title. Your second brother has military power, that's power. Title and power are both bargaining chips. With bargaining chips, people will naturally be willing to pledge allegiance."
But what do you have?
The third prince remained silent.
“You have nothing, so no one is willing to bet on you. It’s not that they’re snobbish, it’s just human nature.”
Mingchuan's tone was not sarcastic at all; he was simply stating a fact.
"But have you ever thought about why Yueyao came to find you?"
The Third Prince's eyes flickered slightly.
"Because what she values is not what you have, but what you don't have."
Mingchuan's words were somewhat convoluted, but the Third Prince understood them.
"Because you have nothing, that's what you lack the most. Because you lack the most, that's why you're the most willing to gamble. What Yueyao wants is someone who dares to gamble."
"She gives you chips to gamble. If you win, she gets a share of the winnings. If you lose, all she loses is some chips; she can just find someone else to gamble with."
The Third Prince clenched his fist slightly.
He always thought that Yueyao valued his potential and his skills.
Now that Mingchuan has said that, he realizes that he is nothing more than a pawn, a pawn that can be replaced at any time.
"how about you?"
He raised his head and stared at Mingchuan. "You came to me, didn't you just want me to be your pawn?"
“Yes.” Mingchuan nodded frankly, “But there is a fundamental difference between me and Yueyao.”
What's the difference?
"Yueyao wants to win, I want a draw."
Mingchuan's voice was calm, so calm that it was impossible to tell whether he was telling the truth or weaving another lie.
"The threat of the Ruins is real. Once it completely breaks through the seal, the Spirit Realm will be finished, the Holy Realm will be finished, and the entire myriad realms will be finished. What I need is to find other gatekeepers before it breaks through, restart the Zhou Tian Zhen Xu Grand Array, and block it back up."
“In this process, I need allies. Not the kind of pawns that can be discarded at any time, but allies who can fight alongside me.”
He looked at the Third Prince and spoke slowly and deliberately:
"Because one person cannot defeat Guixu. The people I need must be people who genuinely want to protect this land, not people who are thinking of taking advantage of the chaos."
The Third Prince remained silent for a long time.
He looked at the pale-faced, weak-breathing young man before him, yet with bright eyes, and suddenly asked:
"Aren't you afraid that I'll agree to your request on the surface, but secretly team up with Yueyao to sell you out?"
Mingchuan smiled: "If Your Highness really wanted to do that, you wouldn't be asking me this question now."
The third prince was taken aback.
“A true hunter doesn’t tell his prey he’s going to shoot,” Mingchuan said calmly.
"Since Your Highness has asked, it means that Your Highness is hesitant. Hesitation means there is an opportunity to choose."
"I am here to give Your Highness this opportunity to choose."
The side hall remained quiet for a long time.
The aroma of tea had long since dissipated, and the last rays of the setting sun outside the window had sunk below the horizon.
As dusk deepened, no lamps were lit in the hall, and only two people sat facing each other, neither of them speaking.
Finally, the Third Prince spoke.
"Yueyao told me that Guixu is an ancient forbidden land, containing power powerful enough to overthrow the Holy Domain. She said she has a way to open that forbidden land, as long as I can help her block interference from other forces."
"She asked me to mobilize the intelligence system of the Holy Domain Dynasty to help her monitor the movements around the Chaotic Sky Sea, and at the same time find a way to restrain a few sects that might cause trouble, such as the Great Brahma Temple and the Moon Wheel Pavilion."
"In exchange, she will help me ascend the throne."
Mingchuan nodded.
This was pretty much what he had guessed on his way here.
What Yueyao wanted was not the Third Prince's military strength or his wealth, but the invisible net he held in his hands.
The Holy Domain Dynasty's intelligence network spans the entire world.
With this system, she can anticipate the movements of all her opponents and seize the initiative at crucial moments.
Did she say when she planned to make her move?
"No," the Third Prince shook his head. "She only told me to get ready and wait for her news."
Mingchuan pondered for a moment.
Yueyao isn't the type of person who lays all her cards on the table.
What she told the Third Prince was definitely only the tip of the iceberg.
She's definitely still hiding her real plan.