Condor City, suburbs.

The fenced open space, blackened with cinders, was littered with mottled firewood, and the charcoal kiln, which had cooled for days, was covered with bird droppings.

Ye Xiangxi followed the old man, walked into the depressed charcoal factory, followed a dark and shiny path, tossed and turned for a while, and came to the door of an underground warehouse.

The old man took two large bronze keys from his waist, unlocked them, and pushed open the two sealed doors.

"Boom!"

Black dust and smoke rose up, and a strong smell of charcoal came to his face, and Ye Xiangxi hurriedly held his breath.

The old man on crutches, instead of choking on the smoke, raised his chin, closed his eyes, and took a breath of intoxication.

Walking into the warehouse, the old man put his crutches in front of him, supported his body, looked up at the shelves in front of him, and his eyes bloomed with a strange look.

Layers of wooden shelves are piled with all kinds of charcoal.

The thin ones are like thumbs, the thick ones are like the pillars of the main hall, the short ones are not as long as the palms, and the long ones can reach two zhang, and they are placed neatly and neatly according to the order of size.

Silver frost charcoal, golden silk charcoal with gold threads, fire cloud charcoal covered with red stripes, and dark ice charcoal as blue as ice,...... , each charcoal strip, round and transparent, flashing with black light, delicate like a piece of art.

Ye Xiangxi's eyes straightened, and he swore that he had never seen such delicate charcoal.

He even forgot that what was presented in front of him was charcoal!

The old man's face was crazy, and his eyes were full of light, but it only lasted for a moment, and his expression dimmed.

His rickety figure leaned forward, tilted his face slightly, and said in a low voice: "To the west, find a way to take them away, it can be regarded as a little heart from the old man to the little boy." ”

Ye Xiangxi nodded and said in surprise: "Old Jiang, won't you go back with me?"

Jiang Xuenong shook his head, looked at the charcoal in a warehouse, and said bitterly: "Xiangxi, do you know how the old man's charcoal factory was closed?"

Ye Xiangxi shook his head blankly, but he would definitely not doubt Jiang Lao's charcoal-making process.

Back then in Fengcheng, Jiang Lao was the steward of the charcoal mill and was highly valued by the son.

But all the casting of high-grade weapons, the charcoal used is made by Jiang Lao himself, in Fengcheng, Jiang Lao is known as the "Charcoal King".

Jiang Xuenong showed a look of remembrance and said in a low voice: "When the old man was here, he used the settling-in money given by the son to the old man to open this charcoal factory. In the ten years that followed, countless high-quality charcoal was burned here, and the royal family, the Alchemist Guild, the Alchemist Guild, and even the top forces of the entire Condor Principality were all customers of the charcoal factory. ”

"However, when the Principality of Condor is incorporated into the Glory Federation, the old man's good days will come to an end,"

Jiang Xuenong couldn't bear to look back and said, "Those gate lords and consortia in the federation quickly monopolized the entire market, and they cut off the source of wood in order to make the old man compliant. How can you make good charcoal without good wood?"

Jiang Xuenong continued: "The old man had no choice but to burn some low-grade charcoal, but soon, they even blocked this gap, forcing the old man to close the charcoal factory. ”

Jiang Xuenong turned around and looked at Ye Xiangxi with a deep gaze: "Xiangxi, the old man doesn't want to go back with you, because he doesn't want to experience the same pain again, because he doesn't want to watch the industry of the son and the little son be ruthlessly crushed by those gate lords and consortia!"

In the end, Jiang Xuenong's emotions became agitated, and he couldn't help coughing violently a few times.

Ye Xiangxi hurriedly said: "Elder Jiang, over the years, Wenjiantang has mingled with the local magnates and formed a body of interests, and the relationship between the little prince and the Buddhism and Taoism is very close, and he has also saved the life of His Royal Highness the Prince. Our sword, which has occupied half of the province, has a solid foundation, and there will be no such situation as you say. ”

Jiang Xuenong was surprised for a moment, but he still shook his head and sighed: "Xiangxi, you don't understand, the Yunlong Principality will soon be merged into the Glory Federation!"

What the?

The Principality of Yunlong was merged into the Glory Federation?!

Ye Xiangxi was dumbfounded, shocked by this sudden news.

In fact, as early as the beginning of the year, he had also heard rumors that the Principality of Yunlong was going to be merged into the Glory Federation, but he didn't take it seriously.

It was impossible for Jiang Lao to lie to him, so to speak, this matter was true.

Jiang Xuenong looked pessimistic: "The Yunlong Principality is just a third-rate principality, and the national strength is not as good as the Divine Eagle Principality where I am located, and when those giants of the Glory Federation are crushed, even the royal family industry will not be able to protect itself, do you really think that your share of the industry can be preserved?"

"Big fish eat small fish, and small fish eat dried shrimp. Those top-level gate valves and consortia are like sharks with their mouths wide open, wherever they go, they will not give up any food from their mouths, and asking the best result of the Sword Hall is nothing more than relying on them. ”

Jiang Xuenong's eyes flashed with tears, and his lips trembled slightly, "The old man is old, it's just a matter of looking up at other people's snorts, and it's nothing to be wronged." But you let the old man look at the last heir of my Nanfeng lineage, and watch the only flesh and blood of the son also look up to others and be bullied, how can you be embarrassed, how can you be embarrassed!"

In the end, Jiang Xuenong's crutches paused and he couldn't cry.

As an old man in Nanfeng's lineage, the turmoil more than ten years ago, the tragic situation of the son, is vivid.

He had already broken his heart once, how could he break his heart again?

When he saw the fallen body of the young man with his own eyes, how could he see the fallen body of the little son with his own eyes again?

Ye Xiangxi's heart was in turmoil, as if a basin of cold water was poured on his head, and he stood there in a daze.

The general trend is coming, and who can stop it?

The greed of human nature is even more unstoppable.

Ask Jiantang, will it really repeat the mistakes of the charcoal factory, be ruthlessly crushed, and be annexed?

After losing his mind for a moment, Ye Xiangxi said loudly: "No, definitely not, there are already a lot of people gathered around the little boy, I have found Zhang Daoxu's seniors, Liao Changhai, Yu Jinping, I will find more old people, plus you, we will definitely be able to tide over the difficulties!"

"It's too late," Jiang Xuenong shook his head, "Give Wenjiantang another ten years, the old man will definitely believe what you say, but today's Wenjiantang, the foundation is too shallow, and it can't withstand the wind and waves at all." Even if Gongzi is alive, Nanfeng's eight sledgehammers are all there, and I am afraid that I will not be able to return to the sky!"

Ye Xiangxi opened his mouth, his body collapsed for a while, and his heart was full of unwillingness.

He couldn't help muttering, "Is it really unbearable?"

Jiang Xuenong nodded gloomily: "I can't hold it, unless I ask the Sword Hall to get the approval of the sword cultivators, with the support of the cultivation world, there may still be room for struggle." ”

Ye Xiangxi couldn't help but smile bitterly, there are thousands of swordsmiths in this world, how many people can be recognized by sword cultivators?

The Principality of Yunlong has poor cultivation resources, lacks spiritual energy, and doesn't even have a decent cultivation sect, so how could a sword cultivator set his sights on the remote Sanshui Town?

The reputation of Wenjiantang is not obvious, and the reputation of the son is not obvious, just like a fine wine hidden in the depths of the alley.

Even if the mellow smell of wine wafts away, it will take some time.

The problem is, they don't have time.

Ye Xiangxi came back to his senses and asked nervously, "Old Jiang, how much time do we have left?"