Half a day later;
Ji Palace, Western Yan;
Another urgent meeting was held by the Ji Clan's grand elder as Shang Jiao was at their doorstep to enquire about the disappearance of her best friend. Her appearance here wasn't by coincidence. She received a letter from the Church and asked her to present at the meeting.
So, one can say that the Church of Nuwa is the one that called for the meeting.
From their side, the Church sent one of their Arch-Bishops to the meeting along with a witness named Fang Bao, a member of the Mt. Hua sect who made it alive.
"Are you sure it's Lu Zhen?" The Grand Elder of the Ji Clan furrowed his brows upon hearing the results of the investigation.
"Who the hell is this Lu Zhen? What enmity he had with your Ji Clan?" The fifth princess slammed the table and roared at Arch Bishop. The table was instantly frozen in ice, making the others move back in instinct.
"No, the Ji Clan doesn't have any enmity with him, Your Imperial Highness." The Grand Elder informed her in a serious tone.
An elder named Ji Wu voiced his opinion, "Let's just say that he has a tendency to trouble the noble clans for every little reason. He's rumored to be a 7-circle summoner and was looked high upon by the Emperor."
"Did Guanli offend him somehow?" The Patriarch of Ji Clan, Ji Guanli's father asked the Arch Bishop in a worried tone. If that's the truth, he knew that it won't end with Ji Guanli. The fight might come directly to their clan in the form of that flying puppet (attack helicopter).
The Grand Elder said, "Why does that matter? Our Guanli is already in the hands of the traitors."
"Exactly," Arch Bishop Ma nodded. He further said, "That's why we believed that he might be colluding with the Kunyu bandits. This evidence will be enough for the Imperial Palace to issue an arrest against him."
"What about the bandits?" The fifth princess was a lot calmer compared to a moment ago upon realizing that the enemy is someone she can't just go and beat him up.
Since the Church of Nuwa is holding off the Ji Clan to make any movements against the Kunyu bandits, she asked for their strategy.
Arch Bishop Ma looked at her, "The Church will pay the ransom on the Ji Clan's behalf and get back the young master. But, after that, we will confirm the involvement of Lu Zhen in this incident, directly from the victim.
I request the princess will take the witness to the palace and immobilize the troops to arrest Lu Zhen. Young master Ji will also testify to what happened to him to solidify the case. As you know, the Crown Prince was house arrested and cannot participate in the affairs of the empire for a while. So, I need you to speak directly to your father. If possible, take your brother's help.
If Lu Zhen is the one that handed the young master, then, he will know the way to the hideout of their traitors. We will then uproot them once in for all."
"Hmmm…" The fifth princess fell into thoughts. The others didn't talk and just waited for her reply. Her actions had now become the most important for the plan laid by the church.
After a brief silence, she opened her mouth, "alright. I will do everything to get justice for my friend."
p The next day, the Ji Clan had announced the abduction of Ji Guanli along with the ransom amount, just as Feng Wu instructed them in the previous letter. They told the envoy should contact them within a day.
As a result, everyone in the provincial capital had known that their fallen prince had made a move.
It brought mixed reactions among the citizens. Some of them wanted the old regime while the others wanted to be the citizens of the Phoenix Empire.
The announcement was made in the morning and by noon, a person is standing at the gates of the palace, claiming that he's the envoy sent by Kunyu bandits. The stout man looked very frightened when he did it.
There are a few impostors who claimed to be the envoy because of greed. All of them were sent to jail though.
The original envoy handed a letter that was written by Feng Wu along with Feng Clan's royal seal.
As the seal matched, the envoy was taken inside.
As soon as he stepped inside the palace, he found the elders were waiting for him at the entrance hall. And none of them have a smile on their face.
The envoy's body started shaking in fear as he slowly walked forward and bowed to them, introducing himself purposely, "I'm Huo Fen, a local merchant but now, turned into a messenger, just for this transaction."
Huo Fen was the same greedy merchant who bargained with Mark to buy bulk goods in the hope of making a profit. Unfortunately, he became a captive, later, turning into a gun instructor for the soldiers.
Then, Feng Wu used a forbidden pill to alter his DNA forcefully, turning him into a Spirit Warrior.
After he managed to survive and managed to change his destiny, he was trained with the rest of the higher realm Bandits. Within a short time, Huo Fen had become a 3-circle archer.
As if that wasn't enough, his position was also elevated to that of an elite messenger.
However, Feng Wu knew that the Ji Clan will capture the messenger and torture him to track their hideout.
And that's why Huo Fen was ordered to introduce himself beforehand. This was step-1. Step-2 was taking the ransom, which will not happen through Huo Fen because of the large amount.
As instructed, Huo Fen handed the letter to a guard who gave it to the Grand Elder, Ji Zedong.
Upon reading the contents of the letter, he gritted his teeth in anger and crushed the scroll, "I knew that Lu Zhen is colluding with those traitors."
The Arch Bishop took it from the Grand Elder and read it. Unlike the others, his eyes lit up in excitement as he spoke, "The Kunyu Bandits wanted our envoy to follow their messenger to Genesis store and deposit it there."
"What are we waiting for? I will contact my father and instantly mobilize the troops to capture Lu Zhen." The fifth princess stood up on her feet, making Huo Fen take a step back in surprise. A mixture of fear and hope was evident on his face.
Glancing at Huo Fen, the Arch Bishop replied, "no, everything else is later. First, the safety of young master Ji is more important."
If he sells out the Kunyu bandits, he and his family will get into danger. But, if Lu Zhen gets into trouble because of Feng Wu and the former decides to cancel the deal, then, it would become easier for him to escape the crisis.
This reminder made the princess calm down. She nodded and took her seat, "You are right."
After the meeting concluded, the princess returned home.
The next day morning, an excited Arch Bishop of the Church of Nuwa, a worried Ji Clan's Patriarch, a determined elder of Ji Clan along with a nervous Huo Fen set out for the Imperial City where the fifth princess was also waiting for their arrival.