Just after the Minister of Rites finished his reprimand, a red-robed cleric from the Cross Alliance spoke up, "Minister Kong, there's no need to get so angry. Let's prioritize peace talks."
The Dragon Country diplomatic delegation couldn't help but frown—this was essentially trying to force a draw. Now that the Dragon Country held the advantage, they wanted to declare a tie?
A rather aged-looking Neon official standing beside the Crown Prince also chimed in with a smile, "My lord, why be like this? Since we've come, we're here for negotiations. Isn't it bad to disrupt the talks like this?"
What a clever way to shift blame.
The Minister of Rites glanced at the smiling Neon official and the Neon Crown Prince, who clearly still didn't take the matter seriously. He seemed to understand something immediately, merely chuckling, then turned to arrange accommodation for the foreign delegations and left.
The first exchange between the two sides ended in a draw.
Watching everyone depart unhappily, Mo Chuan couldn't help but ponder:
Clearly, the Neon side had likely found some powerful backing and intended to play some tricks in this negotiation.
The Cross Alliance was one such entity, but others remained unclear for the moment.
The first round of confrontation between the two sides was the tardiness of the Neon diplomatic delegation.
The objective was clear: to attract everyone's attention and amplify any subsequent impact or outcome.
The Dragon Country also handled it perfectly, without overstepping their bounds of courtesy, while subtly demonstrating their disdain for those "Japanese pirates."
The victory or defeat of the first round was yet to be determined. The Neon Crown Prince responded in the second round—directly ignoring the Dragon Country delegation and whispering to those beside him in Japanese.
This further provoked the anger of the other party and gave the impression that "this Crown Prince is very arrogant."
The Minister of Rites, after enduring it for a while, directly flipped the table, indicating that negotiations could be halted. The Neon side quickly backed down.
On the surface, the Dragon Country won the second round. However, in the third round, an unexpected third party intervened: the Cross Alliance.
The third round shifted the offensive directly. The Cross Alliance and Neon played good cop, bad cop, and with just a few words, pinned the "disrupting peace talks" label on the Minister of Rites.
The Dragon Country was actually at a slight disadvantage because they failed to deliver the intended show of force.
However, it wasn't a significant loss either—they had anticipated the Neon people finding help beforehand. This conversation at least exposed three potential troublemakers.
But why would Neon act this way?
Was it merely to prevent the Dragon Country from showing their strength? That seemed like an overreaction. Moreover, in Neon's current international environment, what benefit would provoking the Dragon Country or causing the breakdown of negotiations bring?
Just as Mo Chuan reached the crucial point of his thoughts, Qing Lian Zi spoke, "Mo Chuan, stop spacing out. We need to go collect our missions."
Mo Chuan was startled and hurried to catch up with the group heading towards the teleportation array entrance.
Considering the safety of the Neon delegation, the Ministry officials assigned Zhao Qing Feng's trio and Wu Hai's trio to protect the six major foreign delegations led by the Russian Empire separately. The Confucian trio was assigned to protect the remaining smaller foreign delegations.
Then, the Minister of Rites directly ordered the Daoist trio to separately protect the three groups of Neon people divided according to the list—the Crown Prince and some of his faction's officials; the woman and her entourage; and the remaining officials.
Upon hearing this order, Mo Chuan felt that this grouping was quite interesting.
Was it an active attempt to divide the opposing team? Or was the Neon negotiation team inherently in disagreement?
"Mo Chuan, Senior Brother is going to protect the Crown Prince's group, and I'll watch those officials. Will you watch that female demon? Okay?" Qing Lian Zi asked, playing with her hair.
Mo Chuan nodded and was about to follow the woman's carriage. Before he could take a step, Qing Lian Zi placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "That woman is a ghost cultivator. Be careful not to be tricked by her methods."
"Alright," Mo Chuan replied softly, then adjusted his robes and got into his carriage.
Seeing Mo Chuan board, Qing Lian Zi also turned and went to her carriage.
...
In the VIP sedan.
Mo Chuan sat in the front passenger seat, with a Dragon Country driver beside him. In the back seat sat the richly dressed woman and a middle-aged woman in professional attire, who was likely her attendant.
Mo Chuan leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes to rest. In reality, he was using the rearview mirror to discreetly observe the richly dressed woman.
She was dressed expensively and meticulously, her face covered by a white veil, yet her clothes bore no obvious family crest.
Major Neon families all had crests. For instance, the imperial family's crest was a golden chrysanthemum.
A noble hiding her identity—this was Mo Chuan's initial thought.
Suddenly, an ethereal voice broke the silence: "Little Daoist priest, am I pretty?"
The driver and the female attendant both glanced at Mo Chuan upon hearing this.
Mo Chuan was taken aback. First, she spoke in the Dragon Country's language. Second, she saw his gaze, though he hadn't seen hers. Third, there was something amiss with her voice; it seemed capable of influencing one's mind.
Mo Chuan cleared his throat, adjusting his sunglasses, and maintained his persona, saying, "Although this humble Daoist has not seen your face, judging solely by your demeanor, I feel you are as captivating as the legendary beauties."
"Hahaha... Little Daoist priest, you're truly amusing. You can judge my appearance without even seeing my face." The woman covered her mouth and chuckled lightly. "Then, would you like to see?"
"Madam, you..." The female attendant clearly wanted to speak but was silenced by a look from the woman.
"However, Little Daoist priest, you'll have to remove your sunglasses and mask so I can see your face."
Mo Chuan shook his head, continuing to rest with his eyes closed. No matter how the woman chatted, he remained silent.
Soon, the car arrived at the foreign guest reception center. The female attendant and driver carried the luggage into the courtyard. Mo Chuan followed the woman, slowly entering the residence.
It was a courtyard with two entrances, featuring a garden in the middle, with flowers and plants on the ground, rockeries in the pond, fragrant smoke rising from the pavilion, and peach and plum trees planted along the path.
Before the woman could speak, Mo Chuan said, "I will go and search the courtyard first. Please wait, benefactress."
"Don't call me that, it sounds strange. Just call me Zhi Zi," the woman said with a smile as she turned back to Mo Chuan.
Mo Chuan was momentarily stunned. He made a perfunctory Daoist salute and then activated [Demon Phantom] to cloak himself and depart.
The woman watched the spot where Mo Chuan had disappeared, her lips curling into a subtle smile.
...
That night, in Crown Prince Hong De's room.
"Your Highness, you sent for me?" Yamamoto Rokujushi entered the room and asked after closing the door. (The following dialogue should be mentally translated into Japanese.) httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
"Why is that Ozawa Chizaburo still not behaving?" Crown Prince Hong De asked, putting down several documents. "Did your warning not work?"
"What are you talking about... After Ozawa settled in today, I warned him again."
"Hmm, I don't want any problems. I didn't pull you out of the ability user guild just to support a good-for-nothing, understand?"
"Yes, yes, thank you, Your Highness, for saving my life." Yamamoto Rokujushi quickly prostrated himself. "But Your Highness, what leverage did you obtain to provoke those Dragon Country people so much..."
"Hmph," Crown Prince Hong De snorted and pushed a box towards Yamamoto Rokujushi. "See for yourself."