170: Chapter 170 Jinghua's Three Questions, Cangming's Conspiracy!

Just in the stalemate of the confrontation, a figure emerged from the train window and swam toward them.

It was Pearl Tear!

The Sentry Commander recognized her, and her tense shoulders relaxed slightly, but she did not lower her harpoon.

"Lady Jing Hua!" Pearl Tear swam quickly to the front, spreading her hands to signal she had no weapons. "Please stop the attack; everyone on the train is on our side!"

On our side?

Jing Hua, who was the Sentry Commander, couldn't help but frown. She sized up the familiar figure swimming over, then cast her gaze past her, landing on the humans peering out from the train windows.

"What do you mean by 'on our side'?" Her voice grew colder, carrying suppressed anger. "Pearl Tear, have you lost your mind? These are humans, the culprits currently invading our country!"

"Not all humans are culprits; they are different!" Pearl Tear raised her voice, her tone anxious. "Her Highness the Princess has survived until now entirely thanks to their rescue. By the way, that warship was also seized by one of them."

Jing Hua's brow furrowed even tighter.

Such a massive warship, seized by one person—is that even possible?

She looked at the giant ship, then at the humans with varying expressions inside the train, and finally at Pearl Tear.

"You just said Her Highness the Princess is on the train? Are you sure?"

"I am sure, it is Princess Princess Xiyao who has been missing for over a hundred years!"

Jing Hua was silent for a few seconds, then she put away her harpoon and said with a firm gaze, "Lead the way."

Not long after, Jing Hua, accompanied by two sentries, arrived at the train following Pearl Tear.

They entered Carriage 7, walked through the corridor, and stepped into the Room 07-01 territory.

The moment she entered, Jing Hua's gaze began to sweep rapidly across the room.

Her gaze swept over all the confused humans and finally landed on a graceful figure by the window.

It really was Princess Xiyao!

"Your Highness the Princess."

She knelt on one knee, the coldness in her voice fading slightly, replaced by a touch of warmth. "Jing Hua has arrived late, causing Your Highness to be frightened."

Princess Xiyao's face immediately beamed with joy upon hearing this.

She then trotted forward to help her up. "Sister Jing Hua, it's been a long time; hurry and get up!"

Jing Hua stood up with her help and gently stroked Princess Xiyao's moist cheek, but her gaze had already turned to the others in the room.

Her sharp gaze finally rested on Lin Xiao.

It lingered for a long time.

Then, she looked at Princess Xiyao in disbelief.

"Your Highness, the battle armor bestowed upon you by Emperor Xi."

Jing Hua's voice was somewhat cold, her tone carrying clear questioning. "You gave it to an outsider? And a human at that?"

"I..." Princess Xiyao's face turned pale, and her lips moved, but she couldn't speak.

Seeing the Princess's indecisive appearance, Jing Hua did not press further, instead letting her gaze fall back on Lin Xiao, examining him carefully.

This man was currently standing in the center of a group of humans.

His expression was so indifferent that it seemed as if none of this had anything to do with him.

"You are the one who saved Her Highness the Princess?" Jing Hua asked, her tone icy, as if interrogating a prisoner.

Lin Xiao nodded, not saying anything more.

He realized that this female mermaid named Jing Hua seemed to have a higher status than the Princess.

"You alone seized that warship?" Jing Hua asked again.

Lin Xiao still nodded slightly.

Not answering directly twice made Jing Hua very angry.

What, is this a show of force?

Is it a warning against the attack just now?

She suppressed the anger in her heart and asked again with an indifferent expression, "So, are you their leader?"

"I am just an ordinary passenger on the train."

Lin Xiao finally spoke.

But as soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the territory looked over.

Fan Sinian even quietly gave a thumbs up.

This is a fucking big shot!

Jing Hua stared at Lin Xiao for a few seconds, secretly cursed a swear word from the Di Peoples Kingdom, then shifted her gaze to Pearl Tear.

"I need to know everything that has happened during this time."

Pearl Tear was about to speak.

Lin Xiao raised his hand to interrupt her.

"Before saying all that," his voice was not loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet territory, "I have a question."

"What?" Jing Hua looked over with cold eyes.

Lin Xiao's gaze lingered on her face for a moment, then swept over the two fully armed sentries behind her.

"The two groups of mermaids that came are both female," he said. "Where are the male mermaids of the Di Peoples Kingdom?"

The room went quiet.

What kind of strange question is this?

However, when everyone observed the two groups of mermaids inside and outside the observation window, they also frowned one after another.

Princess Xiyao also noticed this detail and turned to look at Jing Hua. "Sister Jing Hua, where are the men?"

Jing Hua did not answer.

Instead, she lowered her eyes.

This was the first time she had shown emotions other than indifference since entering the territory.

"They were all taken away by Cang Ming's people." Pearl Tear stepped forward and spoke for her.

"When Cang Ming first came to power, he began sending troops to raid the territories of the old faction, with war after war, endlessly."

"They captured our warriors and drove all the women out."

"Why?" Princess Xiyao's voice was trembling.

Pearl Tear glanced at Jing Hua, and seeing she had no intention of objecting, she continued.

"To build a palace; Cang Ming wants to build a huge, luxurious imperial palace for himself, and he also wants to erect a hundred-meter-tall crystal statue of himself."

"Built for a hundred years?" Princess Xiyao widened her eyes in disbelief.

"I don't know." Pearl Tear shook her head. "News from the capital is tightly sealed; we are completely unable to obtain information about the internal situation, and our spies simply cannot get in."

"Is that mermaid named Cang Ming very strong?" Lin Xiao suddenly spoke.

Pearl Tear nodded and introduced him:

"He was originally one of the strongest warriors in the Di Peoples Kingdom, and along with Mo Yuan of that time, they were known as the Tidal Twins of the Di Peoples Kingdom!"

"But what is strange is that in recent years, Cang Ming has become stronger and stronger, so strong that it has exceeded the scope of what we can understand."

"He once charged into our battle formation alone, facing hundreds of mermaids without falling behind, and even if he was seriously injured, he could recover as good as new after a few days."

After hearing this, Lin Xiao's gaze darkened slightly.

He had a bold guess.

"Are you sure those male mermaids were taken there to be laborers?"

Hearing this, Pearl Tear was stunned: "What do you mean?"

Lin Xiao did not answer but turned to look at Princess Xiyao: "Princess Xiyao, do you remember what I told you about the discoveries at Harbor Town and the titanic?"

Princess Xiyao nodded, and then her face became very ugly: "That's impossible... wasn't the altar already destroyed?"

"What are you talking about?" Jing Hua's gaze moved back and forth between Lin Xiao and Princess Xiyao.

Princess Xiyao took a deep breath and repeated what Lin Xiao had told her back then.

The modified stardust conversion devices at Harbor Town and the titanic, those humans infected and parasitized by the Black Tide, were ultimately used to extract source essence.

The room was so quiet that only the sound of breathing remained.

Jing Hua was silent for a long time.

Her fingers slowly tightened on the handle of her harpoon.

"You mean," her voice was so low it sounded like she was talking to herself, "Cang Ming is using our clansmen as a medium, letting the Black Tide parasitize them, and then using that device to extract source essence to bless himself?"

"It's not impossible."

Lin Xiao replied in a flat tone.