All of us are one

Chapter 64 The Great River Alliance Headquarters

Twin Islands, where most of the buildings are in the style of the Divine Martial Kingdom.

Jiang Yanming stood in the stone pavilion, turned to question Ling Heng, Leng Tong, and Wang Chen, and then gazed at a large wooden sailboat approaching from afar.

"Young Alliance Leader is asking why we need to expose your identity?" Leng Tong asked respectfully.

Jiang Yanming didn't answer, but turned to Ling Heng and asked, "Senior Brother Ling, you said my journey home won't be peaceful. Are you deliberately exposing my identity to lure out forces that rebel or are hostile to the Great River Alliance?"

"Since you already know, why ask?" Ling Heng said calmly.

Jiang Yanming looked at the three of them and said coldly, "As the young leader of the Great River Alliance, I will naturally prioritize the interests of the Great River Alliance. Your failure to tell me about this matter is an underestimation of my ability and resolve?"

"Your subordinates dare not," Leng Tong and Wang Chen bowed and clasped their hands.

After a moment of silence, Ling Heng bowed and apologized, saying, "It was because I didn't understand my junior brother that I looked down on him."

"Senior Brother Ling should understand that I am the young leader of the Great River Alliance, a fact that I have been unable to change since the moment I was born," Jiang Yanming said calmly.

"Your position determines your perspective," a principle Jiang Yanming understood in his previous life, hence his unwavering stance.

He despised the kind of behavior that involves eating the food in the pot and then smashing the pot to say the food is inedible!

"Understood." Ling Heng nodded upon hearing this.

"Since I'm acting as bait to catch fish hiding in the shadows, what about the fishing net and the angler?" Jiang Yanming asked calmly.

"We will be heading to the Great River Alliance's base on Twin Islands. I will then relay the message back to the main hall," Ling Heng explained. "I think that after Master receives the message, he will inform the other trusted hall masters of your return and come to welcome you personally."

"There's one thing I'm curious about," Jiang Yanming asked, "How many branches does the Great River Alliance have? And how many disciples does it have?"

"Our Great River Alliance almost dominates the Great River Basin, with fifteen branch halls and more than 300,000 disciples," Ling Heng replied.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yanming pondered inwardly. For a powerful force like the Great River Alliance, its disciples are at least martial artists of the Shangwu level, and there are quite a few of them who have reached the high-level Qi and Blood Condensation Realm.

"Senior Brother Ling, how many of the fifteen branch halls do you think are trustworthy?" Jiang Yanming asked.

"I don't know." Ling Heng dared not draw a conclusion.

"Let's see how many there are," Jiang Yanming said calmly.

My father has a strong personal charm, but you can't see into someone's heart. No one knows how many people who once followed him will change their minds over the past twenty years. Therefore, he does not object to using himself as bait.

"Let's go to the Great River Alliance's headquarters." Jiang Yanming turned around. "Please lead the way, Senior Brother Ling."

Ling Heng nodded, and then led Jiang Yanming and the other two to the Great River Alliance's base on Twin Islands.

……

More than ten minutes later.

Jiang Yanming and his group arrived at the entrance of a three-story wooden ancient building, where the three characters "Dajiang Alliance" were written on the plaque above the door.

"Master Ling."

The middle-aged man in white came out to greet them, went straight to Ling Heng to bow, and glanced at Jiang Yanming with some curiosity.

"I have important business to discuss with Mr. Chen," Ling Heng solemnly instructed.

"Please come in." Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man in white solemnly invited the four people into the house.

When Jiang Yanming went inside, he found the interior environment somewhat familiar, no different from the inn in the retired assassin's memory.

"This Twin Islands base is responsible for providing lodging and food for our Great River Alliance disciples, as well as for collecting and transmitting intelligence," Wang Chen explained softly from behind.

Jiang Yanming nodded upon hearing this, not surprised at all.

Twin Islands served as a transit point between the Four Nations Alliance and the Divine Martial Kingdom. Both warriors and goods passing through had to pass through here, naturally making it an important node for the flow of information.

"Mr. Chen is inside."

The middle-aged man in white led Jiang Yanming and the other three to the third floor, turned around and cupped his hands, saying, "Master Ling, you should know the rules, they cannot see Mr. Chen."

"This is the Alliance Leader's son, the young Alliance Leader of our Great River Alliance," Ling Heng solemnly introduced.

"Young Alliance Leader?" The middle-aged man in white was taken aback upon hearing this, and looked Jiang Yanming over carefully. "Since it is the Young Alliance Leader in person, please come in."

"You two can go down now," Ling Heng instructed Leng Tong and Wang Chen.

The two people did not move upon hearing this, but stood there quietly.

"Since it's the rules of the alliance, you all go and rest first. Senior Brother Ling and I will go in," Jiang Yanming gently instructed.

"Yes." Leng Tong and Wang Chen bowed in agreement, and then left with the middle-aged man in white.

Ling Heng watched the three figures disappear into the distance, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Senior Brother Ling?" Jiang Yanming called out softly.

"Let's go." Ling Heng led the way, taking Jiang Yanming to the innermost room.

Thump! Thump thump! Thump thump! Thump thump thump!

Ling Heng knocked on the door, and after a moment an old voice came from inside.

"Which hall master has come to visit?" The voice, though aged, was full of energy.

"Ling Heng, the deputy head of the main hall, requests an audience with Mr. Chen." Ling Heng was very respectful.

"Hmm? So it's young Ling." The old voice chuckled. "Little Bell, go open the door."

Jingle Bell……

Amidst the clear ringing of bells, the door was quickly opened.

A little girl, about seven or eight years old, peeked out with her head tied in a bun, timidly glancing at Jiang Yanming and his companion outside the door before quickly pulling her head back in. Then, another series of clear bell sounds rang out.

"Grandpa, there are two people outside," the little girl called out.

"Young Ling, why did you bring someone with you?" Mr. Chen asked, somewhat displeased.

At this moment, Jiang Yanming had already entered the room. The room had a simple layout, with many books on the bookshelves and desk. Some of them looked old, while others were relatively new, as if they had just been added.

"Mr. Chen, are you in good health?"

After entering the room, Ling Heng bowed respectfully to the desk, displaying a very humble attitude.

The desk was obscured by stacks of books, with only a hair ornament made of gray hair visible.

"I'm asking you a question," Mr. Chen's aged voice rang out.

Then an aged face rose from the other side of the stacked books, looking at Jiang Yanming with surprise and doubt in its eyes, "Hmm... who are you?"

"Greetings, Mr. Chen." Jiang Yanming bowed slightly, unlike Ling Heng who did the full curtsy.

"You're incredibly rude, young man." Mr. Chen frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and asked, "Have I seen you before? You look somewhat familiar."

"We've never met," Jiang Yanming shook his head slightly, "because I've never been to the Divine Martial Kingdom."

"No! I know you!" Mr. Chen insisted. "Just say your name and I'll remember."

"My name is Jiang Yanming." Jiang Yanming had no choice but to give his name.

"Jiang Yanming?" Mr. Chen was initially puzzled, but quickly his face lit up with surprise. "So it's the young leader! Is the leader coming back?"

"This time I have returned alone," Jiang Yanming said softly.

"Alas, I wonder if my old bones will be able to see the Alliance Leader return to the country." Mr. Chen shook his head regretfully, then looked at Jiang Yanming and said, "You are just like the Alliance Leader."

Jiang Yanming remained silent. It's normal for a son to resemble his father.

"I want to report the news of the young leader's return to the country to my master as soon as possible, so I'm troubling Mr. Chen to use the Dual Hearts Freehand Technique," Ling Heng said, cupping his hands in greeting.