Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely debate the classics for me.

Upon hearing this, Ning Cha raised her hand and said, "Wait, this person came alone. There's no rush to kill him. Let's hear what he has to say."

Leader Fan Li frowned slightly: "Ning Cha, why waste words with such a traitor? Besides, he injured you. You don't need to plead for him."

Ning Cha clutched her lower back and abdomen, enduring the pain as she said, “Leader, we are plotting to restore Yumi City. We must distinguish between public and private matters and not act on emotion or settle personal scores. Since he dared to enter our hideout alone, he must have been prepared to die. Killing him is pointless. I would like to hear him explain why we are courting our own destruction.”

Upon hearing this, Fan Li calmly pondered for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "Step back."

The twenty golden-armored guards, each wielding a double-handed axe, retreated in unison and returned to their positions before the brazier, as if they had never moved.

Zhou Qingfeng glanced at Ning Cha with slight surprise. This woman didn't take the opportunity to kick him while he was down; she did have some class.

Ning Cha glared back and said fiercely, "Traitor, don't think I'm pleading for you. After you finish speaking, I will return these two broken ribs to you. I won't let you die so easily."

Zhou Qingfeng stood with his hands behind his back, smiling faintly: "Miss Ning, after I finish speaking, perhaps you will be grateful to me, believe it or not."

Ning Cha snorted coldly: "I don't believe you!"

Leader Fan Li slowly rose, gripped the hilt of his sword at his waist with one hand, and took two steady steps forward: "Enough with the nonsense, Jiang Dong. I'd like to hear what kind of stinking dog farts you can spew from your mouth and why we are courting our own destruction."

Zhou Qingfeng remained calm and composed, pacing back and forth twice before turning his head and smiling: "Leader Fan, Yumi City is now a thing of the past. All the territory within Yumi City's borders has become unclaimed land. The Northern Allied Forces have stationed 50,000 troops on the border. Why can't they annex the entire unclaimed land with their strength? It's because Cai Guozhong's Hell Legion has withstood the pressure of most of the frontal battles."

“Your constant attacks on the Hell Legion’s supply lines will only cause Cai Guozhong’s Hell Legion to suffer setbacks on the front lines. Once the Hell Legion is defeated and Cai Guozhong is killed, the entire No Man’s Land will be completely swallowed up by the Northern Allied Forces.”

"At that time, what will your resistance army do? You are all alone and will perish sooner or later."

"Aren't you courting disaster by raiding the Hell Legion's supply lines?"

Leader Fan Li fell silent upon hearing this, while Ning Cha beside him frowned deeply. Neither of them were fools; they had to be capable and intelligent to survive until now, otherwise they would have died a violent death in the constant wars and would never have made it into the decision-making level of the resistance army.

Seeing that they were silent, Zhou Qingfeng gave them some time to process the information.

After a moment, Ning Cha frowned and said, "According to you, we should not only not attack the rebels, but also help them? But Cai Guozhong has already betrayed the Yumi people and secretly joined the Sword Tower. If the Sword Tower had not continuously supplied us with supplies and equipment, how could the rebels have grown so powerful? Now you want us to cooperate with the rebels? Isn't that like asking a tiger for its skin? Even if we join forces to drive away the Northern Army, we will still perish in the end."

Leader Fan Li coldly said, "Whether it's the invading Northern Legion or the rebels led by Cai Guozhong, they all want to swallow up all the territory of our Yumi City. They are all our enemies. They cannot tolerate us, and we will not cooperate with them."

Zhou Qingfeng raised his hand decisively and said, "No, there is still room for cooperation. As long as you are willing to cooperate with Cai Guozhong to drive out the Northern Army, I can help you rebuild Yumi City. I can provide you with ample support in the form of magical artifacts, armor, pills, food, and other supplies."

Upon hearing this, Leader Fan Li narrowed his eyes, scrutinized Zhou Qingfeng for a long time, and said, "Who exactly are you, and who do you represent?"

Zhou Qingfeng smiled faintly: "Me? Just someone who has some influence in the Sword Tower. You can consider me as someone who came on behalf of the Sword Tower."

Leader Fan Li's pupils contracted sharply, and he exclaimed in disbelief, "Sword Tower, you came from Sword Tower?"

Zhou Qingfeng smiled lightly: "This war has dragged on for too long. We, the Sword Tower, have spent billions of resources on Cai Guozhong, but the progress has been minimal, which is really disappointing. Isn't it a coincidence that Cai Guozhong asked me to solve the problem of the logistics being hijacked, and I ended up running into you? I thought I might as well take this opportunity to meet with you and try to diversify our investments. After all, investing in one person is too risky."

Leader Fan Li took a deep breath, suppressing the immense joy in his heart, and tried his best to remain calm as he asked, "How can I trust you?"

Zhou Qingfeng smiled faintly: "Leader Fan, you won't lose anything by trusting me. Do you have any other better options?"

Upon hearing this, leader Fan Li hesitated, unsure of what to do. He was desperate to restore Yumi City, as he was a descendant of the Yumi City Lord Fan family and, as the grandson of the Yumi City Lord, he had the right to inherit the throne.

Ninety-nine percent of the Fan family members died overnight. If Fan Li hadn't been away from Yumi City, he probably would have died along with them. Now, his greatest wish is to lead the resistance army to rebuild Yumi City, reclaim the Fan family's legacy, and succeed as the lord of Yumi City.

Therefore, Fan Li would not let go of any opportunity that could be tried, even if the opportunity seemed very slim.

After much deliberation, Fan Li realized he had no other choice, so he said, "Alright, starting today, I can refrain from raiding the rebels' supply lines and join forces with them to drive out the Northern Army. But I have only one request: I must re-establish Yumi City."

Zhou Qingfeng shook his head slightly: "I'm sorry, I can't give you an answer. This was just a spur-of-the-moment decision. I'm making initial contact with you to see if you're interested. I will convey your opinion to the First City Lord as soon as possible. If the First City Lord agrees, then I will come back to discuss the details with you, and then we will formally sign the secret treaty."

When Leader Fan Li saw that Zhou Qingfeng did not agree immediately, he became more convinced. So, he changed his previous indifferent attitude and politely clasped his hands in a salute: "No problem, I will wait for good news. However, I was impulsive before and offended you without distinguishing right from wrong. I hope Mr. Jiang will forgive me."

Zhou Qingfeng smiled slightly: "It's alright."

Ning Cha hesitated for a moment, but still thinking of the bigger picture, she stepped forward, clasped her hands in a fist and said, "If what Mr. Jiang said is true, Ning Cha thanks you on behalf of Yu Mi Ren. If Ning Cha has offended you before, please forgive her. Ning Cha apologizes to you here."

Seeing this, Zhou Qingfeng smiled slightly and reached out to support Ning Cha's arm: "As long as Miss Ning doesn't hold a grudge against me for breaking two of your ribs, that's fine."

Seeing this, Fan Li acted as a peacemaker, smiling and saying, "Mr. Jiang, you and Ning Cha became friends after a fight. When you fight, you're bound to get hurt. Ning Cha only broke two ribs. She's not that petty, is she, Ning Cha?"

"Oh right, right, right." Ning Cha glanced at Fan Li with a wry smile. Well, it's not like you got two ribs broken, you make it sound so easy.