Peace Order-Chapter 1590 - 28: The Art of Longevity, the Life-Prolonging Gu
Outside, Changsun Wuchou, who was on guard, was already sitting bored on the steps, propping his chin up with his hand. He was already thirty-six years old, no longer the young traveling merchant who had just turned thirty-five years ago.
But upon hearing that sentence, he staggered.
His chin slipped from the palm of his hand and landed on his cheek with quite a sound. Suddenly, there was a whizzing sound, and Changsun Wuchou, who hadn’t made much progress in the Fifth Heaven Realm for several years, stumbled, his hair bun coming undone.
A single chopstick shot through over a dozen yards, embedding itself directly into the opposite rockery. It was just an ordinary chopstick, yet at this moment it was as powerful as a bolt fired from a powerful crossbow.
Changsun Wuchou grinned, honestly covering his head and running outside.
Li Zhaowen reached out to slide open the window and then said calmly: "Previously, I had Wuchou keep watch outside while chatting idly, and in the excitement, I forgot this matter, thinking it was someone else."
After a pause, seeing Prince Qin on the other side, he continued: "Just looking at the geographical map."
"Could it be that our reunion is not more worthwhile than a geographical map?"
She answered herself, full of confidence: "Of course not."
"So hurry up and come drink wine!"
Li Zhaowen stretched out his hand to grab Li Guanyi’s arm, pulling him over to sit in the main seat again. They drank and chatted leisurely until the moon had passed Central Heaven and they could faintly hear the sound of birds when he was let go.
City Lord of Xiyi, Li Zhaowen, crossed her arms over her shoulders, leaned against the mansion’s gate, and laughed:
"Mr. Li."
Li Guanyi turned back to see Li Zhaowen raise her wine cup with a smile and said: "Don’t forget, you and I had agreements from that day, there are still two."
"These two agreements, I haven’t figured them out yet."
"When I figure them out, I’ll tell you."
Li Guanyi and Li Zhaowen had three agreements.
The first agreement was that Prince Qin accepted Xiyi City.
The three agreements, just the first, already had enough grandeur and impact to affect the whole world, and the remaining two, given Li Zhaowen’s disposition, could hardly be ordinary agreements?
Li Guanyi laughed and said:
"Very well."
"Haha, then I will wait for your two remaining agreements, which I am sure will also be extraordinary!"
Li Zhaowen watched Li Guanyi depart before returning to her courtyard, climbing the tower alone, hearing the melodic bird songs, seeing the moonlight like water illuminating the mountains and cities, and felt a sense of peace.
After some time, she retrieved the fingers that had ’hidden behind’ the one used to feed wine to Prince Qin. On a cold winter night, in the bright moonlight, Li Zhaowen felt that these fingers were faintly burning.
This burning sensation was like a flame of the heart, lingering for a long time.
Changsun Wu Gou knew Li Zhaowen had returned and arranged for a bath and change of clothes, but seeing that she hadn’t come down from the tower, felt both curious and worried, so went to look for her, only to find someone standing alone atop the western tower, saying: "Duke?"
Li Zhaowen only looked up at the sky and suddenly said:
"Truly regretful."
Changsun Wu Gou was puzzled.
Li Zhaowen said: "I have always acted according to my heart’s desires. Changfeng Building was originally a chess piece left in Chen Country by me and your brother to gather intelligence for the Duke Mansion. But at that time, things changed during the Chen Country’s grand ceremony."
"I took away the people cultivated in Changfeng Building, only feeling that it was a pity to abandon Chen Country’s number one building, so I gave it to Guan Yi. But I hadn’t expected the subsequent developments."
"Truly regretful."
Li Zhaowen repeated lightly and said: "Had I known, I wouldn’t have given it to him back then."
"But even if I hadn’t given it, he would still need intelligence later, and that Tower Master Xue would still make similar choices, wouldn’t she? In the beginning, my friendship with Mr. Li was only that of friends, but I could not have acted like her back then."
After a long silence, Li Zhaowen only smiled casually:
"Forget it, let’s see what the future holds!"
Turning, she smiled a free and easy smile while looking at the fingers that were still faintly warm, raised her fingers, and pressed them to her lips, sleeves billowing, appearing like a knight in the moonlight.
Changsun Wu Gou had never seen Li Zhaowen in such a manner and momentarily became somewhat entranced.
Until Li Zhaowen gave him a gentle chop on the forehead.
Changsun Wu Gou snapped back to reality.
Li Zhaowen laughed freely: "What are you standing there thinking about?"
"I’ve had a whole night of drinking, and I’m a bit weary. Aren’t you going to help me have a good bathe?"
"Hmm, yes, I was just thinking, I’ve never seen the city lord like this before."
Changsun Wu Gou smiled and moved forward.
In the days that followed, Li Guanyi and Li Zhaowen discussed many matters concerning Xiyi City. There were many documents to sign, with Li Guanyi’s Prince Qin seal being used continuously, feeling his own Qi Fortune surging, even the Nine Provinces Tripod seemed to change slightly.
But for safety reasons, it was impossible to choose to attack the city at this stage.
After handling these matters, Li Guanyi stood up, traveling light and alone, riding a chestnut horse, dressed in the attire frequently worn by rangers of the Western Regions, carrying a large saber on his back, a wine gourd at his waist, with a cat perched on his shoulder, heading towards the North.
Li Guanyi set off from Xiyi City, bypassed the Western Regions, mingled among herds of wild horses, and those tribes that maintained a nomadic tradition, headed towards the Turkic grasslands, and successfully entered them.
