t [V6C203 – Sorrow of a Silent Parting]
“Why must I repeat myself?” The middle-aged man was puzzled at first, but soon became arrogant when he saw Ji Tianqing’s rank insignia. “And who would you be? Is it the place of a mere major to speak? Which corps are you from? I must report this to Count Peacegranter and make sure you receive ample punishment from your unit!”
“Go ahead! Do it if you have the ability. I’m from the 17th Army Corps, the name’s Li Kuanglan. Remember me well. You must come or else you’ll be embarra.s.sing Count Peacegranter.” Ji Tianqing spoke rapidly. Qianye failed to stop her before she had blurted everything out.
The middle-aged man was trembling from anger. He pointed at Ji Tianqing and said, “Good, what a bold Li Kuanglan! I won’t bicker with you today out of consideration for General Qianye. Just wait and see!”
“Fine, I’ll be waiting!” Ji Tianqing cried out while stomping her feet.
The middle-aged man said angrily, “General Qianye, you must control your subordinate well!”
Qianye had no choice but to reply, “This… she’s my aide, not a subordinate.”
“What’s the difference!?” the middle-aged man replied. He then cupped his hands at Qianye and said, “General, about tomorrow’s appointment, I hope you’ll be present.”
Qianye said helplessly, “I’m afraid tomorrow night is not a good time. The fourth young n.o.ble requires my presence for a military discussion.”
The middle-aged man said in surprise, “Fourth young n.o.ble? Do you mean His Excellency Zhao Jundu?”
“Yes.”
The middle-aged man’s expression became entirely different. “Then, general definitely cannot spare the time. I’ll come again another day to arrange a different time. How about it?”
Qianye said with a smile, “I’ll definitely attend another day.”
The middle-aged man left in satisfaction.
After Qianye closed the courtyard doors, Ji Tianqing sized him up from head to toe and said, “How unexpected, you look so honest yet weaved such a smooth lie. You’re a natural at this!”
Qianye smiled wryly. “I only wanted to make him leave. Just who is Count Peacegranter? How come I’ve never heard of him before?”
Ji Tianqing pouted. “Me neither! Who knows which tiny place they popped up from.”
The emergence of such a matter baffled Qianye. Why would this Count Peacegranter suddenly want to arrange a marriage with him? Moreover, the att.i.tude was so urgent and fiery—they had even forgone what little bit of aloofness that a n.o.ble family should have. Judging from his designation, he should be a regional count at least.
Within the departing convoy, the middle-aged man’s temper hadn’t yet died down. He kept on shouting, “Too insolent! A mere major dares to act like this! Is there such a thing as etiquette and law here? My anger won’t subside if we don’t take down that Li Kuanglan!”
One of the advisors in the car said after some thought, “The 17th army corps’ main camp is not far from Jingtang. Li Kuanglan, this name sounds quite familiar, could she be related to the Li family?”
The middle-aged man was surprised, but he refused to accept the possibility. “I know a lot of people from the Li family, including a fair number of their young n.o.bles and misses. I’ve never heard of such a person before. She’s just an aide, how high can her position be?”
The people beside him echoed the sentiment. Someone immediately suggested a plan to deal with Li Kuanglan. It was just that everyone tacitly avoided mentioning the 17th army corps and Qianye. Neither the former nor the latter was an ent.i.ty Count Peacegranter could easily provoke.
Within the courtyard, Qianye and Ji Tianqing were seated across one another and drinking tea. One had to admit that Ji Tianqing was truly accomplished in the art of making tea. The beverage she had produced was as clear as water but suffused with a distant fragrance. A sip of it sent Qianye into a vacant daze. He only knew it was delicious but couldn’t quite point out how so.
An entire pot only yielded two cups, but the finished drinks left a rich aftertaste. Qianye didn’t ask how valuable this tea was, lest he invites more emotional distress.
After imbibing a cup of tea, Qianye remained silent with his eyes closed. The fragrance was almost tangible and was coursing through his body. Everywhere it went, his origin power in the vicinity would increase in purity—this astonis.h.i.+ng tea actually had the effect of refining origin power! It was just that the energy within Qianye’s body had already been condensed by the Glory and Mystery chapters, so there wasn’t much room for improvement. The miraculous effect of this cup of tea wasn’t as powerful as the Song Clan Ancient Scroll, either, so there was little effect on Qianye, if any.
Moments later, the tea fragrance dispersed and Qianye opened his eyes. He felt a sudden jolt in his chest as he involuntarily blew out a mouthful of air. This lingering breath condensed in the air and shot out like an arrow. It was extremely pure with specks of gold within it, and actually filled the room with fragrance. This was a characteristic of daybreak origin power that had been purified to the extreme.
Ji Tianqing’s eyes lit up as she stared at Qianye like a monster.
Qianye’s entire body felt relaxed after exhaling, and his origin power seemed to be even more active than before.
Ji Tianqing said, “Did you know, those who spit out grey energy after drinking this tea can be considered geniuses with boundless potential, people worthy of all-out grooming. You, you actually spat out a mouthful of Venus Dawn! I really want to cut you open and see what you’re made of inside.”
Qianye was shocked out of his wits. This mysterious fellow possessed astonis.h.i.+ng combat strength and endless tricks up her sleeve. She really might do what she said just now.
Qianye fiddled with the teacup, the walls of which were as thin as a cicada’s wing, and muttered, “Tianqing, I don’t know who you are and where you’re from, and it’s fine for me not to ask. But can’t you let me see your real appearance?”
Ji Tianqing broke into a laugh. “I can’t even tell you about my background, much less show you my appearance. I might just scare you because I’m too ugly. Just treat me as a little major.”
“How can that be? But, whatever, do as you wish.” Qianye stood up and left, shaking his head all the while.
He had already thought things through. Ji Tianqing’s ident.i.ty was definitely astonis.h.i.+ng, and she seemed to be somewhat related to Li Kuanglan. There was no way the Zhao clan and Zhao Jundu wouldn’t know about such a person coming to Indomitable. That being said, there should be no problem with her background since they had allowed her to move freely.
Qianye simply set this matter aside because the more important matter at hand was to cultivate his combat arts. With the battle poised to resume at any given moment, every minute and every second was a valuable commodity.
Qianye walked into the courtyard with East Peak in hand and moved a couple of chairs over to act as obstructions. Then, he focused his attention and power into a gradual thrust.
Ji Tianqing was in high spirits after seeing Qianye practicing his sword. She laid out a table in the courtyard, replete with snacks and drinks, and proceeded to watch Qianye train. Her att.i.tude was serious, almost as though she were watching an important play.
Qianye’s willpower was firm. He naturally paid no attention to the disturbance and merely ignored her existence during his practice.
After watching a couple of moves, Ji Tianqing’s eyes lit up. “You’re trying to unravel the Li family’s swift blade? This, I like!”
She was no longer calm at the mention of breaking the Li family’s sword arts. She quickly abandoned her food, jumped into the field, and began studying how to unravel the move with Qianye.
Ji Tianqing was highly knowledgeable and knew a little bit about every family’s secret arts, especially the Jingtang Li Family’s secret sword techniques. Moreover, her line of thought was bold, imaginative, and full of clever ideas. With her partic.i.p.ation, Qianye’s speed of unraveling the technique sped up significantly. At this rate, he would be able to somewhat deal with Li Kuanglan’s strike within a couple of days.
A cold voice arrived from outside the courtyard just as the two were engrossed in their practice. “If you have so much time, why not use it against the dark races instead?”
Qianye glanced over in astonishment and saw Li Kuanglan turning away with a frosty expression.
Ji Tianqing added to the confusion by shouting, “Dealing with foreign aggression requires internal peace! Better eliminate a scourge like you first!”
Li Kuanglan was evidently shaken, but she managed to control herself and left without attacking.
Qianye sighed internally. Comparatively, Ji Tianqing seemed more of a calamity than Li Kuanglan. It was just that he could only think this and not say it out loud.
The night went by a.n.a.lyzing the sword. The sun had just risen when the courtyard doors were kicked open and in walked Zhao Yuying, accompanied by unbridled laughter.
The two sword pract.i.tioners turned to glance at her at the same time.
Zhao Yuying’s expression changed rapidly upon seeing Ji Tianqing. “How come it’s you!?”
Ji Tianqing’s expression turned odd. She took a step and hid behind Qianye, saying, “You’re mistaken, it’s not me.”
“Who can it be if not you? Ah?” Zhao Yuying’s mouth was agape as she gazed at the girl who had emerged again from behind Qianye. The latter had transformed into someone else entirely and was now wearing the face of a young, delicate girl.
Zhao Yuying’s expression was a mixture of puzzlement and delight. “Fine, fine, it’s not you. Qianye, come here.”
Following his arrival, Zhao Yuying asked Qianye in a whisper, “How did you get involved with her?”
“How should I know? She appeared out of nowhere to report in as my aide-de-camp and even wrote up an appointment paper on the spot,” Qianye said innocently.
Zhao Yuying looked at him with eyes full of sympathy. “So it’s like that! Then this sister can’t help you. Take care of yourself! One more thing…”
She lowered her voice once more and said mysteriously, “Remember, do not drink with her no matter what!”
Qianye glanced speechlessly at Zhao Yuying. At such a distance, Ji Tianqing could hear her no matter how much she lowered her voice. It seemed more like she was pus.h.i.+ng the two into a drinking compet.i.tion instead. But Ji Tianqing wasn’t a fool—how could she fall for such an obvious trick?
After saying this, Zhao Yuying said to Ji Tianqing, “Okay, I did not see you, you did not see me.”
The latter nodded immediately, “Of course! See you later!”
“It’ll be best if we never meet again!” Zhao Yuying mumbled as she left, filling Qianye’s heart with a sensation of being abandoned to his fate.
Ji Tianqing’s eyes were filled with a dreadful glow after Zhao Yuying had left. “It sounds like your alcohol tolerance is higher than mine?”
“How can that be!?” Qianye denied it immediately and decisively. He really didn’t want to provoke Ji Tianqing. Regarding alcohol, Qianye had never experienced being completely drunk, but drinking a lot was still uncomfortable. He would usually feel strange after overconsumption and do things he normally wouldn’t.
However, Ji Tianqing wasn’t so easily convinced. She patted Qianye’s shoulder and said, “We drink tonight! It’s settled, call Yuying and the others over as witnesses.”
“I have something I need to do tonight.” He grasped at whatever he could despite knowing the futility.
With a shake of her left hand, an empty military order appeared in her grasp. “Tonight’s mission is to drink! Do I need to issue a military order?”
What else could he say? There was nothing he could do except resign himself to fate.
It was at this time that Wei Potian’s voice rang out from outside the courtyard. This fellow was full of vigor—his voice had arrived even before the person had appeared. “Qianye! You awake? You have plans tonight? Sc.r.a.p them even if you do! Come with me and I’ll introduce you to some beautiful girls! How’s that? Your brother is wonderful, isn’t he?”
Soon, a killing intent arose in the courtyard.