“What’s this?” Ye Zichen smiled, then picked up the letter and examined it.
“An Invitation,” he said in mild amus.e.m.e.nt, then set it down.
“Lately, all sorts of problems have been weighing on my heart, but I still can’t believe I forgot there are only a few days left until Zhao Zizhao and City Lord Xihe’s wedding celebration. But wait, I never got an invitation. When did they send the invitations out?”
“I received my invitation a few days ago,” she replied, “but at the time, I was out on business, so I only just found out about it.”
Zuo Mo pressed down on the invitation and said, “Earlier, weren’t you suspicious of Zhao Zizhao’s motives? After I got back, I considered the matter and decided to come discuss the matter with you first. Now it seems that was the right move.
“That was very considerate of you,” said Ye Zichen. He nodded at her, then started gently tapping his fingers against the table.
The tapping was quite rhythmic, and before long, Ye Zichen found himself humming along. Anyone who’d lived in the Modern Realm would recognize that he was humming that world-famous song, everyone’s first choice for square-dancing….
“The Hottest Ethnic Trend.”
“Zichen, you……”
Zuo Mo was somewhat baffled as she watched him sway with the beat. Hadn’t they been discussing Zhao Zizhao? Why had he suddenly started humming?
But...
For some reason, she felt that the melody was quite good.
“Sorry, my bad, I got a bit distracted,” Ye Zichen with an air of self-mockery.
Seeing this, Zuo Mo couldn’t help but laugh, “To get distracted even at a time like this, you’ve got to be pretty confident. I suppose that Zhao Zizhao will be helpless against you.”
“Don’t say that, General Zhao is an elite of his generation at all; saying stuff like that leaves him no face at all,” said Ye Zichen, but despite his words, he was obviously supremely confident.
The Emperor Star lit up.
He’d grown so intimately connected to Heaven and Earth that now his spiritual awareness spread through the entire Immortal Region, possibly further.
The moment Zhao Zixhao contacted the person behind the scenes, Ye Zichen would immediately sense it.
The only thing that truly troubled him was that during the upcoming Struggle for the Three Realms, each realm’s defenses would be far weaker than usual. Still, so long as he found time to go talk to the North Pole Emperor, f.u.xi, and Ksitigarbha about it, there probably wouldn’t be any major issues.
Zuo Mo quietly fixated on his confident smile. Back then…..
It had likely been this very confidence that had left such a deep impression on her. Deep in her heart, she let out a long sigh.
“So,” she said, looking away, “are you coming or not?”
“Of course I’m coming,” said Ye Zichen, lips curling into a smile. “In fact, let’s head out right away. If we get there early, we can get a better sense for what the general is up to. Even if I’ve already guessed most of it, it’s best to be careful”
“Alright, then I’ll go back and arrange for an escort and congratulatory gifts. In a little while, I’ll come back to pick you up.”
“Sorry for the trouble.”
He saw Zuo Mo off, then licked his lips, sneered, and returned to the courtyard. “Ahoge,” he called out.
“Boss.”
Woosh.
A cool breeze blew past.
A young man appeared before him, head sprouting a tuft of hair, hands grasping chicken legs, his mouth leaking oil.
“Your const.i.tution’s pretty good; you don’t get fat no matter how much you eat. If this were the modern realm, I can’t tell you how many young women would envy you,” said Ye Zichen, shaking his head with a laugh. “You’ve grown tired of all the food we’ve got in the mansion, so as your boss, how about I take you somewhere with a chef?”
“Will there be meat?”
“Come on, aim a little higher,” said Ye Zichen, rolling his eyes. “We’re going to a wedding! It’s hosted by major figures too, so do you think there’ll be meat or not?
“A wedding?” Gou Yuzhan thought about, then said, “I’m not going.”
“What? There’s food, but you’re not going? That’s unlike you”
“At weddings, don’t you have to give the bride and groom a cash gift? Boss, you don’t even give me a salary, so how could I possibly afford to go?”
Wham.
Ye Zichen whacked him on the head and couldn’t help but roll his eyes.
“I’ve invited you, so how could I possibly ask you for money? You just open your stomach and eat. Bring that staff of yours too since there might be a fight. If you can knock someone down, I’ll give you a hundred celeste.”
“Really?”
“Really!”
“Sounds good, boss. You just wait and see.”
Zuo Mo naturally made her arrangements quickly and efficiently. In less than six hours, several horse-drawn carriages stopped before Ye Zichen’s manor.
“Are you taking him with us?” she asked, glancing at Gou Yuzhan, who was currently busy gnawing on pigs’ feet.
“If you’re not mistaken, there might very well be trouble at the wedding. Your Leisure House is a powerful ent.i.ty in its own right, and you should have no trouble calling up ten or more sky immortals.”
“We’re going to attend a wedding, not cause trouble. Furthermore, do you really think I need to bring anyone with me?” Ye Zichen said with a shrug, “if anything happens, will it really be them protecting me, or me protecting them?
“I almost forgot,” she laughed and nodded, “No one in the Three Realms can compare with your current strength. Then we can just…”
She glanced at Gou Yuzhan involuntarily; it was obvious that she didn’t feel quite certain about him.
“Ahoge” just laughed, but Ye Zichen frowned, saying, “Ignoring my status in the Immortal Region, I’m still the head of an organization, so I’ve got to have an entourage, right? Also, I’ll have to give them money as a wedding present. This guy is a real glutton, so if I bring him along, they’ll repay me in the form of his food. I’m the sort of person who really hates suffering a loss.”
With that, he smacked Gou Yuchan on the head.
“All you know how to do is eat,” he said. “Come on, let me introduce you, this is…..”
“I know, that’s the head of the Treasure Tower, Clan Head Zuo of the Zuo Family, a clan of merchants,” he said without looking up, then took another bite of pig foot. “Family Head Zuo, I’m called Gou Yuzhan. If you can’t remember it, you can call me ‘ahoge’. I’m the boss’s…. Boss, what exactly am I?”
“My bodyguard!”
“Right, I’m the boss’s bodyguard. I’d shake your hand, but my hands are covered in oil, so let’s skip it.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Zuo Mo picked up some clues from his speech, but she didn’t think about it too much. Instead, she shrugged at Ye Zichen. “Since you want to get your money’s worth, that’s fine, I’ll go along with it.”
Ye Zichen laughed gently and shrugged. “I have no other choice,” he said, “really, my family is poor, and every single celeste is precious to us. But you… Don’t tell me, are all these carriages filled to the brim with gifts? Zuo Mo, even if your Treasure Tower is rich, you shouldn’t spend so much. If you really have more money than you can spend, you contribute to our Leisure House. We’re so poor, some days we can’t even afford to give our employees their wages.”
“Quit playing around.”
The Leisure House’s power grew rapidly, and if things continued would soon take first place.
No one would believe that this sort of organization lacked money.
“Lin Xihe is actually one of my closest friends. This is her wedding, so I naturally can’t be stingy. That said, Zichen, there’s something I’d like to ask of you.”
“What is it?” said Ye Zichen.
“If it’s possible, I’d like you to spare Zhao Zizhao’s life.