Chapter 399 Uncontrollable Chess PiecesLi Tianlan came to Mount Green at the fastest speed.
It was Dongcheng Wudi who called him.
Minister Fang Wenxi had submitted the list of the Snowdance Corps to the Army Headquarters and Kunlun City.
Dongcheng Wudi once again held a meeting in the building of the Army Headquarters.
The military of Zhongzhou State and Kunlun City approved the list, reported it to the Office of the President and the Cabinet, transmitted it to the Decision Making Committee, and then immediately issued a transfer order.
In addition to notifying Li Tianlan of the results of the meeting on the phone, Dongcheng Wudi also told Li Tianlan something that surprised him.
Li Honghe had arrived in Youzhou and was now living in the manor of the Bai family.
Hidden Dragon Sea was not far from Mount Green.
In less than forty minutes, Li Tianlan’s Audi had already reached Mount Green and slowly entered the manor of the Bai family.
Dongcheng Rushi had arrived from Huating to Youzhou. She was standing in front of the main villa and waiting. When she saw Li Tianlan getting out of the car, she jumped down the steps gently and almost jumped into Li Tianlan’s arms.
Li Tianlan reached out and helped her. “What are you so happy about?”
“I heard that you are marshal. Of course, I am happy,” Dongcheng Rushi whispered.
She wore a long red dress, and her black hair was fluttering. The red dress set off her skin, making the latter extremely white and delicate. She looked pure and charming.
“I’m going with you to Eastern Europe.”
As Dongcheng Rushi spoke, she reached out and gently touched the military rank on Li Tianlan’s shoulder. Her eyes were clear and serious. “It looks better than dad’s.”
Li Tianlan smiled.
In Zhongzhou State, the military ranks of the army and those of the Special Warfare System were the same. Only the ranks of marshals were slightly different. They all had the same olive branch with three gold stars, but on every epaulet of marshal of the army, an elaborate gold shield was added behind the gold stars.
Every rank of marshal of the Special Warfare System, however, had a golden sword in front of the gold stars.
“How about Huating?” Li Tianlan walked up the steps and asked casually.
…
“Fine.”
Dongcheng Rushi thought for a while. “The maneuver items these days are also very interesting. But there are a lot fewer people going to watch them.”
“Hmm,” Li Tianlan said.
The final maneuver had results on the first day.
Since the results had already appeared, the process was naturally not worth looking forward to. Although the final maneuver was still going on, it had lost the supposed meaning, so that the princ.i.p.als of the Sky Academy and the Deep-sea Academy were not in Huating at this moment. Instead, they came to Tongming Temple on Western Hills of Youzhou and were training the officers of the Snowdance Corps.
Dongcheng Rushi naturally put her small hand in Li Tianlan’s hand.
The two entered the villa.
In the living room, Li Honghe and Bai Zhanfang were playing chess.
Neither of them was determined to win. Thus, they placed the chess pieces unconcernedly. Even in the eyes of outsiders, they often made meaningless moves.
Dongcheng Wudi sat beside them, looking at the chessboard vapidly. When he saw that Li Tianlan and Dongcheng Rushi came in, he smiled and waved his hand.
Li Tianlan came over and called grandpa. He glanced at Bai Zhanfang and did not speak. Li Honghe said without looking up, “Zhanfang and Hanguang are both my longtime friends. You should also call him grandpa.”
Li Tianlan paused and then called grandpa with a smile.
Bai Zhanfang raised his head with a smile, glanced at him, and patted the sofa next to him, saying, “Sit.”
Li Tianlan nodded, pulling Dongcheng Rushi as he sat beside Dongcheng Wudi.
“Western Hills are not near here. How did you get here so soon?”
Dongcheng Wudi looked at the chessboard and laughed casually.
“I talked to the president before I came out of the Hidden Dragon Sea, not far from here,” Li Tianlan said quietly.
…
In his sight, Bai Zhanfang seemed dim-sighted from old age. He struck Li Honghe’s p.a.w.n across Li Honghe’s another chess piece with a cannon.
Li Honghe didn’t say anything, but he moved another p.a.w.n forward two steps at a time.
Li Tianlan’s mouth twitched.
“Hidden Dragon Sea?”
Dongcheng Wudi raised his eyebrows.
The eyes of Li Honghe and Bai Zhanfang also turned to Li Tianlan.
“Well, the Snowdance Corps was established, and I also found a trusted subordinate of great significance. But the ident.i.ty of the best candidate in my heart was a bit special, so I specifically talked to the president,” Li Tianlan said.
…
Li Honghe calmly messed up the chessboard, in which he was already the underdog. He narrowed his eyes and asked with a smile, “Who is the best person in your mind?”
“Of course, it’s Grandpa Fire.”
Li Tianlan laughed. “No one is more suitable than him.”
Li Honghe looked relaxed, nodded, and sighed. “I came here to talk to you about this matter. The Li family implicated Zhihuo in those days. Otherwise, with his talent, he should have long entered the Invincible Realm. Many years have pa.s.sed. We had no opportunity before, but now we have an opportunity, so we have to get him out of the desert.”
Zhihuo was the given name of Fire Man, and his surname was Wu. Not only for the Li family but also for the Dongcheng Clan, this was obviously a very familiar name. Dongcheng Wudi was stunned and said softly, “He is indeed a good candidate. It’s just his age…”
“Age is not a problem.”
Li Tianlan whispered, “Given the current state of Grandpa Fire, no one in the Snowdance Corps is his match, except me.”
Fire Man was in the Fire-flaming Realm.
But like the Tribulation three years ago, he broke one limit after another in the Fire-flaming Realm and finally entered a different path. In the end, it was unable to distinguish whether such a person was still in the Fire-flaming Realm. But one thing Li Tianlan was sure of was that when he fought with Fire Man in the desert prison that year, Fire Man did not really use his full strength.
What he exerted was the real strength of the peak Fire-flaming Realm, not his strength after breaking through the limits of the Fire-flaming Realm.
In that state, Fire Man still forced Li Tianlan to break into the Thunder-shocking Realm, which made him able to recultivate Martial Arts for the first time.
How powerful would the Fire Man who exerted all his might be…
In Li Tianlan’s view, even if Fire Man in this state was hopeless to enter the Invincible Realm in this lifetime, and his state declined with aging at the same time, the power he was able to exert would hardly be worse than that of Tribulation three years ago.
Such a person was an absolute master in the Four Realms of Martial Arts and could even make a huge difference on the battlefield of Invincible Realm experts.
“What did the president say?” Li Honghe asked out loud.
…
“He agreed.”
Li Tianlan’s tone was calm.
The atmosphere in the living room was frozen for a moment.
The eyes of Li Honghe, Bai Zhanfang, and Dongcheng Wudi met.
Li Honghe looked slightly relaxed.
Bai Zhanfang’s eyes were full of pleasure.
There was relief in Dongcheng Wudi’s eyes.
Unknown to all of them, Li Tianlan went to the Hidden Dragon Sea.
This matter was small but quite important.
Such a Li Tianlan was what they wanted to see.
The Li family, the Dongcheng Clan, the Bai family, and even the entire Giant Group had put their futures on Li Tianlan.
Under the circ.u.mstance of bearing great responsibility, each of them was eager to see Li Tianlan’s future—not only his Martial Arts but also his ability to handle things.
…
It was hard to say how Li Tianlan’s ability was now, but at least today, he showed everyone his initiative.
He had only been a marshal in the Special Warfare System of Zhongzhou State for a few days.
But he had been actively adapting to the change in his ident.i.ty.
Today, he went to the Hidden Dragon Sea, not as a young man, but as a marshal of Zhongzhou State.
The fact of adapting to his ident.i.ty in a short time sounded simple, but how could it actually be so easy?
Li Tianlan still did not adapt to that now.
But he worked very hard to adapt to his new ident.i.ty and status, and he was acting in accordance with his ident.i.ty and status.
He was the future core of the Giant Group and the future of the Giant Group.
The future leader that the Giant Group wanted should have his ideas, plans, thoughts, actions, and schemes.
Tonight was just the first step for Li Tianlan.
And it was the perfect first step.
Li Huacheng agreed to Li Tianlan’s request, which could also indicate that Li Huacheng recognized Li Tianlan’s current ident.i.ty and behavior.
“Very well, the president is still very supportive of the Snowdance Corps. Tianlan, if you need anything in the future, you should communicate with the president in time. As an ally, he has to undertake some of his obligations.”
Dongcheng Wudi chuckled, fished out a cigarette, and handed it to Li Tianlan.
Li Tianlan nodded, took the cigarette, and lit it.
“What are you talking about?”
A soft voice suddenly sounded.
In the soft footsteps, Bai Qingqian came over with a plate of fruit and placed it on the coffee table.
“Mom.”
Dongcheng Rushi stood up and greeted her crisply.
Bai Qingqian smiled and touched Dongcheng Rushi’s head, but looked at Li Tianlan.
Although she was at home, this strange woman who was extremely famous in the political circle of Zhongzhou State was also in formal clothes, charming in manner. There was something indescribably dignified and graceful about her, making her decorous and elegant.
Li Tianlan stood up subconsciously. Just now, he was calm, but he instinctively stretched out his hand, scratched his head, and seemed a little stupid.
Dongcheng Rushi laughed.
But apart from her, everyone, including Li Honghe, had complicated emotions in the eyes.
“Eating more fruit and smoking less. Smoking is bad for your health.”
Bai Qingqian looked at Li Tianlan. Her voice was soft and gentle.
Li Tianlan said yes but didn’t know what to say.
It was the second time he had seen Bai Qingqian.
But just like when he saw her for the first time, Li Tianlan could hardly describe how he felt. His perception was almost as powerful as that of a master at the peak of the Invincible Realm, but it was completely confused under her watch. This feeling was not panic, but an instinctive and yet somehow inexplicable desire to be close to her. Maybe this feeling stemmed from the look in her eyes, or perhaps it was something else.
Li Tianlan didn’t know how to say it. He just found this feeling strange, so he felt uncomfortable.
Bai Qingqian whispered, “This military uniform is perfect for you.”
…
She was very close to Dongcheng Rushi, and Dongcheng Rushi was very close to Li Tianlan.
So she did something naturally and automatically.
Bai Qingqian raised her hand, touched Li Tianlan’s head, and said softly, “How does it feel to be a marshal? Tired or not?”
Li Tianlan was completely stiff.
Bai Qingqian’s hand moved very gently.
But Li Tianlan’s body was as stiff as a stone.
“Not bad.”
His voice seemed to freeze, so it sounded a little distant.
Bai Qingqian’s pupils contracted violently.
She took one step forward subconsciously and then seemed to realize something. She put her hand down.
“Don’t be too stressed.”
She smiled and seemed to want to say something. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she said something else, “You guys talk first.”
She seemed to have thousands of words that she didn’t know where to begin with, but in the end, she hid them all in her eyes.
Bai Qingqian turned upstairs gently.
Li Tianlan sat down again.
Bai Qingqian stood in front of the railing on the second floor and stared at the hall.
Li Tianlan, who had sat down, looked up subconsciously.
The two stared at each other for a moment. Then Bai Qingqian turned and entered the room.
She wore formal clothes at home because she was about to leave and return to Guandong.
The first day Li Tianlan came to Youzhou, she had put aside a large number of official duties in Guandong and returned to Youzhou.
She wanted to see Li Tianlan but didn’t want to bother him.
…
Until today, until now, she waited for Li Tianlan’s arrival.
But she just looked at him for a while.
Just for that brief moment.
Compared to her return journey of thousands of kilometers, this moment was too short.
…
The living room was quiet again.
Dongcheng Rushi cut an orange in pieces and handed a slice to Li Tianlan.
Li Tianlan took it and ate it. The orange was sweet.
Dongcheng Rushi then reached out to get an apple.
“Let’s go to the study,” Bai Zhanfang said suddenly, breaking the somewhat weird silence in the living room.
…
“Ok.”
Dongcheng Wudi patted Li Tianlan’s shoulder and stood up, looking at Li Honghe.
Li Honghe had been staying in Youzhou in recent days.
Now that the list of the Snowdance Corps was formally determined, Bai Zhanfang and Dongcheng Wudi should, of course, discuss with Li Honghe about the operation in Eastern Europe.
The Li family had collapsed for many years.
But Li Honghe still had defensive strategies.
Under this situation, some of Li Honghe’s defensive strategies should emerge.
Even if he had said that he would not be a protagonist in the chaos of Eastern Europe, he would still be a significant role.
“Let’s go.”
Li Honghe stood up.
His cell phone rang suddenly.
It was not a phone call but a text message.
Li Honghe frowned, took out his mobile phone, and had a look.
His body suddenly stiffened for a moment, and his hazy eyes looked at the phone screen quietly.
“Senior Li?”
Dongcheng Wudi shouted in doubt.
Li Honghe did not respond.
After a long time, he slowly put away the mobile phone in his hand, looked at Li Tianlan, and then looked at Dongcheng Wudi and Bai Zhanfang.
He suddenly laughed.
“I can’t go to the study with you.”
He smiled softly, but his tone became calm, resolute, and irresistible. “I want to go back to Lin’an. Go back immediately. Wudi, arrange a private plane for me.”
“What happened?” Li Tianlan asked with a frown.
…
“It’s all right.”
Li Honghe looked at his grandson, his eyes soft. “It’s a good thing. It just occurred to me that my existence was still meaningful.”
His existence was meaningful.
But Li Honghe was equally clear that his existence was actually meaningless here.
Li Honghe did leave a lot of things in Zhongzhou State.
These things could still play an important role today.
But before he could use those chess pieces, the woman named Qin Weibai directly overturned the chessboard in his hands.
So the chess pieces in his hand overlapped with those in her hand.
Under such circ.u.mstances, Li Honghe could still play a role.
But his role was no longer crucial.
For him, an unimportant role was equivalent to no effect.
No effect meant no meaning.
It was not until he received this text message that he realized that even if Qin Weibai controlled most of the chess pieces he had prepared, there were still some things that she couldn’t control at all.
Ironically, to this day, Li Honghe himself didn’t know if he could still control these things.
But he would do his best.
So he wanted to go back.
To go back immediately.