Next to the second son of the Duke Mansion, Changsun Wuchou’s sister was also dressed in hunting attire for company. Unlike the spirited demeanor of young girls, Changsun Wu Gou was somewhat anxious at the moment, whispering softly, "It’s just, by avoiding Lord Father’s entourage and coming alone, are we truly going to be alright?"
Li Zhaowen casually swung his horsewhip through the air and responded:
"What does it matter?"
"Having one second son in the carriage is enough, besides, Father most likely does not wish to see me at the moment." Mentioning this, the young girl felt slightly displeased. Her phoenix eyes slightly narrowed as she had brought back many treasures and the geographical map from the king of Tuyuhun’s tent and handed them over to her father.
At this moment, she simply wished for the stability of the Duke Mansion for her father and brothers. She was genuinely happy, fully expecting them to also acknowledge her, yet she was harshly reprimanded by them. Her father seemed very unhappy, she even saw a trace of panic on his face, and then he severely reproached her.
Even her older brother implied both openly and secretly that she was too reckless, causing trouble for the Duke Mansion.
After several unpleasant discussions, she simply went out on her own.
Now, holding the horsewhip and pointing towards the forest ahead, she appeared to be commanding with force:
"Today the world is divided among heroes, countries like Tuyuhun that were once overlord states can perish in the blink of an eye. At the height of Tuyuhun’s power, thirty-six tribes submitted to them, and both Ying Country and Chen Country had to treat them with equal courtesy. Now that the country has perished, the Dangxiang people have risen and become the laughingstock of the world."
"Even Tuyuhun ended up , and our household is just the Duke Mansion of Ying Country."
"Defending the borderlands with the world in turmoil, not advancing is retreating. Merely hoping to hold on to the family property, in the end, I’m afraid even this family property cannot be preserved. Why is father so cautious?"
Changsun Wu Gou said, "Lord Father holds the rise and fall of the family, so he must naturally be cautious in his actions."
"Erlang, do not speak such words to outsiders."
The young girl with the dragon and phoenix countenance laughed and said, "Don’t worry, I’ll only talk to you about this."
"This time you and I have come out alone, avoiding your brother, I simply want to see with my own eyes, to get to know this Li Guanyi myself. That way he will know who I am, and I will know who he is, without being influenced by worldly status, to observe the true nature of a hero."
Li Guanyi’s gaze was slightly lowered. Changsun Wuchou had already returned a few days ago to Jiangzhou City to welcome the entourage of the Duke Mansion. Li Guanyi himself had a rather good impression of that second son.
Anyone who gives such a grand gift as the Seal.
Li Guanyi would definitely have a good impression of them.
If later on, they were to give even better gifts,
Then Li Guanyi felt his fondness would simply soar straight up.
Only, he did not know what he looked like, whether he was handsome or a tall and sturdy son of a martial family.
Li Guanyi looked down at the letter from Miss Xue, which stated that she had been around Jiangzhou City many times, had found some interesting places, and would take him to visit them once he arrived in Jiangzhou City.
It said her aunt had heard of Li Guanyi’s poetic talent and hoped to receive a poem from him. And at the end, Li Guanyi saw Xue Shuangtao writing, ’I heard before that Guanyi, your birthday is coming up. I cannot leave the palace, and I had intended to congratulate you. I’m not sure when the letter will reach you.’
’I’m picking a spring flower as a gift, just to present to you.’
Only then did Li Guanyi realize the meaning of the flower in the letter.
He looked at the well-preserved flower petal—obviously well taken care of with great effort—and cracked a slight smile, but he said, "Sending such an artistic thing; Miss, it would have been more worthwhile to send me some silver." Although he said this, he still carefully preserved the flower.
He took out the silver from the rhino horn belt pouch and threw it onto the table.
He replaced it with the flower, to carry with him personally.
After all, it was a gift.
However, a birthday...
He had experienced so many things during this period that Li Guanyi had almost forgotten that in a few days, it would be his birthday; he was now fourteen years old. It struck him then that he had been in this world for fourteen years, on the run for eleven.
With his father and mother gone, burned in Jiangzhou, it had been eleven years already.
Seeing what Miss Xue mentioned in her letter, Li Guanyi naturally wanted to fulfill her request. Moreover, Elder Xue had been kind to him, and a poem was just that. Although Li Guanyi was a martial artist and not adept at composing poetry, his mind contained a great deal.
Thanks to memorizing homework.
Li Guanyi thought for a moment, wrote down a poem with a brush in one go, stating that he had only heard of it on his travels.
He used the original author’s name as if it were a story, writing it for Miss Xue.
In the end, he added his blessings, saying he would soon arrive in Jiangzhou City and then would come to find her. Of course, the Miss would likely have to find him, as he couldn’t enter the palace. He folded the letter carefully, handed it to Elder Xue, and asked him to send it back.
There were three days left.
In three days’ time, he had to go to Jiangzhou City, a place more than three hundred miles from Guan Yi City.
Considering the difficulty of the journey, winding through mountains, it would take even more time.
Even on horseback, it would take a day or two.
There was no way to travel back and forth quickly at that time; Li Guanyi had to defeat General Xue before that.
He had to acquire the secret realm of General Xue.
Then he would go to the Capital City of Jiangzhou, to seek Zu Wenyuan to study the "Imperial Pole Worldly Scripture", and to find Siming, to ask for his aunt’s Dharma Form practice methods.
Below the water of Guan Yi City, within the secret realm of the Xue Family.
General Xue, holding a weapon, looked at Li Guanyi before him and smiled slightly, "You really don’t give up, do you? Coming to seek me out again so soon, it seems you’ve encountered some things recently. Are you in a hurry to leave Guan Yi City, so you plan to defeat me?"