The wind was brushing her hair tips and the hem of her clothes, adding a threefold grace to her handsomeness.
"Mr. Li has arrived?"
She turned sideways, calmly and with a smile, she clasped her hands together, "I hadn’t yet congratulated Mr. Li, your martial arts excellence is renowned far and wide!"
Li Guanyi said, "It’s just good luck, that’s all."
Li Zhaowen laughed, "Good luck can’t account for your fame, nor can it allow anyone to consecutively defeat the renowned Little Sword Saint Xu Huixiang, or battle back and forth with Yuwen Hua who unlocked the secret technique of Dharma Form, and ultimately win."
"Oh, stop being so modest, come on, have a seat!"
She pulled Li Guanyi to sit down, exchanged cups, and after three rounds of drinks, dismissed those around them, and said, "I invited Mr. Li over today, first to congratulate you, and second, to offer a word of caution..."
Li Zhaowen said, "Capital City faces turbulent times, Jiangzhou City within is swarming with martial experts day by day, and there are numerous forces from Ying Country, Turkic, Western Regions, Chen Country, Central State, gathering like dark clouds, uncertain when they might burst open entirely."
"Your reputation is at its peak, Mr. Li, in such circumstances, you’re inevitably going to be impacted."
"It would be wise to make a swift exit and avoid these times."
Li Zhaowen’s voice was gentle yet extremely sincere. Li Guanyi expressed his gratitude, this ’youth’ with a dragon and phoenix demeanor, pursed his lips and smiled, then took out an item and said, "Additionally, after the major ceremony, I will be leaving, this item is as promised, a gift for Mr. Li."
"What has Mr. Yuwen given, still shrouded in mystery..."
Li Guanyi accepted it, glanced at it, and his expression grew serious.
Li Zhaowen opened her folding fan with a snap, and with a mild smile said:
"Jiangzhou’s First Building, how about it?"
Li Guanyi immediately handed the item back and said,
He was a lover of wealth, but he knew all too well how burdensome owning such a property could be.
He might unsuspectingly sell himself off.
"No, it’s not too valuable, Mr. Li, your worth is much more important than Jiangzhou’s First Building."
Li Zhaowen placed her hand on a deed, pressing the deed down on the table, thus both Li Guanyi and Li Zhaowen’s hands were pressing down on the deed, their eyes met, Li Zhaowen watched the youth before her and slightly stepped back.
Then she thought for a moment, smiled slightly, and said, "How about this, otherwise we continue the bet, the first time, it was you, Mr. Li, who agreed to compete in the grand combat, so I put up Changfeng Building for you."
"The second time, the next time you have a chance to see me."
"I will tell you my true identity, how about that?"
Li Guanyi answered, "The Duke Ying Mansion’s Mr. Yuwen, right?"
Li Zhaowen briefly paused, then burst into laughter, she stood up, unfolded her hand fan to cover her lips and face, only smiling and saying, "Wrong, wrong."
"Aren’t you just that?"
"Not at all, not at all, I am not any Mr. Yuwen of the Duke Mansion, maybe next time, if we can still meet."
Li Zhaowen’s fan fluttered, almost laughing till her stomach hurt, her eyes glinting, she leisurely said:
"By then, you will naturally know."
Li Guanyi inquired, "Mr. Yuwen, why do you do this?"
Li Zhaowen, half-joking, stepped forward, her jade belt slightly lifting, left hand behind her back, right hand snapping the fan closed, teasingly lifting the youth’s chin, languid yet composed, she declared:
"I see all heroes of the world as beauties."
"Mr. Li, you, I am determined to win over."
Li Guan Yi was so shocked he could hardly speak. He felt a chill run through him, but Li Zhaowen burst into loud laughter, tears nearly streaming down his face. He said, "Just kidding, just kidding. Come on, let’s continue drinking! After the major ceremony, we might not know when we can meet again."
Li Guan Yi thought it over and calmly accepted the deed to Changfeng Building. He drank with Li Zhaowen until dusk and then returned to the Xue Family. He handed the deed of Changfeng Building directly to Elder Xue to handle the matter, and the old man gave Li Guan Yi a peculiar look.
"Did you just sell yourself or what?"
Li Guan Yi firmly retorted, "How could that be possible!"
The next morning, Li Guan Yi went to the Imperial Guard, but as soon as he arrived, he saw Zhou Liuying, Ye Buyi, and General Gong Zhenyong, among others, all wearing peculiar expressions. Many of the young Imperial Guards seemed to be holding back laughter, and finally, someone couldn’t help but burst out laughing, which made everyone else laugh aloud.
The whole Imperial Guard was filled with a joyful atmosphere.
Li Guan Yi was puzzled and said, "What’s going on?" He asked many times, but Zhou Liuying just clapped him on the shoulder, laughing so hard he could hardly catch his breath. Only Ye Buyi handed Li Guan Yi a scroll, even his face unable to hold back a smile.
"You all laugh as if I made a fortune, not this happy."
Li Guan Yi grumbled as he opened the scroll.
Li Guan Yi, ranked sixty-seventh on the Famous Hero List of the Martial World.
Well, that made sense, as the Famous Hero List considered combat achievements accumulated over time, somewhat like the ladder matches in various games Li Guan Yi had played in his previous life, accumulating combat achievements. In the Martial World, Yuwen Hua and Geshu Yin hadn’t been very active, and among those on the Famous Hero List, only Xu Huixiang had been defeated by Li Guan Yi’s Battle Halberd.
Number sixty-seven, not bad at all, so why laugh?
Then he saw the nickname—
[Great Chen Imperial Guard]
Li Guan Yi was stunned.
He checked several times.
"Great Chen Imperial Guard, Li Guan Yi?"
Then everyone burst into even louder laughter. Zhou Liuying rolled on the ground laughing, and General Gong Zhenyong cursed a few times, saying, "Laughing at what, stop it, what a sight, laughing and laughing!"
He kicked Zhou Liuying.
Then, walking over, he patted Li Guan Yi’s shoulder, glanced at the scroll, his lips twitched into a smirk, then settled back into a serious expression, "That’s right, pfft...cough, well, it’s just an address in a professional field, pfft ahaha, haha, addressing by job title, pretty good."
"Pretty good, hahaha."
"Hahaha, Martial World’s sixty-seventh, Great Chen Imperial Guard, Imperial Guard? Haha! Good nickname!"
General Gong Zhenyong couldn’t help but laugh aloud.
Li Guan Yi smirked, wanting to find that Guest Elder from The World’s First Building and thrash him.
Do I have a feud with you?
What kind of nickname is that!
After laughing for a while, Gong Zhenyong had the young men straighten up, and said, "There’s one more day, tomorrow is the major ceremony, the Imperial Guard has an important role..." He gave many instructions, and Li Guan Yi listened to the arrangements for Qilin Palace, planning on sneaking over there sometime.
Gong Zhenyong said, "Additionally—"
"During the major ceremony of Chen Country, to avoid overshadowing our ancestor, the Red Emperor, the Chi Xiao Sword will be kept inside the Forbidden Palace."
"It will be guarded by us, the Imperial Guard."
"Li Guan Yi, Zhou Liuying, Ye Buyi, you three are in charge!"