"It’s a letter from Mr. Yuwen."
Li Guanyi instructed someone to handle the huge Exotic Beast they had brought back, took the letter, unfolded it, and read the sharply penned handwriting, instantly recognizing it as Li Zhaowen’s:
"Mr. Li, I hope you are well—"
"I rejoice in heart at your achievements, regretting only that I cannot be by your side, raising troops and charging into battle together. Yuwen Tianxian is a renowned general, quite difficult to deal with, hence I am dispatching Wuchou and thirty of his Light Cavalry to be under your command, awaiting your orders."
"Though their number is small, they are brave and fierce, surely useful."
"May you be safe and well, I look forward to hearing good news."
"When the time comes for you to be recognized as a great general, I’ll celebrate here with a toast to your honor."
"Best wishes from Erlang."
Li Guanyi was somewhat moved.
In this era, knowing what Li Guanyi intended to do, to immediately dispatch one of his most capable men along with all the valuable Ying Country assets within Chen Country, Li Guanyi couldn’t tell if this Mr. Yuwen was just being generous or was truly loyal and deep-feeling.
Li Guanyi simply burst into hearty laughter and put away the letter, saying:
"For Brother Changsun to come is my fortune, please!"
Changsun Wuchou smiled and said, "Although I am not a man with exceptional martial arts, merely at the Fourth Layer Heaven, I have many years of experience as a traveling merchant in logistics matters. Following Mr. Yuwen’s dispatch, I will now follow your commands."
"Also, Elder Xue entrusted me to bring you a batch of crossbows and light armor from the Mo School."
He seemed to recall something, smiling he said, "Ah, right, I encountered some people on the way who seemed to be coming to see you too. They didn’t appear to be bad folks, so I brought them along." He turned to point, and Li Guanyi looked up, taken aback.
There were two distinct groups of people.
One group was a woman in a green shirt, tall figure, her eyes alone visible, but they were enchanting. She held a short sword, tossing and catching it skillfully; it was none other than Nangong Wumeng, the unparalleled beauty of the Martial World.
The other group was five big men.
The leader had just reached the Entering Realm, his appearance rugged and somewhat heroic, but his shifty eyes suggested cunning; it was Lei Laomeng.
Li Guanyi was astounded, then burst out laughing, "Hahaha, Lei Laomeng!"
"What brings you here, too?"
Lei Laomeng had a troubled look on his face.
Damn it, why did they have to come?
He had been rushing back home, but after hearing about Li Guanyi’s situation, his minions suddenly felt ashamed that people from Ying Country were fighting against Chen Country residents. Fired up, they insisted on coming.
Lei Laomeng cursed the need for caution, "Be stable, do you understand."
The next day, the four rascals went AWOL, so while cursing, Lei Laomeng followed; he sighed and muttered, thinking of ways to escape, yet when the young people over there burst into laughter, for some reason, a fire brewed inside Lei Laomeng.
He grinned, planning to say, "Give me some expenses and I’ll leave."
Then he heard himself respond: "I reckon you could use some help here."
Lei Laomeng wished he could slap himself.
When had his mouth started working faster than his brain?
What kind of Martial World bravado was this—in fact, it was simply courting death.
Li Guanyi laughed heartily, looking at the Divine Beast Manor quintet, he bowed deeply, saying solemnly:
Lei Laomeng, flustered, returned the gesture, saying, "Ah, you, what did you say?"
Li Guanyi let out a breath and smiled, "Good, there’s something I’d like to show you. You guys are experts, familiar with Exotic Beasts, right? Do you know much about bear-types?"
Lei Laomeng’s eyes lit up, he pounded his chest and said:
"Bears? Yes, familiar indeed!"
Li Guanyi led the Divine Beast Manor group over, pointing to a dead black bear and looking toward the stunned disciples from the Divine Beast Manor, and said, "This thing, how should we eat it to benefit our health?"
Lei Laomeng’s mouth twitched, "Is it this ’familiar’?"
While the Divine Beast Manor disciples, who had assumed they could breed Exotic Beasts, were in agony, Li Guanyi turned his gaze toward the woman tossing her knives in boredom and said:
"The unparalleled beauty in the world, Nangong Wumeng."
"What brings you here?"