Wen He looked at the youth before him with a gentle smile and felt the strength of his grasp on his arm growing stronger. After contemplating the young general’s combat power, legend, and peerless bravery...
He couldn’t win, not at all.
A scholar whose inner strength and physique ranked at most at the level of a Second Layer Heaven Martial Artist made this judgment.
Wen He’s mouth curled slowly, and he casually supported himself on the arm, seizing Li Guanyi’s arm with a gentle smile,
"Indeed, I was coming out to greet our Lord!"
"The wine has been warmed already, please."
Li Guanyi’s mouth twitched as he said, "Old Master, you are too kind." He remained alert in his heart, entered the courtyard, fetched some side dishes and fine wine. Ling Pingyang guarded the outside, blocking the back door. Wen He pretended not to notice and poured the wine, saying,
"Wen He has long heard of the Lord’s feats, and the strategies for Xu Tiange. Do you think they might still be of use?"
Li Guanyi’s wrist moved, dipped in a layer of Powder for Anesthesia, and with a flick of his finger, he sent it into Wen He’s glass. Although his martial arts approach was from the Military School, in this past year under the constant tutelage of Murong Longtu—a Martial Arts Legend—he had become very proficient in martial arts fundamentals and technique and virtually had no weaknesses. Unnoticed by Wen He, both men carrying smiles, lifted their cups and clinked them together.
Li Guanyi’s lips touched the cup and felt a numb sensation.
Being able to react from just touching the wine, and having a good relationship with the Seven Old Ghosts Under Qilin as well as having perused through Marquis Hou Zhongyu’s Elixir Recipes, Li Guanyi’s mouth widened into a grin.
"Deadly Powder for Anesthesia?"
Wen He sniffed the liquid, a scholar proficient in the Yin Yang Family, Medical School, and alchemy, looked up slightly,
"A compound Powder for Anesthesia?"
What had just been a harmonious atmosphere between the two men suddenly tensed. With a surge of Inner Qi, Li Guanyi drank it down, seemingly savoring the wine but actually passing it to his Dharma Form.
The Mystic Turtle Dharma Form emerged, enveloping the poison and slipping away.
The Mystic Turtle Dharma Form carried the toxin directly into a pond.
Carps in the pond fell asleep.
Mosquitos by the water’s edge in summer were knocked unconscious around the pond.
Wen He drank with his head thrown back in the classic scholar’s drinking posture. A hand held the cup, while the other was in front, his sleeves hanging down to cover his face, and as he tilted back, the wine slid down into a pocket with a hidden seam in his sleeve housing highly absorbent material.
Not a drop of wine had touched him.
After drinking, both displayed their empty cups towards each other, to show they had finished. Wen He with a warm smile, Li Guanyi nonchalant, paused, noticing how clear-headed and calm the other remained.
One breath, two breaths.
But what was anticipated did not happen.
Wen He said with a mild smile, "Good wine."
Marquis Qin Wu laughed heartily, "Excellent wine!"
Both strategist and Heroic Ruler had a thought flash through their minds.
This guy is not easy to handle...
Wen He smiled as he picked up food, ate a couple of bites to show it was safe, and then said, "Please, speaking of which, the reason for our Lord’s visit here is known to Qingyu, I suppose."
Wen He, stylized as Qingyu.
By choosing such a name, it seemed as though he was quite familiar with Li Guanyi, with a chuckle, he said, "It’s about the aristocratic family."
Li Guanyi said, "What are your thoughts, Old Master?"
He too took a mouthful of the dish, felt a tingling sensation, then as his blood surged, the toxin dissipated. The youth smiled, "I am immune to all poisons."
The strategist with a radiant smile said, "What are you saying? This has nothing to do with the aristocratic families." Eating the different dishes in sequence, each paired with a medicinal herb, could render a person unconscious—only by eating them in the right order could one ensure safety and not be overwhelmed.
To possess a body immune to all poisons.
How despicable, Marquis Qin Wu.
Inside, Wen He realized he had a headache when he senses that Marquis Qin Wu came fully prepared for everything. Meanwhile, outside, a twelve or thirteen-year-old page sat there with a hand propping his chin, gazing out and sighing with worry.
"Can the Old Master come out of retirement?"
Ling Pingyang noticed the young page and asked, "Do you wish for your master to come out of retirement?"
"The Old Master is truly a good person; it’s not safe for him here, either."
Ling Pingyang found it somewhat unimaginable. Yuan Zhi, Xiao Zhi, Breaking Army, Wen Lingjun—the most outstanding young strategists of this era—have all unanimously agreed on someone they would even tie up and bring back.
Could be a good person.
To Ling Pingyang’s eyes, these strategists from the Qilin Army have already reached the passing line of first-class strategists in these chaotic times. In some areas, they were not yet at the level of older generations like Zu Wenyuan and Tantai Xianming, but they have time.
They are all growing at a surprising rate.
These individuals of differing character were all unanimous on bringing him the person back.
How could such a person be good?
The little page muttered something under his breath and kicked a stone, a bit defiantly said, "You’ve been fooled by the Master."
Ling Pingyang said gently, "Then what makes him a good person?"
The page responded, "The Master saved my life. During his travels outside, he protected two villages amidst a chaotic army and ingeniously brought down corrupt officials in another city."
"The governor of that city loved to beat people. Once he saw a roadside thorn bush and thought that drenched in saltwater, it would be effective for beating someone, so he tried out his idea on a passerby."