Chaotic World Book -
Chapter 169 - 165 Sleeping Dragon and Young Phoenix
Chapter 169: Chapter 165 Sleeping Dragon and Young Phoenix
Zhao Changhe was so flustered his old face turned the color of an eggplant.
He had truly thought it was a matter of "look once to learn Sword Intent," fooling others was one thing, but this time he had even fooled himself.
Were those things really learned by just glancing once? It was the gold foil repeatedly slowing down to demonstrate dozens or hundreds of times for you to imitate!
Moreover, martial enlightenment and these seemed to really not be the same... The mind understands upon seeing, but as soon as you start, it’s all wasted.
"Umm... I, I’ll come back another day? I’ll go tell stories to the maidservant first..." Seeing that the string was broken and could not be played, Zhao Changhe made a clumsy excuse and ran off as if fleeing for his life.
Tang Wanju sternly watched him leave, until he turned the corner out of the water pavilion and disappeared from sight. Then suddenly, with a "pfft," she laughed softly, murmuring to herself, "No wonder he gets along with Buqi, he’s clearly a big kid."
Bao Qin was sobbing softly, "My qin strings..."
"There, there, Bao Qin, don’t cry, don’t cry. Tomorrow sister will beat him up for you."
"Miss, will you really end up with that smelly bear wu wu wu..."
"No, Zhao Changhe is the man Tang Wanju will never obtain, there, you’ve cried your face all splotchy."
Bao Qin lifted her head, tears swimming in her eyes: "Miss, do you really want to have him?"
Tang Wanju paused, lost in a quiet chuckle: "It’s just following a trope, look where your mind has gone. Rather than saying I want to have him, it’s more like Great Xia wants to have him, but hopefully... it doesn’t become a self-fulfilling prophecy."
Having said that, she rose from her seat and also headed out.
Bao Qin curiously asked, "Where are you going, Miss?"
"There are still a pile of things in Gusu I haven’t finished..." Tang Wanju sighed with some fatigue: "He rushes around restlessly, his heart never at peace, and am I not the same? To steal this half-day of fleeting life, to listen to his stories, to respond with a song on the qin, whether to calm his heart or to rest my own, I can no longer tell."
...
Zhao Changhe swiftly returned to his own guest courtyard and paused upon entering.
Sisi was sprawling on his bed, sound asleep and without any image.
Zhao Changhe recalled the casual question he had asked in the morning... She probably really did not have a place to sleep last night, and who knows, perhaps had spent the night meditating somewhere?
Given her beauty, it was unlikely she was a commoner among the Ancient Spirit Clan, clearly well-nourished and not one to do heavy labor. She thought she was Duan Yu, and when he guessed she was a princess, she hadn’t denied it, so it must be true. But why would a little princess run out to suffer like this?
Moreover, her lack of scruples was not just in matters of propriety and reserve. For instance, at the White Lotus Temple, when he had pushed her to kneel, she had really knelt. This did not seem fitting for a princess either—who would be a princess so willing to lose face?
But no matter what, at this point, the two of them had fought side by side, and were now friends. If she wanted to share her true background and felt able to, she would naturally tell him; forcing it would only make things awkward. Zhao Changhe didn’t think too much at the moment, pulled over a corner of the thin blanket, covered her a bit, and then sat by the window to read his book.
The effect of the qin music was really good; at this moment, his heart was at peace, and the heat of the summer was hardly felt. Books that he could not read more than a few lines were now engaging...
Reflecting on the past, it was more than just hurrying; he had been quite close to running himself ragged.
To slow down...
Haste makes waste.
The Blood Evil entwining his body and Spirit Platform was unknowingly calm as Pinghu; Zhao Changhe even felt that the next flare-up would be delayed significantly.
Sisi opened her eyes on the bed, looked at the thin blanket covering her body, and then at Zhao Changhe, who was quietly reading by the window.
The resentment that filled her had, without her realizing, settled down. She just quietly watched him reading, silent for a long stretch.
"Awake?" Zhao Changhe turned another page of his book and casually asked, "Did you read this book before sleeping?"
Sisi glanced over and saw it was a beginner’s book on couplets, and replied, "Yes, Central Earth culture. I too wanted to learn about it before, but I thought martial arts were more important, so I never had the time. After listening to your stories, I felt a bit of learning could be interesting, so I picked up the maidservants’ and servants’ primer to read a bit."
"How is it? Pretty fun, right, the couplets?"
"It’s mildly entertaining, but not very significant," Sisi lazily got up, brushing her hair back, her exquisite figure evident. But she found Zhao Changhe had not even glanced her way, and felt like the experience of casting a sexy glance at a blind man was rather unexciting: "Hey, you don’t think couplets are more interesting than me, do you?"
"Before, I also didn’t find it interesting, but once my mind is calm, I find it intriguing," Zhao Changhe leisurely said: "The Worldly Society has wine, but no poetry; truly, something is lacking... Great Xia has Tang Wanju, which seems to fill this void."
Sisi was shocked: "You’re talking to me, but thinking about Tang Wanju!"
Zhao Changhe couldn’t help but laugh: "I’m talking about the poetic and picturesque she represents, not her as a person. You’re even less cultured than me."
"Us girls from the Alien Clan, of course, cannot match the refined beauty of the Tang family’s head from Jiangnan!" Sisi ground her teeth: "But poetry and couplets, these boring things, just look once and you know them, what’s so great about that!"
Zhao Changhe was also shocked, "You get it just by glancing? It isn’t as easy as I thought learning to play the zither was, is it?"
Sisi said, "Isn’t it just about finding antonyms or synonyms? What’s so hard about that? Like you, Zhao Changhe, I’ve heard that you once killed a traitor named Wang Dashan. Weren’t you two quite a pair? Such a pity."
Zhao Changhe fell silent, "I also felt that he was a good match for me, so does that mean my cultural level is actually on par with the Alien Clan?"
"So isn’t it that simple?" Sisi countered.
"Changhe is easy to match, but what about something harder? Like a... sailor on the river?"
"Ham."
Zhao Changhe: "?"
"How’s that? Isn’t it very clever?" Sisi, proud and hands on hips, boasted, "I bet I can challenge you with one, see if you’re as smart as me. Hmm... let’s take ’cleverness,’ how would you match that?"
Zhao Changhe was silent for a while, then slowly said, "Idiot?"
Sisi: "?"
The crouching dragon and the hiding phoenix looked at each other, simultaneously pulling straight faces.
Sisi finally realized that this wasn’t so simple; it wasn’t just saying an antonym and calling it a day. But she refused to admit defeat, stiff-necked she said, "What’s the use in matching couplets? All that four-syllable and six-syllable ornate language—it makes your head spin! Is it as interesting as your Heavenly Dragon Eight Parts? Hurry up, keep telling the story. We’ve got you here wasting time on nonsense when you could be finishing your tale. Otherwise, some old lady might come interrupting again, and I’ll never get a satisfying story."
"I’ve been tormented by you to the point that I don’t want to tell it anymore. The story is just a story, with no insinuations. I’m not some fairy brother, and you’re not Jiumozhi. With your way of thinking, the original intent of the story will be lost if you keep listening. It’s not the same when I tell it."
"Then at least finish the story about the maid who can disguise herself?"
"Hmm, first you need to confirm that you’re not her, otherwise I dare not tell it."
"Okay, okay, it’s not me," Sisi relented and moved closer, shaking his shoulder, "Master, come on, tell the story."
"But as the story goes, Duan Yu encountered a bold Great Han in a tavern..." Zhao Changhe finally continued the story. In truth, he had been somewhat reluctant to tell it; a story of a maid skilled in disguise and a bold, rough man in love, how could Sisi not take that as a tease directed at Zhao Changhe himself? No matter how you listened, it was like being teased.
And it was particularly shameless, portraying Qiao Feng with such grandeur and might that anyone hearing it would think Zhao Changhe was singing his own praises. And the Beggar Gang, and the North’s Qiao Feng—why not just directly mention Beimang Mountain Village? A traitor ousted the Village Chief, right?
But the nice thing about Sisi was she never interrupted when listening to a story. She just propped her cheek, her big eyes looking up admiringly, eager for what comes next—god knows what she was imagining.
The story stumbled along until it reached the point where Qiao Feng mistakenly killed Ah Zhu, promising the vast steppe in vain, and only then did Sisi’s expression change, looking at Zhao Changhe as if she wanted to strangle him.
Zhao Changhe helplessly stopped the story and sighed, "So you see, it’s not a veiled allegory written on the spot. I’m not that skilled, and there’s no reason for me to come up with such an ending for you, right?... That’s someone else’s story."
"That’s why you don’t want to disguise yourself as someone else?"
"Hmm... That’s one of the factors," he conceded.
Sisi reflected for a long time, then whispered, "Whether or not you made up the story, you do resemble Qiao Feng in a way... unfortunately, aside from being able to disguise, Sisi has nothing in common with Ah Zhu. If you want such an understanding maid, you might as well ask Tang Buqi for a new one; anyone would be more suited than I am."
"Hey..."
Sisi smirked mischievously, "I didn’t say it was your story, but dare you say you don’t wish for such a maid? It’s just a pity that what you have now is an A’zi."
"Are you done yet? Everything is about you!" Zhao Changhe clenched his fist, pretending to be ready to punch.
Sisi took a defensive stance.
Just as they were about to start a scuffle, a sigh from Tang Wanju came from outside, "I didn’t intend to disturb Young Master Zhao, but I’m afraid our leisurely break has come to an end."
Zhao Changhe paused, "What happened?"
"The Tang family guards at the entrance to the Sword Emperor’s Tomb reported urgent vibrations below, suspecting something has happened," Tang Wanju spoke with a touch of helplessness and fatigue, "It’s only been a day, and your wounds haven’t fully healed. Just as you were beginning to find peace, I really didn’t want to have you deal with this again so soon... But would you be displeased if I didn’t call for you?"
Knowing the playful mood was gone, Sisi’s expression became pensive once more.
Zhao Changhe also felt as if fate was deliberately hastening him, almost suspecting some unseen force was at play. There was no peace to be found, barely having a moment to calm down, tell stories, learn a bit of music, flirt with the maid, and enjoy some playful banter—then, not even a full day later, trouble arises...
Could the earlier hustle and bustle, the exhaustion from constant battles, also be a twist of fate?
Pushed to grow, without regard to the exhaustion of potential, leaving behind troubles. If not for Tang Wanju’s insight, he might never have realized this layer.
But upon reflection, there seemed little to fuss over. Turbulent times don’t afford the luxury of leisure.
With that thought, he let out a carefree smile, "Why force stillness or motion? When things come up, I’ll do them, and once done, I’ll rest. Now that I’m aware of the issues, I’ll naturally be careful. The Sword Emperor’s Tomb needs to be explored anyway. Once this is settled, I’ll join you in your music lessons."
With those words, he turned and lifted the Dragon Sparrow by the window onto his shoulder, and strode out the door, "Let’s go. I’m all thumbs with the zither, but this—this is my time to shine!"
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