Chaotic World Book
Chapter 183 - 179: The Wind Rises at Yanmen

Chapter 183: Chapter 179: The Wind Rises at Yanmen

The sun dipped below the lake, and as the small boat reached the shore, the two indulged in a lavish full fish banquet at a lakeside fisherman’s house before cheerily returning home.

Such days had been rare since they crossed over. Zhao Changhe now somewhat regretted not having stayed a few more days at the Cui Family’s home initially.

Although he claimed to have spent three days playing at the riverside horse grounds with Yangyang, it was primarily to learn horsemanship, not merely to enjoy the pleasures of leisure.

Thinking back to the girl’s regretful gaze, he too harbored some regrets.

After such a long separation, he wondered how Yangyang was doing now, if he had forgotten her... In fact, Zhao Changhe still believed that what Yangyang called "liking" him was more about dependency and emotion born from danger rather than true love; such feelings might have dissipated over time. That was also what Cui Wenjing’s invitation every three years meant—clearly, the old fox felt the same.

At that time, it would have been better to be more decisive, to stamp a kiss on the girl’s plump lips. He probably wouldn’t need to consider all this now...

Back then, he was too naive, undeserving the title of a scoundrel.

Was it the same now? Zhao Changhe stole a glance at Tang Wanju, who was silently walking beside him, and sighed.

This was different.

This difference precisely lay in his expressed disinterest, which reassured her, making it safe to be close. Teasing her verbally was one thing, but real desire would assuredly ruin everything.

What a pity, she was truly beautiful, breathtakingly so.

Especially now, with a hint of melancholy in her expression, she resembled a troubled beauty from the west, making him wish he had the artistic skills to capture this moment of beauty.

Between men and women, there was never truly just friendship. No preconceived notions could alter the natural attraction when faced with such beauty.

"What are you thinking about?" Zhao Changhe couldn’t help but strike up a conversation.

"I was thinking about your song. It’s a pity, Wanzhuang cannot smile at this mundane world. Perhaps in many years looking back, I might be able to."

That was not Yue Hongling’s song; she was still too naive for such emotions, perhaps she might reach that state in the future... And if Tang Wanju let go of her burdens, she could too.

That might have been Zhao Changhe advising her to "be carefree," albeit unnecessary, as that was a future she once hoped for herself.

Who wouldn’t want to live singing and drinking merrily, laughing at the mundane world and wandering freely?

Sadly, she was not capable of such a disposition now, and more pitifully, she might never have a future.

Even stealing a single day of this fleeting life made Tang Wanju feel somewhat guilty, bringing about an ominous premonition of something imminent.

As the pair leisurely headed back to the Tang estate, it had grown quite late. Wu Weiyang, a high official of the Demon Suppression Department, rushed into Tang Wanju’s waterside pavilion and saw Bao Qin sitting on a rock, lost in thought.

"Miss Qin, is the head in her chamber? Please, I must see her," Wu Weiyang requested.

Bao Qin looked up in a daze: "The lady is not at home."

Wu Weiyang asked, "Oh, where has the head gone on official business? I shall seek her there."

"...Why must the lady always be on official business whenever she’s not resting?"

Wu Weiyang was confused: "Ah?"

Bao Qin rested her chin on her knees, muttering, "But I don’t know if the lady considers this official business. Not taking Bao Qin with her, does she no longer need Bao Qin..."

Wu Weiyang: "¿"

Just then, Tang Wanju stepped into the courtyard: "Weiyang, why are you here? What has happened?"

"Head!" Wu Weiyang hurried forward, lowering his voice: "Urgent news from the frontier, Northern Hu has amassed troops at Yanmen, shaking the capital."

Bao Qin was startled, looked up, and Tang Wanju stood there silently, not speaking for a long while.

Wu Weiyang also carefully observed her expression, finding it unexpectedly calm.

No signs of the expected anger or anxiety, but rather... a hint of regret?

After a pause, Tang Wanju sighed softly: "When Chi Li first came to Jiangnan, it must have been to communicate with Maitreya... Since the barbarians have mobilized, Maitreya’s response must be imminent."

"Yes, I sought the head precisely for this, Maitreya is very likely to marshal forces in response in the coming days. We are here in Jiangnan, what should we do?"

Tang Wanju shook her head slightly: "These days, we have already directed the Demon Suppression Department brothers within Maitreya’s force to act covertly; the future coordination is set. As for anything else, our duty restricts us... we can do no more."

She paused, then added: "I will go to Jinling immediately to oversee the situation. As long as Jinling stands and coordinates with Gusu, and with the support of Yangzhou in Jiangbei, the situation is not too dire. Actually, if Maitreya chooses to marshal forces now, the timing is not yet ripe, and surely it will not succeed."

Wu Weiyang nodded: "Yes, fortunately, the matter between Su Yang and the two states... that person did beautifully."

Zhao Changhe lowered his voice, "Don’t say we couldn’t have seen it coming, he probably didn’t expect the impact of casually solving two cases to be so significant either. It really is destiny."

Tang Wanju responded indifferently, "Be cautious with your words."

Wu Weiyang pursed his lips and whispered, "Maitreya’s actions are premature, and perhaps still manageable... But once the precedent is set, with thieves uprising, Aristocratic Families entrenching, and Sects defending themselves, the world will descend into chaos."

It was unclear whether his words were purely out of concern or if he was subtly inciting the Tang Family to seize control of Jiangdong. Thinking back to what Zhao Changhe had said the day before, Tang Wanju sighed softly, not responding to those words but instead saying, "Before I go to Jinling, I still need to find Zhao Changhe; there are some matters left unfinished that must be concluded. You go find my brother... no, find the one in seclusion, Wu Weiyang, and ask him to come out and help him manage Gusu."

Wu Weiyang bowed in acceptance, "Yes."

Tang Wanju said no more and, with a flicker of her figure, was gone to the guesthouse.

...

At this moment, Zhao Changhe was still lying in bed reading the Heavenly Book.

This time, he was no longer faced with that old man, the Sword Emperor, but rather Tang Wanju from earlier that morning, who had helped him modify his ultimate skills during sparing practice.

He knew it was just an illusion, but it felt too real – even the slight annoyance in her eyes when he made a mistake during the practice reappeared in full. Her familiar scent seemed so real as if she was truly beside him, and her slowed movements allowed him to even see the fine sweat on her hands.

Zhao Changhe felt as if, with her slow movements, he could easily just embrace and kiss her.

But this damn thing was just an illusion, untouchable even; wasn’t it somewhat perverted to even have such thoughts?

Tragically, although he intended to review his skills from the Heavenly Book, he didn’t practice at all and ended up daydreaming instead.

He really had been bottled up too long... Zhao Changhe even thought, maybe he could deal with it himself? He couldn’t always wait for Chichi, and Chichi felt he shouldn’t hold back and encouraged him to find someone... but if he didn’t find someone, then guiding himself wouldn’t be a crime right?

Yet he felt it too low to turn to self-guide at this point, wouldn’t he be embarrassed to high heaven, maybe even to Otherworld?

Caught in his dilemma, he thought he heard Tang Wanju speaking, "Young Master Zhao..."

Zhao Changhe was stunned, "Holy shit? Am I so perverted that I’m hallucinating?"

Tang Wanju’s voice sounded very odd, "What is perverted?"

The voice was outside! Zhao Changhe suddenly realized, snapping out of his Heavenly Book induced illusion, stuffed the golden pages into his bosom, and jumped up to open the door.

Indeed, it was the real Tang Wanju standing there, eyeing him suspiciously from head to toe, "Young Master Zhao... What illusion did you experience?"

Zhao Changhe: "..."

Could anyone not think he was dreaming about Tang Wanju?

"Uh no..." Zhao Changhe, incredibly embarrassed, decided not to continue that topic and instead asked directly, "What brings you here so late?"

Fortunately, Tang Wanju wasn’t interested in pursuing whether he was having a sensual dream, instead saying, "With the Northern Hu moving south and Maitreya stirring trouble now, this time it’s not that you urgently have to leave, but rather that I must go."

Zhao Changhe tensed up and pressed his lips together.

Tang Wanju continued, "It’s a pity that your lute training only got started. I wonder if amidst the roving life ahead in the Worldly Society you’ll still have the heart to continue practicing the lute..."

Zhao Changhe could only respond, "I might practice it if I get a chance. But are you implying that you want me to leave? Didn’t you plan to keep me here to help out?"

"Such affairs of armies and battles are unsuitable for you now, merely wasting time amongst the military with no purpose," Tang Wanju said. "You should leave Jiangnan quickly and seek ways to improve elsewhere. My visit today is to fulfill a few promises I intended to teach you slowly."

Zhao Changhe had almost forgotten what those promises were: "What promises?"

"I initially intended for you to calm your spirit and slow down..." Firstly, she wanted him not to recklessly exhaust his potential and rush for success but to allow for some settling; secondly, to teach you the Tang Family’s Moon Reflected in Water mental method at the right time, to help stabilize your Spirit Platform, rid the Blood Vicious Bead of its mixed Qi, and to extract Evil Qi - it wasn’t really just about playing the instrument." Tang Wanju handed over two booklets, "Now that there isn’t enough time, I can only give you these secret books, unable to teach you in detail."

"..." Zhao Changhe almost really forgot about this, feeling recently that writing and playing the lute had been enough... Only now remembering, these were indeed just the foundation for learning the mental method, and studying the mental method was for handling the Blood Vicious Bead...

It was impressive that Tang Wanju still remembered clearly.

He took them without hesitation, "Thanks. Huh? Why two?"

"If you learn the Tang family’s mental method, you can use our Water Stepping Light Skill, which is one of your weaknesses; it should complement your Martial Arts well," Tang Wanju explained.

Zhao Changhe was silent for a moment, then sighed, "You said your mom never even sang a nursery rhyme to you, but I feel my mom was just about the same. With all you’re doing, it makes it even harder for me to leave."

Tang Wanju gave a slight smile, "You should know why I’m so good to you; it needn’t be seen as a debt of gratitude in the Worldly Society. If you do feel a bit of gratitude, you should know what I want to see... and that’s certainly not to see you wasting away here."

Zhao Changhe couldn’t hold back and finally asked, "If it were a Zhang San or Li Si who was a Prince, would you have done the same for him?"

Tang Wanju subconsciously wanted to say yes, but as the words reached her lips, she suddenly choked up and couldn’t say it.

The two stood in front of the house under the moonlight, quietly looking into each other’s eyes, suddenly speechless.