Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 495 - Three Hundred and Twenty-Three: Marquis Wucheng_2

Chapter 495: Chapter Three Hundred and Twenty-Three: Marquis Wucheng_2

"My lord, Prince Wu Yuan arrived at the Barbarian Tribe Holy City four days ago."

"Qingyan... came to the Extreme Black Lands?"

A murmur followed, and as Qian Liang Cao lowered his eyes, he heard the rustling of scrolls being placed on the desk, and Marquis Wucheng’s slightly aged voice carried a hint of contemplation:

"Is this matter related to the fluctuation of Origin Qi from underground that occurred a decade ago?"

Qian Liang Cao hesitated a moment before responding:

"This humble one does not know, but accompanying His Highness was a sanctified Barbarian King..."

Before he could finish,

a sudden deadliness swept through the tent, and the Bright Pattern Lamp flickered unpredictably.

Seeing this, Qian Liang Cao quickened his speech, not daring to beat around the bush:

"...but he was slain by His Highness using a military formation, although it seems His Highness was seriously injured, and also... the three camps within the Barbarian Tribe Holy City have lost their combat strength."

As the Bright Pattern Lamp returned to normal, Marquis Wucheng did not reply immediately; the tapping of his fingertips on the desk echoed within the tent.

"Tap... tap... tap..."

After a few moments,

Marquis Wucheng’s voice carried a trace of hesitation:

"Are you saying that Qingyan managed to slay the Saint with an army of ten thousand?"

"Yes."

"...."

For a brief time, silence filled the main tent.

After a while,

"Impressive..."

Marquis Wucheng seemed to finally digest the information, his breath carrying a faint, almost imperceptible smile, robust and vigorous:

"Impressive, impressive! This lass Qingyan is remarkable! With the Barbarian King gone, the rest are nothing but chickens and dogs.

"It seems our soldiers can head back home ahead of schedule."

With that, Marquis Wucheng paused a moment, his voice much slower:

"Are you saying, you’ve come here to seek reinforcements?"

He had left half a town’s worth of the Northern Border Army in the Barbarian Tribe Holy City because it housed an abundant supply of provisions. If anything were to go wrong, the nearly one hundred thousand men of the Northern Border Army, deep in enemy territory, would be cut off from their supplies.

One hundred thousand troops in the Extreme Black Lands, tens of thousands of li from Dayan Territory, cut off from supplies...

Qian Liang Cao’s heart relaxed, and he quickly replied:

"That’s only one reason; aside from that, there is another matter requiring your lordship’s decision."

"Oh? Speak."

"His Highness brought back someone capable of standing against a Saint in Mortal Transcendence, and the Barbarian King was slain jointly by His Highness and that transcendent being. Also..."

At this point, Qian Liang Cao suddenly realized he should not speak any further.

His Highness’s private affairs were not for them to discuss rashly, especially not in front of Marquis Wucheng, who had watched His Highness grow up.

Unexpectedly, Marquis Wucheng’s voice did not carry much anger but instead flowed with his words, saying:

"...and also, this person in Mortal Transcendence is closely related to Qingyan?"

Qian Liang Cao cursed himself silently for being verbose, but at this moment, he could only brace himself and say:

"...Yes, that transcendent individual used His Highness’s personal belongings."

"No need to be nervous."

Marquis Wucheng’s tone was calm and thoughtful, "With Qingyan’s temperament, since she agreed to the marriage contract with the Saint and that old thief’s third son, it is unlikely she would renege on it."

Upon hearing this, Qian Liang Cao subconsciously looked up at Marquis Wucheng behind the desk, only to see no trace of anger on the other’s wrinkled face, instead a hint of curiosity.

And when Marquis Wucheng noticed Qian Liang Cao’s gaze, he let out a soft sigh:

"Yushu, since you mentioned it, this marquis has become quite curious about that person in Mortal Transcendence."

As he spoke,

Marquis Wucheng thoughtfully stood up from the short-legged dragon table and the cushion behind it, his voice imbued with Origin Qi, echoing forth:

"Mu Ziqing, convey my military order, have the First Town’s Wu Battalion and the Mysterious Machine Battalion start the fires for cooking and follow me to the Holy City immediately."

...

...

...

In the Barbarian Tribe Holy City, silence filled the side chamber.

"Ah..."

A sigh escaped.

Sitting on the unusually large stone couch, Xu Yuan, with eyes downcast, stared blankly at his palm.

Clench, release, clench again, release again.

Feeling the sensation of weakness spread throughout his body, he sighed deeply.

His power was gone...

Although he had been prepared for it, the frailness that came with returning to Soul Condensation after experiencing the power of Mortal Transcendence left him somewhat disheartened.

"What are you doing?"

Suddenly, Li Qingyan’s voice drifted from the other side of the chamber, "It’s been half an hour, sighing all the while; you could have been stabilizing your realm by now."

Xu Yuan clicked his tongue and instinctively looked toward the direction of the voice, but all he saw was darkness.

His once crystal-clear sight and hearing, now without accessing his cultivation technique, couldn’t even discern her outline.

"Ah..."

He sighed again, deeply.

The loss of the Mortal Transcendence body and return to Soul Condensation made him yearn for the almost invincible power he once possessed.

It is easy to adapt to extravagance, but difficult to return to frugality.

At the very least,

he wished he could have returned to the capital and beaten Xu Changge as revenge before losing it again...

With that thought,

"Sigh..."

"...." Li Qingyan.

In less than half an hour, there were several hundred sighs.

Even a person with the self-control of Li Qingyan, sometimes couldn’t withstand the dense resentment emanating from the dead that seemed almost ready to overflow.

Taking a deep breath, Li Qingyan slowly stood up and walked directly towards the outside of the room.

Her lotus shoes touched the ground softly, nearly silent.

It wasn’t until the wooden door creaked that Xu Yuan realized the woman beside him had left. He instinctively called out,

"Where are you going?"

"To get some air."

Li Qingyan turned back at the door and snorted softly, "If I don’t go out, I’ll be suffocated by someone’s resentment."

"...."

Upon hearing this, a fiery glow lit up in Xu Yuan’s eyes. He took in his surroundings and slowly stood up,

"I’ll accompany you."

"If you sigh again and disturb me, don’t blame me for being rude."

Under her fierce gaze, Xu Yuan was forced to begin sorting out his dispirited mood.

Soon, he amusingly found that his body was much stronger than before.

From the perspective of a Soul Condensation expert.

The stock of Origin Qi inside his body had increased by nearly a half, and had a firm foundation. If there were a way to measure strength in this world, he was at least twice as strong as he had initially been.

Moreover, he could still use the spiritual sight that he had as a half ghostly body.

But using that ability consumed a great deal, and with his current level of cultivation, he couldn’t sustain it for long.

Now, if he were to face a Fourth Grade Integration Body that cultivated in martial formations again, it would be nearly impossible for him to lose, and he might even have a chance in a battle against those who practiced cultivating energy.

While pondering over this, Xu Yuan felt a bit better. He walked slowly to Li Qingyan and said softly,

"Let’s go."

Li Qingyan pursed her lips, looking at his cheek no longer carved with patterned imprints, and suddenly said in a low comforting voice,

"Actually, with your talent, Xu Changtian, reaching Mortal Transcendence is just a matter of time, maybe after twenty years...."

"Twenty years?"

"Yes, just twenty...."

"Sigh..."

"...." Li Qingyan.

Clenching her fist, Li Qingyan squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth,

"Xu Changtian, if you dare to sigh again, I won’t be polite."

Xu Yuan looked at her, sadness flickering through his blood-colored pupils. He said in a low tone,

"Back then in the Underground Palace I was forced to become a half ghost...."

"..."

Li Qingyan’s eyes twitched, and she raised her hand to interrupt, "Enough, enough, I already know."

Xu Yuan smiled wryly upon hearing this,

"Alright, let’s go out. It’s been three days; you should attend to military affairs too. There were many casualties among the soldiers during the formation battles."

As he spoke,

Xu Yuan raised his hand to gain leverage.

Li Qingyan’s eyes, filled as if with stars, suddenly narrowed.

A sorrowful look crossed Xu Yuan’s gaze.

Li Qingyan’s chest heaved slightly, and she snorted, shifting her gaze away.

Slap~

The soft, comfortable touch on his fingertips offered Xu Yuan a little mental comfort, and it reminded her of something. Suddenly she asked,

"Right, Qingyan, I remember you promising me...."

"We need to hurry and handle the military affairs,"

Li Qingyan interrupted bluntly, stepping over the threshold and heading into the courtyard with brisk steps, not looking back.

"....."

Xu Yuan opened his mouth.

He was such a fool to believe the nonsense from this woman.

He stepped down, instinctively wanting to teleport behind this woman who played with his emotions.

Then,

’Thud.’

A figure fell straight into the half-meter-deep layer of silver sand in the courtyard.

"....."

Li Qingyan looked back instinctively, confusion in her eyes, which quickly turned into understanding. She sighed and approached the hole, looking down at him beneath the snow,

"With such a big incident happening here, Uncle Mu might head south at any moment. Do you want to reveal yourself before him?"

With that,

She smirked slightly, bent her slender waist, and stretched out her hand to him,

"Let’s wait until we leave the Barbarian Tribe Holy City first. I never go back on my word, if.... if you can, Xu Changtian."

"......"

Caught in the snow, Xu Yuan looked up at her, grabbed her extended wrist, and was pulled out from the snow with a swipe. He dusted the snow off his body,

"You’ll know whether I can or can’t after we try."

"Good, then I look forward to it."

Having said that, the two set off together toward the outside of the courtyard.

Just then, Li Qingyan suddenly looked up at the sky.

She saw the towering figure that had been standing in the sky for several days now, seemingly exhausting all its Origin Qi, silently plummeting toward the ground...