Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 525 - Three Hundred and Thirty-Nine: Goodbye_2

Chapter 525: Chapter Three Hundred and Thirty-Nine: Goodbye_2

"... After months apart, our Changtian has learned to talk back, huh."

"I wasn’t talking back."

Xu Yuan stood at attention, feeling the touch on his chest, and looked up, keeping his eyes straight ahead: "I was just telling the truth, and besides, Sister, haven’t I returned alive?"

Lou Ji didn’t get angry but instead chuckled:

"Surviving is just the beginning."

Xu Yuan blinked, then suddenly grabbed Lou Ji’s fair wrists with both hands, and said cheerily:

"Sis, don’t be mad, I already have a suspect in mind."

"...."

Looking at his smiling face, Lou Ji took a deep breath to calm her annoyed mood, forcefully pushed away the hand that had grabbed his collar, and snorted coldly, "Do I need your suspect?"

"...."

The great force sent Xu Yuan stumbling back more than ten steps before his form uncontrollably collapsed onto the ground.

Surprised at the feeling inside, Xu Yuan didn’t hurry to stand up, but looked at her in the hall with slight amazement:

"Sis, do you know who did it?"

Lou Ji glanced coldly at him, sat back in her chair, leaned against the backrest, crossed her legs elegantly, and folded her arms across her chest:

"Li Zhaoyuan."

"..."

Xu Yuan got to his feet, dusting off his buttocks, trotted back behind Lou Ji, and while continuing to wait on the old aunt, he asked softly:

"Does Father know too?"

"He knows, but since there’s no evidence, the Emperor protected Li Zhaoyuan," Lou Ji said with a cold look in her eyes.

She was very dissatisfied with this decision.

Xu Yuan’s hands paused slightly as he murmured, "Is that so...."

Lou Ji let out a snort upon hearing this, her tone laced with sarcasm:

"Don’t worry, Changtian, if you had really died, Sister could have sent Li Zhaoyuan down to accompany you even without evidence."

Xu Yuan offered a sheepish smile and continued to knead her soft shoulders:

"Hmm... let’s not, I don’t want to die."

"You don’t get to choose now. If he leaks the information, your life won’t be peaceful from now on."

"Li Zhaoyuan is a smart man, he wouldn’t do such a thing."

A trace of contemplation flickered through Xu Yuan’s eyes as he gently shook his head: "Hmm... at least not until he returns to the Imperial Capital."

Li Zhaoyuan’s cultivation was much higher than his; his near First Grade skill allowed him to comfortably face most assassination attempts.

Even in death, he could leave traces on his attacker.

But if Lou Ji said she could make Li Zhaoyuan disappear without a trace, then she certainly could.

At this thought, Xu Yuan suddenly realized a problem.

Wait, does Li Zhaoyuan know about this?

If Li Zhaoyuan is unaware that Lou Ji could make him disappear, then his current information....

"...." Xu Yuan looked towards her elegantly pinned-up hair.

Lou Ji sighed and said:

"Don’t worry... I have already warned him."

Sure enough, a reliable big sister.

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan chuckled and pressed down even more vigorously.

Lou Ji let out a soft hum, and the smile grew at the corner of her red lips:

"So, Changtian, can you tell your sister where you’ve been these past few months?"

Xu Yuan’s eyes flashed and he spoke lightly:

"Nothing much, just got transported to the Extreme Black Lands with the Barbarian King, and then killed the Sacred Barbarian King with the help of the Northern Border Army’s formation along with Li Qingyan, that’s all."

Lou Ji frowned slightly:

"You killed the Sacred Barbarian King?"

"Yes." Xu Yuan nodded.

Lou Ji circled her soft arms, tapping her fingertips thoughtfully:

"The merit of slaying a Sacred Barbarian King... It seems the attitude of that Wu Yuan girl is becoming increasingly important for the future power struggle in the Imperial City."

"Sis, the Barbarian King was killed by both her and me."

"Pfft...."

"...." Xu Yuan.

After a moment of silence,

Lou Ji exhaled with a suppressed laugh and skipped over the topic, turning her chair to face him and said with a soft chuckle:

"Changtian, sister heard that on your journey south, you also encountered that Jiatiange’s Saintess?"

"...."

Xu Yuan saw the smile in the other’s eyes and his dissatisfaction immediately dissipated.

Dammit, the fun-lover wanted to see some fun.

The water that had been so carefully stilled might now be disrupted by this fun-lover.

Without any hesitation, Xu Yuan changed the subject:

"Right, but why would she have my maternal uncle’s token in her hand?"

"Hmm... how would I know the temperament of your maternal uncle, brother?"

Lou Ji, with her legs crossed and her fair toes hooking her high-heeled lotus boots, swaying them back and forth, propped her cheek and steered the conversation back:

"However, Changtian, I don’t think I’ve ever met the Saintess. Why didn’t you bring her along with Wu Yuan to meet me this time?"

Xu Yuan’s expression remained unchanged as he responded with a light chuckle, giving his prepared explanation:

"Actually, I wanted to, but unlike me, they’re not idle. One has to go to the army camp, and the other has to meet with people from the sects."

Previously, when Xu Yuan first met Lou Ji in Northern Border City, she hadn’t clashed with Li Qingyan, but this time it was not a certainty, not to mention the presence of the dullest Washboard Saintess.

The waters were too deep, and he was not yet sure of his grasp on the situation.

Lou Ji’s slender index finger tapped her cheek, slightly bored:

"Is that so? Then let’s leave it be for now. After the matters of the Northern Frontier are concluded, I’ll be able to meet her in the Imperial Capital."

Xu Yuan felt relieved at her words, but then as if remembering something, he looked towards the screen outside.

A one-way screen, it allowed him to see from inside to the outside.

The man in black was still half-kneeling in the snow, with an inch of accumulated snow on his shoulders.

After a moment’s pause, Xu Yuan asked softly:

"By the way, sister, that person outside..."

"He’s in charge of monitoring Li Zhaoyuan, back to report information now," Lou Ji replied offhandedly.

"Oh?" Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow.

Lou Ji spoke with a hint of amusement:

"Why, are you interested, Changtian?"

"Naturally, this fellow wanted to kill me."

A sharp light flashed in Xu Yuan’s eyes, and after a brief pause, he asked, "But given Li Zhaoyuan’s cultivation level, shouldn’t it be easy for him to detect these Black Scale Guards?"

When he had passed by the man in black previously, he had scanned the other party with his spiritual vision.

The aura was unfathomable, but still seemed a bit weaker compared to the Washboard Saintess and company.

"Right, it’s really just to irk him by placing a thorn under his eye," Lou Ji said with a smile on her lips.

Xu Yuan hummed inquisitively, asking:

"If that’s the case, there probably wouldn’t be any useful intelligence, would there?"

"There is one thing though."

"What is it?"

...

After a moment of eye contact, Lou Ji spoke in a lower tone: "Tonight, he brazenly had a secret meeting with people from the Sect Alliance at the Prince’s residence."

Xu Yuan pondered for a moment. His face showed no surprise as he chuckled and shook his head:

"That’s certainly something he would do."

Seeing his calm reaction, Lou Ji asked with a slightly curious tone:

"Changtian, aren’t you surprised?"

"What is there to be surprised about?"

Xu Yuan looked through the screen at the night snow flying around and said, "Sister, do you think the Emperor knows about Li Zhaoyuan’s past secret dealings with the sects?"

Lou Ji raised her eyebrows slightly, a hint of interest flashing in her green eyes as she looked at his profile:

"He should be aware, even I know a thing or two about it, so the Emperor surely knows, especially since Li Zhaoyuan has made it clear he’s after the Crown Prince’s position. There are only so many paths he can take."

"Indeed, the Emperor, despite knowing this, still forgave him for the assassination attempt on Qingyan, and even protected him in front of my father..."

Xu Yuan sighed softly, a trace of killing intent in his voice: "...that can only mean he’s a candidate for the next Emperor. If I can think of this, Li Zhaoyuan must have too.

"If I were him, I would definitely reveal such crucial matters to the sects, telling them that it was time to double down on their bet."

Lou Ji’s eyes narrowed slightly, her voice very light:

"Now that the Northern Border Sects have yet to be extinguished, and the Sect Alliance is exerting pressure, can the Emperor really tolerate Li Zhaoyuan contacting the sects at such a critical time?"

Xu Yuan shook his head slightly in response and smiled back:

"As for that, I’m not too sure. After all, what the current Emperor is really thinking, even my father may not understand.

"Whether he wishes for our Prime Minister’s Mansion to die, or for the sects to die, or perhaps, to completely incite a war between the sects and the Imperial Court before our demise..."

The current situation was very tense.

If the Sect Alliance wanted to disrupt the Three Prefectures of the Northern Frontier, they would inevitably have to apply pressure elsewhere, and with just a hint of carelessness, a black swan event could occur.

With that thought,

Xu Yuan took a deep breath, gathered his thoughts, and spoke to Lou Ji with a soft chuckle:

"Sister, talking about these matters is still too premature. Right now, I’d like to meet Li Zhaoyuan."