Peace Order
Chapter 281 - 130: High-spirited, Forever Elegant_2

Chapter 281: Chapter 130: High-spirited, Forever Elegant_2

"If you can’t say it, I’ll write it down for you. Then you just memorize what I’ve written. The Emperor of Chen Country cares about his face; he won’t stop you from leaving. Even if it irks him, he will give you enough gold, gems, and silk."

"Along the way, you can trade for things that are easier to sell."

Qibi Li looked at those skeletal children and said, "Even right under the feet of the Emperor, the trade of human lives occurs, yet they can, albeit grudgingly, bestow upon me gold and jewels. How can such absurdity coexist?"

Breaking Army said, "Such is a time of chaos."

So Qibi Li laughed heartily. He waved his hand, and the children gathered before him. The Khan left the shadows and went to bid farewell to the Emperor. He left quickly, and the Emperor presented him with a thousand gold coins, as well as various kinds of jewels and silks, which took three carriages to carry.

The officials who saw him off took him outside the city gates. No one knew that he had Martial Arts cultivation nearing the Fourth Layer Heaven, nor did anyone know he bore the Dharma Form of a Gray Wolf. His ears were incredibly sharp, and he overheard the officials speaking privately.

"To just give such things, His Majesty really looks down upon them."

"They’re just a small tribe with a few thousand families; these goods are sufficient, insignificant compared to a town of our great Chen Country."

"Even though they look down on such small tribes, to still give a thousand gold coins, carriages full of silks and jewels, it’s already extravagant."

"Indeed, how else to demonstrate the grace of our Central Plains’ great country, the Saint Emperor?"

Qibi Li saw people in silks, noticed the extravagance of the inns hosting foreign envoys, including Buddhists, Taoists, musicians, and barely touched meat on the tables. People came and went, the wind blew across their stooped backs, and so he laughed, a laugh filled with desolation and sorrow yet brimming with bold spirit.

He let the children sit in the carriages, slapped the gold rings on the reins with his curved saber, and sang loudly, his voice desolate and carrying far:

"Chi Le River, by the base of Yin Mountain. The sky like a dome, covers the wilderness."

"The sky vast, the field boundless."

"The wind blows low the grass, revealing sheep and cattle!"

On the day that Qibi Li and Breaking Army chatted leisurely, Qibi Li left the Xue Family from the shadows, and Breaking Army also took his leave. Now in the service of the Seventh Prince, though it was known that the Seventh Prince longed to form a caravan with the Xue Family, it was still inappropriate to linger here for long.

Li Guanyi saw off everyone, then he stood there quietly, his gaze drifting to the corner of the wall. The young man thought for a moment, then walked over. There was a willow tree by the wall corner, and beside the willow was a lotus pond. Li Guanyi frowned.

Strange...

He reached out, touching the Ancestor Acupoint between his brows. The acupoint was open, his Primordial Spirit clear, able to sense impending danger, rendering the secret techniques of the Mystical Sect such as those of the Yin Yang and Taoist and the Buddhist Sects, ineffective. But now, there were no changes in his Ancestor Acupoint. Yet, he felt as if someone was there.

The young man considered for a moment, then stretched out a finger to probe forward.

Then his finger was clamped down.

Ripples shimmered in the space before him as if lifting a curtain, revealing silver hair first, followed by a delicate, fair visage, clear eyes, and a book pinching Li Guanyi’s finger.

Shaking Light.

She knew Formation and Stargazing Skills, but her body wasn’t much stronger than that of an ordinary person.

She had only concealed herself with a Formation.

The girl looked at Li Guanyi; the young man crouched before her, his finger pinched by the scroll, a smile appeared on his face, "I knew it was you."

The girl with silver hair, her voice ripples free, said, "You knew?"

"I guessed."

Li Guanyi replied with a smile.

After all, besides a certain old man, only you would appear here.

He didn’t voice this thought but simply smiled, plucking the willow leaf from her shoulder, standing up. Shaking Light looked up as the sunlight filtered through the willow leaves, the young man standing there, one hand on the sword at his waist, the other holding the willow leaf, his expression serene yet distant.

The hair near his temples lifted slightly, his eyes no longer showing the unrestrained manner of the young knight of yore.

Shaking Light pondered, her face void of emotion, simply stood up.

She thought and chose her actions based on the records in the scrolls.

Li Guanyi was mulling over the world before him: Breaking Army’s strategies, the chaos of the realm, the warlords beyond the borders, the splintered Turkic tribes, the Eighteen States of Jiangnan, the quest for vengeance for his parents, the competition of Heavenly Mandates swirling together into a vortex. Then suddenly, someone took his hand.

Delicate and cool like jade, he lowered his head to see the silver-haired girl silently holding his hand, then gave it a gentle shake, presumably an attempt to act coquettishly, at least mimicking a similar action from some record in the scrolls.

But the girl’s expression was plain and peaceful, her face devoid of any expression.

She didn’t say anything like "no matter how you change, I’ll always be here."

She just shook Li Guanyi’s hand, her voice quiet, saying:

"I want to eat some pastries."

"Huh?"

Li Guanyi was taken aback, his manner dispersing, and Shaking Light’s emotionless attempt at acting spoiled somehow made him burst out laughing. He chuckled heartily, then laughed loudly, reaching out, letting the wind blow the willow leaf away, and laid his hand on Shaking Light’s head, his smile unrestrained, his eyes shining, as if in the past, saying:

"What would you like to eat?"

Shaking Light said, "Roast bun..."

"Stop it!"

Li Guanyi seemed annoyed, laughing as he interrupted her, "A burnt black bun drizzled with honey is a disgrace to farmers; don’t mention your recipes ever again." The young man seemed nearly vexed, then he placed his sword back at his waist, thought for a moment, and said: