Chapter 672: Next to Me
Dusk settled.
The restaurant at the Huaqing Palace Hot Spring Resort buzzed with activity. Merchants clinked wine cups and played drinking games, closing one deal after another amidst the clatter and laughter.
Meanwhile, literati like Wu Shen and Shi Kefa gravitated to the covered bridges and pavilions. They set up tea tables, quietly sipped their brews, and discussed affairs of state, occasionally penning a poem to express their feelings.
The hot spring area already had its share of guests. Men soaked in the pools in small groups, some discussing business, others national matters.
However...
Not a single woman was in sight!
Virtually all the women had retreated to the "private baths" attached to their rooms.
In this era, convincing women to wear swimsuits and bathe in public was simply out of the question.
Deep within the resort lay a "private building," encircled by a bamboo grove that concealed a small, secluded hot spring.
The pool wasn't large. They sat facing each other, their feet inadvertently brushing beneath the water. At first, Gao Yiye would quickly retract her foot, startled. But after several such encounters, she stopped retreating, and their feet eventually rested together.
Gao Yiye's cheeks were flushed, whether from the warmth of the spring or from embarrassment, Li Daoxuan couldn't tell. "Heavenly Lord," she stammered, "um... will you rust if you soak like this?"
"Probably," Li Daoxuan chuckled. "This body wasn't specifically made waterproof. The water's already seeped in."
Gao Yiye gasped, "Oh no, what will you do?"
"Haha, I'll just build a new one."
Gao Yiye blinked, "Huh?"
Concern had clouded her thoughts; she'd almost forgotten that the Heavenly Lord could change bodies at any time.
"This body is merely Prototype One, a basic framework for the blacksmiths to experiment with," Li Daoxuan explained with a smile. "Prototype Two will feature all sorts of strange functions, and I have even more designs in mind for Prototype Three."
Gao Yiye's interest was piqued. "What will Prototype Three have?"
Li Daoxuan grinned. "Both hands will be cannons, thick as my arm. Ammunition can be loaded at the elbow, and removing the palms will reveal the muzzles."
Gao Yiye gasped.
Li Daoxuan continued, "My feet will have two wheels hidden inside. Take off the soles, and I can rollerblade. I'm very good at rollerblading, you know, I practiced a lot."
Gao Yiye covered her face with her hands. "Heavenly Lord, you possess divine power, you can move mountains and fill seas, and you can fly. Why would you still want cannons and rollerblades?"
Li Daoxuan replied, "Life needs variety. Look at Sun Wukong; every time he dealt with a monster, he used a different method. If he always just burrowed into their stomachs and tore their internal organs to shreds, no matter the monster, where would the fun be in that?"
Gao Yiye thought about it carefully, and he was right.
They couldn't find a new topic of conversation and fell into a brief silence.
The sky grew darker, and the night breeze blew gently.
Still, they struggled to find something to say, and the atmosphere grew a little awkward.
Just as Li Daoxuan was racking his brain for a topic, Gao Yiye suddenly leaned forward, throwing herself into his arms. The sudden movement startled him.
"That... pardon my intrusion..." Gao Yiye stammered, "but... I just really want someone close to me."
Hearing her words, Li Daoxuan understood instantly. Her unique status left her isolated, terribly lonely. Perhaps only when she faced him could she experience this most basic human interaction and connection.
And, in truth, wasn't he much the same?
He gently wrapped his arms around her, and they lapsed into silence once more.
Nothing more could happen, but sitting intimately together in the hot spring, a profound sense of peace settled in their hearts—
Huaiqing Prefecture was embroiled in a bloody battle!
The massive rebel army, originally headed for Henan, had been blocked from crossing the river by Li Daoxuan. They had no choice but to turn back and descend upon Huaiqing Prefecture.
With the rebels' current combat strength, ordinary prefectural and county seats were no longer capable of stopping them.
Fortunately, Huaiqing was a prefectural capital.
In these times, only prefectural cities or higher could offer any substantial resistance to the rebels.
The garrison of Huaiqing Prefecture, relying on its towering city walls, had held out for many days. Piles of bodies lay beneath the walls, and many government soldiers had fallen dead on the ramparts. The city's common folk also hauled stones and boiled water, hurling them down at the attackers. From time to time, a civilian would be struck by an arrow and plummet from the walls.
The roars and screams blended into a cacophony of agony.
Henan Governor Fan Shangzheng led three thousand Henan garrison troops, intending to relieve the siege from outside. However, his forces were too weak, and the Henan soldiers were notoriously ineffective in battle. They couldn't possibly contend with the two hundred thousand rebels and were utterly powerless to help.
He could only circle the periphery, searching for an opportunity to break through. But let alone pushing their way in, he couldn't even find a decent place nearby to establish a temporary camp and rest.
Circling about, Fan Shangzheng eventually arrived a hundred li south of Huaiqing Prefecture.
A scout galloped up. "Reporting, Governor! Wen County is ahead."
"Wen County?" Fan Shangzheng had heard the name not long ago. "Sima Yi's hometown, wasn't it? Not long ago, the Eight Great Kings of the West Camp landed on Wen County's banks and captured the city. Nine out of ten residents were slaughtered... The imperial court appointed a new magistrate, but no one dared take the post. In the end, it was Qiu Qianfan, the Prefect of Puzhou, who recommended a young man for the position."
Fan Shangzheng shook his head. "Wen County must be a desolate sight by now, surely?"
The scout replied, "Wen County has just reorganized its city walls. It looks quite respectable now, and perhaps suitable for our army to rest and recuperate."
"What?"
Fan Shangzheng thought his ears were failing him. "The new magistrate is that capable?"
The scout nodded.
Fan Shangzheng commanded, "Then let's make haste."
Fan Shangzheng rushed his three thousand ragtag soldiers towards Wen County.
He still harbored doubts about the scout's words, but when his army reached the foot of Wen County's walls, he realized the scout hadn't exaggerated.
Wen County, ravaged by the Eight Great Kings of the West Camp not long ago, had surprisingly risen again. The damaged city walls had clearly been rebuilt. Though not yet towering, they now stood at a height of two meters, once again possessing basic defensive capabilities.
On the ramparts, ordinary citizens could still be seen carrying stones and baskets of mud, continuing to reinforce the walls.
Fan Shangzheng's spirits lifted. Overjoyed, he exclaimed, "There are walls! We can rest here for a while."
Just as he was celebrating, a head suddenly popped up from the city wall.
He actually recognized this person: the hero Xiao Qiushui, whom he had met once in Mengjin county.
Fan Shangzheng asked, "Ah? Oh? Aren't you Xiao Qiushui?"
The one who poked his head out from the city wall was none other than the Heavenly Lord (Test Model 02). "Oh? Governor, long time no see! What have you been busy with lately? Have you eaten yet?"
Li Daoxuan's string of traditional Chinese greetings instantly bewildered Fan Shangzheng.
After a moment, Fan Shangzheng responded with a wry smile, "Hero Xiao, could you do me a favor and ask the magistrate of Wen County to come out and meet me?"
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