Chapter 923: No Gossip
Two days later, Luoyang.
Early morning, Li Daoxuan had just gotten out of bed when he co-sensed into the box. His Heavenly Lord avatar abruptly opened its eyes.
He immediately saw Gao Yiye soundly asleep on a nearby bed.
For the past few days, his avatar had been spending the night in Gao Yiye's room.
Of course, he couldn't do anything.
He merely sat in Gao Yiye's room.
There was nothing strange about this, in fact. His avatar had long been kept in Gao Family Village's watchtower, and Gao Yiye had long grown accustomed to falling asleep with his presence.
At first, she would still feel shy, even making sure the Heavenly Lord wasn't in his avatar before undressing or bathing. But as time passed, she cast aside even that shyness and modesty. It didn't matter if the Heavenly Lord was in his avatar or not.
The Heavenly Lord wasn't a stranger; it didn't matter if he saw.
Li Daoxuan gazed at her gently for a moment, until Gao Yiye awoke on her own. The moment she opened her eyes, she saw the Heavenly Lord watching her. Her cheeks flushed involuntarily. "Oh? The Heavenly Lord is already awake? You didn't wake me up."
Li Daoxuan smiled. "There's no harm in sleeping a little longer."
Gao Yiye threw off her covers and got out of bed. She began to change her clothes right by the bed.
She didn't try to hide or avoid his gaze. However, a sudden, benevolent blur leaped out, shielding Li Daoxuan's view.
Li Daoxuan dodged left and right, shaking his head frantically, like a "focus test dummy." But the benevolent blur mirrored his movements, relentlessly obstructing his sight.
After a brief struggle, Li Daoxuan realized that this 'God of Harmony' was truly divine. While he was merely a pseudo-god, he was completely unable to contend. He saw nothing. Absolutely nothing.
By the time the benevolent blur receded, Gao Yiye had already put on a beautiful white blouse. On its front, a golden image of the Heavenly Lord was embroidered.
Gao Yiye chirped, "I'm dressed! Where shall we go play today?"
Li Daoxuan smiled. "Wherever you wish to go, we shall."
Gao Yiye giggled. "Then let's go to Xuanzang Temple. I want to see where the Tang Monk used to stay."
"Alright, alright," Li Daoxuan chuckled. "Xuanzang Temple it is."
Gao Yiye suddenly remembered something. "Heavenly Lord," she asked, "when Sun Wukong wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace, were you there?"
Li Daoxuan shook his head. "I wasn't at the time."
Gao Yiye gasped, "Ah, no wonder the Monkey King could cause such a ruckus in the Heavenly Palace—the Heavenly Lord wasn't there! If you had been, Heavenly Lord, one slap would have subdued that Monkey King."
Li Daoxuan laughed. "You're talking nonsense. I couldn't possibly defeat the Monkey King."
Gao Yiye said, "But the Monkey King was just made up by Wu Cheng'en; there's no such thing, right?"
Li Daoxuan retorted, "You know that, yet you ask so many questions?"
Chatting and laughing, the two emerged from the room.
Outside, numerous militia soldiers were training. Both new recruits and veterans, hurried to salute and greeted them upon seeing the pair.
Gao Yiye's dedicated special security team immediately gathered around them, discreetly following.
Just as the two were about to visit Xuanzang Temple, Bai Yuan rushed in from outside. He reported, "Heavenly Lord! The Guanning Iron Cavalry has just returned to Luoyang for rest and recuperation. The two uncle-nephew generals leading them, Cao Wenzhao and Cao Bianjiao, are both gravely wounded."
Li Daoxuan's brow furrowed slightly. Only wounded, not dead. That's still acceptable.
Historically, Cao Wenzhao and Cao Bianjiao had both died around this time. However, the participation of the Gao Family Village Militia had flapped the butterfly's wings, evidently helping the uncle and nephew escape a fatal calamity.
Bai Yuan quickly recounted the details of the battle at Huashi Town. "The bandits are growing stronger and stronger. This time, they practically defeated the government troops' encirclement head-on."
Li Daoxuan tilted his head back and sighed. "This is troublesome! The more victories the bandits achieve, the harder it will be to persuade Gao Yingxiang to give up."
Huashi Town.
Lao Huihui strode up to Chuǎng Wang. He clasped his fists. "Big Brother Chuǎng Wang."
Chuǎng Wang returned a smile. "Brother Lao Huihui, what can I do for you?"
Lao Huihui lowered his voice. "What I have to say is best spoken without others present."
Chuǎng Wang's brow furrowed slightly.
His personal guards behind him, and the Dashing General, all instinctively took half a step forward.
The Dashing General whispered, "Big Brother, being alone with someone like Lao Huihui is very dangerous. He's a former border army general, skilled in martial arts. If he were to suddenly attack you, then..."
Chuǎng Wang, of course, understood this logic. He was naturally an indecisive man, and for a moment, he couldn't make up his mind.
Lao Huihui, though he clearly hadn't heard the Dashing General's words, seemed to guess them, and spoke, "Am I, Lao Huihui, the kind of man who would suddenly ambush someone?"
Chuǎng Wang's spirits lifted. "Brother Lao Huihui's character and martial prowess are beyond question."
With that, he waved his hand, telling those around him, "All of you, withdraw."
The Dashing General protested, "Big Brother!"
Chuǎng Wang insisted, "It's fine. Leave us alone for a while."
The Dashing General could only nod, leading all the guards out of the room.
Now, only Chuǎng Wang and Lao Huihui remained in the small room.
Lao Huihui's hand reached into his inner pocket.
Chuǎng Wang's hand dropped to rest by his saber's scabbard.
In this dangerous world, one couldn't afford to be careless!
Everyone had to be wary of the other.
But as Lao Huihui's hand emerged from his pocket, it held a small, old, and clearly worthless iron hairpin.
The moment Chuǎng Wang saw the iron hairpin, his entire body trembled.
Lao Huihui gently placed the hairpin on the table and stepped far back.
Chuǎng Wang darted forward, snatching the hairpin. He caressed it, turning it over in his hands. A profound sorrow and dejection spread across his face, completely beyond his control.
After several seconds, he gripped the hairpin tightly and whispered, "Where did you get this? You didn't kill someone and steal it, did you?"
As he uttered the last question, a palpable killing intent began to emanate from Chuǎng Wang.
That an indecisive man like him could one day exude such a fierce killing intent certainly widened Lao Huihui's eyes.
"So, you aren't just a figurehead leader after all; you're someone who can fight when it matters." Lao Huihui mused silently. He then whispered, "Don't worry, I didn't kill anyone. This was entrusted to me by someone to give to you. He said he's waiting to meet you at Gubo Crossing."
"Meet me?" Chuǎng Wang instantly became agitated. "Good, excellent! Are they still alive? This is truly wonderful!"
His gaze immediately turned towards Gubo Crossing. "Brother Lao Huihui, thank you. I will rush to Gubo Crossing as soon as possible."
Lao Huihui couldn't resist asking in a low voice, "An old flame, lost for years?"
Chuǎng Wang shook his head. "They are my last remaining family in this world. I dared not reveal my true name precisely because they were still alive."
Lao Huihui pursed his lips. How boring! He'd thought there might be a juicy love story to gossip about.
Comments