Chapter 989: I'm Not Listening to This Lecture
The eighth year of Chongzhen... late in the year...
Luoyang.
Cao Wenzhao and Cao Bianjiao, after months of recuperation, had finally returned from the brink of death.
Walking through the streets of Luoyang, the uncle and nephew felt as if an age had passed.
“Uncle, we can finally walk around again.” Cao Bianjiao's spirits were high. “Being cooped up for almost half a year, lying in bed day after day, it was driving me absolutely stir-crazy.”
Cao Wenzhao patted his leg. “It's been so long without activity, I feel clumsy on my feet. We both need to get moving, or our martial prowess will surely decline.”
The two of them strolled through the streets of Luoyang, taking in their surroundings.
After looking around, before and behind them, Cao Wenzhao exclaimed, “Huh? Luoyang has changed so much!”
Indeed, Luoyang’s transformation was immense.
This was not the Luoyang they had seen on their last visit! The entire city seemed to have a different spirit.
Turning a corner, they ran straight into Gao Jie and Xing Honglang. The couple was also out shopping, accompanied by a retinue of personal guards.
Gao Jie quickly greeted Cao Wenzhao. “General Cao!”
Cao Bianjiao blurted, “Huh? Gao Jie? What are you doing in Luoyang?”
Gao Jie lowered his voice. “I'm currently undergoing ‘study’ in Luoyang. The governor has ordered me not to lead my troops into battle before completing it, or he'll really put me through the wringer.”
“Put you through the wringer?” Cao Wenzhao was greatly surprised. “What kind of punishment? Will he dismiss you from your post or give you fifty strokes of the rod?”
Cao Bianjiao interjected, “Uncle, shouldn't you be more curious about what the governor is making him study?”
“Ah! You're right,” Cao Wenzhao conceded.
Gao Jie looked a little awkward. “Well... the governor is a rather peculiar fellow. He says I used to be a notorious villain, and I must learn how to be a good person. If I don't, I can forget about ever leading troops again. Hmph! Utterly baffling.”
Cao Wenzhao raised an eyebrow. “???”
Cao Bianjiao echoed his uncle's confusion. “???”
This was rather outrageous. How could a provincial governor behave like this?
Just then, a young man and woman strolled down the street. The man was dressed in heroic attire, looking incredibly dashing. The woman wore a snow-white long gown, adorned with touches of red and gold ribbons, truly a picture of beauty.
As they walked, the common people bowed to them.
“Greetings, Heavenly Lord!”
“Ah, the Saintess is in Luoyang again.”
The two were none other than Li Daoxuan and Gao Yiye.
Li Daoxuan waved to the commoners. “Hello, everyone.”
Gao Yiye smiled and chatted with them. “It's so boring staying home all day. With such convenient transportation now, I like to travel around. This Luoyang is the center of the world, full of fun things and delicious food.”
The commoners chuckled. “Please visit often. It’s our honor that the Saintess favors our city. Come, have a snack at my humble shop.”
“My shop's specialty snacks are truly delicious.”
Their popularity was clearly extraordinary.
Just then, two men in servant uniforms ran from another street, rushing towards Gao Jie. “Master, it’s time for your class, and you’re not there. The governor is angry and demands you immediately attend the ideological lecture.”
Hearing this, Gao Jie immediately scowled. “No, I’m not going, not going! Today this general is accompanying his wife on a shopping trip. I have no time for such a damned lecture.”
The servant insisted, “The governor is angry.”
Gao Jie scoffed, “Hmph! That Fan Shangzheng is a real nuisance, hounding me to attend class all day. Do I look like I enjoy his lectures? Not listening, not listening.”
The servant was sweating with anxiety. “Master, he is a governor after all. If you offend him, the trouble will be immense.”
Gao Jie retorted, “I report to General He Renlong, I don't need to listen to the Henan Governor. I'm not scared of him one bit.”
Xing Honglang quietly cautioned him, “Husband, you should watch your words.”
Gao Jie declared, “No need to be cautious! That cursed lecture is driving me crazy! I absolutely refuse to go, absolutely.”
He then turned to the Cao uncle and nephew. “Have you two been ordered to attend that dreadful lecture?”
The Cao generals shook their heads. “We haven’t, actually...”
Before they could finish, a squad of soldiers, servants of the Henan Governor Fan Shangzheng, ran up. They stopped before the Cao uncle and nephew, saluted, and then announced, “Generals Cao, we hear your injuries have healed. The governor sent me to inform you it’s time for your ideological lecture... Your humble servant searched for you at the barracks and only then learned you were out shopping. What a search it was, fortunately we found you both here. Please come with me to the lecture.”
The Cao generals looked at each other. “...”
So, we have to go too? The uncle and nephew were utterly bewildered.
The captain then turned to Gao Jie. “Ah, General Gao is here too, that’s perfect. Please, General Gao, hurry to the lecture as well.”
Gao Jie exploded in fury. “No! My head's about to explode listening to it! ‘Not taking a single needle or thread from the common people’ – it sounds so infuriating. What’s wrong with taking a needle?”
The captain warned, “The governor is angry.”
Gao Jie roared, “Tell Fan Shangzheng to come and tell this general himself, and see if this general pays him any mind.”
The captain stammered, “Uh, but, your humble servant was ordered to...”
“Orders my ass!” Gao Jie lashed out with a kick. The captain, not skilled in martial arts, couldn't dodge in time and was struck in the waist by Gao Jie's foot. He fell to the ground with a thud, rolled twice, and ended up covered in dust from head to toe, looking quite disheveled.
Cao Wenzhao advised, “Hey? Why did you dodge like that? Let me tell you, you should have used this stance to evade that kick, and then twisted like this... you could even counter-attack with a punch.”
Cao Bianjiao interjected, “Uncle, isn't the main point here that hitting people is wrong?”
“Ah, you’re right,” Cao Wenzhao conceded.
He turned to Gao Jie. “General Gao, if you don't want to attend the lecture, then don't go. Why kick the man?”
Gao Jie grumbled, “That guy surnamed Fan is infuriating.”
As they spoke, the two young people whom the commoners had adored earlier approached. The dashing man in heroic attire bent down and helped the captain to his feet, sighing. “Study your martial arts diligently in the future, so you don’t suffer immediate harm when facing scoundrels.”
The captain was overjoyed. “Heavenly Lord, you are here too!”
Li Daoxuan replied, “Leave this to me now.”
Then, Li Daoxuan turned to Gao Jie. “General Gao, quite the defiant one, aren’t we?”
Gao Jie was about to retort when he felt a gentle tug on his sleeve. It was Xing Honglang... she was giving him strong, urgent glances.
Gao Jie asked, “What’s wrong?”
Xing Honglang whispered, “Be careful... look at his face...”
Gao Jie's gaze shifted to Li Daoxuan's face. He looked closely, and then he understood. This man’s face was the exact face of the deity depicted in The Legends of the Heavenly Lord Dao Xuan.
One couldn't say it was merely similar; it was utterly identical.
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