Chapter 56: Confidence
“What’s wrong?”
Zhao Linxu saw Li Jianyu staring blankly at the drawing filled with formations, lost in thought. He held his hand and asked in a low voice, “Are you unwell?”
Li Jianyu came back to his senses and shook his head lightly.
“This formation… I seem to have seen it somewhere before,” Xing Huan said, stroking his chin. “Perhaps in my cult’s scriptures. I’ll have someone look it up when I get back.”
“Thank you for your trouble.”
After that, the Great Xi and the Great Gong continued to fight for half a month, but in these two weeks, the two sides had only probed each other and had not had a formal clash. Everyone was used to this. Previously, when Zhao Zhanqi had fought the Tukan tribe on the border, the war had lasted for four years, and in the end, the Tukan’s grain and supplies had run out.
But the Great Xi was not some tribe. Grain, supplies, and weapons were continuously sent from the Great Xi’s imperial capital to the border. It seemed they were planning to fight to the death.
And the formation was still unbreakable. Zhao Linxu did not have his men launch a direct attack, but instead intensified their training to better deal with the goblins and Taotie.
At this moment, in the main tent, Zhao Linxu’s forefinger was curled, tapping gently on the desk.
Zhao Linxu liked to do this when he was thinking, listening to the sound of his knuckles tapping on something else.
“Your Majesty, should we go and bring him back?”
Shuo Lin knelt before the desk, waiting for Zhao Linxu’s instructions.
Zhao Linxu rested his chin on his hand and pondered.
Li Jianyu had been sleeping most of the time before, eating and drinking when he was awake, chatting with him. He hadn’t mentioned anything.
But Zhao Linxu was not a fool. Li Jianyu probably already knew what E Zhu had said to him. But Li Jianyu knew and hadn’t mentioned it. Why?
Could it be that he wanted to see how he would react?
Then going out with Wan Yunliu every day now was… a show of force?
Zhao Linxu had gone out with a small team to scout a few days ago. When he returned today, he was told that Li Jianyu had been with Wan Yunliu these past few days. The two of them had been out from dawn till dusk, riding out before the sky had broken, and only coming back in the middle of the night.
Zhao Linxu felt a nameless fire burning more and more fiercely in his heart, and the blood in his body was stirring.
No… no.
It was my fault first.
Don’t lose your temper, especially not at Li Jianyu.
“No need to chase. Have someone prepare some of Little Carp’s favorite food for when he gets back.”
“Yes.”
XXXXXX
Heavy snow was falling from the sky, and the accumulated snow made it difficult to walk.
There were four figures in thick cloaks in the desert, and these four were now gathered around a formation.
“This is…?”
Xing Huan and the still-masked Dan Xi looked at each other, somewhat puzzled as they looked at Li Jianyu and Wan Yunliu before them.
They both knew that Li Jianyu and Wan Yunliu had been going out alone every day these past few days. Xing Huan had even lamented that Zhao Linxu had gone out for a trip and the forest had grown thick, but he couldn’t meddle in their affairs.
And today, the two of them had called the two of them out?
Li Jianyu opened his mouth. “Brother Wan and I have just returned from a quiet investigation around Huanyue City.”
Dan Xi frowned slightly. He felt that Li Jianyu’s move was too risky.
But looking at Wan Yunliu, since he was being protected by a master, it was not too dangerous to watch from a distance. So, Dan Xi did not pursue the matter for the time being.
“Could it be that you have a clue?”
Li Jianyu smiled. “Do you two recognize the formation before you? There are too many people and eyes in the camp, so I had to invite the Imperial Preceptor out.”
“This looks somewhat similar to the formation in Huanyue City,” Dan Xi said with a frown. “But it’s not the same.”
“That’s right!” Li Jianyu pointed to the octagonal formation on the sandy ground, which he had guided Wan Yunliu to draw slowly with a branch. “It is not the formation of Huanyue City, but Qing Luo used this, the Bagua, to evolve his formation. As long as we master this, we can break through the illusion of Huanyue City.”
Li Jianyu pointed to the Bagua formation. “What surrounds Huanyue City is not an illusion at all, but a maze!”
Dan Xi was stunned. He squatted down and carefully looked at the Bagua formation.
“Wonderful… wonderful!” The more Dan Xi looked, the more excited he became, his eyes shining.
Dan Xi could feel the infinite possibilities and endless changes of this formation, but he couldn’t grasp the knack of it for the time being. He only felt more and more anxious, wishing he could immediately understand the profound meaning within it.
“City Lord, can you give me some pointers?” Dan Xi walked to Li Jianyu’s side and smiled. “It is indeed so! The Cult Leader and I have studied it for many days, and the Huanyue formation is roughly like this.”
Li Jianyu said, “I can’t give you pointers. I only have a superficial understanding. I can tell the Imperial Preceptor some of the basics, but the rest will require the Imperial Preceptor to comprehend on his own.”
I have a basic understanding of these things because my family in my past life was a little mysterious, Li Jianyu thought. It seemed they were even some kind of metaphysics successors. I was raised by my grandfather since I was a child. My parents were away from home all year round, and they would occasionally come home to talk to me, give me a gift, and then leave again.
Because he had spent all day with his grandfather, watching him fiddle with these things, Li Jianyu had gradually come to understand a lot.
He had never expected that the Bagua formation was not yet popular in this era, and that everyone didn’t even know what it was.
But Li Jianyu was ultimately not an expert. He could only bluff at this time and give Dan Xi a clear path. The deeper levels would still have to be left to Dan Xi and the others.
“The City Lord is truly knowledgeable!” Dan Xi said sincerely. “Can you draw a diagram for me when we get back?”
Li Jianyu naturally had no objections.
“This is still basic. Let me think about it slowly, and then I’ll draw a few more for the Imperial Preceptor,” Li Jianyu said, rounding off his story. “I saw all this in an ancient book when I was a child, by chance. That ancient book can no longer be found.”
“What a pity,” Dan Xi said with a sigh.
Xing Huan said with a grin, “I said that day that I vaguely remembered seeing these patterns. I might be able to help find that ancient book.”
“Thank you, Cult Leader.” Dan Xi’s eyes lit up.
Xing Huan looked at Dan Xi, his smile inscrutable.
“Let’s go back. The snow is getting heavier.”
Wan Yunliu glanced at Li Jianyu and helped him onto his horse.
Li Jianyu was originally not so weak that he needed someone to help him mount a horse, but after giving birth, his body had not yet recovered, so Wan Yunliu was now treating him like a porcelain doll.
After Xing Huan and Wan Yunliu had removed the traces of the formation, the four of them went back.
“Awooo—”
Li Jianyu was stunned. He pulled on his reins and looked at Wan Yunliu.
This sound…
Wan Yunliu also frowned. “There seems to be a wolf howl not far away.”
“It sounds like there’s only one. Should we go and see?” Li Jianyu said. “It’s quite strange. I thought that with the Thousand-Li Wolf here, there shouldn’t be any other wolves nearby.”
Li Jianyu wanted to go and see, but Dan Xi seemed unwilling to take the risk. Dan Xi thought that Li Jianyu’s safety was the most important thing. If he was really concerned, he could just go and see with Xing Huan.
As the few of them were discussing, they saw the figure of a large wolf gradually become clear in the wind and sand in the distance, slowly walking towards them.
This was…
“Little Xu!”
Li Jianyu was overjoyed.
Little Xu was the male Thousand-Li Wolf that Zhao Linxu had successfully tamed that day. After being tamed, the Thousand-Li Wolf was extremely loyal to its master. It had even saved Li Jianyu from Qing Luo once before, so Zhao Linxu and Li Jianyu had simply taken it in as a pet, or rather, a partner.
Since they had decided to be together in the future, they naturally had to give it a name. Li Jianyu had deliberately teased Zhao Linxu and named it Little Xu.
Hearing Li Jianyu’s call, the big wolf immediately broke through the accumulated snow and the blizzard and pounced in Li Jianyu’s direction.
Li Jianyu leaped off his horse and hugged the big wolf affectionately. “Why are you here? How did you get out?”
Previously, when Zhao Linxu had gone out, he had taken the big wolf with him. Now that the big wolf was here, it seemed that Zhao Linxu had also returned.
A strange feeling rose in Li Jianyu’s heart.
He was back…
He hadn’t seen him for four days.
He subconsciously looked around, but there was no one in sight. It seemed that after the big wolf had returned, it couldn’t stay in the camp and had run out to wander on its own.
“Wait.”
Wan Yunliu dismounted and patted Li Jianyu’s shoulder. “Look, there are bloodstains around Little Xu’s mouth.”
Li Jianyu was stunned.
“Let’s follow Little Xu’s tracks and see what he attacked before,” Xing Huan said, feeling that this was quite strange.
Li Jianyu nodded.
XXXXXX
“Your Majesty, the City Lord has returned and has brought back an injured person.”
When he heard this report, Zhao Linxu was talking to E Zhu in the tent. After hearing it, the two of them left the tent.
Zhao Linxu was a little impatient.
He hadn’t touched his wife’s little hand for several days.
When he arrived outside the tent, he saw a bloodied young man being placed on the ground by Xing Huan. A doctor was treating his wounds, which were clearly from a big wolf’s bite.
Seeing Zhao Linxu and E Zhu walk out together, Li Jianyu raised an eyebrow slightly. “This is a person we met on the road.”
There were many people here now, and it was not appropriate for Zhao Linxu to be intimate with Li Jianyu. So he just went forward, took his hand, and gently kneaded it, smoothing his hair. “Do you know who it is?”
Li Jianyu shook his head.
“But Little Xu is an intelligent mythical beast. He wouldn’t attack and bite an ordinary person like this for no reason. They say that mythical beasts have a more acute sense than we do. Perhaps this man had ill intentions.”
“That makes sense.”
Zhao Linxu had someone take the man away. Just as he was about to pull Li Jianyu back to the tent, he was stopped by Dan Xi.
“Your Majesty, do you know what a great surprise the City Lord has brought us?”
Zhao Linxu raised an eyebrow.
Dan Xi told Zhao Linxu about Li Jianyu breaking the formation.
“So that’s how it is. It seems that while I was away these past few days, Little Carp has done a lot.” Zhao Linxu looked at Li Jianyu, his eyes full of smiles.
How did he not know?
He remembered the strange and peculiar look on Li Jianyu’s face when he was looking at the drawing that day. It seemed he had had a plan all along.
Could it be that Li Jianyu had deliberately hidden it from him, planning to give him a surprise?
And so, the little bit of unhappiness he had felt from learning that Li Jianyu had been out with Wan Yunliu these past few days immediately vanished. Zhao Linxu pulled Li Jianyu into the tent, held him on the bed, and pressed him down, smiling. “What? A surprise?”
“Do you feel surprised?” Li Jianyu raised an eyebrow.
Zhao Linxu lowered his head and nibbled on Li Jianyu’s ear, mumbling, “Naturally.”
Little Carp is so fragrant and soft…
Zhao Linxu hadn’t shown it much outside, but in fact, he had missed Li Jianyu to death these past few days. He wished he could eat him up right now.
“Zhao… Zhao Linxu…” Li Jianyu suppressed the tingling sensation and pushed Zhao Linxu’s head away. “I have something to tell you…”
“We’ll talk later.” Zhao Linxu held Li Jianyu’s hand, pressed it above his head, and once again lowered his head to kiss Li Jianyu’s watery lips. Because he hadn’t finished speaking, Li Jianyu’s mouth was still slightly open, so Zhao Linxu simply took the opportunity to stick his tongue in and stir.
Zhao Linxu’s hand was on the back of Li Jianyu’s head, pressing his head towards him, making their lips fit more perfectly. His other hand was wreaking havoc on Li Jianyu’s body. He was as passionate as fire, as if he were making up for the past few days’ absence all at once.
“Mmm…”
After the long kiss, Zhao Linxu looked at Li Jianyu with a dark gaze and was about to untie his sash.
“Zhao Linxu!”
Li Jianyu held Zhao Linxu’s hand. “I really have something to tell you.”
Li Jianyu’s eyes were very serious, and his expression was also very firm. Zhao Linxu took a deep breath and let go. “Alright.”
“Zhao Linxu…” Li Jianyu sat up slightly, leaning against the head of the bed, composed himself, and said decisively, “I will not allow you to marry E Zhu.”
Zhao Linxu was stunned.
“You are not allowed to marry E Zhu, and you are not allowed to form a marriage alliance with anyone other than me in the future, not even for political reasons or as a show.” Li Jianyu stood up and grabbed Zhao Linxu’s collar. “That day, E Zhu asked me if I had not considered the big picture by obstructing this marriage. I have.”
Li Jianyu felt that today, he finally had the confidence to discuss this matter with Zhao Linxu.
“Little Carp, you…”
“Don’t speak. Let me finish.” Li Jianyu covered Zhao Linxu’s mouth. “I just want to tell you that you can also rely on me. For example, this time I finally broke the formation. After the formation is broken, you don’t need the Great Chai’s navy to fight the Great Xi.”
Little Carp…
Zhao Linxu stared blankly at Li Jianyu.
