The Emperor Reads Storybooks Hidden in His Official Reports 63

Chapter 63: Immortality

Swoosh—

The next moment, a group of burly men with swords rushed out of the forest towards Li Jianyu and the others.

“Kill—!”

“Kill all the men! Tie up the good-looking women and boys and take them back for the brothers to have some fun!” The burly man in the lead swung the large sword in his hand, looked around, and, instinctively feeling that Li Jianyu was the leader, charged at him.

“Hahahahaha—this is a real catch! I’ve been robbing for so long, and this is the first time I’ve seen such a beautiful one! And he’s got a dick!”

Li Jianyu rolled his eyes.

To think he had been scared. It turned out to be just a bunch of crude mountain bandits.

The commotion and loud noises had woken up the little phoenix nestled in Li Jianyu’s clothes. The furball blinked, flew out a little angrily, and stomped on Li Jianyu with its tiny claws.

Li Jianyu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

In any case, the fact that he was a phoenix was no longer a secret. Everyone now looked at him with a mix of admiration and curiosity, so Li Jianyu simply stopped hiding it and took the little phoenix on the road with him. The three big phoenixes also followed the team.

Wan Yunliu breathed a sigh of relief, immediately drew his sword, and stood in front of Li Jianyu. In a few moves, he kicked the bandit leader, who was fighting with brute force, flying.

“A clown,” Wan Yunliu said, shaking his head.

Li Jianyu looked behind him. As he had expected, although the number of bandits was quite large, the accompanying guards had no trouble subduing them. Even Xing Huan was in the carriage with Dan Xi, watching, not even bothering to hide.

Dan Xi was wearing a veil, but from his exposed eyes, one could see his discomfort and embarrassment. Dan Xi was struggling, as if he wanted to break free from Xing Huan’s hold.

“Hey, Imperial Preceptor, don’t move around,” Xing Huan said with a wicked smile, lowering his head and whispering in Dan Xi’s ear. “What if you get hurt by these villains?”

The warm breath on his earlobe made Dan Xi frown and shrink his neck.

Clang—

Li Jianyu was stunned. He saw a middle-aged man with fluttering robes jump out from the side with a graceful posture. He held a longsword and weaved through the front of the team with agile movements, knocking down one villain after another.

Li Jianyu and Wan Yunliu looked at each other.

Li Jianyu asked, “Is he one of your Arrogant Dragon Gang?”

Wan Yunliu shook his head. These moves didn’t look like it. On the contrary, he was more like a rogue cultivator, not from any of the sects in the jianghu.

The team had not been afraid of this group of bandits in the first place. The appearance of this highly skilled man sped things up for everyone, and before long, all the bandits had been subdued.

Wan Yunliu went forward and cupped his fists. “Many thanks to this great hero for your help.”

The man stroked the stubble on his chin and smiled. “I was chasing this group of harmful bandits all the way here. When I saw them doing evil again, I rushed out without thinking. From the looks of it, this was meddling in other people’s business, wasn’t it? These two don’t look simple.”

“Not at all,” Wan Yunliu said with a smile. “Great hero, you are righteous and brave, with a warm heart for justice. How can it be considered meddling?”

Wan Yunliu looked around. “We are preparing to set up camp and rest. Would great hero do us the honor of having a meal with us?”

“Set up camp?”

At the side, Li Jianyu heard what Wan Yunliu said and immediately dismounted, coming to his side. “We still have to travel.”

“Be good, Jianyu. We’ve been traveling all this way. Everyone is tired.” In fact, these people in the team were all well-trained elite soldiers of the Great Gong. How could they be tired? Wan Yunliu was just worried that Li Jianyu and Dan Xi couldn’t take it.

Li Jianyu frowned slightly. Just as he was thinking, he saw the man.

…Huh?

Li Jianyu was stunned.

Isn’t this…

“Little Carp?” The man was also startled when his gaze met Li Jianyu’s.

No wonder he had said that this person’s figure was so familiar?

Li Jianyu paused for a moment and asked tentatively, “Uncle?”

This uncle had been extremely fond of him when he was a child, treating him as his own. But a few years ago, after Li Jianyu had come of age, he had gone out to travel and had not returned since, only communicating by letter.

Li Jianyu also didn’t understand why he was unwilling to stay in Luoye City. Perhaps it was his nature to wander, and he loved to travel.

Some time ago, Li Jianyu had just received a letter from his uncle, saying that he was having fun in the capital of the Great Fan. Now, he had not expected to run into him.

“Oh my! Little Carp has grown so big!” Li Guan hui went forward and hugged Li Jianyu directly, patting his back hard with a smile. “Oh, you even know how to lead a team out to do business? I see these young people are not simple. Beautiful and smart. Good! Good!”

The little phoenix in Li Jianyu’s arms was almost flattened by Li Guan hui and kept chirping angrily.

Li Guan hui looked down and saw the little furball, and raised an eyebrow slightly.

A phoenix?

Li Jianyu didn’t know how to explain to Li Guan hui and could only say, “Will uncle stay and have a meal with us?”

“Stay! Stay! I must stay. I’ll accompany my little nephew on this journey. In any case, I’m wandering outside. Where I go is decided by the horse under me. I have no destination.”

Li Jianyu nodded.

The team found an open space at the side and began to set up camp in the shade of the trees. Xing Huan also took Dan Xi and a few others out to hunt.

At night, everyone gathered around the fire, grilling fresh meat, with wine and moonlight. It was quite comfortable. Xing Huan held Dan Xi’s hand and insisted on grilling meat for him. Chong Xi and Wan Yunliu were helping to watch the fire.

“Where are you all heading on this trip?”

Li Jianyu paused for a moment. “Phoenix Ridge.”

Li Jianyu believed that this uncle of his was not a bad person.

After a moment, Li Guan hui smiled bitterly. “I was about to ask when I saw the little phoenix in your arms just now. You… know?”

Li Jianyu nodded.

Looking at Li Jianyu, Li Guan hui couldn’t help but sigh with emotion. “You and your father were originally so similar. After you came of age, you looked almost exactly the same as him. It’s the appearance that only the king of all beasts has.”

“What kind of person was my father?”

Li Guan hui seemed to recall the past, and his expression softened a lot. He smiled. “Your father was a gentle person, elegant and refined, as if he did not belong to this world.”

“When your father and my brother had just gotten married, I was still a youth. At that time, your father took great care of me. I had never seen such a gentle person. It’s a pity that after my brother passed away, your father also disappeared.”

Li Jianyu took a plate of meat that Wan Yunliu handed him, and as he fed a piece to Jiujiu, he asked, “Is my father still in this world?”

“Silly child, your father is a phoenix,” Li Guan hui said, patting Li Jianyu’s shoulder with a smile. “Phoenixes have a lifespan of ten thousand years. How could your father not be in this world? Perhaps on this trip to Phoenix Ridge, you will be able to meet your father.”

After a pause, Li Guan hui smiled bitterly. “This is also good. You should be with the phoenixes, with your father, not with us. After all, you also have phoenix blood in you. Even if it’s not ten thousand years, you can at least be in this world for several thousand years. To you, we are ultimately just a fleeting cloud.”

Li Jianyu stared blankly at the plate of meat covered in sauce in his hand, the blood in his body as if frozen.

A thousand years…

Li Jianyu had never thought that he could also be immortal.

Li Guan hui sighed and rubbed Li Jianyu’s head.

“Jiujiu!! Jiu—”

Seeing Li Jianyu staring blankly without moving, Jiujiu nuzzled his hand, signaling him to continue feeding it meat.

Li Jianyu came back to his senses, looked at the few people who were also looking at him with shocked eyes, and then at Jiujiu in his arms. In the future… would only the phoenixes be with him through these long years?

“Don’t think too much. The most important thing now is to save the person,” Wan Yunliu said with a smile, comforting him.

Li Jianyu nodded, cleared his mind of distracting thoughts, and said to Li Guan hui, “A friend of mine is seriously injured… he might not even be able to keep his life. We want to take him to Phoenix Ridge to see if there’s a way.”

Li Guan hui nodded. “Uncle will accompany you.”

Li Guan hui’s joining was a small interlude, and then the team continued to move forward.

After passing through the forest, what came into view was a beach and a small village. Fortunately, Xing Huan had made arrangements early on and had his followers bring a large ship.

And so, the journey turned to the sea.

Now that winter had passed, the ice and snow began to melt, and the wind began to warm up.

The night on the sea was very quiet and warm, with only the sound of the lapping waves.

The ice coffin was placed at the highest point of the large ship, completely isolated from the humidity.

After Li Jianyu pushed open the door of the room where the ice coffin was placed, he saw the ice coffin lying in the center, shimmering slightly in the dim room.

Swoosh— Li Jianyu pointed his finger, and a flame lit the only wall lamp in the room.

Sitting down by the ice coffin, Li Jianyu hesitated for a moment, then opened the lid of the coffin.

Zhao Linxu lay quietly inside, his eyes closed, as if he were sleeping very soundly.

“You have your day too. A dignified king. Aren’t you ashamed?” Li Jianyu reached out and pinched Zhao Linxu’s cheek.

If Zhao Linxu were to wake up, he would definitely say with an aggrieved look that it was all to protect him, and that he needed some sweet reward and compensation.

“When you wake up, I will satisfy you,” Li Jianyu said, resting his head on the edge of the coffin, quietly looking at Zhao Linxu.

“Little Carp?”

Li Jianyu turned his head and saw Li Guan hui standing by the door.

Li Guan hui said, “That kid Wan Yunliu caught some fish. A few of them are grilling fish below. They asked if you want to go down and eat.”

Li Jianyu shook his head.

Looking at Li Jianyu, Li Guan hui sighed in his heart, sat down beside him, and put his arm around his shoulder. “Uncle will stay with you, hmm?”

He could also see that the person lying in the ice coffin was probably not just a friend of Li Jianyu’s.

The surroundings were quiet. Li Guan hui asked in a gentle voice, “What kind of person is he?”

“He…”

Li Jianyu pondered for a moment and smiled. “He’s a rogue and a shameless person. He doesn’t look like an emperor at all.”

“But he is a good emperor and a strong person. If it weren’t for me, he wouldn’t be like this.”

Li Guan hui smiled. “Little Carp, do you want to hear a story?”

Li Jianyu looked up at Li Guan hui in confusion.

“Uncle will tell you a bedtime story. This story was told to me by your father.” It wasn’t that Li Guan hui wanted to tell a story to comfort Li Jianyu, but it was good to distract him a little. Besides, Li Jianyu would probably want to know this story.

“A long, long time ago, probably tens of thousands of years ago, there was a little phoenix in Phoenix Ridge. This little phoenix had lost its parents as soon as it was born and was very lonely. So, before it had even reached adulthood, it had slipped out of Phoenix Ridge.”

“At that time, the continent was not as peaceful as it is now between humans and mythical beasts. Humans coveted the phoenixes’ immortality and wanted to catch them to refine medicine. This naive and innocent phoenix was naturally targeted as soon as it went out. Fortunately, it was saved by a kind person. This kind person not only had no designs on the little phoenix, but also took good care of him. The one person and one phoenix lived a small life in the forest and were very happy. This person also gave the phoenix a name, Yun Jian.”

Li Jianyu blinked. “This Yun Jian… is my father?”

“Exactly.”

Li Guan hui continued, “That person only thought of the little phoenix as a small pet, or his own family. But this was the first time the little phoenix had felt love and care. He secretly fell in love with that person and wanted to be his wife for a lifetime. It’s a pity that it takes a thousand years for a phoenix to cultivate into a human form, and the little phoenix had never heard of a phoenix cultivating into a human form, because becoming a human would only reduce their magical cultivation and lifespan. But the little phoenix still did it.”

“Later, that person passed away. A human’s lifespan is ultimately no more than a hundred years. So, during the thousand years of cultivation, the little phoenix kept looking for that person’s reincarnation, guarding every one of that person’s lives, and witnessing that person die and be reincarnated again and again… Later, the adult phoenix finally became a human.”

Li Jianyu said, “After the little phoenix became a human, he married my father, Li Guan zhi, who was that person’s current reincarnation, and then had me.”

“That’s right.”

Li Guan hui shook his head. “Now I don’t know if the little phoenix, your father Yun Jian, has gone to find that person’s next reincarnation again.”

After hearing this story, Li Jianyu didn’t know how to comment. He only felt a sourness in his heart.

Then… what about him?

Could it be that he also had to search for Zhao Linxu’s reincarnation, life after life?

However… the person after that would not be Zhao Linxu. Not his Zhao Linxu… He was not a little phoenix who did not understand love. He couldn’t do it.