Letter

Even though she knew she was being tricked, Xiao Wan'er had no choice but to stay in the surrendered city because of the emperor's order.

However, there were no major threats within the city, and even minor incidents didn't require her intervention. After entering Zhong Shoujiang City, her most common activity was cultivation.

After staying there for a month and a half, Xiao Wan'er really couldn't sit still anymore.

After another round of sword-wielding practice in front of the official residence, she sheathed her sword and headed straight for the Zhongshoujiangcheng official office. Zhang Renyuan was working in the office when he heard footsteps and looked up.

"Is there something wrong, Immortal?"

"I've been here for over a month, and haven't received any missions," Xiao Wan'er paused, then continued, "so I wanted to visit the other two cities."

"Your Excellency, please go on your own. There is no need to inform me." Zhang Renyuan not only agreed, but also allowed her to move freely.

Xiao Wan'er didn't need to make any further preparations, so she just walked out of the city gate, knife in hand. She looked left and right, closed her eyes, randomly chose a direction to the west, and set off.

The four hundred miles that seemed like a long journey for ordinary people were clearly much shorter for Xiao Wan'er. She didn't walk along the official road, but soared high into the sky, flying at a steady speed while focusing her mental energy on the ground beneath her feet.

The desert south was desolate, and she saw few people along the way. Arriving at Xishoujiang City, she first flew to a deserted spot south of the city, then landed on the ground and entered the city like everyone else.

Like Central Shoujiang City, West Shoujiang City exuded the aura of a newly constructed city. Xiao Wan'er walked along the straight, horizontal, and vertical streets that resembled a chessboard. She spotted a modest inn and walked inside.

The inn was deserted, save for a young servant dozing off with his chin propped up on his desk. Xiao Wan'er walked up to him and handed over a handful of cash.

"Stay in the hotel, one of the upper rooms."

The sound of money hitting the table startled the servant. His jaw dropped sharply, and he opened his eyes, then rummaged through the cabinet behind him and pulled out a key.

"The room on the far left of the second floor."

Xiao Wan'er accepted the key and settled into her room. She had spent three days in Xishoujiang City, surveying the entire city with both her mental and physical powers. It was a truly small city. Because of the large garrison, public security was excellent, and there were no enemy attacks. However, commerce was also very backward, with only one market and few shops.

After three days, there was really nothing left to see, so she left the room and left the city, heading east.

The official road to the east was equally desolate, devoid of human activity. Xiao Wan'er saw no bandits attacking passersby, but instead a pack of wolves attempting to attack the caravan. She whipped up a gust of wind, precisely knocking the wolves over, blowing them miles away. The wind then vanished before anyone in the caravan could even raise their heads.

She passed through the gate of East Surrender City. Just like in West Surrender City, she stayed in East Surrender City for three days. After finding no danger, she returned to Central Surrender City at the speed of a vacation.

A few days later, when Xiao Wan'er was meditating in her official residence, someone knocked on the door.

Xiao Wan'er came to her senses at the knock on the door. She ended her meditation, straightened her clothes, walked to the door, and opened it. A dusty traveler came into her sight.

"Are you, the deputy commander Xiao of the Shenlong Guard?" The man was polite and spoke in a gentle tone.

"Exactly. I wonder who this young man is?"

"I am a businessman from Dongdu. Captain Liu of the Shenlong Guard has entrusted me to deliver this letter to Lord Xiao." The man said as he took out a letter from the bag he was carrying.

Xiao Wan'er took the letter and looked at the unique seal that could only be opened by disciples of Biyun Temple, confirming that it was indeed sent by Liu Mingyin.

"Thank you very much, my dear." As she said this, she was about to give the merchant some change as a thank you.

"Master Xiao, you are too polite," the merchant said, waving his hand in refusal. "Master Liu has already paid me the money."

After the merchant left, Xiao Wan'er closed the door, sat on the bed, and opened the letter. As expected, the letter contained a lot of information.

"Senior Sister, I am honored to meet you."

"It has been nearly two years since we last met, and I miss you constantly. I wanted to have a small get-together at the beginning of the year, but you took leave and returned to the mountain gate, so we never got to see each other. I was shocked to hear that Your Majesty has sent you to guard the Three Surrender Cities, so I'm writing this letter."

"It's quite literary." Xiao Wan'er commented and continued reading.

The following was still a rambling about daily work and training, but at the end, Liu Mingyin wrote, "I've been practicing hard for nearly two years, and I've always wanted to know how much progress I've made. Unfortunately, none of my senior brothers and sisters are around, so there's no one to practice with. Next time I report to Chang'an in the New Year, I'll definitely have a detailed discussion with my senior brothers."

"I wonder if Senior Sister will also return to Chang'an to report on her duties during the New Year. If I can meet Senior Sister in Chang'an, I will definitely ask for her advice and then reminisce about the years we've been apart."

"Shoujiang City is close to the Turks. I hope you take care of yourself, Senior Sister."

After reading the letter, Xiao Wan'er actually did a quick calculation of her New Year's plans. Unfortunately, she wouldn't be returning to Chang'an next New Year.

She spread out the rice paper, ground the ink, and immediately began writing a reply to Liu Mingyin. The reply was short, mostly the usual instructions and a promise to exchange ideas with him someday.

"I'm afraid I'll disappoint you, Junior Brother. I'm afraid I'll be staying in Shoujiang City for the New Year's Day. But we cultivators have long lives, and you and I are fellow disciples, so we won't have to worry about meeting again. I hope you won't slack off in your cultivation and will also diligently perform your duties."

"May you and I encourage each other."

After writing her reply, she sealed it in the same way, then unleashed her spiritual power to find the merchant who had delivered the letter to her. She immediately left the residence and headed straight for the caravan.

The merchant was packing his goods and almost threw them to the ground when he saw Xiao Wan'er.

"Why are you here, sir?" he asked timidly. "But is there something wrong with the letter?"

"No," Xiao Wan'er said as she handed over the letter, "I just wanted to ask you to deliver the letter for me again."

The merchant understood, but he didn't take the letter. Instead, he reminded Xiao Wan'er, "Master Xiao, our plan is to go to Shoujiang City in the west, then to Tianshui, and then return east, passing through Chang'an and then to the Eastern Capital. By the time the letter arrives, it should be next spring."

"It's okay, this time is quite suitable."

Since Xiao Wan'er insisted, the merchant no longer refused. He took the letter and the change and accepted the task of delivering the letter.

"Thank you for your help, my dear." Xiao Wan'er thanked him and returned to the official residence.

The days passed like flowing water, and Xiao Wan'er never thought that she would receive a letter again after some time.

This time, the letters came from Chang'an, also delivered by a merchant. They were placed in a wooden box. Xiao Wan'er opened it and saw that there were two letters. She took out the letters and saw that the senders were Shangguan Wan'er and Pei Yingguan respectively.

Xiao Wan'er opened Shangguan Wan'er's letter first. Unlike Liu Mingyin's letter, this one contained only two short paragraphs. The first thanked Xiao Wan'er for her previous warning and said she would be careful of Prince Linzi. The second briefly discussed the court situation and Princess Anle's situation.

"Your Majesty intends to appoint Princess Anle as the Crown Princess, but Her Royal Highness is indeed overbearing and lacks the ability to govern the country. The entire court, both civil and military officials, do not agree."

Xiao Wan'er grumbled inwardly. Actually, Shangguan Wan'er herself disagreed with Princess Anle becoming the Crown Princess, didn't she? But she was far away from Chang'an, so she didn't know the specifics, and therefore didn't want to get too involved in the matter.

Her reply to Shangguan Wan'er was relatively simple: "Thank you, sister, for sharing the latest news about Chang'an. The land south of the desert is bitterly cold and desolate, a place even monks are reluctant to set foot on. I have truly missed the prosperity of Chang'an after spending so long there. I hope you can speak well of this to His Majesty and His Majesty, and help me return to Chang'an as soon as possible. I wish you good health and all the best."

After writing her reply to Shangguan Wan'er, she picked up the letter from Pei Yingguan.

Ever since being driven out of Chang'an by Prince Linzi, Xiao Wan'er has had a complicated relationship with Pei Yingguan, who was also on good terms with him. She also wanted to know if Pei Yingguan knew Shangguan Wan'er would send someone to find her before their final night of sparring, but she hadn't yet made up her mind to divine the matter.

The doubts in her mind were delayed again and again, until two months after she arrived in Zhongshoujiang City.

Pei Yingguan's letter was packaged in the same way as Liu Mingyin's letter. After Xiao Wan'er opened it, she found that the length of this letter was no less than the letter sent by Liu Mingyin that day.

"What is there to say? Why write so much?" Xiao Wan'er muttered as she started reading.

Pei Yingguan's letter also contains a lot of content related to state affairs, but because of the different perspectives, the content and opinions expressed are quite different from Shangguan Wan'er's letter. Unexpectedly, but understandably, Pei Yingguan did not hesitate to praise the Prince of Linzi in his letter.

Xiao Wan'er pressed her forehead with a headache, helplessly looking down. Pei Yingguan then mentioned his progress in cultivation, a key point being his breakthrough to the Transcendent Realm.

"From now on, Junior Sister is no longer the only Transcendent Realm cultivator in the Divine Dragon Guard. Your Majesty is delighted about this." It was obvious that he was also very happy. "My Biyun Temple has also gained another Transcendent Realm expert. If there is an opportunity, I look forward to a sparring match with Junior Sister."

Xiao Wan'er was also itching to fight - since she reached the Transcendent Realm, she had never fought with cultivators of the same realm.

The last paragraph of the letter surprised Xiao Wan'er.

"You actually want to ask for leave to come here?"

The letter clearly read: "After the New Year, I will take time to ask for leave from His Majesty and go to Shoujiang City to visit my junior sister."

Xiao Wan'er took the letter. Since she was coming over, she simply didn't write him a reply. She took the reply letter to Shangguan Wan'er and found the caravan that had delivered the letter to her, asking them to send the reply back to Chang'an.

"Okay," the caravan leader accepted the silver and took the letter in his hand. "We will set off back to Chang'an in five days and will definitely deliver the letter to Empress Zhaorong."

"Thank you."

After sending the reply letter, Xiao Wan'er didn't encounter any important things until the end of the twelfth lunar month.

On New Year's Eve, as the highest official guarding the three surrendered cities, Zhang Renyuan invited all the officials, big and small, who had not returned to Chang'an to report on their work, to a dinner. After eating together, everyone went back home to stay up all night, and the New Year ended in such a simple way.