Chapter 296 Don’t Talk About State Affairs
It was late at night, the exhibition had long ended, and the streets were deserted.
Ji Qiufeng walked alone down the street, a folding fan in one hand and a bottle of fine wine in the other. The wine was a secret brew from the Dudu Otter's collection, which he had personally written a few couplets on in exchange for the small animal. He walked slowly, as if waiting for something.
Ji Qiufeng suddenly stopped and tried to suppress his laughter. Behind a streetlight, a thief was hiding, sneaking around like a thief. He was quite large, and the lamppost looked like a bamboo pole, barely hiding him at all.
He shouted cheerfully, "Brother Huan Ge, how are you?"
Senior Brother Huan Ge, a burly masked man carrying a massive package, immediately leaped out, clapped his hands, and shouted, "My nemesis, Ji Qiufeng! Old friends meet after 20 years, and now is the time for a duel. Come, let's fight it out!"
Ji Qiufeng greeted him enthusiastically, patting Huan Ge's sturdy arm. "Brothers, it's only natural that we compare our drinking capacity. Tonight, you and I won't leave until we're drunk!"
"Hey, are you listening to me? I want to have a martial arts competition! I want a real fight!"
"It's not too late to compete after we finish drinking." Ji Qiufeng pulled him forward, "Trek is about to get off work, let's go to his house and wait for him."
"Hey! I don't want to drink this. Hey! Just three cups, no more!"
Chui Ke sat at his dining table, a scowl on his face. "You two, the idlers, have so much free time, but I'm working a proper job... When I get home from work and see those two old faces, I almost want to go back to work..."
"You have the oldest face, don't you, Dad?" Li Ke said without giving him any face. "Don't laugh at my simple meal. I didn't have time to prepare it, so I just made some noodles."
"And prepare something to go with the drinks."
"Okay, okay, remember not to drink too much." Li Ke put down a plate of peanuts. "I'm taking Mom out for a ride. Uncle Huan and Uncle Ji, you guys take your time chatting~"
The little girl cleaned up quickly and took Mrs. Trick downstairs. A plate of peanuts and three bowls of noodles with gravy appeared on the table. Ji Qiufeng's face was filled with envy: "It's great that my daughter can cook."
"You're not as sloppy as me. If your father is unsuccessful, the child will naturally learn on his own." Trick was unconcerned. "Besides, aren't your daughter's apprentices all excellent?"
"That disciple can no longer be described as 'excellent', he is simply 'horrible'..." Huan Ge took off his mask and ate noodles.
Ji Qiufeng raised his hand and said, "I would also like to thank Senior Brother Huan for giving him the precious spear."
"After all, he's my nephew, and he's such a talented person. He's one of the best in Chenjun Palace now, but with you, me, and my sister, I can't give these weapons away to the younger generation..." Huan Ge said with a distressed look on his face, "How can I, ah, how can I just put them in a treasure chest and look at them every day~~~!"
Trick threw peanuts into his mouth: "Are you really heartbroken?"
Huan Ge slammed his hands on the table. "I really like that gun! And I really, really want that prosthetic arm too!"
"How shameful! The children are more mature than you."
"Jace Trick, do you think that's a good thing?" Huan Ge asked exaggeratedly. "No matter what path you take, it's important to clarify your heart. Chu Hengkong's nature is more obvious than mine. He's a domineering and reckless person, but he usually sits there with a heavy heart. He seems mature and steady, but he's lost his childlike innocence. A child like that, no matter how powerful he is, can't fly!"
"Hengkong is too bound by the past. I've mentioned this to him before. Now he's looking for his old friend. I think his fate will lead to a result."
Ji Qiufeng stood up and poured wine for the two men. Huan Ge said he wouldn't drink but let his glass fill. Cui Ke, smiling, only took half a glass. He swirled the half-full glass and said leisurely, "I see he's got too many high-end items on him. Even if he gets to level 4, it won't necessarily increase his combat power much. He's just trying to digest the results so he can live comfortably."
Besides, even if he doesn't upgrade, his current combat power is more than enough. Like you, a pervert, he's a master of all four traditions in martial arts, and within his bones is a remnant of an ancient, long-lost inner cultivation technique. Add to that the scattered outer Dao components... Without drawing his sword, he could probably fight Particle 5 for a bit, right? So terrifying~"
He took a sip of wine and suddenly said, "Isn't he the one who cut through the wilderness?"
Huan Ge also looked at Ji Qiufeng, who said frankly, "That's why we sent him to Jingsha to avoid disaster."
"With another reincarnation of Lord Yinglong and a genius capable of tearing the Heavenly Prison apart, your Huilong City will naturally be unable to be defended." Huan Ge nodded. "This is a sound move! However... Jingsha is no longer the same as before."
Ji Qiufeng said sternly, "I have heard about the bill, but are the people of Jingsha really so upset?"
Upon hearing this, Trek shook his head repeatedly.
"You've been trapped in the city for twenty years, old boy. You're too accustomed to wartime practices... As your Longquan Township says, Jingsha has experienced 'a long period of peace'! People's eyes have never been on the battlefield, and the citizens, accustomed to living in their own little world, how can there be any 'public support' to speak of?"
Huan Ge sighed, "Fools paralyzed by comfort."
Ji Qiufeng nodded and said, "The township commanders all expected this. I went to Mansa Star Fort a few days ago and met with the captain with a letter."
Upon hearing this, Trick started laughing. "What did 'Dead Wood' say? Let me guess... 'The final outcome of this matter will be determined by the law and the system. As the commander of the Divine Guard, I have no right to interfere with the wishes of the people.'"
Ji Qiufeng also laughed: "Be a little tougher in your tone."
"That rigid fellow is simply bound by his own 'laws,'" Huan Ge said angrily. "That's the way the Path of Floating Light is. Confined by one's own machinery and rules, the higher one climbs, the more rigid one becomes. Sigh!"
"Is it really okay for you to say this in front of me, the Holy Cup?" Trek squinted. "If you want to be free, you have to be as unsuccessful and unsuccessful as me."
Huan Ge's face turned pale: "Hey! I'm not! Hey!"
"Now that things have come to this, Senior Brother Huan, please drink three cups as punishment."
"Cup thirty cups as punishment~"
"You guys want to drink me to death!"
By the time Huan Ge had finished his ten glasses of wine, the bottle was already half empty. Ji Qiufeng put down his empty bowl of noodles and suddenly became serious.
"I'm now at level 6. I came to Jingsha thinking that even if I couldn't convince the captain, I could still be a support for you. But the situation has changed so quickly, and I have to leave for the city tomorrow."
Trek said, "What's the reason?"
"The experiments in the Dustless Land have made progress. One of their new prodigies has brought back information about the Blood Origin," Ji Qiufeng said. "Plus, now that the wilderness has been broken and the Heavenly Prison is no longer inaccessible, it's feasible to open a safe passage."
"This is a blessing for the world!" Huan Ge put down his wine glass and said excitedly, "Ji Qiufeng, you must not lose sight of priorities. Even if the evil people in Jingsha cause trouble, even if there is a huge uproar, it will only cause chaos in one city or one country. However, the situation in the Heavenly Prison concerns the lives of all people in the world. Didn't you see that when the evil god died, hundreds of millions of ghosts were buried with him. How many lives survived?"
Cui Ke also became serious for a rare moment: "Huan Ge is right this time... You, Youyou, and Jie Wen opened up the sea and built the city in order to counterattack the Heavenly Prison. This is the heaviest burden on you and you cannot abandon it.
Furthermore, the technology in the Dustless Land is still some distance behind that of the Empire. Even if we seize the initiative, it will only be a matter of time before the Empire of Truth regenerates thanks to the information flow. If you don't act quickly this time, I'm afraid that by the time the main force gathers in two or three years, the Blood Plain will have already become Imperial territory..."
Huan Ge shrank his neck. "Can you please not say such terrible things?! Going to war with the Desire Demon already requires a lot of mental preparation. If the real weapons take over the Heavenly Prison, it will be really fatal!"
"We should always consider the worst in everything~" Trek didn't care.
"Why can't you think of something positive? Maybe Xue Yuan has already been smashed to pieces by my nephew Bai Lang..."
"Relying on Hun Xingzhe alone is still not enough." Trick shook his head. "By then, the matter of Jingsha will have come to an end, and we can enter the Heavenly Prison with the children~"
Huan Ge was shocked: "Why do you say I'm just like a repeater?!"
"It's okay, Uncle Trek. I'm just a point 5 at my age." Trek comforted.
"What Uncle Trek? I'm obviously older than you!"
Ji Qiufeng watched his old friends bickering with a smile, and when they died down, he said, "Actually, in my opinion, there's no need to overdo it... Being able to fight in the Heavenly Prison is certainly worthy of the master's cultivation, but reaching level 6 is very different from before, and can provide more assistance. I think if I were still a mortal cultivator, Huaisu, Hengkong, and Master Yinglong would never have survived to this day."
Huan Ge and Cui Ke both fell silent, and only sighs could be heard for a while.
They had known each other for a long time, forming a close friendship, all because they were all part of the same plan... the grand plan for the Blood Origin counterattack, once undertaken by Ji Qiufeng. Otherwise, how could Huan Ge have so easily produced a relic like the Kanglong Spear? This weapon, of extremely high essence, yet deliberately reduced to a medium-level particle, was forged by Longquan Township specifically for the Blood Origin challenge.
But first the Kingdom of God fell, then the foreigners besieged the city, and even Jingsha, the rear base, seemed to be in turmoil. Even if we were to meet again today, we couldn't be as carefree and content as we were twenty years ago.
They are no longer teenagers; they are adults, elders, and leaders who must step up in crucial moments. Their most important role now is to protect those "young men" who are charging into battle and leading the charge. Weapons forged for war, often unused for years, are better left in the care of young men with outstanding achievements.
"I know this," Huan Ge sighed. "But I've been bogged down by official duties these past few years, and unknowingly lost my former courage. Add to that the chaotic situation, and I'm unable to make a 'decision' now... And because of past events, Trek hasn't been able to advance, and he's been sitting in the Third Order for twenty years. If he were the captain, how could Jing Sha...!"
"I'm already quite content not to be expelled. It's so nice to be a lazy captain." Trick remained cheerful. "Besides, 'Gao Mu' is a good person. He can handle anything Jingsha throws at him. Ji Qiufeng, you can go back without worry."
Ji Qiufeng nodded and said with a smile, "I feel bad coming here empty-handed. Hengkong Huaisu and the others will be staying for a while, so if you need anything, you can go find them."
"Well, you old man, I'll take your daughter's apprentice as a favor~"
"What a scumbag father!"
"It's okay, it's okay. If something really happens, they will always be the first to rush forward~"
Even as the night deepened, the clinking of glasses continued. The old men drank slowly, always having much to say before the wine was emptied.
·
At the same time, somewhere in the city-state.
Fenya, no, Yinglong suddenly woke up and found himself deep in lush vegetation. Here, light and darkness intertwined, and it was impossible to tell whether it was day or night. A gentle breeze blew, and the sound of branches rubbing against each other turned into a crisp sound.
"Youming, are you an ancient dragon or a sacred tree now?"
"Yinglong Youming has long been dead and is now just a nameless fragrant bud." Yinglong replied.
The voice of the grass and trees rang out again: "Fortunately, you are cultivating the path of reincarnation. Otherwise, even if the sacred cherry tree sacrificed itself to save you, you would not have a chance."
"Perhaps we should be thankful that the Funeral God still remembers our old friendship." The Sakura Dragon smiled bitterly. It pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked in surprise, "Why is there still a demonic aura? Are your injuries still not healed?!"
"It's become one with me a long time ago! If Karthod were still around, he might be able to cure it... but it's a pity he lost his mind for a moment and didn't come to help me anymore."
Yinglong said worriedly, "With the colorless elements integrated into your order, demons will be able to easily enter and exit the city-state, which is ultimately a hidden danger."
"Why isn't this a blessing?" The voice of the plants and trees remained leisurely. "There are many hidden dangers, and this one is not a big deal. Why not see what the demons are planning to do first~"
·
Late night, at the dock.
The lighthouse's searchlight swept across the empty sea, and two inconspicuous black spots flashed among the surging water.
There were two men walking on the sea, one tall, one short. They rode the waves as easily as if they were walking on flat ground. As they stepped onto the dock, the shorter man tapped his heels impatiently, and the taller man flapped his clothes.
"It's an honor to be with you," he said. "Thanks to you, I was able to come here so easily."
"It has nothing to do with me." The short man said impatiently, "Ever since Wu Se came here, all the city-states have no defense against demons."
"The place where the great king once lived is truly exciting..."
The ambitious demon looked up, his gaze passing through the branches and leaves, drifting to another land above the clouds.
"Looks like it could stand pretty tall!" he said happily.
(End of this chapter)
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