The flamboyant man chuckled dismissively at the other man, then repeated, "The true dragon emerges from the sea, the spiritual realm is unified, the phoenix rises from the ashes, reborn from the flames, life is death, and death is life."
After a brief pause, as if convincing himself and making a final decision, he said, "According to a master in the City God Temple, this passage refers to a pair of dragon and phoenix empresses who are about to be reborn from the ashes. They will possess the powerful force to unify this Spirit Void Continent. Therefore, it seems that the moment of unification of Spirit Void is truly approaching!"
He had barely begun speaking when he stopped again, seemingly quite curious as he scrutinized the man sitting opposite him.
"What are you doing?" The man was pondering what she had just said when he suddenly came to his senses and asked in confusion.
The flamboyant man gave him a deep look, and said in a seemingly teasing tone, "Could it be... that this is the Third Prince and the Princess of Western Qin? I heard that the two of you are about to get married!"
"Stop talking nonsense!" the gentle and refined man immediately rebuked him in a deep voice.
However, the alluring man still refused to shut up, giving him a disdainful look and continuing, "How do you know I'm talking nonsense without even thinking? Just think about it, among the four kingdoms of the Spirit Void Continent, who dares to compete with the wealthy and powerful Dongning Kingdom? And within Dongning Kingdom, who is more likely than the Third Prince to be that scheming, ambitious, and soon-to-be-married true dragon?"
Upon hearing this, the gentle and refined man actually stopped his anger. After thinking about it carefully, he did not continue the topic. Perhaps he had already tacitly agreed with the flamboyant man's statement. After all, unifying the Spirit Realm was his only wish in life, and something he was determined to achieve.
So he raised an eyebrow, then asked to himself, "'Peach blossoms adorn the small shop, green willows sway in the breeze,' what about this one?"
The alluring man nodded slightly, took a deep breath, then turned his gaze to the window, reminiscing for a moment, and said softly, "Actually, that night, I was just passing by the City God Temple on my way to find the girl, so I stopped inside to rest. I didn't intend to overhear your conversation. But later, I found that the Taoist priest's identity very suspicious. How could he know so many secrets of the Spirit Void Continent? So, after you left, I followed the direction the Taoist priest went, but I didn't find any Taoist priest. Instead, I encountered a monk. So, he invited me into the main hall, and we chatted casually for a few minutes."
After a brief pause, a melancholy crept onto the flamboyant man's face. He gently twirled the teacup in his hand, silently repeating to himself, "'Peach blossoms in the small shop, pink and beautiful; willows by the roadside, green and misty.' The master told me just as I was leaving that if I wanted to find someone, I should look for them here. So, it seems this saying refers to a place. But later, I was startled to discover that what he said was exactly the same as what the Taoist priest had told you. I've also wondered if they are the same person. But how could a monk and a Taoist priest be the same? Perhaps, that old monk, like me, overheard the Taoist priest's words that night?"
"But at least, it lets me know that the girl is still alive, and it lets me know that your deliberate approach to the girl was for ulterior motives. But what I least expected is that the girl might actually be the lost legitimate princess of your Dongning Kingdom." The flamboyant man finally shifted his gaze to the face of the man opposite him, staring at him with astonishment.
The gentle, refined man finally understood and said calmly, "So, you followed me here in such a hurry just to confirm this?!"
Upon hearing this, the flamboyant man shook his head in apparent helplessness, lowered his head, and then gave a self-deprecating laugh: "You'll never know how much I love that girl. I'd give anything for her. But now, so much time has passed, and I still haven't found a single trace of her. Even though I know she's still alive, there are many states of being alive. If she's just alive, but not living well, if she's injured and doesn't receive timely treatment, if she's all alone and helpless, or if she's like before, inexplicably falling into a coma and losing consciousness..."
The more he thought about it, the more worried he became. He suddenly looked up, his eyes wide, and grabbed the wrist of the gentle, jade-like man in mid-air. His eyes were filled with anxiety and worry as he said angrily, "Do you know? Do you know that she was unconscious for a whole year? If that's the case, if that's the case, what are we going to do? What are we going to do? I knew it. As long as she's with Xuan Yuanhan, there will always be danger. Xuan Yuanhan, if anything really happens to the girl this time, I will definitely tear down your Qin Prince's Mansion and make you wish you were dead!"
As they were talking, the flamboyant man suddenly released his grip through gritted teeth and slammed his fist heavily onto the tea table in front of him. Porcelain bowls, plates, tea, and snacks scattered all over the floor with a crash. Several waiters waiting in the corner of the teahouse, ready to serve guests, rushed forward, trembling with fear, to tidy up and wipe the mess while repeatedly bowing and apologizing to the distinguished guest: "We're so sorry, so sorry! Is there anything we haven't done well for you, sir? Please tell us, sir, please don't be angry, please don't be angry!"
The gentle, jade-like man seemed startled by the sudden remark. His eyes widened in surprise, and he quickly waved his hand, gesturing to the waiter who was cleaning up the mess to explain, "Go down and bring up another pot of tea and some snacks. It's not your fault. The things you just broke are on our tab."
......
At this point, Long En, who had been quietly hiding in the corner and listening to the whole story, finally realized:
"Dongning Kingdom...Third Prince...The Lost Eldest Princess"
"Your Highness, Crown Prince of Nan'an Kingdom..."
"So those two were... No wonder I had no memory of them at all."
"So Ruoxi... no, it should be Yi Shangyun... she might very well be the lost legitimate princess of Dongning Kingdom. This is something that even she herself probably doesn't know yet?"
Clearly, Long En, who had just learned all this, was completely stunned...
"A true dragon emerges from the sea, the spirit realm is unified, the phoenix rises from the ashes, reborn from the flames, life is death, and death is life... a pair of emperors and empresses who are about to unify the spirit realm continent."
"The peach blossoms by the small shop are pink and beautiful, the willows by the roadside are green and wispy."
Just as Long En was repeatedly muttering this phrase to himself, he suddenly heard the gentle, jade-like voice of a man behind him from behind the partition: "Right now, spring has returned to the earth, and everywhere is a scene of peach blossoms in full bloom and willows adding new leaves... The peach blossoms in the small shop are pink and beautiful, and the willows along the road are green and wispy... Could it be a small place where the peach blossoms and willows are particularly outstanding, little known, or isolated from the world... Do you know where there is such a place?"
"Hmph, at this time of year, where aren't peach blossoms in full bloom and willows swaying in the breeze? In my opinion, that old monk is just making things up." The flamboyant man sat with his legs spread wide, tilting his head and sneering, still angry.
Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a figure behind the partition, and immediately stood up and shouted, "Who's there?"
Soon, the two hurriedly walked towards the partition. The flamboyant man frowned slightly and recognized Long En. He leaned down slightly and slammed his two large, powerful hands heavily on the coffee table in front of Long En. He narrowed his almond-shaped eyes and looked at him with astonishment and anger, saying, "It's you... Who are you? Why are you following us? What did you hear?"
Faced with his condescending and unfriendly demeanor and repeated questioning, Long En remained steadfast and fearless, still holding his teacup and sipping his tea. With a slight, provocative smile on his face, he answered sparingly, "All...everything."
"You..." Just as the flamboyant man was about to pull his hand away and strike the other man's left chest, the gentle and refined man swiftly grabbed the man's hand, which was already raised in mid-air, and slowly released it back.
She then glanced at him with forced composure, before offering a warm smile and bowing apologetically, saying, "Brother, I'm truly sorry. My friend here is in a bad mood today and has offended me. Please forgive him. This table is on me, brother."
As he spoke, he instructed the waiter who had arrived late and was trying to persuade the three men: "Waiter, please give this gentleman some more good tea and a few more plates of delicate pastries, and put them all on our tab."
The flamboyant man simply stood there, sulking, neither speaking nor moving.
Unexpectedly, Long En refused the man's apology by extending his hand: "There is no need to trouble you two esteemed guests. I have already used everything. Since I have entered this door, I will certainly be able to settle the bill."
As he spoke, he gestured for the waiter to come back and placed a silver ingot on the table in front of him.
Seeing this, the man could only helplessly say again, "Then I'm sorry."
"Let's go... let's go!" she said, forcefully grabbing the arm of the extremely defiant and flamboyant man and pulling him back to his seat.
The flamboyant man had just been awkwardly and finally managed to be seated when, unexpectedly, Long En got up and went over to them, standing beside their table with a mysterious smile, asking, "I wonder if His Highness the Third Prince is willing to pay an even bigger price?"
"Are you still going to keep this up today..." the flamboyant man said impatiently, about to get up again, but was interrupted by the gentle man: "I wonder what you mean by that, elder brother?"
Long En then sat down beside him uninvited, knowing full well what was going on, and asked, "Is the Third Prince asking about how I knew you were the Third Prince of Dongning Kingdom, or about the bargaining chips?"
The gentle-looking man chuckled and said, "I wonder why this prince should pay you a price?"
Long En smiled and said, "Isn't the Third Prince searching for your country's lost legitimate princess?"
"So what?... Could it be that you..." The gentle man seemed to realize something in an instant.
Long En raised his head slightly and said, "That's right, I know where she is."
"What?" Before the gentle man could speak, the flamboyant man had already stood up impatiently and loudly questioned Long En, "Where is the girl?"
Long En said, "Isn't it in the very sentence you were just repeating?"
The flamboyant man glared at him and quickly pressed, "Explain yourself clearly."
"'Peach Blossom Shop' refers to a small village called Peach Blossom Shop located at the border between Western Qin and your Southern An Kingdom," Long En said, shaking his head.
"Peach Blossom Shop... Peach Blossom Shop Village... So this is what it's like." The two men looked at each other in bewilderment.
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