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Chapter 120 The Phoenix's Gift

Li Zhaowen walked briskly through the alleys of Chen State alone, humming the tune of poetry that the young man had just sung. As he moved forward, the moonlight and starlight were slowly replaced by the bright lights in front.

Li Zhaowen stopped and still stood in the shadows.

She stretched out her hand, straightened her clothes and collar, and the smile on her face faded. She once again looked like the calm and composed young master of aristocratic family. She unfolded her folding fan, with a famous landscape painting on the front and four ink characters on the back. She walked calmly back to her residence.

"The Second Young Master is back!"

Personal followers had already come up. Li Zhaowen threw the folding fan in his hand over and washed his hands in the golden basin that was brought to him. Everyone withdrew and went to pay their respects to their father. Then they returned to their own courtyard. Changsun Wugou took off her outer gown for her, and she bathed and changed her clothes before changing into a new set of clothes.

Flipping through the files under the lamp, Changsun Wuchou presented the things and Li Zhaowen looked through them.

Changsun Wugou asked, "What did Erlang drink? Is it the same as before?"

Normally, Li Zhaowen drinks tea. She has the habit of drinking tea at night. She originally planned to order the famous Jiangnan tea, Longjing before the Rain. But now she paused for a moment, thinking of the time when she and the young man were fighting for wine. The wine was very clear and delicious. She was a little greedy at the moment, so she asked, "Do you have any wine from Changfeng Tower?"

Changsun Wugou was surprised and had to look at his brother next to him.

Zhangsun Wuchou said, "Of course there is one in the mansion. I will go get it."

Li Zhaowen smiled and said, "Thank you for your help."

Although the wine Changsun Wuchou brought was the same kind as the one from Changfeng Tower, the quality was vastly different. It looked like amber when poured into the cup. Li Zhaowen took a sip and frowned slightly. He felt that it was not good enough and not as delicious as the one he snatched from Li Guanyi.

The wine went down my throat like a refreshing breeze.

She didn't say it explicitly, but just praised: "It tastes good."

He put the wine aside and did not drink it. He just flipped through the files. They were all about the big and small things that happened in the State of Chen during this period. There were many things, big and small, but in the final analysis, they were all about the upcoming grand sacrifice of the State of Chen.

Zhang Sun Wu Chou said softly, "There is news of the highest level."

Even Changsun Wugou had to avoid it.

There were only two people in the room.

Changsun Wuchou said: "I heard that the emperor wants to have a martial arts competition among the countries before the grand sacrifice to liven up the atmosphere."

Li Zhaowen said, "The world has been in turmoil for more than three hundred years. The nations attach great importance to sword skills, martial arts are rampant, and there are many martial arts masters in the court and the martial arts world. Before the grand sacrifice, there are martial arts competitions and military exercises to inform the ancestors and descendants not to relax their military preparations."

"It's a common thing. What's the difference that Wu Chou cares so much about it?"

Zhangsun Wuchou said softly, "There is news that Emperor Chen is going to give a big reward."

Li Zhaowen flipped through the files and said, "If it were just an ordinary martial arts manual or a magical weapon, you wouldn't be like this. Could it be..."

Zhangsun Wuchou said softly, "Title."

"The title given for military merit is the fifth rank, upper rank, [Founding County Male]."

Li Zhaowen's pupils shrank slightly: "Founding level military lord?"

In today's world, there are countless people who have been awarded titles based on their martial arts. But this does not mean that the title of Martial Lord is easy to obtain. One needs to fight with all one's strength on the battlefield, risking one's life, and also have incredible luck to obtain it.

Even though a county baron is only the lowest rank among the five ranks of nobility in the world, he can still be addressed as Lord. Ordinary titles do not have the qualifications to be passed down to future generations, except for the [Founding Lord], which is a title higher than the merit of founding a country and can be passed down for three generations.

There is such a title, a military merit title!

That's different.

They are not officials, nor are they rich. Such people are of a different class, they are [nobles].

Li Zhaowen seemed to be thinking about something, and said, "Emperor Chen intends to promote someone."

"This person is probably extremely important, which has made the usually cautious emperor a little anxious. Or maybe something happened recently, forcing Emperor Chen to speed up his actions."

"Yes, the world is changing drastically. If you want to help someone rise to prominence, what could be easier than the national sacrifice of the past ten years, a grand sacrifice watched by people from all over the world?"

"It really became famous overnight."

Zhangsun Wuchou also agreed, "Although in the end, it must be the Night Cavalry, the Tiger Cavalry, and the Iron Pagoda fighting, but no matter which legion it is, everyone can sign up. It's just that the news hasn't spread yet, and it should be announced in a few days at most."

"You have the Black Armor Army under your command, you want..."

Li Zhaowen flatly refused and said, "No need."

"The army's first appearance must be at the critical point of the world's general situation."

"It was a surprise attack the first time it appeared, but I lost the initiative the second time. This mere treasure of Emperor Chen is not worth it for me to reveal this card."

"This army under my command will appear in this world."

"Rather than being in the conspiracy of such an old man, that would be too worthless. However, even if he wants to promote someone, I think he may not be able to do so as he wishes."

"There are many military merits in various countries, and there are also talented people in Chen State."

Zhang Sun Wu Chou reacted and said:

"Have you met Li Guanyi?"

Li Zhaowen smiled slightly and praised: "He is a man of both civil and military talents."

Zhangsun Wuchou hesitated for a moment and said, "Although Guanyi has an extraordinary bearing, it may be difficult for him to win this military merit title. The emperor has invested so much money, I think he will definitely issue an internal order to let the others hold back. The children of the Chen Kingdom will have to admit defeat when facing that man."

Li Zhaowen thought of the sentence "Are kings, dukes, generals, and ministers of different species?" and said:
"Li Guanyi is not someone who will obey orders obediently."

"If you don't believe me, you can make a bet with me."

Changsun Wuchou smiled and cupped his hands, saying, "I dare not."

"I also think that Li Guanyi is full of youthful vigor and will not change his character just because of a few orders from the Jinwu Guards. With a young man's temper, he will be even more unhappy and want to attack with all his strength."

Li Zhaowen smiled and said, "That's right."

"However, I have finished reading these files. Changfeng Tower can be moved now."

There was a slight surprise in Changsun Wuchou's eyes. They had deployed people in Changfeng Tower to gather all kinds of information about the State of Chen, and then summarize the information. Changsun Wuchou and Li Zhaowen would look for sufficiently valuable intelligence among them.

However, the most important thing about using spies is transfer.

If you want to live, you must move. If you don't move, you will die.

If you stay in one place and don't move, you will definitely be exposed.

This is the second change of Changfeng Tower. The real internal intelligence system will be transferred to another place, and Changfeng Tower will become a purely safe industry. It will then be laundered and thrown out. The children of wealthy families will eat up the meat like wolves eat up meat. By then, Li Zhaowen will have naturally left.

This is the only way to be safe.

Naturally, a lot of gold and silver will also be lost.

Li Zhaowen's voice was calm:
"The aristocratic families, and even many of the elders in the Chen royal family, are chasing after profit."

“What I see is bigger than what they see.”

"Yes, by the way, when the property was sold off, the owner of this building stayed."

Changsun Wuchou was surprised to see the girl over there picking up the wine cup and drinking. She felt a little drunken and happy again. With a smile on her lips, she thought of Li Guanyi leaning on the black-sailed boat, picking lotus pods and drinking, and saying that he was reluctant to spend fifty taels of silver.

Li Zhaowen drank and said, "When the time comes, I will give this building to Li Guanyi."

"He likes to drink, so this is Jiangzhou's No. 1 restaurant."

The girl threw the wine glass down carelessly and said with her hands behind her back:
"Send it to him."

........................

Li Guanyi returned to Xue's house and told Old Xue about these things. Old Xue just laughed and said to Li Guanyi, those so-called Menxia Shilang and Menxia Province are all from the line of Tan Tai Xian Ming, you slapped him in the face, well done!
The old man already had some baggage, so he couldn't slap those guys in the face.

You kid, make your arms round for me!
It’s okay. If they dare to come and cause trouble, I, the old man, will go and beat them up.

Mr. Xue was eager to try.

Li Guanyi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He felt relieved. He was actually worried about causing trouble to Old Xue, but the old man thought it was okay. Li Guanyi ate another bowl of soup at the old man's place, and then went back to the yard. Yaoguang was not there, so he took a bath and changed his clothes comfortably.

The blue phoenix has always been circling around him.

A strand of jade liquid was obtained from the Phoenix, but it was absorbed by the Blue Luan Bird. Li Guanyi felt that the Blue Luan Bird was much more agile today than before. Li Guanyi was curious and couldn't help wondering, "Could it be that the Dharma Image will also change and transform again?"

He stroked the blue phoenix's feathers with his palm.

The bird was extremely large. As the boy sat cross-legged there, its wings could almost hold him under its wings. There were traces of golden flames on its feathers, but they flashed away in an instant, just like the phoenix fire of Li Zhaowen's Dharma image.

"Perhaps it is true. When I confronted Yuwen Lie before, the White Tiger Dharma Image also transformed when I came back."

Li Guanyi closed his eyes and meditated. The jade liquid in his body was fully accumulated. As long as he pushed it down, he could immediately cultivate the Red Dragon Power. With the blessing of the "Six Voids and Four Combinations Magical Art", he really punched out at that time, and the Red Dragon, White Tiger, Yin and Soft Dark Power triple changed.

The red dragon image appeared and hummed in the void, full of desire.

Li Guanyi reached out and stroked the dragon's scales, whispering, "Don't be impatient, don't be impatient."

"I still need this energy to deal with the imperial physician."

"Just wait a few more days."

Li Guanyi planned to imitate the practice of "Wangyang Jin" and let part of the Red Dragon Jin in his body dissipate every day, and then let the imperial physician check. After a few days, he would make gradual progress, just like he practiced "Wangyang Jin" and swallowed the Red Dragon Jin, and then he could practice this martial art openly.

We still need to be cautious about this matter.

The next day, Li Guanyi dealt with the imperial physician. With the old man's relieved expression, he listened to the old physician telling him many dietary taboos. Then he picked up his weapon and went back to where the Jinwu Guards were on duty. However, before he got there, he heard bursts of shouting and scolding.

The person who started cursing was the Jinwu Guard's close associate, the Yiwei Yulin Langjiang.

This fifth-rank imperial guard general was dressed in armor and had a strong energy like a dragon. Standing in the rows in front of him were those who had participated in the fight last night. When Li Guanyi came over, he was also scolded and stood there obediently.

The young man glanced over and grinned.

Zhou Liuying's eyes were dark, Ye Buyi's forehead was slightly swollen, and a few others covered their buttocks and grimaced. It was obvious that with the attitude of the Wuxun Family towards these young masters, they would be severely beaten when they returned.

The Imperial Guard General sneered and said, "Finally?"

"Young man in a scarlet robe, let's wear a scarlet robe too. How about I go down and you sit down?"

Li Guanyi grinned, knowing that it might be the Minister of the Court who came to complain.

He said honestly: "The general is joking."

Gong Zhenyong, a general of the Imperial Guards, laughed angrily and said, "Hey, look at what you said. You don't wear a scarlet robe and a white jade belt? I'm only a fifth-rank official. I just changed into a scarlet robe and a rhinoceros horn belt. How dare I say I'm a general in front of you?"

He widened his eyes like copper bells and cursed: "Fight!"

"They were still fighting with those civil servants in Changfeng Tower. You guys are really capable. Ten of you beat up thirty-four people, and many of them were unable to get out of bed. The son of the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel was beaten with a bench at least ten times. Tell me, who did it?"

Except for Li Guanyi, the other nine people took a step forward together.

The corners of Li Guanyi and Gong Zhenyong's mouth twitched.

The young men looked at Li Guanyi.

Li Guanyi thought about it and took a step forward.

Gong Zhenyong laughed angrily:

"Your family is capable and powerful, so you are not afraid of them, but a bunch of people came to see me today!"

"I just got up and opened the door, and there were thirty-four red robes!"

"He's standing there in a purple robe bestowed by the emperor. I haven't even trembled like this when facing the charge of the Ying State's Tiger Cavalry!"

"Fuck, that thing almost went soft."

"You dogs..."

Although he came from an aristocratic family, he was born in the military and climbed up from the bottom. He spoke vulgarly, had fought in tough battles, and was habitually inclined to curse "son of a bitch". But suddenly he realized that the mothers of these guys were either daughters of direct descendants of aristocratic families or royal relatives.

There is another person who is related to him, who is the son of his elder sister.

If you say this out loud, there won't be thirty or so people in red robes when you open the door tomorrow morning.

She is his biological sister.

He has a very good relationship with his sister.

I forced myself to hold back the words.

Gong Zhenyong held back his breath and said with a red face: "...dog, dog, baby dog."

"You bunch of stinky boys!"

Several young men from aristocratic families could not help but laugh. Gong Zhenyong kept cursing. His voice could be heard clearly outside. Even the dogs passing by had to walk with their tails between their legs. They all knew the anger of this elite general who was in his thirties and was the general of the imperial guards.

But in the end, Gong Zhenyong scolded him for a long time, took a cup of tea to moisten his throat, and just coughed, and said nonchalantly:
"Lose and win."

Zhou Liuying blinked.

He reacted and said proudly:
"Definitely won!"

Gong Zhenyong smiled and said, "That's pretty good."

Zhou Liuying said: "Then General, do we not need to be punished..."

Gong Zhenyong had a ferocious smile on his face: "No need to be punished? Bullshit! What I mean is, if you win, I will punish you normally, but if you lose?"

"I lost, humph..."

The ten Jinwu guards including Li Guanyi all shuddered. The general stood up. He had a strong build. As a general, he was supposed to start from the third level. After returning from the battlefield and being an elite general among the imperial guards, he was probably at the fourth level. He slapped the ten men to the ground without blinking an eye.

Everyone held their breath.

Gong Zhenyong's eyes widened and he shouted, "Why don't you go guard the cold palace!"

He said the softest words in the harshest tone. Everyone was stunned and overjoyed. A young man shouted, "Uncle, can you go guard the Qilin Palace?"

Gong Zhenyong kicked him and cursed, "People outside call me General, General!"

He knew the affairs of his men and the reasons why they were obsessed with Qilin Palace, so he said, "Okay, okay, go ahead and don't bother me."

"I have never seen anyone like you who are unwilling to stay in the cold palace and are willing to go to the forbidden palace."

The young men shouted "thank you general" and dispersed. After receiving their weapons and armor, they all went to Qilin Palace. Although they had been taught a lesson by their fathers and brothers and had been injured in the fight yesterday, they held their heads high and did not look like they were being punished but rather like they were being rewarded.

Li Guanyi went there silently. When they arrived at Qilin Palace, not many people came. The young people were just practicing martial arts and chatting. They said that they were beaten and punished by their fathers and brothers when they returned home yesterday.

Military generals always use their fists to teach their sons.

I don't know how it turned into a competition. I said how many punches I received, and you said how many canes you received. Then we started to compete. Ye Buyi closed his eyes and meditated, and so did Li Guanyi. However, after an hour or two, when several young military officers had already gone there, he said he also wanted to relieve himself.

He approached the well and used the Qi-gazing technique to make sure it was safe.

He bent down and touched a thin rope.

Take out the spoils you hid here.

Hou Zhongyu's treasure, that thing of a Taoist master who had reached the highest level of the third realm, which could not be killed even by the Qilin Fire, I wonder what exactly is recorded in it, is it a magical skill, a unique skill, or some secret teaching? !

Li Guanyi looked at the untouched cowhide bag.

He went around in circles and took a long time to come over after killing the enemy, so he was very cautious.

The secret of Qilin Palace, the treasure of Hou Zhongyu.

Finally got it.

What will be inside?
(End of this chapter)