Chapter 19 The Talent from the Xie Family

It was a happy ending. Yang Lai joined the army, and Xie Ying didn’t need to worry about the escaped prisoners. After reading the saint’s essay, Yang Wei should return to Hengyang Academy which fully deserved to be the most prestige school in Dazhou. That academy was not in Dazhou, but its fame spread far and wide, so it had an awe-inspiring reputation in this country. Earlier, the three and Li Fuyao as well as Qing Huai had dinner together in the hotel.

Qing Huai always talked little to the irrelevant people except for Li Fuyao, so she just brought a pot of liquor and sat alone on the doorsill. She would take a sip when she looked up at the starry sky and didn’t get drunk.

The shopkeeper of the hotel and his wife had heard about the talent from the Xie Family but had seen the top young promising man in Yanshi City for the first time. They looked at him several times, but they were afraid of the soldiers in the courtyard, so they didn’t say more.

After taking off the armor, Xie Ying looked more dazzling. At dinner, Yang Wei and Li Fuyao didn’t talk much. One of the two was an orthodox Confucian cultivator and would possibly become a legendary man, and the other was still at the first stage of swordsmen, but with this teenager’s character, he wouldn’t be willing to stay at this stage.

Xie Ying, known as a talent from the Xie Family, was a top young general in Dazhou. His ability to observe somebody else’s speech and behavior was as good as his marital skill and leadership. Seeing that Li Fuyao was so calm at an early age, he looked up to this teenager secretly but didn’t reveal his other intentions.

After dinner, Xie Ying brought some liquor and came to Li Fuyao who was watching the rain under the eave. The two sat on the same wooden bench silently. After a while, Xie Ying asked, “Mr. Li, are you a cultivator, too?”

Li Fuyao asked with a smile, “How did you know?”

Xie Ying sighed with emotion, “Mr. Yang cares about you, a teenager so much. An ordinary person can’t get such a special treatment.”

Li Fuyao didn’t admit or deny but just looked up, laughing, “Compared with Mr. Yang, an orthodox cultivator, I just take an unusual road. I am afraid that I won’t make great achievements even after dozens of years.”

Xie Ying shook his head, “My uncle often said that there are thousands of ways to learn martial skills. You can’t say it’s orthodox or not. A cultivator might be different from a warrior, but in fact, I think we are not inferior.”

Li Fuyao laughed and didn’t express his opinion. He just said, “In the past, I once thought of something. Can a warrior at his peak kill a cultivator? But after thinking it over, I believe it is laughable. A warrior at his peak would only defeat one thousand enemies, but a cultivator at a much higher stage would wave his hand to move a mountain or fill a sea. How can a warrior be a match for a cultivator?”

Xie Ying nodded in agreement, “Like in Dazhou, no matter how powerful you are, as long as the emperor makes a decree, you would lose your power in an instant.”

Li Fuyao nodded with a smile, “General Xie, you are right.”

Xie Ying asked, “Mr. Li, you are not from Dazhou, right?”

Li Fuyao smiled and didn’t reply.

Xie Ying continued calmly, “In fact, I know. How can such a genius be from Dazhou? But, Mr. Li, if you are from our country, no matter which road you are taking, our emperor will be happy. After all, such a warrior like me almost became a princess’ husband as the emperor granted, not to mention you, a future immortal.”

Li Fuyao looked out of the room. It was getting dark, and it was raining in spring, so they couldn’t see the stars. He felt it a pity and said, “Dazhou is to the southwest of Yanling and has a small territory. No matter how the emperor of Dazhou expands the territory, can it be a match for Yanling? Even if there is a chance in the end, wouldn’t Yanling stand by and do nothing? There is no cultivator in Dazhou, but there are cultivators everywhere in Yanling. If there will be a fight, I am afraid that you won’t be able to cut the cultivators with your knife, General Xie.”

Xie Ying patted the liquor pot in his hand and expressed carefreely, “I ask for nothing but good liquor when I am thirsty. We are warriors in Dazhou and certainly should follow our emperor to make some great military contributions. Even if we will fail at last, we won’t regret. If we draw back and live like dogs for a lifetime because Yanling is more powerful, it will be unworthy. As a matter of fact, the reason why Yanling allows the small countries to exist is that its territory is too large and it can’t control some places. Then it doesn’t interfere when some small kingdoms are established, as long as they pay money every year according to rules and offer some manpower to serve it from time to time…”

At this time, Xie Ying stopped speaking abruptly.

Li Fuyao looked at him in confusion.

Xie Ying patted his chest proudly, “Only our country has never sent a civilian to suffer in Yanling these years.”

Before leaving Baiyu Town, Li Fuyao had known that the people from Dazhou were proud for no reason. Otherwise, the emperor of Dazhou wouldn’t dare to brag in front of the envoys from Yanling that he would expand the territory to be ten times larger within one hundred years.

But in Li Fuyao’s opinion, this sense of pride was stupid. However, after hearing Xie Ying’s words, he thought it was not so stupid.

After receiving the liquor pot from Xie Ying, he took a sip and then stated with a smile, “Apparently, it’s much more helpful to make friends with Mr. Yang than with me, a self-taught cultivator, but you chose to chat with me, General Xie. It confuses me.”

Xie Ying smiled and responded, “I think you are more sociable and human than Mr. Yang. As a result, it’s hard for me to get close to him. It is ruthless in the battle. And it depends on my feelings when I make friends.”

Xie Ying suddenly turned to Li Fuyao and smiled at him, “I am Xie Ying. Can I make friends with you, sir?”

Li Fuyao was stunned and asked, “Which kind of friend?”

Xie Ying asked cautiously, “We can die together?”

Li Fuyao frowned, “You know that I can live longer than you, so you want to take advantage of me?”

Xie Ying laughed loud and didn’t say a word.

Li Fuyao lowered his head and also laughed. “I had only one friend in the past. I will have two in future. But for now, we are not close enough.”

Li Fuyao added seriously, “I am Li Fuyao, the one as you imagined.”

When the teenager said that, Xie Ying seemed to see countless stars in his eyes somehow.

The two young men became friends after chatting for a while. On the doorsill not far away from them, Qing Huai looked at Li Fuyao’s back and slightly opened her mouth, speaking out one word in silence.

Undoubtedly, the word was “idiot”.

In the room, Yang Wei opened the window and didn’t watch the scene in the courtyard. He just said joyfully, “Value your wife’s virtue instead of her beauty. Do your best to take care of your parents. Risk your life to serve the emperor. Keep your promise and be honest to your friends. Even if you are not educated, I think you have learnt a lot.”

The sentences were engraved on the wall of one room in the Yanshi prison, but now they were nowhere to be seen.

At the same time, Xie Chenjun who was entering the prison in the spring rain furrowed his brows for no reason.