Chapter 226: Xia Xiaotang

"Hm?"

Li Rui suddenly turned his head toward the crowd.

"Brother Li, what's wrong?"

Ning Zhongtian noticed Li Rui's odd behavior and asked.

"Nothing."

Li Rui shook his head, lost in thought.

At that moment, several familiar faces approached from the crowd, interrupting his thoughts.

Dao Mo burst into laughter as he came forward: "Brother Li, you're here and you didn't even say a word? At least give me a twenty percent discount, right?"

As he spoke, he pulled Li Rui into a nearby Wu Kingdom merchant shop.

This was an official Wu Kingdom merchant establishment.

Directly managed by the Wu Kingdom envoy team, whose members were all staying here.

As soon as they stepped inside,

they saw Xia Xiaotang and several others from the Wu Kingdom envoy team, all casting friendly glances their way.

They had all seen it.

Had it not been for Li Rui, this escort wouldn't have merely lost its cargo—it would have lost lives.

Though we paid double, compared to the other two checkpoints, it was nothing short of perfect.

All of this was thanks to Li Rui—they had all seen it.

A Wu Kingdom man laughed heartily:

"Brother Li will always be the Wu Kingdom's most loyal friend. Next time Brother Li visits the Wu Kingdom, if anyone dares raise their voice to my big brother, I, Dao Meng, will be the first to chop him down!"

"."

Li Rui blinked.

This speech felt strangely off.

And as a Yu Kingdom officer, the only reason he'd go to the Wu Kingdom would be to flee justice.

Better not go at all.

Dao Mo kicked Dao Meng playfully: "You've got a mouth that spits out no ivory."

But as Dao Meng said, they had already accepted Li Rui as a friend.

True bonds form most easily in hardship—even across national borders, they cannot be avoided.

Ning Zhongtian watched this scene.

Blinking.

He silently praised: "My big brother truly has great ability."

The Wu Kingdom people were famously unruly; though they wouldn't instantly become mortal enemies like northern barbarians, it was rare for a Yu Kingdom man to become friends with a Wu Kingdom man.

Yet my big brother had managed it.

What did that prove?

That my big brother had great ability!

Ning Zhongtian suddenly felt his oath-brotherhood with Li Rui was the wisest decision ever.

Li Rui chuckled: "I merely did what I could."

Dao Mo said seriously: "One thing is one thing—Brother Li acted on official duty, yet he helped us greatly. We'll always remember this favor."

Li Rui no longer demurred.

Because he knew he'd need these people in the future.

He had brought Ning Zhongtian to the Trade Office today

partly to see if he could find any clues, and partly specifically to meet Dao Mo and the others.

Previously he had avoided them; now he came to them voluntarily.

Why?

Naturally, because the Tian Di Alliance's commercial documents had been approved.

After what happened, the connection was already formed.

Avoiding them further would only make things worse.

Better to turn this into an advantage.

For the Tian Di Alliance's caravan to trade in the Wu Kingdom—even with top-level backing from both nations—it still required local protection, and these Wu Kingdom envoy members were perfect for that.

Li Rui brought Ning Zhongtian here merely to get them familiar with his face, saying nothing about the Tian Di Alliance.

If he had spoken up today, Dao Mo would have agreed—but their bond would have ended there, turning what could have been a lasting friendship into a one-time transaction.

He certainly wouldn't do anything so foolish.

Dao Mo asked: "Brother Li, are you here to buy something? Just take it—consider it a gift."

He was now the chief envoy of the Wu Kingdom caravan.

The merchants would certainly grant him this courtesy.

Moreover, he had invested fifty percent of the goods, the caravan thirty percent, and the Trade Office twenty percent—he was the largest proprietor.

Li Rui smiled and shook his head:

"No, I'm here because of the case."

Hearing "case," the Wu Kingdom envoy members perked up: "You already have leads?"

Li Rui shook his head again:

"Just hoping for luck—we disrupted their plans, so they might send someone to scout the market. Maybe we'll get something."

Dao Mo nodded in agreement:

"Makes sense."

But he didn't believe Li Rui could catch the culprits on the spot.

Besides the Wu Kingdom caravan, thousands of people had come to the market; the princes' men would surely be disguised, and finding them in this sea of faces was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Moreover, Li Rui couldn't deploy too many men without making too much noise.

Then Li Rui found a window seat on the second floor.

From here, he could observe the street below—an ideal vantage point.

He observed while chatting casually with the Wu Kingdom envoy members.

Now,

Dao Mo finally had the chance to voice his lingering question:

"Lord Li, how did you sense the danger in advance?"

Li Rui smiled.

"I had men place traps along the mountain paths beside the official road. My hearing is sharp—I can hear triggers from three li away."

Dao Mo suddenly understood.

No wonder Li Rui said he gathered two hundred soldiers, yet only one hundred forty or so were visible—the rest had been scattered to set up traps.

The Wu Kingdom men exclaimed:

"You can hear from three li away?"

This ability was extremely rare.

Li Rui adopted a modest, unassuming demeanor.

Hear from three li away?

He certainly couldn't—he'd simply borrowed the idea from that pig-like official, Chai.

He couldn't say he had divine insight and could foresee danger, could he?

Everyone in the room marveled at Li Rui's meticulous planning and formidable skill.

With such thought and ability, how could any task fail?

'The Yu Kingdom truly has no shortage of talent.'

Dao Mo looked at Li Rui, silently astonished.

Even a small Qinghe County produced a man like Li Rui—across the entire Yu Kingdom, the strong were as numerous as fish crossing a river. He felt a pang of sorrow.

The Wu Kingdom had once enjoyed such glory, but successive Wu Emperors had died suddenly, causing the nation's fortune to decline, until now it teetered on the brink of collapse.

In contrast, the Yu Kingdom

was at its zenith!

Dao Mo couldn't help but envy more deeply—if Li Rui weren't a Yu Kingdom official, he'd have gladly recruited him to serve in the Wu Kingdom.

Li Rui sat for half a day.

The Wu Kingdom envoy members each had their own duties and gradually went downstairs to attend to them; soon, only Dao Mo and a Wu Kingdom girl remained upstairs.

When Dao Mo also went downstairs,

only Li Rui, Ning Zhongtian, and the Wu Kingdom girl remained upstairs.

Li Rui turned his head.

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Gazing at the Wu Kingdom girl sitting quietly in the corner, who had said nothing all along.

Though he hadn't turned around, he could feel that Tang Xiaoxia, the Wu Kingdom youth, had been secretly observing him.

Their gazes met midair.

Xia Xiaotang turned her head away, her cheeks faintly flushed.

Li Rui couldn't help but feel puzzled.

A girl blushing?

Because of love?

But Li Rui never imagined he would sense fear emanating from this young woman of Wu Country.

'Why is she afraid of me?'

Li Rui was baffled.

'Could I be more terrifying than her saber-toothed black tiger?'

The atmosphere grew strange.

A full incense stick passed.

Xia Xiaotang huddled in the corner, muttering to herself, as if psyching herself up.

Ning Zhongtian found the scene amusing.

'Old Brother Li, your charm hasn't faded one bit since your youth.'

He assumed it was mere admiration from the girl.

Finally.

Xia Xiaotang gathered her courage, stood up, and stepped forward:

'I'd like a moment alone with Lord Li.'

Ning Zhongtian gave a knowing smile and descended the stairs, saying as he went:

'Talk, talk.'

Soon.

Only Li Rui and Xia Xiaotang remained on the second floor; a long silence stretched between them.

Before Xia Xiaotang could speak,

Li Rui spoke first: 'Chief Tang, what do you want?'

Xia Xiaotang froze.

Her large, beautiful eyes blinked repeatedly, staring at Li Rui in disbelief, blurting out:

'How do you know?'

But instantly she regretted it—by saying that, she had confirmed she was the envoy.

Li Rui smiled slightly:

'It's not hard to guess.'

Though Dao Mo and the others had hidden themselves well, after two days together, Li Rui had noticed subtle details.

All of them subtly deferred to this young woman of Wu Country.

So deducing her identity became simple.

Xia Xiaotang sighed, no longer shy, and stated plainly: 'I didn't mean to conceal it—I am indeed the envoy of this mission. Also, I'm not Tang Xiaoxia. My real name is Xia Xiaotang.'

'Xia Xiaotang.'

'Xia.'

Li Rui murmured the character softly, his mind stirring with thought, a suspicion forming.

The surname Xia was no ordinary name in Wu Country—it carried the same weight as Zhu in Yu Country.

It was the imperial surname.

Though not every Zhu in Yu was of the imperial line—some might be cooks—anyone bearing the surname Xia and serving as envoy of a Wu mission could hardly avoid suspicion.

Xia Xiaotang gave the answer outright: 'Yes, I am of imperial blood, but my branch has long declined and holds no prestige.'

'I see.'

Li Rui nodded.

Then he returned to the original question: 'Chief Xia, what do you want?'

Xia Xiaotang took a deep breath, her expression turning solemn as never before.

She spoke slowly:

'Lord Li, please tell me—what is your relationship with the Beast God?'

The Beast God?

Now it was Li Rui's turn to be bewildered.

What on earth?

He had assumed Xia Xiaotang had some high-level Wu secret to discuss with him.

Instead, she dropped a bombshell.

What manner of being was the Beast God?

Put simply: the Wu imperial family claimed descent from the Beast God, and across Wu Country, there were at least ten thousand statues of the Beast God.

'Me?'

'The Beast God?'

Li Rui was utterly confused.

But Xia Xiaotang was resolute: 'My companion beast isn't the saber-toothed black tiger—it's the Azure Water Golden-Eyed Beast, which can perceive things invisible to ordinary people. On you, I saw the shadow of the Beast God.'

Li Rui's eyebrows lifted slightly.

The Azure Water Golden-Eyed Beast—the name alone revealed it possessed some extraordinary eye.

It could see what ordinary people could not.

But Li Rui knew well:

He had absolutely nothing to do with the Beast God.

Before he could speak,

Xia Xiaotang seemed to realize something, her pupils dilating sharply, then she collapsed to her knees, murmuring incantations.

'I understand.'

'I understand.'

Her small face snapped up, her large eyes blazing with startling intensity.

'You are the reincarnation of the Beast God!'

(End of Chapter)