Chapter 321: Primordial Dao Fetus

Visiting incognito?

This thought popped into Li Rui's mind.

Standing before him was no maid Xiao Cui, but clearly the Third Princess of the Wu Kingdom.

At first.

He actually already had suspicions.

After all, if the Third Princess wanted to send a message, it would have been enough to just let Xia Xiaotang come alone; why go through the trouble.

Of course, if it were just this, he wouldn't have suspected.

The key that made him certain was Xia Xiaotang's attitude toward this maid.

Xia Xiaotang was not the type to bully the weak, but even if she had no concept of hierarchy, she was ultimately a member of the imperial family; some things were innate and could not be erased at all. Her attitude toward this maid named Xiao Cui was truly too good.

That was why he was certain that Xiao Cui was the Third Princess.

The Third Princess actually dressing up as a maid and coming to the Commandant's Mansion in the middle of the night was truly a strange event.

The maid Xiao Cui, or rather, the Third Princess, had a smile on her lips:

"Since Official Li already knows my identity, are you willing to go to the capital with me?"

"The promises just now were all true; if Official Li doesn't believe it, you can write a written statement."

Xia Xiaotang looked at Li Rui with some embarrassment: "Senior, I'm truly sorry, it was Third Sister who wanted me to do this; I really didn't mean to deceive you."

Then she looked at Third Princess Xia Yun with a smile: "Third Sister, I said so, Senior Li has great wisdom."

Third Princess Xia Yun nodded:

"Indeed not bad."

Actually, it was because she had a good relationship with Xia Xiaotang that she knew about Li Rui.

This time coming to the Yu Kingdom, even though she was of noble status and brought more than ten experts, she still needed a local from the Yu Kingdom who was familiar with the situation.

That was why she thought of Li Rui.

The Great Shaman did perform a divination, but it wasn't that the Great Shaman did it casually as she said, but that she specifically asked the Great Shaman to perform a shamanic divination.

The divination result displayed was.

"Going north this time, meet Li and it will be smooth."

This "Li" likely referred to Li Rui.

That was why she had the diplomatic mission bring the message, letting Li Rui go to welcome her. On the road, she had been observing Li Rui, and Xia Yun was proficient in the art of observing qi, making her even more certain that Li Rui indeed had great fortune.

The sudden visit tonight was the last hurdle she set for Li Rui.

If Li Rui couldn't see through her disguise, even if Li Rui agreed, he would be rejected by her.

After all, if he couldn't even see through her methods, how could he deal with those old monsters in the capital?

Li Rui saw through it, which strengthened her desire to recruit him.

She was truly lacking helpers.

Especially smart helpers.

A Third-Rank Vice Minister was helping Li Rui, and also helping herself; it was completely beneficial and harmless to Li Rui.

Yet Li Rui shook his head:

"Third Princess, I am someone who is nostalgic; I have stayed in Qinghe for decades and don't want to move. I appreciate the good intentions."

Hearing this, Xia Yun's eyes flashed with astonishment.

She didn't expect Li Rui to actually reject her recruitment.

Xia Yun was also straightforward and didn't feel angry because of the rejection, just saying calmly: "Official Li doesn't need to be in a hurry to reject; I said three days, it won't be too late to give me an answer after three days."

After saying this.

She took Xia Xiaotang and turned to leave.

Without the slightest hesitation.

"This Wu Kingdom Third Princess is indeed as the rumors say, quite heroic."

Li Rui clicked his tongue twice.

She had heard that the new Emperor of the Wu Kingdom could pacify the war, and this Third Princess contributed a lot to it; even the Great Shaman's willingness to support the new Emperor of the Wu Kingdom had a thousand threads of connection with this Third Princess.

Seeing it today, it was indeed extraordinary.

The promised Third-Rank Vice Minister could likely be fulfilled nine times out of ten.

Saying he wasn't moved would be a lie.

However, Li Rui appeared very restrained, because he felt that this Third Princess going to the capital would inevitably stir up waves, and he would also be pushed to the forefront because of it.

This was not his style of doing things.

Perhaps he could soar to the sky because of this, but he could also fall into the abyss and be destroyed forever.

Although he didn't know much about the affairs in the imperial city and didn't know what kind of personality that Fourth Prince had, once he married this Third Princess, the Fourth Prince would have the capital to compete for the throne.

Concerning the foundation of the country, Li Rui was naturally extremely cautious.

Although the merit of following the dragon was great, one had to have the life to enjoy it.

Li Rui was not a gambler.

He entered the officialdom seeking longevity; what he wanted was to be like a reef in the sea, standing firm despite the changing winds and clouds.

Therefore, rejection was inevitable.

Three days passed quickly.

A large ship that almost occupied the entire Qinghe river surface slowly sailed into Qinghe City, and the water level rose by more than a foot because of it.

The bank of the Qinghe was full of commoners watching the excitement.

Such a large ship was simply unheard of.

Whose ship could be three stories high and hold hundreds of people?

At the pier.

The Wu Kingdom Third Princess, surrounded by guards and maids, boarded the ship.

Those commoners watching the excitement ultimately didn't get to see the peerless beauty of the future prince's consort.

Subsequently. Nie Siming and Li Rui, along with over a hundred Anning Guard soldiers, also boarded the large ship.

Besides this.

He Qiannian also rarely left the Qianhe Martial Arts Hall and followed the Anning Guard group onto the ship.

They would escort the Third Princess by water out of Anning Prefecture, after which others would naturally take over and continue to escort her until she arrived safely in the capital to complete the grand wedding.

Standing on the deck, the slightly fishy river breeze hit his face.

The mast was not raised.

Because the ship was too large, it was fundamentally impossible to sail in the Qinghe, but it didn't affect the large ship moving slowly; what it relied on were hundreds of laborers on land who were panting and exerting force, pulling the large ship with their flesh and blood.

Such a situation was very common on the canal.

There were even rumors that many laborers on the pier made a living this way.

Li Rui looked at the laborers who were naked from the waist up and struggling forward with hemp ropes as thick as arms, and there was not much ripple in his heart.

It was just numbness.

【Note: This line appears to be a garbled anti-piracy placeholder.】

He had been a groom in Qinghe for decades and was long accustomed to the suffering of the world.

In fact, seeing too much poverty would not make one feel pity or the desire to save the world, only numbness.

Especially those who were in the midst of it.

Li Rui asked himself if he had the ability to change this world; before he could benefit the world, he could only keep himself safe.

Pity these laborers, should he, Official Li, go pull the rope himself?

Obviously impossible.

He turned his head and glanced at the cabin behind him.

Seven or eight burly Wu Kingdom men stood at the door of the largest room.

That was Third Princess Xia Yun's room.

Today happened to be the third day, but it looked like Xia Yun didn't give him a chance to meet and reject her.

Clearly, Xia Yun did it on purpose.

From this, one could also see that Xia Yun truly wanted to recruit him.

But the more she valued him, the more Li Rui wanted to stay away.

It wasn't that he had any ability to avoid bad luck, but just because he had reliance and didn't need to take that risk; if he didn't have many trump cards, he would have long ago started trying every possible way to climb onto Third Princess's thigh.

Wanting to be a high official, where is there anyone who doesn't take a side?

The Third Princess was actually a good backer.

It just wasn't suitable for the current Li Rui.

Since Xia Yun wouldn't see him, Li Rui just treated the matter of that night as if it had never happened.

Just as Li Rui was looking out from the deck, a disciple of the Qianhe Martial Arts Hall found Li Rui: "Official Li, our Hall Master wants to find you to reminisce."

Li Rui, hearing it was He Qiannian looking for him.

Nodded and walked toward the lower cabin.

Before long, he arrived before He Qiannian's room.

Unlike the Third Princess's room, there wasn't a single guard here; it wasn't that He Qiannian's status wasn't noble enough, but that it wasn't needed.

He Qiannian himself was the greatest guardian of this large ship.

Li Rui walked into the room.

He saw that in the simple and tidy room, He Qiannian was sitting by the window drinking tea leisurely.

"Senior He."

Li Rui cupped his fists and saluted.

He Qiannian saw Li Rui come, put down the teacup in his hand, and gestured: "Come over and sit."

Li Rui sat down.

He Qiannian personally poured him a cup of tea, which made him feel somewhat flattered.

"On this ship, you are the only one who is interesting; anyway, since there is nothing to do, why not chat with this old man."

Li Rui didn't feel at all that chatting with He Qiannian was neglecting his duties.

On the contrary.

Going to the deck was fundamentally unimportant; as long as he coaxed this old immortal well, he could ensure the large ship sailed out of Anning Prefecture safely, which was the real purpose of Nie Siming bringing him to find He Qiannian that day.

The thousand people on the ship were all decorations.

The real ballast was this white-haired, youthful-faced old man before him.

He Qiannian narrowed his eyes slightly, looked Li Rui up and down, and then spoke: "No wonder that kid Jiang Linxian said that in this Yunzhou Jianghu, there are only he and Li Rui; you are no weaker than I was back then, you truly have some ability."

He naturally couldn't see Li Rui's foundation, but sometimes judging whether someone was powerful or not was enough just by relying on momentum.

Li Rui had a unique momentum.

"Senior, you flatter me."

He Qiannian was even more interested.

"You kid actually practiced a not-so-bad external skill."

Wu Gong is divided into internal and external, but he is the most unconventional one; his internal true qi cultivation is a complete mess, yet his external hard-body training is terrifyingly strong, and he has managed to train himself into a living land immortal.

Although he was often said to be the last in the Martial Arts Evaluation, he never felt it was a grievance.

Have you ever seen anyone who only practiced external skills and trained into a land immortal?

He was proud.

Li Rui's external skill foundation came from the Dragon-Elephant True Origin Strength, which was of an extremely high rank and had already been mastered.

He Qiannian suddenly felt close, his interest in talking rose, and he chatted with Li Rui about many insights on external skills.

"Although we who practice external skills suffer, compared to killing power, I don't feel we are weaker than others; one punch can beat the world."

"Especially in the Primordial Realm, I discovered that those who master external skills can not only train into the Primordial Realm but can also enter the Dao through external skills, training into a Primordial Dao Fetus, a true Primordial!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 322 =====