Chapter 648

Five hundred forty-nine, Great Commander... not big

Late at night.

Li Dalang was shaken awake from a deep dream.

"Wake up... Heir... wake up..."

"Ah?"

Li Dalang opened his eyes in a daze and saw Shun Bo quickly shaking his arm at the head of the bed, his wrinkled face somewhat anxious.

"Wh-what's wrong?"

Li Dalang was so frightened that he immediately rolled off the bed, and the blanket covering his stomach slid off.

He hurriedly looked around and found that he was still in the guest room of the post station, and the luggage on the table had not been moved.

The entire guest room was pitch black, and the chirping of insects could be heard from outside from time to time. He saw the position of the moonlight falling in front of the window, and it seemed to be the fifth watch of the night.

In the pitch-black room, everything was silent.

Only Shun Bo, who had appeared before the bed, did not quite fit this atmosphere. If it had been a strange old man, Li Dalang would probably have been scared to death.

"Shh, Heir, be quiet. N-nothing, you first put on your clothes and follow this old servant downstairs. Do not make any sound, and do not bring any luggage; just come as you are..."

Li Dalang was stunned for a moment, and just as he was about to ask, Shun Bo suddenly turned his head, placed his index finger to his dry lips, and said in an extremely low voice:

"The Prince, the Princess, the Princess, and Miss Xie are all awake and waiting for you."

Li Dalang immediately became obedient.

He obediently got out of bed, put on his clothes, and followed out at high speed.

During the process of going downstairs, he tried hard to slow down his hands and feet, but because he had just woken up and his brain was still in the reboot stage, it was inevitable that he would stagger, like a slightly tipsy person, walking with light and heavy steps, appearing somewhat clumsy.

This uncertain movement made Shun Bo, who was signaling for silence, anxious.

Li Dalang subconsciously coughed, and seeing Shun Bo turn his head, he immediately covered his mouth.

Finally, amidst the old steward's heart-pounding fear, Li Dalang safely went downstairs, passed through the guest rooms where people were sleeping soundly, and arrived at the backyard of the post station.

Outside the door, a carriage was parked motionless in the shadows not far away.

In the distance, nightingales were chirping.

Li Dalang, however, suddenly woke up and became fully focused.

He walked toward Shun Bo with some vigilance, and when he saw the familiar tall figure in the driver's seat and met her eyes.

Li Dalang breathed a sigh of relief.

"Miss Xie..."

"Shh, get in the carriage."

The young woman raised a finger to her lips.

"Okay!"

Li Dalang bent down and got into the carriage, and Shun Bo followed closely behind, getting into the carriage together.

Xie Lingjiang was still wearing the red dress from the day, but she had put on a black silk cloak over it and was wearing a groom's bamboo hat, covering the bright red between her eyes, sitting on the carriage as if she had merged into the darkness, revealing only a pair of clear eyes beneath the hat.

Xie Lingjiang glanced at Li Dalang, who was entering the carriage, and her gaze fell on his wrist.

A string of wooden Buddhist beads had shaken back onto his wrist.

Just now, when Li Dalang was brought close to the carriage by Shun Bo, before he could see her face clearly, Li Dalang had quietly gripped the string of wooden Buddhist beads on his wrist.

This was left to him by his senior brother.

Xie Lingjiang nodded imperceptibly.

It seemed she acknowledged his vigilance.

She also breathed a slight sigh of relief.

As long as he could remember the instructions left by his senior brother before he left, it was fine.

Li Dalang did not know that he had left an impression of being rough but detailed in Xie Lingjiang's heart.

He squeezed into the carriage and saw that the carriage was almost full.

Father Wang Lixian, Mother Wei Mei, and younger sister Li Guoer.

Daoist Lu Ya and the maid Caishou were all there.

Li Guoer sat opposite Wang Lixian and his wife, and there was an empty seat beside her, which Li Dalang sat in tacitly.

Everyone's gaze fell on him as he hurried over.

"Why did Dalang oversleep? Didn't we agree to go back and wait for news?"

Wei Mei complained somewhat.

Li Dalang subconsciously said:

"I didn't expect it to be so fast either. After returning to the room after dinner, I thought I would just close my eyes and rest at the table, but I don't know how I ended up lying on the bed and falling asleep..."

Wei Mei could not help but complain:

"You child, you close your eyes and open them and it's dawn. You really can sleep soundly in any environment. What if you encounter danger..."

"Hey, Mei Niang, stop talking."

Wang Lixian raised his hand to stop Wei Mei. His eyes were somewhat bloodshot from staying up late due to his age, but his tone was very gentle:

"Dalang is better than me in this regard; he is broad-minded and slow-witted, not taking anything to heart, and he falls asleep quickly at night. Good sleep allows him to withstand the pressure of adversity and have the energy to do things, rather than tossing and turning all night, exhausted. This is an advantage.

"I used to think this was a manifestation of a vulgar person, but now I deeply know that this is a quality of great wisdom appearing stupid; it is a blessing. Dalang, just keep it up; don't listen to your mother."

Wei Mei was speechless, her willow eyebrows raised, but seeing everyone around her nodding in agreement, she restrained herself, tightened her face, and reached out to tidy the messy collar of her eldest son, Li Fusu.

Li Dalang scratched his head.

He was a bit confused by his father's praise.

However, looking at his father's appearance, he seemed to be in a good mood tonight. Although he looked like he hadn't slept well, perhaps he had received Tan Lang's brocade pouch from Miss Xie just this evening.

Although Tan Lang had been saying that he should let his father act according to the situation before he left, saying that major events that change fate must be risked, but being able to receive Tan Lang's guidance at a critical moment must have made his father feel moved and gratified.

Li Dalang thought secretly.

Everyone had arrived.

He didn't hear any greeting, but Li Dalang felt the carriage under his buttocks slowly starting, and the wheels rolled forward.

He didn't know where they were going.

Li Dalang didn't ask either, looking around, seeing the expressions of the crowd, either serious or expectant.

His father was raising his hand, touching his bosom, carefully taking out a small box, and after opening it, using his sleeve to wipe a night-luminescent pearl.

The night-luminescent pearl emitted a cold moonlight, illuminating the dim carriage.

Li Dalang saw his younger sister Li Guoer lying a moonlight long sword across her lap. She lifted the carriage curtain with a normal expression, looking out the window, but her fair left hand was tightly gripping the sword hilt, and her right hand was tapping the sword body with her fingers, not knowing what she was thinking.

Li Dalang, however, was not surprised.

Along the way from Hanyang County in Jiang Nan Circuit to the Divine Capital Luoyang, his younger sister often fell into such a trance.

He turned his head and saw his mother Wei Mei's right hand out of the corner of his eye, tightly gripping a seal with red lotus characters engraved on it. The sweat in her palm had soaked the ancient seal, but she did not notice.

Wei Mei frowned frequently, gazing at the night scenery outside the window.

Although Xie Lingjiang and Wang Lixian had not mentioned what they were doing or who they were meeting by traveling as a group in the middle of the night since he got on the carriage.

But the atmosphere in the carriage had made Li Dalang realize the importance of this trip.

Except for items like the tripod sword that they could not leave behind, they did not bring any other luggage, traveling light and bringing only people.

Li Dalang's Adam's apple moved, and he swallowed his saliva.

Just this evening, they acted according to Tan Lang's first brocade pouch and entrusted Rong Zhen to enter the palace.

Li Dalang really did not expect the response from that side to be so fast, so he also overslept.

Li Dalang suddenly remembered what Tan Lang had said.

There are not many nodes in a person's life that can change fate, and there are only a few major choices that can be made, and even at the time, they will feel very understated.

In Tan Lang's joking words, at the time, it was just considered ordinary.

But the results that followed were vastly different.

Even if you choose a day earlier or a day later, the ending is completely different.

If you step on it, you go up.

If you don't step on it, there is no later.

Just like two years ago today, he and his parents and sister were still in a poor small county in a corner of Jiang Nan, and he was still a bookworm who hadn't even touched a young lady's hand.

The days to come were like that only yellow mud official road leading to the state capital Xunyang in the remote county, which could be seen at a glance...

Just take the carp leaping over the dragon gate that people love to talk about.

Under the dragon gate, in the surging river water, thousands of carp leap hard, scrambling to be first.

Is the carp that finally leaps over the dragon gate definitely the strongest and most deserving?

Not necessarily.

The carp that leaps over the dragon gate and becomes a dragon is definitely not the most powerful one among the carp crossing the river.

There are countless ones stronger than it.

But leaping over the dragon gate means leaping over it; from then on, it becomes a dragon, and immortals and mortals are separated.

How cruel fate is.

Only death is fair.

A huge sense of fate, about to welcome a new life or fall into an abyss, entangled Li Dalang's heart.

He couldn't help but lick his dry lips.

At this time, he saw a slender hand tightly gripping the sword hilt out of the corner of his eye, the back of the hand white from gripping.

In the darkness, this slender hand was somewhat dazzlingly white.

Li Dalang's gaze moved up.

It was his younger sister sitting beside him.

She had already put down the carriage curtain, seemingly sitting upright, and he could not see her specific expression, not knowing whether she was closing her eyes to rest or looking ahead.

But it was a quiet posture that tended to be understated.

Li Dalang could not help but lower his head and look again at the slender hand that was gripped until it was deathly white under her sleeve.

What was his younger sister thinking?

Was she nervous or excited?

Was she feeling the same way as him at this very moment?

Li Dalang did not know.

Nor did he know what he would face after getting off the carriage in a while... a betrayal trap? Or a step to the sky?

But if asked whether he was nervous...

There wasn't much.

Li Dalang silently stretched out his palm, grasped the sword body of the moonlight long sword, and gripped it tightly.

The moonlight long sword, which had been trembling slightly following Li Guoer's deathly white grip, stabilized.

The brother and sister held one sword together.

In the dimness, Li Guoer turned her head to look over vaguely.

Li Dalang did not turn his head, facing forward, and smiled to himself.

He didn't know if Li Guoer saw it clearly.

A short while later, she turned her head back straight, and the slender hand on the sword hilt also relaxed slightly.

Li Dalang restrained his smile and took a deep breath.

His palm gripped the sword tightly.

He was not afraid at all.

He was not just a noble who had walked into good luck and had a good birth.

He was also not someone who came to the Divine Capital alone.

He was here representing Tan Lang and all the firewood-bearers in the world!

About an hour later.

The carriage arrived at an abandoned mountain temple a hundred miles outside Luoyang City.

Everyone got off the carriage at the temple entrance.

Everything was quiet all around, with only the occasional chirping of insects in the summer.

The inside of the temple was pitch black.

Everyone walked into the temple and looked closely, only to see two figures in the temple.

Standing together in front of the dilapidated statue.

One was very short, wearing the plain white palace dress that Li Dalang was familiar with.

And there was another... even shorter.

Standing in front of Rong Zhen, seemingly as the leader.

Li Dalang looked curiously, and it was a cloaked figure.

Just as everyone walked to the side of the statue, this cloaked figure turned around, the hood slid down, revealing a face, and at the same time began to speak loudly.

The voice and majestic tone belonging exclusively to a woman resounded inside and outside the dilapidated temple:

"Xunyang Prince Wang Lixian, Heir Li Fusu, by the order of the Holy Son of Heaven, I am to escort the two Highnesses into the palace to recuperate from their injuries. This is the decree!"

The atmosphere in the dilapidated temple was silent.

Under the signaling eyes of Rong Zhen and Xie Lingjiang, Wang Lixian and Wei Mei hurriedly knelt to thank them, pulling Li Dalang down with them.

Li Dalang was somewhat clumsy, kneeling down after the fact, looking with a face full of surprise at the chubby face of the "shorter figure."

It was unexpectedly a little girl of six or seven years old.

She was shorter than Rong Zhen, who had a young girl's figure, and even more green.

However, the chubby little girl stood beside Rong Zhen, but like an adult, with her hands behind her back and her chin slightly raised.

The chubby little girl suddenly turned her head:

"Rong'er."

Only to see her hand the string of eighteen seeds she had been playing with back, wearing it on Rong Zhen's wrist. Deep purple energy flashed across the eighteen seeds, and golden light emerged from the eighteen seeds in response.

Li Dalang, who understood some of the ways of the Qi Refiners from Tan Lang and Miss Xie, widened his eyes.

This little girl, who looked like a porcelain doll, was a top-grade Qi Refiner, a grandmaster of the world!

Looking at her relationship with Rong Zhen, could she be the Great Commander?

The master of the Astronomical Bureau?

No way, such a small one?

He thought Female Historian Rong Zhen was already "small" enough.

Shouldn't she be as old as Deputy Supervisor Song Mama?

Under the dilapidated statue, the chubby little girl's voice was milky, yet her tone was as ethereal as a distant mountain:

"This is Rong'er's great blessing; you should keep it well. The matter in Xunyang is not your fault. Being able to retrieve the complete fake tripod sword is a merit, not a fault. This merit is very great; I want to ask for merit for you from the Holy Son of Heaven."

Rong Zhen still had a cold face, but her tone carried a trace of respect and closeness:

"Yes, Master."

Only to see the chubby little girl, who was standing with her hands behind her back like a little adult, glance sideways at the mandarin duck jade hairpin on Rong Zhen's head, suddenly tiptoe, and gently stroke the hairpin.

It was like patting her head.

Everyone heard the little girl whisper something in Rong Zhen's ear.

"... Hmm... From now on, you are the ninth-generation lamp-bearer of this bureau..."

The little girl's tone was somewhat doting and biased.

Rong Zhen lowered her eyes.

Everyone looked at Rong Zhen, and then at this young but domineering little girl.

They looked at each other in dismay; why did it feel like the style was reversed? Shouldn't the big one pat the small one, and the tall one pat the short one?

Xie Lingjiang performed a salute, neither humble nor arrogant:

"Thank you for your hard work, Great Commander."

The chubby little girl's black pearl-like eyes glanced sideways at Xie Lingjiang, without responding, but her gaze fell on the mandarin duck jade hairpin on Xie Lingjiang's head, not knowing what she was thinking.

A short while later, the group left the mountain temple.

The chubby little girl walked in the front with her hands behind her back.

Rong Zhen followed closely, falling half a body behind. Everyone saw Rong Zhen's expression, which seemed to be unusually trusting of this chubby little girl.

Halfway through, everyone saw the chubby little girl in front suddenly raise her hand, pull off the mandarin duck jade hairpin on Rong Zhen's head, and hand it back to Rong Zhen.

The chubby little girl tilted her head:

"Why are you learning to tie a woman's high bun for no reason? You can't joke like that."

After speaking, she walked forward with her hands behind her back, her tone faint:

"When we meet the Sage in a while, we cannot overstep the rules; change your hairstyle. In addition, if Rong'er has a marriage in the future, it can only be decided by the Holy Son of Heaven."

This Great Commander of the Holy Zhou turned and walked away, her short legs walking in front of everyone.

The atmosphere among the crowd behind became vaguely strange.

And as the chubby girl's words fell, wind suddenly rose in the dilapidated temple, brushing the black hair of the beautiful palace girl, the wind seeming like a nimble hand, winding her hair into a standard palace bun.

A purple-black Dao pattern appeared on the mandarin duck jade hairpin, and it shot out with a "swish," inserting itself into the hair bun on the back of Rong Zhen's head, supporting the hairstyle.

Rong Zhen was as usual, cold and silent, quietly gripping the Buddhist beads he had given her in her sleeve, not letting go.

She pursed her lips and followed the chubby little girl's petite figure.

Everyone followed one after another.

Together, they followed this young-looking little girl into the Luoyang capital at night.