Chapter 168: An Incident Occurred

"My dear, a person's life is very short." Chen Wuji said affectionately.

"If we could all live to seventy, then after subtracting sleep and the time already lived, we would have only twenty-five years left. In those twenty-five years, we have much time not spent together—for example, when I go hunting in the mountains, do other things, etc. —which takes up the vast majority of those twenty-five years. For convenience, let's subtract two-thirds, leaving us with eight years."

"Eight years, a snap of the fingers—think about how we've already lived nearly twenty years; eight years is so short, there's not much we can do. My dear, in a lifetime, one must dare to try…"

"Such a brief eight years—if you were to share it with others, the time we spend together would probably be only two or three years…"

"Eat the cake!" Huo Sanniang's head buzzed as she hurriedly shoved a warm cake into Chen Wuji's mouth, "Try it, I just made it—can it match your skill?"

Chen Wuji took a bite, "Yes! Very much so!"

"My dear, I'm not talking nonsense. What I mean is, I want you by my side every night; as for the rest, you can add if you want, or not add if you don't. But I hope that no matter how many you add, you will always be by my side, so that I can turn and feel your tenderness." Chen Wuji gazed at Huo Sanniang with those affectionate eyes that could even make a dog feel loved, he spoke gently and movingly, full of emotion.

Huo Sanniang's ears burned as if they were branding irons, "You-you-you… hurry up and eat the cake!"

She fled in panic.

But Chen Wuji's words left a deep imprint in her heart.

And she found them quite reasonable.

In their lifetime, if they keep adding and subtracting like this, the time they can truly spend together seems to be only a few fleeting years. If nobody lives to seventy, that span will be even shorter.

But asking her to be together with Shen Youwei and Xue Hongdou, she really couldn't do it…

Chen Wuji smiled, and during the break from eating cake, he continued to cast his gaze upon the medicinal herbs spread all over the ground, the more he looked, the bigger his head felt.

Zhang Lao really went all out this time.

With a cake clenched in his mouth, Chen Wuji patiently separated the medicinal ingredients from each packet, then began observing the dosages, looking back and forth dozens of times, finally allowing him to discern a pattern among them.

"So that's how it is…"

Chen Wuji's eyes lit up.

After discovering the pattern, he quickly removed the haphazardly added herbs and arranged the herbs in the same proportion together.

Finally, more than ten genuine sets of Bewildering Fragrance appeared before him.

"Phew, that really wasn't easy."

Chen Wuji stretched his back lazily, feeling satisfied.

Suddenly he noticed the light outside the window slanting westward; it was already getting late in the evening.

He was immersed in the joy of solving the puzzle, not noticing how time flew.

At first, he had only eaten a cake, but it ended up taking him over two hours.

Having put away the Bewildering Fragrance, Chen Wuji moved a little and then continued to devote himself to making Shocking Heaven Thunder.

To increase its power, Chen Wuji bundled the sealed bamboo tubes in groups of six and then tied those bundles together.

"Wuji, someone with the surname Yang has come outside, saying they have urgent business to see you!" Huo Sanniang suddenly poked half her head through the doorway, "Go out and have a look."

"Surname Yang?" Chen Wuji's heart tightened, suddenly recalling what Yang Tiejiang had said that morning.

If there was business, he would naturally come to find him, but at that time Chen Wuji needed to prepare to become an outlaw.

After tucking a few finished bamboo tubes into his bosom, Chen Wuji hurried out the door.

Under the willow tree by the road, a bronzed-skinned man led a mule and stood there.

It wasn't Yang Tiejiang.

He was a nephew of Yang Tiejiang.

This person seemed somewhat familiar to Chen Wuji, though he couldn't recall the name; he seemed to also be of the "Fu" generation.

"Elder Brother Chen, my uncle sent me to tell you that the officials of the Xianya are inquiring about your exact whereabouts; you should be on guard and prepare early." The Yang-surnamed youth said, clasping his hands.

Chen Wuji's heart sank, "What else did your uncle say?"

"Nothing else, just to let you know this one thing, Elder Brother Chen." The Yang-surnamed youth said.

"This afternoon, a few people from the Xianya came, asking by name where Elder Brother Chen lived; aside from that, they didn't say anything else. My uncle told them that Elder Brother Chen was helping him sell pots, but he himself didn't know the details."

"Did the Xianya people give you any trouble?" Chen Wuji asked.

"No, they didn't."

Chen Wuji felt a bit puzzled: the Xianya people were inquiring about his whereabouts, yet they hadn't given Lao Yang any trouble—what exactly did they have, or didn't they have?

"Thank you, go tell your uncle to also make early preparations, to brace for the worst-case scenario; this day seems poised to change, with a trend of strong winds and heavy rain approaching." Chen Wuji said.

"Yes." The Yang-surnamed youth clasped his hands, "I will convey every word to my uncle."

"Hmm."

Just as the Yang-surnamed youth's front foot had stepped away, Chen Wuji hadn't even made it back inside when he saw several swift horses come rushing like the wind, pulling up beside the large willow tree.

The riders, all clad in armor and wielding knives, were actually Provincial Troops.

"Are you Chen Wuji?" the leader shouted at Chen Wuji.

Chen Wuji shook his head, "No."

"Do you know where Chen Wuji lives?"

"What do you want with him? That brat is an idiot, his mind is messed up—he almost bit a villager to death not long ago. I heard his madness is contagious; if someone gets bitten, they'll also go mad." Chen Wuji said solemnly.

The mounted soldiers grew a little annoyed, "Kid, cut the nonsense—tell me where he is!"

"I am." Chen Wuji stood tall, head held high, and said.

Since they've come knocking, it seems impossible to hide; we might as well go with the flow.

"You are? But you just said you aren't? You dare to mock me, kid?!" The mounted soldiers flew into a rage.

"How could I dare to mock the military sir? It's just that you haven't said what you want from me; asking one more question and being a bit cautious isn't too much, is it? Xishan Village recently suffered two bandit refugee raids—what if you lot are bandit refugees pretending to come for revenge on me?" Chen Wuji said matter-of-factly.

"It's not that I disrespect the military sir; it's just that the bandit refugee Zhou Buping, on his deathbed, threatened me terribly, forcing me to be careful."

The soldiers, faces full of anger, right hands on their knives, glared at Chen Wuji and bellowed in a low voice: "Chen Wuji, your affair has been exposed—come with us. If you dare to resist arrest, don't blame us for being merciless with our blades; we'll kill you on the spot."

Chen Wuji really wanted Qin Zhanhong to see this scene.

Look, the Provincial Troops have more guts than their Imperial City Department—they say kill and they kill.

It's a pity they're still the emperor's eyes and ears, yet they're not at all resolute.

Like master, like servant—just look at the Imperial City Department, they seem like middle-aged folks gone soft and limp; His Majesty the Emperor probably isn't any tougher.