Chapter 46: Protecting One's Own

After Li Zhi'an finished listening to Chi Laicheng recount yesterday's events, he headed straight for Cheng Xi's courtyard.

Cheng Xi was taking a walk early in the morning when she saw Li Zhi'an striding over through the morning glow; his fair, jade-like face had pale lips, and there was a hint of weariness between his brows and eyes.

Cheng Xi stopped in her tracks.

Li Zhi'an approached slowly, the scent of fresh blood still clinging to his armor, while the morning mist upon him carried a sense of coldness mixed with the worldly aura of human life.

"Cheng Xi."

"Hmm." Cheng Xi tilted her head slightly to look at Li Zhi'an.

"The Yangqi Talisman you drew is very powerful." Li Zhi'an handed the dagger to Cheng Xi.

Cheng Xi lowered her eyes to look at the dagger, then reached out to take it; after examining it carefully, she sighed softly, "The material of this dagger is ordinary, yet it was actually able to rank up; this is quite a pleasant surprise."

Hearing Cheng Xi's very casual tone, Li Zhi'an knew that such things were common for her, and that the ranking up of this dagger was merely a trivial matter in her eyes.

He steadied himself, looked at Cheng Xi, and said slowly, "Chi Laicheng had never heard of a Yangqi Talisman, and it was my first time hearing of it too. Do you know what this Yangqi Talisman means for an Artifact Master?"

Cheng Xi glanced at Li Zhi'an, "It is just a Yangqi Talisman, that is all."

That is all?

Li Zhi'an recalled that she could forge a Dharma Staff capable of drawing down a Thunder Tribulation; by comparison, this Yangqi Talisman truly did not amount to much.

However, while it meant nothing to her, it was not the same for an Artifact Master.

"You just taught it to Chi Laicheng like that?"

"It was a return gift to thank Chi Laicheng for the dagger."

"Do you know what I went to do last night?"

"You have the scent of Demon blood on you; did you go to hunt a Demon last night?"

"Yes, but this Demon was different from the usual ones. Its hide was thick and its fur was hard; it was difficult for the Division Guards' sabers to break through the Demon's skin in one strike. If they struck too many times, the blade would be damaged."

Cheng Xi was taken aback, suddenly understanding why Li Zhi'an had come to find her.

This was quite a coincidence.

"It seems this Yangqi Talisman was taught at just the right time," Cheng Xi laughed.

Indeed, it was too much of a coincidence.

Li Zhi'an thought to himself as he looked at Cheng Xi.

The matter of the Yangqi Talisman soon spread throughout the Tongtian Division; Chi Laicheng did not hide the fact that it was Cheng Xi's merit at all, and in fact, he even went out of his way to make a name for her.

Good news arrived too suddenly; the Division Guards who had returned from fighting last night were instantly excited upon hearing it. No one knew better than them the terror of striking a Demon last night and being completely unable to cut through it.

So now, their sabers could rank up?

The artifact room was bustling all day long; Chi Laicheng and his several apprentices continuously re-forged the waist sabers for the Division Guards, then drew Yangqi Talismans and affixed them to the blades.

Everyone was waiting for the result; the dagger was able to rank up, and the material of the waist sabers was better than the dagger, so it must surely work!

They thought this in their hearts, but the result had not yet come out, and no one knew how it would turn out.

The artifact room was packed with Division Guards; they did not want to leave, so they simply sat on the ground outside the room, leaning against the wall with their eyes closed, resting while they waited for news.

Jiang Boyu was pacing anxiously outside the artifact room, wringing his hands, while Ji Guanqi and Gaoshenghan stood to the side in silence, though their eyes looked toward the artifact room from time to time, faintly filled with anticipation.

Last night, Jiang Boyu was responsible for patrols, while Ji Guanqi and Gaoshenghan accompanied the Division Master to slay the Demon; no one knew better than them the strangeness of the waist sabers striking the Demon.

Their own sabers were of better material than those of the Division Guards, containing more Demon Bone and having higher hardness, yet even so, they could not break the Demon's skin in one strike; it took at least two.

If the Yangqi Talisman was truly that powerful and their sabers could rank up, it would be easier to face those Demons tonight, and there would not be so many Division Guards injured or killed.

As night fell, Cheng Xi had just prepared to eat dinner when she suddenly heard earth-shattering cheers coming from the direction of the artifact room.

Mulan set the food on the table and said with a smile, "Eldest Miss, I don't know what those lords in the Tongtian Division are doing, but they are so happy."

Cheng Xi roughly knew why.

The cheers rose and fell; Cheng Xi finished her meal quietly. No one came to disturb her; she figured someone must have given orders.

She saw Li Zhi'an again the next morning.

He stood outside the courtyard gate, his posture imposing; the morning breeze rolled up the hem of his robe, and the rising morning sun set off his clear, transcendent temperament, making him look like an immortal who had descended to the mortal world.

Cheng Xi did not smell the scent of Demon blood on him this morning, and seeing the dampness still on the ends of his hair, she figured he had already bathed.

Hearing footsteps, Li Zhi'an turned around; his peach-blossom eyes had retracted their sharpness, leaving only tenderness, "The power of the Yangqi Talisman was tested last night. The day before yesterday, Ji Guanqi needed at least two strikes to break the Demon Beast's skin, but last night, he split it open in one strike."

"That is truly good news," Cheng Xi smiled, "So you returned early today and were able to come see me after bathing."

Li Zhi'an's expression stiffened slightly; he looked at Cheng Xi in her peach-pink dress, the golden sunlight spilling onto her, making her look like a fairy who had wandered into the mortal world, beautiful to the point of being unreal.

"What reward do you want?"

"What?" Cheng Xi looked at Li Zhi'an in surprise.

"You have performed a great service, and I will request a reward for you in front of the Emperor," Li Zhi'an said.

Cheng Xi chuckled, "Next time. This time, it was already agreed that this was a thank-you gift I gave to Chi Laicheng."

A thank-you gift?

Was she always this generous when thanking people?

Li Zhi'an's eyes, black as deep pools, were unfathomable, yet they carried a hint of languid nobility. He looked at Cheng Xi and asked again, "I have some newly collected Demon Bones here; do you want them?"

"As a thank-you gift?" Cheng Xi asked in return.

"No," Li Zhi'an replied.

He just wanted to give them to her.

Cheng Xi's eyes curved into crescents, "Of course I want them. Baohua also needs to be nourished; Demon Bones are a great tonic for her."

"Baohua... that Wooden Figurine of yours?"

"Yes, isn't she cute?"

Li Zhi'an nodded without changing his expression, "Cute."

Indeed, most people did not have the ability to make a locust-wood figurine as likable as Baohua. Thinking of this, he looked at Cheng Xi and suddenly said, "Back then, there was a period when the Li Shi family often clamored about seeing ghosts and could not sleep in peace; was that Baohua's doing?"

How could this person still be bringing up old scores?

Cheng Xi kept a wooden face, "Do you have evidence?"

Li Zhi'an:...

This person is truly protective of their own; one can't even ask a single question!

Because of the matter of the Yangqi Talisman, Cheng Xi became the mascot of the Tongtian Division; from top to bottom, everyone who saw her would politely call her Eldest Miss.

The day before the Du Mansion was repaired, Bi'an sought her out.

Cheng Xi looked at the Dharma Staff that Bi'an gave her and saw that a layer of restriction had been added to it, "You did this?"

Bi'an nodded, "Little girl, those Runes of yours are too conspicuous; I added a restriction for you, so others will just think this is a stick."

"Then I really must thank you."

Bi'an gave a light cough, looked at Cheng Xi, and asked, "The Runes on this Dharma Staff, were they also taught to you by your Master? Who was your Master's teacher?"

So they've come to probe the bottom of things?

Li Zhi'an had also asked her last time, but she had brushed it off.

Sigh, as good as this Tongtian Division is, one cannot stay here anymore.

What a pity.

"You want to know? I just won't tell you." Cheng Xi smiled and strode away.

Bi'an:...

Heartless little girl!