Chapter 1262
Sailing by night upon the sea, drifting like duckweed through the waves, a life borne by clouds and water.
Rifling through memories was like turning pages to search historical records. Chen Ping'an opened some of his memories from the Summer Palace, only to close the book again shortly afterward and gaze down at Lingxi City, where Daoist aura flowed clear and pure.
Though Lingxi City was one of the Middle Four Cities, it covered relatively little ground. Yet its palaces and towers, pavilions and waterside terraces, streets and flower gardens were exquisite everywhere. The previous City Lord had exercised scant control over her territory. So long as they observed Night Voyage Ship's few bottom-line rules, Lingxi City's "natives" had no further laws to follow. Lingxi City and Tiaomu City both happened to bear the surname Li, but their local customs and scenery stood at opposite extremes. When the previous woman City Lord left the ship, only that silver-eyed youth with antlers followed at her side.
Earlier, while taking the ship to Fuyao Continent, Chen Ping'an had already met some of the city's nominal stewards. Since he was temporarily managing Lingxi City, it was only proper; he could hardly avoid meeting them.
After meeting them, Chen Ping'an felt that these refined scholars, steeped in poetry and able to compose at the drop of a hat, were too elegant. They, meanwhile, felt that this Literary Sage lineage disciple bearing the title of Yin Guan was too vulgar.
Though they had not reached the point of loathing one another on sight, the atmosphere was hardly harmonious. The scenes from storybooks and operas, where one side bowed down at once while the other welcomed them by carrying their shoes, were even more impossible.
Chen Ping'an had spoken relatively little then. Xiao Mo,