Friends

"Bang," a sound much duller than the clash of spear and halberd just now exploded. Qin Yi once again wrapped his arm around Li Qingjun's waist and drifted back to the street corner.

Mang Zhan's spear was knocked so hard it almost flew out of his hand. He was inwardly shocked. This young man looks thin and weak, where does he get such strength?

He adjusted slightly, about to thrust his spear again, when another spear reached out beside him and parried his.

This familiar spear, they had clashed at least a dozen times on the battlefield... Mang Zhan knew without looking that it was Li Qinglin.

He roared loudly, "What is the meaning of this, Nanli? An assassin is trying to kill me, and you're helping her? Nanli claims a thousand years of civilization, is this how you treat envoys?"

"My apologies." Li Qinglin's face was expressionless. "As for civilization or not, all I know is that compared to my sister, you, Mang Zhan, are nothing. If you keep talking nonsense, I'll kill you right now. If your Western Wilderness wants to start a war over this, I'll see it through to the end."

My sister? Mang Zhan was stunned for a long time. His gaze towards Li Qingjun became very strange, then slowly turned fervent.

Mang Zhan was distracted. A goat-bearded attendant beside him said in a sarcastic tone, "I'm afraid Prince Qing Lin doesn't have the authority to start a border conflict on his own."

Li Qinglin sneered, "You can try."

As he spoke, he waved his hand, and the Nanli army's arrows immediately pointed at the Western Wilderness group. The goat-bearded man's face turned ashen, and he dared not speak again.

Mang Zhan snapped back to attention and laughed heartily, "So it's Princess Zhaoyang. Since it was a misunderstanding, let's just forget it. We are here to offer condolences, not to provoke."

Li Qinglin pressed his hand down, and the army's arrows were withdrawn. He put on an angry face and pointed at Li Qingjun, scolding, "How old are you? Don't you have a brain? You dare to act recklessly in any situation, would you be happy if you were shot dead by your own people?"

Li Qingjun stubbornly stuck out her neck and angrily said, "How many Nanli people's blood is under this murderer's spear? He just tried to assassinate Big Brother. What condolences is he here to offer?"

"That's not how you do it," Li Qinglin said meaningfully, then cupped his hands to Qin Yi and said, "Thank you, Brother Qin."

Qin Yi waved his hand and stood by, feeling quite speechless. He had been paying attention to Mang Zhan's actions, originally afraid that he would suddenly thrust his spear, but then he saw the fervent and distracted look on Mang Zhan's face after hearing that this was "my sister."

Alright, do these barbarians like such impulsive and reckless girls?

Mang Zhan's gaze also fell on Qin Yi, then he saw the hand wrapped around Li Qingjun's slender waist. His bell-like leopard eyes narrowed, and he said coldly, "Who is that person?"

Qin Yi subtly withdrew his hand, ignored this so-called Western Wilderness Crown Prince, and pulled Li Qingjun to turn and leave. Li Qingjun also seemed to realize that she had been too reckless today and let Qin Yi pull her away with her head down, not saying a word.

Ignored, Mang Zhan was furious behind them. "Today I have truly witnessed the demeanor of Nanli!"

Li Qinglin said indifferently, "That is my friend. He is not involved in the mortal world, so there is no need for official etiquette. I say, Brother Mang, you invade my Nanli every year, killing and slaughtering cities like beasts. Yet you suddenly talk about etiquette and demeanor. Don't you think it's like a monkey wearing a hat, quite ridiculous?"

Mang Zhan, however, said, "This king came with the intention of making peace with Nanli, but now it seems that the Nanli, which claims to be peaceful, does not have the same heart as us."

Li Qinglin was slightly startled. "Then please enter the palace first. My father has already set up a welcoming banquet, just waiting for Brother Mang."

"Lunch banquet?" Mang Zhan suddenly became enthusiastic again. "May I know if the princess will be present?"

Li Qinglin's gaze became even more meaningful. Turning his head, he saw that Qin Yi had already pulled Li Qingjun around the corner. For some reason, he suddenly found it very amusing and laughed heartily for a while, then suddenly restrained his smile and said with a straight face, "My sister does not drink with beasts."

"You!" Mang Zhan's face turned black. His iron fists clenched and crackled for a long time before finally calming down and not making a sound.

Around the corner, Li Qingjun leaned against the wall and sighed, "I always seem to mess things up."

"Because you are too straightforward," Qin Yi smiled. "Perhaps all the steadiness in your family went to your brother."

"I just don't understand, what is this logic? Why, when they are clearly enemies with deep hatred, can't you touch them just because they have the title of envoy? Instead, you have to protect them?"

"I don't know either. I always thought this kind of etiquette was strange, but it seems to be everywhere... Perhaps it's because there are no eternal enemies between countries, only interests. Maybe in the blink of an eye, you'll become allies?"

"Impossible!" Li Qingjun said angrily. "Just for him assassinating my elder brother, we will never become allies!"

Qin Yi couldn't answer that. The Western Wilderness did have a grudge against them, but at least the assassination of her elder brother wasn't their fault.

"Still..." Li Qingjun stammered for a long time before finally saying, "Still, thank you. Otherwise, that spear would have been a bit troublesome."

"No need to thank me. We are comrades who fought side by side, after all."

"Comrades?" Li Qingjun smiled slightly. "Yes, we are."

Qin Yi said, "I actually think your brother is quite reliable. He really saved face."

"Hmph, as he should! Otherwise, how could he be worthy of being my Li Qingjun's brother!"

Qin Yi's mind quickly replayed what he had heard Li Qinglin say at the end: "He is my friend."

Friend?

Qin Yi felt that whether it was genuine or not, being able to use such a word to address him, a "mountain villager," was not easy for someone of a Crown Prince's status. Otherwise, he could have simply said "guest," and Qin Yi wouldn't have felt anything was wrong with that title. If he wanted to be nicer, he could have used "distinguished guest." But he specifically used "friend."

The concept of this word was different; it carried a lot of weight.

As he was contemplating this, his heart suddenly stirred. He subconsciously looked towards the other end of the street.

Li Qingjun, who was about to say something more, saw Qin Yi suddenly turn his head. She followed Qin Yi's gaze and saw a stunningly beautiful Daoist nun walking towards them.

It was as if the clouds had parted and the moon had appeared, bringing a soft, clear light to the empty street.

Looking at the Daoist nun's breathtaking beauty, Li Qingjun suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable. She subconsciously straightened her back, seemingly intending to show off her own proud figure.

Liu Su scoffed, "Don't puff out your chest. The more you do, the more you lose."

"..." Qin Yi almost choked. Didn't you say you wouldn't talk nonsense in front of Minghe?

"Young Master Qin, we meet again." Minghe slowly approached and bowed. "This humble Daoist has been waiting for you for many days."

Qin Yi pretended not to understand. "Waiting for me to do what?"

Minghe sighed. "The wooden sword inexplicably changed hands. This humble Daoist naturally wants to know the reason. I was worried that you might have been harmed, but I cast a divination, and it was an auspicious one..."

Qin Yi became interested. "What kind of divination?"

Minghe looked at Li Qingjun and said, "Anzhen's auspiciousness, responding to the earth without boundaries."

After saying that, she turned and left, as if she had only come specifically to tell Qin Yi this divination.

Or perhaps she had already learned what she wanted from this divination and there was no need to say more?

Li Qingjun watched her retreating figure as if facing a formidable enemy. Minghe's last glance gave her a chilling sense of crisis, as if she had been seen through. But it wasn't until Minghe was far away that she remembered she had a spear. It was as if when Minghe stood before her, she couldn't even find the will to fight.

"Anzhen's auspiciousness, responding to the earth without boundaries. What does that mean?" Li Qingjun asked Qin Yi.

Qin Yi didn't know either. As soon as Minghe approached, Liu Su hid. Without his cheat, how could he answer such a profound question? He could only say, "It's a good divination anyway. Don't worry about it."

"This Daoist nun ran over inexplicably, said a bunch of inexplicable things, and doesn't feel like a good person. Who knows if this divination is real or fake!" Li Qingjun warned, "Don't get too close to this kind of person who pretends to be a god or ghost. It wouldn't be good if you became a second Dong Huazi!"

Qin Yi chuckled. "That's impossible."

"Why is it impossible? Isn't this Daoist nun very beautiful? I saw you couldn't take your eyes off her."

"Her... no matter how beautiful she is, she's just like the Milky Way in the sky, unreal. I have someone of devastating beauty right beside me, not inferior to her in the slightest. Why would I look at her?"

Li Qingjun was stunned for a long time, then suddenly realized what he was saying. Her pretty face instantly turned crimson.

Liu Su's voice suddenly appeared in his sea of consciousness, breaking the slightly romantic atmosphere that had just begun: "A gentleman travels, first losing his way, then following the norm. Gaining friends in the southwest, he travels with his kind; losing friends in the northeast, he will eventually have cause for celebration. Anzhen's auspiciousness, responding to the earth without boundaries."

Qin Yi originally wanted to ask if she had just come back from searching on Baidu. But as he listened, his expression grew uglier and uglier, and he no longer had any mood for joking.

Someone rushed over, bowed, and said, "Princess, the King has ordered the Princess to attend the banquet." After a pause, he added, "The Crown Prince also requests Mr. Qin's presence."