Friends

Bang! A much duller sound than the clash of spear and halberd erupted. Qin Yi once again wrapped an arm around Li Qingjun's waist and drifted back to the street corner.

Mang Zhan's spear was nearly knocked from his grasp. He was inwardly aghast. This youth looked so slight—where had such tremendous strength come from?

He made a slight adjustment and was about to thrust again when another spear extended from beside him, barring his own.

That familiar spear had crossed his at least a dozen times on the battlefield... Without even looking, Mang Zhan knew it was Li Qinglin.

He shouted furiously, "What does Southern Li mean by this? There is an assassin trying to kill me, and you are helping her? Southern Li boasts a civilization of a thousand years—is this how you treat envoys?"

"My apologies." Li Qinglin's face remained expressionless. "As for whether we are civilized or not, all I know is that compared to my younger sister, you, Mang Zhan, are not worth a fart. Keep babbling, and I'll slaughter you right now. If your Western Wasteland wants to start a war over it, I'll accompany you to the bitter end."

Younger sister? Mang Zhan stood stunned for a long while. When he looked again at Li Qingjun, his gaze became exceedingly strange, then slowly turned fervent.

Mang Zhan had lost himself in thought, but the goateed attendant beside him said in a mocking tone, "I fear Prince Qing Lin does not possess the authority to stir up border conflict on his own."

Li Qinglin sneered. "You may as well try."

As he spoke, he waved a hand. The bows of the Nanli Army immediately aimed at the Western Wasteland party. The goateed man's face turned the color of dirt, and he no longer dared utter a word.

Mang Zhan came back to his senses and laughed heartily. "So it is the Zhaoyang Princess. Since this was a misunderstanding, let it go, let it go. We came here to pay our respects, not to provoke anyone."

Li Qinglin pressed down with one hand, and the army's bows were lowered again. He put on a furious expression and pointed at Li Qingjun as he scolded, "You are no longer a child. Will you ever grow a brain? You dare strike blindly regardless of the occasion? Would you only be satisfied after being shot dead by our own people?"

Li Qingjun stiffened her neck and said angrily, "How much Southern Li blood stains that murderer's spear? He even tried to assassinate Big Brother just now. What is he doing here, pretending to offer condolences?"

"Even so, this is not how you should have handled it." Li Qinglin gave her a meaningful remark, then cupped his hands toward Qin Yi. "Many thanks, Brother Qin."

Qin Yi waved a hand and stood to the side, thoroughly speechless. He had kept watching Mang Zhan's movements, originally wary that he might suddenly thrust his spear. Yet after Mang Zhan heard the words "younger sister," he saw that fervent, dazed expression on the man's face.

Well then. So barbarians liked girls who were impulsive and reckless like this?

Mang Zhan's gaze fell upon Qin Yi, then upon the hand around Li Qingjun's slender waist. His pair of bell-sized leopard eyes narrowed as he said coldly, "And who is that?"

Qin Yi unobtrusively withdrew his hand. He could not be bothered with this so-called Western Wilderness Crown Prince, merely grabbing Li Qingjun and turning to leave. Li Qingjun seemed to realize that she had once again acted too rashly today. She lowered her head without a word and let Qin Yi pull her away.

Ignored, Mang Zhan flew into a rage behind them. "Today, I have truly witnessed Southern Li's bearing!"

Li Qinglin said blandly, "He is my friend. He does not mingle in the mortal world, so there is no need for him to observe official courtesies. Brother Mang, you invade Southern Li year after year, killing people and slaughtering cities like a beast. Yet now you suddenly speak of etiquette and bearing. Do you not feel like a monkey in a hat, laughable beyond measure?"

Mang Zhan said, "This King came with the intention of making peace with Southern Li. Yet from the looks of it now, Southern Li, which claims to desire peace, does not possess the same intentions we do."

Li Qinglin paused in surprise. "Then please enter the palace first. Father King has arranged a Welcoming Banquet and awaits only Brother Mang."

"A midday banquet?" Mang Zhan suddenly grew fervent again. "Will the Princess be present?"

Li Qinglin's gaze became even more meaningful. Turning his head, he saw Qin Yi had already pulled Li Qingjun around the street corner. For some reason, he suddenly found it immensely amusing. He threw back his head and laughed for a while, then abruptly reined in his laughter and said sternly, "My younger sister does not drink with beasts."

"You!" Mang Zhan's face darkened. His iron fists clenched with creaking sounds for a long while before he finally calmed down and fell silent.

By the corner, Li Qingjun leaned against the wall and sighed. "It seems I always ruin things."

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

"I just do not understand it. What kind of logic is this? Why is it that an enemy with blood-deep hatred cannot be touched simply because he comes under the name of an envoy? Why do we have to protect him instead?"

"I do not know either. I have always found such etiquette rather strange, but it seems to exist everywhere... Perhaps it is because between nations, there are no eternal enemies, only interests. For all you know, after turning your faces, you might even become allies."

"Impossible!" Li Qingjun said angrily. "Just based on his attempt to assassinate Big Brother, we will never become allies!"

Qin Yi had no way to answer that. The Western Wasteland did have a grudge against them, but at the very least, the attempt on her brother's life was not their burden to bear.

"Still..." Li Qingjun hesitated for a long while before finally saying, "Thank you. Otherwise, that spear would have been rather troublesome."

"No need to thank me. We fought side by side before, after all. We are comrades-in-arms."

"Comrades-in-arms?" Li Qingjun smiled faintly. "I suppose we are."

"I think your brother is quite dependable," Qin Yi said. "He really knows how to save face."

"Hmph, that is only proper. Otherwise, how could he be worthy of being Li Qingjun's brother?"

Qin Yi's thoughts flashed back to Li Qinglin's final words: "He is my friend."

Friend?

Whether it was sincere or not, Qin Yi felt that using such a word for a "rustic commoner" like him was no easy thing for a Crown Prince. Otherwise, Li Qinglin could simply have called him a retainer, and Qin Yi would not have found that inappropriate. If he wanted it to sound better, "honored guest" would have sufficed. Yet he had specifically used "friend."

The meaning of that word was different. It carried great weight.

As he was feeling moved, something suddenly stirred in his heart. He instinctively looked toward the other end of the street.

Li Qingjun, standing before him, was about to say something else when she saw Qin Yi suddenly turn his head. She followed his gaze and saw an incomparably beautiful Daoist Nun walking toward them.

It was like clouds breaking to reveal the moon; the empty street was suddenly filled with gentle, clear radiance.

Looking at the Daoist Nun's beauty, capable of toppling kingdoms and cities, Li Qingjun suddenly felt a trace of discomfort. She subconsciously straightened up, as if deliberately displaying her own proud figure as well.

Liusu snarked, "Stop puffing yourself up. The more you do, the worse you lose."

"..." Qin Yi nearly choked to death. Didn't you say you did not dare talk nonsense in front of Minghe?

"Young Master Qin, we meet again." Minghe slowly approached and made a Daoist salute. "This humble Daoist has waited many days for you."

Qin Yi pretended not to understand. "Why were you waiting for me?"

Minghe sighed. "The wooden sword changed masters for no reason. Naturally, this humble Daoist wished to know why. At first, I feared that you had met with harm, but I cast a divination, and it turned out to be an auspicious hexagram..."

Qin Yi became interested. "What hexagram?"

Minghe looked at Li Qingjun and said, "The fortune of steadfast chastity; its response reaches boundlessly across the earth."

Having said that, she turned and left, as though she had come specifically to tell Qin Yi of this divination.

It also seemed that she had already learned from the hexagram what she wanted to know, leaving no need for further words.

Li Qingjun watched her retreating figure as though facing a great enemy. Minghe's final glance had given her a chilling sense of danger, as though she had been seen through completely. Yet only after Minghe had gone far away did she remember that she had a spear. It was as though, while Minghe stood before her, she could not even find the awareness to fight.

"The fortune of steadfast chastity; its response reaches boundlessly across the earth—what does that mean?" Li Qingjun asked Qin Yi.

Qin Yi did not know either. The moment Minghe drew near, Liusu had hidden away. Without his cheat, how could he answer such a profound question? He could only say, "It is an auspicious hexagram anyway. Why worry about it?"

"That Daoist Nun ran over for no reason and said a heap of incomprehensible things. She does not feel like a good person. Who knows whether that divination is real or false?" Li Qingjun said warily. "Do not get too close to those people who play at mystifying the gods and deceiving ghosts. It would be terrible if you became a second Dong Huazi!"

Qin Yi laughed. "That is impossible."

"Why is it impossible? Is that Daoist Nun not very beautiful? I saw you could barely tear your eyes away from her."

"Her... No matter how beautiful she is, she is only like the Milky Way in the heavens—unreal. Beside me stands beauty capable of toppling a city, not inferior to her in the slightest. Why would I look at her?"

Li Qingjun froze for a long time. Then she suddenly understood what he meant, and her pretty face flushed scarlet in an instant.

Liusu's voice suddenly emerged in the Sea of Consciousness, shattering the faintly romantic atmosphere that had only just begun to form. "When the noble one sets forth, he first loses his way, then follows and gains constancy. In the southwest, he gains friends, joining those of his kind; in the northeast, he loses friends, yet in the end there is celebration. The fortune of steadfast chastity; its response reaches boundlessly across the earth."

Qin Yi had wanted to ask whether she had just gone to Baidu it, but as he listened, his expression grew increasingly unsightly, and he no longer had any mood to joke.

Someone came running over, bent at the waist in salute, and said, "Princess, the King commands the Princess to attend the banquet." After a pause, he added, "The Crown Prince invites Mister Qin as well."