The Repressed Xue Qinghe Finally Obtained Yaoguang Brew

A cool breeze blew.

The two sat on the ground, eating grilled fish.

They were quite carefree and uninhibited.

After thinking for a moment, Xue Qinghe asked again,

"You came to Heaven Dou City at this age and at this time—could it be that you want to attend Heaven Dou Royal Academy?"

He continued,

"Heaven Dou Royal Academy has rather high admission standards."

"I can't eat your fish for nothing. Perhaps I can put in a good word for you."

Li Zhexian wiped the liquor from the corner of his mouth and turned to look at the white-clad young man he had just met.

Hm.

Fair-skinned, refined, and elegant, with gold trim embroidered onto his white robes—he was clearly from a wealthy family.

"You're pretty impressive."

"You can even pull strings at the Royal Academy."

"But me? I hate school the most."

Watching the White-robed Youth in coarse linen lie back on the grass, Xue Qinghe shook his head and laughed.

In his view,

this man was drunk.

He actually spoke of Heaven Dou Royal Academy with such indifference.

One had to know,

anyone who could enter the Royal Academy

was a talented youth with some degree of fame.

At that age, how could one possibly not aspire to it?

Finding it amusing, Xue Qinghe continued asking,

"Then what do you want?"

Li Zhexian sat up and said jokingly,

"If you're really that capable,"

"get me a flask of Yaoguang Brew."

"Yaoguang Brew?"

Xue Qinghe elegantly swallowed the fish in his mouth, put away his fishing rod, and strode off.

After he had walked some distance away, his voice drifted back from afar.

"One meal of fish isn't enough to trade for a flask of Yaoguang Brew."

Watching his gradually receding figure, Li Zhexian took a sip of wine and muttered softly.

"From his tone, it sounds like he really can get Yaoguang Brew?"

"Even the imperial family treasures Yaoguang Brew."

"Who is he...?"

Several names flashed through Li Zhexian's mind.

At that age, with such refined features and an elegant temperament.

And Lotus Lake, located less than a kilometer from the Imperial City, was not somewhere nobody ever came.

More likely, it was the private property of some influential noble.

The answer seemed ready to reveal itself.

The corner of Li Zhexian's lips curled up.

"Heaven Dou's Crown Prince, Xue Qinghe."

"Perhaps... Qian Renxue would be more appropriate."

"Forget it, forget it."

"I have no interest in getting involved in this sort of power struggle."

"Whether he's Xue Qinghe or Qian Renxue, as long as he can get me Yaoguang Brew, that's enough."

"If one meal of fish isn't enough, then I'll make him eat a few more."

The sun slanted westward.

He headed home.

He spent that night cultivating once more.

The next day, when the sky had only just begun to brighten, Li Zhexian eagerly headed to Lotus Lake.

He was fishing.

But not for fish.

Yet he waited until the blazing sun hung overhead and still did not see Xue Qinghe.

Sitting beneath the shade of a tree, Li Zhexian glanced at the basket full of fish and sighed regretfully.

Heaven Dou Imperial Palace.

As usual, Xue Qinghe went to Qianqing Palace to pay his respects to Xue Ye.

"Your son, Xue Qinghe, pays respects to Imperial Father. May Imperial Father be well."

He knelt on one knee, presenting a cup of hot tea with both hands.

Xue Ye's complexion was rosy as he reviewed memorials.

"Rise."

Taking the tea from Xue Qinghe,

Xue Ye took a sip and nodded in satisfaction.

"Qinghe, your tea-making skills are getting better and better."

Xue Qinghe raised his head, a smile appearing on his refined face.

"As long as Imperial Father likes it."

Xue Ye smiled and continued reviewing memorials without saying anything else.

Xue Qinghe lowered his head slightly and stood respectfully to one side.

Time passed second by second.

Only when the sunlight had grown brighter did a eunuch remind Xue Ye that it was time.

Xue Ye set down the memorial and looked at Xue Qinghe.

"Qinghe, how are your studies of the Heaven Dou Code progressing?"

The Heaven Dou Code was a compilation of the laws of the Heaven Dou Empire, a political text that the Crown Prince was required to study.

Xue Qinghe bowed slightly and said,

"Your son has already mastered it."

"Good. Then let Imperial Father test you."

Only when the sunlight became scorching

did Xue Ye's examination of the Crown Prince finally end.

"Your son takes his leave."

After leaving Qianqing Palace,

he passed through the Imperial Palace enclosed by red walls and high tiled roofs.

Xue Qinghe's expression shifted from calm to cold.

The coldness seeped into his bones, as though a layer of frost covered him.

Once he returned to his own palace,

he stood before the window.

Blankly, he watched the flowers in the garden wither beneath the merciless sun.

Less than a few minutes later, another eunuch reported that a certain minister had been waiting for a long time and wished to see the Crown Prince.

Xue Qinghe skillfully shed the coldness from his face, his expression becoming gentle once more.

Half an hour later, after sending off the minister,

he did not even have time to rest before visiting Heaven Dou Royal Academy as the Crown Prince, meeting with the talented students of this year.

On the way back to the Imperial Palace,

Xue Qinghe was expressionless.

Porcupinefish Douluo and Snake Lance Douluo exchanged a glance. Bracing themselves, they spoke,

"Young Master, Her Holiness the Pope has informed us that the pace of infiltrating the Heaven Dou Empire is too slow, and that the poison given to Xue Ye is far too mild."

"Her Holiness the Pope has ordered that you completely take control of the Heaven Dou Empire within five years."

"Also, Her Holiness the Pope said..."

Xue Qinghe remained expressionless.

But his hands inside his sleeves clenched tightly, his knuckles turning pale from the force.

He stopped walking, closed his eyes, and slowly exhaled.

Thinking of how he had lived the same way for years,

busy every day doing things he hated,

Xue Qinghe suddenly felt a weariness that seeped into his very soul.

"Tell that woman..."

"I don't need her telling me how to do things!"

Pufferfish and Snake Lance sighed and silently retreated to the side.

Seeing Xue Qinghe change direction,

they hurriedly asked,

"Young Master, where are you going?"

"Lotus Lake."

Without looking back, Xue Qinghe said coldly,

"Don't follow me."

Lotus Lake.

Willows swayed softly, and reeds drifted in the breeze.

Even the wind carried the fragrance of lotus flowers.

Seeing the White-robed Youth with grease all over his mouth from eating, Xue Qinghe blinked and quickly walked over.

Without the slightest concern for his image, he plopped down opposite the White-robed Youth.

He picked up a fish and stuffed it into his mouth.

Li Zhexian stared in a daze.

Then he laughed and scolded,

"You wouldn't eat when I offered it to you yesterday, but now you don't even know how to be polite, do you?"

Xue Qinghe took the chopsticks and poked at the fish in the pot a couple of times.

"Today's fish is a little overfried."

Seeing how shameless he was acting, Li Zhexian was so angry that he laughed.

He held out his greasy hand toward Xue Qinghe.

"Give it to me."

With fish in his mouth, Xue Qinghe raised his eyes.

"What?"

Li Zhexian said,

"Yaoguang Brew."

"One meal of fish may not be enough for Yaoguang Brew, but you've eaten two meals from me already."

Xue Qinghe curled his lip.

"A flask of Yaoguang Brew is worth ten thousand gold."

"Your fish sure are expensive."

Li Zhexian had not expected that two meals of fish would really be enough to exchange for Yaoguang Brew.

He stood up, patted his backside, and walked toward the lake.

"This batch is overcooked. I'll catch a few fresh ones."

A few minutes later.

Li Zhexian returned.

He saw Xue Qinghe still eating in silence, as if he had not eaten lunch.

And opposite Xue Qinghe,

in what had been his seat,

was a translucent three-inch Glazed Glass Bottle.

Inside flowed liquor that shimmered like a river of stars...