Letter

A gentle breeze swept by, and the figure in green robes inside the room had vanished.

Xu Changge is gone.

For someone who is not good with words, Xu Changge prefers to use body language rather than words. The fact that he had to patiently say these heartfelt words to his third brother already made him feel uncomfortable all over.

But his father wouldn't say these things, nor would his maternal uncle; only he, as the eldest brother, could tell Changtian these things.

Sitting alone at the red sandalwood table, gazing at the sunlight streaming in as the door reopened, Xu Yuan inexplicably thought of that rainy night in the ancient temple deep in the mountains.

He still remembers the lightning that ripped through the darkness and illuminated the courtyard, the limbs scattered on the ground washed by the rain, and the blood that kept seeping out.

I still remember how I almost fainted from the sheer gore at that moment.

But what about now?

I have witnessed the border towns ravaged by Demon Beast, the carnage on the battlefield, and the countless people struggling to survive in the battles between high-level cultivators.

If Xu Yuan were to place that rainy night scene before him again now, he felt he probably wouldn't even blink an eye.

This is what we call a habit.

But this cold-bloodedness seems far from enough.

Xu Yuan raised his eyes and looked through the open door toward his father's study.

The door to the room was still open, and the powerful hearing of the Fusion Realm could even hear the soft rustling sound of the old man's wolf-hair brush lightly touching the Xuan paper.

He can turn his hand to make clouds and rain, treat the world as his playground, and regard hundreds of millions of lives as his children.

This is what that father is doing now.

Thinking of this, Xu Yuan lowered his eyes and looked at his palm.

Will he really one day become so numb as to treat the lives of millions of people as mere pawns, to be casually discarded?

After a few moments of silence, Xu Yuan smiled slightly and gently shook his head.

He felt this issue was taking too seriously. When that time came, he'd let his future self worry about it; why was he thinking so much about it now?

As for now, Xu Yuan felt it was better to watch something cheerful and have some fun.

Thinking to himself, his gaze fell on the stack of letters from his good-brother, and he pulled out the first one in order.

The brownish-yellow envelope had four characters written on it.

[To Changtian]

Xu Yuan glanced at it, and the smile on his lips instantly became hard to suppress.

The handwriting is awful.

It's definitely Li Junwu's woman.

It is said that one's handwriting reflects one's personality, but Li Junwu seems to be an exception. Compared to her beautiful and spirited face, this woman's handwriting is like a worm in spring or a snake in autumn.

Although he was a spoiled brat who couldn't cultivate, his handwriting still resembled that of a noble young master, thanks to the influence of the elders in the Prime Minister's Mansion.

Therefore, Xu Yuan remembered that he had once taught this woman calligraphy.

However, after a few days of teaching, the two parted on bad terms. He thought Li Junwu was hopeless and incapable of being taught, while Li Junwu accused him of taking advantage of his junior brother under the guise of teaching.

"Sizzle--"

A crisp sound rang out softly in the quiet room.

The wax seal was broken, and Xu Yuan pulled out a sheet of Xuan paper covered with writing. He glanced at it briefly, then chuckled and shook his head.

Li Junwu must have been quite serious when he wrote this letter; he could tell that she had tried her best to make the writing look as neat as possible.

After reading the first line, Xu Yuan felt somewhat like he was in Bengbu.

[Changtian, I went to the Desert Phoenix Pavilion in Pingning Prefecture today. There were actually Great Desert dancers there! I think it's much more interesting than the brothels in Di'an City.]

There were no formalities or red tape; they went straight to the brothels.

The further down he looked, the stranger Xu Yuan's expression became.

The entire letter, several thousand words long, analyzed the differences between the brothels of Di'an City and Xize Continent in great detail.

After reading the first letter, although he had never been to the Xize Continent, Xu Yuan felt that he had gained a fairly detailed understanding of the brothels there.

From the entire brothel industry in the Xize Continent, from the decor and layout of the brothels to the differences in the stringed instruments played by the musicians, and even the potential pitfalls of overcharging.

From the individual prostitutes, from the Great Desert dancers' light brown skin and emerald green eyes to their exotic dance moves, and the services offered by the brothels of Di'an City that were not available there.

As he finished, he didn't forget to add a sentence:

[Changtian, come visit Xize Continent after you return to the capital. Your sister will show you the exotic atmosphere.]

Setting aside Li Junwu's "third-place essay," Xu Yuan shook his head, opened the second letter, and murmured with a smile:

"Before Li Capital, you said you were going to lead troops into battle and become a general no less capable than Li Qingyan. But as soon as you arrived in the countryside, you went back to your old ways, didn't you? You're truly something else, Li Junwu."

[Xu Changtian, are you laughing at me right now?]

"." Xu Yuan.

The smile on Xu Yuan's face froze slightly. He subconsciously glanced around, then realized that his actions were somewhat foolish, and continued looking down.

Don't be surprised. I know you won't see these letters while you're in the Northern Border. You'll most likely read them all at once after you return to the capital, and knowing your personality, you'll probably read them in order. Hmph, aren't I clever?

To be honest, I don't want to spend all my time surrounded by women in brothels, but what can I do when my father is arranging my marriage?

[As soon as I arrived here, they started arranging all sorts of young generals and the eldest son of the Sun family for me. I've been here for almost half a month now, and apart from all the invitations to meet talented young men, this old geezer won't let me touch any military power. I guess I have to push him a little harder and see who can outlast whom.]

Xu Yuan gently stroked the slightly rough surface of the Xuan paper with his index finger and thumb, a smile appearing in his eyes.

This woman goes to brothels, and then she makes up an excuse for herself.

However, the old man, the Marquis of Western Pacification, must have been quite angry with Li Junwu.

The only daughter spends all her time with women; if this continues, it's clearly a recipe for the Li Family dying out.

Scrolling down, all that remained was Li Junwu sharing anecdotes about the brothels with him.

Open the third letter.

[That old bastard finally couldn't hold back any longer and personally dragged me from the Desert Phoenix Pavilion back to the Western Pacification Prefecture. But the old man still wouldn't budge. But it doesn't matter. If I can't go to the brothel, there are plenty of pretty maids in the Western Pacification Prefecture. It doesn't matter if I transfer them. I want to see if this old bastard dares to arrange male servants for me.]

"."

Xu Yuan's eyes twitched involuntarily as he looked at the illegible handwriting.

He suddenly felt that his title as the leader of the Four Young Four Young Masters of the Capital was somewhat of an overstatement.

He would call Li Junwu the strongest.

No matter how much of a playboy he was back then, he never dared to be as playboy as his own father.

The fourth letter, though initially written with careful attention to detail, had become crooked and uneven, but one could still discern Li Junwu's joy in writing it.

[Changtian, my old man finally relented! Hehe, he gave me a Qu elite, saying he'll give me another one after I break through to the Body Fusion!]

The fifth letter.

[Changtian, I haven't written to you for a month. I've been exhausted these days. Every day I practice military formation Cultivation Method with the old man, and at night I have to study various military strategies. But tomorrow I will try to operate the military formation with the soldiers below.]

My father said that generals, as the core of the military formation, bear a huge burden, and that I should start by trying with a hundred men. Exceeding my physical limits would result in injury at best, and death at worst from Qi Deviation.

[I'm a little nervous tonight and can't sleep, so I'll write you a letter.]

[.]

[.]

The sixth letter.

It turned out to be a false alarm. The old man made it sound so scary, but it turned out to be so simple.

[Don't even mention the blessing of a hundred-man army formation, even a five-hundred-man army formation wouldn't have put me under any strain. You wouldn't believe the look on my grandfather's face, a mixture of joy and frustration, probably because his plan to get me married has fallen through.]

[But Changtian, the feeling of being empowered by the military formation is truly amazing. With just a 500-person military formation empowering me, I feel like I can rival Grandmaster. Watch your words next time we meet, or I might beat you up, hmph.]

"."

Xu Yuan paused for a moment, then a disdainful smile curled at the corner of his lips:

"I can't beat Ran Qingmo and her group, but I can't beat you, Li Junwu?"

Keep reading.

[By the way, I also tried to assemble a thousand-man army today, and unsurprisingly, I succeeded. I really am a genius! And I feel that this is not my limit yet, but unfortunately, my old man absolutely refuses to expand the number of soldiers in the army.]

I heard that when Li Qingyan first formed a formation with Marquis of Martial Achievement, it was only an 800-person formation. If my old man hadn't stopped me, I could have surpassed her by double.

[Changtian, I've said it before, I, Li Junwu, am no less than Li Qingyan.]

Upon seeing this, Xu Yuan couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Princess Bandao was only twelve years old when she first formed an array. Don't you, Li Junwu, have any idea how old you are?

Thinking to himself, Xu Yuan gently shook his head.

Besides, why do you, with your nice chest, always want to compare yourself to the "Bracket Princess"?

Upon opening the seventh letter, Xu Yuan noticed that the time between the signature and the sixth letter was rather long, suggesting that Li Junwu was too busy with military affairs to write.

Today, I heard my grandfather say in a military intelligence report that Beifeng City had fallen and the entire city had been massacred. That's when I suddenly remembered that you, you playboy, seem to be in Beifeng City, so I decided to write you a letter.

But Changtian, do you know what my first reaction was when I heard this news?

[I'm not worried about your life or death at all. After all, evil deeds live on for a thousand years, so you, this troublesome playboy, will definitely live on.]

Upon seeing this statement, Xu Yuan inwardly scoffed.

But then he noticed that Li Junwu's handwriting, which had become slightly sharper, seemed to pause for a long time at this point.

The ink spread out at the end of the sentence, leaving a thick, dark dot.

The pen, which had paused, resumed its strokes and began to flow again, leaving behind only the usual daily rants.

[Let's not talk about that. I haven't written to you for a while because I've been too tired. I've been so tired that I've almost forgotten about you, you playboy.]

Sigh, this is the first time I've realized how tiring life can be. Even if you break down twelve hours into smaller, manageable times, it's still not enough. I wish there were twenty-four hours in a day!

Fortunately, I broke through the Body Fusion; otherwise, I probably wouldn't have been able to persevere through cultivation, training troops, studying military tactics, and leading troops on field exercises and marches.

Oh, by the way, about ten days ago, I led some of my troops on patrol into the Great Desert and encountered an army of wolves. Guess what happened?

[This young lady, with just one song, directly routed over two thousand of their men. This initial battle is far superior to that woman Li Qingyan's.]

Seeing the other party's "unintentional" boasting, Xu Yuan felt inexplicably amused, as if he had returned to the days when the Four Young Masters of the Capital were causing trouble in Di'an City.

Back when the four of them would climb a cage together to walk their birds, they often made sarcastic and sarcastic remarks about each other like this.

His thoughts came to an abrupt halt, and a hint of sadness suddenly appeared in Xu Yuan's eyes.

Gong Yuanzeng and Wang Chengping's fathers were both members of the Imperial Faction, but they have lost contact since their last gathering. The only remaining contact is with their good brother Li Junwu.

The reason was that her father, the Marquis of Western Pacification, neglected state affairs and only cared about guarding the Western Desert.

With a soft sigh, Xu Yuan looked at the two remaining letters on the table and silently opened the second to last one.

Before the decisive battle in the Northern Border, Li Qingyan disappeared. Could you, this scourge, really be dead?

[Xu Changtian, I'm warning you, if you dare to die on your own, I'll skin you alive. Oh well, troublemakers never die, they never will.]

Looking at the handwriting on the first line of the Xuan paper, Xu Yuan's eyes revealed a hint of surprise.

It wasn't because of the content, but because Li Junwu's original ugly handwriting, which resembled a worm in spring and a snake in autumn, was no longer there. Although it was still not excellent, it had acquired a sharp and neat quality.

In the military, besides training people, you can even practice calligraphy.

With these thoughts in mind, Xu Yuan leaned back in his chair and continued scrolling down.

Li Junwu was not a sentimental person. After a brief period of worry, she began to talk about her miscellaneous affairs in the army and the overall situation in the Xize Continent.

Xu Yuan had already learned the general information in this letter from various sources, but Li Junwu's letter described the process in more detail.

The Barbarian Tribe ' initial great victory attracted the Dachao Royal Court like hyenas in the desert, drawn by the scent of blood, eager to claim a share of the spoils.

Li Junwu, either accompanying the Marquis of Western Pacification on his personal campaigns or leading troops alone, has fought more than a dozen minor skirmishes with the Da Chao people, all of which ended in resounding victories.

After reading it carefully, Xu Yuan suddenly realized that Li Junwu seemed to be really amazing.

It seems there really are people in this world who are born with innate knowledge. In just a few months, this good-looking young man has actually grown from a spoiled brat into a general who leads troops.

With these thoughts in mind, Xu Yuan tore open the seal on the last letter.

The date of the letter is very recent, about ten days ago, and the content of this letter is basically the same as that of the penultimate letter.

But when he reached the very end of the letter, Xu Yuan suddenly raised an eyebrow.

[By the way, something funny happened to me before.]

Two weeks ago, I led two cavalry units deep into the Tuwang Valley in the Great Desert for reconnaissance, only to encounter an elite force from the Dachao Royal Court.

[A group of a thousand people, all at the Soul Condensation Realm, were escorting a very beautiful woman from the Western Regions. It was only later that we learned she was actually the goddess from the Dachao Royal Court. Unfortunately, I had too few troops with me at the time, and she managed to escape during our surprise attack. Otherwise, I could have shown you, Changtian, the allure of the Great Desert Goddess.]

However, after the raid, while cleaning up the battlefield, my lieutenant found a map of the royal court and a letter requesting reinforcements addressed to an unknown recipient on the body of one of my guards.

[Changtian, that Great Desert Goddess seems to want to escape from the royal court.]

The power went out at home today, from the afternoon until the early hours of the morning. I'm typing this at the e-sports hotel.

Different input methods affect speed, so this is only one update. I'll make up for it tomorrow.