"Phoenix Cry Nine"

With his grand plans for wealth now settled, Zeng Anmin naturally felt much better.

His dream of riding hawks and walking hounds could continue.

"Dachun! Back to the estate!"

"Right away!!"

Before leaving, Zeng Anmin could still faintly hear the heated discussion from the neighboring private room:

"Standing atop the highest peak, I alone am the summit... Ah, this poem... It reveals the resolve and confidence to reach the pinnacle, a bold and unrestrained breadth of heart..."

"Truly admirable."

"Our Two Rivers Prefecture is hailed as Jiangnan's foremost center of Confucian literature, yet in the past five years, not a single fine work has been able to rival this."

"The words are exquisitely simple, yet the artistic realm within the poem is truly worthy of reverence."

"Princess Wencheng of the Jiang Kingdom is formidable!"

"..."

Zeng Anmin did not linger. He took Dachun and headed home without obstruction.

Governor's Mansion.

His old man had not returned yet. These past two days, because of Prince Jiang's Estate, his old man had a mountain of matters to handle.

By then, the sky had gradually darkened.

"Daddy!"

Huzi came bouncing over, asking to be held. Every time he saw Zeng Anmin, Huzi's face brimmed with the purest smile.

"My big son!"

Zeng Anmin laughed heartily, picked Huzi up, and lightly scraped his little nose with a finger.

"Have you eaten?"

"Not yet. Mom said we should wait for you to come back and eat together."

Huzi grinned, revealing a neat row of little teeth.

Uh...

Though he had grown used to it long ago, Zeng Anmin still felt offended by that strange form of address.

Not far away, Aunt Lin stood gracefully in the courtyard with a smile on her lovely face. Her eyes shimmered like rippling water as she said softly,

"The master is busy with official duties and will be dining at the yamen tonight. We needn't wait for him."

"Uh, I already ate outside. You and Huzi go ahead."

"No! Huzi wants to eat with Daddy and Mommy!"

Before Concubine Lin could speak, Huzi became unhappy. He looked at Zeng Anmin with a pitiful expression, tears already gathered in his eyes. His lips trembled faintly, and his voice was tiny.

"Everyone else has their dad and mom eating with them... I don't."

As he spoke, he turned his tender little face away and endured his tears without wiping them, bearing the pain in his heart all alone.

Fine!

Zeng Anmin's mouth twitched. "All right, all right. Daddy will eat with you."

"Daddy is the best!!!"

Huzi waved both hands, his face instantly lighting up with excitement. Looking at Zeng Anmin, he planted a loud kiss on his cheek.

This brat... He already knew how to coax people at such a young age. What would happen when he grew up?!

For the first time, Zeng Anmin discovered a different sort of virtue in Huzi.

"Hehe."

Seeing Zeng Anmin and Huzi getting along so harmoniously, Aunt Lin's face bloomed with an exceptionally gratified smile.

Just then, the evening breeze brushed through Aunt Lin's high-piled hair, and the drifting strands swayed with her uniquely captivating charm.

"Ahem."

Zeng Anmin turned his head away and gave a dry cough, then led Huzi into the hall to eat.

"Have some more too. You're on duty at the yamen all day, and I hear the food there is never very appetizing."

Concubine Lin did her best to act as a mother should. Her face showed concern as she used her chopsticks to place a chicken drumstick into each of Zeng Anmin's and Huzi's bowls.

"You've grown much thinner lately than before."

"All right, all right, that's enough, Aunt Lin..."

Zeng Anmin hurriedly stopped her.

He had lost weight because he had entered the ranks of martial arts; the Martial Arts Aura had consumed too much of his blood essence. Although he was indeed thinner overall, it had all solidly turned into compact muscle.

He and Shen Jun had eaten quite a lot at Wangxian Tower today, and there was barely room in his stomach for anything more.

"Try to eat less food from outside. How could it possibly be as clean as what is made at home?"

Concubine Lin's eyes fell upon Zeng Anmin's face. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, and her words carried a careful reproach before her tone quietly shifted.

"You should say the same to the master as well."

"Sure, that's easy enough."

A smile appeared on Zeng Anmin's face as well.

"Dad, do you want this chicken drumstick?" Huzi picked up the drumstick in his bowl and looked at Zeng Anmin with a grin.

"Dad doesn't want it. You eat it."

This child was so filial. Warmth rose in Zeng Anmin's heart as he reached out, intending to stroke Huzi's head.

"Okay!" Huzi's smile widened as he stretched out his chopsticks and took the chicken drumstick from Zeng Anmin's bowl.

??

Good boy!! This child's schemes run deep. He absolutely could not be kept!

"Don't snatch food from your father."

Aunt Lin shot Huzi a reproachful glance.

"Oh." Huzi's eyes rolled as he made to pick up the chicken drumstick in his bowl, then looked toward Concubine Lin's bowl and asked,

"Mom, do you have enough chicken drumstick to eat?"

"I do, I have enough." Aunt Lin had no intention of indulging Huzi. A smile appeared on her gentle face as she raised her chopsticks to block her bowl.

"Hehe, as long as you have enough."

Huzi grinned again. He stood up and swept the entire remaining plate of chicken drumsticks into his own bowl.

Aunt Lin's delicate face first froze in surprise, then revealed helplessness.

"Hahaha!!"

Zeng Anmin burst out laughing at the sight.

"This child..."

Concubine Lin could not help but curl up her lips as well.

That night.

Zeng Anmin returned to his room. Lying on his bed, he shifted his thoughts and entered the Purple Mansion space.

The phantom image of the Dragon Survey Map still stretched across the center like a heavenly curtain.

On the left was a massive mass of azure aura that had formed after his Confucian Path entered the Sixth Grade.

The azure aura exhaled brilliant hues, its countless hanging strands solemn and majestic without losing their gentle warmth.

To the right of the Dragon Survey Map's phantom image was a Hand Axe flowing with an enigmatic aura.

The handle was roughly two chi long, while the blade measured one chi. Patterns formed from densely packed inscriptions wrapped around the entire axe.

The moment Zeng Anmin's figure appeared within his sea of consciousness,

the axe began to gleam, as though welcoming its master's arrival.

Zeng Anmin could feel the sense of intimacy coming from within the axe.

One of the criteria for judging a Divine Artifact in this world was whether it possessed spirituality.

Yet Zeng Anmin had entered his sea of consciousness this time for another purpose.

He slowly approached the back of the Dragon Survey Map's phantom image.

Without hesitation, Zeng Anmin reached out and wrote upon the map:

Bei: Hehe, it has been many days since we last spoke. Have you all been well?

He waited quietly for a while.

Before long, the group members gradually came online.

The first to speak was Huang.

Huang: Not good, not good. The Barbaric Mystery Realm is approaching, and my dad beats me every day.

Zeng Anmin had not expected Huang to be the first to speak.

Bei: Oh? Why does your father beat you?

Huang: He says it is to help me improve my combat experience.

Uh...

A father's love was like a mountain... collapsing the earth and splitting the ground.

Zeng Anmin was left speechless. After hesitating for a long while, he sighed.

Bei: I suppose this counts as a different kind of fatherly love from your honored father.

Huang: I'm used to it too. He beats me now, but once I've built up my strength and become powerful, I'll definitely beat him up hard.

Well then! What a hall full of filial sons!!!

At last, as they chatted, Nan came online.

Nan: Um, Bei, I'm truly sorry. For certain reasons, I exposed that poem of yours...

The moment she arrived, Nan began examining herself.

But she looked like such an honest girl. Why did everything she said carry such a strong tea-like flavor?

Zeng Anmin curled his lip.

If she wanted to use it to show off, then she should just say so. Exposed??

Thus, Zeng Anmin felt it necessary to probe a little further.

Bei: I never expected Her Highness the Princess to be such a lover of poetry as well.

Nan fell silent for a while before sending a message.

Nan: To express my apology, just tell me what you want. As long as it is something I can do, I will definitely help you.

She had not denied her identity.

So he had been right!

Zeng Anmin's eyes brightened slightly.

The Great Jiang Dynasty's most favored Princess Wencheng surely possessed plenty of good things!

A smile curled at the corner of his mouth as he slowly wrote:

Bei: I have a friend who has recently encountered a small bottleneck in martial arts. If Your Highness can produce the Jiang State Imperial Family's ultimate art, "Phoenix Cry Nine," I believe he will be extremely happy.

Nan: ????