A Marriage Proposal

"I certainly hope so. I made you a reading list. Look it over when you have time." Zhou Chunfeng pinched up a sheet of paper and gave it a light toss. As if it had grown eyes, the paper drifted slowly before Li Qingxian.

Li Qingxian took it in his hand.

Book of StratagemsLuo Zhi ClassicBook of ConcealmentLittle Man ClassicClassic of Officialdom...

"Don't worry, Uncle Zhou. I'll read them slowly and definitely won't let your efforts go to waste."

"I'm only afraid you'll claim to read them while spending every day on those Books of Fate. Fate Arts aren't useless, but they're far too mystical. Among all cultivators, fewer than one in ten thousand are suited for them. You... should stop wasting your time." Zhou Chunfeng said.

"Uncle Zhou, your mouth is like it's been smeared with honey." Li Qingxian said helplessly.

"Tell me. What other conditions do you have?" Zhou Chunfeng asked.

Li Qingxian said, "Tomorrow, I'm planning to pay respects to my father. But I'm afraid someone might stir up trouble, Ye Han for instance. So I hope Uncle Zhou and Sister You Fei can join forces and make Ye Han stay obediently in this study for the entire day."

"What devilish scheme are you plotting?" Suspicion filled Zhou Chunfeng's eyes.

"Alas, I have no choice but to admit it. This is to repay Ye Han for his Flood Dragon Transformation Pill." Li Qingxian said.

"How so?"

"My Fate Arts have improved greatly lately, and I discovered that Ye Han's brothers will harm him tomorrow while he visits his mother's grave. I originally didn't want to meddle, but after turning it over and over in my mind, I, Li Qingxian, have been bestowed the elegant title Sunshine Boy. I should see a good deed through to the end, so I'll keep him in the Night Guard and spare him the tragedy of blood relatives slaughtering one another."

"Really?"

"Truer than true." Li Qingxian said.

Zhou Chunfeng looked out the window, contemplating the mysticism of Fate Arts. "I can't hold him back by myself?"

"You just said it yourself. His Fortune is flourishing, and he has the momentum of turning into a dragon. I even suspect that, even with Sister You Fei added in, we might not be able to hold him back." Li Qingxian said.

Li Qingxian had calculated it clearly. He had yet to reach Entry Rank and had no way to use Fate Arts to suppress Ye Han. Even if he went to where the purple crystal would fall ahead of time, Ye Han's Destiny Mold would inevitably affect him and bring disaster upon him. But Zhou Chunfeng and Jiang Youfei were different. One was a Night Guard Director with real authority, renowned throughout the land; the other was a saintess of a major Dao Sect. Together, suppressing the current Ye Han would be no problem.

"Is this matter very important to you?"

"Very important. Important enough to affect the rest of my life." Li Qingxian stared seriously at Zhou Chunfeng.

Zhou Chunfeng pondered for a long while before saying, "For you, and for You Fei, we'll add another chip. The matter of Fate Arts may be misty and uncertain, but heroes throughout the ages have all said that man may not necessarily triumph over Heaven, but as long as one's fate is strong enough, it can influence Heaven's Mandate. Since Ye Han's Fortune is flourishing, I'll add one more person. I'll ask the Chief Guard Envoy to issue an order!"

"The Coward King?" Li Qingxian looked deeply skeptical.

"Don't be ridiculous. His Highness the Pine King is merely tolerant and unwilling to contend. Rumors cannot be trusted."

"Yes, yes. After all, he's a great expert of the Upper Three Ranks. He'll still be useful." Li Qingxian said.

"Zhou Hen," Zhou Chunfeng called.

"This subordinate is here."

"Take my token and request a prohibition order from the Chief Guard Envoy. All Night Guard personnel are to remain on duty today. Without my written order, no one may leave, Ye Han included. Also, send someone to investigate the sons of the Marquis of Dingbei." Zhou Chunfeng said.

"Understood!"

Watching Zhou Hen leave, Li Qingxian said, "Uncle Zhou, you trust me just like that?"

"I only ask you this: once tomorrow's matter is settled, can you impersonate Lü Ren?"

"As long as Ye Han is held back tomorrow, I dare face a Third Rank Demon Sect cultivator head-on!" Li Qingxian declared loudly.

"What other conditions do you have? State them all." Zhou Chunfeng said.

"Today, I need to go out and buy offerings. I'll need one of your written orders. Tomorrow, someone may plot against me in secret. Could you have Little Uncle Zhou follow me secretly and deal with them?"

"Fine." After Zhou Chunfeng spoke, he lowered his head and coughed softly.

Overjoyed, Li Qingxian said, "Thank you, Uncle Zhou! Once this is over, I'll ask my childhood friend for the best loquat syrup."

"You're quite thoughtful." As Zhou Chunfeng spoke, he wrote out a personal order, stamped it with his official seal, and handed it to Li Qingxian.

Li Qingxian accepted it and said, "Oh, right, Uncle Zhou. I have a private matter I'd like to ask you about."

"Hm?" Zhou Chunfeng's expression darkened.

Li Qingxian said with a grin, "You misunderstood. It's my private matter, not yours."

"Let's hear it."

Li Qingxian let out a long sigh. "Speaking of which, my life has been full of disasters and hardships. When I was little, my mother said Father was going to arrange a marriage for me, but somehow there was never any further news. Half a year ago, my concubine mother said that since I was about to turn sixteen, Father was arranging a marriage for me. Then again, nothing came of it. So I was thinking, Uncle Zhou, could you stop my life from continuing down this road of setbacks? Uncle Zhou?"

For some reason, Zhou Chunfeng had fallen into a daze. Only when Li Qingxian shouted did he come back to himself. "You want me to propose marriage for you?"

"It doesn't exactly count as a marriage proposal. Just keep an eye out for which family has a good daughter. We can't let outsiders beat us to it, right?" Li Qingxian said.

Zhou Chunfeng nodded. "I'll keep watch for you."

Li Qingxian cleared his throat. "Uncle Zhou, what I mean is, don't misunderstand. I'm not saying she has to be someone like Jiang Youfei. But if you insist on looking for someone according to Jiang Youfei's standards, I wouldn't object either..."

"Get out!"

"Uncle Zhou..."

"Get out!"

"Fine, then. Let the Li Family die out!" Li Qingxian shook his head and left, carrying another plate of pastries.

Zhou Chunfeng looked helpless.

"That little rogue is just like his father..." With that, he rose to his feet and stood by the window, looking outside.

Vaguely, he saw a middle-aged man squatting before a little girl with a runny nose, waving a candied hawthorn skewer in his hand and smiling. "Ying'er, I'll give you this candied hawthorn. Will you marry our Little Qingxian?"

The little girl gazed eagerly at the candied hawthorn.

"Then it's settled!" The man stuffed the gleaming candied hawthorn into the girl's hand, and she skipped away.

That night had also been in early summer. Zhou Chunfeng, who had resigned from office and lived in Jiangnan, drank himself into a stupor with the visiting Li Gangfeng.

When the wine was flowing freely, Li Gangfeng slapped the table and cursed Zhou Chunfeng for having his courage shattered by the Demon Race, for idling away in Jiangnan despite possessing a body full of skill, and for disregarding the great righteousness of the Human Race for his own selfish interests.

After that, the two never sat at the same table to drink again.

"Ying'er wanted candied hawthorn..."

Zhou Chunfeng changed into casual clothes with a green ground and scattered branch patterns, left the Night Guard Yamen, bought two candied hawthorn skewers, then returned to the rear hall of the Divine Capital Office. Sitting beneath a maple tree, he slowly dug out a shallow pit and buried the two skewers.

Holding Zhou Chunfeng's written order, Li Qingxian left the Night Guard Yamen and bought some offerings. He also picked up some yellow paper, chicken blood, a coin sword, peachwood talismans, and other items commonly used by False Fate Art practitioners.

Afterward, he returned to Jia-Nine Office to collect pastries and several books, then headed to the infirmary.

After setting down the tray, Li Qingxian swept a glance over the two people lying in the sickbeds.

Li Qingxian said, "Lord Zhou said Team Jia-Nine will rest and recover for now. I'll keep watch during the day, but I need to go back to sleep at night. Tomorrow and the day after, Lord Zhou and I have important matters to attend to, so I'll have to trouble you."

Han Anbo nodded and said softly, "You're still young. A man climbs ever upward. But no matter what you do, be extra careful. In this world, being a good person is impossible. Just look at Captain Zheng..."

"I understand." Li Qingxian looked at the unconscious Zheng Hui.

"It's not that one can't be a good person. It's just that being a good person is ten times harder than being a villain..." Han Anbo sighed.