All right, I admitted it. In my last life, besides being a corporate slave, I had also been a bit of a loser.
But there was no shame in that, buddy.
As normal men, search your hearts. Which of you had never had a loser's fantasies?
Wanting to transmigrate, to be reborn, to gain miraculous superpowers?
Wanting an incredibly beautiful woman as your girlfriend,
wanting to be a rich second generation,
wanting to sleep with an internet celebrity,
wanting to be surrounded by beauties.
Cut the bullshit. Were you really all saints who had never fantasized about any of that?
There were pure, noble men in this world, untouched by a speck of dust. Even amid the "blessing" of the nine-to-nine, six-day workweek, they maintained unwavering convictions, worked hard for their bosses, read famous sayings and words of wisdom every day, resisted temptation even with a beauty in their laps, upheld noble morals, and sacrificed themselves for others.
Sorry, I wasn't that kind of person.
I had already transmigrated. What was wrong with wanting to live a little more freely?
I had already transmigrated. If I didn't let loose a little, was I still supposed to be a saint?
Tch!
I admitted it. I did lust after Li Qiuran's body.
Of course, I wasn't the kind of man who shirked responsibility!
Zhang Qingyuan brought Li Qiuran to the separate courtyard the Tang Household had arranged for him, beside the stone table beneath the jujube tree.
Zhang Qingyuan served two cups of tea, and the two sat facing each other.
"How did you find your way here?" His face was full of delighted surprise. After so many miserable days, someone pleasing to the eye had finally arrived. His mood was as sweet as if he had eaten honey.
"Tell me the truth. You came especially to see me, didn't you?"
He was still as irritating as ever. Li Qiuran gritted her teeth and silently recited the Calming Incantation a few times.
"You've misunderstood. I just happened to be passing by."
The young woman was as cool and aloof as ever, keeping others a thousand miles away.
But if any other fellow martial artists had been there, their jaws would surely have dropped.
What man in the martial world didn't want to steal a kiss from the Bamboo Green Fairy? Yet the grass on the graves of those brave fellows who had dared approach her was almost tall enough to reach a rooftop.
And Zhang Qingyuan's words were so blatant, yet the Bamboo Green Fairy, who normally considered even a glance a desecration, hadn't drawn her sword!
"Ah."
Zhang Qingyuan sighed, and puzzlement appeared in Li Qiuran's cold, beautiful eyes.
Zhang Qingyuan smacked his lips and said with some regret, "You came too early."
"What?"
"Before you left last time, I told you that the next time we met, I would come treading on moonlight, appearing before you to soothe your sorrow.
"But it's broad daylight. I haven't even combed my hair or changed my clothes. There's nothing romantic about this."
"No ivory ever comes out of a dog's mouth."
Li Qiuran suddenly felt rather embarrassed, and the tips of her ears reddened slightly.
Had a complete novice been there, he would surely have thought Li Qiuran had no feelings for him and become discouraged.
But Zhang Qingyuan was very observant. With a girl this cold and aloof, I've spoken so bluntly and explicitly, even teased her a little, yet she hasn't swept her sleeves and left. Doesn't that show I'm making encouraging progress?
Some girls liked romance, some liked persistence, some liked being passive, and some liked pursuing men themselves.
Different girls liked different ways of behaving in boys.
At this moment, Zhang Qingyuan was certain that the young woman before him liked his shameless, slightly naughty way of expressing himself.
In fact, Li Qiuran had left last time precisely because she had felt Zhang Qingyuan stirring her heart, leaving her no choice but to flee.
Humans were animals first and foremost. The impressions made upon first contact were important.
If there was no dislike during the first time spent together, there would be a chance afterward.
If there was no spark at the first meeting, then much more effort would be needed.
"Ahem. Have some tea." Zhang Qingyuan picked up his tea bowl and raised it in invitation.
The young woman hurriedly picked up her tea as well to hide her awkwardness.
After setting down her tea bowl, Li Qiuran regained her composure. She looked up and asked, "You wiped out Listening Wind Stronghold?"
"How did you know?"
"The Imperial Lord of True Martiality reincarnated, Zhang Qingyuan, savior of those in suffering..."
Li Qiuran, you've learned bad habits. You've actually learned to fight back.
Looking at her teasing expression, it was Zhang Qingyuan's turn to feel embarrassed.
A chuuni nickname, an embarrassing legend.
As a normal man, he had long since passed the age of enjoying giving himself nicknames.
"Don't listen to their wild rumors. It's all just blind admiration for me."
The fellow waved a hand. He was good at showing off in front of girls.
Li Qiuran gave a soft snort. "If I told you that Dragon Gate was behind Listening Wind Stronghold, would you still be so pleased with yourself?"
"I already know. The prefect is behind Dragon Gate."
"But do you know that the Prince of Yu is behind the prefect?"
"The Prince of Yu?"
Hearing that name, Zhang Qingyuan finally understood everything.
If a prefect had no powerful backer, how would he dare rebel on his own?
If a vassal prince was rebelling, that made sense.
It was just that this rebellion plot didn't seem particularly complicated.
Zhang Qingyuan pondered it. Vassal princes rebelling had been nothing unusual throughout history. Take Wu Sangui from his previous life: he had thought things through carefully, held military power, arranged marriage alliances and all the rest, and wrangled with Kangxi for a long time before finally taking up arms.
Or take Li Shimin, the Prince of Qin. He had only dared launch the Xuanwu Gate Incident because he had a host of powerful subordinates at his command.
Even Zhu Di had needed to feign madness and stupidity and raise the banner of purging the emperor's entourage before daring to send out troops.
Yet this Prince of Yu had made no preparations beforehand.
It was as if the idea had suddenly struck him. With no military power in his hands, he had turned his attention to the disaster victims.
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
It seemed rather like child's play.
At this thought, Zhang Qingyuan remembered someone else. Compared with that man, the Prince of Yu wasn't playing around at all.
Murong Fu was the one treating it like child's play. He wanted to restore his nation and rebel against the Great Song Dynasty, yet he neither recruited soldiers nor bought horses. He wanted to rebel using martial arts and a bunch of martial artists. Now that was a man with a hole in his head.
People online all said that if he had possessed even Song Jiang's boldness, he would have fucking succeeded.
Zhang Qingyuan suddenly chuckled. Li Qiuran's brows furrowed slightly. Was this very funny?
"What are you laughing at? Don't you realize you've already been swept into this vortex?"
Li Qiuran was a little angry. She had come with good intentions to warn him, yet he was laughing. He was utterly infuriating!
Zhang Qingyuan waved his hands repeatedly and explained, "I wasn't laughing at the Prince of Yu. I just thought of an idiot who dreamed of rebelling and restoring his nation. Never mind. Go on."
Her face taut, Li Qiuran said coldly, "The Prince of Yu is working with the Heavenly Principle Sect."
"This Heavenly Principle Sect is...?"
"The Heavenly Principle Sect only appeared thirty years ago. It is neither wholly righteous nor wholly evil. Its leader, Xiahou Jue, is determined to expand the Heavenly Principle Sect and make it the greatest sect under heaven.
"But his ambition is doomed to fail."
With Buddhism and Taoism weighing down on it, it would have been strange if he could succeed.
"While investigating the Heavenly Principle Sect, I discovered that its followers have recently been associating closely with the Prince of Yu, frequently entering and leaving his residence."
"Wait. You're investigating the Heavenly Principle Sect. Were they also among the culprits responsible for destroying your Taoist sect back then?"
Li Qiuran nodded and continued, "If Xiahou Jue wants to make his sect the greatest under heaven, conventional methods won't work."
Zhang Qingyuan agreed and picked up where she left off. "So he wants to find a partner who can make his sect the state religion, thereby elevating its standing.
"And that partner is the Prince of Yu!"
"The Prince of Yu is going to rebel!"
Just as the two were analyzing the situation, Zhu Zizhao, having finished distributing porridge, suddenly walked in and overheard their conversation.
"You know the Prince of Yu?" Zhang Qingyuan asked.
Zhu Zizhao hurried over to them, his brows tightly knitted.
"I considered the prefect, but never the Prince of Yu. Do you know why?"
Zhang Qingyuan shook his head.
Zhu Zizhao explained, "Of His Majesty's many younger brothers, the Prince of Yu is the mildest and most well-behaved. He was enfeoffed in Kaifeng as a child, and after all these years, he remains the prince with the least presence.
"Even after he came to Kaifeng to take up his fief, Kaifeng remained Kaifeng. It wasn't renamed Yu Prefecture.
"He is so well-behaved that, unless someone brings him up, many people even forget there is a prince in Kaifeng.
"I never imagined he would harbor treasonous ambitions."
"What's so strange about that? Since ancient times, which imperial prince hasn't had designs on that seat? Isn't that what everyone's saying? Those princes in the capital are already fighting tooth and nail over the succession..."
Zhu Zizhao neither agreed nor disagreed. He turned to Li Qiuran and asked, "Taoist, could you explain in more detail?"
Li Qiuran's icy gaze sent a shiver through Zhu Zizhao, as though it would freeze him solid.
Zhang Qingyuan hurried to smooth things over. "Qiuran, let me introduce you. This is my friend, Zhu Zizhao. He's a member of the imperial family."
Li Qiuran merely gave a hum of acknowledgment, which counted as a greeting.
She gave a general account of what she had uncovered about the Heavenly Principle Sect's cooperation with the Prince of Yu.
After hearing her out, the two men exchanged a glance. Zhang Qingyuan said, "So the Prince of Yu wants to catch everyone by surprise."
"You destroyed this northernmost granary of his. He certainly won't let you off."
Li Qiuran said, "I came to warn you to be careful, and to protect you while I'm at it."
"Qiuran, you really do have a place for me in your heart," Zhang Qingyuan said with a grin.
"Don't misunderstand. You helped me last time, so I'm helping you this time. After this, neither of us will owe the other anything."
Zhang Qingyuan licked his lips. The girl really refused to admit anything.
Having said her piece, Li Qiuran rose and left.
After she left, Zhu Zizhao said, "That Taoist really is a cold beauty. Qingyuan, you'll have to work hard."
Who are you underestimating...? Zhang Qingyuan rolled his eyes at him. "You'd better worry about yourself first. If the Prince of Yu rebels, you'll suffer too, as a member of the imperial family."
With that, Zhang Qingyuan also rose and left, chasing after Li Qiuran's retreating figure.
"Qiuran, wait for me."