Reunion

Year after year, Zhang Xuezhou, Zhang Zhong, and Lady Yourong have lost contact for more than six years.

Rong Tianding homesick and longed for his family at the end of the year, Zhang Xuezhou was no exception to the common human sentiment.

Correspondingly, he was constantly searching for Lei Bei and waiting for the King of Huainan to leave the palace.

Today, only Zhang Xuezhou present in the inner hall of Jinma Gate; Kong Anguo was nowhere to be seen, and Rong Tianding lacked the qualifications to enter the imperial city area.

This made Zhang Xuezhou's wait somewhat unpleasant.

The arrival of the King of Huainan in Chang'an City was not a simple matter of a few people; it involved more than 400 carriages and a 2,000-strong elite cavalry escort, bringing the total number of people entering Chang'an City to nearly 5,000.

Looking out from Jinma Gate, Zhang Xuezhou could see rows of carriages and the Northern Army that had taken over the convoy.

The constant changes in personnel made Zhang Xuezhou a little dizzy, and the armor covering them concealed too much.

He could only conclude that high-ranking guests like Tian Jiu and Lei Bei were probably qualified to wear ordinary clothes at this time and were not mixed in with the crowd guarding the carriages. They were likely following the King of Huainan into the palace.

After making a quick assessment, Zhang Xuezhou waited for the King of Huainan to leave the palace and see where he would be placed.

Zhang Xuezhou waited quite a while; it wasn't until evening that he saw people dressed in the official robes of the King of Huainan's Household emerge from the Sima Gate.

Aside from witnessing the massive crowds during Emperor Jing's funeral, this was the first time Zhang Xuezhou had seen such a large group moving through the palace.

Many people held up canopies, and many others played musical instruments. There were also many talented and extraordinary people who had cultivated great skills accompanying them.

Under the canopy, the King of Huainan strode confidently, accompanied by the new emperor and the guards of the Weiyang Palace as he left Sima Gate. Cheng Bushi of Anle Palace also led the guards of Anle Palace in his procession.

The entire group consisted of nearly a thousand people.

Zhang Xuezhou had no choice but to search for people one by one.

Fortunately for Zhang Xuezhou, Lei Bei's strength and status were indeed quite good. In just a short while, Zhang Xuezhou saw Lei Bei standing at the front of the crowd.

At this moment, Lei Bei no longer the down-and-out man he once was, but instead dressed in a purple robe befitting a guest official.

"Where did Tianjiu go? Did he Lei Bei?"

Zhang Xuezhou, with his sharp eyes, noticed Lei Bei's purple attire at first glance.

Only a special guest advisor of the King of Huainan's Household who has reached the pinnacle of his career is qualified to wear this purple robe.

Zhang Xuezhou felt that given Tian Jiu's petty nature, unless the other party was dead or crippled, there was no way they would give up the position of First Guest Elder.

However, Lei Bei unharmed, suggesting that he had never had a life-or-death struggle with Tian Jiu.

This inevitably surprised Zhang Xuezhou somewhat.

But he quickly followed suit, accompanying the King of Huainan's group from a distance.

As they reached the corner, Zhang Xuezhou waved to Lei Bei, which immediately alerted Lei Bei on patrol and guard duty.

He waved back, indicating that he was temporarily unable to attend to the task force and would need to wait a while, which made Zhang Xuezhou nod.

He watched as the King of Huainan and the new emperor parted ways and departed in their carriage.

Zhang Xuezhou didn't have to wait long for Lei Bei. After a short while, Lei Bei left the convoy and approached Zhang Xuezhou, who was watching the commotion from the side of the official street.

"Long time no see," Lei Bei greeted.

"You've become the top retainer in Huainan!" Zhang Xuezhou clasped his hands in a fist salute and said, "Congratulations!"

"Like a blind cat catching a dead mouse," Lei Bei scoffed. "I wonder which damned bastard killed Tian Jiu and burned him black. If it weren't for Tian Jiu's broken swords, probably no one would have recognized him!"

"He was burned to death?" Zhang Xuezhou asked in surprise.

"Burned to the point of certain death," Lei Bei nodded, "The sword even melted into his hand bones. I wonder which master of fire magic has the ability to catch a sword and burn someone like that!"

"What a pity," Zhang Xuezhou sighed.

"Tian Jiu is dead, and the King has finally handed over the position of First Guest Elder to me," Lei Bei. "I guess I got lucky!"

"Even if you don't take advantage of any loopholes, you'll only have to wait a few years," Zhang Xuezhou said. "With your abilities, reaching the Sole Self Realm a matter of time. At that point, you'll be able to easily defeat Tianjiu!"

"The Sole Self Realm is quite difficult," Lei Bei said, scratching his head. "They say my cultivation foundation isn't solid, and the probability of me ever reaching the Sole Self Realm in this lifetime is very slim!"

"You don't need to listen to their nonsense," Zhang Xuezhou complained. "There are hardly any people in the King of Huainan's Household who can beat you, so how could those people be qualified to instruct a top guest elder like you on cultivation!"

"What you're saying doesn't seem wrong!"

Lei Bei shaken.

Lei Bei's swordsmanship is very strong, but there is a gap between Lei Bei and the top martial artists. This means that even a martial artist at the True Self Realm who is not very skilled has a chance to kill Lei Bei directly by relying on the pressure of their realm.

After becoming the top swordsmanship retainer in the King of Huainan's Household, many old men pointed fingers at Lei Bei and said a lot of things, including that Lei Bei had taken an unorthodox approach to swordsmanship and relied purely on the power of his swordsmanship to fight.

These people couldn't instruct Lei on the Horizontal Sword Technique, but Lei Bei's cultivation level was a fatal flaw, and they also had a say in it.

Lei Bei's cultivation was unorthodox, and he only received the realm-changing technique after entering the King of Huainan's Household. Almost no one believed that Lei Bei's cultivation would leapfrog another major realm.

After being told this so many times, Lei Bei believe it himself.

When Zhang Xuezhou complained, Lei Bei what Zhang Xuezhou said also made a lot of sense.

It's absurd for the strong to accept guidance from the weak. Lei Bei not be as skilled as those people, but he is stronger.

He cannot kill cultivators at the True Self Realm, but the probability of killing cultivators at the Divine Ability Realm and the Sole Self Realm is extremely high.

He considered the idea several times before finally coming to a conclusion.

"These people have ruined my sword spirit," Lei Bei, shaking his head.

"That's really awful," Zhang Xuezhou in.

The two chatted casually for a while, and the awkwardness of not seeing each other for a long time disappeared.

"Jin Chang didn't come to Chang'an. I don't know what mission he was on that resulted in severe injuries. His entire head is wrapped in white cloth, with only his eyeballs, nostrils, and mouth showing. He hasn't been seen all day!"

When Zhang Xuezhou inquired about Jin Chang, Lei Bei also complained about this one of the few friends in the King of Huainan's Household.

However, Lei Bei didn't take Jin Chang's secretive behavior seriously after a while.

As long as he can still breathe and doesn't die like Tian Jiu, things aren't a big deal. With the resources of the King of Huainan's Household, Jin Chang will eventually be able to heal his injuries.

"Ci Gong also came to Chang'an City this time. He should be mixed in with the guards of the carriages. I'll find him for you in a bit!"

He also mentioned Zhang Cigong, who had come to Chang'an City with him, which was a pleasant surprise for Zhang Xuezhou.

With the Lunar New Year approaching, it's always a good thing that they have one more person to reunite with.

Moreover, compared to Lei Bei to check Jin Chang's files, it makes Zhang Cigong's actions more difficult, but it is also more reliable.

Lei Bei enough power to contend with Jin Chang and is not afraid of being Jin Chang and having his relationship broken after an investigation, but Zhang Cigong is a nobody that Jin Chang will not pay attention to.

Compared to the ease of investigating dangerous individuals like Jin Chang, secrecy is clearly more important.