Three Pieces of Good News

"I can't help you deal with the Empress Dowager. Don't even mention me; I was the one who was messed with by her before, and she almost killed me!"

Zhang Xuezhou clashed with the Empress Dowager several times.

Zhang Xuezhou stabbed Emperor Jing's tomb, breaking the Empress Dowager's trump card for assassination, but Zhang Xuezhou was also used by the Empress Dowager as a medical reference case to have his brain opened.

In the back-and-forth confrontations, the Empress Dowager was having a hard time, and Zhang Xuezhou was also nearly killed by the ordeal.

When Li Shaojun came to ask for help, Zhang Xuezhou, who was planning to visit Kong Anguo, realized that things were going to get complicated.

"You're just greedy, thinking you can take everything at once. Couldn't you have just asked for three or five ginseng roots?" Zhang Xuezhou complained.

"I risked my life to help, and even destroyed two ancient treasures. Would I be crazy to only ask for three or five ginseng roots after all this?" Li Shaojun complained. "If I only ask for a pittance after what I did, I'll never be able to get anything out of it in the future!"

There's a reason behind everything.

Li Shaojun demanded a high reward, but this was a return he had no choice but to ask for. Otherwise, he would be spending money on both people and treasures, and if he couldn't make ends meet, he wouldn't be able to stay in Chang'an City. It was even highly likely that people would suspect him of having ulterior motives.

This price was a high price that Li Shaojun had to quote; how much the new emperor would give was up to him.

Li Shaojun had no idea that such a matter would actually prompt Palace of Peace and Happiness to personally intervene.

He leisurely returned to the Zhang residence, but after seeing the imperial physician, he hurriedly returned as well.

Zhang Xuezhou, who was in the Temple of Confucius, couldn't get directions and was waiting for a Confucian School scholar of some standing to arrive. Li Shaojun found Zhang Xuezhou and complained about many things that had happened.

"How about we call it quits?" Zhang Xuezhou said. "And don't pretend to be that old man with the white beard anymore. I'll tell His Majesty that you worked yourself to the bone last night, felt you were about to die, and left Chang'an City immediately!"

You're the one who's going to die!

Li Shaojun replied with a low curse.

Before he got involved in this mess, everything was fine, but now that he's lost two antique treasures and even lost his life, he absolutely won't give up until he gets his money back.

"Let me tell you, that Empress Dowager is really not someone to mess with. She's True Self Realm cultivator, and her strength is so great that few can stand up to her," Zhang Xuezhou warned.

"True Self Realm cultivator? Do you think I'm afraid of her?" Li Shaojun stubbornly retorted, "At worst, she'll see through me and kill me!"

Are you really prepared for a face-to-face meeting?

"Absolutely! I saved her Sunzi's life, after all. I refuse to believe that this old woman would repay kindness with enmity and eat me up or burn me!"

Li Shaojun hardened his heart.

Having overcome the emperor's ordeal, he feigned death and left without facing the Empress Dowager, which left him extremely resentful.

He had to try, even if he failed.

"You're not afraid of failure, but I'm afraid of getting involved," Zhang Xuezhou said. "I think you'd be better off just dying of illness!"

"Wait... wait a minute, is it because you want a bigger share that you don't want to do this with me?"

Looking at Zhang Xuezhou, who seemed ready to break up the group again, Li Shaojun felt that Zhang Xuezhou was starting to act dishonestly again.

"I lost two ancestral treasures and even my life, while you only did a little bit of work on a midnight trip... We'll split it 50/50!"

Li Shaojun muttered to himself for a while, and finally began to divide up the future harvest with a pained expression.

Although he contributed his treasures, manpower, and effort, Li Shaojun had to admit that this matter couldn't be accomplished without Zhang Xuezhou, even in terms of receiving payment.

It's not surprising that the two of them have been grumbling and whining until now about the distribution of the spoils. In the absence of an uncontrollable third party, Li Shaojun and Zhang Xuezhou are both like this, thinking about how to get a bigger share of the spoils.

However, as long as the distribution is agreed upon, the two will not have any disputes or arguments.

Their cooperative method was strange, but because of their similar mindsets, it created a cooperative approach that made them extremely trusting of each other, even among the most powerful and secretive top cultivators facing the Great Han imperial family.

Zhang Xuezhou mentioned that his involvement was a bargaining chip in negotiations, while Li Shaojun said that losing a treasure and having someone die were also bargaining chips.

The two sides eventually reached an even balance, which also meant that they would each receive half of the future distribution.

"Now I'll tell you two pieces of good news," Zhang Xuezhou, his satisfaction finally settling in.

"Good news?"

"The good news is that the Empress Dowager you are facing is blind. She has lost her sight and cannot see anything about you. She can only observe you by listening to other people's descriptions," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"This is wonderful news!"

"Another piece of good news is that the Empress Dowager has fallen seriously ill due to being attacked by the evil Sha Qi!"

Zhang Xuezhou shared two pieces of good news, which greatly reassured Li Shaojun.

What a brilliant young man of his time, what a prodigy of his era! The current Empress Dowager is just a badly injured and blind old woman.

Having survived even the Celestial Venerable Yuanshi, Li Shaojun refused to believe he would fail at Palace of Peace and Happiness.

"What if they send a physician to examine my body?" Li Shaojun asked in a low voice.

"This shouldn't be too difficult," Zhang Xuezhou said, rolling up his sleeves.

"What do you mean? What are you trying to do?"

Li Shaojun looked at Zhang Xuezhou, who had a half-smile on his face, and then at Rong Tianding, whom Zhang Xuezhou had beckoned over to make his move. He felt a sudden downturn in his mood.

He wasn't seriously injured, but it would be too easy to inflict serious injury on him.

If Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding fight with all their might, they can definitely inflict serious injuries on Li Shaojun and then get past the physician at Palace of Peace and Happiness.

"I must have had the worst luck in eight lifetimes to have met you guys!"

Li Shaojun cried out, and had no choice but to lie down.

"Go easy on me... Never mind, just hit me hard enough, I'm used to getting hit... Waaah!"

After being beaten, Li Shaojun wiped away his tears, barely managed to transform into an old man, and put on his flamboyant Daoist robe again. Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding then carried him away.

Li Shaojun hadn't been at the Sage Kong for long when he came from the Zhang residence, and Zhang Xuezhou and the others had carried Li Shaojun back for a very short time as well.

Zhang Xuezhou carried Li Shaojun ahead, getting closer and closer to the Zhang residence. He also saw the physician Li Shaojun had mentioned, who was squatting on the wall, using silver needles to pierce the sun grass.

"Yi Shuo?"

Zhang Xuezhou was slightly surprised, not expecting that the physician from Palace of Peace and Happiness was actually Yi Shuo.

If he had known that Yi Shuo would come to examine Li Shaojun's body, he wouldn't have needed to beat Li Shaojun so badly. If he had just talked to Yi Shuo Yi Shuo, she would have spoken up for them during the diagnosis. After all, the Empress Dowager wouldn't come to examine Li Shaojun herself.

"Li Shaojun's claim of bad luck isn't without merit; his luck really is quite poor, and this meal was a complete waste!"

Zhang Xuezhou glanced back at Li Shaojun, who was being carried.

He has the Fortune Technique to support him, but Li Shaojun doesn't have the Fortune Technique to ward off bad luck.

Despite constantly scheming against the emperor in Chang'an City, Li Shaojun's bad luck was also becoming increasingly apparent.