Translator: AnubisTL
Three days later, in the Outer City of Shengtian, at the Taoyuan Tavern.
Qian Hong, her face veiled by a thin silk scarf, still wore a vibrant red gown that clung to her slender figure, making her a striking sight.
However, the sword hanging at her curvaceous waist and her ice-cold gaze deterred many n who might have had other ideas.
Li Qing, seated in a corner, naturally noticed Qian Hong approaching him imdiately.
He felt a headache coming on. This woman truly doesn’t know the aning of discretion! She’s already plotting against the emperor right under his nose, and yet she dresses so flamboyantly, as if she’s deliberately trying to attract trouble!
"Commander Qian, if I’d known you’d be so conspicuous, I would have chosen a different place to et," Li Qing quipped.
Qian Hong rolled her eyes at his remark, a gesture that sohow managed to be both charming and alluring.
She was about three years older than Li Qing, already in her late twenties. The maturity that ti had brought was beginning to show on the female warrior, like a ripe peach, both alluring and tempting.
"Master Li, just spit it out. Why did you ask to et you here today? What do you want to give ?"
As Qian Hong sat down, Li Qing caught a faint, intoxicating fragrance from her, even more captivating than the fine wine on the table.
Li Qing took a small sip of wine, then casually tossed a purple lotus-embroidered token onto the table.
The mont Qian Hong, her face veiled by a thin mask, saw the token, her eyes widened in shock. Almost instinctively, she snatched it up and tucked it into her chest.
"This is... the Lotus Token. How did you get it?" Qian Hong asked in a hushed voice, barely audible to anyone but the two of them.
It was indeed the Lotus Token. Li Qing confird this and replied casually, "I found it by chance during my training in Qingzhou years ago. It’s useless to ."
"Rather than letting it gather dust in my possession, I thought it should serve its true purpose."
As he spoke, Li Qing muttered inwardly, That Shen Lianyi girl gave it to back then. She said if I wanted to sell Fan Tong, I should bring the token to her.
In other words, this token was useless to Li Qing himself, aside from selling Fan Tong for a good price. Making a small gesture of goodwill would be much better.
"You’ve been a great help. How can I repay you?" Qian Hong murmured.
Li Qing waved his hand, smiling. "Don’t worry about it, Commander Qian. Just keep the token. If you really want to thank , you can cover the bill for today’s al."
Still as carefree as ever, Qian Hong thought to herself.
"Master Li, where are you staying in the city now?" Qian Hong blinked her beautiful eyes, her gaze sparkling with curiosity.
"Hehe, still at the old blacksmith shop. I’m not very talented, just know a bit about blacksmithing," Li Qing replied with a smile.
Qian Hong said, "I have sothing I want to give you. I’ll send it over in a few days. I think you’ll find it interesting."
Mysterious Iron? A century-old herb?
Li Qing made a few guesses in his mind but didn’t refuse Qian Hong’s offer. He said, "Then I won’t be polite. If nothing cos up in the next few days, I’ll probably be at the blacksmith shop."
"Excellent!"
Thus, a mutually satisfactory transaction concluded.
Several days later, the Wu Dynasty made a major move.
At the command of Holy Monarch Tuwa Ha’er, over ten thousand cavalryn stationed at the border began marching toward Small Jade Ridge.
This show of force left everyone stunned.
Was the Wu Dynasty planning to cross Small Jade Ridge and launch an offensive against the Southern Dynasty?
Had the Wu Dynasty’s Sage Ruler Emperor gone mad? Small Jade Ridge was notorious for its treacherous terrain. Traversing it would require imnse effort.
Moreover, the mountain forests teed with venomous insects and ferocious beasts. Spending even a few nights deep within the forest would likely result in significant casualties.
The difficult terrain also ant that establishing a supply line would be incredibly challenging.
No matter how one looked at it, this was a reckless gamble, a desperate move that was no different from wagering the fate of the entire nation.
When Li Qing learned of this news, he was equally surprised. He wondered how Tuwa Ha’er, a figure of such cunning and ambition, could make such a foolish decision.
"No, this is wrong. Attempting to cross the mountains to fight this battle is almost certain to end in defeat. Even if the Southern Dynasty’s army is weak, they will fight to the death to defend their holand."
"Even if they sohow won, how would they maintain control? The Grasslands people, no matter how hard they try to reproduce, will always be a small population!"
"No, no, that’s not right. Besides, it’s the Holy Monarch’s fiftieth birthday soon. No sane ruler would start a war at such a ti."
"Sothing’s fishy!"
Once the military mobilized, grain and military funds had to follow.
Thus, the Wu Dynasty launched a massive tax collection campaign, effectively robbing the common people to cover the costs of war.
anwhile, the Imperial Palace had already begun preparations for the Sage Ruler’s grand birthday banquet.
These two extravagant and burdenso projects, both imposed on the common people, nearly drove the entire Wu Dynasty into revolt.
The sheer variety of exorbitant taxes and levies made Li Qing’s eyelids twitch. "This is nothing short of daylight robbery!" he thought. "How could ordinary people possibly afford this?!"
Well, as it happened, they couldn’t.
The capable minister Gao Yudong proposed a solution: those with money would contribute funds, while those without would contribute labor.
Anyone unable to pay their taxes would be forced into corvée labor—ostensibly a public service, but in reality, unpaid servitude!
Already unable to afford the taxes, these people were now prevented from earning money through productive work. Being conscripted into corvée labor as unpaid laborers ant they couldn’t earn anything at all.
Good heavens, it’s like we’ve been thrown back into the age of slavery!
"That Gao Yudong is truly a remarkable talent," Li Qing couldn’t help but curse, wondering if this guy might be a spy deliberately planted by Maple Country!
To keep two major court affairs running simultaneously, the common people would have to suffer. Those without money were conscripted to transport grain and supplies, forced to contribute to the Sage Ruler’s fiftieth birthday banquet.
In just a few days, Li Qing had seen nurous able-bodied n forcibly separated from their families to perform corvée labor.
"Father, when will you co back?" A skinny boy, no bigger than a bean sprout, tugged at an adult man’s trousers, his eyes pleading.
"Be a good boy, Xiao Fu," the man said, ruffling his son’s hair. "Father is going to help transport grain. When the war ends, I should be back."
Inside the house, a woman in patched clothing wiped away tears incessantly. Small Jade Ridge was infested with venomous snakes and ferocious beasts. Who knew if her husband would ever return from transporting grain there?
With her husband as the family’s sole breadwinner, they were already struggling to make ends et. If he left, she and her son would likely be left to starve.
This wasn’t an isolated case.
Li Qing sat at a noodle stall next to the Blacksmith Shop, eating his noodles. He found them bland and tasteless, nothing like Old Zhang’s wontons from before.
"Sigh."
If even Shengtian was in this state, what must life be like for the common folk in the other cities and provinces?
Just the thought of it made Li Qing’s heart heavy.
After finishing his noodles, Li Qing once again encountered Qian Hong, the woman in the scarlet dress with a curvaceous figure, inside the Blacksmith Shop.
Today, she was still veiled, her lips and teeth barely visible, yet utterly captivating.
"Master Li, I believe this will pique your interest," she said, producing a rectangular wooden box and handing it to him.
It was incredibly light, as if empty!
That was Li Qing’s first impression as he took the box and curiously opened it.
Inside, a yellow talisman lay peacefully, adorned with faint, pale-green patterns that gave off an ethereal, airy feeling.
"This... could this be..."
Qian Hong smiled knowingly. "It’s a Windwalk Talisman. After operating in Shengtian for so long, Maple Guard hasn’t been entirely without gains."
A Life-Preserving Spirit Talisman!
Sothing that might have belonged to an Immortal Cultivator!
Li Qing’s eyes lit up at the confirmation, and he carefully touched the yellow talisman paper.
The paper felt ordinary, no different from mortal realm book pages. But when he lightly brushed his fingers over the spirit patterns, a faint coolness tingled his skin.
A Windwalk Talisman!
Once activated, it would dramatically increase one’s speed, rivaling a Grandmaster-level Martial Path expert skilled in Lightness Technique.
For Li Qing, whose own Lightness Technique was already quite impressive, this Spirit Talisman would make escaping or fleeing even easier.
"To use it, simply slap the talisman onto your body," Qian Hong explained.
"Such a precious item... I truly don’t deserve it."
Despite his words, Li Qing was thrilled with the talisman.
Not only would it ensure his safety, but it also confird the existence of Immortal Cultivators in the world, though they rarely appeared in the mortal realm.
"No need to be so polite. For the Maple Guard, the Lotus Token is no less valuable than a Spirit Talisman," Qian Hong said with a smile.
"Commander Qian..."
Before Li Qing could finish, Qian Hong tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said softly, "If you truly want to thank , then stop calling Commander Qian. It feels too distant."
After speaking, Qian Hong’s cheeks, hidden behind her delicate veil, seed to flush slightly.
The Qian Hong before him, displaying a hint of girlish charm, was a stark contrast to the cold and aloof Commander Qian Li Qing rembered.
Li Qing pondered for a mont before speaking. "Miss Qian, such a generous gift would be insincere for to refuse. I’ll shalessly accept it."
"Mm." Qian Hong blinked her gem-like eyes and continued, "I’ve been swamped lately. I need to send ssages to the Southern Dynasty and personally visit the Nine Lotus Sect. I might not have ti to see you again soon."
For a mont, Li Qing couldn’t quite grasp the aning behind Commander Qian Hong’s words.
But her next sentence nearly made his heart leap out of his throat.
"Li Qing, this veil is a bit hot. Could you help take it off?"
As she spoke, Qian Hong stepped closer, tilting her head slightly and gazing intently at the tall figure before her.
The distance between them was now incredibly close, allowing them to clearly feel each other’s body heat.
Even the most obtuse person would have understood the situation by now.
Their eyes locked in an unbroken gaze, and the atmosphere suddenly grew thick with unspoken intimacy.
After a long mont, Li Qing slowly raised his hand and gently lifted the veil from her face, revealing a face of breathtaking beauty.
Seeing the usually carefree Li Qing suddenly beco so slow and dazed, Qian Hong smiled, her rosy lips as tempting as cherries.
"Heh, what a fool."
With that, she stepped back two paces and chuckled. "Li Qing, would you mind keeping this veil for ? I’ll co back for it later."
Before Li Qing could answer, her figure vanished from the blacksmith shop.
Li Qing was left holding the thin red veil.
A faint fragrance still lingered in the air. Li Qing sighed wistfully.
"I don’t rember starting the forge. How did it get so hot in this weather?"
(End of the Chapter)
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