#223 - Ning Yongnian's conditions
"I'm just deliberately toying with you, do you have a problem with that?"
Anyone who heard such a sentence would be enraged, let alone Li Huaizhong, a second-rank master who was second only to one person and above ten thousand.
He stared intently at Wei Changtian, who had a hint of sarcasm on his lips. The internal force surged between the palms of his hands hidden in his sleeves, but his mind kept replaying a scene.
At the top of Yan Yun Mountain, one move, killing a second-rank.
“...”
The wide brocade robe moved without wind, and the blow that had been brewing for a long time slowly dissipated in Wei Changtian's disdainful smile.
No matter which aspect you consider, Li Huaizhong really didn't dare to swing this palm.
“Eunuch Li.”
Opposite him, Wei Changtian supported his cheek with one hand and casually pointed to the side with the other.
“This table was shattered by you.”
“...”
Li Huaizhong took a deep breath and uttered two words in a deep voice.
“I'll pay.”
“Of course you have to pay, but...”
Wei Changtian squinted and smiled: “But this table of mine is a treasure left by ancient cultivators. Cultivating on it can improve one's skills by leaps and bounds every day. Its value can never be measured by gold, silver, or other things.”
“I wonder if Eunuch Li has any treasures with the same effect?”
“...”
Ancient cultivator? Cultivating while sitting at the table? Improving by leaps and bounds every day?
You're really just making things up as you go!
Li Huaizhong felt a burst of stuffiness, and after a long while, he managed to say: “Young Master Wei, just say what you want!”
“Okay, straightforward!”
Wei Changtian stood up and walked to Li Huaizhong's side without the slightest hesitation, answering in a low voice: “I want you to do me a favor.”
“What favor?”
“Well...”
Wei Changtian didn't rush to speak, but instead asked: “Eunuch Li, the battle of Jizhou is imminent, but you came to Shuzhou at this juncture... I'm afraid the Emperor sent you, right?”
“Tell me, what does the Emperor want to do?”
“...”
Li Huaizhong glanced at Wei Changtian with some surprise, and after a few moments of silence, he slowly nodded: “This time, this humble servant was indeed ordered by the Emperor to bring a message to Young Master Wei.”
“Bring a message? Tell me to stay away from the Xu family?”
Wei Changtian asked with a smile: “It can't be that you want me, Shuzhou, to send troops to help fight Jizhou, right?”
“Yes and no.”
Li Huaizhong paused.
“The Emperor has guessed that the Wei family wants to use the Xu family's strength to overthrow the Liu family, but he hopes that the Young Master will not do so.”
Borrowing the Xu family's arrow to kill the Liu family was already half a scheme in the open, so Wei Changtian wasn't surprised to hear this. He just smiled and said:
“The Emperor should say this to my father.”
“Speak.”
“If the Young Master can refrain from colluding with the Xu family, then after the chaos in Jizhou ends, the Emperor can grant the Young Master the title of King of Shu.”
A king with a different surname.
Perhaps this kind of king was not so rare in ancient times in his previous life, but in Da Ning, it was the first time in history.
For thousands of years, hundreds of kings have all been surnamed Ning.
And all of them were nominal kings “in name only.”
But the “King of Shu” was completely different.
Using a place name as a title meant that there would definitely be a fief.
A different surname, with a fief. Wei Changtian didn't know if Ning Yongnian's promise was true or false, but if it was true, then he would definitely be recorded in history.
However, all gifts are secretly marked with a price.
Whatever others give you, no matter its value, there must be a higher price hidden behind it.
Judging from Ning Yongnian's urine-like behavior of calculating against him before, there must be some conspiracy hidden in this... Therefore, Wei Changtian would rather rely on himself to snatch it than want this pie in the sky.
“Young Master Wei, this humble servant has delivered the message.”
On the other side, Li Huaizhong asked with some envy: “I wonder what the Young Master thinks?”
“Whether the Young Master agrees or not, please give me an answer so that this humble servant can go back and report to the Emperor.”
“Answer...”
Wei Changtian nodded and spat out two words.
“That's it?”
“...”
The orange-red setting sun shone through the window, reflecting on the debris of the “ancient treasure table” on the ground.
Li Huaizhong was stunned for a long time before asking in astonishment: “Young... Young Master Wei, you...”
“Didn't you want an answer?”
Wei Changtian waved his hand impatiently: “This is my answer.”
“...”
That's it?
What kind of answer is that?
Li Huaizhong was dumbfounded for a moment, but Wei Changtian didn't have time to be stunned with him. He continued:
“Eunuch Li, since your errand is over, let's talk about the matter just now.”
The matter just now?
Li Huaizhong came back to his senses from the shock and knew that Wei Changtian was talking about the matter of “compensating for the treasure table.”
“Young Master Wei, please forgive this humble servant's incompetence. If this humble servant cannot do what you asked, please don't make things difficult for me.”
“Eunuch, you can definitely do this.”
After talking for so long, Wei Changtian's expression became serious for the first time.
Internal force formed a line, and the sound condensed into his ears.
The room was quiet, but as time passed, an indescribable look of astonishment slowly appeared on Li Huaizhong's face.
He looked at the young man opposite him in disbelief, his expression even more exaggerated than when he had secretly peeked at Wei Changtian killing Chang Shu'an on the top of Yan Yun Mountain that day.
“This... this...”
He said “this” for a long time, but the rest of the sentence was nowhere to be seen.
Wei Changtian looked at Li Huaizhong calmly and continued in a normal voice:
“Eunuch Li, if you are willing to do this, then you don't have to compensate for this treasure table.”
“Moreover, this time I can swear on my life that after the matter is completed, I will definitely tell you the method to make up for the lack of Yin-Yang skill.”
“And if you are not willing to do it... then I guarantee that you will not be able to leave this Shuzhou Prefecture Yamen.”
“...”
One is second-rank, the other is fifth-rank.
Under normal circumstances, the difference in combat power between the two is not as exaggerated as the difference between an elephant and an ant, but one can easily defeat a hundred.
But now, facing the threat from Wei Changtian, who was only at the fifth-rank realm, Li Huaizhong subconsciously shivered.
Recalling the words he had just heard and the things Wei Changtian wanted him to do...
At this moment, the old eunuch finally understood why Ning Yongnian wanted him to bring a message to this Young Master Wei in front of him, instead of Wei Xianzhi.
Half an hour later, Li Huaizhong left the Prefecture Yamen safely.
The debris of the “ancient treasure table” had been cleaned up, and Wei Changtian was standing by the window, frowning and thinking about something.
Judging from these few exchanges and the descriptions in the original book, it is not difficult to judge that Li Huaizhong is not very loyal to Ning Yongnian.
So he was not afraid that the old eunuch would tell Ning Yongnian his plans.
And after this matter...
“Young Master.”
Zhang San suddenly walked into the room and reported in a low voice: “The carriage is ready.”
“Okay, let's go.”
“Are we going back to Fulu Lane?”
“No, we're going to Tianluo Sect, um... let's go to the flower market first.”
“Yes.”
Zhang San didn't have any doubts about the change of the original plan, and Wei Changtian took one last look at the setting sun outside the window, and then stepped out of the room.
It's about time to try the Dragon Sparrow.
