A Friend

"Thump!" The sound was much more muffled than the first clang. Qin Yi held Li Qingjun by her waist and flew back with her to the corner of the street.

The impact almost knocked the pike out of Mang Zhan's hand, which shocked him, as the teenager seemed quite thin and weak to him. Mang Zhan wondered where he got all that strength from.

He soon readjusted his position and prepared to strike out again. However, another spear reached out from the other side and blocked his pike.

It was a familiar spear that Mang Zhan had dealt with over a dozen times on the battlefield. He didn't even have to turn his head to see whom the owner was—it was Li Qinglin's spear.

He yelled, "Is that how Nanli treats their guests? She was trying to kill me, but you're taking her side! You call yourself a kingdom with a civilization thousands of years old, but that's how you welcome an envoy?!"

"Excuse me," Li Qinglin said, his face expressionless. "Civilized or not, you're nothing compared to my sister. Say another word and I'll kill you right here and right now. If Xihuang wants to declare war over that, be my guest."

"Your sister?" Mang Zhan was rendered speechless for a moment, and when he looked at Li Qingjun again, there was a strange expression on his face. The look in his eyes grew more eager.

While Mang Zhan was dumbfounded, a member of his entourage with a goatee said in a voice dripping with acid, "I'm afraid Prince Qinglin doesn't have the authority to start a war yet."

Li Qinglin smirked. "Try me."

After that, he gave a wave of his hand, and the archers of Nanli aimed their arrows at the men of Xihuang. The goateed man paled and didn't dare to say another word.

Mang Zhan returned to normal and laughed. "So that was Princess Zhaoyang. Well, since it was only a misunderstanding, let's all forget about it. We're here to offer our condolences, not to set you off."

Li Qinglin made a lowering motion with his hand, and the archers put down their bows. He then glowered at Li Qingjun. "You're not a child anymore, so use your head! This isn't the place for you to act so recklessly! Do you want to get shot to death by our own archers?"

Raising her chin, Li Qingjun shouted, "That pike has killed more people in Nanli than we can count, and he's just murdered our brother! We don't need his condolences!"

"You're approaching things the wrong way," Li Qinglin said in a tone dripping with meaning. He then cupped his hands at Qin Yi. "Thank you, Brother Qin."

Qin Yi waved at him and stood in the corner in resignation. He had been watching Mang Zhan in case the man suddenly struck out again. However, he noticed how eager and distracted Mang Zhan became after Li Qinglin declared Li Qingjun to be his sister.

So, the barbarians liked reckless and impulsive girls like that. Was that it?

Mang Zhan shifted his gaze to Qin Yi as well. When he saw Qin Yi's hand on Li Qingjun's waist, his googly eyes widened, and his pupils contracted. He asked coldly, "Who's that then?"

Qin Yi casually put his hand down, ignored the crown prince of Xihuang, and led Li Qingjun away. Li Qingjun seemed to have realized how idiotic her conduct was, so she lowered her head and let Qin Yi drag her away.

The neglected Mang Zhan flared up. "The people Nanli have really demonstrated how petty they are today!"

Li Qinglin said calmly, "That's a friend of mine. He's not a royal like you and me, and he doesn't have to conform to the formalities. Brother Mang, you've invaded Nanli every year for years and slaughtered my people as if they were animals, but now, you're talking about manners and gestures. Don't you find that preposterous?"

Mang Zhan said, "I'm here to offer peace, but I see that despite how peaceful Nanli has claimed to be, you don't have that intention at all."

Li Qinglin looked surprised. "In that case, please follow me to the royal palace. My father, the king, has prepared a welcoming banquet, and everyone is waiting for you."

"A lunch party?" Mang Zhan suddenly seemed eager again. "Will the princess be there?"

The look in Li Qinglin's eyes became indescribable again. Turning around, he saw that Li Qingjun, led by Qin Yi, had already turned into another street. Somehow, he felt amused and laughed for quite a while. He then stopped abruptly and said with a serious look on his face, "My sister doesn't dine with animals."

"You!" Mang Zhan's face darkened, and he clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles crunched. He only calmed down after quite a while.

Around the street corner, Li Qingjun leaned against the wall and sighed. "Why do I always mess things up?"

"Because you're too blunt." Qin Yi chuckled. "Your brother has probably inherited all the poise in your family."

"I just don't understand it. He's our archnemesis, but once he's part of an 'envoy', he's suddenly untouchable, and we even have to protect him!" Li Qingjun said.

"I don't understand it either. This formality has always seemed strange to me as well, but all kingdoms seem to be practicing it… I guess no two kingdoms will stay enemies forever, and common interests are the only things that endure. Maybe one day, Nanli and Xihuang will become allies," Qin Yi said.

"Never!" Li Qingjun bellowed. "He got my oldest brother assassinated, and for that, we're never going to be alliances!"

Qin Yi couldn't comment on that. Xihuang was indeed Nanli's enemy, but they weren't responsible for the late crown prince's death.

"Well…" After much hesitation, Li Qingjun finally said, "I guess I owe you a 'thank you'. I could've been hit by that pike."

"Don't worry about it. We're comrades-in-arms, aren't we?"

"Comrade-in-arms?" Li Qingjun smiled. "I guess we are."

Qin Yi said, "If you ask me, your brother is a very reliable man. You can always count on him."

"Tch, of course I can. Otherwise, what would I need him for?!"

Qin Yi recalled how Li Qinglin had addressed him as "a friend".

"Friend", was it?

Sincere or not, it wouldn't be easy for a crown prince to address a titleless villager that way. He could've always called Qin Yi a "visitor", which Qin Yi wouldn't have had a problem with. Or he could've introduced Qin Yi as an "honored guest". But he called Qin Yi a "friend".

There was so much more meaning behind that word.

He was still savoring that feeling when something clicked in his head, and he looked in the other direction down the street.

Li Qingjun was about to say something when she saw Qin Yi turning his head. Following his gaze, she saw a stunning Taoist priestess walking towards them.

She reminded Li Qingjun of the moon revealing itself from behind the clouds, and all of a sudden, the empty street seemed to be glowing softly.

The Taoist priestess' otherworldly beauty suddenly made Li Qingjun uneasy. Before she knew it, she had straightened her back as though trying to show off her own great assets.

Liusu expressed its derision. "Tell her to stop doing that. It only makes her look pathetic."

Qin Yi almost choked on his own spit. "Aren't you supposed to keep your silence when Minghe is around?"

"Mr. Qin, we meet again." Minghe slowly walked up to them and greeted them with a bow. "I've been waiting for you."

Qin Yi feigned a confused tone. "What for?"

Minghe sighed. "The wooden sword has changed masters for no reason and I wanted to know why. At first, I was worried that you might've been killed, but when I tried to tell your fortune, I received an auspicious sign…"

Qin Yi was intrigued. "What did it say?"

Minghe glanced at Li Qingjun before saying, "It says safety upholds your good fortune, which should be in line with the virtue of the earth and will be boundless."

She left promptly after that, as if she had come all the way just to tell Qin Yi that piece of news.

Or she could've learned everything she needed from the manifestation of that divination, and there was no need to say anything more.

Li Qingjun watched her leaving from behind and felt threatened. That look Minghe gave her in the end creeped her out, as she felt as thought she had been seen through. She only realized she still had a spear when Minghe was long gone, but when she was around, Li Qingjun couldn't even imagine taking any action.

"Safety upholds your good fortune, which should be in line with the virtue of the earth and will be boundless? What's that supposed to mean?" Li Qingjun asked Qin Yi.

Qin Yi had no idea either. Liusu shut itself up as soon as Minghe was close, and without that know-it-all, he couldn't figure out something so profound, so he had to tell her, "Well, it was an auspicious manifestation, who cares?"

"That Taoist priestess just showed up out of nowhere and started talking in riddles. Who knows whose side she's on? And how do we know if she was telling the truth?!" Li Qingjun was on her guard. "Don't get too close to people who are deliberately mystifying things. You might end up becoming the second Donghuazi!"

Qin Yi chuckled. "That's not going to happen."

"Why not? Wasn't that Taoist priestess very pretty? You couldn't look away from her."

"Well, no matter how pretty she is, she's like the Milky Way in the sky; she's untouchable. Why would I want to look at her when an equally beautiful woman is standing here with me?'

It took Li Qingjun a while to realize what he was saying, and she blushed profusely.

Liusu's voice suddenly rang out in Qin Yi's head, interrupting their moment of intimacy. It said, "If a gentleman plows ahead and takes the lead, he will get lost on the wrong path. If he follows others and is gentle and obedient, his happiness will endure. If he goes to the southwest, he will gain friends and move forward with them; if he goes to the northeast, he will lose his friends but there will still be happiness and good fortune in the end. Safety upholds your good fortune, which should be in line with the virtue of the earth and will be boundless."

Qin Yi was about to ask Liusu if it had just googled the answer, but his face darkened as he listened and he wasn't in the mood for jokes anymore.

Someone ran up to them at that moment and bowed at them. "Your Royal Highness, His Majesty the king commands you to join the banquet." After a pause, he added, "His Royal Highness, the crown prince, has invited Mr. Qin as well."