Chapter 626 – Singing Loudly (1/2)
“Qingshan, are you fine?” Han Qiongzhi approached him.
“I’m fine. His highness treated me very well. He even gifted me something!” Li Qingshan showed off the black hoop in his hand with a smile.
Han Qiongzhi was bewildered. Li Qingshan said, “Let’s go!”
“I still have to maintain order. You better go and see prefect Liu. We can take a look around together later.”
The White Wolf guards patrolled the surroundings in groups of two. The woman in the uniform of White Wolf guards standing nearby waited for Han Qiongzhi. Seeing Li Qingshan gaze over, she nodded at him in acknowledgement, and Li Qingshan returned the gesture with a smile. “You better go! Your friend is waiting for you!”
Before the Soaring Clouds terrace was a huge square divided into nine groups. They were led by their respective prefects, while the Scarlet Hawk commanders and generals stood to the left and right. Each group was further divided into over a dozen different colours, which were the attires of the disciples of each school of thought. Coupled with the spectating cultivators from sects on the side, there were over ten thousand people, yet it did not feel crowded at all.
This was also the first time Li Qingshan had seen so many cultivators standing together. He could not help but be amazed. “It really is a grand gathering!”
He passed through the square and discovered that the group from the Clear River prefecture was the smallest among the nine provinces, nowhere close to the flourishing numbers of the other prefectures. However, having been baptised by war, the disciples of the Clear River prefecture possessed a different bearing and edge about them.
Everywhere would fall silent when he passed by. Everyone stopped their conversations and gathered their attention on him. At first glance, he did not seem special at all. He still seemed very young with his bronze face, but having been weathered by wind and frost, it gave off a sense of level-headedness that exceeded his age. However, it was still chiseled, making him seem so resolute that it was almost arrogant and unyielding.
He had a tall and sturdy frame, walking along calmly. His expression was not as arrogant as it was rumored to be. His head was slightly lowered as if he was in thought. However, his gaze drifted about. Everyone could sense that he was not taking any of them seriously, like a vicious tiger silently prowling through the jungle, possessing a natural ease about him.
As for the regular disciples, they thought, Just a few years ago, he was still a backgroundless nobody. If he can achieve this, why can’t I? As a result, some lofty aspirations were ignited within them.
“Qiongzhi, your Qingshan is basically at peak Foundation Establishment already, right? He sure does cultivate at an alarming speed. I heard back then that you were the one who proposed the marriage, junior sister Han. Your insight sure is admirable! You got any clever tricks you can teach me? Recently, my family is also pressuring me into getting married. They’re clearly looking down on me!”
Ding Min said in distress. Ever since Han Qiongzhi became a White Wolf guard, she had been the one who led her around to familiarise with the surroundings. As a result, the two of them became good friends. She also came from an aristocratic clan. If she were unable to advance any further on the path of cultivation, then she would be burdened with the responsibility of fostering descendants for the clan.
“What insight could I have? I just liked him, that’s all.” Han Qiongzhi drew her gaze back from Li Qingshan and smiled valiantly. “You know how I’m like, Ding sis. If something catches my heart, I stop caring about everything else.”
“Then that’s your good fortune. I sure am jealous of Qian Rongzhi! Gu Yanying actually accepted her as a disciple. Your Qingshan is favoured by the commander too, so why don’t you just beg him to ask commander Gu to accept you as a disciple too! Guiding one is no different from guiding two after all!”
“I hate begging people the most, and I don’t want him to beg others for me either.”
“You blockhead!”
Li Qingshan arrived among the ranks of the Clear River prefecture and nodded towards Chu Danqing, expressing that all was fine. Afterwards, he stood beside Liu Zhangqing and waited quietly for the ceremony to begin. The people beside him could see he was in thought and had no interest in talking, so they did not disturb him. He readily embraced this peace and placed all of his focus on his clone.
Under Northmoon’s enthusiastic request, Si Qing arranged for some female dancers to perform. He did not have any interest in such things, but Jiang Fu had kept quite a lot of people like that in the estate. When he inherited the position of Marquis of Ruyi, they had come in the process, so he was able to gather enough people on the spot, albeit after some difficulty.
Northmoon continued to sit with Si Qing, crossing his legs without the slightest amount of self-consciousness, picking up Si Qing’s alcohol cup and drinking from it without even batting an eye. Though, he did not use Si Qing’s chopsticks, just directly using his bare hands to grab the food. He watched attentively as he drank, his eyes glued to the dancers’ special parts as if he wanted to swallow them all in one gulp.
Si Qing was unhappy inside, but seeing how Northmoon behaved, he exchanged glances with Jia Zhen and E Dan and exhibited a sense of joy like his scheme had succeeded. Whether it was humans or demons, they could be controlled as long as they had desires.