Li Che brought her home for a meal, and after tasting Zhang Ya’s cooking, this girl’s cheekiness skyrocketed. Every day, she’d dash to Li Che’s house after work as if she were even more eager to get home than he was.
“Have you ever not come over for a free meal?” Li Che grumbled.
“I’ll pay for my meals.”
Shangguan Qinghong, however, kept laughing. She knew Li Che was joking; after all, to them, gold and silver and such mundane objects truly meant nothing.
After a quick tidy up, Li Che, followed closely by Shangguan Qinghong like a persistent shadow, left the Qintian Observatory together.
No sooner had they stepped off the stone steps than they encountered the alcohol-soaked Liu He and Hai Chuanying.
“Hey, Brother Li, coming home from work again? Why don’t you join us at Yunfang Boat today? I’ve invited you so many times, but you never come…” Upon seeing Li Che, Liu He warmly invited him.
Visiting brothels and listening to music wasn’t that a standard pastime for Third-Class Guest Officials of the Qintian Observatory?
Except for Li Che, who was the exception.
Every day after work, he’d rush home as if the women at Yunfang Boat were man-eaters.
“Ha ha ha, another day, another day.” Li Che responded to Liu He with a fist and palm salute and nodded to Hai Chuanying.
Both shook their heads. With Li Che’s “another day,” who knew when that day would actually come.
“Then, Old Liu, I’ll be waiting earnestly. Brother Li… don’t go back on your word.”
Liu He and Hai Chuanying left with laughter.
Li Che shook his head; those two were indeed carefree.
“Normally, a Third-class Guest Official at the Qintian Observatory, after being there for a while, lives this free-spirited life; visiting brothels, enjoying small drinks, totally laid-back since they have no ambitions or hopes to strive for the rank of Second-Class Guest Official,”
“To aim for Second-Class Guest Official, one would need to cultivate the ‘Great Vista Qintian Seven Spirits Carving Technique’ to major accomplishment… which is genuinely not easy. The Divine Secret Techniques and Martial Arts need to reach a great success level, which is extremely difficult,”
“Knowing they have no hope, they begin to enjoy life, better to spend more energy on enjoyment and divine cultivation,”
Shangguan Qinghong saw through the state of people like Liu He and made a face.
“Big Brother Li, try to visit Yunfang Boat less. That place is unclean, and teeming with all sorts…”
Li Che just smiled.
Was he that kind of person?
The two walked past the long street and returned to Listening Flowers Lane.
The watchful eyes that the Black Snake Gang had planted were still present, and the numbers were seemingly increasing.
Li Che had yet to eradicate the Black Snake Gang, mainly starting by clearing other powers from the Fishing Gang; he did it to confuse the issue, to dismiss everyone’s notion that he, Li Che, was the Bull Demon.
Now, that conception had pretty much been fully dispelled.
If Li Che wished, he could wipe out the Black Snake Gang at any moment.
After all, the Black Snake Gang wasn’t much stronger than White Wave Hall.
Pausing for a moment, Li Che’s brows furrowed as he sensed that the number of people planted by the Black Snake Gang to tail him had increased tenfold today, and besides, there was also the hidden presence of strong individuals.
Li Che’s eyes flickered with a cold light as he unobtrusively made his way back into the small courtyard in the alley.
“Wow! Sister Qinghong!”
Experience tales at empire
As soon as they entered the courtyard, Xi Xi, who was practicing martial arts, immediately ran over with delight, taking the opportunity to stop practicing!
Old Chen, utterly helpless, could only declare a break and began sipping his wine.
Shangguan Qinghong, on the other hand, shrieked back at Xi Xi, and they started frolicking in the courtyard, the tall and the small stamping their feet in excitement.
“Sister Qinghong’s come over? I’ll just fry up another dish, and dinner will be ready.” Zhang Ya walked out from the house, seeing the meal-freeloading Shangguan Qinghong, and smilingly spoke in a tender tone.
She has always been a very gentle woman.
Moreover, she could see that her husband truly didn’t have much interest in the young Shangguan Qinghong, even… completely treating her like a daughter.
Judging from Shangguan Qinghong’s backstory shared at the dinner table, Zhang Ya’s maternal instincts overflowed and could not be contained.
Shangguan Qinghong was from one of the Noble Families in Mansion City, having an excellent family background. Her father was the head of the Shangguan Family, yes, a nearly hundred-year-old man, who forced a maidservant and had Shangguan Qinghong.
After giving birth to Shangguan Qinghong, the mother and daughter were not given much attention; instead, they went through various difficulties.
Shangguan Zhengheng harbored no affection for them, even some disgust, and when Shangguan Qinghong was six, her mother died of illness. Shangguan Qinghong was left all alone, nearly kicked out of the Shangguan Family, to roam the streets.
Fortunately, she was taken in by Deputy Inspector Lin Xiu of the Qintian Observatory, which gave her a status within the Shangguan Family and allowed her to grow up gradually.
Zhang Ya felt great sympathy for Shangguan Qinghong and did not mind her freeloading at all.
Shangguan Qinghong was so brazen with her meal-freeloading endeavors because she relied on Zhang Ya’s affection and Xi Xi’s enjoyment of her company.
After the meal, Shangguan Qinghong continued to play with Xi Xi in the courtyard.
Li Che went into his study.
Lighting the oil lamp, the flickering light danced incessantly.
After securing the study, Li Che’s pupils emitted a faint white smoke.
Prototype of Divine Powers, Soul Capturing!
Countless divine substances stacked up into Lin Da’s silhouette, merging into a [Thoughtful Willow Wood Body] carved by Li Che in his own likeness, casting a shadow under the lamp, as it carved the wood.
With the borrowed divine essence infused into the thoughtful willow body, it almost perfectly resembled Li Che.
It was a wooden doppelgänger that could almost deceive the eye.
Having done all this, Li Che put his fingertips together and tore open the air.
Donning a conical hat, wearing a Cute Bull Mask, cloaked in a black robe, and clutching a white Divine Chess Piece, he vanished from within the study.
…
…
The night sky was heavy, the clouds billowing and churning.
The piled clouds collided with each other, with the occasional flash of lightning hiding within.