RNP Page 52
Page 52
After arriving at the hall, Jiang Che inquired with A-Li and Yang Yuhuan, but seeing that both women were not very interested in the matter, he did not force them. He then left Qingyun Manor with the excited Yun Ying.
.....................
Wangyue Tower is located in the northern part of Chang'an City and is one of the city's iconic buildings.
The place where Li Bai and Miyamoto Musashi fought was in the sky near Wangyue Tower. When Jiang Che arrived with Yun Ying, a lot of cultivators had already gathered there, both men and women, the weakest of whom was a Golden Core stage expert.
Cheng Yaojin and Su Lie have already arrived, along with a man dressed in black robes holding a token, and a boy who looks to be about ten years old.
The two women were Wang Zhaojun, whom Jiang Che had met once before at the academy, and a beautiful young woman with phoenix eyes, silkworm eyebrows, red lips and white teeth, dressed in a plain robe. They were chatting and laughing with Wang Zhaojun.
Although he had never seen them before, Jiang Che guessed their identities by looking at their faces, which were 90% similar to those in a game from his previous life.
The man holding the token, exuding an air of martial prowess, must be Di Renjie, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and his sidekick is naturally Li Yuanfang.
As for the woman who was talking to Wang Zhaojun, she was undoubtedly Shangguan Wan'er, the Empress's personal maid.
It's normal for Cheng Yaojin and Su Lie, who are Li Bai's friends, to be at Wangyue Tower. It's also normal for Di Renjie to come here to maintain the order of Chang'an and prevent the battle between cultivators from affecting ordinary people.
As for Wang Zhaojun and Shangguan Wan'er...
I guess they were just bored, so they came to join in the fun.
"You big bad guy, these people who came today are all influential figures in Chang'an..."
"That's Lord Di Renjie of the Dali Temple, a man of high rank and great power, whose cultivation is divine. Beside him is his assistant, Li Yuanfang..."
"The woman beside Elder Zhaojun is named Shangguan Wan'er, a very popular and favored concubine of the Empress..."
"You'd better watch your words when you speak, or you'll offend them."
Yun Ying reached out and took Jiang Che's arm, using a secret telepathic communication technique to introduce the identities of everyone present.
The girl, all smiles and lively and adorable, stepped forward and greeted everyone.
"Big Beard, General Su Lie, I'm here..."
"Greetings, Lord Di..."
"Little Yuanfang, it seems you still haven't grown taller!"
"Greetings, Elder Zhaojun..."
"Hehe, Sister Wan'er, I've missed you so much these past few days..."
Yunying had accompanied her father to the Daming Palace a few times, met Her Majesty the Empress, and had met Shangguan Wan'er a few times. The two had a decent relationship.
Now that they've met, as a junior, she naturally has to take the initiative to greet them.
Although playful, Yunying is not someone who doesn't understand manners.
"You little girl..."
Hearing Yun Ying still call him "Big Beard" in front of so many people, Cheng Yaojin was both amused and exasperated, but he wasn't angry.
Clearly, he was already used to this form of address and took it for granted.
"Miss Yun..."
"Brother Jiang!"
A smile appeared on Su Lie's resolute face as he nodded to Jiang Che and Yun Ying.
Having had a drinking contest before, Su Lie still had a very good impression of Jiang Che.
"You little rascal, you've come to join the fun too?"
Shangguan Wan'er's long, narrow eyelashes seemed to indicate that she was somewhat surprised by Yun Ying's arrival.
"hey-hey……"
"Since I was bored anyway, I figured I might as well come and join in the fun..."
Yunying smiled sweetly, her face as beautiful as a flower, and introduced herself.
"Sister Wan'er, this is Jiang Che..."
"Emmm...he's my man!"
"Jiang Che, Sister Wan'er is a favorite of Her Majesty the Empress..."
"If you can win over Sister Wan'er, you'll definitely get all sorts of benefits!"
"My name is Jiang Che, and I greet Miss Wan'er..."
"Greetings, Elder Zhaojun..."
Jiang Che cupped his hands in a respectful bow, a warm smile on his face.
Wang Zhaojun glanced at Jiang Che and nodded expressionlessly in response.
When facing unfamiliar people, Wang Zhaojun would basically not speak, but would only nod in acknowledgment, displaying her aloof queen-like demeanor.
Pure and ethereal, like a pristine and elegant snow lotus.
"Greetings, Young Master Jiang..."
"Young Master Jiang is so young yet he has already been ranked among the academy's true disciples, truly remarkable..."
Shangguan Wan'er nodded with a smile, displaying her shrewdness and tact, and seemed very easy to talk to.
After greeting Jiang Che, Shangguan Wan'er looked at Yun Ying and teased her.
"So that's why I haven't seen you, my energetic little girl, lately. Turns out you've been spending time with your sweetheart?"
"Aren't you afraid that General Yun will confine you again after returning from the Northern Wilderness?"
As the Empress's personal maid and Wu Zetian's eyes and ears in Chang'an, Shangguan Wan'er naturally had her own intelligence agency.
He was well-informed about all sorts of events, big and small, happening in Chang'an every day, so he naturally knew that the little girl Yunying had moved out of the Yun residence and settled in Qingyun Manor.
They also knew that Jiang Che had received the Empress's patronage and was now a true disciple of the academy. He might become the Empress's right-hand man in the future, so it was necessary to cultivate a good relationship with him.
Hearing Shangguan Wan'er's blunt teasing, Yun Ying's face flushed red, and she felt a little shy.
However, upon hearing Shangguan Wan'er mention her father, the little girl pouted, stubbornly retorted.
"I'm not afraid at all..."
"Besides, my dad usually dotes on me, he definitely wouldn't want to confine me..."
Shangguan Wan'er smiled and found that Yun Ying was indeed very cute.
........................
Jiang Che stood against the wind, gazing at the distant sky, and soon spotted Li Bai standing proudly with his sword in hand, dozens of miles away.
Li Bai held a sword in one hand and a wine gourd in the other, continuously pouring wine into his cup. He looked relaxed and carefree, as if he had no thought about the upcoming duel.
No wonder he's an alcoholic!
Jiang Che mentally complained, but he wasn't surprised.
Jiang Che had already checked the entries on Li Bai when he was at the Duke of Lu's mansion last time.
This guy has the golden attribute "Drunken Sword Immortal" on him. The more he drinks, the more skillful he becomes when practicing swordsmanship. In that half-drunk, half-awake state, his understanding of the way of the sword becomes more profound.
Simply put, you can become stronger by drinking alcohol, and you'll keep getting stronger the longer you drink!
It is similar to the Yin-Yang Longevity Method that Jiang Che cultivates, both of which require no deliberate cultivation and result in passive strengthening.
However, compared to Li Bai's "Drunken Sword Immortal" entry, Jiang Che's Yin-Yang Longevity Method is clearly superior.
Li Bai kept drinking to quickly enter a semi-drunken state in order to meet Miyamoto Musashi's challenge.
After all, he can only unleash his full potential when he is half-drunk and half-awake.
"Hahaha!"
"Good wine!"
"A poem, a jug of wine, a long song, a sword to roam the ends of the earth..."
I wish I could stay drunk forever and never wake up!
Li Bai shook his head and swayed, his body almost unsteady, making one worry that he might fall from a hundred feet in the air and be smashed to pieces.
"This guy is just too unreliable!"
"Miyamoto Musashi is almost here, and he's still drinking so much?"
"What a complete drunkard!"
Seeing Li Bai's expression, Yun Ying didn't hold back in criticizing him, feeling slightly speechless inside.
Jiang Che simply smiled without saying a word, knowing full well that Li Bai was not drunk at all.
"Little girl, you're wrong about that..."
"There's a reason why Brother Li is called the Drunken Sword Immortal..."
"Only when he's drunk can he unleash the full power of the Azure Lotus Sword Song..."
"I'm drinking this wine just to get into the zone quickly, so I can face Miyamoto Musashi's challenge at my peak..."
Cheng Yaojin spoke up from the side and offered a few explanations.
"wack…"
Yun Ying muttered something under her breath, then stopped paying attention to anything else and pulled Jiang Che to sit down and whisper to each other, quietly waiting for Miyamoto Musashi to arrive.
In the dead of night, the bright moon hangs high in the sky, the stars are shining brightly, and the pure moonlight pours down, covering the earth.
At dawn, Miyamoto Musashi, carrying two swords, arrived riding on clouds.
The figure flickered incessantly in the dark night sky, each step covering a distance of a thousand feet, and in no time it had arrived at a position ten feet in front of Li Bai.
Miyamoto Musashi was tall with flowing hair and a resolute face. He looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. He wore a light blue robe, had a stubble beard, and had a weathered look in his eyes, giving him the air of a down-on-his-luck swordsman.
"You finally came……"
"Just past midnight, that's right on time..."
Upon noticing Miyamoto Musashi's arrival, Li Bai staggered up from the clouds, yawned, shook his somewhat dizzy head, reeking of alcohol, and spoke in a languid tone.
"This battle will determine not only victory or defeat, but also life or death!"
"Li Bai, draw your sword!"