NOVPUB"Humph..." Chen Xi let out a nasal sound, followed by a darkening of his complexion, "Go away and stop bothering me, and what’s the deal with this guy? Those in the know, come forward, and Left Immortal Master, there are some things I need to ask."
Cai Zhenji hesitated for a moment before following, and Zuo Ci also followed suit.
Chen Xi sat at the study’s desk, gestured towards two chairs, and soon enough, a maid brought over candied fruits, pastries, and clear tea.
"Speak up, what’s going on here? How did this dog suddenly become so strong? I don’t remember Mount Tai having such powerful little dogs." When Chen Xi said the words "little dogs," his eyelids noticeably twitched, "Jia Wenhe has basically taken every dog with a hint of combat power from Mount Tai for training recently, so it must have been in the past few days."
Cai Zhenji recounted the previous events in detail, and both Chen Xi and Zuo Ci appeared to have a look of realization.
"So that’s the situation. Marquis Chen seems to have a guess already, then I shall not overstay my welcome," Cai Zhenji said as she stood up and gave Chen Xi a graceful courtesy.
"Wait a moment, your sister hasn’t had any trouble recently, has she?" Chen Xi began to inquire, "If there’s anything she needs, tell her to go to Li Wenru."
"My sister is quite well, but Marquis Chen, there’s no need to worry too much," Cai Zhenji said with a hint of surprise on her face. Still, after some thought, she decided to offer a word of caution. It was clear that Cai Zhenji had her own speculations about why Chen Xi would ask about Cai Yan.
"I’m not thinking about her; it’s just a routine inquiry, that’s all," said Chen Xi indifferently. Sometimes, speaking out is the only way to reassure people; he had no intentions regarding Cai Yan, so why bother stirring up trouble?
"Oh," Cai Zhenji nodded and said, although Chen Xi could be considered as highly placed and powerful, and A representation of young success, Cai Zhenji knew that her sister had no feelings for Chen Xi, and if Chen Xi took an interest, it would be quite troublesome.
"Mi Zhen, you help discipline them. Among all of you, only you and your sister can keep them in line. If things continue this way, Mi Zhen and her group are bound to cause chaos," Chen Xi thought for a moment and said. He had also noticed that Mi Zhen had reached a point where she needed to be disciplined; while the other girls were being raised so freely, only Mi Zhen seemed to have some issues.
"I will do my best," the Second Miss Cai said calmly. She could indeed rein in Mi Zhen, but most of her efforts went into educating her husband’s brother, Yang Dan, and her husband’s eldest son, Yangg Fa.
Speaking of which, the Second Miss Cai had no time to travel around before. After returning to Mount Tai and meeting Cai Yan, the Second Miss Cai finally had some free time. Yang Dao and others believed that Cai Yan’s educational level was significantly better than that of the Second Miss Cai, which was why Yang Dao turned a blind eye to entrusting his brother and eldest son to Cai Yan’s education.
In truth, the Yangg Family, after Yang Dao, did not follow their own family teachings and were mainly absorbing the Cai Family’s knowledge.
"Do what you can to help out, and by the way, pass on a message to your sister to see if she can take Mi Zhen under control," Chen Xi sighed and said.
"My sister values Mi’er very much," the Second Miss Cai said with a wry smile, "Because Mi’er’s personality is very similar to my sister’s."
"Then let’s leave it at that, just convey my message," sighed Chen Xi. In this era, finding a female teacher is difficult enough, let alone one with Spiritual Talent. Beyond Cai Yan’s family, there probably aren’t any others."
"This humble one will do her best." After a graceful curtsy, Cai Zhenji slowly withdrew.
"Truly the daughter of Cai Bojie, she understands both the literary grace and the social etiquette," Zuo Ci remarked, smiling faintly after the Second Miss Cai had left.
"Not bad, I suppose. After all, she’s already a mother. It’s fine for her to act crazy when no one’s around, but she’s very dignified in front of others; at least, I’ve never seen her behaving inappropriately," chuckled Chen Xi.
"This woman will certainly rely on her son to attain honor; one of her sons should become a prince renowned for centuries," Zuo Ci said, his expression turning odd.
"Yes, one of her sons should become a prince," nodded Chen Xi. Indeed, Cai Zhenji’s youngest son would be Yangg Hu.
Zuo Ci’s expression grew even more bizarre. Chen Xi also knew of these things – was this considered stealing the Mandate of Heaven?
"Enough of that, Cai Zhenji’s son won’t be born for many years," Chen Xi said with a twist of his mouth. "That stuff the dog ate was a Divine Stone Fragment, right? Probably only something like that could elevate a young dog to such a level."
"Yes, a Divine Stone Fragment. Moreover, it must be one that has already dissipated much of its Life Vitality. Judging by her earlier description, if that large piece hadn’t dissipated, even if the dog hadn’t grown up, it should have reached the level of Inner Qi Manifestation," said Zuo Ci with resignation. "Such a rare treasure, wasted."
"How many Divine Stone Fragments are there, exactly? If I’m not mistaken, the Inner Qi Manifestation of animals in this world is probably due to their consumption of these things," Chen Xi said curiously. "Is there any way to find them? They would surely be effective for humans."
"No one knows how many fragments there are. Nanhua probably has an estimate, but there’s no way to find these things. They’re a matter of fate. Animals might be able to sense them using some instinct, but humans have lost that ability," Zuo Ci sighed, and then recounted the story of how Nanhua destroyed the second Divine Stone.
"Thirty years ago..." Chen Xi tugged at his mouth, realizing why all those formidable individuals had emerged around thirty years earlier – the reasons were too convoluted and coincidental.
"Yes, there are many factors at play in the current state of the world, besides Divine Stones. Various other reasons accumulated and erupted together to create the current situation. Generally speaking, the effect of the second Divine Stone was too potent; even we cannot influence the course of events now. The situation predicted thirty years ago has basically been ruined by the Divine Stones and Zhang Jiao," said Zuo Ci with a wry smile. "The ways of Heaven are unpredictable, truly unpredictable..."
Chen Xi just listened to Zuo Ci’s words of resignation without interrupting; there were many things he was interested in, but even if he asked, Zuo Ci might not provide answers.
"However, fortunately, no military general of King Xiang’s caliber has emerged in the world today. That man was truly capable of taking on ten thousand by himself. Marquis of Huaiyin was the first to systematize the concept of Cloud Qi, which is why he was invincible in battle, but even so, he nearly perished at the hands of King Xiang," said Zuo Ci, his expression twitching. Cloud Qi is the most fundamental but also the most crucial attribute for a legion, possessing a weakening effect on everything, including their spells.
"That strong?" Chen Xi was taken aback; he had never heard of someone resisting ten thousand in battle amid Cloud Qi, especially against someone like Hann Xin, the first to systematize such a system, a figure of Military God Rank. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)
