Chapter 420 - Seventy-Eight The Human Heart Has Changed

420: Chapter Seventy-Eight: The Human Heart Has Changed 420: Chapter Seventy-Eight: The Human Heart Has Changed In Linzi City,originally gathered for Jiang Wang’s practice session, after his departure, everyone dispersed.

Of course, they each covered their ears as they left the teahouse, inevitably arousing the curiosity of the maids.

Li Longchuan bid farewell to everyone and went back to his residence alone.

His grandmother had been staying in Linzi recently, and he hadn’t been out playing as much as before, inevitably needing to spend more time with the elderly.

He didn’t take a sedan chair, but walked with only one attendant.

As they left the deep alley and passed a street, he suddenly spotted a familiar figure hurrying by and called out, “Xu Gaoe!”

Xu Xiangqian stopped reluctantly and turned around.

He opened a folding fan and shook it lightly against his face, revealing only his eyes and his unusually high forehead.

He mumbled, “What’s the matter?”

“Where were you just now?

How come you disappeared so suddenly?” Li Longchuan asked with a grin.

“I was busy.”

Li Longchuan leaned in and asked, “Busy with what?”

“It’s none of your…

hey!” He started screaming.

It turned out that Li Longchuan had taken advantage of his distraction to snatch his folding fan away.

Exposing his nose stuffed with a wad of cloth and the unhealed swelling at the corner of his mouth.

“Hahaha.” Li Longchuan couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Xu Xiangqian quickly snatched the fan back, unfolded it in front of his face, and hissed from behind the fan, “What are you laughing at!

Be quiet!”

“Don’t panic.” Li Longchuan couldn’t stop his laughter, “They took a different route from me; they won’t run into you.”

Xu Xiangqian still held the folding fan close, shielding his face while his eyes darted around warily, “There are more than just Zhongxuan Pang and the others in Linzi who know me.”

“The number of people who know you got beat up by my sister isn’t limited to them either.”

Xu Xiangqian, enraged and humiliated, stomped his foot down, “I told you to stop laughing!”

Li Longchuan, who was prepared, took a quick step back, making him miss his stomp.

This was followed by Xu Xiangqian’s bitter addition, “Have you never been hit by her?”

“That was mostly when we were kids, and besides, the number of times you’ve been hit has already surpassed mine,” Li Longchuan looked at him with mock pity, “Did your forehead get beaten even higher this time?”

Xu Xiangqian: …

Xu, the master of leaving others speechless, was unaccustomed to being at a loss for words.

But being beaten for spreading rumors was indeed not something to boast about.

He stopped being angry with Li Longchuan, his eyes rolling as he quickly changed the subject, “What happened after I left…?”

“What happened?” Li Longchuan feigned ignorance.

Xu Xiangqian also pretended to be casual, “About your sister going to Daze County with Jiang Wang.”

“What could have happened?” Li Longchuan continued to play dumb, “My uncle asked her to look after Jiang Wang, valuing his talent…

it’s hard to say who’s looking after whom!

My uncle probably feels that although my sister’s strong, she hasn’t seen much of life and death.

In that regard, she might rather need Jiang Wang’s help.”

“Hmm…

Makes sense,” Xu Xiangqian continued his act, “And then?”

“Then what?” Li Longchuan kept up his pretense.

“About Jiang Wang!” Xu Xiangqian couldn’t keep up the facade any longer and asked directly, “Did he get beaten?

Eh, did he?”

Li Longchuan looked at him with disdain, “Aren’t you guys good friends?

You seem pretty eager for him to get beaten up.”

Xu Xiangqian chuckled, “Sharing weal and woe.”

Then quickly corrected himself, “Commiserate, commiserate with each other.”

“Haha, when he comes back, you can ask him yourself,” Li Longchuan, satisfied with the teasing, walked away without a further glance.

“You!”

Xu Xiangqian couldn’t help but point at his back with the folding fan, but quickly recovered and covered his face again.

“Sigh.”

Followed by a long sigh.

“The human heart has changed, the human heart has changed indeed.”

Daze County lies to the north of Linzi.

The delicate maid named Xiao Tong, chosen by Li Fengyao, had to pass through the entire Xinming County.

Of course, the route had been approved by Jiang Wang and Li Fengyao.

“Xiao Wang,” perhaps driven by the “big sister” moniker and the sense of responsibility it entailed, Li Fengyao broke the silence, “Do you understand the Seven-star Tower?”

“Not really.” Jiang Wang shook his head, then remembered something and took out a booklet from his bosom, “Before departing, Qing Xi, the Alliance Hierarch of the Business Alliance, gave me some materials on the Seven-star Tower, hmm… Fengyao big sister, do you want to have a look?”

The way he called her ‘Fengyao big sister’ was indeed… tinged with three parts shyness and seven parts cleverness.

Even Li Fengyao, known as the ‘Ice Jade Phoenix’, couldn’t help but soften her gaze a bit.

For a famous secret realm like the Seven-star Tower, which had been explored for many years, each clan had a certain level of understanding, and the Shimen Li Clan was no exception.

However, their information might not be as comprehensive as that of the Business Alliance.

She reached out to take the booklet and flipped through it carefully, her phoenix brows slightly raised, her jade-like fingers extracted an envelope, “There’s a letter here as well, from Qing Xi.”

With that, she gently shifted her delicate hand and placed the letter on the low table beside Jiang Wang.

The envelope was yellowed, with the scent of years past.

Her fingers gleamed lightly, like ice and snow caressing jade.

“A letter for me?” Jiang Wang was also somewhat surprised.

Since when was he so close with Qing Xi that a letter would be included with the materials about the Seven-star Tower?

Mysteriously bewildering.

He shook his head and opened the letter.

There was nothing disreputable written in the letter.

Qing Xi simply spoke in the tone of an elder, giving Jiang Wang some advice and expressing expectations for his future.

He also hinted at his intent to recruit Jiang Wang on behalf of the Business Alliance.

It was all stock phrases, nothing original.

The letter also mentioned that if Jiang Wang encountered any difficulties in the Seven-star Tower, he could seek help from Fang Chong, a first-class deacon of the Business Alliance also heading to the Seven-star Tower.

At the end of the letter, he casually mentioned that he had an ancient prescription at hand, claiming it was a miraculous longevity formula.

If Jiang Wang acquired any treasures for longevity, he should consider entrusting them to the Business Alliance’s alchemy masters, who could maximize the effects of the treasures without letting Jiang Wang be at a loss.

All in all, the entire letter was quite affectionate, treating Jiang Wang as if he were a younger nephew under his protection.

After reading the letter, Jiang Wang still did not quite understand what Qing Xi was trying to do.

It seemed as if he was simply attempting to win him over.

Li Fengyao was flicking through the materials on the Seven-star Tower and casually remarked, “I heard from my uncle that Alliance Hierarch Qing never engages in a losing business.”

Jiang Wang nodded, “Of course, I dare not underestimate him.”

Having made her point, Li Fengyao did not add more.

After looking over the materials for a while, she took out pen and ink from a hidden compartment in the carriage and started writing on the materials.

Jiang Wang then closed his eyes to cultivate.

Long moments passed in silence.

“Done,” Li Fengyao’s voice drew Jiang Wang out of his cultivation, “I’ve made some additions to the materials, have a look at them again.”

Jiang Wang acknowledged, took the booklet, and noticed many fine characters had been added between the lines.

The handwriting was slender and ornate, much like the one who had written them—beautiful indeed, though not without a sense of distance.

He carefully read through the updated materials on the Seven-star Tower, committing the important information to memory.

The Seven-star Tower was not like the Heavenly Abode Secret Land, from which no information could be brought out, leaving everyone on a level playing field with no prior knowledge,

but the competition concerning the Seven-star Tower had already begun at the stage of information gathering, after years of exploration.

After completing the additions to the materials and handing them to Jiang Wang, Li Fengyao closed her eyes to resume her cultivation.

Jiang Wang carefully finished reading the materials and continued to delve into his cultivation.

Cultivating was something that made him feel at ease.

The journey continued without conversation.

After an indefinite period, Jiang Wang emerged groggily from his state of cultivation.

Lifting the curtain, he asked, “Where are we now?”

Xiao Tong was seated sideways, one small foot swinging in the air.

She glanced at the surroundings and answered, “We should be in Song City.”

“Oh.”

Jiang Wang did not give the place another glance.

The carriage curtain fell.

The carriage interior returned once again to silence.