Two days later, in Luoyang.
Early in the morning, Li Daoxuan had only just climbed out of bed when his consciousness slipped once more into the box. At the same moment, his avatar of Dao Xuan Tianzun slowly opened its eyes.
The first thing he saw was Gao Yiye, still sleeping soundly on the bed beside him.
For the past several days, his avatar had been spending the night in Gao Yiye's room.
Naturally, nothing inappropriate ever happened.
The Dao Xuan Tianzun merely sat quietly within the room.
There was nothing strange about this arrangement. His avatar had long been stationed in the watchtower of Gao Family Village, and Gao Yiye had long since grown accustomed to falling asleep with his presence nearby.
At the beginning, she had still felt shy. When bathing or changing clothes, she would carefully make sure that Dao Xuan Tianzun was not currently inhabiting the avatar. But as time went on, even that trace of bashfulness faded away. Whether Dao Xuan Tianzun was present or not no longer mattered to her.
After all, the Dao Xuan Tianzun was not a stranger. Seeing or not seeing made no difference.
Now, Gao Yiye could do anything with complete natural ease.
Li Daoxuan quietly watched her for a while, his gaze gentle and calm, until Gao Yiye woke up on her own.
The moment her eyes opened, she saw Dao Xuan Tianzun watching her.
Her cheeks flushed almost instinctively.
"Oh?" she said softly. "Dao Xuan Tianzun is already awake? You didn't wake me."
Li Daoxuan smiled faintly. "There is no harm in sleeping a little longer."
Gao Yiye threw off the covers and got out of bed. Standing right beside it, she began changing her clothes.
She did not attempt to hide herself or avoid his gaze.
However, at that very instant, a benevolent blur suddenly leapt into existence, completely blocking Li Daoxuan's view.
Li Daoxuan tried shifting left, then right, shaking his head as if performing some kind of focus test. Unfortunately, the benevolent blur moved perfectly in sync with him, mercilessly sealing off his line of sight.
After a brief and utterly futile struggle, Li Daoxuan understood something very clearly.
This so-called "God of Harmony" truly lived up to its name.
He himself was only a pseudo-god. There was absolutely no way he could contend with it.
He saw nothing.
Not a single thing.
By the time the benevolent blur finally faded away, Gao Yiye had already finished dressing. She now wore a beautiful white blouse, upon whose front a golden image of Dao Xuan Tianzun was delicately embroidered.
Gao Yiye smiled brightly. "I'm dressed. Where shall we go play today?"
Li Daoxuan returned her smile. "Anywhere you wish to go, we shall go."
Gao Yiye giggled. "Then let's go to Xuanzang Temple. I want to see where the Tang Monk used to stay."
"Alright, alright," Li Daoxuan said with a chuckle. "Xuanzang Temple it is."
Suddenly, Gao Yiye seemed to recall something. She tilted her head and asked, "Dao Xuan Tianzun, when Sun Wukong caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace, were you there?"
Li Daoxuan shook his head. "I was not."
Gao Yiye gasped softly. "Ah, no wonder the Monkey King dared to make such a mess in the Heavenly Palace. Dao Xuan Tianzun wasn't there. If you had been there, Dao Xuan Tianzun, one slap would have subdued that Monkey King."
Li Daoxuan laughed. "You are talking nonsense. I could not possibly defeat the Monkey King."
Gao Yiye blinked. "But the Monkey King was just made up by Wu Cheng'en. There is no such thing anyway, right?"
Li Daoxuan shot back, amused, "You know that, yet you still ask so many questions?"
Laughing and chatting, the two walked out of the room together.
Outside, many militia soldiers were already training. Both new recruits and veterans hurriedly straightened up, saluted, and greeted them when they saw the pair.
Gao Yiye's specially assigned security team immediately gathered nearby, following at a discreet distance.
Just as the two were about to head toward Xuanzang Temple, Bai Yuan came running in from outside.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun," he reported urgently, "the Guanning Iron Cavalry has just returned to Luoyang to rest and recuperate. The two generals leading them, uncle and nephew Cao Wenzhao and Cao Bianjiao, are both gravely wounded."
Li Daoxuan frowned slightly.
Wounded, but not dead. That was still acceptable.
According to history, both Cao Wenzhao and Cao Bianjiao should have died around this time. The involvement of the Gao Family Village militia had clearly altered the course of events. The butterfly's wings had flapped, allowing the uncle and nephew to narrowly escape their fatal fate.
Bai Yuan quickly recounted the details of the battle at Huashi Town. "The bandits are becoming stronger and stronger. This time, they almost smashed through the government troops' encirclement head-on."
Li Daoxuan tilted his head back and let out a long sigh. "This is troublesome. The more victories the bandits achieve, the harder it will be to persuade Gao Yingxiang to give up."
Huashi Town.
Lao Huihui stepped forward and clasped his fists toward Chuǎng Wang. "Big Brother Chuǎng Wang."
Chuǎng Wang smiled in response. "Brother Lao Huihui, what brings you here?"
Lao Huihui lowered his voice. "What I wish to say is best spoken without others present."
Chuǎng Wang's brows knitted together slightly.
The personal guards behind him, along with the Dashing General, all instinctively stepped forward half a pace.
The Dashing General whispered, "Big Brother, being alone with someone like Lao Huihui is very dangerous. He is a former border army general and highly skilled in martial arts. If he were to suddenly attack you…"
Chuǎng Wang naturally understood this reasoning. He was an indecisive man by nature, and for a moment, he found himself hesitating.
Although Lao Huihui had clearly not heard the Dashing General's words, he seemed to have guessed them. He spoke calmly, "Am I, Lao Huihui, the kind of man who would suddenly ambush someone?"
Chuǎng Wang's expression brightened. "Brother Lao Huihui's character and martial prowess are beyond question."
With that, he waved his hand. "All of you, withdraw."
The Dashing General protested, "Big Brother."
Chuǎng Wang insisted, "It is fine. Leave us alone for a while."
Left with no choice, the Dashing General nodded and led all the guards out of the room.
Soon, only Chuǎng Wang and Lao Huihui remained inside the small chamber.
Lao Huihui reached a hand into his inner pocket.
At the same time, Chuǎng Wang's hand dropped to rest on the hilt of his saber.
In a world like this, no one could afford to be careless.
Everyone had to guard against everyone else.
When Lao Huihui's hand emerged, however, it held only a small, old iron hairpin, clearly worn and utterly worthless.
The instant Chuǎng Wang saw the hairpin, his entire body trembled.
Lao Huihui gently placed it on the table, then deliberately stepped far back.
Chuǎng Wang rushed forward, snatching the hairpin into his hands. He caressed it again and again, turning it over slowly. A deep sorrow and desolation spread across his face, completely beyond his control.
After several breaths, he clenched the hairpin tightly and whispered, "Where did you get this? You did not kill someone and steal it, did you?"
As he spoke the final words, a terrifying killing intent surged out from his body.
That an indecisive man like Chuǎng Wang could release such fierce intent widened Lao Huihui's eyes.
"So you are not merely a figurehead leader after all," Lao Huihui thought silently. "You are someone who can truly fight when it matters."
Aloud, he said in a low voice, "Do not worry. I did not kill anyone. This was entrusted to me by someone else. He asked me to deliver it to you. He said he is waiting for you at Gubo Crossing."
"Waiting for me?" Chuǎng Wang immediately grew agitated. "Good. Excellent. Are they still alive? This is truly wonderful."
His gaze turned sharply toward the direction of Gubo Crossing.
"Brother Lao Huihui, thank you," he said. "I will rush to Gubo Crossing as soon as possible."
Lao Huihui could not resist asking quietly, "An old flame, separated for many years?"
Chuǎng Wang shook his head. "They are my last remaining family in this world. I dared not reveal my true name precisely because they were still alive."
Lao Huihui pursed his lips.
How boring.
He had thought there might be some juicy gossip worth savoring.