Chapter 296: Baby

After two incense sticks had burned, Li Huowang, sitting on a stool, touched the golden silk sandalwood table before him and stepped on the soft animal fur on the floor. After surveying the room's opulent interior, he knew that a meal here would be anything but cheap.

He had seen this restaurant before; it was right next to the Linglong Pagoda. Its location was considered one of the best in all of Yinling City.

With a creak, the door opened. A beautifully robed woman, carrying a fragrant breeze, entered and placed various delicacies onto the round table.

Li Huowang hadn't just never tasted the dishes on the table; he couldn't even tell what ingredients they were made from.

"Hahahaha~ Come, come. My dear brother Er, let's have a drink." Tuoba Danqing raised a silver pot, ready to pour into the wine cup in front of Li Huowang.

Li Huowang's heart tightened instantly. "Brother Tuoba, I'm not much of a drinker; please forgive me."

With that, he picked up a teapot nearby and poured himself a cup. "I'll use tea instead of wine to toast Brother Tuoba. May all your endeavors be prosperous!"

Smiling, Tuoba Danqing clinked his wine cup against Li Huowang's tea cup. "Excellent~ Then I also wish you, younger brother Er, an early promotion to the Crimson Palace!"

Li Huowang brought the tea cup beneath his mask and took a small sip.

Tuoba Danqing swept back his long sleeve, raised his chopsticks, and poked at the steaming dish in front of him.

"Come, come, eat! Try this dish, 'Myriad Purples and A Thousand Reds.' This is a specialty of Yinling City; you won't find it anywhere else."

As the two ate and drank, the atmosphere in the room significantly relaxed. Conversing over a meal always had a different feel than talking elsewhere.

Tuoba Danqing, his plump cheeks flushed, smacked his lips a few times, rested his elbow on the round table, and slowly said, "Younger brother Er, from now on, we're like family. If there's anything you don't understand about the Ministry, just ask me."

"And remember, you're now a member of the Ministry of Celestial Observation. If you encounter any official matters in the future, you can mention the Ministry's name. As long as it's not a major issue, the local yamen will usually show some respect."

"Thank you, Brother Tuoba. Since you're so generous, I won't be shy either. I just happen to have encountered some difficulties." Li Huowang extended his hand and pulled out the Bagua mirror he had prepared earlier.

"This is a magical artifact from the Zuowang Dao. Its power is astonishing, but I can't find the method to activate it. Could Brother Tuoba please take a look?"

"Something from the Zuowang Dao? Heh, they don't have anything of their own; it's clearly stolen. Let me see."

Tuoba Danqing reached out and took it, examining it meticulously, his hands and mouth continuously busy.

"So, younger brother Er, how was that day? Tell your elder brother, how did you deal with that Zuowang Dao follower?"

There was nothing to hide, of course. After concealing some details about the Black Grand Duke, Li Huowang recounted most of that night's events to Tuoba Danqing.

"Heh, those Zuowang Dao adherents are at it again, claiming others are their people. This kind of trick is ancient history," Tuoba Danqing said, a hint of disdain constantly on his face.

"Yet, despite such a simple trick, there are always a few naive fools who fall for it."

"Honestly, as long as you see through their ruse, I'll kill as many of those Zuowang Dao followers as they send. All their 'Grand Triads' and 'Minor Quads,' their dice and flower tiles, are just worthless garbage!"

Li Huowang could tell the other man was starting to boast, but he naturally didn't expose him, simply chiming in in agreement.

There was nothing wrong with boasting a bit after a few drinks; in fact, it made Li Huowang feel that the other person was a living, breathing human being.

"This looks like a Daoist artifact, but do you see? The Bagua positions are off. With Kun above and Qian below, this kind of inverted heaven and earth Daoism, as far as I know, only exists in three sects in Daliang."

Tuoba Danqing pushed the mirror back towards Li Huowang. "Alright, take it for now. I'll check on it and get back to you. If there's a corresponding cultivation method, I'll send you a message."

"No matter what, this item should be quite valuable. I estimate it's worth at least thirty to fifty years of lifespan. Younger brother Er, your luck is quite good."

Besides its literal meaning, his remark also revealed that within the Ministry of Celestial Observation, transactions were conducted not with gold or silver, but with lifespan.

"Then, thank you again, Brother Tuoba."

"What are you saying? We're family here. Why thank me for such a small matter? You're being too formal! Drink up, drink up!"

Tuoba Danqing raised his wine cup, tilted his head back, and poured it down his throat. After letting out a small sigh, he picked up his chopsticks and began to eat.

Suddenly, Tuoba Danqing thought of something. He placed his chopsticks on the edge of a dish and reached his hand into a cloth sack beneath the table.

After rummaging for a moment, he pulled out a dozen or so dark, pellet-like objects. "Here, I almost forgot. This is your reward for this time: thirteen years of lifespan. Keep it safe. These are sealed pills, a bit different from your method."

Li Huowang took out the gourd from his waist. As its small mouth wriggled a few times, the entire front half of the gourd split open into a fierce, sharp maw, swallowing the lifespan pills one by one.

Seeing Li Huowang's gourd, a hint of pride appeared on Tuoba Danqing's tipsy face.

"Younger brother Er, your item isn't quite up to par. It's not as good as my old cloth sack. Although my sack is tattered, it can hold a lot more."

"In the future, you should find some time to go to Shangjing and buy some useful artifacts there."

"Oh? The Ministry of Celestial Observation actually has a dedicated place for transactions?" Li Huowang was instantly startled. This information would be significantly helpful for his future intelligence gathering and power enhancement.

"What's so surprising? It would be strange if there wasn't one, wouldn't it?"

Li Huowang agreed, then quickly poured himself a tiny bit of wine and toasted Tuoba Danqing.

Li Huowang's keen senses made him very susceptible to drunkenness, but in certain situations, getting drunk was indeed necessary.

That evening, the two drank more and more, and their relationship grew increasingly close, reaching a point where they were almost ready to burn yellow paper, slaughter a chicken, and swear brotherhood.

Tuoba Danqing's voice reminded Li Huowang of his dormitory classmates. He felt as if he had returned to those wonderful days when he stayed at high school, before his illness manifested.

He wasn't mentally ill, nor had he transmigrated. Yang Na was real, and his future was bright. "Ah... how wonderful it would be to go back to that time..."

"But I've already joined the Ministry of Celestial Observation. Those days of precarious existence are over. Things will surely get better day by day, and someday I'll live even better than before!"

In a drowsy haze, Tuoba Danqing put an arm around Li Huowang's shoulder, leaned against the windowsill, and looked out at the silent Yinling City, his voice tinged with emotion. "My dear brother! Look how beautiful Yinling City is? The rabbit figurines here are also beautiful! To be honest, I've really only been to this place a few times."

"Brother Tuoba, then I apologize! I'll penalize myself with three drinks! I actually caused Brother Tuoba to rush around!" Li Huowang's tongue was so twisted from drinking that sometimes he didn't even know what he was saying.

"Apologize for what? What nonsense are you spouting? I just happened to be passing by; it wasn't specifically for you, my boy. Guess, guess what your elder brother was doing before this?"

"How could I guess that, Brother Tuoba...? Hiccup. Look, isn't it almost dawn? How about we stop drinking for today?"

Hearing that Li Huowang didn't pick up on his hint, Tuoba Danqing was quite displeased. "Come, I'll show you a good treasure! It'll open your eyes, young man!"

He pulled Li Huowang back to the table, where he stumbled and fell to the floor, rummaging through his tattered yellow cloth bag.

Soon, he pulled out a man's head still connected to a bloody, mangled mess of internal organs from the cloth bag.

"Hmm?" Li Huowang stared in astonishment. "Brother Tuoba, what is this?"

"Hehe, you don't know, do you? This is a Heart Elemental that Lord Jixiang and I specifically obtained from the heartland of Qingqiu!"

As soon as he said this, the Red Dragon hallucination beside him suddenly burst into laughter. He laughed heartily, bending over, gasping for breath.