Letters

A gentle breeze swept through, and the flash of azure robes in the room was gone. Xu Changge had left. For a man of few words who preferred physical action to speech, forcing himself to sit down and share such heartfelt advice with his third brother had already made him thoroughly uncomfortable. Yet their father would never say these things, and their maternal uncle even less so. In this family, only he, the eldest brother, could impart them to Changtian. Sitting alone before the red sandalwood table, watching the sunlight spilling into the room through the reopened door, Xu Yuan's mind drifted inexplicably back to that rainy night at the ancient temple deep in the mountains. To this day, he still remembered the lightning tearing through the darkness to illuminate the courtyard, the severed limbs strewn across the ground washed by rain, and the blood welling incessantly from them. He also remembered how, in that moment, the sheer carnage had nearly frightened him out of his wits. And now? He had seen border counties ravaged by demonic beasts, seen blood and flesh flying across the battlefield, and seen countless commoners struggling in agony to survive the clashes between high-ranking cultivators... If the scene from that rainy night were placed before him now, Xu Yuan doubted he would even blink. Such was the power of habit. Yet this level of cold-bloodedness still seemed far from enough. Xu Yuan raised his eyes and looked through the open door toward his old man's study. The door there remained unclosed. With the formidable hearing of a Body Integration realm cultivator, he could even catch the rustling of his father's wolf-hair brush grazing Xuan paper. Turning clouds with a flip of the hand and rain with another, using the world as a chessboard and countless living souls as pawns... That was what his father was doing right now. At this thought, Xu Yuan lowered his eyes and looked at his own palm. Would he... truly be able to one day numbly treat the lives of tens of millions as pawns and play them with a casual flick of the wrist? After a few breaths of silence, the corner of Xu Yuan's mouth curled slightly, and he shook his head with a quiet chuckle. He felt he was taking things a bit too seriously. When that day came, let his future self worry about it; why should his present self overthink it so much? As for right now, Xu Yuan figured he would rather look at something amusing and have a good laugh. With that in mind, his gaze fell upon the stack of letters from his "bosom brother," and he pulled out the first one in sequence. Four characters were written on the brownish-yellow envelope: [To be opened personally by Changtian] Scanning it with a glance, Xu Yuan could hardly suppress the grin tugging at his lips. What dreadful handwriting... It was definitely Li Junwu, no doubt about it. They often said handwriting reflected the person, but Li Junwu seemed to be an exception. Compared to her strikingly handsome, spirited face, the woman's handwriting looked like crawling earthworms and squirming snakes. Even though he had once been a playboy unable to cultivate, under the tutelage and influence of the Prime Minister's Manor's elders, his own calligraphy had always suited the image of a noble scion. Because of that, Xu Yuan remembered that he had even tried teaching this woman calligraphy in the past. Yet after only a few days of lessons, the two had parted on bad terms—he had scoffed that Li Junwu was rotten wood that couldn't be carved, while Li Junwu had cursed him for using lessons as an excuse to take liberties with his "bosom brother." *Riiip—* A crisp sound echoed softly in the quiet chamber. The sealing wax was broken. Xu Yuan drew out a sheet of Xuan paper covered in writing, then shook his head with a faint smile after a quick scan. The woman must have been quite earnest when writing this letter; he could tell she had made an effort to keep the lines as neat as possible. Yet after skimming the very first line, Xu Yuan felt he could barely keep a straight face. [Changtian, I went to Mohuang Pavilion in Pingning Prefecture today! There are actually dancing girls from the Great Desert here! This young lady thinks it's so much more fun than the pleasure houses in Di'an City!] No pleasantries, no ceremonial courtesies whatsoever—right off the bat, she was visiting pleasure houses. And the further down he read, the weirder Xu Yuan's expression became. The entire letter went on for several thousand words, methodically analyzing every single difference between the pleasure houses of Di'an City and Xize Province. By the time he finished the first letter, even though Xu Yuan had never set foot in Xize Province, he felt he possessed a remarkably thorough understanding of its pleasure quarters. From the macro level of Xize Province's entire red-light industry—ranging from the decor and layout of the pleasure houses to the quality of their resident musicians' string instruments, down to the tourist traps and rip-offs one might fall for... ...all the way down to individual courtesans: from the dancing girls' light brown skin and emerald eyes to their exotic dance styles and the special services not offered in Di'an City's pleasure houses... And at the very end, she didn't forget to tack on a line: [Changtian, come visit Xize Province once you get back to the capital! Big Sister will treat you to an exotic experience!] Setting aside Li Junwu's "brothel critique dissertation," Xu Yuan shook his head. As he opened the second letter, he murmured with an amused smile: "Before leaving the capital, you claimed you were going to lead troops into battle and become a general no weaker than Li Qingyan. Yet the moment you arrive, you fall right back into your old habits, don't you? Classic Li Junwu." [Xu Changtian, are you laughing at me right now?] "..." Xu Yuan. The smile on his face froze for a fraction of a second. Xu Yuan subconsciously glanced around his surroundings before realizing how silly that was, then continued reading. [Don't look so surprised. This young lady knows you went to the Northern Border and won't be able to see these letters for a while. When you return to the capital, you'll probably read them all in one go, and knowing your temperament, you'll read them in chronological order. Hmph, pretty clever of me, isn't it? [To tell the truth, though, I don't want to spend every day wallowing among women in pleasure houses either, but what else could I do when my old man started arranging marriages for me? [The moment I arrived, he lined up all sorts of young subordinate officers and direct heirs of the Sun family for me. I've been here over half a month, and aside from setting me up with various young talents, that old coot won't let me touch any military authority at all! The only way to light a fire under him was this. Let's see who can hold out longer!] Xu Yuan lightly rubbed the slightly rough surface of the Xuan paper between his thumb and forefinger, a hint of mirth surfacing in his eyes. If this woman wanted to frequent pleasure houses, she went—and yet she just had to invent an excuse for it. Still, that old man, the Marquis of Zhenxi, must have been thoroughly infuriated by Li Junwu. His only daughter spent all day surrounded by women. If that continued, it was practically a guarantee the Li family bloodline would end right there. Scanning further down, the rest was just Li Junwu sharing anecdotes and amusing encounters from the pleasure houses. He opened the third letter. [That old coot finally couldn't take it anymore and personally hauled this young lady back to Zhenxi Manor from Mohuang Pavilion! But the old stubborn mule still refuses to budge. No matter—if I can't go to pleasure houses, there are plenty of pretty maidservants in Zhenxi Manor. Even if he reassigns them, it doesn't matter; I'd like to see if that old coot dares to assign male servants to me instead!] "..." Looking at the crooked, squiggly handwriting, Xu Yuan's eyelid twitched involuntarily. He suddenly felt his title as the head of the Four Young Masters of the Imperial Capital had been somewhat overstated. He was ready to declare Li Junwu the undisputed champion. No matter how wild of a playboy he had been back then, he had never dared pull such antics on his own old man. In the fourth letter, the handwriting that she had previously strived to keep neat was already getting crooked and sloppy, yet one could easily sense Li Junwu's delight when writing it. [Changtian, my old man finally relented! Heheh, he gave me a company of elites and said once my cultivation breaks through to Body Integration, he'll give me another!] The fifth letter: [Changtian, it's been a whole month since I last wrote to you. These days have been exhausting to death! Every day during the day, I follow the old man to practice military array cultivation arts, and at night, I have to study various military treatises. But tomorrow, this young lady will try operating a military array together with the soldiers under me. [My father said that as the core of the military array, the general bears an immense burden, so I'd best start trying with a hundred men. If it exceeds the physical limit, mild cases lead to injury, while severe cases end in qi deviation and death. [Mmh, I'm a bit nervous tonight and can't sleep, so I'm writing you a letter... [...] [...]] The sixth letter: [Turns out it was a false alarm! That old coot made it sound so terrifying, but who would have thought it'd be this easy? [Never mind a hundred-man military array—even with a five-hundred-man array bolstering me, this young lady didn't feel any strain at all! You should have seen my old man's expression: both overjoyed and utterly dejected, mostly because his plans to marry me off went down the drain. [Seriously though, Changtian, being bolstered by a military array feels amazing. With just a five-hundred-man array empowering me, I already feel like I could rival a Grandmaster! Next time we meet, watch your tongue, or I'll beat you up, humph!] "..." Xu Yuan fell silent for a moment, then sneered with amusement: "I can't beat people like Ran Qingmo, but you think I can't take down a Li Junwu?" He continued reading. [By the way, I also tried channeling a thousand-man military array today, and sure enough, it succeeded! This young lady really is a genius. Plus, I feel like this isn't even my limit. Too bad my old man stubbornly refused to let me expand the array any further. [I heard that woman Li Qingyan's first military array under Marquis Wucheng was only eight hundred men. If not for my old man holding me back, this young lady could have doubled her record! [Changtian, I told you: I, Li Junwu, am in no way inferior to Li Qingyan!] Reading this, Xu Yuan couldn't help bursting into laughter. When the chest-bound princess formed her first military array, she was only twelve years old! Li Junwu, how old are you this year? Do you have no sense of self-awareness? Thinking this, Xu Yuan gently shook his head. Besides, why was this "bosom brother" of his always obsessed with comparing herself to the chest-bound princess? Unsealing the seventh letter, Xu Yuan noticed that the date at the end was spaced quite far from the sixth. Li Junwu had presumably been too busy with military affairs to write. [Today, I heard from my old man's military intelligence briefings that Beifeng City had fallen and the entire city was slaughtered. It was only then that I suddenly remembered you, that playboy, were supposedly in Beifeng City, so I'm writing you a letter. [But Changtian, do you know what this young lady's immediate reaction was upon hearing the news? [I wasn't worried about whether you were alive or dead at all! After all, a scourge lives for a thousand years, so a playboy troublemaker like you would definitely survive.] Reading those words, Xu Yuan grumbled inwardly. Yet immediately after, he noticed that Li Junwu's handwriting—which had already begun to take on a sharper edge—seemed to have paused here for a long time. The ink had bled outward at the end of the sentence, leaving behind a dark, heavy blotch. After the paused brush resumed its sweeping strokes, what followed were the usual everyday complaints as before. [Enough of that. The reason I haven't written to you all this time is because I've been so exhausted—exhausted to the point that I almost forgot all about a playboy like you. [Sigh, during this period, I realized for the first time that life could be so exhausting. Splitting and shredding all twelve shichen in a day still isn't enough; I wish a day had twenty-four shichen instead! [Fortunately, I broke through to Body Integration, or else I wouldn't have been able to endure it at all. Cultivating, drilling soldiers, studying strategy, leading troops on field maneuvers and marches... [Oh, right! Ten days ago, I led part of my company on patrol into the Great Desert and ran into an army of wolf whelps. Guess what happened? [With only a single company, this young lady crushed over two thousand of them! My maiden battle was far better than that woman Li Qingyan's!] Looking at her "casual" bragging, Xu Yuan felt strangely amused, as if he had been transported back to the years when the Four Young Masters of the Imperial Capital had stirred up trouble across Di'an City together. Back then, whenever the four of them went around gallivanting with birdcages, they had constantly bantered and traded sarcastic jabs just like this... The fond memory came to an abrupt halt, and a shadow of melancholy crept into Xu Yuan's eyes. The fathers of Gong Yuanzeng and Wang Chengping both belonged to the imperial faction. Ever since their last gathering, all contact had ceased; the only one left was this "bosom brother," Li Junwu. And that was only because her father, the Marquis of Zhenxi, ignored court politics and focused solely on guarding the western desert. With a soft sigh, Xu Yuan looked at the two remaining letters on the desk and silently unsealed the penultimate one. [Before the decisive battle on the Northern Border, Li Qingyan went missing. You didn't actually die, did you, you scourge? [Xu Changtian, I'm warning you: if you dare die without permission, this young lady will skin you—humph, forget it. Scourges don't die anyway. You definitely won't!] Looking at the handwriting on the first line of the Xuan paper, a hint of surprise crossed Xu Yuan's eyes. It was not because of the contents, but because Li Junwu's sprawling, squiggly handwriting was gone. While it still couldn't be called masterly, it now bore a sharp, crisp vigor. A place like the army could apparently hone one's penmanship in addition to forging one's character. Thinking this, Xu Yuan leaned back against the chair and continued reading. Li Junwu was hardly the sentimental type; after that brief initial display of concern, she went back to describing miscellaneous army matters and the overall situation in Xize Province. Xu Yuan had already learned most of the general intelligence in this letter through various channels, but Li Junwu described the events in far greater detail. The Barbarians' initial sweeping victories had drawn the Dachao Court like hyenas scenting blood in the desert, eager for a piece of the spoils. Whether riding alongside the Marquis of Zhenxi on campaign or commanding troops independently, Li Junwu had already fought over a dozen minor and major skirmishes against the Dachao forces, every single one concluding in a decisive victory. Reading through it carefully, Xu Yuan suddenly felt that Li Junwu was genuinely formidable. Perhaps there really were people born with innate genius in this world; in just a few short months, this "bosom brother" of his had truly grown from a worthless playboy into a capable military commander. Reflecting on this, Xu Yuan broke the sealing wax on the final letter. The date of this letter was very recent—just ten days ago—and its contents were largely similar to the penultimate one. Yet when he reached the very end of the letter, Xu Yuan's brow twitched. [Oh, right, this young lady ran into an interesting situation earlier. [Twenty days ago, I led two divisions of heavy cavalry deep into Tuwang Valley in the Great Desert on reconnaissance, and we ran into an elite detachment from the Dachao Court. [The escort numbered a thousand men, all at the Soul Condensation Realm, guarding a stunningly beautiful woman from the Western Regions. Only afterward did I learn that woman was actually the Divine Maiden of the Dachao Court! It's a shame I brought too few troops with me; despite the ambush, she managed to get away. Otherwise, I could have let you see the charm of the Great Desert's Divine Maiden, Changtian! [However, while clearing the battlefield after the ambush, my deputy general did find a map of the royal court on the corpse of a personal guard, along with an appeal for help addressed to who-knows-whom. [Changtian... that Divine Maiden of the Great Desert seems to want to flee the court.]