Chapter 657: The Reunion of Old Friends
Translator: StackThatCoin Editor: Hitesh_
In an abode by the back garden of the palace, Lu Chengfeng was looking excited while walking quickly around a white jade flower pot. The pot was planted with a flowering begonia, and the breeze from his brisk walk stirred the flowers, causing their petals to fall onto the ground.
Meng Xiaobai, Zhang Hu, Hu Wei, Luo Kedi, Ma Liang, and other confidants of Lu Chengfeng were standing aside, their faces excited too as they kept peering over at the entrance. Lu Quyuan was sitting lazily in a chair with his mischievous eyes lingering around a few pretty serving ladies standing in a corner of the abode.
Suddenly, the lights in the abode flickered and a gust of chilly breeze swept over everyone. In the next moment, Wu Qi and Princess Zhang Le appeared in the abode while holding hands. No one could find out how they got in. They just blinked, and the next thing they knew, two people had emerged out of thin air. After staring at the couple for a while, only then they realized who had arrived.
With an excited smile on his face, Lu Chengfeng cupped his fist and bowed to Wu Qi, saying, "Lu Chengfeng, the Duke of Yan Le of Great Yan, offers greeting to Your Highness Prince of Tianyun of the Six Dynasties!"
Wu Qi raised his brow, then took a step and came behind Lu Chengfeng, kicking him in the butt. Lu Chengfeng let out a scream as he immediately leaped forward; but, Wu Qi was a little faster than him. The foot landed perfectly on his butt again, kicking him thirty feet away. Fortunately, he was no longer as weak as before. With a plume of cloud spouting from the bottom of his feet, he was able to stand firmly on the ground.
Wu Qi rolled his eyes and pointed at Lu Chengfeng, scolding with a smile on his face, "If you mention that name again, I'll turn my back on you and beat you all black and blue so your mother won't even recognize you! Tsk, you think that's a valuable name, Prince of Tianyun? If it weren't for the sake of taking advantage of them, I wouldn't have asked for that title!"
Lu Chengfeng burst out laughing. He spread his arms, then walked toward Wu Qi and gave him a powerful hug.
Although today's Wu Qi already possessed the cultivation base of top-tier Heaven Immortal, and Lu Chengfeng was still just a lesser cultivator, the relationship between the two remained unchanged, just like when they first met. Standing nearby, Meng Xiaobai and others saw the situation and came forward with a smile on their faces. Wu Qi was the same Wu Qi, the one that treated them as his brothers!
In this world, many things would change with the passage of time, but there was always brotherhood. Even when separated by mountains and rivers; even though time flew by; and even though the gap between them was getting bigger and bigger, real brothers would never change, no matter what happened!
Holding hands, Wu Qi and Lu Chengfeng looked at each other and laughed. Princess Zhang Le quietly stepped aside and told the serving ladies to prepare tea and refreshments. She was a very clever girl, and although all the people in this abode were her subjects, she knew that they were Wu Qi's brothers, her husband's brothers. So, she carefully and quietly assumed her status as a housewife, preparing everything they needed.
In addition to tea and refreshments, Princess Zhang Le also ordered the servants to prepare delicious food and fine wine, and the imperial chef to hurry up and prepare dishes that went with wine, such as roast lamb. From their looks, she knew they were going to have a long chat over drinks.
Because the abode was too small, Wu Qi and his friends went to the back garden, where they built a bonfire in front of a green pine forest on the edge of the lake, roasting goats, cows, chickens, ducks, rabbits, and other delicious dishes that went well with wine. With a bright moon in the sky, a gentle breeze was blowing between them; surrounded by a beautiful scenery, the group of men sat on the ground, telling each other their own story amidst peals of laughter.
Lying sprawled on the grass by the lake, Ao Buzun, who had grown so large that the diameter of his body was the size of a bowl, was being pillowed behind Wu Qi's head. He grumbled and complained, holding a lamb leg in his hands and nibbling at it until his face was covered with grease.
Staring at the stars in the sky, Wu Qi spoke slowly about what he had gone through after leaving the Myriad Immortals Planet for Pangu Continent.
He told them that Yu Hehuan had found him to take revenge for his brother's murder, and how he had captured the latter alive and taken him to Pangu Continent as a hostage. Then, Yu Zong used up all his fortune to ask for the help of the Yu Clan in Zhong Province, all for the purpose of saving his son and capturing Wu Qi. In the end, Wu Qi managed to attract a thunder tribulation, and used it to kill all the ambushing soldiers. But then, Yu Miao suddenly appeared and nearly killed him.
Then, he was saved by Bajie's previous life, the little monk; he and his master were kind enough to heal and provide Wu Qi shelter at their temple, where he was surprised to meet Lao Ai and Madman Xue, both of whom were seriously wounded as well. "I suppose that is the unfortunate fate between us…" he said while laughing. Then suddenly, they were visited by some villains who wanted to take over the valley where the temple was situated. In the end, of course, Wu Qi and Lao Ai had successfully seized An He City with schemes and controlled Euphoria Heavenly Palace.
Later on, through various meticulously drafted plans and by risking his life, Wu Qi finally obtained the innate Yang energy under the Deep Abyss of the Northern Ocean, using it to smoothly form his dharma body, and also conveniently framing King Zhang Qiu and Patriarch Miao Ying. However, it turned out that the Prefecture Overseer of Zhong Province, Feng Lingling, became the scapegoat and nearly got his entire clan killed. Wu Qi also told Lu Chengfeng and the others that he had seen Feng Lingling, his clan members, and his loyal subjects taken away by a colossal hand. It was said that two heads were better than one, so Wu Qi actually hoped that by telling them this, they might figure out something he had not thought of.
He then told them about Bo Zhongfu becoming the new Prefecture Overseer of Zhong Province, and how the Yu Clan of Zhong Province was handsomely rewarded for selling out Feng Lingling. When they heard that the reward was thirty provinces which covered a vast land beyond their imagination, they were all stunned and rendered speechless.
Everyone cheered and applauded when they heard Wu Qi say that he was rewarded a large fiefdom in Hai Province for helping Yu He gain the power of Hai Province, and had already built a city there while training a private army. Dong Hai County alone was several times larger than the land of Great Yan and all the feudal states on Myriad Immortals Planet. It was a vast territory which they could use to accomplish many things!
It took Wu Qi a long time and three full jars of wine to tell them what he had been going through over the years.
Lu Chengfeng then began to tell what they had been through. However, their story was pale in comparison to Wu Qi's spectacular, and arguably perilous, experiences. After leaving Myriad Immortals Planet, they found the current planet, eradicated the local powers, and then started to build their own foundation here.
Not only was Lu Chengfeng one of the very few members of Great Yan imperial clan with managerial experiences, but also more knowledgeable and talented than many others. Therefore, he not only retained the West Supervisor's official duty, but also became a counselor of the military, playing an important role in the preparation and training of the new army in Great Yan.
Lu Quyuan, who was once a dandy, was still a little unruly now; but under Lu Chengfeng's restraint and guidance, as well as his experience from managing Star picking City for Wu Qi, he had become an increasingly important member in Great Yan's government.
The reason Great Yan chose this planet as their new home base was that the local powers here were so weak that they did not pose any threat to them. While the rest of the government affairs were handled by other talented people, Lu Chengfeng did not have much to tell Wu Qi. The only things worth mentioning were that Meng Xiaobai, Luo Kedi, Ma Liang, Hu Wei, and Zhang Hu had become the commanders of the first battalion, and together ran an army of fifteen thousand foot soldiers. They were now a new generation of military officers, who were as much in demand as Qin Qingshui and others.
Under the moonlight, the group of hot-blooded men was talking, laughing, crying, and merrymaking; and it became a mess for a while.
Wu Qi and Lu Chengfeng then both mentioned Myriad Immortals Planet that Patriarch Yuan Hua had ruined. In addition to swearing and cursing Patriarch Yuan Hua, everyone also mourned the tragic death of the people of Great Yan. But at the same time, they were very grateful that the members of Great Yan imperial clan and influential clans had left the planet before the calamity; otherwise, Great Yan would have had to suffer an enormous loss.
Whenever infuriating subjects were mentioned, Wu Qi would thrust his fist at the rocks by the lake and smash them into pieces. And when it came to happy events, Lu Chengfeng would jump up, dancing and screaming into the sky; then, everyone would then lift their wine jars and drink. The joy in all of this was beyond words.
After a long, frolicking conversation, when the sky started turning bright in the east, Wu Qi suddenly rose to his feet and offered Lu Chengfeng a deep and solemn bow. "I have a favor to ask you, my brother."
With a serious look on his face, Lu Chengfeng returned the gesture and said, "Just speak frankly… We're brothers after a;;."
Wu Qi straightened up and smiled. "I won't let anyone from the six dynasties meddle in my little territory once they arrive in Pangu Continent, and will even ask Yan Bugui to bring all his Scouting Officers out of my land. I will not let them meddle in my domain!"
Holding Lu Chengfeng's hands, Wu Qi said in a low, forceful voice, "I need your help! Whatever Dong Hai County turns out to be, it'll forever be something that I'll share with my brothers!"
With a faint smile, Lu Chengfeng squeezed Wu Qi's hands and said, "We are brothers, and we don't stand on ceremony with one another. Since Dong Hai County is our base, it is natural that we, as brothers, should join hands to take care of it. Haha… Perhaps in the near future, we can break away from the six dynasties and become independent!"
Wu Qi chuckled and waved his hand to produce a huge stash of storage bags, all fully packed, and handed them out to Lu Chengfeng and the others. These storage bags not only had a variety of materials to be used for cultivation, but also Wu Qi's carefully selected cultivation techniques for them, which were enough for them to smoothly cultivate to the realm of top-tier Heaven Immortals.
Lu Chengfeng and others readily accepted the storage bags, all eager to follow Wu Qi to Pangu Continent for adventures.
Just then, Ma Yi strode toward them with a couple of eunuchs.
"Prince of Tianyun, the emperors and their subjects have decided... Seven days from now is an auspicious day, so the six dynasties will travel to Pangu Continent together on that day!"