Chapter 386: Butterflies Love Flowers

Chapter 386: Butterfly in Love with Flower

Ying Wu stared at him for a long moment, saying nothing.

Aside from his still-insufficient personal strength, this "momentum" was actually a few degrees stronger than when Xia Longyuan had first risen to power.

Of course, this itself borrowed from the ambiguous background of being a "prince," not entirely built by Zhao Changhe himself—but the prerequisite was that he possessed such qualities... This sense of converging winds and clouds had already begun to show its first signs.

Perhaps this chaotic age, before it could fully descend into turmoil, might already be settled... If things truly followed such a trajectory.

Ying Wu felt a flicker of unease in his heart... Logically, Zhao Changhe had only risen recently and should have been unable to exert any influence on the world's situation. Yet unexpectedly, he had gathered such momentum so quickly; Ying Wu could not fathom Xia Longyuan's thoughts.

But then he reconsidered: What did it matter?

Even if he sensed that Xia Longyuan was unfathomable, so what? Others were rebelling against Xia Longyuan! Should he instead shrink back in fear?

With that thought, he nodded and said with a chuckle, "Alright... Then I'll stay nearby these days and wait for you to organize."

"Uh..." Zhao Changhe asked, "Was that a bit too boastful?"

"No, a newborn calf should be just like this." Ying Wu laughed. "Don't act old and weary. If you want to do something, do it. If you want to chase a woman, chase her. Don't waste your life."

With that, he patted Zhao Changhe on the shoulder: "Not bad. You remind me of my younger self."

Zhao Changhe: "If I end up like you, that's a disaster. Did you ever succeed?"

Ying Wu: "...I feel like I need to make you understand the gap between you and the Heavenly Ranking."

Zhao Changhe smiled apologetically: "The gap with the seniors is mainly in experience, right? For example, Fifth Elder must know where to find Blade Grass, Transformation Lotus, Bodhi Fruit, Soul-Winding Grass, and Cloud Sun Leaf, don't you?"

"I know four of those five." Ying Wu looked up at the sky: "Say that again, will you?"

"...I still don't want to be like you."

Ying Wu was caught between laughter and tears: "Enough, anyway, these things aren't mine. Blade Grass has to go to the Sword Hut—they use it to sharpen their sword aura, it's their treasure. Transformation Lotus and Bodhi Fruit, you'll probably find in Maitreya's secret realm..."

Zhao Changhe was suspicious: "You're not trying to trick me into dealing with Maitreya, are you? No need—even if there's nothing there, I'm still going to fight him."

"Just from the names, you can tell they're related to Buddhism. Even if Maitreya's secret realm doesn't have them, it's connected. If not, go ask other Buddhist sects. I heard you have some connection with Yuan Xing?"

"Yeah..."

"In any case, there are clues for all of them... As for Soul-Winding Grass, I'm sure you'll find it where you're going next."

"Hongnong Yang?"

"Exactly. But no matter which one, they should be precious heavenly treasures they hold dear, not easily given to outsiders. You'll have to figure out how to get them yourself. As for Cloud Sun Leaf..." Ying Wu frowned slightly: "I've never heard of this thing. Are you sure you didn't just make it up?"

"Why would I make something up for no reason?"

Ying Wu said, "But among the wonders of the world, if I claim to be second, no one dares to claim first. If I haven't heard of it, then no one has."

Zhao Changhe wanted to ask, "Have you heard of the Heavenly Book, dear?" But thinking that maybe he actually had, he just clicked his tongue in annoyance: "Anyway, this thing exists. Legend says it grew on Cloud Sun Mountain in ancient times. Which mountain is called Cloud Sun Mountain now?"

Ying Wu's eyes lit up: "It's probably not a change in name from ancient to modern times. It must be a lost secret realm... Our next secret realm collaboration will be right here! Wait for me—since there's a place name, there should be traces. I'll go look up the information."

With that, he left excitedly, not even finishing his tea.

Zhao Changhe watched his retreating figure and thought to himself, This is tough for him too. Since the collapse of the epoch, there have been thousands of lost secret realms, big and small. Can one person find them all in a lifetime? Maybe by the time I achieve my goal of going home, he'll still be searching for secret realms.

Uh... does Earth count as a secret realm?

Suddenly, he felt someone watching him. Zhao Changhe turned his head and saw Tang Wanzhuang standing by the corridor, gazing absentmindedly in his direction. When she saw him look back, she flinched as if startled and retreated behind the corridor, the hem of her dress flickering out of sight.

Zhao Changhe slowly strolled over, but then saw Tang Wanzhuang come running out again, as if realizing she didn't need to hide. She put on a nonchalant air and asked, "Why are you so familiar with Ying Wu?"

Zhao Changhe countered, "Why were you sneaking a peek? What's the big deal about just coming over?"

"When did I sneak a peek?" Tang Wanzhuang stiffened her neck and said, "I was originally going to listen to what you were saying, and he happened to leave just then."

"Then why were you staring at me? Am I that handsome?"

Tang Wanzhuang ground her teeth: "Zhao! Chang! He!"

Zhao Changhe knew he couldn't keep provoking her pride, so he raised his hands in surrender: "Alright, alright. I'll continue memorizing the medical classics today."

Tang Wanzhuang pursed her lips and finally said after a long while, "Actually, you really hate memorizing books, don't you? I can tell from your expression."

Zhao Changhe smiled: "What wild monkey who's been rolling around the martial world would love reading? But it's okay. Now that my spirit is strong and my memory is sharp, even if I haven't reached photographic memory, I'm not far off. In the past, memorizing this stuff was impossible for me. Now I can barely manage."

Tang Wanzhuang tilted her head, speaking with double meaning: "Since you don't like it, why force yourself?"

"Because I like you." Zhao Changhe answered directly.

Tang Wanzhuang stood frozen.

Zhao Changhe's voice echoed in her ears, fragment by fragment: "Let alone studying medicine to cure you... Even if it were studying poetry or useless things, as long as you're teaching, I like it."

Tang Wanzhuang looked left and right, searching for a pond...

She couldn't find one immediately, so she said angrily, "Because you weren't like this, I supported you as a prince. I knew you most likely weren't one! And now you're changing your tune. Have you no shame?"

"Then I won't be one anymore." Zhao Changhe said directly: "Compared to you, the rivers and mountains aren't worth a single hair."

"You have no shame!"

"Wanzhuang, I suddenly thought of something..."

"...What?"

"The prince you've been cultivating in your mind—if you look at it from another angle, you're shaping him according to your own aesthetic and preferences. It's not that a prince should be like that, but that you like someone like that..."

"You wish! There are plenty of people with bearing. When did it ever come to you!" Tang Wanzhuang was flustered: "With your crude and uncultured self, you're just a monkey wearing a crown!"

Zhao Changhe tilted his head: "Who says I'm crude and uncultured? Are you sure?"

Tang Wanzhuang choked, suddenly recalling the famous lines that occasionally slipped from his mouth. Just a few days ago, he had spoken of "Chenjiang luckily winds around Chenshan" and "Bashan night rain swells the autumn pond."

He simply didn't usually care for such things, as if this trait only manifested for her.

Tang Wanzhuang's heart was in turmoil. She didn't want to continue this topic and forcibly changed the subject: "What are those things—Blade Grass, Soul-Winding Grass, Cloud Sun Leaf? Are they in the medical books I gave you?"

"No."

"What are they for?"

"Blade Grass is for forging the Blood Asura Body. Transformation Lotus and Bodhi Fruit are for healing your meridians. Soul-Winding Grass and Cloud Sun Leaf are for nourishing your spirit."

Tang Wanzhuang stared at him, speechless for a long time.

He had asked about a bunch of things, and only one was for himself. The rest were all for her.

In fact, he had said it before—even his involvement in this game was because of her. Otherwise, he would still be roaming the martial world, "What does the court have to do with me?"

But the court had you, so it had everything to do with him.

Zhao Changhe said, "Actually, don't always rush to learn this and that... My real purpose here is to make you rest more, to pull your mind away from the tedious affairs of work. Just that alone can greatly improve your condition."

He paused, then smiled: "That scene the other day was perfect. You leaned against the pavilion, reading leisurely, with Baoqin playing soft, soothing tunes beside you. Spring orioles singing, flowing water and floral fragrance—if you could spend ten days or half a month in such an environment, your spirit would surely calm, your meridians stabilize, and I could head north to Hongnong with peace of mind. As for a complete cure, it won't happen overnight. Give me some time."

Whether it was the mention of "ten days or half a month" that reminded them both of Gusu.

Before, Zhao Changhe had never stopped, never lingered anywhere for long—only in Gusu, by Tang Wanzhuang's side, had he paused for over ten days, asking her to slow down.

Now, it was another ten days or so, but the roles were reversed: With me here, you slow down.

"Come on... No treatment today. I'll just walk with you." Zhao Changhe turned and walked into the garden. Tang Wanzhuang instinctively followed beside him.

Only after she had followed him in did she realize what this was—a true tryst under the moon and flowers, a secret rendezvous in the garden.

Never mind. He was very quiet, saying no treatment today...

The two strolled silently through the sea of vibrant blossoms, neither speaking. Yet their gazes unconsciously followed the colorful butterflies dancing in the garden, lingering reluctantly around the flowers, and the corners of their mouths simultaneously curled into an auntie smile.

The sound of a qin drifted from a distant pavilion—it was Baoqin practicing, playing precisely the piece "Butterflies in Love with Flowers."

Tang Wanzhuang realized she truly felt no shame or anger to curse this damned traitor; her heart was filled with peace.

Isn't the hope within the illusion exactly like this...

Saying no treatment, but in truth this is what real treatment should entail, not kissing and embracing.

What a pity that the so-called birthday of Yang Jingxiu next month falls at the month's beginning, not far off; even riding post-haste on the road takes several days, and this leisure is destined to last only ten days or half a month.

In the distance, Buqi sharpened weapons and fed his horses, his sword pointed at Maitreya's last strongholds of Kuaiji and Yuzhang; the sound of war drums began to beat, almost at their ears.