Leaving King Song’s residence, Wang Chong sat in his carriage, deep in contemplation. Even though he had confidently promised King Song on this matter, he knew that it would be, by no means, easy.
Spilled water couldn’t be taken back, and words were the same. Given how intense King Song’s opposition was from before, it was impossible to induce Consort Taizhen to feel any goodwill and change her attitude toward him all of the sudden!
But there was nothing that could be said for sure in this world.
Seated in the carriage, Wang Chong’s thoughts flew around the place. He recalled several matters he heard on Consort Taizhen.
In this era, everyone was filled with contempt for Consort Taizhen. They slandered and insulted her, and as such, the understanding of the populace of her only stopped at ‘a mere woman’, ‘a disaster to the country and populace’, and such derogatory terms.
No one knew of the truth.
Only Wang Chong knew that this woman wasn’t someone that descriptions like ‘Princess Consort Shou’ or ‘a mere woman’ could encompass.
Regardless of which time-space continuum it was, this woman was well-known for her beauty. Despite the several millennium of history of the Central Plains, she still managed to leave a mark in history through her beauty. This goes to show how breathtaking her appearance was!
However, at this moment, no one except Wang Chong knew of this matter.
Other than her beauty, Wang Chong also knew that Consort Taizhen fancied unique poems on romance and happiness, and this ‘fancy’ had already far surpassed ordinary levels.
As such, Consort Taizhen held exceptional admiration for talented poets.
In the future, Consort Taizhen would often summon reputable poets, listen to their poem recitations and couplets, promote them, and bestow them great wealth.
And to poets who were living in difficulty, Consort Taizhen would often grant them a sizeable sum.
Thus, Consort Taizhen’s name had always been excellent among the poets in Great Tang.
Consort Taizhen’s love for poems and its verses had already far surpassed the understanding of others.
When she saw good poem verses, she would bring them everywhere she went, not wanting to part with it at any moment, even going to the extent of embracing them to her sleep.
What that filled the few most exquisitely ornated chests in her room was not gold or jewelry but the poem verses that she loved.
Just like any other ladies, Consort Taizhen also had her ‘weak spot’.
She loved talented poets, and if those talented poets were to praise her, she would immediately fly to cloud nine and reward them generously.
As this world focused more on the pursuit of martial arts, the poems in this world weren’t as advanced. In his previous life, when Wang Chong heard that Consort Taizhen favored poems, he came up with a few ideas but he wasn’t able to find a chance to execute them.
“If I can bring out that poem, there is a high chance that this matter may be settled!”
A thought flashed through Wang Chong’s mind as he recalled a poem.
This world differed from the Great Tang that Wang Chong knew of in many ways. For example, Li Bai and Du Fu didn’t exist.
(Very famous poets)
There were still many well-acclaimed poem verses and famous poets in this world, but their standards were far below the level Wang Chong knew of.
At the very least, the poem verses that Wang Chong knew of was more than sufficient for him to stand above all of the poets in this world.
“Alright, I will choose that poem! I will know whether it’ll work or not once I give it a try!”
There was nothing such as a guaranteed affair in this world. However, Wang Chong thought that there was an extremely high possibility that this poem could change Consort Taizhen’s impression of King Song and alleviate their relationship.
Returning to the residence, he immediately lifted his brush and wrote the 《Song of Purity and Peace》 neatly down.
Wang Chong was able to come up with many wise strategies, but it had to be said that his words were truly subpar. Despite his effort, his words were squiggly and barely acceptable. On this aspect, Wang Chong did resemble his identity as a son of a general.
However, even though his words were subpar, there was nothing to criticize about the verses and content of the poem.
“This is about it!”
Looking at the content he had written on the xuan paper, Wang Chong heaved a huge sigh of relief. Just writing these few words were sufficient for him to break out in sweat. Using a brush and swinging a sword were truly two different notions.
Peng!
Looking at his own creation, Wang Chong nodded. Then, he grabbed the seal by the side and stamped the ‘Li Chenqi Seal’ grandly on it.
This was King Song’s seal.
Wang Chong had asked Lu Ting for it before leaving King Song Residence, and King Song had generously passed it over to him.
Blowing on it, Wang Chong waited for the ink to dry before placing it in a large envelope. Then, after writing a few words on the envelope, he stamped King Song’s seal on it once more.
“Meng Long!”
“Your servant is here!”
By the door, Meng Long answered before entering the room respectfully.
“Deliver this envelope to the royal palace and have them hand it over to Consort Taizhen. As for this seal, return it to Lord Lu.”
Wang Chong gestured to the envelope and seal on the table.
The Sage Emperor had built the Yuzhen Palace specially for Consort Taizhen to live in. It would be impossible for an ordinary person to send a letter over but Wang Chong knew that. given King Song’s identity, the seal on the envelope should be sufficient to ensure that it would be delivered safely into Consort Taizhen’s hands.
“This envelope will determine whether she will help King Song or not!”
Wang Chong thought.
After handing the envelope and seal over, Wang Chong exhaled deeply. Now that he was done with King Song’s matter, Wang Chong turned his attention back to his cultivation.
He had cultivated Might of the Barbaric God 1-dan to ‘Origin Energy Might Sixth Layer’, which corresponded to his cultivation realm. If Wang Chong wished to advance the technique any further, he would have to reach Origin Energy Tier 7 first.
In other words, it was impossible for him to train the Might of the Barbaric God any further at the moment.
However, the good thing was that the successful cultivation of the Might of the Barbaric God induced Origin Energy to flow into Wang Chong’s body constantly, thus significantly increasing his rate of cultivation.
“If I wish to reach higher realms, I can’t stay here!”
Wang Chong thought as he looked out of the window. Beyond the capital, he could vaguely see a few mountains.
The density of Origin Energy was much greater in the mountain forests than in a city. If Wang Chong wanted to bring his cultivation to higher realms and bring out the full strength of tMight of the Barbaric God, he had to leave the capital and enter the mountain forests.
“… However, I can’t be too anxious about this matter. I’ll have to make preparations first.”
Wang Chong lightly tapped his right forefinger on the table. Subconsciously, he remembered that Eastern Islands assassin.
Spectre Steps accompanied with outstanding assassination techniques made that female assassin a difficult enemy to fend off. If not for Wang Chong holding her back with ploys, he would have died back then.
Given the tight security in the capital at the moment, it was natural that the lady wouldn’t dare to assault him. However, if he were to leave the capital and enter the complicated terrains of the mountain forests, it would be an entirely different matter.
That terrain was highly advantageous to an assassin.
Shen Hai, Meng Long, Arloja, and Ablonodan might not necessarily be able to protect him, and they themselves might even die under her
assault.
If so, Wang Chong’s heart would ache.
“Only by sharpening one’s axe can one effectively cut down trees. To solve this matter, I’ll have to look for a powerful bodyguard!”
Grabbing his forehead, Wang Chong felt a pang of headache.
His mother and little sister were living in the Wang Family Residence so he couldn’t bring the guards in the residence along with him. Thus, he could only try to find some way to hire some powerful experts outside.
Rummaging through his memories, Wang Chong tried to recall if there were any reliable experts around.
“Got it!”
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Wang Chong’s mind and he recalled something. The most convenient way to find an expert bodyguard in the shortest time possible would be through hiring mercenaries.
Wang Chong knew of a mercenary who possessed incredible martial arts. However, he had an eccentric temper and his pricing was ridiculous. On top of that, he had an unkempt appearance and tattered clothes. Thus, no one bothered with him.
Only a few years later, due to a coincidence, did everyone find out that he was actually such a formidable expert.
But by then, he was already recruited by a king of the imperial family as a personal bodyguard.
However, at this timing, he had probably just appeared in the capital. Given his eccentric temper and ridiculous pricing, no one other than Wang Chong would notice him.
“Hahaha… This will be it!”
Wang Chong made up his mind.
Li Bai and Du Fu are two greatest poets in the Tang Dynasty.
They are even dubbed as Saint Poets () for the beautiful and elegant poems they have come up with. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that almost all Mandarin speakers over the world would have heard at least a poem or two from them.
Song of Purity and Peace English Translation
It is a song created by Li Bai, and surprisingly, it is used to describe Consort Taizhen’s beauty. The title is , and honestly, I really have no idea how the title should be interpreted, so I’ll just use the translation of others.
Chapter 123: Home of the Adventurers!
The Great Tang was a nation of martial arts. At the very least, it wasn’t that ordinary human civilization that Wang Chong lived in before transcending over to this world.
It was precisely because it was a nation that promoted martial arts that there were many martial artists for hire. These martial artists came in different prices, strengths, and employment forms. Some of them preferred to take on singular missions while some of them wanted to be paid by duration. On top of those, there were also some who imposed all kinds of bizarre conditions on their employment.
These mercenaries came from differing backgrounds, and they had many different reasons for becoming a mercenary. Some of them simply wanted to earn money while others had impure aims.
It wasn’t completely unheard of for mercenaries to kill their employer to steal his fortune.
The responsibility was on the employers to investigate the background of a mercenary carefully before deciding whether to hire him or not.
“This is it!”
At the southwest of the capital, near the city walls, Wang Chong lifted his head and saw an ordinary, short, and small teahouse.
There were only four words on the plaque of the teahouse.
“Home of the Adventurers!”
The paint of the plaque was slightly peeling off, and there seemed to be several years of history to it.
“Young master, is this the location?”
“This place looks so rundown!”
Shen Hai and Meng Long frowned in bewilderment. Even though it was a teahouse, there were very few people walking in and out. Furthermore, the location was extremely remote.
Such teahouses usually had very few customers and suffered huge losses.
“Don’t worry, we’re at the right location.”
Wang Chong smiled confidently.
If this was just an ordinary teahouse, it would surely suffer huge losses. But it wasn’t. There wasn’t a single mercenary gathering point in Great Tang that was in a bustling location. Rather, the more remote the location was, the better it was.
And the ‘Home of the Adventurers’ was one of the many gathering points in the capital.
Beckoning Shen Hai and Meng Long along, Wang Chong walked into the teahouse. Even though it looked dirty and old from the outside, the interior was actually quite clean.
Wang Chong realized that there wasn’t a speck of dust to be seen on the neatly painted wooden steps just as he was walking in. Entering the teahouse, he noticed that the floor inside was also quite clean. Even though it wasn’t extravagant, it wasn’t as shabby as how it looked from the outside either. At the very least, it was passable as an average teahouse.
There were quite a few tables in the teahouse, and many martial artists, dressed all kinds of different clothes and carrying varying dispositions, were sitting, lying, resting, or drinking by these tables.
Upon walking in, Wang Chong realized that there was quite a handful of people here to employ mercenaries. Most of them were dressed like rich merchants so Wang Chong’s appearance didn’t cause much of a stir.
“Manager, whose hiring price is the highest here?”
Without wasting any time, Wang Chong walked straight up to the counter and asked the plump manager.
“There, do you see that person dressed in blue silk? His fees are charged on a per mission basis and he demands at least three hundred gold taels from every mission. The pugilist world gave him the nickname Bloodied Sword in awe of his ferocious swordsmanship! He is a True Martial Realm 1-dan expert, and at his level, he is more than sufficient to serve as a guard in the kings’ residences!”
Behind the counter, the manager glanced at Wang Chong and pointed to the neatly-dressed, cold-faced middle-aged man.
Shen Hai and Meng Long immediately grew agitated. If they could obtain the help of a True Martial Realm expert, the security of the Wang Family Residence would surely be beefed up significantly.
However, Wang Chong wasn’t satisfied.
“Three hundred gold taels? Is there any higher priced mercenary?”
Wang Chong frowned.
The price of three hundred gold taels was representative of the middle-aged man’s incredible strength, but what Wang Chong was looking for wasn’t a person of his level.
According to his impression, that person wasn’t someone who would settle for just three hundred gold taels.
“Higher priced?”
The chubby manager sneered coldly as he measured Wang Chong.
“I see, you all are just feigning ignorance to cause me trouble. Fine! The person you are looking for is at the corner of the second floor! Don’t worry, you won’t mistake him for anyone else.”
After which, the manager placed his hands in his sleeves, turned his head over, and ignored Wang Chong.
Smiling, Wang Chong thanked him before walking up the wooden stairs.
Upon reaching the second floor, Wang Chong finally understood why the manager said that he wouldn’t mistake him for anyone else. In the vast area of the second floor, there was a clear boundary. On one side were the other mercenaries and on the other was a gray-robed martial artist.
This gray-robed martial artist seemed to be around thirty-four and he had a shaggy beard. The gray robe he wore was slightly tattered, making him look very different from the decently dressed martial artists in the room.
Even so, his hiring price wasn’t low at all.
Before him, there was a half chi long board, and a few eye-catching numbers were written on it.
(33.3cm)
5000!
Upon seeing this price, Wang Chong finally understood why no one was willing to sit with him. His hiring price was really so high that no one was willing to befriend him.
His price was more than ten times higher than that of the others, and even wealthy merchants would think twice be
fore employing him.
“He’s the one!”
Upon seeing the wooden board, Wang Chong smiled. This person had just appeared in the teahouse not too long ago so his price was still at five thousand gold taels.
Wang Chong knew that after a period of time, it wouldn’t be just at five thousand gold taels.
“Shen Hai, bring me the finest wine here over.”
Wang Chong said.
“Yes, young master.”
Shen Hai answered and quickly walked away. On the other hand, Wang Chong began walking over to the gray-robed martial artist.
“Do you see the board on the table? If you aren’t sincere in employing me, don’t disturb me. If you wish to eat or drink, head to the tables over there. I don’t welcome you here.”
The gray-robed martial artist spoke with an extremely deep tone. There seemed to be a distant edge to his voice, as though he was a lone wolf who didn’t fit in with the crowd. As he uttered those sharp words, he didn’t even spare a single glance toward Wang Chong. Rather, he poured himself a cup of the several copper coins worth inferior wine before him and gulped it down.
“I am here to look for you.”
Wang Chong smiled. He lifted his head and glanced sideway. Understanding Wang Chong’s gesture, Shen Hai hurried forward and slammed a Green Pine Wine, which was worth several gold taels, on the table.
Shen Hai opened the mud seal and a fragrance reminiscent of pine trees diffused from the wine. It was a light refreshing scent which revitalized one’s spirit, making one feel as though one had teleported from a bustling city into the tranquil mountains.
“This is my gift to you. Due to this shabby location, this is the best alcohol we can get you at the moment!”
Wang Chong smiled.
He said these words with utmost sincerity.
Wang Chong would never be stingy to those who possessed true capability. Even though the Hyderabad contract was only worth ninety thousand gold taels, Wang Chong still gave Ablonodan and Arloja a sum far exceeding a hundred thousand. The Shadow slot for the secret alchemist organization cost a hefty two hundred thousand gold taels, but Wang Chong still paid the fee without much hesitation.
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