CH 13

He Lianyi dropped his gaze and put on a smile, not a single trace of reluctance could be found on his face; and still with refined and courteous manner, he said: "Second Imperial Brother."

Only when a person could tolerate what others could not, then they would be able to accomplish their great undertaking.

Jing Qi's grasp on Wu Xi tightened, his intention was not to let the other person say anything as he himself stepped back to the side, hastily paying his respects along with He Lianyi.

He Lianqi's gaze lingered on Jing Qi's body for a moment, then he gave a thin smile and said: "I haven't seen you for a while. Beiyuan is indeed becoming more and more handsome."

These words were even more problematic. Clearly, such a tone could only be used by a senior to address his junior, and by someone from the higher up to a person of lower ranks.

Since He Lianpei was not only Jing Qi's elder but also someone to be addressed as "Jun," it would be fine for the former to say such a thing. He Lianyi, the crown prince, was a few years older – in front of Nan Ning Wang, he could also be considered as "Jun"; due to their friendly relationship, Jing Qi could just grudgingly accept.

But in name, He Lianqi was just a prince at most, and had not yet been granted the title of "Wang"(2). If he was not the descendant of dragon, the emperor's son, in terms of their official ranks alone, he would be inferior to Jing Qi whose title of "Qin Wang"(3) was personally conferred upon by the late emperor. For He Lianqi to use such manner of speech to say things out loud, he seemed to have regarded himself way above others.

Supposedly that was someone else, they would have probably either turned against him or been so furious to the point their "qi" would stagnate. Fortunately, Jing Qi's talent for feigning ignorance was on par with He Lianyi, and he only masked it with a gentle smile: "Second Prince Your Highness has given me too much praise."

He Lianqi's sharp gaze slashed across him like a hook and eventually stopped on Wu Xi's body; his eyes were strikingly beautiful - they were long and narrow with a slightly upward slanting, carrying an indescribably distinguished and romantic charm. However, Wu Xi felt that the venom from this Second Prince's eyes was even more lethal compared to that of poisonous snakes — once a drop of blood was in sight, that could only mean death,(4) and face-to-face moments with him made people feel like there was a dark, cold layer of air rising from behind.

He Lianqi then spoke to him with a smile: "Oh, I was even wondering who this was. Isn't this Young Sorcerer? Meeting Your Honor is indeed not easy. The crown prince must be very proud today."

Wu Xi placed his hand over his chest and gave him a wintry response: "Your Highness."

He Lianqi uttered a sneer and reached his pale fingers over to straighten out his sleeve; then he pointed at the Taoist priest who was no different from a dry firewood stick standing on the side, his voice deliberately elongated, and his words dripping with sarcasm: "I have long heard about Young Sorcerer's reputation as someone with infinite power and remarkable abilities, who is also skilled at the art of sorcery from South Xinjiang. This Taoist Brother Li has been entreating me to introduce him to you once, but... it seems like the reputation of this He Lianqi here is not great enough. Several times I have had people to bring invitation cards to pay respect, yet Young Sorcerer always closed the door at them and refuse to see any visitor. Could it be that you were scorning me for climbing so high?"

That was both picking a quarrel with someone while probing them at the same time. Wu Xi was baffled for a moment — he could hear the animosity coming from He Lianqi's words. He turned his head to steal a glance at Jing Qi subconsciously, then said afterwards: "South Xinjiang's sorcery techniques and you Central Plain people's Taoist practice are not the same. I don't think there is anything..."