The landscapes of Great Yan were truly beautiful.
No matter how many times Hongyu saw them, he still found himself astonished by their beauty and couldn’t help offering sincere praise.
A month had already passed since Hongyu and Ling set off on their journey together.
As for the unexpected kiss Ling had given him before their departure, neither had mentioned it again.
Throughout the entire month, they had maintained an unspoken agreement to pretend it had never happened.
One evening, beneath an enormous banyan tree on an unnamed hill somewhere in Great Yan…
“My head…
It’s spinning…”
Hongyu held his forehead, his eyes unfocused.
“Ling, I really can’t drink anymore…”
The sun was slowly setting.
The final rays of twilight illuminated his face, revealing how red his ears had become.
‘Dizzy…’
‘My body feels hot…’
‘My cheeks are burning…’
‘Ah, this feeling…’
‘I must be drunk.’
Hongyu gradually lost his balance.
And just before he lost consciousness, one final thought passed through his mind.
‘The idiot who agreed to a drinking contest with Ling earlier was me.’
Because he’d agreed to compete with Ling in a contest of alcohol tolerance, Hongyu had deliberately refrained from using his abilities to break down the alcohol inside his body.
On top of that, he’d been exhausting himself every day suppressing the disturbances caused by Sui’s consciousness within Ling.
All these factors, combined with his already poor alcohol tolerance, produced a rather embarrassing result.
Hongyu collapsed before Ling had even begun to feel tipsy.
Fortunately, just as Hongyu was about to introduce his face to the ground, Ling casually reached out and caught him.
She gently lowered him onto the grass.
Looking at Hongyu’s peaceful, sleeping face, Ling couldn’t help chuckling.
She opened her wine gourd and took another sip.
By now, even she was beginning to feel a little lightheaded.
‘He got drunk that quickly.’
‘The old geezer really has terrible alcohol tolerance.’
‘It’s the first time I’ve seen Yu like this.’
‘He never used to be willing to drink with me.’
‘Still…’
‘Even if he can’t hold his liquor, at least he’s a quiet drunk.’
‘Once he’s had too much, he just falls asleep.’
‘Unlike me, who apparently goes wandering off to who-knows-where whenever I get drunk.’
‘Although…’
‘Every time I wake up after drinking too much, the old geezer always seems to be there.’
‘Sometimes he’s carrying me home on his back with that helpless expression of his.’
‘Other times, thanks to his terrible sense of humor, I wake up to find him standing over me with a brush in his hand, probably having drawn something ridiculous on my face.’
Ling smiled at the memories.
‘I’m still not sure why he agreed to a drinking contest today.’
‘But getting to see this vulnerable side of Hongyu, something I’ve never witnessed before…’
‘I suppose it wasn’t such a bad outcome.’
After drinking several more mouthfuls, Ling gradually began feeling distinctly dizzy herself.
Not particularly concerned about appearances, she lay down beside Hongyu and rested her head near his shoulder.
When she tilted her head slightly, she could smell the familiar, pleasant scent surrounding him, now mixed with the fragrance of wine.
Her cheeks grew warmer.
As she lay beside him, Ling began feeling increasingly lightheaded.
‘This doesn’t feel quite like being drunk…’
‘It’s more like…’
‘Being overwhelmed by someone?’
Feeling unusually restless, Ling instinctively held on to Hongyu for comfort.
‘He smells nice…’
‘And my face feels so warm…’
‘My thoughts are becoming so muddled.’
Ling no longer felt like thinking.
Right now, Hongyu seemed like an enormous bundle of catnip.
And she was the cat that had completely lost itself to the irresistible attraction.
Through her increasingly hazy vision, Ling looked up at Hongyu.
Then she gently removed the silk bandages he always kept wrapped around his eyes.
His eyes were closed.
His eyelashes were clearly visible, and his breathing was slow and even.
He was sleeping deeply.
Without the familiar silk covering part of his face, Hongyu somehow looked even more handsome.
Ling suddenly felt rather fortunate that he kept his appearance partially concealed most of the time.
Otherwise, if that face were constantly on display throughout Great Yan’s imperial capital, the women working at the Sui Regulator might all end up hopelessly distracted.
Ling studied his peaceful expression for a moment.
Then, on a sudden impulse, she leaned closer and gave him a brief kiss.
It lasted only an instant.
She drew back almost immediately.
‘What a strange feeling…’
Her face felt warm, and she was suddenly even more aware of her own nervousness.
‘That doesn’t seem like ordinary drunkenness.’
‘And there’s no way my alcohol tolerance has gotten that bad…’
She hesitated.
‘Maybe…’
‘No.
He’s asleep.’
Ling gently settled beside him again, deciding not to disturb him further.
Dahuang City.
“This…
This can’t be right, can it?!”
Zuo Le was no longer dressed in his familiar military uniform.
Instead, he wore the simple cloth garments of an elderly farmer.
And the object in his hand was no longer a sharp sword.
It was a hoe.
He wanted to become a great general, defending the nation’s borders even at the cost of his own life.
But then came that ordinary afternoon.
He remembered looking at his packed luggage and the rumbling transport vehicle waiting outside.
And just like that, his dream of wandering the world with a sword began slipping away.
It was only then that Zuo Le realized his father had never intended for him to follow the same path of military service along the frontier.
He had questioned his father about why he was being sent away from Yumen to Baizao, the imperial capital of Great Yan.
But despite his objections, the outcome remained unchanged.
He left the place where he’d spent his childhood and traveled to the capital.
Perhaps fate had been quietly guiding him.
During his time in the capital, the Sui Regulator extended an invitation to him.
At that moment, memories of the enormous giant beast he’d witnessed in Yumen intertwined with his desire to protect the lives of ordinary people.
He accepted the elderly official’s offer.
And from that day onward, Great Yan lost a promising future local administrator and gained a passionate, idealistic Candleholder.
Zuo Le went on to complete numerous assignments for the Sui Regulator with distinction.
For someone his age, he’d already witnessed an extraordinary amount.
However, those experiences had also magnified one of his greatest shortcomings.
Much of what he’d seen was merely the prosperity visible on the surface.
He knew comparatively little about the lives of ordinary people at the bottom of society.
That was why, when he received his next assignment from the Sui Regulator—to travel to Dahuang City and follow the instructions of the local figure known as Shennong—he departed with the same mindset he’d always possessed.
He made his way to Dahuang City without delay.
And then…
“I’m here to FARM?!”
Zuo Le stared at the hoe in his hand and cried out in disbelief.
“Ah…
Hahaha…”
“Well, I can’t say I entirely understand Second Brother’s decision either…”
Shu maintained her usual smile.
“But Zuo Le, why don’t you let Hesheng and Xiaoman show you what to do?”
Of course, Shu understood exactly what her second eldest brother intended.
He wanted this proud and ambitious young Candleholder to gain a little experience of ordinary life.
To see the everyday struggles and warmth of the people he was supposed to protect.
Although Shu claimed she didn’t fully understand the arrangement, she’d already made all the necessary preparations for Zuo Le behind the scenes.
“…”
Zuo Le remained silent for a moment.
Then, with obvious reluctance, he replied.
“Yes, Shennong.”
‘Shennong…?’
Shu felt momentarily dazed.
‘So the people outside have started calling me Shennong?’
“Shennong?”
“No, child.”
Shu smiled with quiet resignation.
“I’m not worthy of being called Shennong.”
‘The real Shennong…’
‘He departed long ago, after leaving behind his most precious treasure.’