The Happy Farmer Wanderer-Chapter 696 The Powerless Mediation_1

When Li Qing opened his eyes again, he found himself in a place resembling a Library Pavilion.

Surrounded by Curio Shelves, the shelves were filled with all sorts of books.

Dozens of oil lamps illuminated the entire room as if it were daytime. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Jing Yan, dressed in a white Liuxian Skirt, sat at the edge of the bed, holding a cup of hot tea, gazing into the distance.

"Those waterfalls of white mist and the blooming companion flowers, though annoying, flow and blossom there, allowing me to forget that I am now underground," Jing Yan’s voice rang out faintly.

Li Qing withdrew his gaze that had been surveying the surroundings and glanced outside the window lattice.

The room faced the cliff he had visited before, but the dense Bronze Coffins were gone, leaving only the clustered flowers on the entire cliff face visible.

Jing Yan shifted her gaze from the distance and took down the teapot from the little clay stove, pouring a cup of tea for Li Qing.

"If you don’t mind, try this tea that has aged for a thousand years," she offered.

Li Qing took a light sip and praised, "It’s very soothing for the throat and has a rich smoothness; I just don’t know enough about tea to discern much more than that."

"Given a choice between thousand-year-old tea and women, which do you prefer?" Jing Yan asked with a faint smile on her lips.

"Naturally, women!" Li Qing answered without hesitation.

Although he did not understand tea, he understood women.

Jing Yan suddenly laughed, "Then perhaps drink a little more, savor it slowly. This tea was once worth a hundred gold pieces, used exclusively by the palace and extremely rare. The few tea trees that produce it are guarded by soldiers all year round, and there are more troops than the guards at Qi King’s Palace."

"Not knowing tea, no matter how much I drink, it would still taste the same," Li Qing said with a shake of his head and a wry smile.

He was well aware of his own lack of taste.

The reason he drank tea was simply because he did not like to drink plain water.

"That’s an interesting way to put it; actually, I don’t really understand tea either," Jing Yan said, her face breaking into a gentle laugh, "Why did you suddenly come back? Can’t bear to leave me?"

Li Qing found this question somewhat difficult to answer, fearing that an affirmative reply would cause this woman to keep him here.

That would indeed be a miserable fate for him.

While the beauty before him was enticing, he still preferred the colorful world outside.

So the best tactic, of course, was to avoid the topic.

"I’ve conveyed your message to those outside, but they still don’t want to give up. They might send even stronger Cultivators later on. I want to ask if you could refrain from killing. These matters typically go through negotiations, and if you defeat the Cultivators who enter the Underground Palace again, this issue should come to an end," Li Qing said.

"But if I can’t beat them, and they want to kill me?" Jing Yan asked indifferently.

Li Qing choked on her words and took a sip of his tea before replying, "Let’s just pretend I said nothing, senior. I only came to inform you of this news. Indeed, I was being selfish. In this matter, it seems I can only play the role of a messenger."

"Since I can’t guarantee that others won’t kill you, I really can’t ask that you not kill anyone else."

"I quite like your attitude. Let this matter rest as it is. Now let’s talk about us, shall we? Since you are here, why not linger a while longer to enjoy the aftertaste before leaving?" Jing Yan looked at Li Qing lightly and softly, her voice gentle and melodious.

Li Qing looked slightly stunned, not fully understanding what Jing Yan meant.

"I once promised you to play the guqin and flute for you, but your mischief distracted me, and I forgot," Jing Yan said softly, "Now I should make it up to you, to fulfill my previous promise."

As her words fell, her figure had already appeared in Li Qing’s embrace.

Li Qing hadn’t seen her make any move, yet suddenly he had an armful of warm and fragrant softness.

Jing Yan was quite forward in offering her lips, seemingly fond of the sensation.

...

An hour later, with some reluctance, Li Qing was sent out of the Underground Palace by Jing Yan.

The flavors of the aged tea hadn’t yielded any more secrets to Li Qing.

Yet, from this woman, he had discerned an alluring aftertaste.

However, aside from urging her not to fight to the death with the cultivators who would come after, and to protect herself, Li Qing was unable to change anything else.

He had no control over the situation, nor could he influence Jing Yan’s choices.

If it were up to Li Qing, the best option would have been to leave this place with Jing Yan.

But she had no such intention for the time being, and Li Qing couldn’t force her.

Having returned to the surface, and rendezvousing with Hong Fang Zhenren and his two disciples outside the Underground Palace, Li Qing said with a wry smile, "I guess that’s all I can do. The rest is left to fate."

"Let’s go, this isn’t something we can influence with our strength," Hong Fang Zhenren said.

Although Li Qing felt regret, he could only nod in agreement.

The four had arrived at North Fifty Stores Village with little fanfare, and just as quietly, they left.

Actually, Li Qing could think of some things.

An Underground Palace filled with danger could perhaps be given up without second thought.

But an Underground Palace with a living person suddenly became much more valuable.

Jing Yan was a living person from a thousand years ago, and even if she were extremely powerful, to some people, she still held great value.

But Li Qing also had no choice but to say this, only sufficient power and danger could make them stop their excavation.

And this was also Jing Yan’s wish.

What would happen next, well, that would depend on the next encounter.

If those powerhouses still couldn’t handle the Underground Palace, then this matter might come to an end, and Jing Yan would be safe.

When Li Qing returned to the county at dusk,

he didn’t stay long but parted ways with Hong Fang Zhenren and his disciples, hailing a taxi to head straight back to his village.

Although it had been a brief separation, it gave him a profound feeling as if he had stepped into another world.

The taxi stopped at the entrance of the village, Li Qing paid the fare, and then walked down the hardened road.

From the national highway to the convenience store, the stretch had changed drastically thanks to Wu Xingxing’s ceaseless efforts.

Railings had been added along the path, adorned with a variety of decorations—all the handiwork of Wu Xingxing.

This girl, meticulous and fond of handicrafts, always managed to spot beauty inadvertently, and just as effortlessly made any place more beautiful.

Outside the convenience store, several tables of customers were already seated, sipping tea and chatting leisurely.

The tables and chairs had been replaced with solid wood ones, and together with the wooden partitions, they created a great ambiance, reminiscent of an outdoor tea room.

Li Qing entered the convenience store, and the familiar villagers inside immediately greeted him with warmth.

Though the topics of Li Qing were still common in their casual conversations, the nature of those talks had completely changed.

Now, whenever they mentioned Li Qing, it was with admiration.

Li Qing had become the epitome of what they aspired to be.