Deep in the Yun Yue Plateau in southwest Zhongzhou State, amid vast stretches of primeval forest, was a campsite destined to be unmapped.

The campsite as a whole was built inside the primeval forest. Apart from the trees that sheltered people from the wind and rain, there were only a few undulating mountains around the campsite.

There was the borderline between the Zhongzhou State and Annan State less than two kilometres away from the front door of the campsite. It was somewhere extremely remote that few people ever trod and even birds would not s.h.i.t there.

The campsite was small-scale and covered a small area. There were only about a dozen thatched huts for people to live in and a small but clean open-air training ground.

A nearly 10-meter-high watchtower and a flagpole on which the Star Flag of the Zhongzhou State floating above stood desolately in the middle of the training ground. This was the highest point in the campsite. But in such an environment, the view from the watchtower was merely a little better than from the ground. However, it was better than nothing.

The sun went down.

The setting sun shed its last ray on the training ground of the campsite, which was totally dim.

There was a gust of wind at dusk.

Violent currents tore the Star Flag on the flagpole, making the flag flutter. The wind blew clouds away. All this made the whole campsite look like a bleak and vivid picture.

A group of soldiers in military uniforms saluted silently under the Star Flag, looking solemn and respectful.

Of the 40 or 50 soldiers, the chief was a middle-aged man, about 50 years old. His appearance and figure looked common, but a pair of very sparkling and even sharp eyes burnished his image to a large extent. He wore the military uniform. Although he did not wear the military rank, he appeared particularly commanding as he looked around.

The middle-aged man looked up at the Star Flag fluttering overhead for a long time before he put down his hand.

“Senior Li, go back with me.”

The middle-aged man put down his arm and looked at the old man with the same military uniform beside him. He said so sincerely as if he was begging the old man, “After years of hard work and valuable service at the border, everyone has noticed that it is time for you to go back and enjoy your life. The tough environment here is not good for your health.”

The old man in military uniform had grey hair, but his hair was neatly combed and even his body was perfectly straight. Unlike the middle-aged man beside him, he wore a military rank which was not low. He was a Lieutenant Colonel, but compared with his age, his rank was less likely to be presentable.

Upon hearing the middle-aged man’s words, the old man narrowed his somewhat cloudy eyes, shook his head with a smile and said with a cracked voice, “Soldiers should die on the battlefield. How can I go back to enjoy the easy and carefree life and wait for death? Dongsheng, I appreciate your kindness, but I won’t go back. Old as I am, I can still carry a gun and do something for my country for a few more years. After staying here for so long, I will not get used to the easy life even if I go back.”

The middle-aged man named Dongsheng had a look of bitterness. He opened his mouth and said worriedly, “Senior Li, Your body… It’s really not a good place for you to stay here anymore.”

“I know my body.”

The old Lieutenant Colonel sounded indifferent and looked determined. “Although I can’t live too long, I can still carry a gun for years. Dongsheng, I have made up my mind. If it’s just for the sake of my body, then there is no need for you to persuade me any more.”

He paused for a while and suddenly laughed at himself, “Of course, if you’re here today for Li Kuangtu, the little brute who had betrayed our country in those days, and want me, Li Honghe, to plead guilty, I’ll go with you now. That brute betrayed our country and, as his father, I’m guilty. It is the father’s fault to only feed his son without teaching him well. I have nothing to say about this.”

“Senior Li!”

Ye Dongsheng’s expression changed. He looked displeased and raised his tone of voice, saying angrily, “What are you talking about, senior? You are the hero of Zhongzhou State. Who dares to say that you are guilty? If anyone else dares to do so, I will be the first one to shoot him! For hundreds of years, the military law of Zhongzhou State has never indicated that one’s crime will implicate others! He is a traitor, but it’s none of your business. It’s not the same thing. If we don’t trust you, how can we keep you at the border for 20 years?”

The old man had no expression on his face. He just looked up at the Star Flag overhead with sad eyes.

Ye Dongsheng sighed slightly. He swallowed his pride and lowered his voice again, saying, “Senior Li, the case of treason about Kuangtu has been adjudicated and that was an irresistible trend. There are a lot of details which are still confusing. From my personal standpoint, I do not believe Kuangtu would commit treason. Although 20 years have pa.s.sed since then, chances are that we might reverse the conviction if we investigate it carefully. Senior Li, we need you, our anchor, to return to Youzhou and to cheer us up.”

Li Honghe seemed to have been disheartened. He shook his head and replied in an indifferent tone, “Forget about it. After all these years, what’s the point of reversing the verdict? Dongsheng, if you are not here to denounce me, then go back. This place is very suitable for me. I’m an old man on the verge of death. I surely will suffer a lot in a colorful world like Youzhou. Don’t say that any more.”

Ye Dongsheng opened his mouth. He wished to speak but stopped on second thought. What could he say since things had gone to this point?

“Senior Li, I’ll provide you with time to think about it and come back to visit you in a year. If you have any requirement, please don’t hesitate to say. I’ll do my best to help you.”

Ye Dongsheng silenced himself for a while before he opened his mouth with a bitter smile.

Li Honghe just shook his head, showing that he had no demands.

Ye Dongsheng sighed deeply. He did not stay here any longer but directly strode to a helicopter that was stopped in front of the watchtower.

The rotor of the helicopter whistled and dust swirled in the air.

When approaching the helicopter, Ye Dongsheng suddenly turned around and shouted out loud, “Senior Li, would you like to come back to Youzhou with me if we could prove Kuangtu to be guiltless and wash off your shame?”

Dust rose beneath the rotor and made Li Honghe’s expression a little vague. Li Honghe narrowed his eyes and said in a not high but clear voice, “Dongsheng, I’m waiting for the good news.”

Ye Dongsheng nodded and directly walked into the cabin.

The helicopter took off and flew higher and higher. Ye Dongsheng sat in a seat in the cabin and looked down at the smaller and smaller training ground, to be precise, the old man who turned around and went up to the watchtower as he whispered to himself, “What are you holding on to?”

At the same time.

On the top floor of the watchtower, a young man with his back to Li Honghe asked the same question as Li Honghe entered.

“What are you holding on to?”

“You don’t understand.”

Li Honghe looked at the young man standing at the window and answered kindly.

This was a thin young man in his twenties who could easily leave others a favorable impression at first sight. His good-looking face appeared to be a little pale due to perennial malnutrition. He was very gentle and his eyes were pretty clear. No one could see any sharpness, aloofness, and arrogance from all over his body. He stood peacefully at the window of the upper s.p.a.ce of the watchtower, looking at the helicopter flying farther and farther away, with an undisguised desire and longing in his clear eyes.

Gentle as jade, quiet and calm.

Nothing could be more apt to describe him than these words did.

“Why don’t you just leave?”

Hearing the old man’s answer, the young man finally turned around and added calmly, “Grandpa, this should be the fourth time someone has asked you to leave here, right? Why don’t we leave when we can?”

“We can’t.”

Li Honghe nodded his head and said in a deep voice.

“You are waiting for the highest bid?”

The young man asked as he raised his eyebrows slightly.

“This is an involuntary choice.”

Li Honghe smiled bitterly and continued, “Tianlan, you do not understand. Only when you leave here and go into the outside world will you understand something.”

“Outside world.”

Li Tianlan said these words quietly in his mind and then mocked himself, “Outside world?”

He had almost heard these two words since childhood for countless times, but in fact, his world was nowhere except for the campsite in front of him. He did go out once more than a year ago, but that was a more isolated environment.

Outside world?

What was that?

He observed his surroundings silently. The top floor of the watchtower resembled a room which windows were equipped in all four directions for surveillance. The room was made of wood and it managed to shelter them from wind and rain by an outer layer of tarpaulin.

The interior of the room was poorly decorated. There was only one big bookshelf full of books that could make others gaze at it with awe. On either side of the bookshelf, there were two plank beds for people to take rest. There were two desks on which writing brushes and Chinese art paper were placed not far away from the bookshelf. That was where the grandpa and grandchild practiced calligraphy in daily life.

This was the world that Li Tianlan grew up in. He did not hate the current environment, but after going out once, he was more and more eager to go outside again and enjoy the scenery outside.

However, his grandpa had kept him in check all these years. Every time he asked to go outside, his grandpa would tell him that the right time was yet to come. He didn’t know when would the right time come. Recently, however, he had become more and more impatient.

He took a deep breath, picked up a piece of white cloth, and wet it in water. Then, he walked to a plaque on the desk and wiped it silently.

This plaque was arguably the most valuable thing in the entire campsite. It was a nearly two-meter-long and one-meter-wide plaque made from red sandalwood. It was a rarity even if it was presented in the top circle of Zhongzhou State. The two words on the plaque were written so naturally and smoothly that they looked like floating clouds and flowing water. They fully demonstrated the demeanour of great master.

Li family!

Li Tianlan looked at these two words silently and suddenly asked, “Does the man who just came here said he could reverse the verdict for my father?”

“It’s for my son, not your father. He won’t do it for your father.”

Standing in front of the bookshelf and looking at the books on it, Li Honghe replied carelessly.

“Is there any difference?”

Li Tianlan raised his eyebrows again. He was gentle and frail-looking, but the action of him raising eyebrows made him become fresh and alive and look sharp and fierce.

“Of course.”

Li Honghe said calmly, “They don’t know that I have a grandchild. If they know your existence… Hehe…”

Li Tianlan’s expression was slightly stiff and he did not speak.

Li Honghe burst into laughter and kept saying, “I trained Ye Dongsheng personally in those days, so I know him well. He said he was worried about my health, and I guess he is telling the truth. It is estimated that he will send two private doctors to me within three days after his departure. He is kindhearted.”

“So?”

Li Tianlan’s heart instinctively beat more quickly. He didn’t know what it meant, but he was very clear that if private doctors did come here, this campsite would be visited by outsiders for the first time over the years.

“So it’s time for you to go outside. It’s the right time.”

Li Honghe smiled at his grandson with gentle eyes, from which his heartfelt satisfaction and delight were revealed.

Li Tianlan’s body shook obviously. He quickly looked back at Li Honghe.

Li Honghe pulled a book from the bookshelf and opened it. He took out an invitation and a card.

He then came to Li Tianlan and handed him the invitation and card, saying in a calm tone of voice, “You shall leave today.”

Li Tianlan received the two items with hands shaking violently. The invitation his grandpa handed him almost attracted all his attention instantly.

The whole invitation was jet-black except for the silver Star Flag and the four small silver characters beneath the flag that were engraved on its cover.

Sky Academy.

There were two academies in Zhongzhou State that were rarely known by people but were extremely famous in certain circles.

One was called Deep-sea Academy, which was located in Youzhou.

And the other was called Sky Academy, which was located in Huating.

They were the top two Special Warfare Academies in Zhongzhou State.

They were the gathering places for young elites in Zhongzhou State.

The best Special Warfare Members, the picked spies, and the most promising Martial Artists gathered together and competed with each other.

The two Special Warfare Academies did not have a long history. However, they had cultivated quite a lot good generals in just a few decades. And this was no doubt a glory.

Over the course of several decades, the two Special Warfare Academies had produced hundreds of generals, numerous agents, as well as several special warfare magnates.

Under the premise of serving the country, the outstanding graduates of each session from both the Sky Academy and the Deep-sea Academy had a considerable autonomous right. They could independently choose to enter various Special Warfare Departments in Zhongzhou State and would receive key training.

For anyone with strength, ambition, but no backer, the admission letter from either the Deep-sea Academy or the Sky Academy was like a road to heaven!

And the jet-black invitation in Li Tianlan’s hand was precisely the admission letter from the Sky Academy.

Li Tianlan had a tidal surge of emotions. He was excited not only by the admission letter but also by his father who had graduated from the Sky Academy and finished his study with the highest marks.

Had he betrayed Zhongzhou State?

He had to find out the truth this time!

Li Honghe seemed to have figured out what was going on in Li Tianlan’s mind. He said calmly, “Don’t do whatever you shouldn’t do. Don’t be in a hurry to investigate your father’s case this time out. It’s useless. Your ident.i.ty must be kept secret. Once others know that you are my grandson, you will only die faster. Of course, you need to reverse the verdict for your father, but you are not qualified to do that right now. At the very least, your achievements should not be inferior to your father’s. Only in this way can you be qualified to conduct an investigation.”

Li Tianlan nodded his head in silence.

“Do you know why am I still here today?”

Li Honghe suddenly asked. He chuckled and said before his grandson could reply to him, “That’s because I’m strong enough.”

“Do you think it’s a good thing to stay here, grandpa?”

Li Tianlan held the admission letter and could not help asking this question.

Li Honghe took a deep look at him and said calmly, “No, I don’t think so. But there’s something worse that you do not necessarily want to hear.”

He shook his head and pointed at the card in Li Tianlan’s hand, saying, “When you arrive at Huating, call this phone number and there will be someone to pick you up and arrange the admission for you.

Li Tianlan nodded and suddenly asked, “How about you, grandpa? You’re not going to leave with me?”

“I’ll be expecting you to pick me up.”

Li Honghe smiled and took a step forward to arrange the clothes for his grandson. He added calmly, “Tianlan, there are things that are not as simple as you see. You will know that after you get outside. I’m waiting for you to get stronger. I will leave this place when you are able to reverse the conviction for your father and wash off the Li family’s shame.”

After taking one step back, he looked at Li Tianlan with a smile and continued, “I can afford to wait a few years.”

Li Tianlan clenched the admission letter in his hand with a determined look.

For the entire Zhongzhou State, his grandfather was a well-deserved meritorious soldier. Thus, he was very clear that his grandpa’s past achievements enabled him to leave this forest with the admission letter from the Sky Academy to vie for the opportunity to reverse the verdict for his father and wash off the Li family’s shame. However, the crime his father had committed blocked all the possibility of his retreat.

He could only advance but could never retreat on this trip.

He would come to a dead end if he retreated!

“I’m going now.”

Li Tianlan put away the admission letter and said straightforwardly.

Li Honghe nodded slightly and suddenly said in a soft voice, “In fact, you still have someone to a.s.sist you. By the way, that man is quite powerful.”

“I myself arranged an engagement for you the year you were born. You don’t have to know who your fiancee is. This marriage is still up in the air and it depends on your performance. That old guy is relatively realistic. If you act like a good-for-nothing, he definitely won’t marry you his granddaughter; but if you behave well, he will send someone to you. At that time, whether this marriage is valid will be up to you.”

Li Tianlan nodded silently. He took one step back, knelt down, and kowtowed to the old man three times.

Li Honghe stood where he was without giving any response.

Li Tianlan stood up silently and went straight down the watchtower.

Outside the window, the sun had already set and darkness enveloped the entire forest.

On a windy but moonless night, Li Tianlan pa.s.sed through the forest expressionlessly and went further and further.

The old man had been standing by the window and looking at Li Tianlan’s back until he completely disappeared from his sight. He slowly turned around and came to his desk. Then, he picked up his writing brush and ground the ink stick, planning to practice calligraphy.

Neither the grandfather nor the grandson was good at calligraphy, but practicing calligraphy could cultivate their moral character. Therefore, they had persevered in practicing calligraphy over the years.

However, Li Honghe failed to write any word after a long while this time. He did not sigh and put down his writing brush until the ink had soaked through the Chinese art paper. He then walked toward Li Tianlan’s desk.

The ink marks on Li Tianlan’s writing on the desk were already dry. The combination of black and white was especially dazzling.

Li Honghe stared at the Chinese art paper and his pupils suddenly contracted.

Unlike the small characters that Li Tianlan usually wrote, there was only one big character on the thin Chinese art paper. This character looked lively and vigorous and from which ruthlessness was revealed incisively and vividly.

Kill!

Li Honghe suddenly looked back.

The figure of Li Tianlan had long disappeared, leaving only the endless dark night that diffused the forest like the harsh winter.

In Zhongzhou State, as a city that was the second only to the capital Youzhou in importance, every corner of Huating was full of busy scenes during a whole day.

This was especially true at the station.

With the steady rise of the status of Zhongzhou State in the world, Huating’s development seemed to have reached the climax. More and more people began to seek opportunities in this bustling and prosperous city. The station was filled with people hurrying to and fro. Crowds of people could be seen in every corner of the station.

So many people!

This was Li Tianlan’s first impression of Huating.

With a paper bag in his hand, he wore clothes of coa.r.s.e cloth and followed the crowd out of the station, feeling like a fish out of water from head to toe.

Too many people hurried to and fro. And that was his only feeling.

This city seemed to radiate an invisible pressure at any moment and everyone around him was walking in a hurry. This super-fast pace was like a terrible infectious disease which could easily infect everyone. Thus, everybody did things faster and faster, as if they wanted to exhaust themselves.

Li Tianlan’s mind settled as still water. Since he was new to the city, it would not be so fast for him to be a.s.similated by the pace of this city. He walked out of the station and took a sip of the mineral water that cost him one yuan. Then he stood still and waited for someone else to pick him up calmly.

While he was on his way an hour earlier, he pulled out the card from the paper bag and dialed the number on it.

He was a country b.u.mpkin who newly went out of the primeval forest. The mobile phone he used to dial the number was borrowed from a friendly-looking old woman. The phone was answered by a woman who called herself Flaming Fire with a voice that seemed young and chilly. It was a very strange name which was opposite to the cold tone of her voice. The two agreed to meet at the exit of the station in one hour. Li Tianlan guessed that the woman should have arrived here by now.

He suddenly chuckled.

Flaming Fire.

To him, this name meant something.

A young girl who happened to walk past him heard his laughter. She took a few steps away from him subconsciously and slightly frowned at him with an undisguised dislike in her eyes.

Li Tianlan was not ugly, but he was by no means handsome. At this moment, dressed in coa.r.s.e clothes, he was carrying a bottle of mineral water and grasping a paper bag with apparently no money in it. All this made him look like an uncultivated b.u.mpkin. n.o.body would have a good mood if such a person giggled at them for no reason.

The plain-looking young girl stared at Li Tianlan before she turned around to leave.

Li Tianlan took a sip of water and laughed it off.

For this city, he was a real b.u.mpkin because he had spent most of his life in the primeval forest. However, he didn’t feel ashamed. Having a grandfather whose life was filled with ups and downs made the 19 years of his life rough and full. Deep inside his heart, Li Tianlan never felt inferior to his peers for he had possessed an arguably perfect starting point now. He firmly believed that he could possess whatever others had sooner or later if he was given enough time.

And it would not take long.

A brand new black Audi pulled slowly into the station and finally arrived at the exit. It stopped in front of Li Tianlan.

When the door on the side of the driver’s seat was opened, a beautiful woman with a cold face got out of the car and walked straight toward Li Tianlan. She said expressionlessly, “Are you Mr Li? I’m Flaming Fire.”

“My name is Li Tianlan.”

Li Tianlan smiled and observed the woman in front of him carefully.

This pretty woman was in her thirties and was less than 1.7 meters tall. She wore no make-up and gave others a feeling of cleanness and agility. The only pity was that her expression was so cold that it chilled the heart of anyone who looked at her. If her expression could be a little more relaxed, it would absolutely not be difficult for her to attract the attention of males when walking in the street.

The nearby pedestrians also began to look this way, intentionally or unintentionally. Although Flaming Fire’s temperament chilled them, anyway, she was a beauty. When such a beauty and a famous car suddenly appeared in front of a silly-looking b.u.mpkin, all this looked really incongruous. And that was why these pedestrians would like to pay more attention to them.

Flaming Fire turned a blind eye to the strange lines of sight around her. After confirming Li Tianlan’s ident.i.ty, she nodded and said, “The boss is here to pick you up. Get on the car.”

Just as she finished speaking, there came a small noise behind her.

Li Tianlan saw the rear door of the Audi was opened slowly and a slim and tender leg wearing one black stiletto gently knocked on the ground.

A tall young figure alighted from the rear seat of the Audi and looked at Li Tianlan.

Li Tianlan only saw a pair of eyes as bright as the stars at this moment.

Flaming Fire turned around and looked at her boss who suddenly got out of the car with a surprised look on her face.

The young woman who voluntarily got off the car took two steps forward gently. Her stilettos stepped on the ground and the clear voice her shoes made knocked all men’s hearts.

Li Tianlan looked at the young woman with a dull look in his eyes.

The woman, however, returned him a complicated look.

“I’m Weibai.”

After a short silence, she reached out her hand and said, “Qin Weibai.”

Flaming Fire looked more and more surprised. Throughout Huating, those who acquainted her mysterious boss were aware that her boss never shook hands with any male. Why would this b.u.mpkin be treated so well? Did the sun rise in the west?

“Ah? Oh, I’m Li Tianlan.”

Li Tianlan suddenly came to his senses and grasped Qin Weibai’s hand. It was small and tender, just as the rare warm jade.

Li Tianlan was utterly confused and his face flushed with shyness.

In the 19 years of his life, he was most proud of his state of mind. Even judged by the exacting demands of his grandfather Li Honghe, it still deserved the remarks of “flawless and as calm as still water”. But such a kind of state of mind was disturbed and surged with huge waves at this point.

Li Tianlan took a deep breath and finally fixed his eyes on Qin Weibai’s face again.

The woman in front of him was the most perfect one he had ever seen in his life.

Slender and tall, she was at least 1.75 meters tall in her stockinged feet. Her height was enough to put most men to shame after she wore a pair of high-heeled shoes. Her exceedingly beautiful face was of sharp and delicate lines. The most striking parts of her body were her bright eyes. Calm and deep, they were able to make all men be willing to sink into them.

She stood quietly in front of Li Tianlan and allowed him to hold her small hand with a deadpan face.

She looked like the snow on the horizon.

And she also resembled the moon in the clouds.

She was ethereal as if she was a fairy who would ride the wind away the next second.

She remained aloof from the world and was indeed an unsurpa.s.sed beauty of her own generation.

Li Tianlan grasped her hand a little tighter subconsciously.

The look in Flaming Fire’s eyes suddenly turned cold as she noticed this detail. She was emitting a murderous aura.

Li Tianlan was so perceptive that he was already aware of his gaffe before Flaming Fire spoke. He let go of Qin Weibai’s hand and said, “Sorry, Boss Qin.”

“It doesn’t matter. You can directly call me Weibai in the future if you would like to.”

Qin Weibai calmly withdrew her hand and said softly.

“Boss Qin, your name is not so good. You are not ‘whitish'(English meaning of the name ‘Weibai’), you are rosy and graceful.”

Li Tianlan forced himself to calm down and opened his mouth with a smile.

Flaming Fire turned her head away and resisted her urge to shout at this rude man. She was already extremely dissatisfied with the b.u.mpkin who dared to take liberties with her boss.

Qin Weibai was in a trance. At this moment, even Li Tianlan could clearly feel that this perfect woman’s mind seemed to have drifted somewhere else. But she soon came to her senses and chuckled, “Let’s get in the car first.”

Li Tianlan nodded his head. He got into the back row of the Audi with Qin Weibai in the envious eyes of the pedestrians around him.

Flaming Fire’s face grew colder. She fired the engine and drove the car out of the station. The car soon drove down one of Huating’s wide and tidy streets.

Qin Weibai picked up a heavy and thick notebook with a blue cover that looked old from her side as soon as she sat on the rear seat. She opened it gently and browsed it. Each piece of the already somewhat yellowing paper inside the notebook was dotted with handwriting. Qin Weibai closed the notebook and asked gently, “How about we go get something to eat?”

“Fine.”

Li Tianlan directly nodded. He had only a few hundred yuan with him when he left Li’s Village. When he had finished buying his ticket, he was left with only 3.5 yuan in his pocket. However, a portion of boxed lunch on the train would cost him f.u.c.king 50 yuan. He was really hungry now after having nothing for such a long time.

“We shall go to Yu’s Restaurant to eat private home cuisine and I’ll prepare some articles of daily use for you. I will take you to the Sky Academy to arrange your admission for you tomorrow. Tianlan, you can call me for anything in Huating and I’ll try to solve it. My mobile phone will be available to you for 24 hours, and you can call me at any time.”

Stroking the notebook in her hand and looking at Li Tianlan beside her, Qin Weibai said all this in a very earnest tone.

Li Tianlan’s heart beat faster again as he smelled the faint fragrance came from the beauty beside him and looked at her dreamlike face. He forced himself to look away and nodded, saying, “I understand. Thank you, Mr Qin.”

Qin Weibai frowned. Apparently, she was not satisfied with the address “Boss Qin”, but she did not say much.

Li Tianlan fell into silence as well. He looked at the Huating’s scenery outside the car window abstractedly.

He saw row upon row of tall buildings, cars moving to and fro, well-dressed pedestrians walking in the street, and the elderly holding the hands of children, laughing.

And the balmy sunshine that he rarely felt at the border.

Scenes of flourishing age continuously moved back as the car advanced forward.

Li Tianlan was absent-minded. His pale face looked perplexed and sad.

He again thought of his father who he had never seen.

His father was one of the top Special Warfare Members in Zhongzhou State 20 years ago. But at the climax of his career, he died in the most humiliating way on the border between Zhongzhou State and Annan State.

The charge was treason.

And the evidence of the charge was irrefutable.

If the most influential case of treason in recent years had not happened, his life would probably have been different since childhood.

He might have lived a good life as or even lived a better life than the people outside the car window.

He didn’t find the tall buildings and the cars outside the window very inviting. But for the first time, the country b.u.mpkin who had lived in a lush forest all year round felt that the place with sunshine and happy laughter was somewhere people should live.

The scenes of prosperity in front of his eyes were beautiful scenes he had never dreamed of.

Li Tianlan suddenly thought of the campsite at the border, the old soldiers who had banished themselves to the border with his grandfather for years after his father had committed treason, and Ye Dongsheng’s words.

Ye Dongsheng said he could try his best to clear his father’s name and reverse the verdict for him.

“If my father was really innocent, then who should be responsible for the treason case in those years?”

“Who killed my father?”

“Who are they? What on earth did they want to do? What did they do all this for?”

Li Tianlan didn’t know who they were, but he was certain that if they did exist, they absolutely had the strength to stand on the top of this city, or even on the top of the entire Zhongzhou State.

The scene outside the window grew more prosperous.

Li Tianlan pursed his lips tightly. He was under pressure, but he was filled with an endless fighting will.

“What are you thinking about?”

Qin Weibai, who had been fixing her eyes on Li Tianlan next to her, suddenly asked.

“They shouldn’t be living in that kind of place, really.”

Li Tianlan muttered to himself as his eyes were fixed on everything outside the window.

A smile crept over Qin Weibai’s cold and delicate face. She seemed to have understood what Li Tianlan meant but seemed not at the same time. “Some people say that Huating is a city of miracles that welcomes a brilliant century after every depressed millennium. Tianlan, how do you feel if I describe you with this comment?”

“Welcome a brilliant century after every depressed millennium…”

Li Tianlan looked at the scenery outside the window calmly and said with a smile, “How am I capable of doing so?”

Qin Weibai sighed gently next to him and opened the old, thick notebook in her hand subconsciously.

Hundreds of words appeared vividly on the yellowing paper and looked like someone’s diary.

To be fair, the handwriting on the paper was not beautiful. However, it carried an air of overwhelming sharpness. Each stroke of the handwriting was written with a great force and each one of the words seemed like a sharp sword.

Qin Weibai fixed her eyes on the last two sentences of the diary and was lost in thought.

“Everything under the sun is fantastic and absurd. I come from the darkness with eternal majesty.”

The so-called private home cuisine referred to the food sold by small restaurants that opened especially in residential or office buildings. Usually, such restaurants had no business licenses, waiters, and fixed menus. However, their chefs were quite skilled. The threshold of this kind of business was extremely low. As long as the cooks were good at cooking, it would not take much effort for the owner to run such a business. The only difference lied in the taste of the food.

Huating was a city with a population of tens of millions of people and you could easily find more than ten thousand restaurants that sold private home cuisine here. But few of them could be remembered by their guests. After all, the entry threshold of running such a business was low, so the quality of their food was unavoidably on various levels.

Among countless such restaurants, few were able to make their brands famous. Yu’s Restaurant was one of the few restaurants.

In Huating, Yu’s Restaurant was so famous for its private home cuisine that even the country b.u.mpkin Li Tianlan had once heard of it. Most of what he saw and heard naturally came from his grandfather, Li Honghe.

The old man who was down now had a brilliant life decades ago. He had mentioned the highest-grade Shaoxing wine and red-braised pork several times in Yu’s Restaurant at the border, especially the Shaoxing wine. Its output was limited and much of it would be given annually to the hidden big shots in Zhongzhou State. Thus, the rest of the stock was scarce and it was rarer than 50-year-old Maotai Liquor.

Li Honghe was one of the most powerful people in Zhongzhou State decades ago and he lived in the central government. Therefore, he could receive a dozen jars of the highest-grade Shaoxing wine from Yu’s Restaurant. He had once praised the wine as something that celestial beings could only enjoy. Later, he went to the border because of his son’s case. He then could only drink Er Guo Tou—a kind of wine that only cost people several yuan, once in a while, never mind the highest-grade Shaoxing wine. With a strong addiction to alcohol, he only dared to consume a bottle of Er Guo Tou every week or even every month in Li’s Village. He just took a small sip every time and praised it as the holy product. This old man was content with his lot, but Li Tianlan felt sad every time he saw this scene. Naturally, he was deeply impressed by Yu’s Restaurant that had been mentioned several times by the old man.

The black Audi went round and round in the bustling downtown area of Huating and finally stopped in front of a deep and serene alley.

“Yu’s Restaurant is right in front of us. The car can’t go in and we have to walk another hundred meters.”

Qin Weibai said gently as she held the notebook. She seemed to be in a good mood and put one of her legs on the other. Men would be aroused if they saw her slender and delicate legs. There was a gentle smile on her delicate and dreamlike face. The smile added her a touch of gracefulness.

“Good wine needs no bush. It takes courage to open a restaurant in such a place, even if it’s a restaurant that sells private home cuisine.”

Li Tianlan sighed with emotion as he looked at the scene in front of him. They had long since left the downtown of Huating. This place could not be considered as somewhere that birds would not even s.h.i.t, but no one would deny that it was desolate. There were no upscale residential buildings or large companies nearby. Apparently, ordinary people could not afford the private home cuisine at Yu’s Restaurant, which often cost tens of thousands of yuan. It was tremendously difficult to run such a restaurant in such a place and create a booming business.

“Yu’s Restaurant doesn’t make money from sales. Its private home cuisine has a history of more than one hundred years in Huating. The Family Head of the Yu family of this generation was a chef the second to none in the central government a few years ago. His status is not inferior to that of the chefs in the royal palace in the past. It is said that many leaders in Zhongzhou State have a special liking for his cooking. After leaving the government, the old man opened Yu’s Restaurant in Huating and it soon became famous. However, he only cooks three banquets a day and guests needs to make reservation three days in advance. He never makes an exception. So there is no need to have too many people here and three groups of guests a day are enough.”

Qin Weibai got out of the car with the notebook in her hand and led the way.

“He is a unique old man.”

Li Tianlan replied casually and stared at Qin Weibai’s back spontaneously.

Qin Weibai was still a landscape that would never fade even from this angle of view. Her every body parts would make people indulge in fantasy subconsciously, be it her white and tender neck, slender waist, compact booty, or fine and straight legs.

Two sentences came to Li Tianlan’s mind subconsciously.

Her every move could be written as a poem.

And each of her slightest facial expressions was worth painting.

This kind of charm was formed by nature. It was no exaggerating that her beauty could even wreck the country and bring ruin to the people.

“He’s indeed unconventional. Some time ago, a senior official of Huating accompanied a leader from the capital to dinner, but he was rejected because he did not make a reservation in advance. It didn’t even work after they showed their ident.i.ties. The two officials could only endure it without daring to say anything harsh in the end.”

Qin Weibai said while walking.

“Is he so daring?”

Li Tianlan was somewhat surprised. With a history of more than 2,000 years, the feudal autocratic culture of Zhongzhou State had made the ideology of bureaucracy go deep into every level of this society and it even had become a part of its culture. Everybody knew that this kind of bureaucrat-oriented culture was dross. But it was hard for them to change anything and they still honoured officials.

How did an old man who ran a restaurant that sold private home cuisine have the guts to turn down two senior officials?

This was by no means a matter of principle.

Li Tianlan was deep in thought. The repressed life in the primeval forest from childhood did not make him crazy; instead, it made his mind extremely active and keen. He could think of every aspect of anything, big or small, and take everything into consideration, useful or useless. When he was very young, Li Honghe taught him a most basic truth that it is always right to think more about anything at any time.

What Qin Weibai said seemed very common, but after thinking carefully, Li Tianlan felt that her words meant more than the words themselves and they seemed to carry some profound meanings that were hard to grasp or trace.

“The old man used to be a chef of the central government for many years and he acquainted many senior officials. One of the big shots especially appreciated his cooking. This relationship may not help him do something big, but it will never allow him to be bullied.”

Qin Weibai’s tone of voice became increasingly colder.

“A chef? Even if he was once a chef in the central government, he shouldn’t…”

Li Tianlan muttered to himself.

Qin Weibai smiled and said nothing. While chatting, they had already arrived at the depths of the lane where Yu’s Restaurant was located.

Yu’s Restaurant may sound freaking awesome, but it only had a low-key exterior. It was just a small courtyard with two very old wooden doors and a plaque hanging above it. The two words “Yu family” on the plaque seemed to have become blurred by years of wind and rain.

Li Tianlan suddenly stopped as he glanced at the plaque unconsciously, although he planned to enter the door originally.

His pupils suddenly contracted and he stared at the words on the plaque.

They were so similar to the words “Li family” on the red sandalwood plaque in the watchtower in the campsite at the border!

They were exactly the same, be it the verve or the pattern of the character, and it was obviously the handwriting of one person.

It was his grandpa Li Honghe who wrote the words “Li family” on the red sandalwood plaque and placed it in the watchtower.

Then the plaque with the words “Yu family” in front of him…

Li Tianlan took a look at Qin Weibai next to him.

As expected, she did harbor some ulterior intentions by bringing him here to dinner.

Qin Weibai still stood there quietly, but the look in her eyes was meaningful. She said, “Shall we go in?”

“Fine.”

Li Tianlan replied in a deep voice with a solemn and earnest expression.