Chapter 1186: What Gift Can I Give You as We Part? My Heart Is as Pure as Ice in a Jade Pot.

He could hear Fang Li yelling behind him.

Lu Ding’s expression didn’t change in the slightest.

As for saying that he was denying all of Fang Li’s hard work and sweat, Lu Ding hadn’t known the Fang Li of the past, nor had he ever been part of Fang Li’s world, so he wouldn’t comment.

But as far as today was concerned, if Fang Li hadn’t had a good father, he definitely wouldn’t have made it back in one piece.

In this matter, he had benefited from his father’s influence.

As for Lu Ding, who didn’t have a father to rely on, he had no obligation to offer Fang Li emotional support.

Let him howl out there.

Lu Ding and Secretary Qiu returned to the envoy mission’s camp.

As soon as they went inside, Shen Lingfeng started acting like a complete novice.

He asked what a light bulb was, then what a generator was. He asked about all sorts of familiar technological things.

Shen Lingfeng had loved tinkering with research since childhood, as modern people would put it. In the language of the mystic arts, he liked making puppets.

To him, everything was fascinating.

Lu Ding opened a phone, started up a single-player game, and handed it to him.

“Go play.”

“Sure!” Shen Lingfeng replied.

Now, the way he looked at Lu Ding was beyond words.

Lu Ding had brought him novel things he’d never seen before, let him experience a different culture, and, more importantly, it was exactly the sort of thing he was interested in.

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So.

To Shen Lingfeng, Lu Ding was the key to unlocking a treasure trove of technology.

Lu Ding casually turned and walked away to talk with Secretary Qiu.

To Shen Lingfeng, that was all part of a brilliant scheme!

Outside the tent, Lu Ding and Secretary Qiu faced each other.

After the air hung still for a few seconds, Secretary Qiu spoke first. “Seems like there’s not much for us to talk about.”

They knew each other inside out. What was the point of making small talk?

Lu Ding smiled. “I’ll break new ground.”

“I’ll handle the follow-up.”

“I’ll charge ahead.”

“I’ll follow behind.”

“I’ve already taken Wushuang City and laid the groundwork. We can set up the embassy as soon as we get there.”

“I’ve got the envoy mission ready too, and the documents prepared. We’ll get straight to work once we arrive.”

“Anything else to discuss?”

“Nothing.”

“Full speed ahead?”

“Quick and decisive.”

They looked at each other and spoke in unison. “Let’s get to work!” x2.

The most momentous events were often handled in the simplest, most down-to-earth way.

The two of them turned around and went straight back.

Shen Lingfeng had only just sat down. He’d just started playing Tetris, was beginning to get the hang of it, and was thoroughly engrossed.

But then.

He was told to get up and set off.

He could only watch, longing-eyed, as Lu Ding took the phone back.

You had to handle different monkeys in different ways. You couldn’t be too nice to him!

The envoy mission set out.

At the edge of the cliff.

Lu Ding hadn’t even called out yet.

Tang Tian, who was watching them with wide eyes, appeared there himself, moving over in a flash.

He gave a slight nod and opened with a polite greeting. “Nephew Lu.”

“I’m on guard here at Demon Dragon Valley. Just call me Senior Uncle Tang.”

That one sentence spared Lu Ding the awkwardness of not recognizing him or knowing their seniority.

The older and more experienced someone was, the more tricks they had up their sleeve.

He knew just how to make people feel at ease.

Lu Ding saluted. “Your nephew Lu Ding pays his respects to Senior Uncle Tang. May you enjoy ten thousand years of life, follow the natural way, prosper in your cultivation, and forge ahead like a bamboo split by a blade!”

A peach for a plum. Since Senior Uncle Tang had stepped in to spare him embarrassment, Lu Ding was sure to repay him with kind words.

Senior Uncle Tang was delighted to hear it.

So that was another way to say it, instead of ending with a dry “Greetings, such-and-such.”

It was a little flattering.

But just look at who was saying it, and consider their relationship. Hearing it from Lu Ding, Tang Tian enjoyed every word.

Not bad, not bad. They’d just met, and Lu Ding had already made an excellent impression. At least he’d put thought into it.

Tang Tian could barely keep the corners of his mouth from rising as his seniority grew and the younger generation showered him with praise. “Nephew Lu, are you about to set off?”

“That’s why I’ll have to trouble you, Senior Uncle.”

Tang Tian raised a hand and swept it through the air. “No trouble at all.”

A golden bridge appeared, stretching through the air to connect directly to the Demon Province on the opposite side.

“After you, Nephew.”

“Senior Uncle first. Elders go first.”

Lu Ding’s words made Tang Tian feel absolutely fantastic!

He was an elder now, too.

Back in Lü Mountain, he’d always been at the bottom of the junior ranks. Now, at last, his standing had gone up!!!

He strode onto the golden bridge, his bearing transcendent and his air as ethereal as an immortal’s.

Lu Ding waved to the envoy mission behind him. “Move out!!”

The vast procession headed toward Demon Province.

The people from Great Xuan watched, green with envy!

This was a heaven-sent opportunity.

If they could enter Demon Province, their lives would be made!

Their ancestors’ graves would be blazing with joy.

Fang Li stared fixedly at them. He now understood that the outcome was settled, and nothing could change it. Since he couldn’t win Lü Mountain back, he would focus on cultivation instead. He had been a prince on the fringes to begin with.

He might have reached the summit, and the scenery might have been beautiful, but even a forced retreat halfway wasn’t without its gains.

But!!!

“Lu Ding, I’ll fight you again one day!”

.....

Up ahead.

The Great Han envoy mission proceeded into Demon Province, continuing onward.

Tang Tian even deliberately slowed his pace as he led the way, just so he could chat with Lu Ding a little longer. Part of it was that this was his first time being an elder, but more than that, he was enjoying Lu Ding’s way with words.

This was his own nephew. His flattery was different from everyone else’s!!!

But every road has an end.

Tang Tian stopped and gazed at the magnificent landscape ahead, within Demon Province. “Nephew, we’ve had a delightful conversation, but I can’t leave Demon Dragon Valley. Take one of my talismans with you. Let it serve as a token of our friendship.”

Although Lu Ding already had the longevity locks given to him by the Ancestral Master and the Ancestral Master’s Wife, that didn’t stop him from accepting Senior Uncle Tang’s talisman as a token of friendship.

He accepted it with the utmost respect and courtesy.

“After a thousand miles of escort, all partings must come. What can I give you as we part? My heart is as pure as ice in a jade pot. Forgive your nephew for having nothing to offer.”

A junior wasn’t expected to give a gift to an elder in his prime when parting.

But Lu Ding brought it up anyway.

And then he said those words.

Tang Tian instantly felt the sentiment rise to a higher plane.

That was the pure, beautiful heart of poetry.

Tang Tian savored the lines. “That’s enough, Nephew Lu. It’s a shame we didn’t meet sooner. Just hearing those words from you is more than enough.”

Whether his heart was truly as pure as ice in a jade pot didn’t matter.

What mattered was that Lu Ding had meant well, had spoken those words, and had recited that poem.

Tang Tian watched the Great Han envoy mission enter Demon Province.

It was as if the wheel of history had rolled right in.

Tang Tian remained where he was for a long time. The wind blew past him, and he felt full of vigor. Of the twelve hundred people throughout Lü Mountain, who wasn’t capable of standing on their own as the protagonist of their own story?

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He admired Lu Ding!

....

The road from Demon Dragon Valley to Wushuang City wasn’t very long. It was close to the border out of Demon Province, and not far from Lü Mountain either. That was why Lu Ding had considered establishing an embassy in Wushuang City.

At that distance,

they could simply walk there without running into the classic scenario of some fool blocking the road to rob them or the like.

That wasn’t to say there were no roadblocks.

Lu Ding just didn’t want the hassle.

He simply released his aura, and black smoke billowed around him. Who would dare now!!!!?

Which fool had the nerve to come up and test the Way of the Jinche with his head?