The Great Wei Music Bureau

Chapter 472 Whose Child Is This? (Page 12)

Last time, we talked about Li Yi going to Baidi City to pick up Yuehua and return to Northern Wei. What is he going to do in Northern Wei? And will he be able to return to Northern Wei smoothly? Let's find out together.

To avoid attracting attention, Li Yi chose a route northward that passed through Bazhong, crossed Shennongjia, reached Wudang Mountain, and thus entered Wei territory. This route couldn't be taken on official roads, and with Yuehua in tow, they couldn't travel very fast. Yuehua was quite happy when they first left Baidi City, but after traveling a distance, she became noticeably more downcast.

Before entering Shennongjia, some preparations were necessary, so Li Yi led Yuehua to the nearest town to buy necessities, and also to help her clear her mind. After shopping, walking down the street, Yuehua saw a brother and sister, and she finally couldn't hold back any longer, asking the question that had been weighing on her mind.

"Brother, both my sisters-in-law Qu Xia and Jing Xin are pregnant. Are we just going to leave like this? You didn't even go to see them! Aren't you being too heartless?"

"Is that why you're so down? To be honest, I'm afraid that if I go to see them, I won't want to leave. I also want to see my own children born and be there for them as they grow up, but I don't have that much time left."

"What do you mean?"

Li Yi looked up at the sky and said helplessly, "I have a lot to do in order to reunite us as soon as possible, so I really can't stay here any longer."

"To reunite as soon as possible?"

"Yes, not only the three sisters-in-law from Chu, but also the one in heaven."

"Sister-in-law Shiyu? Brother can go to the Moon Palace and bring Sister-in-law Shiyu back?"

"Not now, but after I finish those things, it will be possible."

"What does my brother need? Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"Sure! As long as you're happy and cheerful, that's helping me." Li Yi suddenly looked up at the southern sky and then urged, "Let's hurry up, the two most troublesome people are coming after us."

"Who?"

"We need to hurry and try to get into Shennongjia before they arrive here."

Li Yi pulled Yuehua to the city gate, whistled to summon Mobai, and then sped off towards Shennongjia. Because of the high speed and the lingering chill of early spring, Yuehua was starting to feel the strain. Li Yi glanced south, then leaped off Mobai's back.

"Take my sister and go first. Wait for me in the deep osmanthus forest." After saying that, he put on a mask, transformed the measuring ruler into a long sword, and guarded the mountain pass.

Mo Bai barked and carried Yuehua into Shennongjia. But she hadn't been gone long when two figures pierced the air, about to chase her into the valley, when suddenly two golden Buddha hands appeared before them, forcing them to fall back to the ground. It turned out to be Xiang Ying and Xiang Ying, the brother and sister.

Xiang Ying pointed her wooden sword at Li Yi and asked, "Who are you, daring to obstruct us?"

"Shennongjia is just ahead. If you two don't have important business to attend to, it's best not to go in."

"I advise you not to meddle in other people's business, or I might get very angry!"

Xiang Ying was about to force her way in when Xiang Ying reached out and stopped her.

"Brother, what are you doing?"

"Haven't you noticed something's wrong yet?"

"What's wrong?"

“This guy is right in front of us, but we can’t sense his presence. Judging from the move that stopped us just now, he is at least a third-grade Buddhist cultivator.”

Xiang Ying looked at Li Yi and then realized the problem.

"If we were to fight him, our martial arts skills and the armed police would probably be useless."

Li Yi laughed and said, "Gentlemen, please don't rush into a fight. We have no enmity with each other, so why must we resort to violence? May I ask why you two insist on entering Shennongjia?"

"My sister-in-law left without saying goodbye. She must have been deceived by someone. That person must be you! She is my husband's most beloved sister. I will never allow anything to happen to her!"

"Since she's the most beloved, why didn't your husband come to rescue her himself?"

Li Yi's words provoked Xiang Ying, and she immediately thrust her sword straight at him, passing right through his body, but she felt as if she hadn't hit anything.

"In battle, you can't just use your eyes to see; you have to use your heart to feel your opponent."

Just as Xiang Ying passed through Li Yi's body, he grabbed her by the collar and threw her towards Xiang Ying. The latter caught her sister and looked at Li Yi with a surprised expression.

"Brother, did you understand what just happened?"

"I didn't understand at all, but I can try this trick again!"

Xiang Ying used his Phoenix Halberd to unleash a fiery phoenix that flew towards Li Yi, but the latter simply waved his hand and extinguished the phoenix.

"I don't want to hurt you two, please leave."

"Who are you?"

Li Yi removed his mask and solemnly introduced himself: "Li Yi, Li Xiuyuan, Director of the Music Bureau of the Great Wei Dynasty."

"You're Li Yi? My husband's senior brother, and Yuehua's other brother?"

The curse cast by the Old Man Under the Moon used fate to solidify Wei Le's identity. Even Jing Xin, who knew that Wei Le was Li Yi, had her memories altered by the curse and only remembered that her husband was Li Yi's fellow disciple.

This spell is like the Mandela Effect, causing some people's memories to become disordered. Just like Xiang Ying now, she is face to face with Li Yi, but she cannot recognize her husband in front of her.

Xiang Ying asked, "So you knew my husband was dead, right? You came here specifically to pick up Yuehua, right?"

"Yes."

"Then why didn't you come sooner? Why didn't you help my husband fight the Gu God?"

"Everything is preordained by Heaven. I hope you will take care of yourselves. Also, Yuehua came back to Wei with me voluntarily, so you two can go back without worry."

"Why, why, why? Why won't you help my husband! Since you are evenly matched, if you could join forces to deal with the Gu God, he wouldn't die!" Xiang Ying gripped her wooden sword tightly, pointing it at Li Yi angrily, "Although I don't know the true nature of your relationship, don't you even care about the bond between fellow disciples?"

Suddenly, a powerful aura erupted from Xiang Ying's body. As she swung her wooden sword, the aura transformed into life force, causing many small trees to sprout from the ground around her. The branches were covered with dark red flower buds, and within the buds, flames seemed to flicker. Seeing this, Xiang Ying also brandished his double halberds and assumed a fighting stance.

"You two already know my identity, so why did you still attack me?"

Xiang Ying replied, "Since you are Wei Le's senior brother and a leading figure of the new generation in Northern Wei, then we siblings should definitely meet you. That way, we can be prepared if we encounter you on the battlefield in the future. Ying-mei!"

Xiang Ying clenched her left fist and flames appeared. All the flower buds on the small trees bloomed at the same time, and the pistil of each flower was like a candle! As she swung her palm out, she shouted: "Fire Spirit Wood, Flower Flame Palm".

All the fiery flowers instantly flew towards Li Yi, who then used one hand to create a golden bell shield around himself. The moment the fiery flowers touched the golden barrier, they triggered a series of explosions, as if an extra-large whip was tied to Li Yi's body. Xiang Ying had once used this move to kill a rhinoceros demon general.

Before the continuous explosions over there had ended, Xiang Ying unleashed his ultimate move, Phoenix Fall and Phoenix Chase. After entering the Transcendent Realm, he elevated this move to another level. If before it was a carpet bombing with flames, now it was a high-precision pinpoint attack with cluster bombs.

Xiang Ying's Flower Flame Palm had already cracked Li Yi's Golden Bell Shield, and Xiang Ying's attack immediately continued with firepower, directly shattering the Golden Bell Shield, while the Phoenix Meteor Pursuit's killing move was still to come.

The moment the golden bell shattered, Xiang Ying had already wielded the Phoenix Halberd and arrived in front of Li Yi. First, the Phoenix Halberd swept horizontally, which Li Yi caught with his left hand. Then, the Phoenix Halberd thrust straight at Li Yi, who then grasped the tip of the halberd with his right hand.

Instead of being alarmed by the intercepted attack, Xiang Ying laughed, because Xiang Ying had already swung her sword at Li Yi. The latter used his left hand to pull up his phoenix halberd to block, just in time to catch Xiang Ying's wooden sword. But with a clang, both phoenix halberds broke apart. Before the two could react, Li Yi threw out his fists and knocked them back.

"Brother Ying!"

"I'm fine, but the Phoenix Halberd..."

"Li Yi, how dare you destroy my Xiang family's divine weapon! I'll fight you to the death!"

As soon as Xiang Ying finished speaking, she was about to rush forward, but before she could move, Li Yi's measuring ruler had already transformed into a spear and was pointed at her!

"This is...my husband's weapon! How did it end up in your hands?" Xiang Ying stood there dumbfounded!

Li Yi shook his head helplessly and sighed, "Since the Phoenix Halberd is already damaged, there is no point in continuing the fight. You two should go back."

"You still haven't answered me why the measuring rod is in your hands!"

A powerful aura erupted from Xiang Ying's body once more, but before she could activate it, Li Yi suddenly appeared before her, placing his hand on her Qi Hai acupoint, causing her aura to dissipate instantly. Li Yi then lightly pressed Xiang Ying's Shen Ting acupoint, reaching out to embrace her waist, and the latter instantly fainted. Xiang Ying was about to step forward when the Spirit Feather Arrow was already hovering between his brows.

"You've been toying with us siblings from the very beginning, haven't you?"

"Since you know I am Wei Le's senior brother, you should know that my strength is equal to his. Don't you recognize his methods?"

"The Measuring Ruler and the Spirit Feather Arrow are his weapons..."

"Take her back and tell your family head about the battle. I'm sure that when facing the army of our Great Wei in the future, the Xiang family will be able to make the right choice."

"You intend to attack my Great Chu?"

"Are you Western Chu allowed to launch northern expeditions, but my Great Wei is not allowed to advance south?"

"You're trying to take advantage of our vulnerability!"

"You launched your northern expedition while my Great Wei was still conquest of the Western Regions and its foothold was not yet secure. Isn't that taking advantage of someone's misfortune? But don't worry, my Great Wei Emperor is a righteous gentleman and will not resort to underhanded methods like your King of Chu."

After Li Yi finished speaking, he tossed Xiang Ying to Xiang Ying, who caught her sister. When she looked up again, Li Yi had already disappeared...

Seven days later, Li Yi brought Yuehua to the outskirts of Luoyang, the new capital of Northern Wei. After wandering for so long, returning to their homeland naturally filled them with countless emotions. Although Yuehua didn't like the towering city walls, she was still full of excitement when she saw them again.

"We're finally back! Brother, aren't we going in?"

Li Yi pointed to the flags on the city wall and asked, "Am I seeing things? The city wall is covered with white flags?"

"Oh right, I didn't even notice until you pointed it out, brother. Why are all the flags hanging on the city walls white?"

This level of protocol could only mean one thing: a national mourning! You see, in Li Yi's original world, Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei, Tuoba Hong, only lived to 32. He was genuinely afraid that Tuoba Jun wouldn't live much longer either, and urgently said, "Mo Bai, enter the city!"

Mo Bai asked telepathically, "Aren't you afraid I'll scare them?"

"The people of Baidi City can adapt, so there's nothing we can't do here either. Let's get going."

"Why doesn't brother use his words to make law and take us directly back to the manor?"

Li Yi said helplessly, "Because I can no longer use Confucian, Taoist, or magical arts."

"why?"

"Let's talk about it when we get home and see your sisters-in-law."

Outside the gates of Luoyang, the Imperial Guards stopped Li Yi and his men. With a big dog like Mo Bai around, it would be strange if they weren't stopped.

Li Yi bowed and said, "I am Li Yi, the Director of the Music Bureau. I have been on a mission to the Western Regions for two years and have just returned. It is normal that you do not recognize me, but your commander, Wang Zhong, does. Please ask him to come out and meet me. However, I am more interested in knowing for whom this national mourning is being held?"

The captain sent a soldier to deliver the message, and the soldier returned the greeting, saying, "The Empress Dowager passed away half a month ago, and this is a time of national mourning..."

Li Yi only heard that the Empress Dowager had passed away, which relieved him somewhat; he didn't hear the rest, nor could he make out what was said. Just as Yuehua was complaining about how the Imperial Guards didn't even recognize her own brother, Wang Chong arrived on horseback.

"Brother Li, it really is you!"