In the ninth year after Ji Mingchen ascended to the throne, the dense fog surrounding the Qingyun Realm suddenly dispersed, revealing several new islands.
The entire nation was in an uproar. Officials submitted numerous petitions requesting to dispatch troops to occupy these islands before others could make a move.
Ji Mingchen indeed wanted to lead the expedition himself, but Hai Qing had just become pregnant, and he couldn’t bear to leave her at this time. So he could only select talents from within the court and the country.
After much consideration, he felt that no one was as capable as himself, so he was unable to appoint a commander.
Master Qin grew anxious and said to him, “If you truly want to find someone matching your abilities, you can only invite the Emperor Emeritus.”
Ji Mingchen heard this and pouted, “Father Emperor sent a letter a year ago saying he had found a way to build houses in New Grass City and was happily engaged in construction. He wouldn’t be willing to come back.”
Despite saying this, he still dispatched a secret agent to seek out the two immortal lovers who were lost in their world.
Although the secret agent was highly skilled, he had never seen Emperor Emeritus before. He had only heard rumors that this person was ruthless, decisive in killing, and had once single-handedly faced a hundred enemies on the battlefield, having killed more people than the meals he had eaten.
So, carrying the token, he kept his eyes peeled for fierce-looking individuals along the way. As he searched, he inwardly grumbled about accepting such a task. Finding the Emperor Emeritus was one thing, but what if His former Majesty became displeased and killed him too?
New Grass City was lush with vegetation, and the houses were built in all sorts of strange ways. Some hung from trees, some were in tree hollows, and some were built on flat ground—the last type often being overturned by newly emerging plants from underground.
The secret agent searched tirelessly among all the fierce-looking people he could see in the city, enduring several beatings, but still couldn’t find an Emperor Emeritus who could recognize the token.
Just as he was about to give up, someone nearby suddenly called out to him: “Hey, young man, lend a hand.”
The secret agent turned to look and was startled. A small wooden cabin had been lifted into mid-air by a newly grown giant plant. A middle-aged man with a kindly face was holding a rope, attempting to tie the house to the plant’s branches.
He quickly took the rope and helped secure it.
“Uncle, the house has already been lifted. It’s very dangerous. Why don’t you find another place to live?” he suggested kindly.
But the man waved his hand and said firmly, “Once it’s tied down, it’ll be fine to live in.”
He wore ordinary linen clothes, but his features held a certain grace, looking like a recluse.
The secret agent couldn’t help but look at him a few more times, sighing inwardly. Truly, even a small coin can defeat a hero. Who would want to live in such a dangerous house if not for extreme poverty?
After thinking for a moment, he took out a small gold nugget: “I’ll be staying in this city for some time anyway. Why don’t I give you this, and you can buy a larger, better house, and let me stay there for a few days?”
The man looked at the fingernail-sized gold nugget in his hand and fell silent.
The secret agent thought he didn’t recognize it and hurriedly explained, “This is gold, worth much more than shell money. This amount is enough to buy a small house.”
Seeing he still didn’t react, the secret agent generously placed the gold nugget in his hand, “Don’t worry, I’m giving it to you for free. I’m not trying to trick you and don’t want anything in return. Just let me stay for a few days while I look for someone.”
As he spoke, fearing the man wouldn’t believe him, he pulled him down from the plant stem to look at a nearby treehouse.
“When I was young, my family was poor too. My parents lived in shacks. Sadly, by the time I made something of myself, one had died from illness and the other from depression. I never got the chance to buy them a big house,” the secret agent said regretfully. “You look about my father’s age, so let me do this filial act.”
He was right; one gold nugget could indeed buy a spacious treehouse in New Grass City.
However, the uncle stood in front of the treehouse, seemingly reluctant to enter.
“You’ve never lived in such a nice house before, right?” The secret agent wore a knowing expression as he helped him inside. “There are three rooms in here. In the future, when you find a wife, you can leave one room for your children and use another as a guest room.”
The recluse finally spoke upon hearing this: “I have a partner. She’s not old.”
The secret agent was taken aback, then smiled and said, “Then I’ve been disrespectful. Where is your wife? Shall I go and fetch her?”
“We planted some green onions behind our house, and someone pulled them up. She went to argue with them and will be back soon.”
But they had already moved to a new place. Would his wife be able to find them? The secret agent was puzzled.
However, not long after, a woman indeed came by carrying a bundle of green onions. As she walked, she complained, “What’s the use of compensating me with a bunch of onions? Was it onions that I wanted?”
Before the secret agent could stand up, he saw the previously taciturn recluse suddenly dart out at a speed his eyes could barely follow, taking the onions from the woman’s hands. Then he smiled and said, “My lady wanted justice.”
“Exactly! Yet they said their child didn’t know any better, trying to fool me.”
“Who? Who said that?” The recluse put his hands on his hips, glaring. “You’re still a child to me too. If everyone’s a child, why should we yield to their child? Come on, let’s go argue some more.”
“Hey, hey, hey.” The woman quickly pulled him back, caught between laughter and tears. “I was just venting a bit. We’ll still be neighbors in the future. If you end up getting killed, who would dare to live next to us?”
Thinking about it, the recluse put down the onions.
The woman turned her head and finally noticed the stranger in the house who was staring at them in shock.
“And who might this be?” She raised an eyebrow.
The recluse quickly explained, “This is a kind-hearted person. He saw our house being lifted by a tree and took out a gold nugget to buy us a treehouse to live in.”
That’s absurd. Who would buy a house for strangers out of the blue?
The woman eyed the recluse suspiciously.
The recluse raised both hands, “I didn’t beat him or threaten him. He thought we were too poor and insisted on buying us a house.”
“…”
The secret agent listened, feeling more and more confused, but also sensing something wasn’t quite right. “You two… aren’t poor?”
“Not really,” the recluse waved his hand, taking out a large gold ingot and returning it to him. “We appreciate your kindness, but take this gold back. Otherwise, my wife might accuse me of bullying innocent people.”
The palm-sized gold ingot nearly broke his wrist as it landed in his hand.
The secret agent was dumbfounded. He looked at the recluse, then at the woman, then at the gold in his hand.
The woman also examined him, and after a moment suddenly asked, “You’re from the Imperial City?”
The secret agent was startled. In his line of work, having one’s identity exposed was the worst thing that could happen. He was wearing only a black robe with nothing else distinctive. How did she recognize him?
“The accent does sound like it’s from the Imperial City,” the recluse added.
With a sinking feeling, the secret agent had a bad premonition.
“Do you… recognize this?” He took out the token given by the Emperor.
The ordinary-looking couple in front of him suddenly rolled their eyes in unison: “What trouble has that little Mingchen gotten into now?”
“Only he would have the nerve to use his own baby swaddling cloth as a token.”
“You should write to him someday and teach him that tokens should be made of better materials. Jade pendants or gold medals would do. Does he think the royal family has no face to keep?”
“Yes, my lady.”
Listening to their back-and-forth, the secret agent turned to stone on the spot.