Chapter 166: 166. Li Pei Visits
At this moment, on the nearly 30-meter-long gunboat, there were more than 20 people, including Westerners, people from Tianzhu, and a few of yellow race.
At this moment, they were sprawled over the railing, pointing and laughing at Lu Yao with amusement.
A Shun Country man with two revolvers at his waist and a mouth full of yellow teeth shouted at Lu Yao, "We are from Menes, here to support the Imperial Court, and we've come to borrow some grain from your home~"
A Westerner chimed in with a strange accent, "Can we also borrow some wine and women~"
"Hahahaha...." This sparked a series of arrogant laughters.
Though they were laughing merrily, the cannons on the ship had already turned to aim at Lu Yao.
They were two 70 mm quick-firing guns and one 4-inch cannon. The gunner operating the large cannon had bright eyes; one could tell at a glance that he was at the Spirit Refining Stage.
Lu Yao saw the various grains and a mixed assortment of goods piled up on the ship and knew that these were extorted along the river.
The man with the yellow teeth continued to shout, "This is a knight of Menes. If you know what's good for you, offer up ten taels of silver quickly! Otherwise, we'll level your house!"
Lu Yao did not answer his question, but instead pointed at a proud-looking Western captain and asked, "Where did you get the sachet on your waist?"
The captain had a bald head and a nose flushed with rosacea, his appearance somewhat unfortunate. The sachet, a token of affection traditionally given to a man by a woman he admires, looked out of place on such an unattractive Westerner.
Unexpectedly, he could speak the summer language and said with a smile that was not quite a smile, "It was given to me by a lady."
Lu Yao frowned, "Is she on the boat?"The captain shrugged, "She's not here anymore, maybe she got washed ashore by now."
Seeing that Lu Yao was still in the mood for conversation, the man with the yellow teeth grew furious and ordered, "Stop dawdling! Gunner, fire at his house!"
But unexpectedly, the gunner suddenly rushed forward and yelled, "Sir, my deepest apologies for the disturbance, we shall leave immediately." Continue your journey with empire
His face was pale, sweat pouring out like starch, his clothes soaked through.
The others on the ship looked at him in shock; this was their greatest support—the gunner who had achieved Spirit Refinement Firmness. What was happening to him!?
Lu Yao said with a smile, "Is your danger premonition ability kicking in?"
The moment he said this, everyone instantly realized—Spirit Refining experts have a very mysterious sense of perception!
The captain was just about to order the cannons to fire; the man with the yellow teeth forced a smile, seemingly trying to smooth things over; the gunner leapt up, intending to jump into the river.
But a barrage of bright red bullets had already engulfed the entire ship.
From afar, Liao Qe was manning the Fire God Cannon and firing. When cannonballs left the barrel of the Fire God Cannon at high temperatures, they produced attractive bright red traces in the air.
These bright red trails formed a huge wave that scattered the entire gunboat in an instant, and whether it was the people on it or anything else, they all burst apart in the face of the 20MM cannonballs, turning into pieces of debris.
In less than half a minute, the gunboat disappeared, leaving only some flotsam on the water's surface as proof it had ever been there.
The barrel of the Fire God Cannon slowly ceased rotation, and Liao Qe couldn't help but shout out, "Thrilling! I've been wanting to try it out for a long time!"
Liao Ya had been practicing inside the house and came out too late to enjoy the destruction, holding the Fire God Cannon with a hint of regret.
Lu Yao said, "The presence of these people has made the security very poor, so I'm going to lay some landmines around."
Last time, when he dealt with Zhang Xin, he took many Broadsword Mines and sensor mines that he had no place to use; now was the time to employ them.
All were to be set up in places where no decent person would go, assuring a blast for any unauthorized intruders.
~~~~~~~~
After setting up the landmine properly, Liao Ya came over and said to Lu Yao, "Sister Li Pei called, saying she would come later to have a break. She also wants you to help her use 'Art of the Dragon Slayer Manual' once, and in return, she will do the same for you."
Lu Yao readily agreed, "Sure, I've been worrying about who would help me take down the dragon."
Liao Ya spoke with slight embarrassment, "I've always had you exerting the effort... I'm about to reach firmness, then I will be able to help you."
"No rush, just take it steady."
~~~~~~~~
In the evening, Li Pei drove herself over.
She was still dressed in a feminine version of a small suit.
In a poised manner, she shook hands with Lu Yao and smiled, "It's rare to have a Spirit Refining Expert emerge, so I'm shamelessly here to enjoy the benefit~"
"Commandery Princess is too modest, after all, the 'Art of the Dragon Slayer Manual' was given by you."
A few of them strolled in the garden, and Li Pei seemed in a good mood.
"Recently, Einheit and Jiade have been engaging in an arms race, both mobilizing for war—it looks like they're really going to start fighting."
"That's good news!"
"Mm, and both nations are courting the Imperial Court. Jiade even sold us two more ironclad warships, which Li Zhongtang named 'Zhenyuan' and 'Jiyuan'."
With a smile on her face and the mole under her eye adding charm, Li Pei looked delightful.
~~~~~~
At this time, the group brought up the topic of the influx of Westerners.
Li Pei shared what she knew:
"The Western master of the Mahayana Church leader—Luo Xiaoquan, originally named Roberts, is a missionary from a sect of the Western Religion of Menes—the Baptism Church."
"This man taught Hong Renkun Western languages and the doctrines of the Pantheism Church and even personally presided over his baptism."
"In a telegram he sent back to his home country, he claimed that Hong Renkun had been to the 'Divine Nation.' But according to the doctrines of Western Religion, one can only ascend to the Divine Nation and become one with God after death."
"No one should have believed such a statement, yet Hong Renkun managed to advance from a commoner to reaching the stage of Spirit Refining in only five years!"
"The Westerners are certain he's received Divine Grace, while the martial world speculates he had a stroke of luck."
"So when word got out that Hong Renkun had encountered trouble, these people swarmed to seize the opportunity... even some Great Grandmasters went!"
Liao Ya expressed her surprise, "Great Grandmasters went too?"
A look of resentment appeared on Li Pei's face, "Some Great Grandmasters are disobedient and reluctant to follow the Imperial Court's orders to eradicate the Mahayana Church.
But the moment they heard Hong Renkun was in trouble, they couldn't wait to rush forward to compete for his secret, which I find disgusting!"
Seeing that the atmosphere had become somewhat tense, Lu Yao smiled and said, "Commandery Princess, let's start."
~~~~~~~~~
After some modest back-and-forth, Li Pei insisted on starting with Lu Yao first.
Under the watchful care of Liao Ya, Li Pei's ten fingers filled with Inner Breath began to manipulate.
Although her Spirit Refining Stage was only Firmness, her Martial Dao Realm Inner Breath for Blood-Exchange was robust, and the 'Art of the Dragon Slayer Manual' was proving to be quite effective at the moment.
Lu Yao experienced for the first time the sensation of his muscles, bones, and Aperture Points vibrating simultaneously, feeling cozy and delightfully comfortable as if his soul were soaring beyond the heavens.
Li Pei's face lit up with satisfaction, for her purpose in coming here was to gradually showcase herself before bringing up the matter of marriage.
The marriage of a martial artist is different from that of ordinary people. Lu Yao and Liao Qe were martial siblings, and their union was considered "fellow disciple's affection," equivalent to being "husband and wife."
However, aside from "martial sister," Lu Yao was free to find another "wife"!
"Martial sister" and "wife" are like "principal wife" and "secondary wife," with no distinction of seniority or importance.
~~~~~~~~
Then it was Lu Yao's turn. The Commandery Princess, straightforward as ever, raised her clothes and lay down, then unfastened her inner garment's straps.
In truth, massaging only the spine wouldn't expose any sensitive areas, but the snowy white skin and graceful curves in view were no less striking than those of the two sisters.
Although Lu Yao's Inner Breath was slightly inferior, his powerful Spirit Refining State immediately caused Li Pei's muscles, internal organs, and Aperture Points to all tremble in unison.
Fortunately, the Commandery Princess was worldly and prepared for this.
She used the powerful bodily control of the Blood-Exchange Mirror to mute her voice, preventing any embarrassing sounds from escaping.