Mythical Three Kingdoms

“Excuse me, is this General Zhao’s residence?” A charioteer dressed in a white silk brocade robe, driving a large uncovered horse-drawn carriage, asked the steward at the gate of Zhao Yun’s house.

“Yes, it is.” The steward stepped out and replied to the charioteer.

During the festival season, Zhao Yun’s family does not close its doors because, according to past customs, every year during the festival, common folk come to present gifts for the New Year.

Though they were often small items, Zhao Yun, who had come to truly understand the state of people’s lives over these years, not only accepted them but also reciprocated with gifts of his own.

Thus, during this time of year, Zhao Yun’s front gate was wide open, with the steward and gatekeeper welcoming guests at the door.

Upon seeing the visitor bringing a large package wrapped in coarse black hemp, resembling the shape of a tree, the steward pondered for a moment and decided to personally greet the guest.

“From the Qu Clan of Marquis Cang, I am to deliver this divine artifact to Zhao Zilong’s abode on the New Year’s day; it is now delivered.” The charioteer in a white robe chuckled lightly as he handed over the silk manuscript to Zhao Yun’s steward and then transformed into light and vanished, leaving only his voice lingering in the sky.

At this moment, how could Zhao Yun’s steward not realize he had encountered a distinguished person? He immediately halted and respectfully bowed towards the direction of the vanished figure.

As the charioteer disappeared, the tree originally wrapped in the black hemp revealed its own color as the hemp fell away, with gentle pink starlight shimmering on its branches. It was a luminous tree.

Being well-versed in various ancient texts related to mystical phenomena, Zhao Yun’s steward was astounded, for if it truly were what he estimated, it was indeed not inappropriate to call it a divine artifact.

“Yangming, haven’t you decided not to concern yourself with worldly affairs anymore?” As the white-robed charioteer faded, preparing to leave, Nanhua appeared in the sky and blocked his path, addressing him by his Daoist title.

“Isn’t this Nanhua True Man?” The white-robed charioteer looked calmly at Nanhua, without referring to him as Nanhua Old Immortal.

“What is that?” Nanhua frowned repeatedly at the plant below, which was emitting a pink starlight under the dim light.

“Just as you guessed, but this item is a gift to General Zhao sent by the Qu Clan of Marquis Cang. Just have a look,” Yangming chuckled as he glanced at Nanhua, “I’m leaving first, I have no interest in your matters, so that’s that.”

The immortal who came by Qu Qi’s summons to deliver the wedding and New Year’s gift to Zhao Yun was one of his protectors, while the gift was the latest light-emitting tree researched by Qu Qi!

Of course, this was merely Qu Qi’s nomenclature, as in the eyes of many immortals, or rather, many knowledgeable individuals, this object had a specialized name.

To ensure the tree could grow in Ye City’s northern monsoon climate, Qu Qi expended considerable effort to solve the problem.

The main reason was that Qu Qi’s recent research on Heaven and Earth Essence Plant had hit a snag, combined with exploding research expenses. With Zhao Yun having a history of lending him funds, Qu Qi decided to send him a gift.

“Borrowing and repaying make future borrowing easier; if one wishes to continue borrowing, one must first return that small amount to prove one’s ability to repay,” Qu Qi thought, though he had previously neglected this matter due to other research.

Upon seeing the black cloth covering the divine artifact fall away, Zhao Yun’s steward watched as the not-too-large tree trunk began emitting a soft pink radiance, his eyes fixed in amazement. A divine artifact described in The Classic of Mountains and Seas had truly appeared before him.

Immediately, Zhao Yun’s steward commanded the escorts to guard the luminescent tree with soil while he took the silk manuscript and promptly went to inform Zhao Yun.

Such a treasure wasn’t something Zhao Yun’s steward could handle casually and had to be managed personally by Zhao Yun, as it was exceedingly valuable.

At this moment, Diao Chan and Lyu Bu were still at Zhao Yun’s house, and with Zhao Yun having a reputation for uprightness, he felt no need to keep any secrets from others. Seeing the steward rush in, with no outsiders present, he gestured for the steward to speak directly.

“Family Head, an immortal, under orders from Marquis Cang, has delivered a Ruo tree, right outside.” The steward hesitated for a moment under Zhao Yun’s gaze before speaking. Zhao Yun was taken aback at this.

After all, Zhao Yun’s background was relatively humble. While he had read many books, most focused on military strategy, he barely touched on those less mainstream.

As for the steward, he was merely an old Confucian Scholar hired a few years ago. While Zhao Yun was away, the man enjoyed reading various mystical texts, though Zhao Yun paid little mind to it.

As a result, when the steward mentioned the Ruo tree, the room fell silent. Lyu Bu was completely clueless; Lyu Qiling and Ma Yunlu were not those versed in ancient knowledge.

As for Zhao Yun, in recent years, due to his elevated status and having to handle much government work related to taxation, he often reads books to improve himself. However, he is still far from erudition, and mystical matters are not his focus, so the few normal people present have no idea what this thing is.

The steward immediately realized he had said something wrong the moment the atmosphere turned silent. As a steward, he fears this kind of awkward situation the most.

However, just as the steward prepared to find a way to smooth things over, Diao Chan smiled and joined in the conversation, “Before Xihe rises, what is the Radiance of Ruomu? Are you referring to that Ruomu, which is the Eastern Fusang and Western Ruomu?”

The steward nodded repeatedly, indicating he would no longer speak carelessly in the future, fearing that speaking out of turn might get him kicked out of the house. Finding a good place to live is not easy in this era.

Lyu Bu turned his head to look at the smiling Diao Chan. Although he had no idea what the previous two lines meant, it did not stop him from being enamored by Diao Chan’s wisdom.

Zhao Yun had a vague impression, but this was not the time to speak; he realized he needed to read more books in the future.

Lyu Qiling, however, had no reservations, rushing up to hug Diao Chan, frightening her into hugging Qiling tightly.

“Qiling, be more careful.” Diao Chan reached out one hand to support Lyu Qiling, and with the forefinger of her other hand, she tapped Qiling’s forehead, overflowing with gentleness and affection.

“Aunt, what did you just mean?” Lyu Qiling said with a cheeky smile.

“The former is Minister Quu’s question to the heavens, and the latter is a depiction from the Classic of Mountains and Seas, describing a magical plant, the Eastern Fusang and Western Ruomu, both indicating where the sun rests,” Diao Chan said with a smile. “Go and see for yourself.”

On hearing this, the steward quickly stepped forward to lead the way, followed by Lyu Bu and Zhao Yun. As they reached the doorway, they saw a glowing tree that had been originally covered by a black cloth.

The radiance was not glaring, but very gentle; if the sky hadn’t been dark, it might have been impossible to see the soft pink glow.

When Zhao Yun and others came out, several familiar passersby were already gathered around the tree. This place was considered a gathering point for the upper echelons under Liu Bei’s governance, so everyone was familiar.

“What is this thing?” Zhang Fei’s voice was still uniquely distinctive; beside him, Xiahou Juan turned her head to pat Zhang Fei, her eyes remaining fixed on the softly glowing tree, for the pursuit of beauty is innate.

“So beautiful~” Lyu Qiling and Ma Yunlu stepped out to see the Ruomu emitting a faint pink glow, both their eyes filled with a yearning for beautiful things.

“Indeed, it is so beautiful that one cannot tear their eyes away,” Diao Chan praised, stating that everyone would be amazed upon first encountering such a plant.

“Is this a gift for me?” Zhao Yun became excited upon determining ownership of the thing.

“Yes, Family Head, this is a New Year’s gift from Marquis Cang to you,” the steward said, presenting the silk manuscript to Zhao Yun with both hands. Zhao Yun accepted the silk manuscript and then opened it in front of everyone.

“Zilong, you understand that I am mostly searching for various experimental plants in secluded places, so I honestly didn’t know when you were getting married. By the time I learned you were getting married, it was almost the New Year, so please forgive me~” Qu Qi’s silk manuscript said.

“However, I believe that the Qu Family certainly wouldn’t forget to send you a wedding gift, so my absence doesn’t matter at all.” From this, it is clear how carefree Qu Qi is, the tone on the silk manuscript is particularly willful.

“I definitely won’t forget the new year, it’s just that I think I don’t have the time to return. I figured I owed you money, and being as broke as I am right now, I’m basically living off other people. So I could only use this newly researched tree to repay the debt. If you think it’s not enough, there’s nothing I can do about it.” Qu Qi’s silk manuscript even conveyed his mood at the time.

“In short, I can’t repay the loan; if you think this tree is enough, accept it. If not, sell it to someone else. Anyway, I feel it’s enough. That’s it, Happy New Year! By the way, I’m sure you are unaware this tree is called Ruomu.” The last sentence on the silk manuscript humorously critiqued Zhao Yun’s lack of knowledge.

Zhao Yun laughed out loud at the final sentence, not bothered by the mockery of his intelligence, considering the Ruomu tree, Zhao Yun decided to let bygones be bygones regarding the past loan. He mused aloud, wondering if Qu Qi needed more funds, as he desired a few more trees.

“This tree is ours now; in the past, Hanmou owed me a loan that was never repaid. I thought he was going to default, but to my surprise, he compensated me with such a divine tree this time!” Zhao Yun laughed heartily.

“Ha, was this Hanmou’s debt repayment to you!” Zhang Fei said helplessly. He had thought Qu Qi gave it as a New Year’s gift to Zhao Yun. Giving a New Year’s gift to Zhao Yun, but not to himself, would imply Zhang Yide’s fists weren’t formidable enough!

“However, I think such a divine artifact should be shared with others, keeping it at home would be pointless!” Zhao Yun waved his hand, and a large pit appeared directly outside his front door. Then Zhao Yun placed the glowing tree there, turning Zhao Yun’s doorway into a tourist attraction with endless visitors.

Qu Qi, currently experimenting with the Heaven and Earth Essence Plant in a remote place, dusted off his hands and gazed towards the north, contemplating how much Zhao Yun would pay if he sent a universal gift through the Black Immortal the next time.