Chapter 1801: Chapter 945: Parting Ways

Countdown to return: 16:00:00.

The floating airship carrying Qing Chen arrived outside City 18.

The shipboard staff of the Shadow Troop said, "Boss, if the Li Family pushes things to the extreme, there might be danger while you’re on the airship."

"No," Qing Chen calmly shook his head, "Communicate with the Li Family and have them let us in. I’m more worried that Li Yunshou won’t agree to meet me, not that they’ll make a move at this time."

At this moment, the access electronic beacon inside the floating airship lit up green, and before they could communicate with the Li Family, the city’s defense system of City 18 opened a channel for them.

Qing Chen was a little surprised. After all, both sides were currently in a standoff at the Mianchi Bridge on Chunlei River, and he thought Li Yunshou wouldn’t want to see him.

However, the airship passed unimpeded, with the control tower of the airfield even guiding them straight into the hillside estate.

Keep in mind, this was the Li Family’s stronghold, with Family Head Li Yunshou and the Li’s Secretariat residing here.

If this floating airship carried biological weapons, it would take just three minutes to kill all the core members of the Li Family in the hillside estate.

Even without weapons, with Qing Chen’s current demigod strength, slaughtering everyone in the estate would be child’s play... The Qing Shan Ship wasn’t nearby.

Yet, this place opened up to Qing Chen without any defenses.

The floating airship slowly landed on the helipad, and a servant led Qing Chen towards the Baopu Tower, saying cheerfully along the way, "It’s been a while since you last visited; the Autumn Leaf Courtyard is cleaned regularly, absolutely spotless."

The servant’s warm and cordial demeanor was no different than before, as if Qing Chen had never left.

The servant brought Qing Chen to Dragon Lake, where the Old Master used to fish.

He looked up and saw Li Yunshou sitting on the broken bridge, fishing.

For a moment, he dazedly felt as if he was seeing the Old Master, who used to sit there every day.

It seemed like a lifetime ago.

Back then, he was a teacher here, competing with other teachers at the Martial Arts School. Now, the teacher Zhou Xingwen had retired, and new teachers had arrived.

Back then, he taught Li Ke, Li Su, Qing Yi, and others in the Autumn Leaf Courtyard, the students practicing during the day and leaving together at twilight, playing around on the way home. Now, Qing Yi was in charge of the Qing’s Spy Agency, holding the fort on his own, while Li Su and others had become pillars in the military.

Back then, the Old Master was still alive, and Qing Chen would trick him for dragon fish to eat, without worrying about any entanglements of interest between himself and the Li Family or having to make such difficult choices.

Now, even this deeply bonded Li Family stood at a crossroads with him, ready to part ways at any moment.

But that’s life. Everyone has their own choices to make.

In just six short months, Li Yunshou’s hair had turned much whiter.

The servant withdrew, and Qing Chen naturally sat beside Li Yunshou, smiling as he asked, "Aren’t you afraid I’m here to kill you?"

"The Heartless Bronze Bell on Baopu Tower didn’t ring; you hold no murderous intent. Even if a Demi God Knight truly wanted to assassinate an ordinary person like me, I couldn’t prevent it," Li Yunshou laughed.

Qing Chen remarked, "You’ve become much more worn... How come you have the leisure to fish here?"

Li Yunshou gazed thoughtfully at Dragon Lake and said, "Sometimes when faced with choices, I sit here and think about what my father would do if he were still around. Looking back now, managing such a vast Li Family so well wasn’t easy."

Li Yunshou said in a daze, "In past years, no matter how busy my father was, when the first snow fell outside Baopu Tower, he would gather us siblings for a snowball fight by Dragon Lake. After Lao Qi became a knight, he replaced the snowball fights with building snowmen. I remember us siblings exhausted, sitting by the lake, watching the great snow fall into the lake—that was truly beautiful."

Li Yunshou looked at Qing Chen and smiled, "But I feel that the snowy scenery of Dragon Lake in the future will never be as beautiful as it was."

Dragon Lake only raised dragon fish, and once Qing Chen and Li Ke finished eating them, the lake would be devoid of fish.

Li Yunshou sat there, simply reminiscing about his father.

"What choice would he make this time?" Qing Chen asked.

"Qing Chen, if he were still alive, he would do the same," Li Yunshou turned to the young man beside him, "This isn’t a choice made by me or him, but by the Li Family, this consortium."

"I understand," Qing Chen nodded.

Even though the Parents’ Meeting was currently halted at Mianchi Bridge, Qing Chen didn’t think the Li Family’s actions were ’bad.’

This was no longer a definition of ’good’ or ’bad.’

It was rather about everyone making their choices in the face of the era’s tide.

Was the Li Family wrong?

No.

It was just that their positions were different, Qing Chen had things to protect, and Li Yunshou did as well.

The Parents’ Meeting retreated to regroup in the Southwest.

Utilizing the geographic landscape of the Southwest Shu Path to establish a defensive line was the best choice. This way, the mechanized ground forces of the West Continent would find it difficult to pass and would have to rely on aerial forces...

Although Qing Chen still didn’t know how to stop those aerial units, war is the art of precise calculation; any weakening of the enemy’s strength is crucial.

However, the Parents’ Meeting could retreat because the Qing’s Family’s foundation wasn’t in the Central Plains.

The Li Family couldn’t leave.

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