Chapter 703 - 678: Xuan Yin Lantern
The moon is bright, the wind is clear, and the ground is covered with silver frost.
In front of a secret base located several kilometers in a straight line from Kyoto, as the heavy iron gate opened, a young man in battle gear with a crew cut walked out steadily.
His towering and robust body, more than 1.9 meters tall, exuded an invisible pressure, appearing powerful and mighty. As he walked, he resembled a moving fortress, even the large trucks parked outside seemed vulnerable to a casual bump from him.
"Hoo—!"
After stepping out of the gate that had confined him for two years, the young man spread his arms and looked up at the night sky, letting out a long breath.
During the two years at the base, besides cultivating, he endured all kinds of modern, brutal trials every day. This daily grind made him feel like he was in prison.
"Kyoto, I, Zhao Junwei, am back again!"
"Hahaha..."
"Vroom, vroom, vroom—!"
Just as he was laughing, the ear-piercing roar of an engine suddenly came from the road leading out of the mountain ahead.
A Mercedes-Benz G-Class charged forward through the rolling dust, heading straight towards him, without any signs of stopping.
Faced with the approaching vehicle, Zhao Junwei remained unfazed and didn’t even consider dodging.
The corner of his mouth curled up, and he smilingly cursed, "You idiot."
With a blue license plate, the car could enter such a secret base; he didn’t need to think hard to guess who it was.
While he was lost in thought, the speeding car suddenly braked sharply, the tires screeching against the cement road. Whether intentionally or coincidentally, the car came to a complete stop just as its front bumper touched his stomach, neither more nor less.
"Finally, you decided to come out. I was beginning to think you’d make this place your retirement home!"
A playful male voice came from inside the car, and then the window rolled down, and a big hand reached out of the window, tossing a cigarette to Zhao Junwei.
Zhao Junwei didn’t move; he just casually opened his mouth and precisely caught the cigarette between his lips, asking, "How did you know I was coming out today?"
The man inside the car said, "You submitted your exit application half a month ago. Is it any problem for me to get such information?"
Zhao Junwei smiled, took off the backpack from his back, walked over in big strides, opened the passenger door, reclined the seat, and lay down casually, sighing, "It’s truly an honor that the prince of Hua Country would personally come to pick me up."
The handsome prince in the driver’s seat chuckled and said, "You just got lucky. My mother hasn’t been keeping tabs on me these days, and my aunt hasn’t been visiting the palace much, so I had the time to come out and get you."
"I was wondering how you had the time to come pick me up. But listen, if your mother looks for trouble with you, don’t drag me down with you."
"Yeah, yeah, I know."
Zhao Junwei took a deep drag of the cigarette, exhaled slowly, and asked, "So, old Yuan, any new happenings or mischief-makers popping up in Kyoto during my two years of retreat?"
The prince started the car and turned it around, thoughtfully saying, "Other than the soon-to-start Divine Dragon Martial Arts Association, it seems there hasn’t been anything noteworthy."
Zhao Junwei asked curiously, "So, did you and your fiancée get married yet? It’s been two years."
The prince shrugged, "She’s busy with her career over in Yang City; where would she find the time to come back and marry me?"
Zhao Junwei: "Can’t you hurry her up?"
"Easy for you to say. How am I supposed to rush someone who’s a second-generation disciple of Qingcheng Palace and my aunt’s junior sister? Her seniority is higher than mine, and she might become the next Qingcheng Immortal after my aunt retires. Do you think I dare to rush her?"
"Besides, her business is a task assigned to her by Qingcheng Palace."
"I’m even afraid to go find her in Yang City. If my aunt knew, she would skin me alive."
"True enough." Zhao Junwei shook his head with a light smile, sighing, "But you’re still lucky; being born a prince, you don’t even need to try, and all sorts of women line up to throw themselves at you."
The prince asked, "Don’t you also have a fiancée? That Miss Chen from the Chen Family isn’t half bad, right? She’s a recognized beauty in Kyoto."
Zhao Junwei stubbed out the cigarette butt and tossed it out of the window, saying slowly, "Actually, besides standing in for the Zhao Family at the Divine Dragon Martial Arts Association, part of the reason I came out early this time is to marry her."
"No choice, I’m the only heir, and my parents are pushing hard, constantly nagging me to give them a grandchild."
"Sigh, I’ve had my fun, experienced what I could, I guess it’s time to settle down and continue the Zhao family line."
The prince suddenly turned his head to stare at him with a strange expression, "Hey, Young Master Zhao, why do I feel like you’ve changed since coming out of retreat?"
"This isn’t like you, be honest. Who are you really? Give me back the former Zhao the Playboy!"
"Hahaha..." Zhao Junwei laughed loudly and cursed, "Screw you."
The prince said seriously, "Let me take you out for a welcome back party, I’ll find you some pretty actresses."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Junwei felt a twinge of excitement, thinking about how he was really pent up during the two-year retreat, even finding the cafeteria aunties attractive.
"Actresses are no fun, the girls from those popular girl groups a few years ago, you know them... locked up in the villa, playing every day, too boring, I’m fed up with it."
"I prefer the type of young, talented, beautiful ice-cold CEOs worth billions, who don’t really care much for others. Conquering them is what gives a real sense of achievement."
The prince showed a meaningfully profound smile, "Now that’s the Zhao I know."