Ji Li drove with his group once again on the road for several days till he finally arrived in front of the outer outpost of the city gate. Instead of going this way, he told his brothers to ride the road towards the gate of the city.

  They had stayed away from the capital for so long, and enjoyment wasn’t really a topic in the military, so they deserved having an eating streak again! Qianyu and Shixuan were greatly happy but unlike before, they didn’t show it outside.

  “Do you guys not want to go? We can also go directly to the Eunuch Palace Complex!”

  “No!” Shixuan reacted without thought, but he instantly became red.

  “What Xuan wants to say is that it would be nice to see the city again.” Qianyu tried to act like a peacemaker.

  “Alas just see the city? I wanted to go and eat the delicious food of the capital, but maybe it is just me. Alright, the majority wins, we will just look!” Ji Li continued to tease.

  “Big brother!” Qianyu called out in a somewhat exhausted.

  “Tsk tsk tsk, look at you guys. Just a few years of military service and you are already acting like you forgot your character. It’s far too early for this to happen. Especially between us, this should never happen, okay?”

  Qianyu nodded and Shixuan instantly answered vigorously “Yes yes yes, elder brother is always right! I think to celebrate our return, it would be good to have some food!”

  “You’ve become sly!” Ji Li shook his head “In the past, you were so little and obedient. Now look at you, you’re trying to trick your elder brother!”

  The trio joked some more before Shixuan once again took the control of the carriage and they drove straight to the capital.

  This time, the visit wasn’t too long. It wasn’t because there was a lack of great food, no, the three just grew in strength and were able to eat mortal food much faster than before. Naturally a few kilograms of street food weren’t enough to fill them.

  After having had fun, they drove straight to the eunuch palace. No matter what, they had to report and be truthful in their behaviour. Though there is a difference this time, that is, they are not obliged to the report to the mission hall but can directly do so to their two elder brothers.

  And Ji Li didn’t hesitate to do so since they would be knowing of his affairs outside anyways. The carriage drove there quickly, and they all left in order. No one guarded them anymore, so they were free to leave quickly. As for the carriage, a servant was called by Shixuan to take care of it.

  The trio entered the Eunuch Ceremonial Palace through the large hallway and found themselves doing the ceremonial bows and prayers. Naturally this once again was a formality and true belief wasn’t asked of anyone in the empire, it was just a way to pay respects to the highest guardian in the country, and no one thought it was wrong to do so, even officials that did things beyond the borders of legality and morality, they were still thankful for the guardian.

  They soon went with the elder brothers to the side garden, all quiet and no one said anything. When Ji Li arrived in the garden, he first said nothing and waited a second to settle down, he was a bit hasty, but he didn’t want to talk wrongly… he had a past of bad language, a trauma that never left him truly, but he learned to manage and overcame it. Or at least he now is able to talk freely with no issues.

  Yu Bao and Yu Wei weren’t all that in a hurry, although they didn’t talk directly to Ji Li this whole time, letters were exchanged repeatedly, so they knew everything that happened over the course of the past months.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “Elder brothers, excuse me for my rudeness!” Ji Li cupped his hands, his two younger brothers following his behaviour but not saying anything, clearly a symbol of following.

  Yu Wei smiled and waved his hand “There is no need for formality, little jade… we have known each other for so many years, yet you are still so distant!”

  Ji Li shook his head, smilingly and in an amiable matter “How can this be! I still remember the first-time elder brothers held me, even then I was polite! If I became unruly now, then I wouldn’t honour my name at all!”

  Bao laughed “From the letters, little Li doesn’t seem polite at all!”

  Ji Li once again shook his head and acted offended “How could this be! I always behave polite, my manners are generously taught by my elder brothers, if one is to fault my politeness, then I can only excuse my lacking education!”

  Bao laughed once more “Alas alas, you are so very fit, if that old minister saw this, he’d try his best to get you into his faction!”

  A confused look came upon Ji Li’s face “Someone wanting to take an Eunuch into their camp, do they perhaps have a miracle medicine? Elder brothers, please don’t joke, anyone who still lusts after such a thing… has never been a true eunuch and doesn’t deserve the honour of being part of our brotherhood!”

  The younger brothers behind Ji Li rolled their eyes, only they knew that Ji Li was probably the last one to care about a miracle medicine, if one heard Ji Li’s words, one might think he was actually caught red handed! But they knew, if Ji Li had such medicine in his hands, he’d probably find a way to sell it to less fortunate nobles.

  Wei stepped up “Alright, Ji Li, tell us, how has your stay in the military been?”

  Ji Li contemplated before he answered “In truth, it was somewhat different from my expectations. I had planned to only… only experience fighting for a bit, refine my Talent and then come back at a later time. Never would I have thought that it would take so long, nor that I would take upon the position of a commander.

  No matter the circumstances, I have learned greatly from everything, and I am sure that this strengthened my foundation… especially… elder brothers, I feel that advancing to the Talent Refining realm is extremely easy for me currently, as long as I wish to, I will be able to do so.”

  This is indeed so for Ji Li, not only because of his foundation but because he doesn’t gain much from this step in cultivation. It’s not that he doesn’t gain anything, but usual people would awaken their Talent, for him and pretty much for anyone that was able to consume Nature’s Gift, and some other special resources, they’d not gain a second talent, instead, they would strengthen their talent and have more time to comprehend their future path.

  One might think that this is useless, but in truth, the earlier one knew their path, the better. After all, your path sets as your cultivate and if you don’t have a path up to a certain point, or worse, you have a path that is incompatible with you, then you will likely suffer and not advance in your cultivation for a long time. This is one of the horrors for cultivators and Ji Li is very happy to avoid this horror.

  As for his own path, he already has an idea. In truth, he was able to imagine that even his younger brothers had similar ideas to him, the key is that his path will likely require a huge number of resources or effort, and him starting earlier will make most things easier too.

  Wei thought for a moment before answering “You can advance if you wish so, just take some time off till you do that, it’s not too late to advance after having stabilised your foundation fully. After all, time isn’t an issue for you, and you aren’t lacking in other aspects either.”

  Bao nodded “Indeed, also, if you have any questions, you can ask us. Although in general one shouldn’t be influenced regarding their path, it’s fine if we open the path you chose already a bit more, after all, we see more at our stage and it’s better to know the dangers beforehand.”

  Ji Li nodded and the two came to a table, they talked a bit deeper about all the experience Ji Li and his brothers had. This time, it was less Ji Li talking and more the other two. After all, they are also close to the elder brothers, it was just that whenever they reported something, they preferred it when Ji Li talked the most.

  The reason for this is very very simple: reporting usually takes more effort and is annoying, they are used to being free in their behaviour and would rather not be restricted to all these small things that take time and aren’t enjoyable.

  One could say this is the difference of a team member and a team leader, one follows and has a lot of freedom as long as they do their job properly, while the other has to take responsibility and ensure the properness of everything.

  They trusted their brother anyways, so there was no need to be careful, but now that this small report was over, they could chit chat as they want. No matter what, they are proud of their achievements in the military, and as younglings, they naturally want to flex with them!