Chapter 21

Li Lizhi sobbed in Li Kuan's arms, softly, like the continuous autumn rain, drizzling and melancholic. Her sobs were like the silent autumn rain, gripping Li Kuan's heart. Each sob seemed to be a silent plea: Why? Why did something so ordinary today result in such severe scolding? Why did her usually playful and smiling second brother seem so distant today?

Li Kuan mechanically patted the little girl's back, his heart sinking into deep thought due to the waves of guilt: What was wrong with him? Was he afraid? Afraid to show his true feelings in this world of authority? Through Li Lizhi's tears, Li Kuan cleansed his soul.

Someone once said, "Society smooths our edges so we can roll further!" Li Kuan, in this strange world of the Tang Dynasty, maintained a distance that seemed close but was actually far away. It was a distance he subconsciously set as a warning, because he had a latent aversion to everything. He told himself: I don't belong to this world; I am just a passerby, watching the dramas of this world like fleeting clouds, until I leave! Though he had the desire to change things, it was more like a game, detached from the world, like standing by the water and watching the fish swim. You could choose to just watch, or you could throw in some bait.

But now, the little girl was in his arms, using her tears to accuse her second brother of hurting her, making Li Kuan doubt his previously firm stance. Perhaps what he thought was unintentional had caused ripples in the hearts of those who cared about him. Had he left something behind? Perhaps when he thought he was gracefully stepping back, it was the moment when those who had accompanied him and given him warmth were heartbroken!

"Am I too selfish? Maybe I can change something, but I am the one causing the most harm! This world is real, Mother is real, and Lizhi is real. What about me? Am I a butterfly in Zhuang Zhou's dream, or are the skyscrapers in my memory just a fleeting prosperity in a dream?" Li Kuan stood there, lost in thought, his heart churning as he searched for evidence of his own existence.

"Beep! The host is too agitated, preparing free sedatives!" A cold voice interrupted Li Kuan's rambling thoughts.

"System! Haha... Everything is real, the self living in the 21st century is real, and the current Li Kuan is real!" The cold voice of the system jolted Li Kuan, and a flash of insight struck him: Whether it's real or an illusion, let's treat it as real. Philosophers have pondered for thousands of years without finding an answer, and a small person like himself shouldn't get entangled in such questions! This is a pit that countless sages in the future have already proven!

Li Kuan secretly mocked himself for falling into it. If not for the system's voice, he might have been trapped. What was the point of traveling through time if he was going to be stuck in his own thoughts? Since heaven had given him this opportunity, traveling 1,400 years to this most glorious moment in Chinese history, he would make it even more brilliant!

Since there were people who cared about him and valued him, he would open his heart and let the deepest emotions burst forth, responding to them. He would ignore the世俗礼法 (worldly norms and propriety), even if it meant being called a heretic or a rogue. The cold eyes of the world were just passing clouds. From today on, he would be the purest version of himself, except for the deepest secrets!

Li Kuan finally resolved the issue that had troubled him for so long and broke free.

He was still standing on the city wall, the little girl in his arms no longer crying, but her small hand still gripping his collar, her head buried in his chest.

"Lizhi, stop crying. Second brother was wrong, not fulfilling his duty as a brother. Second brother apologizes to Lizhi!" Li Kuan reached out and lifted the little girl's face. Tear marks traced their paths on Li Lizhi's delicate cheeks, making her adorable face look a bit silly. But Li Kuan didn't laugh this time. He gently and tenderly wiped away the marks with his fingers.

Lifting the little girl's chin, he held her face in his hands and looked into her slightly swollen, red eyes: "Lizhi, second brother promises you, I will never make you cry again! Whoever makes you cry will be my enemy!" He spoke firmly, each word deliberate. At that moment, a commanding aura emanated from Li Kuan, and his figure was deeply etched in Li Lizhi's heart.

"Second brother, I'm sorry! Lizhi shouldn't have bitten you so hard!" The little girl also apologized. Her voice was hoarse from crying, but Li Kuan heard the sincerity and a hint of distance.

This made him panic. Did this incident make the closest person to him act like the other siblings, who had to wear masks to meet? This was not what Li Kuan wanted.

"Lizhi, you don't need to say sorry to second brother, never! Because I am your second brother!" Li Kuan looked seriously at the little girl, who seemed a bit more mature in that moment, and his heart ached: "Lizhi, you are the little fairy in second brother's heart. A fairy just needs to be cute! Really!"

"Really? Lizhi is really a little fairy?" The worry Li Kuan had didn't come true. The little girl was still young and didn't think too much. She just remembered her mother telling her to apologize to her second brother, and now she was just going through the motions. Moreover, when she heard Li Kuan call her a little fairy, her eyes lit up.

In the stories Li Kuan told Li Lizhi, little fairies had all sorts of incredible powers. Li Lizhi's greatest wish after hearing these stories was to become a little fairy who could create all sorts of delicious treats: cotton candy, meat buns, chocolate, small puddings, cakes...

"Lizhi wants to create lots of delicious treats, second brother, isn't that good?" The little girl's eyes sparkled, ready to get to work.

Li Kuan inwardly groaned, slapping himself mentally: 'You asked for it, you big mouth! Now you've created a big problem!' If Li Lizhi enthusiastically tried to create a bunch of treats and found she couldn't, she would definitely pester Li Kuan for answers, and with her boundless energy, she would bombard him with questions for hours, leading to a complete mental breakdown for Li Kuan!

"Lizhi, wait a moment, little fairies come in different types!" Li Kuan's brain worked overtime, thinking of a solution at a speed of 1,800 kilometers per second. Finally, his efforts paid off, and he found a solution.

"Really? What type of little fairy is Lizhi? Lizhi wants to be the type that can create delicious treats!" The little girl stopped crying, tilting her head and blinking her big eyes, looking at her second brother curiously.

"Lizhi becomes a little fairy based on the situation. Since Lizhi bit second brother, my arm is very painful and needs Lizhi's help to heal. So, in this situation, Lizhi is the little fairy who helps second brother get rid of the pain!" Li Kuan found that comforting a child was a painful task. He had to keep lying to keep her happy.

"But, Lizhi really wants to create delicious treats!" The little girl still clung to her desire for treats.

"But, second brother's injury needs Lizhi's help more!" Li Kuan didn't dare to indulge her desire for treats, as the consequences would be severe.

"Okay!" The little girl nodded vigorously, reluctantly giving up her wish. "How can Lizhi help second brother? Lizhi doesn't know any magic spells!" The little girl was troubled because she hadn't learned any spells.

"No need for spells, Lizhi's breath is the best magic!" Li Kuan saw that the little girl was hooked and quickly said.

"Okay, second brother, roll up your sleeve, Lizhi will help you with my breath. After I breathe on it, second brother won't hurt anymore!" The little girl said earnestly.

"Lizhi is the best!" Li Kuan wiped his sweat, finally calming her down. He rolled up his sleeve, revealing the bite marks, which were bleeding slightly.

"Breath... breath..." Li Lizhi leaned close to the wound, blowing very seriously, her cheeks puffing up.

"Second brother, it doesn't hurt anymore. Lizhi's breath is the most effective!" The little girl smiled, pure and innocent.

"Second brother is not in pain anymore. Lizhi is so capable!" Li Kuan smiled, patted the little girl's head, then put down his sleeve, took her hand, and walked down the city wall.

The two came to the bottom of the city wall, where the crowd had already dispersed. Li Er's group had left, and Changsun had taken the other people from the Qin王府 (Qin Mansion) back. Only the carriage they had come in was still there, waiting for them.

"Let's go! We should go home and wait for Father to return." Li Kuan led Li Lizhi into the carriage and they headed towards the Qin Mansion along the street.

Because of the snow, the roads in Chang'an were muddy, so the carriage moved slowly. Li Kuan lifted the curtain on the carriage window and looked outside.

This was Chang'an, the largest city in the world at the time, but it couldn't compare to a small county in the future. The streets were nearly empty, and even the merchants were lethargic, their cries weak. This was all due to the chaos of war, which had cut off the Silk Road and prevented the development of maritime trade in the Tang Dynasty.

Though it seemed desolate, Li Kuan was still fascinated, for this was the world he would live in and the world he wanted to change.

Suddenly, Li Kuan saw something that caught his interest, something he didn't expect to see in the Tang Dynasty. He wondered if it was as grand and prestigious as in the future!