Chapter 135: Happy New Year, Yingxue

There was a lot of administrative work.

The specific content wasn't complex.

However, the sheer volume had accumulated into a terrifying workload.

Xu Xi worked until late at night, with Wu Yingxue accompanying him by his side, sitting until her body grew stiff and her eyes became sore.

Fortunately, both were Xiantian Martial Artists.

After circulating their Qi and blood once, all physical discomfort would dissipate completely.

"Hiss~~"

"Hiss~~"

In the dim room, the candlelight flickered and burned.

It carved out a small, bright world.

It dispelled the darkness of the night, illuminating the faces of Xu Xi and the young girl, while also casting clear light upon the rough walls of the room.

"After the spring warms up, we will take Pingshui County as the center and occupy the surrounding areas."

"As for the Great Qian side…"

"No need to worry about them for now."

"This is the best opportunity. With other rebel forces drawing their attention, if we miss this period, it will be very difficult to find any opportunities for development."

"Sishui County, Heishui County, Qingshui County—let's set these as our targets."

Flipping through pages, reviewing, annotating.

Xu Xi's gaze swept across constantly, and by integrating the existing information, he mapped out the marching route for the coming year.

He was not a Genius at handling administrative affairs.

Nor was he a naturally wise sage.

From beginning to end, Xu Xi was a thorough martial artist. That he could handle administrative affairs now was entirely due to the infinite improvement of his Persistence trait.

Every so often, Xu Xi's ability to handle administrative affairs would receive feedback from Persistence, thereby improving.

However.

Xu Xi had no intention of delving deeply into administrative work.

In this world, surviving depends on strength. Handling administrative affairs was merely to avoid internal chaos; later, he could let trusted people handle it for him.

Only strength is irreplaceable.

As the guide of the Qiuhuo Army, Xu Xi's current strength was far from enough.

"The first realm of Innate, the Guan Li Realm."

"The second realm of Innate, the Soul-Containing Realm."

"The essence of the Guan Li Realm is to utilize the perception of a Xiantian Martial Artist to observe and imitate the world, allowing Qi and blood to circulate from the perspective of the Heavenly Dao."

"As for the Soul-Containing Realm, it is when, after the Qi and blood have finished imitating the operation of the world, one uses the true intent of the Martial Dao to reside within the Qi and blood world, replacing the Heavenly Dao with the Martial Dao."

"Only in this way can one achieve the 'Indestructible Divine' state and thoroughly perfect the inner world of Qi and blood."

"Achieving the Martial Dao Human Immortal state makes one's own self the world."

In the dim room.

Xu Xi finished handling the last piece of administrative work.

He let out a long sigh of relief.

In his mind, many thoughts regarding the future development of the Qiuhuo Army and the next steps for his own Martial Dao flashed and intertwined rapidly.

These things could not be rushed; they needed time to grind out results bit by bit.

As for today, he should rest early.

"You've worked hard, Yingxue."

Xu Xi looked to his side; the young girl was yawning, her eyes heavy with sleep, clearly exhausted.

"It's nothing, Sir."

Wu Yingxue said, struggling to stay awake.

Xu Xi shook his head and was about to tell the girl to go back to sleep when the crackling sounds from outside interrupted him.

"What is this sound…"

"It sounds a bit like things burning and popping."

Not only that, but a clamor of human voices also drifted in from afar.

Although it didn't sound very clear due to the distance, one could feel the joy of the people within it.

"Are they celebrating New Year's Eve and the New Year?"

Xu Xi felt curious.

He stepped toward the top floor of the government office, the young girl following behind, equally curious about the sounds outside.

Soon, as Xu Xi walked to the top floor of the government office, thanks to the height difference, he could easily see firelight igniting in various parts of Pingshui County.

It wasn't houses on fire, nor was it fireworks exploding.

Instead, it was stone towers piled up and standing tall.

Rough stones were stacked layer by layer in a specific arrangement until they formed tall and strange tower shapes.

People threw dry firewood into the stone towers.

Igniting, blooming, rising.

They cheered while circling the stone towers.

Watching the blazing fire engulf the stone towers, it illuminated one excited, gaunt face after another under the dim night sky.

Pingshui County nowadays really didn't have anything fun or anything to do; hunger oppressed everyone's nerves, making people numb.

But on New Year's Eve, the night of bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new, the impoverished people could also find their own unique way to celebrate.

"Sir, it's so lively."

On the top floor of the government office, the wind was strong.

The wind whistled, blowing their clothes.

Wu Yingxue stood beside Xu Xi, her hands resting on the wooden railing, her body leaning slightly forward, gazing into the distance with great delight.

"Yes, it has been a long time since I've seen such a lively scene."

Xu Xi replied.

His eyes reflected clusters of blazing firelight.

Sparks splattered, dry wood snapped, and orange-yellow firelight danced in the dark night, lighting up the silent sea of stars and turning into a magnificent expanse of red and orange.

Leaping, blooming, blossoming.

As time passed, the cold night wind whistled more fiercely.

The wind swept the fire, and the fire burned the wind; the fire and wind intertwined throughout Pingshui County, forming winding, dancing "Dragons" of fire.

"Sir!"

"Sir!"

Wu Yingxue was even more excited as she watched.

Her eyes were fixed on the brilliant fireworks in the city, but her hand tugged at the corner of Xu Xi's clothes, constantly sharing the wonders of those flames with Xu Xi.

Even though she could create even cooler scenes if she wanted to, this was different.

The young girl loved the scene before her; she loved the lively atmosphere of the people; she loved watching it together with Xu Xi, sharing their feelings under the night sky.

Gradually, the flames burned more fiercely.

The human voices in Pingshui County suddenly paused for a moment.

After the pause came even more excited cheers, because at that very moment, time had officially crossed past New Year's Eve and arrived at the first day of the New Year.

The impoverished commoners greeted each other, wishing one another happiness in the new year.

"Sir," Wu Yingxue gazed at the lively scene for a long time, then suddenly turned around, wanting to say something to Xu Xi.

Just then, a gust of whistling wind blew.

The wind was too loud, blurring the young girl's voice.

But through the girl's expression and her parting lips, Xu Xi could discern what she had said.

"Sir, Happy New Year."

What the noisy wind had erased was the girl's blessing to Xu Xi.

Xu Xi gave his response.

Under the vast, boundless night sky, under the witness of the twinkling stars, and amidst the flapping, whistling wind.

He reached out and fixed the hairpin that had been blown askew by the wind for the girl.

He said to her: "Happy New Year, Yingxue."

The girl was very beautiful today; he believed that in the new year, she would become even more beautiful.

…

[ You spent a lively New Year's Eve ]

[ Since you came to the Martial Arts World, this is the first time you have experienced a New Year's Eve that, besides the threat of demons and the cold bitterness of winter, also contained liveliness and warmth. ]

[ The young girl expressed her blessing to you. ]

[ You also blessed the young girl. ]

[ Under the night sky, she pestered you again to count the stars, but the brilliance in her eyes was no less than the stars themselves. You promised her again and told her the number from the last time. ]