Time Travel: The Survival of Li Zhi

Chapter 348: Soy Milk Instead of Wine

Li Zhi never thought that when he just woke up and walked out of the room early in the morning, he would see someone waiting for him in the inn.

The man sat there quietly, as if he had been waiting for a long time, and the atmosphere around him seemed to be filled with a mixture of eagerness and anticipation.

Li Zhi couldn't help but narrow his eyes, with a bit of doubt in his eyes. He stared at the person in front of him for a long time before he slowly said, "Brother Duan Heng, why did you come here so early today to see me?"

Duan Heng was still wearing the iconic black uniform of the Night Patrol Reserve, but his face looked a little ugly at the moment, revealing an unconcealable fatigue and haggardness.

In the past few days, because of his uncle Duan Gang's affairs, their family has been in turmoil. All kinds of complicated affairs and external disturbances have obviously had a great impact on Duan Heng, and it seems that his whole spirit has been drained away.

Hearing Li Zhi's question, Duan Heng slowly raised his head. He looked at Li Zhi closely with complex emotions in his eyes, including an unspeakable desire and a little hesitation.

After a while, he finally mustered up the courage and said, "I... I want to go with you on this mission to Wei."

When Li Zhi heard this, he frowned immediately, and a helpless look appeared on his face. He couldn't help but said, "If you want to go, you have to find the deputy director or the chief director. Why are you looking for me? I'm just a grassroots staff. How can I make the decision on this matter?"

A trace of loneliness flashed across Duan Heng's eyes, and that loneliness was like a dark cloud that instantly enveloped his eyes.

Originally, with his reputation in the Night Patrol's reserve force, plus his own real strength, the chief had always valued him very much and was quite appreciative of him on weekdays. If there were any important tasks or activities, he would consider letting him participate.

But for some reason, the situation became different after he unexpectedly lost to Li Zhi in that competition.

The chief minister's attitude towards him seemed to become much colder all of a sudden, and the appreciation and respect he had shown in the past seemed to have disappeared without a trace overnight.

Take the time when he proposed to go to Wei together, for example. Every time he went to see the Chief Minister with great anticipation, the Chief Minister always looked impatient and would send him away with any excuse, without even the patience to listen to him for a few more words.

Duan Heng was naturally unwilling to accept this. He couldn't understand why the chief's attitude towards him would change so drastically just because of a defeat in a duel.

But after being rejected several times by the chief, he finally realized that things were not that simple and that something seemed to be wrong.

But the more this happened, the stronger his urge to prove himself became.

In his opinion, the mission to Wei was a great opportunity to prove himself. As long as he could perform well in this mission and show his ability and value, he might be able to win the approval of the chief minister again and make everyone look at him with new eyes.

However, Duan Heng was also very clear in his mind that many people were eagerly looking forward to going on a mission to the Wei Dynasty. After all, it was a rare and good job that could not only broaden their horizons but also accumulate merits.

Therefore, in order to seize this opportunity, he directly told the chief minister that he did not want any contribution points for this mission to Wei. To put it bluntly, he was willing to work for free as long as he could go with him.

But even though he had done so much, the chief minister still refused to agree to let him go.

Duan Heng was really out of options later on, and after much thought, he thought of the deputy chief.

After all, he had received news that the deputy director was originally the one leading the team this time.

He thought that if the deputy chief could agree to let him go with him, then even if the chief chief disagreed, there would be nothing he could do. As long as the deputy chief nodded, he could go to Wei with him.

But who could have thought that when he went to see the deputy chief the day before yesterday, he was told by the deputy chief that the person leading the team to Dawei had actually been replaced by Li Zhi.

This news was undoubtedly a big blow to Duan Heng. For such a proud and arrogant person, it was too difficult for him to go to Li Zhi and beg Li Zhi to take him to Wei.

So, after he returned home, he stayed at home and thought about it for two whole days.

After struggling for a long time, he finally figured it out and decided that he couldn't miss this opportunity.

So, before dawn, he came to the inn where Li Zhi was staying early, and sat there quietly, waiting for Li Zhi to wake up.

At this moment, looking at Li Zhi in front of him, although he had prepared himself mentally at home before, when he really saw Li Zhi, Duan Heng felt as if his throat was blocked by something. For a moment, he could not utter a single word. He just stood there in a daze, his face full of embarrassment and awkwardness.

Seeing that Duan Heng couldn't utter a single word for a long time, Li Zhi couldn't help but roll his eyes and said unhappily, "Nothing, I'm leaving now!"

Having said that, he raised his foot and was about to leave.

Seeing that Li Zhi was really about to leave, Duan Heng came to his senses. He became anxious and couldn't help but shout out: "Wait..."

When Li Zhi heard Duan Heng's urgent call, he stopped and turned to look at Duan Heng.

Then he waved to the busy waiter and said, "Brother, give me two bowls of soy milk and a few meat buns."

As he spoke, Li Zhi walked slowly to the seat opposite Duan Heng and sat down slowly.

In fact, Li Zhi had no prejudice against Duan Heng from the bottom of his heart.

After all, the hostility that Duan Heng had shown towards him before was just under the instigation of King Zhou, not because Duan Heng himself had any irreconcilable hatred with him.

In Li Zhi's opinion, once the two stand on the ring, there will be no distinction between enemies, foes or friends. Everyone wants to show their strength and win. No matter who they are, they will do their best to deal with it.

Therefore, in Li Zhi's opinion, the previous frictions caused by the instigation of others could not be regarded as real hatred between the two parties, but just a confrontation under specific circumstances.

Of course, if Li Zhi knew that Duan Heng’s current miserable appearance was caused more or less by his own reasons, he probably wouldn’t think so.

Soon, the waiter swiftly brought two bowls of soy milk and a few meat buns and placed them on the table.

Li Zhi reached out and gently pushed one of the bowls of soy milk in front of Duan Heng, saying, "You got up so early, I guess you haven't had breakfast yet. Drink some soy milk and eat some buns to fill your stomach first. It's not good to be hungry this early in the morning."

When Duan Heng heard this, his eyes flashed slightly. He raised his head and looked straight at Li Zhi.

Li Zhi's free and easy attitude made Duan Heng suddenly feel that the so-called arrogance he had been holding on to seemed a little ridiculous at this moment.

The self-esteem that had been so high and mighty and refused to bow down seemed to have lost its support all of a sudden and began to crumble.

He was silent for a moment, then slowly stretched out his hands, gently held the bowl of soy milk, and picked it up.

He looked at Li Zhi, his eyes showing a little more sincerity and emotion, and said sincerely: "I will use soy milk instead of wine to toast Brother Li!"

After saying that, he tilted his head back slightly and drank the bowl of soy milk in one gulp. He looked as if he was really drinking a glass of strong liquor.