Translator: Myuu Editor: Myuu
Since many people were on the road, the carriage couldn’t go too fast due to the heavy traffic. But at least it was still moving. Yan Liqiang sat beside the coachman with his eyes slightly squinched, pretending to observe the scenery of Hui Provincial City and the pedestrians on the streets in curiosity. In reality, he was trying to sniff out any threats among the crowds.
The coachman knew his manners very well too. He just drove the carriage in silence the entire time. He didn’t ask any questions either, so Yan Liqiang had some peace and quiet to himself.
The carriage didn’t enter Hui Provincial City. After leaving the wharf, they took a little detour on the public road outside the city and arrived at the entrance of a rather secluded manor in the eastern part of Hui Provincial City by sunset.
The manor was built in a lush peach forest, away from the public road. The scenic area was sparsely populated, and the closest village, which was a quiet place, was a li away from the peach forest.
As soon as the carriage came to a stop, Yan Liqiang saw a fine-looking middle-aged man in his fifties or sixties standing at the entrance, as he watched the approaching carriage with sparkling eyes. He was dressed in green robes and had a beautiful long beard.
Yan Liqiang was the first to get off. He went to the carriage at the back and opened the door so that Sun Bingchen, Liang Yijie, and Ye Tiancheng could get off the vehicle.
As soon as the man saw Sun Bingchen come out from the carriage, he immediately walked over to him.
Sun Bingchen’s face also broke into a smile when he saw the middle-aged man.
“Lord Fu!”
“Lord Sun!”
Both of them cupped their fists to each other in greeting. The gaze of the person whom Sun Bingchen addressed as Lord Fu then fell on Ye Tiancheng’s face. A brilliant shimmer flashed across his eyes. “So this is whom Lord Sun has brought from Gan Province?”
“That’s right!” Sun Bingchen nodded.
“Good work, Lord Sun. This way please!”
“Please!” Both of them then took the lead and walked through the entrance.
Yan Liqiang looked at Liang Yijie who gave him reassuring look in return, so Yan Liqiang followed him and they went in together.
Facing the main entrance of the manor was a screen wall. Behind it was a pond with two corridors on either side. The group walked through the corridor and arrived inside the manor. A few servants dressed in black that were inside the manor immediately came over, ready to receive orders.
Yan Liqiang glanced at the servants in black and realized that they had a refined aura and were very steady on their feet. They didn’t look like servants at all with the solemn and icy looks on their faces. Instead, they seemed more like martial practitioners who were dressed in servant clothing.
“Lord Sun, I have already prepared a secret room in the manor. You may temporarily keep him there. There’s no way he can escape from there…”
Sun Bingchen turned his head around to look at Liang Yijie and gave him a nod. Liang Yijie then handed over Ye Tiancheng to the servants in black and let them take him away.
Yan Liqiang finally let out a sigh of relief.
For the remaining amount of time, Lord Fu wished to spend it privately with Sun Bingchen alone. Both of them seemed to have something to discuss so Sun Bingchen didn’t make Liang Yijie and Yan Liqiang stay either. Instead, both of them were allowed to have their meal and rest.
The manor had also prepared dinner for Liang Yijie and Yan Liqiang since they were Sun Bingchen’s personal attendants. However, both of them were to have their meals in another courtyard separately, away from Sun Bingchen.
The manor’s servants retreated after serving seven dishes and soup to Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie.
After the servants were gone, Liang Yijie habitually tested the food with a silver needle he carried with him. Upon verifying that the silver needle didn’t change color, he nodded to Yan Liqiang and both of them proceeded to enjoy their dinner.
While they were eating, Yan Liqiang asked Liang Yijie a question softly after making sure that there was no one else around. “Brother Liang, who is Lord Fu?”
“Lord Fu is the Crown Prince’s advisor!”
“The Crown Prince’s advisor?” Despite the fact that Yan Liqiang had been in this world for quite awhile now, he was still dumbfounded by this official position [1].
Liang Yijie looked left and right, then lowered his voice. “Before the current Emperor succeeded the throne and was still the Crown Prince, Lord Fu used to coach His Majesty in horsemanship. Do you understand?”
“Ah, so this advisor was His Majesty’s former riding coach!”
“Well, that’s pretty much it!”
“Why is he here now?”
“Lord Fu’s hometown is in Hui Provincial City. Two years ago, Lord Fu returned home for his parent’s funeral. Since he hasn’t fulfilled his three-year filial mourning [2], he is still staying in Hui Provincial City.”
Yan Liqiang nodded in understanding and secretly breathed a sigh of relief…
Since Lord Fu served the Emperor and Sun Bingchen also trusted him, he had nothing to worry about.
……
By the time Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie finished their meal, the sky was completely dark. The servants in the manor naturally led both of them somewhere for them to rest.
Traveling in disguise for the past few days had made Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie extremely tense. They almost never had a day of good sleep. Now that they were allowed to rest, Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie didn’t say much and just returned to their own rooms which were adjacent to each other in the same courtyard.
However, Yan Liqiang didn’t rest when he returned to his room. After checking the room once and ensuring that there were no issues, he shut all the windows, the door, and put out the light in his room. He lit up the incense stick he brought with him and started cultivating.
As soon as the incense stick burned out and Yan Liqiang had just finished a round of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, he heard movements coming from the courtyard outside. Sun Bingchen had returned and his room was in the same courtyard.
As Sun Bingchen’s subordinate, Yan Liqiang stopped cultivating when he realized that Sun Bingchen was back. He opened the door and went out.
An old man, who seemed like the steward of the manor, carried a lantern and escorted Sun Bingchen back to the courtyard.
“Sir…”
Sun Bingchen smiled at Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie who had come out from their rooms. He waved at both of them. “Yijie, Liqiang, both of you have worked hard these two days. I’ll be fine here. Go back and have a good rest. I will call both of you if something comes up.”
Seeing that Sun Bingchen had returned to his room, Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie exchanged looks and also returned to their own rooms.
Yan Liqiang continued practicing a few more rounds of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing before he washed up and went to bed. After spending another uneventful day in the Heavenly Realm, he finally fell onto the bed and slept…
Around midnight, Yan Liqiang, who was sleeping on his bed, suddenly opened his eyes.
He didn’t know why he suddenly woke up with a start out of the blue with his heart palpitating.
Yan Liqiang sat up on the bed and listened attentively with his ears. It was silent outside the window of his room. The moonlight flowed like water, shining on the peach blossoms in the yard which cast shadows on the windows. Only the sounds of crickets chirping could be heard. Nothing seemed to be out of place.
‘Am I just too tense?’ — Yan Liqiang muttered in his heart.
Just then, a miserable scream suddenly came from outside…
