Although Xia Liuchuan was a little worried, he had no choice but to leave Xia Dongyue’s office.
“Brother, you seem to have something on your mind. Is it because you didn’t obtain the Guardian cocoon?” Xia Xuanyue asked with concern when she saw Xia Liuchuan frowning.
“Zhou Wen is on his way to the Imperial Capital. Old Master has already ordered the people from the East Courtyard to bring him back before he enters the Imperial Capital,” Xia Liuchuan said.
“Why is Old Master taking Zhou Wen into custody?” Having not heard of this, Xia Xuanyue’s expression changed slightly when she learned of it.
Xia Liuchuan hurriedly stopped Xia Xuanyue from continuing. He looked around and seeing that no one was passing by, he said softly, “You should be the only person to know about this. Don’t mention it again, and don’t tell anyone. Also, don’t ask too much about the Old Master. Do you understand?”
“Why?” Xia Xuanyue was still confused.
In fact, Xia Xuanyue’s impression of the Old Master was very vague. Although the Old Master was the true head of the Xia family, Xia Xuanyue had only seen him a handful of times despite having grown up in the Xia family.
In her impression, the Old Master was a stern old man in a white robe. He occasionally appeared at important Xia family ceremonies. He usually lived in the East Courtyard.
The East Courtyard was also a restricted area in the Xia family. Without the Old Master’s summoning, even Xia Dongyue couldn’t enter and leave the East Courtyard freely.
Only those who were in charge of taking care of the Old Master’s daily needs could enter the East Courtyard.
Most of the people who were in charge of taking care of the Old Master’s daily needs were not from the Xia family. However, they were all loyal to the Old Master and wouldn’t hesitate or doubt his orders.
When Xia Xuanyue was young, she had seen an elder of the Xia family who was seized by the people from the East Courtyard for some unknown crime. After entering the East Courtyard, he never came out again.
“Don’t ask why. Trust me. I’m your brother. I won’t harm you,” Xia Liuchuan said as he looked into Xia Xuanyue’s eyes.
“I understand.” Xia Xuanyue nodded slightly.
“Get some rest. Since this matter has already been handed over to the East Courtyard, we don’t have to bother about it anymore.” Xia Liuchuan seemed to have something on his mind. After saying that, he returned to his residence.
However, before he could open the door, someone sent a message saying that the Old Master wanted to see him.
Xia Liuchuan’s heart quaked. He had already guessed why the Old Master was looking for him.
Xia Liuchuan took a deep breath and followed the butler to the East Courtyard.
If it wasn’t necessary, Xia Liuchuan would rather not enter the East District ever again.
When he was young, he had actually liked visiting the East Courtyard. The Old Master doted on him very much. The other members of the Xia family were not allowed to enter the East Courtyard, but he was specially permitted by the Old Master to enter freely.
At that time, Xia Liuchuan could be said to be able to get whatever he wanted. Even if he plucked the flowers personally planted by the Old Master, the Old Master would only laugh and never punish him.
However, after he turned fifteen, Xia Liuchuan seldom went to the East Courtyard. Although he still had the privilege of doing so, he was unwilling to go again.
As he stepped into the familiar garden and saw the familiar decorations and flowers, Xia Liuchuan had mixed feelings.
“Little Chuan, Dongyue has already told me about your matters. Don’t worry, I’ll let Zhou Wen enter the Imperial Capital alive. I’ll let you win the bet and obtain the chance to contract the guardian.” A white-robed elder sat in a stone pavilion with a pond by its side, feeding the carp in it.
“Sorry to trouble you.” Xia Liuchuan bowed slightly.
He was a fearless person who dared to do anything, but in front of this Old Master, he didn’t dare to do anything rash.
As the elder fed the fish, he continued, “It’s nothing much. It’s just a matter of time. After you contract the Guardian, I want you to personally bring Zhou Wen back to me. Can you do it?”
“Old Master, everyone around you is stronger than me. Why must I go?” Xia Liuchuan said.
“If you aren’t willing, let Xuanyue go,” the elder said indifferently.
Xia Liuchuan gapped his mouth as though he wanted to say something, but he didn’t say anything in the end. He only nodded. “Got it. I’ll bring Zhou Wen back.”
“Remember, you are the future master of the Xia family. No matter how strong the people under you are, they are ultimately servants,” the elder said.
“I understand,” Xia Liuchuan lowered his head and said.
…
Zhou Wen rushed all the way to the Imperial Capital and didn’t encounter anything strange. Apart from the fact that the log was especially heavy and making it difficult for him to go any faster, there wasn’t much trouble.
When Zhou Wen saw the two words—Imperial Capital—from afar, he couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief.
“Ol’ Ante, where should I place this log when I reach the Imperial Capital?” Zhou Wen asked the antelope.
The antelope wrote on the ground with its hooves, “Erect it on the peak of the Forbidden City.”
Zhou Wen saw the words written by the antelope and immediately widened his eyes.
The Imperial Capital’s Forbidden City was now a very special dimensional zone. It was also one of the dimensional zones that the Xia family valued the most. Its importance was no less than that of the Ancient Sword Tomb.
According to what Zhou Wen knew, ever since the dimensional storms, the Xia family had sealed off the Forbidden City dimensional zone, preventing anyone from approaching.
If he wanted to enter, it shouldn’t be difficult for him to do so with the Invisibility Cloak’s ability.
However, it was impossible for him to enter the city without anyone noticing while carrying such a huge object. He had to clash with the Xia family.
“Ol’ Ante, are you deliberately setting me up?” Zhou Wen seriously suspected that the antelope had deliberately set him up because he had forcefully dragged it out to come with him on this trip.
The antelope ignored him and stepped across the Imperial Capital’s Boundary Stone.
Zhou Wen had to follow. He had no other choice at this point in time.
Zhou Wen seldom went out, so he had never seen a city as big as the Imperial Capital. Compared to it, Luoyang appeared rather small in scale and numbers.
As there were too many people, Zhou Wen didn’t ride the Great Might Vajra Bull. He walked forward while carrying the wooden log.
Although this was the Imperial Capital, people still gawked when they saw Zhou Wen walking on the streets with such a huge block of wood.
Zhou Wen originally planned on contacting Wang Lu when he arrived in the Imperial Capital. However, it wasn’t appropriate for him to treat her to a meal while carrying a huge log. Therefore, he decided not to contact her. It wouldn’t be too late to contact her after resolving the matter with the log.
He found a hotel and checked in. The room was rather expensive, but Zhou Wen still paid for it without any hesitation. Furthermore, he booked the room for a week.
This place was relatively close to Forbidden City. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows in the room, one could see the distant Forbidden City. This was also why Zhou Wen chose to stay here.
How can I sneak this log in? Zhou Wen stood in front of the window and stared at the ancient Forbidden City in the distance as many thoughts flashed through his mind.
