Translator: Kelaude Editor: Kelaude
Yan Liqiang was foolishly laughing under the gaze of everyone within the room. At this very moment, Yan Liqiang wasn’t even thinking about how he would be rewarded by the Lu Clan. His heart was only filled with pure excitement and joy. As a person who had been given two chances to live, he didn’t expect that he himself would be able to bring the dead back to life.
As long as one was using the right method, it was possible for them to trade in a few cheap moxa sticks for a person’s life. Sure enough, a precious thing such as life wasn’t necessarily expensive.
“Little Seventh, bring Young Master Yan to the Peony Hall and have him take a seat there. Serve him well, I will join him in a moment…” Old Master Lu spoke up.
The person that Old Master Lu had been addressing as ‘Little Seventh’ was Head Steward Lu. Of the entire Lu Clan, only Old Master Lu was able to address Head Steward Lu as ‘Little Seventh’. Amongst the others of the Lu Clan would address to him as ‘Seventh Uncle’ or ‘Seventh Master’.
“Understood, Old Master!” Head Steward Lu nodded, then walked to Yan Liqiang’s side and spoke politely. “Young Master Yan, it’s a bit chaotic here, so please follow me to the Peony Hall to take a short break!”
“Please lead the way, Head Steward Lu!” Yan Liqiang nodded. He had stopped looking around and was already following Head Steward out of the room.
The few physicians that the Lu Clan had invited were all found standing outside by the door, waiting for Yan Liqiang to make a fool out of himself. When they saw Yan Liqiang coming out of the room, all of them looked at his expression as though they were looking at a living three-headed alien with six limbs descending from a flying saucer.
They instantly crowded around him almost all at once. They bore a resemblance to paparazzi seeing a celebrity as they tried to outdo each other rushing towards the front.
Before any of them could say anything, Head Steward Lu spoke up first. “Everyone, Young Master Yan is a bit exhausted and wishes to rest. If you have something to ask, please wait until it is more convenient for Young Master Yan!”
Yan Liqiang didn’t say anything. He simply smiled at the few physicians before leaving with Head Steward Lu.
The Lu Clan had witnessed the secret technique in action, saving a life, but they probably would not spread that information around due to it being a taboo. If the Lu Clan were to sell him out after he had saved their eldest grandchild, then the Lu Clan would have tarnished their own reputation throughout Huanglong County, or possibly even in the entire Pingxi Prefecture. In short, this wouldn’t bring any benefits for the Lu Clan. Even so, there was no need for the Lu Clan to do something as foolish as this, as they had no reason to do so. For the Lu Clan, the most that they would possibly do was if the same thing were to happen again, they would use the method themselves, instead of hiring someone else.
So this secret technique was still a special technique that those few alone would know for now.
Yan Liqiang had the intention of spreading the knowledge of this method too. It would be even better if everyone were to know of this so that more drowning victims could be saved. However, he didn’t want it to be done this way. If this came from someone else’s mouth, the physicians would just think to themselves ‘Oh, so it was this easy? Why did I not think of this before?’ Thus, not realizing just how impressive Yan Liqiang was or how valuable this secret technique was and taking it for granted instead. Yan Liqiang had really been one lucky bastard. Had there been any nasty people amongst them, then they would have sabotaged him out of jealousy after learning the secret technique, and possibly gone around destroying his reputation.
This was Yan Liqiang’s conclusion based on the experiences he had accumulated throughout his past life. Being a great person not only required one to work hard but also one to work smart. Sometimes, you have to pretend when it is time to do so. If you don’t, it might turn out badly instead. Most people were suckers when it came to this.
…
Yan Liqiang only walked for less than a minute with Head Steward Lu’s leading before arriving at Peony Hall of the Lu Residence.
This Peony Hall should be the place where the Lu Clan would receive their important guests. It was a secluded area, with a garden built right outside filled with peonies. All the furnishings in that room were extravagant and refined.
The moment that Yan Liqiang walked into the Peony Hall, his stomach growled. The growling noises were so loud that they sounded just like a toad croaking, and even Head Steward Lu who was just beside him could hear it.
Head Steward Lu apologized. “Please forgive us for being such inconsiderate hosts today! Take a seat here, Young Master Yan, I will arrange for dinner to be prepared for you at once!”
Yan Liqiang only smiled and nodded, but didn’t decline because he was indeed hungry. He had spent the day walking around the county town of Huanglong County and was worn out. His initial thought was to return to the Weaponsmiths Quarter for dinner, but he hadn’t expected to have gotten involved in this incident. Two or three hours had passed by just like that. He didn’t even feel any fatigue when he was busy rescuing the child just now, but now that he could relax, he was so hungry that it felt as though his front was sticking to his back [1].
Head Steward Lu left Peony Hall to arrange for Yan Liqiang’s dinner, then returned the very next moment. He stayed in the Peony Hall to keep Yan Liqiang company and chatted with him, as it was proper etiquette.
Head Steward Lu was someone who became wiser as he aged. He chatted with Yan Liqiang and praised him greatly. The topic of their conversation eventually shifted to Yan Liqiang.
Yan Liqiang didn’t try to hide anything either because he couldn’t do it at all. So, he went with the flow and told Head Steward Lu all the things that he could say about his situation back at home.
These weren’t the kind of things that could be hidden and there was nothing for him to hide anyway. That was because his hometown was in Qinghe County, which was just adjacent to Huanglong County. If the Lu Clan really wanted to learn about him, they could easily send a Steward out there to gather information on him and they would find out everything there was to learn about him.
As two of them were talking, within a short while, Yan Liqiang’s dinner had arrived.
Although it was called a dinner, it was more like a feast.
A few bulky-looking Lu Clan servants moved in a huge round table and placed it in the middle of Peony Hall. Following suit, maids that were dressed up like beautiful butterflies served up a variety of appetizing dishes. In just the blink of an eye, the table in front of Yan Liqiang was filled with fragrant dishes. There were more than twenty dishes and their aroma permeated throughout the room. There were also a few bottles of decades-old aged fine wine.
With the exception of two dishes, Yan Liqiang had not been able to identify any of the others on the table Of those two dishes, one of them was a thick bear paw.
A steamed bear paw wasn’t a dish that could be prepared under such short notice as it required the better half of day to prepare. For the Lu Clan to have been able to serve this up at such speed, it was evident that this was a dish that was frequently served within the Lu Clan’s kitchen. It was quite possible that they had a few bear paws steaming in the kitchen every day so they could request for it to be served whenever they wanted.
Yan Liqiang hadn’t even seen this kind of sumptuous high-end dish more than once in his past life, much less in this life.
This entire table was full of dishes that were truly too wasteful and extravagant for Yan Liqiang to enjoy alone.
“Young Master Yan, please enjoy your meal!” Head Steward Lu politely gestured to invite him to help himself to the food.
Yan Liqiang held the chopsticks that were made out of elephant tusk with silver patterns carved on them, not knowing why his tears were rolling down his face while looking at the table that was filled with dishes.
…
Head Steward Lu was slightly shocked. “Is Young Master Yan not satisfied with the dishes that have been served? If you aren’t happy with it, I will have someone serve you something else!”
“Oh no, that’s not it!” Yan Liqiang wiped his tears. “This is embarrassing, Head Steward Lu. I am only suddenly remembering my father back at home. He’s been forging every day to earn a living. For over more than ten years, he has been waking up early and going to bed late, scrimping and saving for the sake of allowing me to practice my martial arts. He is usually reluctant to eat any meat and only gave them all to me. I think he has probably never eaten a sumptuous meal like this in his entire life so I couldn’t help feeling emotional!”
Head Steward Lu didn’t laugh upon hearing this, rather he stared at Yan Liqiang deeply. Along with the tone of his voice, the gaze on Yan Liqiang instantly softened by a lot. “Young Master Yan, there’s no need to be so emotional. After today, Young Master Yan’s father will no longer need to bear such hardships!”
…
Yan Liqiang ate for about half an hour and was able to finish about half of the dishes served on the table all by himself.
Over the days he had spent cultivating the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Manual, especially after he had passed the Horse Stance stage, Yan Liqiang’s appetite had gradually grown bigger. Especially when faced with such a sumptuous meal, Yan Liqiang wouldn’t hold back in the least and immediately stuffed himself to the fullest.
Yan Liqiang only ate the food and didn’t drink any wine. After finishing his meal, the maid served him tea and fruits.
After he was done with the fruits and had a bit of the tea, only then were the dishes on the table cleared away.
But as soon as the dishes were cleared away, something else was carried in.
The servants of the Lu Clan brought forth two heavy chests in and placed them on the table. Head Steward Lu then proceeded to open the chests, revealing the two chests to be full of gold bars that shimmered and dazzled under the candlelight. They were so blinding that Yan Liqiang had to involuntarily squint his eyes.
As Yan Liqiang was estimating the amount of gold that was within the chests, Old Master Lu entered from outside with a smile.
…
