May is the hottest time of the year, and this area is dry with little rain. Running horses for over ten miles on flat ground can make one’s throat thirsty enough to bleed. Wan Zhuyun simply ordered to travel mostly at night and sleep during the day.
Zhu Yan Yin was initially not accustomed to it, but later he adapted. Traveling at night was indeed much cooler and more comfortable. The only downside was that candles couldn’t be lit inside the moving carriages, and the light of pearls was not bright enough, making it boring without the ability to read during the journey, and people became listless.
The steward accompanying the convoy was named Zhu Zhang. He was meticulous and capable, handling all matters, large and small, with great proficiency. He had taken care of Zhu Yanyin for over ten years and knew his temperament and character the best. This time, he immediately guessed the reason for the young master’s listlessness. He thought it wouldn’t do and needed to find a solution.
So he immediately took action.
….
The night scenery in the northwest is extremely beautiful.
Zhu Yanyin crawled out of the carriage and plopped down beside Uncle Zhong. The wind lifted his white clothes, and in the distance, the Milky Way stretched across the sky, and the brilliance of the stars filled his eyes.
Zhong Shu asked cheerfully, “Why did Young Master suddenly sigh?”
Zhu Yanyin held the reins of the horse, feeling gloomy: “There’s nothing to do.”
Uncle Zhong glanced towards the road. “I noticed the young master frequently visiting Divine Doctor Jiang’s carriage a few days ago. He seems idle now. How about I invite him over to keep the young master company and chat?”
“Never mind.” Zhu Yanyin leaned back, feeling even more listless.
Before, he often went to Jiang Sheng Lin’s carriage, hoping to get some information about his own connections with the jianghu from him. However, the doctor remained tight-lipped and refused to say anything.
The conversation often went like this—
Zhu Yanyin: “But Palace Master Li openly mentioned the Qili Lake incident at the Martial Arts Conference, which clearly has numerous connections to me.”
Jiang Shenglin actually wanted to find a reason to help Li Sui smooth things over, but no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t come up with a less absurd excuse. With his conscience still intact, he didn’t want to continue deceiving an amnesiac patient with lies. In the end, he had to say decisively, “He was just teasing you.”
Zhu Yanyin didn’t believe it. “Palace Master Li doesn’t seem like the type to joke around.”
Or to be more precise, he probably won’t even crack a smile. Even if he goes to a family wedding, his expression will only be, ‘Take my blessings, now get lost.’
Jiang Shenglin: “Well, I don’t know. Maybe you should ask Palace Master Li himself to understand the purpose of the Qili Lake incident.”
Zhu Yanyin: “Hmm.”
Jiang Shenglin warned, “But Palace Master Li has never liked people who ask too many questions. You better not ask him, lest you stir up trouble again.”
“Will he kill me?”
“He will!”
Zhu Yanyin: “Alright, then I won’t go.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Zhu Yanyin shifted his gaze down slightly and said flatly, “What is it?”
Zhu Zhang asked, “Would the Young Master like to hear stories from the martial world?”
Zhu Yanyim sat up straight, “What kind of martial world stories?”
Another person, around thirty years old, with a ruddy complexion, a robust physique, and a large broadsword hanging from his waist, approached on horseback. He greeted loudly, “I am Wu Dapeng of the Yuyang Gang. I’ve come to tell stories for Young Master Zhu.”
Zhu Yanyin indeed liked his heroic appearance, and immediately perked up.
Wu Dapeng’s voice was strong and clear, with a rhythmic tone and clear pronunciation, making him an excellent storyteller.
He sat next to the coachman and regaled Zhu Yanyin in the carriage with an exciting and colorful tale of the martial world for a full two hours. He paid special attention to the reception of the young master from Jiangnan, briefly mentioning bloody murder cases while vividly describing humorous anecdotes. He danced with excitement at times, and not only Zhu Yanyin but also Uncle Zhong, who had traveled far and wide, couldn’t help but laugh.
As a result, the entire martial arts alliance learned the next day that Wu Dapeng of the Yuyang Gang had entertained Young Master Zhu with captivating stories all night, earning a handsome reward.
Li Sui asked, “What’s all the commotion in the back?”
“Reporting to the Palace Master, it is the steward of the Zhu family who is selecting storytellers,” the shadow guard said. “It is said to be for entertaining Young Master Zhu.”
Because of the generous reward, there was an extremely enthusiastic response to sign up. The line behind Zhu Zhang’s carriage almost formed a long queue, and even servants had to come out to maintain order.
Li Sui frowned: “Absurd!”
Jiang Shenglin also found Chi Tian’s many tricks unsettling. This group of martial artists seemed too lax. But currently, they were still a thousand miles away from the northeast. It didn’t seem quite practical to expect everyone to be on high alert from now on. Let’s just take it one step at a time.
As they headed further north, autumn drew near, and the weather gradually became cooler.
Upon careful calculation, it had been over a month since they departed from Jincheng.
Zhu Xiaosui said, “Beyond this point is Baitou City.”
Baitou City was nestled by mountains and water, with well-developed river and land transportation. It can be considered a major town in Dayu, and the Zhu Family had a branch of their bank there, with a considerable scale.
Zhu Yanyin stood by the roadside, stretching his muscles vigorously: “Where’s Uncle Zhong?”
“He’s in the back, feeding the horses,” Zhu Xiaosui said. “The weather is cool now; how about I accompany the Young Master for a stroll?”
They walked straight to the group of horses. Uncle Zhong was an old coachman who not only knew the horses’ habits like the back of his hand but also meticulously prepared their feed. The fragrant bean cakes were mixed with fruit pulp, corn, and bran. They were pressed with a mold imprinted with the character “fat.” If you say it is a snack for people at night, some people might believe it.
Zhu Yanyin took a piece of bean cake and learned to feed the horses. The Zhu Family paid attention to details, even when it came to horses. They ate without contention, chewing slowly. It was evident that these horses were from a wealthy family.
Zhu Yanyin found it quite amusing and clapped his hands to get rid of the crumbs, intending to take another cake. Unexpectedly, he touched a furry head.
“Ah!” He was startled.
The Snow-Kicking Black Roan was staring at him with a pair of dewy eyes.
The horse’s body was jet black, its hooves resembling snow, its back shiny and lustrous. The mane was stiff and curled, and its appearance was much fiercer than the Night Jade Lion.
However, despite its ferocity, the horse was now docile, gently rubbing its head against Zhu Yanyin’s palm, occasionally casting its gaze towards the bag.
Palace Master Li was extremely stern and never drank plum soup.
But Palace Master Li’s horse is obviously not very enlightened. Smelling the aroma of the bean cake, it opened its mouth on its own.
Mixed among the other horses, which were elegant and white, this one was wild and fierce, devouring half a pocketful of bean cakes in one go.
Uncle Zhong: “…”
Night Jade Lion: “…”
—
A full moon hung in the sky, silver and faintly revealing strands of red.
In the mountains lies a deep pool, with water that is icy cold and bone-chilling.
Li Sui immersed himself in it, bare-chested, his eyes tightly closed, his face devoid of any color. His black hair, drenched in water, lay disorderly against his chest, making him appear even more pale and eerie.
After a long time, he opened his eyes and looked towards Jiang Shenglin on the shore. “How long this time?”
“An hour.”Compared to the previous poison outbreak, there was an extra cup of tea’s worth of time.
Li Sui leaped out of the cold pool, pulled a black robe from the tree branches, and covered his body. Barefoot, he stepped over the dry branches. “It’s nothing.”
Jiang Shenglin cursed inwardly. Who is the doctor here, you or me? Just because you say it’s nothing, does that mean it’s nothing?
Li Sui added, “At least Chi Tian will die earlier than me.”
Jiang Shenglin said helplessly, “Apart from Chi Tian, can’t you compare your longevity with other people? For example, the three elders of Qingxu Temple.” Their snow-white beards dragged down to their chests, making them look like they were already two hundred years old, but they were still quite fortunate and auspicious.
“They have no grudges against me.”
“How about I have Qingxu Temple deliberately offend you as much as possible to see if it can stimulate your fighting spirit?”
Li Sui put on his clothes and said, “Not funny.”
Jiang Shenglin replied, ‘If it’s not funny, that’s good. If I could tell a funny story, why bother wasting my energy trying to cure you? I might as well go into that luxurious carriage made of yellow sandalwood and tell stories to Second Young Master Zhu. I bet by now, he’s saved up enough silver to buy land and houses in Jiangnan, become a wealthy landlord, and marry eight wives.’
Li Sui, irritated by the constant chatter, threatened, “Say one more word, and I’ll throw you into the cold pool.”
Jiang Shenglin sighed, “…. ” Forget it, what’s the point of getting angry? It’ll only waste my energy and stress me out further.
Halfway up the mountain, bonfires were burning, linked together in piles like a red jumping dragon.
When Li Sui returned to the mountain path, the Snow-Kicking Black Roan was pacing back and forth by a tree, wagging its tail and snorting.
Although it was somewhat strange to describe a jet-black horse with a “joyful expression,” Palace Master Li felt that his horse did indeed seem to be in a good mood.
….
Three days later, the group arrived at Baitou City.
The manager of the Zhu Family’s bank had been waiting at the city gate for a long time. As soon as he saw their caravan, he briskly walked forward with a smile, “Second Young Master, Manager Zhu, this journey must have been hard on you.”
“Not too hard, just that sitting makes my whole body sore.” Zhu Yanyin looked at the numerous purple-clad people behind him, “Are these all employees of the bank?”
The bank manager quickly explained, “Our people are already in the city. That group of people are disciples of the Heavenly Spider Hall. I heard they are here to welcome Palace Master Li.”
Zhu Yanyin was even more surprised because, according to his observations along the way, the majority of jianghu sects tended to avoid Li Sui when they saw him approaching. They were basically in a state of “wanting to get close but not wanting to die immediately, so it’s better to keep a distance.” Sky Spider Hall was the first to actively approach him.
Seeing that his young master was interested in the matter, the bank manager continued, “The Hall Master of the Sky Spider Hall is named Pan Shihou, 48 years old this year. He’s a decent person, but he always brags. He particularly likes to brag about his close relationship with the Palace Master Li of Wanren Palace. He even claims that the two address each other as uncle and nephew.”
Zhu Yanyin asked, “Are there many disciples in the Sky Spider Hall? Why didn’t they participate in the Martial Arts Alliance?”
“In the northwest region, it’s considered a major martial arts sect. Pan Shihou’s position in the martial arts world is also not low,” the bank manager said. “This time he’s been unwell, sick for three to five months, so he didn’t go to Jincheng.”
At this moment, Pan Shihou was being supported by his servants, with a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, unable to stand steadily, indeed looking weak.
Coming to the city gate like this despite being so weak shows how much importance he place on Li Sui.
However, it was evident that Li Sui didn’t place much importance on him.
The elder of the Beggar’s Sect, who was on good terms with Pan Shihou, came over and whispered a reminder, “The people from Wanren Palace chose the western mountain route this morning. They’re probably planning to bypass the city and head straight to the Cui River.”
After hearing this, Pan Shihou’s face alternated between red and white, but he still tried to save face, “Elder Liu misunderstood. I’m here to welcome friends from the Martial Arts Alliance. My residence has already prepared a banquet with wine and food. Please do not be polite with me.”
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