The matter under the table was brought to the table, and the atmosphere immediately became awkward.
Zhu Yanyin could only bravely say: “Uncle Zhang, you take your people to rest. I want to stay and listen for a while.”
Since his own young master insist so firmly, Zhu Zhang naturally wouldn’t force it. However, deep down in his heart, he felt quite lonely. Back in Jiangnan, the young master always treated him as a confidant. Those Jianghu storybooks and the big sword that they didn’t dare let the master or the eldest young master know about, they bought them together. Even the exploded alchemy furnace had two handfuls of yellow mud personally smeared by the loyal steward inside.
How did everything change this much once they entered the Jianghu?
Sighing, sighing.
At the dining table, Jiang Shenglin and Lan Yan silently ate their meals, wondering, How did they end up kicking each other under the table? This is moving at such a breakneck pace.
Zhu Yanyin ate the bamboo shoots in silence. Although the sound was very faint, the room was so quiet that the “crunch crunch” of chewing could still be heard clearly, making it feel especially crisp and juicy.
Li Shi followed suit and picked up a pair of chopsticks.
Zhu Yanyin then ate the cold-dressed bean sprouts, also biting them with a crisp and tender sound.
Li Shi picked up another pair of chopsticks.
Not to mention the deep-fried Three-Faced White.
Indeed, it was crispy, fragrant, and delicious.
Zhu Yanyin finally scooped up a spoonful of egg custard.
Jiang Shenglin and Lan Yin stared blankly as Li Sui took away the last small bowl.
For the earlier dishes, one could say that Young Master Zhu indeed ate with an appetizing sound, making people unable to resist wanting to taste them as well. But for this egg custard, there should be no sound. How could you imitate that?
After finishing his soup, Zhu Yanyin wiped his mouth with the handkerchief placed beside him. He then neatly folded the side stained with oil back in, neatly placing it back in its original position, before instructing the servant to bring tea.
Jiang Shenglin and Lan Yan looked at Li Sui simultaneously: Do you want to imitate this?
Palace Master Li, with an expressionless face, wiped his mouth, threw the handkerchief to Jiang Shenglin, that kind which is filled with internal force, whistling like a punch.
Divine Doctor: Obscene language
Zhu Yanyin smiled and said, “Today’s tea is Hongfeng, with a sweet aftertaste to help relieve greasiness.”
Li Sui put down the teacup: “Too bitter.”
“Hongfeng will have a sweet aftertaste.” Zhu Yanyin held the teacup, “Bitter first, then sweet.”
Jiang Shenglin patted Li Sui on the shoulder and said, “Did you hear that? First bitter, then sweet—it’s a good omen.”
Li Sui lowered his gaze and drank another cup.
The sweetness is very subtle, but it is indeed there, faint and lingering, swirling around the lips and teeth for a long time.
Seeing that his mood seemed to be quite good, Zhu Yan took the opportunity to ask, “Are you going at Shangru Mountain Villa to investigate the murder case tonight?”
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.
Jiang Shenglin: Did you also tell Young Master Zhu about the night investigation?
Lan Yan: What night investigation? Investigate what at night? What night?
Ol Vel ibbxfv ja tlw: “Gb sbe kjca ab ub?”
Zhu Yanyin was flattered: “Can I go too?”
Ol Vel rjlv: “Tbe mjc’a.”
Ol Vel rjlv: “Tbe mjc’a.”
Ite Tjcslc lwwfvljafis vfoijafv: “Ktfc kts vlv sbe jrx?”
Ol Vel iloafv atf mbgcfg bo tlr wbeat wjilmlberis, ilxf jc ecilxfjyif mtliv ktb mjamtfr j yfjealoei, mbibgoei yeaafgois ab afjrf batfgr. Qtfc atf batfg qfgrbc kjcar la, tf ifar ub jygeqais, mjerlcu atf qfgrbc ab mgs ibevis ktlif tf yegrar lcab ijeutafg klat tlr tjcvr bc tlr tlqr.
The only difference might be that mischievous children get a spanking from their fathers, while Palace Master Li doesn’t, making him even more lawless.
After finishing the Hongfeng tea, the banquet came to an end. When Zhu Zhang led people in to tidy up, he saw Zhu Yan sitting alone at the table looking gloomy. Immediately feeling sorry for him, he asked, “Is the Young Master unhappy?”
“Mm,” Zhu Yanyin said, “Staying here all day gets boring. I want to go to Kuaihuo Forest tonight to see Brother Mingchuan.”
Zhu Zhang thought to himself. Where did you get the idea that you’re ‘staying here all day’? Aren’t you always running around every few days? And you even followed Palace Master Li to the forest to investigate a murder case. Isn’t that something we should be managing? But he didn’t say anything aloud, and cheerfully coaxed, “Alright, Young Master, you sit for a bit. I’ll go have someone prepare the carriage.”
The name Kuaihuo Forest sounds like a bandit’s lair tearing apart roasted chicken with one foot on a chair, but it’s actually just an ordinary inn, just a street away from Shannan Inn. The luxurious carriage from the Zhu family stopped in front, and disciples from the Mingjian Sect immediately came out to greet, apologizing, “Young Master Zhu, our young master caught a cold today, with a slight fever and cough. He has already gone to bed.”
Zhu Yanyin said, “Then let Brother Mingchuan rest well. Don’t disturb him. I’ll go upstairs for a cup of tea and then leave. The night wind is really cold.” As he spoke, he coughed a couple of times, simulating weakness quite convincingly. The disciple of the Mingjian Sect had no choice but to arrange an empty room for this precious young master to rest.
Zhu Yanyin stood by the window and looked around. He was quite satisfied with this location. Just opposite was the pitch-black roof of Shannan Inn.
Zhu Zhang saw through it and said, “Is the Young Master here to find Young Master Zhao, right?”
Zhu Yanyin remained calm and collected, pretending not to hear. As long as I act like I didn’t hear, no one can expose me.
Zhu Zhang: Alas, the Jianghu corrupts people.
Li Sui also saw Zhu Yanyin entering Kuaihuo Forest and noticed the candles on the second floor lit up.
He didn’t dislike this kind of blatant behavior of following along to watch the excitement. In fact, when Zhu Yanyin appeared at the window, he was even in the mood to pluck a small pink flower and let it flutter across the street carried by the wind.
It happened to land on the snowy white lapel of that person.
This might be the gentlest use of internal force by Palace Master Li in his lifetime. Zhu Yanyin picked up the small flower, looked surprised and glanced across — the three-story building was still quiet in the misty night, without figures, without movement, only the second flower sent by the wind, this time landing on the collar, carrying a refreshing cold fragrance.
The third flower, the fourth flower.
Soon, Zhu Yanyin’s palm was filled with a handful of petals, but they were suddenly scattered by a gust of wind, drifting and fluttering in the air like scattered snowflakes, their fragrance filling the sleeves.
Zhu Yanyin stood by the window and smiled.
Li Sui also smiled. Leaning against the tree, his black robe almost blending into the night, his eyes no longer showing icy vigilance and murderous intent, but instead a trace of leisurely fragrance of flowers soaked into this autumn night.
The night watchman passed through the street, tapping his way along, and gradually, the lights on the entire street went out one by one.
Zhu Zhang also extinguished half of the candles, preparing the bed for his family’s young master — of course there is a bed in the inn. He whispered, “If you’re tired, take a break.”
“Not tired. We’ll go back in a while,” Zhu Yanyin remained seated at the table, keeping an eye on the activity across from him.
He was not just not tired; he was practically so energized that he could go without sleep for three days and nights, his heart filled with nervous excitement, as if he himself were in Shannan Inn.
Li Sui silently landed in the courtyard. Shangru Mountain Villa had only dispatched one accounting hall master this time, so there was naturally no need to bring many disciples. By this time, everyone was already asleep, even the on-duty guards were absent, leaving everything wide open and seemingly devoid of secrets. Indeed, there were no secrets hidden, only the intermittent sounds of snoring. The only gain might be the dozens of bottles of Hongxing Pharmacy’s healing medicine in the luggage, which were indeed identical to the bottles found in the dense forest.
Li Sui poured out some medicinal powder and placed the bottle back.
Rustle, rustle.
The footsteps on the stairs were lighter than autumn rain.
Zhu Yanyin looked up at the color of the sky, “How come it’s raining?”
Zhu Zhang draped a cloak over him, “Late autumn means plenty of rain. It’s fine if Young Master doesn’t want to go back home. At least take a nap here and don’t strain yourself.”
Zhu Yanyin turned his head again to look across the street. With the rain falling, it became even darker. Only the two rows of red lanterns in front of the inn were swaying in the wind.
Seeing his reluctant gaze, Zhu Zhang couldn’t help but ask, “Is the Young Master waiting for Palace Master Li?”
Zhu Yanyin blurted out, “No!”
Speaking about undercover espionage is not easy; it’s a secret. He cleared his throat, about to find another excuse, when suddenly a loud shout came from the night sky: “Who goes there?”
The voice was so loud that Zhu Yanyin’s heartbeat. He hurriedly ran to the window to take a look. South Mountain Inn was already lit up with torches, and the noisy voices shattered the quiet night. Many people had climbed out of bed, shouting about spies from the Demon Cult. In no time, the whole street was boiling.
People from the martial arts world were rushing out, while the common people were nervously tucking themselves in their quilts. Zhu Zhang was surprised, “Demon Cult?”
Zhu Yanyin: “…Is it the Demon Cult?” Or is it unrelated to the Demon Cult, just that someone was sneaking into the Shangru Mountain Villa and was discovered, causing this city-wide commotion? But logically, it shouldn’t be, right? Isn’t the number one in the world supposed to be very powerful?
The torches flickered across the street.
“I saw him running to the south!”
“Quick, chase!”
“Follow me!”
The guards from Zhu Residence heavily guarded the Kuaihuo Forest, leaving Zhu Yanyin no choice but to wait anxiously. In this regard, a scholar who couldn’t even catch a chicken was indeed of no help.
A dark shadow swiftly flipped over the treetops, resembling a large bat with its thin membranes spread open. It intended to disappear into an alleyway but was struck in the calf by a silver dart, causing it to drop to the ground in intense pain.
“I hit him!”
“Quick!”
The shadow rolled on the spot and continued running towards the outskirts of the city. Blood streamed from the wound on his calf, washed into a thin river by the rain. The dart seemed to be poisoned; not long after, half of the body became numb. The escape posture became increasingly stiff, and just as someone was about to catch up, a hand suddenly extended from a door. With bright red nails, resembling the female ghosts rumored to devour people, it pulled him inside.
The door closed silently.
….
The dawn was approaching.
Dozens to hundreds of people chased after the Demon Cult together, but with no unified command. In the end, no one caught anyone. By the time they finally found each other, they couldn’t even distinguish who had caused the commotion in the first place. Often, upon catching up, they realized they knew each other, which was indeed embarrassing to admit.
However, Zhu Yanyin breathed a sigh of relief. After returning to his own inn, the first thing he did was ask Lan Yan, “Has Palace Master Li returned?”
“Not yet,” Lan Yan opened the door, “Does Young Master Zhu have something to discuss?”
Zhu Yanyin looked at her clearly just-woke-up lazy appearance and tactfully reminded, “There’s word going around that the Demon Cult infiltrated Shannan Inn last night.” I think it’s probably your palace master, so perhaps you should consider sending disciples to investigate? I heard he even got injured in the leg.”
Lan Yan stretched lazily and said, “I went to take a look when it started getting noisy, but it wasn’t interesting, so I came back.”
Zhu Yanyin was stunned: Not interesting?
Suddenly, someone behind them asked coldly, “What are you two talking about?”
Li Sui, still dressed in all black, looked quite formidable. Zhu Yanyin was both relieved and worried, “You’re finally back. I heard last night that they injured someone and talked about poisoned darts. Is the injury serious?”
Li Sui frowned.
Zhu Yanyin promptly realized that the big demon lord might be sensitive about his reputation, so he promptly smoothed things over: “Throwing darts around in the pitch-black night sky—who could possibly dodge that?”
Li Sui stared at him for a moment, then suddenly flew into a rage, “Do you actually think that person who was chased all over the city last night was me?”
Zhu Yanyin was again shouted at so loudly that he had difficulty breathing. Why yell so loudly? Isn’t it true?
Li Sui gritted his teeth: “Come here!”
Zhu Yanyin hid behind the table, with a righteous expression on his face, I’m not coming over. If I can’t argue back, I’m not coming over.
Translator’s Rant:
The fluttering pink flowers had me giggling so hard.
The love is in the air ~~~~~. -`♡´–`♡´–`♡´-
And, soon, a certain family’s young master will be in the air. Wait, he is always in the air. (˵ •̀ ᴗ – ˵ ) ✧
Also, the Palace Master Li wants to voice his grievances: My snow-white richie-rich husband from Zhu Family of Jiangnan thinks I am weak. QwQ. (˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )
Lan Yan: (o_O)
Divine Doctor Jiang: ( ._. )””
The three at the beginning make me laugh so much 😂😭
Ai ai ai, Palace Master Li! Already sending flowers?🤔 you’re actually whipped 😅
Thank you for the update
🌺
The flowers were so romantic! but also Zhu Yanyin thinking it was Li Sui who was hurt and ruining the romance is fabulous too😂😂
Thanks for the chapter
🩷❤️🧡