The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 277- 279

Chapter 277: These Roast Pheasants Smell So Good!

Ling Zhang’s attention was drawn to the roast pheasants on the grill, his worry ebbing away. Smelling the tantalizing aroma and watching the dripping fat, he found himself stroking his belly.

Yuwen Tong gave a smile and was just about to speak when he suddenly paused, twisting his head aside to look at a clump of bushes to their right.

Ling Zhang’s eyes also flashed in that direction.

A faint rustle was heard. At first Ling Zhang thought that it was some kind of wild beast approaching, and then he felt it sounded more like a human than an animal, but its breathing was a little weak, and there was also the sound of footsteps on crisp leaves. It sounded like… a child?

After a while, the bushes shook and with that a little boy’s head with two buns on top poked up through the foliage, his fair-skinned, chubby, little cheeks as delicate and adorable as those of the boy beside the lotus seat of the Bodhisattva in a New Year painting, his big, round, liquid eyes as bright and sparkling as obsidian in spring water. The moment his little head popped out, he started looking around and soon caught sight of Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong as well as their… roast pheasants.

His limpid eyes immediately lighting up, he crawled his way out of the bushes. His plump little hands were also fair-skinned and appeared very pleasant to the touch, fallen leaves sticking to his hair and robes which were simple-styled but made of soft, sumptuous material. After getting out of the bushes, he pulled himself up, casually dusted off his hands and then trotted towards Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong, but he didn’t get too close, stopping a few paces away, flicked a surprised glance at them and then looked at the roast pheasants and asked in a babyish voice, “Who are you? What are you doing?”

Ling Zhang had been astonished when he’d seen that it was really a kid, and been gazing at the little boy all along. Noticing that the style of the boy’s robes was rather different from that of the robes worn by common children in the outside world, he got a shrewd idea of where he might be from. After hearing the boy’s questions, he answered, “We were invited to pay a visit to this place.”

“To pay a visit?” The little boy tilted his head slightly to one side, his big eyes full of puzzlement. “My uncle said no outsiders could get in. Where are you from?”

Uncle? Ling Zhang guessed that this boy lived in the Millennium Pavilion and his uncle was probably a member of the organization.

And surprised as this little boy’s eyes were, there was not much wariness in them. He seemed very naive and unsophisticated.

“We came here with an elder named Ji Yin,” said Yuwen Tong.

At the sound of Ji Yin’s name, the little boy seemed to suddenly understand, an expression of dawning comprehension on his face. “Oooh, it turns out you came here with the Prime Elder.”

Having realized this, the little boy was much less afraid of Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong, stepped closer and crouched down beside the fire, sniffing the tempting smell of the roast pheasants, staring at the them with gleaming eyes. He swallowed hard and asked, “What are you doing?”

“Roasting pheasants. They’re very delicious. You want to give it a shot?” said Ling Zhang in a low voice, involuntarily sounding a trifle amused, for the sight of the little boy gazing at the roast pheasants with longing glinting eyes was so amusing. He could bet it was by the aroma of the roast pheasants that this little boy had been lured here.

Eyes glinting even more expectantly, the little boy bobbed his head repeatedly. He was just about to answer when a voice came from the clump of bushes behind him. “Cong.”

On hearing this voice, before the little boy reacted, Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong were taken aback. The speaker was right behind the bushes, but neither of them had sensed their presence!

How was this possible? Even when Ji Yin got close to him, Yuwen Tong could faintly detect his Qi, but this person…

“Uncle!” called the little boy, twisting his head around. “I’m here!”

“I know you’re there. I’ve already seen you. You’ve been misbehaving yourself and running around.” The speaker walked out from behind the bushes. He was young, slim-figured, clothed in very plain, light gray robes, one of the lower hems of which was stuffed into his belt, looking casual and simple. His long, black hair was simply tied behind his head, flying in the wind. He slowly walked over, and only at this moment did his footsteps become audible.

Aside from these, there were two things about him that were the most conspicuous. The first one was a multicoloured bird standing on his shoulder, which gave a squeak and haughtily raised its head, scorning to look at Ling Zhang or Yuwen Tong; the second one was a round, scarlet little mole in the middle of his fair-skinned brow, which rendered Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong unable to take their eyes off it, as though it possessed some kind of power that could bind people’s soul. His features were beautiful and exquisite, more charming than those of a statue carved out of jade by a consummate sculptor.

This man… was so good-looking. His charm was indescribable. Ling Zhang had only one thought in his mind – he was as handsome as a celestial being.

There was no doubt that this man was a member of the Millennium Pavilion, and his kung fu was superb, for even Yuwen Tong couldn’t sense his Qi at a close distance.

Ling Zhang knew he should be alert, but for some unknown reason, the sight of this man made him unable to become vigilant. There was an air of something amazing about this person in front of him. He didn’t know how to describe it, but if he had to put it in some way, he would say that this man unmistakably struck him as totally harmless.

Neither Yuwen Tong nor Ling Zhang moved, the latter sitting where he’d always been, the former still turning the branch in his hand, but both of them were watching the young man walking over, their backs slightly tense.

Ling Zhang was pondering what his preamble should be. Should he just show this man the token left by Ji Yin? But the man had already shown a sign of what was on his mind. He casually cast a look at the roast pheasants, and then slowly glanced at them once again.

Ling Zhang and Yuwen Jin, “…”

“Uncle, this smells so good!” The little boy, crouched before the grill, gave the young man a wave. His hands were white and chubby, making his wave seem soft.

Almost subconsciously, Ling Zhang blurted before he could make a decision, “We’re roasting pheasants. You want to have a try?”

The young man briefly paused and then walked up to the little boy in a very natural manner to sit onto the ground beside him, his long, jet-black hair flying at the back so lightly it was reminiscent of willow twigs, which made the mood quite relaxed. The colorful bird on his shoulder gave another squeak and finally moved its eyes onto Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong.

“Thank you,” said the young man, gazing at the roast pheasants. “What spices did you use? The smell is so pleasant.”

“Common ones.” Yuwen Tong gave the names of a couple of spices and then added, “When it comes to roasting pheasants, timing is everything. You’ve got to make sure it’s done to a turn.”

The young man seemed to find this reply quite enlightening. “You’ve got a point. My family chef never made any roast pheasants smelling so good.”

Ling Zhang was still wondering whether or not he should show him the token, but seeing that the young man’s eyes had been fixed on the pheasants all along, he came to realize that showing him the token wouldn’t be necessary. This man definitely didn’t care, for all he care about was the roast pheasants.

Ling Zhang, without any more talking, helped Yuwen Tong roast the pheasants, which had almost been done before the appearance of the young man and were now ready to eat.

Their original plan had been that they each had one pheasant and ate them by using branches to impale the meat, but now…

Yuwen Tong directly handed the branch to the young man. “Give it a shot.”

The young man’s eyes brightened slightly. He took it, thanked Yuwen Tong, briefly sniffed at it and then took a bite of it. The expression on his face was so content and happy as though this was the most delicious food in the world. The sight of this made Ling Zhang feel even hungrier.

“Uncle! Uncle! I want a bite as well!” The little boy, mouth watering, grabbed the young man’s wrist with his chubby hand, staring at the roast pheasants.

The young man tore off a chunk of meat reluctantly, handed it to the boy and reminded him, “Be careful. It’s hot.”

Since the meat was fairly scalding, the boy turned it over and over in his palms, getting his hands oily, gasping loudly. After a few moments, he quickly stuffed it into his mouth.

Ling Zhang was worried about him. “Slow down. It’s very hot.”

The boy chewed through the meat in his mouth, exhaled and then said happily with a frown, “It’s so yummy.”

Ling Zhang secretly swallowed hard and with that a big drumstick was held to his lips. He turned aside and saw Yuwen Tong looking at him. Somewhat embarrassed, he took the drumstick and bit off a chunk of meat.

At this moment, nothing could stop them from enjoying the roast pheasants.

As a result, none of them was talking. The boy uttered “Yummy” thickly from time to time, but other than that, there was no other words. Three adults and one child were all indulging in eating, too busy to talk.

While eating, Ling Zhang was speculating about this young man’s identity. After an appraising look at the scarlet mole in the middle of his brow, he shifted his gaze to the multicoloured bird on his shoulder which, as though capable of understanding human’s actions, looked back at Ling Zhang, tilting its head to one side. After a few moments, seeming a little confused, it fidgeted on the young man’s shoulder and suddenly flew over and perched onto Ling Zhang’s shoulder instead, crouched.

Ling Zhang was astonished, hurriedly looking at the young man, not daring move.

The young man, gnawing away at his roast pheasant with little consideration of grace, threw a glance at the bird with an indifferent look on his face, but it was not long before he shifted his gaze back to the roast pheasant against, utterly unconcerned about the bird’s throwing itself at another person.

Ling Zhang looked at Yuwen Tong, who observed, “This bird is quite special. I’ve never seen its likes before.”

The boy raised his head from the pheasant which he’d been enjoying very much and said in a babyish voice, “Her name’s Color. She’s pretty badass.”

Ling Zhang gave a smile. “Color? That’s quite an interesting name.”

“You think it’s a good name?” The boy looked at him in surprise. “My mom said that my uncle named it too carelessly. She thinks this name sucks.”

The young man, though fully occupied with eating, managed to spare a hand to give the boy a playful knock on the head with his knuckle. “I’m your uncle. You’re not allowed to say anything mean about me.”

After being hit on the head, the boy uttered “O” and then obediently shut up and resumed eating the drumstick.

Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong exchanged glances. So far, apart from the knowledge that this bird’s name was Color which had been given to it by this young man and was disliked by his elder sister, they hadn’t got any useful information. Eventually, the two of them also went back to eating.

After quite a while, all three adults and a child finished eating. The boy stroked his belly. The young man looked at the bones of the roast pheasants, clearly hoping there were more.

“You must be Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong, I suppose? The ones brought back by the Prime Elder,” said the young man in a casual tone.

Ling Zhang inclined his head. “Yeah. My grandfather went inside to meet the clan leader. He told us to stay here waiting for him to come back.”

Chapter 278: The Two Big Brothers Are Kissing

The young man nodded and rose to his feet. Though casual, his bearing was pleasant to the eye. Color the bird flew back to the young man’s shoulder and gave a squeak.

“Cong, it’s time to return.”

On being called, the boy meekly stood up. “Uncle, what about these two big brothers?”

“Come with us,” the young man said to Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong.

Now that someone was offering to take them inside, of course they wouldn’t stay here and keep waiting. Besides, although not having asked about the young man’s identity, they believed that he definitely had a high status in the Millennium Pavilion, given his powerful internal energy.

Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong rose from the ground, put out the fire, quickly gathered up their stuff and then followed in the young man’s wake. “Thanks.”

“You don’t have to thank me. Take it as a recompense for the roast pheasant.” The young man leisurely proceeded, holding the boy’s hand.

In front of them was a lofty hill, and it was at the foot of this hill that they’d just stayed. Eyes on the towering hill, Ling Zhang was deeply puzzled. He wasn’t seeing any inhabitable areas. Had people of the Millennium Pavilion hollowed a cavern out of the hill and been living in it, by any chance?

But as they followed the young man forward, the scene ahead them seemed to be changing.

They first entered a dense wood. All trees in it were fairly ancient and had very thick trunks, their criss-cross branches and luxuriant foliage overhanging the path, blocking most of the sunshine as well as people’s view of the high hill. Ling Zhang guessed that they were probably going uphill, but after walking in circles at the young man’s heels in the wood for some time, he began to feel that there was something out of the ordinary going on. On the surface, this young man was as though he was idly taking them for a stroll, but in fact there were regularities in the route he chose.

Along a tortuous pathway, they made it out of the wood and the space ahead instantly became bright and open. It was not a cavern but a basin with high hills on three sides of it, in which carpets of green grass and giant trees could be seen everywhere. There were also paddies divided by a criss-cross of pathlets as well as a stream worming its way across the basin from the opposite end, providing profuse water resources. As where they were standing was not the commanding height, they couldn’t get a panoramic view over the basin, but judging from the distance between the three hills on its sides, this basin was vast.

Ling Zhang looked back and saw the dense wood they’d just crossed that was dark and seemingly boundless, but the lofty hill he’d caught sight of before entering the thick wood was nowhere to be seen.

This was a formation which had given them an illusion. They’d thought they saw a lofty hill ahead of them, but actually the hill was a lot further away. People who went into the wood would be lost in it if they couldn’t figure out a way to crack the formation; those lucky ones might be able to get out of it by fluke, but they’d never find the hill they saw.

Of course, to find the entrance of the wood, people needed to get through the numerous natural barriers and formations first.

This place was indeed very difficult to find.

“Let’s go. People here are very wary of outsiders. You need to stay close to me. If you wander off and get your asses kicked, don’t say that I never warned you,” said the young man.

After hearing the last remark of his, the two of them naturally followed close behind him.

They went through the paddy fields and some country cottages which seemed to be a village, saw some members of the Millennium Pavilion who dressed like peasants, but whose clothes were of a very different style from that of attire worn by people in the outside world. There were also women, children and youngsters.

Everybody’s face took on an expression of surprise mixed with revere when they saw the young man. They slightly lowed their heads to pay their respects to him, but their attitudes were spontaneous and there was no distance in them. Children would run over and cluster around him, calling him “Brother Yanlai.”

As Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong were clearly outsiders, everybody wore a confused and watchful look on their face when they clapped eyes on them, but seeing the young man leading the way for them, they did no more than size them up. Ling Zhang could sense that all people here, except for children, more or less had some kung fu, and no matter whether they were powerful or not, they were not to be taken lightly.

Ling Zhang kept in mind what the young man had just said, not daring to straggle behind.

Yuwen Tong held his hand, signaling him to relax. Naturally, Yuwen Tong was a great comfort to Ling Zhang.

“They are all descendants of then supervisors or servants of the Deca-Millennium Pavilion. Hundreds of years has passed. Now they’re all just common folks trying to get by,” said the young man.

Ling Zhang looked at him. Just now those adults had all been very respectful to him, and children had called him “Brother Yanlai”, and his internal energy was so powerful that his prowess as a kung fu practitioner seemed to be even greater than his grandfather’s. Who was he exactly?

“This is a retreat away from the world,” said Yuwen Tong.

“It’s a retreat away from the world but also a prison. There are always some trying to get out,” said the young man.

Ling Zhang felt it somewhat weird to hear these words coming out of the mouth of a young man. After all, this man seemed to be no older than him, and his words and deeds had so far been casual and unreserved. How come he suddenly started talking like an old man?

“All young people are like this. They want to seek their fortune in a broader world, especially when they believe they have something secure to rely on. This is not really disagreeable. After all, you need to go around to gain experience while you’re young so that when you’ve been around, you’d be ready to take on greater responsibilities. Many saints of the olden days believe that he who excels reads as many as ten thousand books and travels as far as ten thousand miles, don’t they? Even when a dynasty is dying, there are still enthusiastic youngsters trying to make a difference. Youth means vitality. No place would remain stagnant forever,” remarked Yuwen Tong.

It was a while before the young man walking in front replied, “Even if the price is blood and death?”

Yuwen Tong said, “There are always bloodshed and deaths in this world, aren’t there? Common people die each and every day for all kinds of personal grudges, and there wasn’t a single dynasty the rise of which was not accompanied by the loss of countless innocent people’s lives. Even in peaceful times, people bleed and die for a variety of reasons. This is what the world we’re living in is like, and it always has been, but there are always a lot of people refusing to give up, both in ancient times and nowadays. They fight and struggle to shape the world in ways they deem right, pushing the wheel of history forward, leaving their respective trails in their wake. The Millennium Pavilion is an amazing place, suitable for nursing wounds, both physical ones and mental ones, but there’s nothing wrong with young people who haven’t seen the outside world longing to go out there to see what it’s like. The reason why your ancestors came here to live in seclusion was because they were physically and mentally drained and needed a place where they could rest and build up strength, but now it’s been centuries, and I think people here have had enough rest. In our way of numbering the years, sixty years makes a cycle, like a revolution of a wheel. The outside world has been through numerous ups and downs during nobody knows how many revolutions of the wheel of time, but here, time seems to have stopped passing, and there hasn’t been a single revolution. What’s the point of having a life like this?”

Ling Zhang unnoticeably gave Yuwen Tong’s hand a pull in order to remind him to take it easy and stop talking nonsense. What if the young man got angry and chucked them out?

Yuwen Tong impassively patted the back of his hand, implying that there was nothing to worry about.

Sure enough, the young man didn’t get angry. He just kept silent for a while and then said, “Alas, sometimes I really feel betwixt and between. You sound as though I was the meanest teacher in that place you call ‘school’, who imposes a lot of restrictions on everything, but what choice do I have? There are a lot of people here. And if I let any of them get out at the wrong time, they’d definitely end up dead.”

“What about now? Do you think the time is ripe?” Yuwen Tong asked him.

Ling Zhang gave him a dirty look. Why was he asking questions as though he knew about the situation very well?

Yuwen Tong smiled at this dirty look and stealthily pecked him on the ear to console him.

As chance would have it, the little boy walking hand in hand with the young man twisted his head around just in time to see this. “Oh,” he exclaimed, his mouth instantly falling wide open into the shape of an “O”.

Ling Zhang flushed scarlet, feeling terribly embarrassed at the sight of the greatly astonished little boy. He tried to free his hand from Yuwen Tong’s grip, but Yuwen Tong refused to let him, grasping his hand tightly.

Resigned, Ling Zhang had no choice but to smile at the boy in an attempt to gloss it over.

But unexpectedly, the boy turned his head back and abruptly threw his arms around the young man’s leg. The young man halted to look down at him. “What are you doing? Keep walking.”

“Uncle, the two big brothers were kissing! Mom said that only a man and a woman who have feelings for each other can kiss. Can two men kiss as well?”

Ling Zhang abruptly widened his eyes. ‘Oh, boy.’

After hearing this, the young man flicked Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong a glance which was dripping with reproach, as though criticizing them for setting a terrible example for his nephew with their improprieties.

In his awkwardness, Ling Zhang was just about to explain when the young man said to the little boy, “They’re getting married, so of course they can kiss each other.”

“But I thought only a man and a woman could get married.”

The young man lowered his head to look at him. “Well, some people out there just love to try new things. You’re not to follow their example.”

“Okay.” The boy cast a backward glance at Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong, his eyes unmistakably suggesting that he was wondering what kind of new thing this was.

Ling Zhang, “…”

The young man directly scooped up the boy. “You’ll understand when you grow up, and you’ll grow faster if you’re less picky about food and eat more vegetables.”

“Uncle,” the boy said to the young man in a drawling voice, “You yourself hate vegetables.”

The young man affected a scowl. “I’m an adult. You’re not.”

The boy, unconvinced but unaware of how to contradict this, put his chubby arms around the young man’s neck, keeping silent, but he was still looking at Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong, his eyes glinting, clearly still quite interested in them.

Ling Zhang was actually sweating with shame. After thinking for a while, he recalled that in the past, when Ling Maomao had been this boy’s age, he was also very curious about a lot of things and was always asking searching questions. Those had really been trying times for him.

Because of this interruption, the young man didn’t give an answer to Yuwen Tong’s previous question.

Ling Zhang looked at Yuwen Tong, who winked at him, signaling him to be patient.

After quite a while of walking, they crossed an orchard and were suddenly greeted by a sea of flowers of a myriad of colors growing on a slope. The majority of them were red. At the foot of the slope was a reed marsh…

In front of them lay a vast lake in the middle of which was a large island which boasted palaces, temples, pavilions, terraces and towers with bronze bells hanging from cornices. The whole island looked like a splendid manor. It seemed to be even bigger than the residential compound of the Yuwen family, approximately covering as much area as the imperial palace of the Great Yue did. At the centermost area of it stood a luxuriant, towering phoenix tree.

“Here we are.”

Ling Zhang cocked an eye at the front and saw that his grandfather was walking onto the ferry crossing on the opposite side. Astonished at the sight of them, he took a flying leap and swooshed across the broad lake, merely tapping on the lake surface once with his toes, and soon landed before them. “Clan Leader, Zhang’er, how did you come to be here together?”

Chapter 279: The Leader of the Millennium Pavilion

Clan Leader? Ling Zhang was amazed. This young man was the leader of the Millennium Pavilion?

This came as much less of a surprise to Yuwen Tong than it did to Ling Zhang, for the former had some time ago anticipated it.

“I chanced upon them outside, so I took them in,” said the young man – no, the leader of the Millennium Pavilion – in a natural tone of voice.

Ling Zhang had always believed the leader of the Millennium Pavilion was a geriatric older than his grandfather. It’d never crossed his mind that the clan leader was actually a young man appearing to be about his age.

“Grandfather, is this really… your leader?”

Fully aware of why Ling Zhang was so surprised, Ji Yin replied, “The Clan Leader’s prowess as an internal energy cultivator is matchless, which is why he looks young. Actually he’s a few years older than him.”

Ji Yin was referring to Yuwen Tong, who was twenty-six or twenty-seven. Being a few years older than Yuwen Tong meant that the clan leader was about thirty, but he seemed to be twenty…

The clan leader tossed a bland glance at Ji Yin. “What do you mean, I look young? I am young, okay? And by the way, you’ve already come back, why are you still wearing that old face of yours, Prime Elder?”

Ji Yin ripped off his mask, revealing a young face. People who didn’t know him would believe him to be thirty or so. If it weren’t for the faint crow’s feet, he would’ve looked even younger. Ling Zhang, though having seen his grandfather’s true face once, was still shocked by this sight. Given that even his grandfather could slow aging to this extent, the youthfulness of the leader of the Millennium Pavilion was quite understandable.

Ji Yin had come in to seek an audience with the clan leader, but unexpectedly, the clan leader had been absent all morning. What with his superb kung fu, nobody had known where he’d gone. Ji Yin, after waiting for a whole morning, had run out of patience and planned to directly bring his grandson and Yuwen Tong inside. He hadn’t expected that he’d run into them at this lake.

“Clan Leader, I wonder if I could arrange for my grandson to meet his father first,” said Ji Yin.

Ling Zhang, who had got used to Ji Yin’s senile face on their way to this place, was rather unaccustomed to Ji Yin’s true, young face and kept feeling a little weird, but before long, Ji Yin’s words diverted his attention away and he looked at the clan leader.

The main reason why he’d come here was to take his father back home. Of course, there was also another very important reason – to petition the leader of the Millennium Pavilion to agree to use the rare crude drug to treat his father’s mental disorder.

“Clan Leader, we came here to–”

Maybe because the clan leader had been acting like an unbuttoned and uninhibited youngster instead of a commanding and dignified leader from the very beginning, and had never abused his consummate kung fu to impose his will on anybody, Ling Zhang’s tension had been alleviated considerably without him noticing, which was why he involuntarily started to make a request.

But the clan leader raised his hand and interrupted Ling Zhang, “I know why you came here, and we’ll talk about that later. Right now I have to send Cong back home first. You may go with the Prime Elder to see your father first. And, my name is Ji Yanlai. You two are not members of the Millennium Pavilion, so there’s no need for you to address me as ‘Clan Leader’.”

Ji Yanlai was looking at Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong with a placid face, but Ling Zhang discerned that the calm expression in his eyes brooked no argument.

“I see. We’ll be waiting for your message, Brother Ji,” said Yuwen Tong.

Ji Yanlai briefly bobbed his head and then walked hand in hand with Cong onto the bridge leading to the island at the center of the lake. Color the bird, standing on his shoulder, raised its head and let out a long squeak and with that, twittering of all descriptions came in succession from the island and the surroundings of the lake which had originally been in a hush, birds of a variety of colors flying up. In just a few moments, the sky above the lake was swarming with all kinds of birds which were circling around, making a spectacular sight.

His hand held by Ji Yanlai, Cong looked back at Ling Zhang and waved him goodbye with his other plump hand.

Ling Zhang raised his hand and lightly waved back.

Ji Yin waited until Ji Yanlai and Cong reached the island to say, “Now that the Clan Leader said he’d talk with you later, it means he’s willing to hear you out. Don’t worry. There is a chance.”

Ling Zhang collected his thoughts and nodded. “Thank you, Grandfather.”

“You don’t ever have to say thank you to your grandfather, silly boy. Your father lives in a separate house on this side. There are a physician and a servant tending him. Come with me.”

Ji Yin took them back to that orchard, crossed it to the other side and arrived at the gateway of a quiet courtyard house, which seemed more or less like a country cottage. People could easily tell that a lot of efforts had been put into the layout of it. The fence around the front yard was entwined with morning glory which were in blossom. A scholar-like, middle-aged man with a mustache, clothed in light blue robes, was laying medicinal herbs on the ground in the yard to dry them in the sun. He scrutinized and sniffed at every one of the herbs with a conscientious bearing, the bitter smell of the herbs wafting over the fence.

As the three of them arrived, the middle-aged scholar-like man heard the movement and looked in their direction. His eyes first fell on Ji Yin, then moved to Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong and eventually lingered on Ling Zhang for a brief moment before he made a slight bow to Ji Yin and said, “Prime Elder.”

Ji Yin led Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong into the front yard and introduced them to each other. “This is Mr. Mu, a famous physician in our clan. He’s the one who’s been treating your father all along. It’s because of his efforts that your father’s condition has been kept under control for all these years. Xiao Mu, this is my grandson. His name’s Ling Zhang. He’s just reached adulthood and managed to get to the second layer of the mental cultivation method of internal energy after cultivating it for less than half a year. A quite talented boy, right?”

There was ill-concealed pride in Ji Yin’s tone when he introduced Ling Zhang.

A hint of amazement appeared on Mr. Mu’s serious face. He carefully sized up Ling Zhang once again. “Seriously? Less than half a year?”

“Absolutely. It was after I found him that I had him start cultivating,” replied Ji Yin.

Mr. Mu inclined his head. “Then he’s indeed uncommonly gifted. It’s been a long time since the last time we had a clan member endowed with the Blood of the Phoenix Clan as strong as the Clan Leader’s. Pity he didn’t start cultivating earlier, otherwise he would probably have made some great achievement by now.”

“With my help, his starting cultivation at a later age wouldn’t be too big a problem. I’m sure some day his internal energy will achieve perfection,” said Ji Yin.

Ling Zhang had humbly made a bow with hands folded in front to Mr. Mu when the latter’s eyes had been appraising him, and his gaze had been unnoticeably roaming over Mr. Mu as well. His surname was Mu, not Ji, which meant that not everybody in this place bore the surname Ji, or in other words, not everybody was a descendant of a foreseer possessing the Blood of the Phoenix Clan.

“With Prime Elder guiding him, he naturally has nothing to worry about. I could tell that Childe Ling’s meridians are thick and robust, and all his acupoints are unobstructed. His constitutional foundation is very good, too,” observed Mr. Mu.

A memory stirred in Ling Zhang. He owed all this to Yuwen Tong.

“This is…” Mr. Mu looked at Yuwen Tong.

“This is Yuwen Tong, my grandson’s betrothed,” responded Ji Yin.

Ling Zhang gave an unnoticeable blink. This way of introduction was… quite new. This was the first time that he’d hear anybody introduce Yuwen Tong by saying who he was to Ling Zhang.

Composed and unhurried, Yuwen Tong made a bow with hands folded in front to Mr. Mu. Of course he’d grasped the undertone in Ji Yin’s words, but he was not the kind of person who’d be bothered by a trifle of this sort. In fact, being introduced this way struck him as pretty pleasant.

Eyes gleaming briefly, Mr. Mu tossed Yuwen Tong another glance. “It turns out you’re the renowned Supreme Commander of Armed Forces of the Great Yue.”

“That’s just a fancy title. It’s nothing worth mentioning,” said Yuwen Tong.

While they were talking, Ling Zhang was secretly looking into the house out of the corner of his eye. They’d been talking outside for a few moments now, but there hadn’t been any movement inside the house. The sound of fairly even breathing was all he could hear from there, as though someone was asleep.

Uncontrollably, Ling Zhang’s heart began fluttering. He was having mixed feelings, but it was undeniable that he was mostly nervous. It’d been many years since he’d last clapped eyes on that man. His memories of his father’s voice and looks had blurred a long time ago. The only thing he remembered vividly about that man was the frightening madness on his face when he’d set the books in the study on fire. Over the past so many years, he had more than once pictured what it’d be like when he was reunited with this man, but none of his previous imaginations about it had been as real as the one he had at this moment.

Hands balling into fists in spite of himself, Ling Zhang’s eyes flashed squarely at the house, as though boring into the walls to see something clearly.

Yuwen Tong took his clenched fist into his palm and, patting it consolingly, said to Mr. Mu, “Mr. Mu, may I ask if Uncle Ling is in this house?”

Mr. Mu, having noticed the look on Ling Zhang’s face some time ago, gave a nod. “He drank some decoction an hour ago and is now sleeping. Ya went outside to do the laundry. He’s the only one in the room.”

“Who’s Ya?”

“The servant responsible for tending him. Come. I’ll take you inside to see him.”

Mr. Mu turned around and made towards the doors.

Ling Zhang tentatively raised his foot only to find that it felt a lot heavier than usual. Only at this moment did he come to realize he was so tense that his movement of his foot was rather stiff.

Yuwen Tong, holding Ling Zhang’s hand in a tender but firm way, accompanied him towards the house.

Ling Zhang proceeded step by step, his eyes appraising every detail of this house. His gaze seemed to have taken in everything but he also felt as though nothing had been written into his memory. Hearing the sound of that breathing, he slightly gritted his teeth. There seemed to be a lump in his throat which felt sore and miserable. A flood of miscellaneous thoughts came rushing into his mind, throwing it into such a whirl that he was unable to figure out what he should do.

Mr. Mu led them through the doors, across the living room, and into a broad bedroom in the rear. The furnishings and decorations of the bedroom were not complex. They were fairly simple, actually. Apart from daily necessities, there was nothing else. Edges of everything in this room had been filed away. They’d all been rendered smooth, as though to prevent someone from getting hurt when they bumped against something.

Both the table and the chairs were made of very sturdy wood and Ling Zhang could tell at a glance that they were very heavy. The tea set on the table was quite plain. Against the wall stood a wooden cupboard which was solid and difficult to move. And then there was the bed.

There were no hangings. Made of the same wood as that of the cupboard, the broad bed was also difficult to move. Attached to one of the bedposts was a thread on which there was a knot. Ling Zhang looked along the thread and found that it stretched to the living room. There was a bell tied to it, which clearly was used to attract the servant’s attention.

Quietly lying in the bed was a man. He was not very strong – fairly thin, actually. His arms were naked, rather pasty and unhealthy. There was a little bell tied to his foot with a length of red string as well, so that whenever he moved, the bell would jingle telling people where its bearer was.