Chapter 2280: Chapter 2344: Searching for the Hidden One in Vain
The Old Master has visited the Great Wall many tis; he used to co by himself in his early years, later with foreign guests or so leaders, and eventually, others accompanied him. Each visit brought different feelings, but this ti, he ca to the Great Wall as an ordinary person to see it with his own eyes. There were many people climbing the Great Wall this season, and Li Yifei tried his best to protect the Old Master, eventually carrying him up on his back.
"Alright, let’s go down!" After watching for a while, Old Master Su nodded and said, "Let’s go sowhere else!"
"Grandpa, where do you want to go?" Li Yifei asked.
"Go... follow my directions!" Old Master Su said as he took out a map from his pocket. Li Yifei couldn’t help but smile upon seeing this; the Old Master had a plan all along, and climbing the Great Wall was just one part of it. The map looked a bit old, and it seed to have been used for a long ti, with damaged corners and creases. Elder Su put on his glasses and carefully searched for a few minutes before telling Li Yifei, "Go this way, turn on that navigation of yours, and let’s go get so special food!"
"Special food?"
"That’s right, there was a restaurant I loved in my early years. After work, having a bite there made the day’s fatigue disappear!" the Old Master reminisced.
"Grandpa, are you sure that restaurant is still open?" Li Yifei asked, sowhat surprised.
Old Su was also taken aback upon hearing that, his eyes a bit lost, but he quickly beca firm, nodded, and laughed, "It should be open. They’ve been running for decades; why wouldn’t they be?"
"The Capital City has developed so fast over the years, maybe they aren’t open anymore!" Li Yifei said, but still brought up the map. Fortunately, the place nas hadn’t changed much, so following the map’s directions, it wasn’t too hard to find.
Old Su said, "Stop talking nonsense and drive over; Grandpa will treat you!"
"How can I let you pay!" Li Yifei replied.
Old Su pouted and said, "You think you can eat this just because you have money? You’re too naive. So things, money can’t buy!"
"Well... okay, I’ll do my best to find it for you, so we can enjoy the al!" Li Yifei said.
It took nearly two hours before Li Yifei found the place marked on the old map by Old Su. He parked the car by the roadside. This was the old district of the Capital City, surrounded by high-rise buildings, but here it was still an old-style community with courtyard houses. The road was narrow, and cars couldn’t even get in. After a few minutes, Li Yifei returned to Old Su and said, "Grandpa, is the place you ntioned inside here?"
"It should be... The last ti I ca to eat was a long ti ago!" Old Master Su said uncertainly, and Li Yifei helped him into the alley. It took them over ten minutes to walk through. From the outside, the old district didn’t seem large, but once inside, the paths were winding and complex. The Old Master couldn’t rember the way, and Li Yifei had to stop and ask for directions, but unfortunately, no one knew.
"That place isn’t actually a restaurant but a private residence, a small courtyard house. One day after work, I was riding past and slled the fragrant at. I couldn’t help but stop. Oh, that day was cold, perhaps the coldest day I can rember. The Capital City doesn’t get that cold often. That day was too cold. I had worked all day and was hungry; back then, many kids at ho, inco wasn’t high, so at-eating days were rare. To be honest, I just wanted to stand there and sll the aroma, but after a minute or two, the door opened, and a woman ca out - or maybe a woman, I can’t quite rember."
"Grandpa, you can’t rember?" Li Yifei asked.
"No, not because so many years have passed that I can’t rember, it’s just hard to tell. That person... I can’t really describe the feeling. The voice was very neutral, so I just assud she was a woman. Otherwise, how could soone cook such delicious lamb?"
"Lamb?"
"Boiled lamb or lamb soup, extrely fresh and one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. Eating a bowl of hot lamb soup, with large chunks of at in the freezing cold, that feeling... I still savor it now," the Old Master said, half-closing his eyes.
Li Yifei thought to himself, if it could make the Old Master rave so much, it must indeed be delicious lamb. Yet, seeing Old Su moved so much by one dish, Li Yifei shook his head, and then the Old Master continued, "I tried a few more tis later. Even when my life improved, I’d occasionally buy so lamb to bring there, but often they weren’t ho. However, whenever they were, a pot of lamb soup would be cooking. Back then, I’d sotis purposely pass by after work, slling it, and thick-skinnedly go over for a few bowls."
"It was truly delicious, unforgettable. How could lamb be cooked so perfectly? I had many replicate it afterward, but alas... they never got the taste right!" Old Master Su seed increasingly craving as he spoke, wiping his mouth once, grabbing Li Yifei’s hand, saying, "Keep looking, I can’t rember the exact path, after all, decades have passed, but I’ll recognize the door when we get there."
The key is that everything looks the sa, changes over decades have been great, and whether the person still lives there... Seeing the Old Master’s eagerness, Li Yifei nodded and said, "Maybe, Grandpa, you can wait in the car. You describe the general appearance to , I’ll run ahead and search first."
"Let’s do it together. I can’t rember either, hehe, age has muddled my brain!" Old Su shook his head.
So let’s look together. Li Yifei couldn’t go against Old Su’s wishes. The two wandered through the alleys. This is the old district. Despite many residents, there weren’t many people on the roads at this hour.
"Wait, it might be this place..." Old Su looked at a courtyard gate. It was a small courtyard house, a very good one in such an alley, a standalone courtyard, relatively quiet. The door was tightly closed. Li Yifei walked over to have a closer look, pondering that such a house now would cost millions to acquire. The door had newly posted couplets, put up this past New Year, so Li Yifei looked back at Old Su and said, "Grandpa, the couplets are new; soone should live there."
"Alright, then you knock on the door, be polite!" Old Su nodded sowhat excitedly.
Li Yifei agreed, walked up to the door, gently knocked while listening for sounds inside. After a few knocks and no response, Li Yifei slapped his forehead, thinking why knock? Whether soone’s inside, why not sense it? With this thought, Li Yifei released his presence, but his face changed slightly. His perception could usually reach dozens of ters away, but now he couldn’t even penetrate this door. It seed sothing was blocking his perception. This wasn’t the first ti Li Yifei encountered this, so he quickly understood it was an isolation-type formation. Although most formations have isolation effects, there are specifically isolating types too.
Li Yifei stepped back a few paces, looking at the courtyard walls on both sides. In these ordinary courtyard houses in the Capital City, there was an isolating formation, indicating this place wasn’t simple. General formations aren’t needed here, and the presence of this kind ans the place is out of the ordinary.
It might’ve been setup by cultivators from decades or even centuries ago, but considering what Elder Su said, Li Yifei first thought the place wasn’t ordinary. Turning back, Li Yifei asked, "Grandpa, are you sure the place where you had lamb stew back then is here?"
"It’s here. I rember the decor at the entrance, and even... look at that door knocker, beside the right door there’s even a bullet hole."
Li Yifei looked over and indeed found a hole, though he couldn’t tell if it was a bullet hole. He nodded and conveyed, "Grandpa, I’m communicating with you now. I just tried to sense it, but found there’s a formation in this courtyard house that isolates my detection, so I can’t tell if anyone is currently inside..."
"Is that so?" Old Su’s face changed. He’s aware of Li Yifei’s abilities, so he believed him imdiately. However... Elder Su then said, "Are you saying the person living here may be soone with great powers, like you guys?"
"Hard to say, but combining with what you ntioned earlier, you didn’t even know if that person was a man or a woman, wasn’t it like this?" While speaking, Li Yifei’s facial muscles twitched, True Qi fluctuated, making his face appear blurred, looking plain yet indistinct, giving the impression of seeing soone with a very ordinary appearance, with nothing morable about the features.
Elder Su nodded, "Exactly, just like your feeling!" Then he added, "It seems this place is indeed occupied by soone of great ability, no wonder the lamb was so delicious!"
"Grandpa, it’s not about the lamb; it’s just that... there are many masters in the Capital City, many also live incognito, but not many can set up formations," Li Yifei said.
"So what? Such people may be few, but they still exist. I’m just here to have his lamb, not for anything else!" Old Su said.
Li Yifei thought about it and realized he was overthinking, so he said, "Grandpa, you’ve co here many tis?"
"Not really, after being transferred out of town, I couldn’t co often. Years later, when I ca back, I ca a few tis and did manage to have so. Later, I even tried sending people to get
a serving, but they were never able to. Only once did my secretary bring so lamb back, which I got to taste," Old Su said.
"I’ll ask the neighbors, see if anyone knows about the residents here!" Li Yifei said while looking around. In this old alley, the neighbors have been around for decades, but Li Yifei didn’t have much hope. Still, he hoped to get so information.
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