Chapter 769: Chapter 61 Qin and Shu (2/2) (4000 words)
Descending from One-Leaf Pavilion atop the mountain and following the official road outward, it took but a brief period on horseback before arriving at the teahouse where many events had previously unfolded.
Further ahead, the official road would generally split into two. One led to the heartlands of Jiangnan Road, passing through nurous large cities such as Danyang County and Gusu City, while the other skirted these major cities and bent towards Jian’nan Road, entering Shu County.
Today, the teahouse still stood, yet it was deserted, with only overturned tables and chairs remaining. Anything of minor value that was portable had been taken. As the wind blew through, the curtains once weighed down by old n with stones flapped loudly without cease. It felt as desolate as the Northern Frontier, even though it was located on Jiangnan Road.
It wasn’t only the environnt and scenery that were desolate, but the hearts of people even more so.
Xiahou Xuan exhaled and reined in his horse, turning to look at Wang Anfeng with a smile and said directly,
“Let’s part ways at this mont.”
“To be truthful, I would really like to accompany you to Jian’nan Road, to witness the city of Liangzhou brightly lit all night and the scene of a city jubilantly shouting for wine. It’s just a pity that this ti I have sneaked out, and I cannot be away for long. Furthermore, the two Guest Elders of the Xiahou Family have martial arts skills that are not weak. Though their allegiance is divided, causing trouble outside can be both minor and major.”
“Upon returning this ti, I will inevitably face many headaches. As the Eldest Young Master of the Xiahou Family tasked with rooting out spies, I will ultimately have to deal with the Xiahou Family’s own internal struggles, which is rather amusing.”
Wang Anfeng looked at Xiahou Xuan, hearing the self-mockery and satire in the last two sentences, and without speaking, slowly nodded his head, then said,
“When I return from Liangzhou and should I find leisure, I’ll visit you in Gusu.”
Xiahou Xuan was montarily taken aback, then asked with a smile,
“You speak the truth?”
“Once a word is spoken, even four horses cannot chase it back.”
Xiahou Xuan smiled, turned his head to look into the distance, and said,
“Then let’s agree on that!”
“Though Gusu City cannot match the prosperity of Heaven Capital City, its leisurely attractions certainly surpass it. There are plenty of places where one can delight in spending gold. When the ti cos, any Oiran in the entirety of Gusu City that you want, I’ll give her to you. Whichever one you fancy, I will bind and bring her to you, even if it takes force!”
Wang Anfeng was stunned.
Xue Qinshuang narrowed her brown eyes slightly.
But before she could speak, Xiahou Xuan had already spurred his horse forward several zhang, with his back to Wang Anfeng and the others, he waved his arm as if relishing the liberation that ca with his last words, and laughed away into the distance.
The two Hidden Guards of the Xiahou Family bowed slightly towards the group and galloped off, catching up with the already distantly departed Xiahou Xuan, trailing a horse’s length behind him.
As the laughter faded, the smile on Xiahou Xuan’s face gradually disappeared. He closed his eyes and upon opening them again, his expression was calm, as if the sincere emotional turmoil had been like ink dropped into the rivers’ waterfall, rapidly diluted until not a trace remained.
His excessively deep phoenix eyes narrowed, as he looked up to the reflection of the daylight and clouds in the sky, pressed together turning into a cold hue. He shook his reins and said,
“Let’s go.”
The two Hidden Guards of the Xiahou Family, having followed for a long ti, sensed the underlying scent of blood in their young master’s voice. Thinking of the covert dealings within the family and the young master’s ruthless thods, they shuddered inwardly, their heads subconsciously bowing lower as they responded in a deep voice.
A party of three riders set off, disappearing into the dust.
…………
Wang Anfeng and the others chose a different official road and headed in the direction of Jian’nan Road from the location of One-Leaf Pavilion. When Wang Anfeng drew his sword earlier, the rising qi chanism caused his mask to break from the strain, and he was forced to borrow another mask from Xiahou Xuan.
Whether it was the taste of this noble clan’s son or not, the one he gave himself was of an ordinary appearance, but the one for Wang Anfeng was of a rather heroic young man.
With sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and a nose as prominent as a gallbladder, with a little dressing up, he could be mistaken for a sword-wielding scholar straight out of the forbidden books kept by the young ladies in their boudoirs. With such a visage and temperant, wearing the short garnts favored by servants only made him stand out more strikingly.
Just as Xue Qinshuang said, the world often judges by appearances.
Therefore, influenced by this new mask, he had to change his clothes again, now wearing a black vigorous attire, covered by a black, sleeveless long shirt with a gray cloud-patterned silk border around the collar. Unlike the short garnt, the front was not fastened with buttons, revealing the belt loops of the vigorous attire underneath, with the hem falling to the knees.
This was said to be the favorite attire of the young knights of Jiangnan Road, appearing gallant and elegant yet not lacking scholarly grace, distinctly different from the stout heroes of the Northern Lands.
Paired with Xiahou Xuan’s mask, the look was indeed quite presentable. Even the bundle previously thought to be a bamboo umbrella, now carried on his back, sowhat resembled the sword box that swordsn from Jianghu carefully protected as they traveled. He received quite a bit of teasing along the way.
Since the danger brought by Jiang Lan and others was no longer present, their pace quickened compared to before. Yet, it still wasn’t fast enough. By the ti they were closing in on Xianping County, Mid-Autumn Festival had arrived.
Liu Ling had said that as long as he could drink a bowl of ‘Peerless Scholar’ from One-Leaf Pavilion, missing the Liangzhou drinking festival once was inconsequential, as attending it every ti wasn’t essential. But at that mont, he regretted his earlier stance. Even though he looked like an ordinary old man with an inconspicuous qi chanism, He repeatedly urged them to hasten their pace.
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