Found out?
Rong Xuanhe’s heart sank straight down, but he stubbornly bluffed, “I am not going to run around.”
Su Wenchuan gave him a deep look. “You had better not.”
His escape plan was thus nipped in the bud. The young man resentfully gave a kick, and the shackles around his ankles silently faded away like water.
The carriage pierced through the clouds, and the outline of Cangyi Mountain finally emerged slowly from behind a gauze-like thin mist.
The carriage curtain was flipped open a corner by the wind. Below lay rolling, towering mountain ranges, with the main peak piercing straight into the clouds. Waterfalls hung down the mountain like silk ribbons, slender and cold as if carved by a blade, their clear light green and heavy.
Atop the mountain summit, palaces were stacked layer upon layer. A single vermillion corner slanted out aggressively, with eaves shaped like spread wings, resembling a dragon’s palace, a phoenix pavilion, or a divine celestial paradise.
Rong Xuanhe stared in wide-eyed amazement, then could not help turning his head to look at Su Wenchuan, strongly wanting to ask him why he built his home to be so ridiculously complicated.
Who was he defending against?
Within a few breaths, a light vibration came from the carriage’s lower frame as it landed.
The young man’s body swayed slightly, and the person opposite him had already stood up, turning back to extend a hand toward him.
Rong Xuanhe looked at that knobby-jointed, well-defined palm, hesitated for half a second, and still obediently placed his hand on it.
The man’s palm was dry and warm. The strength holding him was not large, yet it made it impossible to break free. Pulled along as he stepped down from the carriage, the moment his feet touched solid ground, a chorus of uniform voices rang out around him.
“Welcome back, Venerable Lord!”
Startled, Rong Xuanhe looked up and discovered that the area around the carriage was surrounded by people. Disciples and handymen alike were kneeling on one knee, not a single one daring to raise their heads.
Su Wenchuan said in an indifferent tone, “Let’s go.”
Rong Xuanhe muttered an oh under his breath, following closely at his heels step by step while his eyes darted everywhere, still stubbornly sizing up the surrounding layout.
Only upon landing on the ground could he see clearly that the buildings on the mountain were arranged in an orderly fashion, framed by tall trees, spreading upward layer by layer along the terrain. Shadow walls, corridor pillars, and eaves everywhere featured lifelike bird patterns, as if they might flap their wings and take flight at any moment.
Mountain breezes swept past, and the parasol trees across the mountains rustled.
It really was huge.
If not for the prisoner-like shackles on his ankles, he might have genuinely enjoyed taking in these gorgeous sights.
Thinking of this, Rong Xuanhe let out a low sigh.
The person beside him suddenly stopped walking.
Rong Xuanhe’s heart tightened, and out of conditioned reflex, he explained, “I did not run.”
Unexpectedly, Su Wenchuan merely formed a hand seal.
A paper kite flew over through the air, carrying Rong Xuanhe with a single swoop. Su Wenchuan released his hand, gave a few low instructions to the servants and maids clustered behind him, and Rong Xuanhe only caught a single phrase: “Take him over.”
The next moment, the paper kite rode the wind and soared, crossing over layer upon layer of rooftops to carry him toward the eastern side.
Several maidservants accompanied him on both sides, traveling on the wind. The kite’s wings swayed in the gale, and the young man let out a soft cry, pressing tightly against its main spine. Before he even had time to clearly examine the scenery below, the paper kite touched down.
Dizzily crawling down from the kite, someone immediately rushed forward to steady him, asking in a gentle, melodic voice, “Is the young master alright?”
“I am alright.”
Rong Xuanhe shook his head, struggling to pull himself out of the dizziness.
He raised his head to find a rather unique small courtyard before him, with no inscription on the plaque.
Unlike the main color scheme of white and gold that dominated the entire mountain, this courtyard featured red walls, dark tiles, lattice windows, and covered walkways. The parasol trees in the courtyard were taller than those elsewhere, casting the entire compound in a shade of bluish-green shadow.
Oddly enough, Rong Xuanhe felt a slight sense of familiarity.
The leading maidservant said softly, “This is the courtyard the Venerable Lord has prepared for you. If the young master has any needs, just let the servants know.”
He thought carefully for a moment, then suddenly had an epiphany. Wasn’t this the exact patch of vermillion he had spotted from the sky earlier?
Led inside by the maids, he found the courtyard furnished very simply, equipped only with a basic bed, a screen, and a set of tables and chairs, looking as though no one lived there. The only sign of life was a white porcelain vase resting on a flower stand by the window, holding a few branches of nameless white flowers that added a touch of vitality to the cold room.
Rong Xuanhe took a walk around, and seeing that they were still following him, felt somewhat uncomfortable. “I do not need anything for now. Why don’t you all go do your own tasks first?”
The maidservant smiled slightly. “We were arranged by the Venerable Lord to wait upon the young master. The young master does not need to be so polite.”
The moment the word wait upon came out, Rong Xuanhe felt even more awkward and fidgeted uncomfortably. “I can take care of myself. You should still head outside first.”
The maids offered bows and silently retreated, though they did not go far, standing guard right outside the doorway like guards watching a criminal.
After a while, more people trickled into the courtyard. Some to serve, some to move furniture, and those two cooks who had likely been rushed straight to the courtyard the moment they landed.
The desolate little courtyard instantly bustled with activity, everyone busy with their own chores. Surrounded in the middle, Rong Xuanhe felt like he had also become an unimportant piece of furniture.
After spacing out for a bit and looking left and right without spotting that figure in white, he casually grabbed someone to ask, “Where is your Venerable Lord?”
The servant bowed his head and replied, “The Venerable Lord went to handle trivial matters that piled up during his seclusion.”
“Oh.”
Rong Xuanhe asked again, “How long was he in seclusion?”
The servant calculated mentally and answered cautiously, “If this humble servant remembers correctly, it should have been one hundred and thirty-seven years.”
The young man’s eyes widened. “That long?”
Although he knew age in the cultivation world was a mystery, Su Wenchuan looked to be only in his early twenties. Was he actually over a hundred years old?
Before he could ask anything else, the boy led an old man into the courtyard.
“Young master.” The boy gestured sideways. “This is Old Li, whom the Venerable Lord ordered me to bring over. Old Li is a mortal and will be responsible for tending to the courtyard’s flora from now on.”
Rong Xuanhe looked at the old man, who appeared to be around sixty or seventy, with gray hair, a slightly hunched back, and a pair of cloudy eyes that seemed somewhat muddled.
Yet the moment their gazes met, the old man’s eyes suddenly lit up.
Stumbling forward with a trembling voice, he cried out, “Xiao Rong? Is that Xiao Rong?”
Rong Xuanhe froze.
Xiao Rong? Xiao Rong as in velvet? Or Xiao Rong with a different character?
The surname Rong was not very common. He could not be sure if the Rong the old man called out was his own surname, and a great sense of surrealism welled up in his chest. “Who are you?”
The old man grabbed his sleeve, his aged eyes brimming with tears as he looked him up and down, his lips quivering.
The boy looked somewhat surprised as well, prompting Rong Xuanhe to tentatively call out, “Old Li?”
“Good child! Where have you been all this time?” Old Li gripped his hand tightly, acting like an elder meeting someone after many years apart. “You have been gone for so long without a single message. Thanks to Venerable Su, this old man had the strength to wait for you for over a hundred years! Are you tired? Are you thirsty? You…”
Seeing how emotional the old man was and fearing he might lose his footing and fall, Rong Xuanhe quickly went along with his words and led him toward the room. “I am fine, I am fine. Let us sit down and talk first.”
They had only taken a couple of steps when the old man suddenly halted in his tracks.
Clutching Rong Xuanhe’s unadorned white sleeve, he stared blankly for a moment, his gaze gradually shifting from initial overwhelming joy to confusion. “Xiao Rong?”
The old man released his hand and stepped back two paces.
Rong Xuanhe asked, “What is wrong?”
The old man’s lips twitched a few times before he suddenly wailed aloud, “You are not Xiao Rong! Xiao Rong loves wearing red clothes! Red clothes!”
Finding strength from somewhere, he gave Rong Xuanhe a fierce shove. “Get out! Get out of Xiao Rong’s courtyard!”
Startled by this sudden turn of events and ignoring his own stumbling, Rong Xuanhe quickly reached out to steady him. “Okay, okay, I will go out. Please do not get upset, make sure you do not fall.”
The boy hurried over to assist. The old man was still muttering to himself, repeating that phrase about red clothes over and over. His voice gradually shifted from piercing to sorrowful as the nearby maidservants offered low words of comfort and led him away.
The boy turned back to ask, “Young master, are you alright?”
Standing in place, Rong Xuanhe shook his head, a trace of bewilderment in his eyes.
Red clothes?
He suddenly felt a flash of insight cross his mind, but when he tried to catch it, it vanished completely without a trace.
Meanwhile.
After leading the old man out of the courtyard, the maidservants did not immediately head back. Instead, they gathered under the green shade to whisper among themselves.
One of them in yellow asked in a low voice, “What do we do now? This person was personally designated by the Venerable Lord.”
The one opposite replied, “Let us keep him for now. It is not like he is acting this way for the first day.”
“Why do you suppose the Venerable Lord brought this old man over? Is not he an old acquaintance of the Venerable Lord’s deceased Dao companion?” The yellow-clad maid looked puzzled, pouting toward the courtyard and lowering her voice. “Just who is this person anyway, to make the Venerable Lord suddenly break seclusion and even arrange for him to live in this place?”
The person beside her also shook her head. “Who knows? It was practically becoming a taboo area; I thought it was going to stay empty forever.”
“Should we report this to the clan?”
“Of course. With something as major as the Venerable Lord coming out of seclusion, how could the clan not know?”
“Then I will go request an audience with the Venerable Lord.”
“No need.” Another maid stopped her. “There are countless trivial matters piled up over these past hundred years. The Venerable Lord just returned and will surely spend quite a while sorting things out. No need to bother his elder self with such minor issues.”
The yellow-clad maid thought it over and nodded. “I will send the message right now.”
Night fell. After finishing his dinner and seeing that no one was disturbing him, Rong Xuanhe prepared to take a comfortable bath and get a good night’s sleep.
Constantly flying through the air and forced to share a bed with Su Wenchuan during overnights on the road had made him almost forget the luxury of monopolizing a bed all to himself.
Just as the young man untied his belt, hesitant footsteps suddenly echoed outside his door.
Vigilantly pulling his collar closed, he asked with a trace of tension in his voice, “Who is it?”
“Young master, the Venerable Lord invites you over.”
Speak of the devil.
Rong Xuanhe instinctively frowned. “Right now?”
“Yes, the Venerable Lord requests your presence.”
Taking a deep breath, he hastily re-tied his belt and resignedly pulled open the door.
A flying sedan chair was already waiting outside. The maidservant helped him aboard, and before long, he was delivered to that luxurious main palace he had spotted from afar during the day.
The bedchamber was several times larger than the courtyard he stayed in, yet its furnishings were equally sparse, possessing an austerity bordering on coldness that matched the owner’s temperament, save for the sparkling bead and jade curtains that added a splash of color.
The maidservant guided him further inside, passing through a moon gate to halt in the brightly lit outer chamber.
“The Venerable Lord has instructed that the young master will sleep here from now on.”
Rong Xuanhe was dumbfounded. “I am moving over?”
“No,” the maidservant replied. “The young master will still live in his own courtyard during the day, and simply come to the Venerable Lord’s bedchamber at night.”
So, where he lived and where he slept were two completely different things.
Denied the big bed, Rong Xuanhe ground his teeth, suppressed his anger, and asked, “What about bathing?”
Surely, he would not have to wash right under Su Wenchuan’s nose too?