The first rays of morning sunlight slipped through the window, casting a warm glow across the quiet room.
Sun Yunso slowly opened his eyes.
He had always risen early.
Waking up before the sun rose was something he did without even thinking about it, a habit he’d formed after years of training with Su Qing.
He quietly sat up from the bed.
As he walked into the room, his eyes landed on his sword, leaning against the wall exactly where he had placed it before going to bed.
“…”
He stood there for a moment, just looking at it, before he finally got up.
Then he put his robe back on and tied his sword to his waist.
Next, he poured the rest of the water from a small pitcher into a basin and washed his face, the cool water feeling refreshing against his skin.
The cool water washed over me, and suddenly I was wide awake, all the sleepiness gone.
He reached into his robe and felt the tiny bottle of eye drops, making sure it was still there.
“There’s still some inside but I’m going to pick up a bit more, just to be on the safe side.”
He tucked it away once more.
He walked out of Room Seven a few moments later.
The inn was still, except for the delicious smell of breakfast wafting up from downstairs.
As Sun Yunso came down the stairs, Niva looked up from the reception desk and gave a warm smile.
“Good morning.”
Sun Yunso gave a small nod.
“…Morning.”
She tilted her head.
“You seem to be going somewhere, so I was wondering if you’d mind telling me where you’re headed.
Is it a specific destination or just a casual outing?”
“I’m going to take a short walk around to get a better look at everything.”
“Is that so, well I hope Meizou treats you kindly.”
Without another word, Sun Yunso stepped outside.
The city was already awake.
Sun Yunso quietly looked around.
‘Where should I begin?’
As he began his journey around Meizou the aroma of steamed buns and grilled meat drifted through the streets as vendors eagerly called out to passing customers.
People went about their daily business, chatting with each other and creating a steady hum of conversation that filled the air.
Sun Yunso walked without any particular destination.
His colourless eyes quietly observed the unfamiliar city and that was because everything was brand new to him.
He really needed to get his hands on some solid information – the kind that would actually help him achieve his goal.
As he kept walking, he overheard a lively conversation going on nearby that caught his attention.
“Have you heard?”
“About the wedding?”
“Everyone in Meizou is buzzing about it, and it’s all anyone can talk about.”
Sun Yunso’s footsteps slowed ever so slightly.
Another man laughed.
“Who hasn’t?
It’s only a few days away.”
People from nearby towns are starting to show up with their families.
A woman carrying a basket smiled.
“They say the ceremony is going to be magnificent.”
“It’s not often that a member of one of Meizou’s most prominent families ties the knot, so this is definitely a big deal.”
Another voice joined in.
“The protection here is really something.
I’ve been told they’re even bringing in more guards and armed men to keep everything safe.”
“Can you blame them?
Important people will be attending.
If anything goes wrong, it’ll become the talk of the entire Luo Kingdom.”
Sun Yunso remained silent.
He looked over at the group, who were still talking about what had happened.
“A wedding?”
He wasn’t interested in celebrations but one sentence lingered in his mind.
“Important people will be attending.”
If influential figures were gathering in one place, perhaps someone connected to the Four Great Families would be there.
Sun Yunso just kept walking through the streets of Meizou, not really thinking about it anymore.
He still didn’t know where he was going, but something had caught his attention and he wanted to see what it was.
After spending most of the morning wandering around the streets of Meizou, Sun Yunso finally made her way back to the Willow Inn.
Sun Yunso sat on the edge of his bed.
“…”
His thoughts drifted back to the conversations he had overheard throughout the city.
The wedding.
Everyone couldn’t stop talking about it, and from what he’d heard, the bride was a young woman from the Guo Family – the one everyone loved and called the family’s princess.
It seemed like she was the center of attention, and people just couldn’t get enough of her.
The Guo Family was pretty well-known, and their daughter was kind of a big deal, so it made sense that everyone was so interested in her wedding.
Sun Yunso lowered his gaze.
If the rumours were true then there was a high chance that members of the Great Four Families would attend.
That single thought was all it took to grab his attention and hold it there.
For the past eight years, Anyu Feng hadn’t just stopped by the mountain to drop off supplies, he also made it a point to bring stories from the outside world, keeping the people who lived there connected to what was happening beyond their little community.
Sun Yunso quietly recalled everything he had learned.
The Guo Family, they’re well-known and respected in Meizhou, but they’re not the ones I’m after.
His fingers slowly tightened against the edge of the bed.
He had a name stuck in his head, one that he couldn’t shake off, and it was a name that would stay with him forever.
The Huo Family.
More specifically the Huo Family’s Clan Head.
According to the information Anyu Feng had gathered over the years, the clan head stood among the most influential figures in the Luo Kingdom and more importantly…
He was someone Sun Yunso had planned to kill.
“I’m still too weak.”
The fight with Zhang Pojun had really driven the point home.
If he were to confront the Huo Family right now, he wouldn’t last long enough to even get to the clan head.
To get his revenge, he first needed to become a lot stronger.
Sun Yunso leaned back a bit, staring up at the wooden ceiling above him.
He also heard that the wedding would require security guards to be present and keep everyone safe.
The reason was unknown but since it’s an influential wedding it was kind of needed that guards were present.
“If I become one of those guards, I can get close without drawing suspicion.”
It was a lot safer to stick with what he knew, rather than trying to sneak into one of the big estates owned by the powerful Families.
As a bodyguard, his job was to stay close to the important people he was looking out for, keep an eye on what was going on around them, and make sure they were safe.
This way, he could do his job without putting himself in too much danger.
For someone seeking information there was no better position.
Anyu Feng’s reports over the past eight years had made one thing abundantly clear.
The head of the Huo family was not often seen in public yet if the wedding truly brought together the Great Four Families.
There was a chance…a small one, but a chance nonetheless…
That he would appear.
Sun Yunso slowly closed his eyes.
“I don’t feel capable of harming him, so I’ll hold back for now.”
His eyes opened once more.
“I’ll get closer, gather all the information I need, and then when the moment is right, I’ll cut them down.”