“I said, go somewhere else,” Yan Xiaohan remained unmoved, “There’s no place for you to stay here.”
The King of Qi was inside, and who knew what kind of person this was. Even if he innocently died outside, he couldn’t be allowed in.
The man tried to reason: “Brother, we’re both wanderers. In this wilderness, where else can I find a place to shelter from the rain? Just be accommodating. I won’t do anything; I’ll leave once the rain stops. Or I can give you silver…”
As he was about to reach for his money pouch, Yan Xiaohan remained cold: “No.”
“How can you be so unreasonable?” The man said angrily, “Is this temple built by your family?”
Or did the temple god hire you as a watchdog? How much is your monthly pay? I’ll give you double!”
Yan Xiaohan: “…”
Accidentally, he had hit the nail on the head.
His eyes grew cold, his fingers gripping the sword hilt, pressing down, with rainwater forming a silver thread-like light at the sword tip—
Chapter 47 Thunder | Comes Unexpectedly
Rainwater flowed along the edge of the bamboo hat, like a veil for the man. He caught Yan Xiaohan’s extremely subtle movement, his eyebrows jumping, and reached behind for the long cloth package.
At that moment, a heavenly call suddenly came from the hall, interrupting the tense standoff between the two.
“Yan—” At the critical moment, the King of Qi spoke, “Cough, it’s fine, let him come in.”
Before Yan Xiaohan could respond, the man immediately withdrew his hand as quickly as he had reached for his money pouch, shouting, “Listen, listen, the god has spoken, don’t block the way, let me in!”
As soon as the man spoke, it was like ten mynas squawking in his ears, his voice like a broken gong. Reluctantly, he sheathed his sword. When the man dismounted, Yan Xiaohan’s keen ears suddenly caught a crisp sound, like metal striking stone, a “clang” that was long and lingering.
He immediately fixed his gaze on the man, who walked towards him with a slightly provocative smile. As they passed each other, Yan Xiaohan suddenly reached back, swiftly pulling down the man’s package.
The man reacted quickly, almost simultaneously grabbing the other end of the package. His bamboo hat slipped back, revealing an ordinary face.
“Unsheathe the sword,” Yan Xiaohan said expressionlessly.
The man looked bewildered: “Unsheathe a sword? What sword?”
Yan Xiaohan’s gaze dropped to the cloth package in their hands. The man looked and immediately laughed relaxedly: “Oh, this? This is not a sword.”
“Open it.”
The young man shook his head, saying dramatically: “You really want to see… Alright then.”
Yan Xiaohan watched skeptically as he unwrapped the package, revealing a black, nearly three-foot-long—
Firewood stick.
Yan Xiaohan: “…”
The man looked completely innocent: “I told you it wasn’t a sword, but you insisted on seeing.”
The attendants inside covered their mouths and lowered their heads, struggling not to laugh. Yan Xiaohan managed to keep his composure, saying calmly: “Hand it over, don’t bring it inside.”
Forced to compromise, the man didn’t insist, letting go, but muttering before entering: “Stingy. Can’t even let go of a firewood stick.”
Yan Xiaohan finally let him in, while feeling something was slightly off. The man looked young but carried an old traveler’s demeanor, with a subtle cunning in his straightforward eyes. Yan Xiaohan’s probes had been smoothly dodged.
He seemed to have already anticipated entering this temple, so even when Yan Xiaohan drew his sword, he didn’t truly get angry, instead constantly finding ways to mock him.
This precise, cutting way of speaking seemed very familiar.
Unlike Yan Xiaohan’s obvious displeasure, the King of Qi and his attendants were quite friendly to this chance-met young man. While Yan Xiaohan was momentarily distracted, the man had already sat by the fire, stretching and talking—to the inexperienced Prince Qi’s evident interest.
“…My surname is Ren, single character Miao, born lacking water, from Yanzhou. I’ve been traveling and doing justice since I was sixteen… Parents? My parents died early, I grew up eating from many households.”
“I lived in the capital for a while, working as a household guard for a merchant,” he laughed sheepishly, “Sometimes helping neighbors, and… falling for their young lady.”
Yan Xiaohan inwardly scoffed, but Prince Qi loved such romantic stories, more exciting than stage plays, eagerly asking, “And then?”
Ren Miao drank some hot water and continued: “Their business in the capital couldn’t continue, so they rented out their house and returned to their old home in Jingzhou.”
Prince Qi sighed, “What a pity.”
“Not a pity,” Ren Miao laughed, “Aren’t I here looking for her?”
He even turned to look at Yan Xiaohan, who thought: You’re pursuing your love, why are you looking at me?
Prince Qi asked, “What’s her surname? What business were they in? Are you sure she’s in Jingzhou? What if they went somewhere else?”
“My surname is Meng, and my family is in the cloth business,” Ren Miao said. “The matter of leaving Beijing for Jingzhou was arranged by her family elders. As an unmarried woman, she had no choice but to secretly have her maid deliver a letter to me.”
The Prince of Qi exclaimed: “You… you two are actually in love?!”
Ren Miao said: “Of course. Otherwise, why would I chase her thousands of miles? Though she hasn’t explicitly said it, she must be longing to meet me. I cannot let her down.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the listeners were stunned, especially those with families, who were deeply moved. Yan Xiaohan, who originally had some prejudice against him, was suddenly touched by the phrase “cannot let her down”.
After a long silence, Yan Xiaohan said: “Alright, don’t tarnish the girl’s reputation here.”
Ren Miao looked back at him and said defiantly: “Big brother, you look dignified. I suppose you’re already married?”
Yan Xiaohan coldly nodded and asked: “You’re from Yanzhou.”
Have you heard of the Northern Yan Cavalry Commander, Jingning Marquis Fu Shen?”
“Of course I’ve heard of him, who hasn’t,” Ren Miao said casually, “You’re not going to tell me you’re related to the Jingning Marquis, are you? Forgive me, big brother, but that’s quite a boast hahahahaha…”
Everyone: “…”
“Why is everyone staring at me?” Ren Miao asked awkwardly.
Yan Xiaohan barely composed himself and said: “I mean, since you’re in Northern Yan, why don’t you join the Northern Yan army, earn military merits, and then grandly marry your Miss Meng? Even if you chase her to Jingzhou and propose, they might not be willing to marry their daughter to you.”
“Military service isn’t good,” he shook his head and laughed, “I’m not ambitious. I just want to live peacefully with my beloved. I can earn enough to support a family now. If I join the army, I might not even make it back, leaving her alone. I’d never rest in peace.”
This man was like a heaven-sent probe straight to Yan Xiaohan’s heart, hitting the mark every time. Yan Xiaohan was almost coughing blood and asked unwillingly: “How do you know Miss Meng doesn’t want a grand wedding and official titles, and just wants to live a simple life with you?”
Ren Miao bent one leg, his eyes revealing a shy and affectionate smile, as if talking to himself: “She’s not that kind of person. Otherwise, with so many people in the world, why would she fall for me…”
That barely concealed tenderness was almost blinding.
Yan Xiaohan felt half melancholy and half bitter. Wasn’t this exactly his deepest regret and unattainable desire? But he and Fu Shen, one a noble marquis and the other in a high-ranking position, even if they didn’t cling to power, how could they abandon everything on a whim? Dragged along by “circumstances beyond control” in the mortal world, they might just drift until old age.
