Chương 7: The Yu Family Mansion
Biên tập viên: Atlas Studios
The white-robed young man was quite talkative and told Liu Le'er some anecdotes about the city along the way. However, the girl was a little distracted and only answered him half-heartedly.
They crossed several streets and soon came to the central area of Mingyuan City.
It seemed a little quiet here and the road was clean. There were not many shops on both sides and instead, had many wide houses and courtyards. It was obvious that these were the residences of the city's aristocratic families.
After walking forward for some distance, they came to a red compound.
Different from the other compounds in the city, it covered an extremely wide area. The 20 foot high red gate looked magnificent. Two stone lions stood in the courtyard and the front door was full of shiny copper nails, shining brightly in the sun.
On both sides of the door, there was a bodyguard in bright-colored armor, just like those guards from before, but they stood solemnly with a spear in their hands.
Everything on display demonstrated the owner's great position and power.
There was a huge gilded plaque hanging on the door, with the words 'Yu manor' written in gold on it.
Liu Shi raised his head to look at the Yu manor, but soon looked away.
Liu Le'er looked at the mansion in front of her in surprise and felt a little uneasy.
She had never seen such a large mansion. Judging from the door, the Yu manor must have a very high position in Mingyuan City, and might even have links with the Imperial Court of Feng Nation.
"Sister Liu, what's wrong?" The white-robed young man seemed to have seen that something was wrong and asked gently.
"The Yu manor is so big and there are so many guards. It's not an ordinary family, right?" Liu Le'er managed to say with a smile.
"Sister Liu is really smart. My father is the Prime Minister of Feng Nation, so there will be some guards in the mansion. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to hire a real Immortal Master and ask them to stay here," Yu Qi replied.
Liu Le'er's eyes widened when she heard his words.
Seeing this, the young man in the Confucian robe was full of pride.
"Seventh Young Master, Second Young Master!" Seeing them walking over, the two guards by the door hurried over and bowed to them.
Yu Qi nodded at the two guards and took Liu Le'er and Liu Shi through the door.
"Seventh Brother, Father will be furious if he finds out that you insisted on bringing two outsiders to the mansion. Don't blame me for not reminding you." After entering the mansion, the young man in the Confucian robe snorted and walked away.
"Ignore him. Please follow me." Yu Qi smiled and took Liu Le'er and Liu Shi to another direction in the mansion.
The inside of the compound was very spacious. There were many pavilions, terraces, gardens and corridors.
The ground was also paved with white jade, sapphire and other top-grade precious stones. It was smooth as a mirror, hard as iron, and showed the extravagance of the rich.
Yu Qi appeared to hold a very high position in the Yu family. The servants he met along the way bowed to him and some even knelt down on one knee.
When Liu Le'er saw this, she glanced at Yu Qi's back, her bright eyes moving about, seeming to be thinking about something.
She and Liu Shi were behind Yu Qi and naturally attracted many people's attention, especially Liu Shi's strange appearance. But these people were respectful of Yu Qi's presence and dared not take another glance.
Soon, the three of them came to a long corridor and a tall maidservant dressed in a green dress came over.
"Young Master, you are back." The maidservant in the green dress showed a happy smile when she saw Yu Qi and ran over.
"Xiao Wu, there are guests here. Don't be rude," Yu Qi reprimanded in a low voice.
Xiao Wu stuck out her tongue. She did not look afraid, unlike those servants before.
Yu Qi glared at the maidservant in the green dress helplessly then said, "Xiao Wu, you came at the right time. These two are the guests I invited, Sister Liu Le'er and Brother Liu Shi. Go to the West Wing and clear it for them to rest."
Only then did Xiao Wu see the two people behind Yu Qi. Liu Shi's strange and blank expression made her slightly surprised, but her eyes lit up when they landed on Liu Le'er. She said with a wide grin, "Ah, what a beautiful girl!"
"Sister Liu is my guest, you can't be rude! This is Xiao Wu, my personal maidservant. She is brusque in both speech and manner, so please do not blame her." Yu Qi berated Xiao Wu before turning to give Liu Le'er and Liu Shi an apologetic smile.
"I got it." Although Xiao Wu said that, she made a silly face at Le'er when Yu Qi was not looking.
Liu Le'er was amused by her and could not help chuckling, but she quickly covered her mouth with her hand. However, her tense mood had relaxed slightly.
"By the way, I've been out the past few days, the mansion…" Yu Qi looked around and moved closer to Xiao Wu, whispering to her.
They were very close to each other and from afar looked quite intimate but Xiao Wu did not look at all embarrassed.
When Liu Le'er saw this, she pouted and her good impression of the white-robed young man was suddenly reduced.
They whispered for a while and Xiao Wu nodded as she turned and quickly walked away.
"This way please," Yu Qi said and continued forward.
After a while, the three of them reached a small courtyard and Xiao Wu was there to receive them.
Although she called it a small courtyard, it was only small by comparison. The pathway was paved with pebbles and on the left was a pine tree, on the right was a cluster of green and slender bamboo.
A slight breeze blew past and the leaves of the pine tree and bamboo made a crisp rustling sound.
Although the furnishings inside the room were simple, the workmanship of the table, chairs, and benches was extremely exquisite.
The table and chairs were clean and spotless. It was apparent that someone had just cleaned up.
"The two of you look a little tired. Take a rest here first and I'll host a dinner to welcome both of you." The white-robed young man turned to Liu Le'er and smiled.
"There's no need. I just want to know when you can ask the Immortal Master to see my brother?" Liu Le'er looked around.
"Since you don't like to engage in social activities, I'll ask Xiao Wu to bring dinner over later. As for the Immortal Master, I'm afraid you'll have to wait until tomorrow," Yu Qi said after a moment of silence.
"Alright." Liu Le'er was a little disappointed.
"By the way, if you have any other needs, you can just instruct Xiao Wu. Have a good rest, I'll take my leave first." Yu Qi looked at Liu Shi again as he spoke.
Liu Le'er nodded, her expression a little distracted.
"Young Master, who are they? From their clothes, they look to be just ordinary people. Why must you be so polite to them?" Xiao Wu asked curiously outside the courtyard.
"What do you know, little girl? Today, that horse of mine was frightened and it was that Liu Shi who single-handedly subdued that Blue Wind Horse and stopped our carriage." Yu Qi pinched Xiao Wu's chin lightly, smiling.
"Blue Wind Horse! Single-handedly! That Liu Shi… What great strength!" Xiao Wu was surprised upon hearing his words.
"You know, if we can have such an unusual person with godly strength serve us, it will be of great use to me in the future. Besides, when Le'er gets older, she will definitely be a beautiful woman. How can I bear to let her live a life wandering the world and suffering needlessly? Naturally, she will also come to the compound. Tell the others that they are to treat them well and not to neglect them," the white-robed young man instructed Xiao Wu with a smile as he walked out.
"Yes," Xiao Wu seemed to have thought of something and she replied hurriedly with a blush.
Inside the room in the small courtyard.
Liu Le'er had walked for a day today and had experienced a distressing event, so she was slightly tired. She pulled Liu Shi into the bedroom to rest for a while.
Although there should be a distinction between men and women, the two of them had lived and eaten together in the wild all these years, so Liu Le'er did not think it was inappropriate for them.
When it was dark, Xiao Wu brought over a sumptuous dinner.
Liu Le'er could not help but swallow her saliva as she looked at the table full of delicious food.
She had never eaten such sumptuous food. Although she was in the Prime Minister's residence and was a little uneasy because of the unfamiliar environment, she could not help but enjoy the food.
Liu Shi, on the other hand, had no reaction to the food.
The night grew darker and a full moon rose slowly from the horizon.
Liu Le'er laid on the bed, tossing and turning for a long time, but she could not fall asleep. Her mind was full of anticipation at seeing the Immortal Master tomorrow.
"Brother Stone, do you think that Immortal Master can cure you?" Liu Le'er moved her body slightly to the side of the bed and said softly.
Liu Shi did not lie down and sat crossed-leg by the bed with his eyes closed.
He had been like this every night for the past few years, and had never laid down to sleep.
Liu Shi had a deadpan expression, and did not open his eyes. It was as if he had not heard the girl's words.
"Brother Stone, don't worry. If the Immortal Master here can't cure you, we'll go somewhere else. There must be someone who can cure you." Liu Le'er was used to it and smiled at ease after saying this. Closing her eyes slowly, she fell asleep.
Liu Shi did not move, like a statue in the dark.
After a while, the tall youth suddenly opened his eyes and looked in a certain direction of the Yu manor, subconsciously raising his hand and touching the dark green ornament that hung over his neck.
…
At the same time, in a certain basement of the Yu manor where the tall youth had directed his gaze at.
The walls of the chamber were carved with dark red runes, which converged from all parts of the wall to the center.
In the chamber was a black furnace with a pool of fire at the bottom, which was burning with scary flames.
The furnace was emitting a black light at this moment, the lid trembling slightly as if it would fly off at any time.
An old man stood by the furnace, looking at it nervously.
This man was wearing a lotus crown on his head and dressed in a grayish white Daoist robe. His eyes were deep set, his face thin and he had a long white goatee growing from his chin. The goatee looked ancient, giving him the look of an immortal.
At this moment, a crackling sound came from the furnace and then there was a burnt smell.
The old Daoist's expression changed and he made some hand gestures to put out the fire. Then, with another move, the lid of the furnace flew up.
Ignoring the heat, he put his hand in directly. His expression darkened immediately and he took out a handful of black powder.
The strong smell of medicine, mixed with a burnt smell came out from the powder.
When the old man saw this, his face was livid and he jumped and cursed angrily.
-- Nhận quà