Chapter 34: Hall of Leisurely Joy

Page 1 of 3

“Little Hong must have been abducted…”

Lin Jiangyue struck her head in deep remorse. Seeing this, Yan Kuang reached out to stop her. “Junior Sister, we came here to investigate precisely so that we could rescue her.”

Young Master Han nodded eagerly. “Exactly! I ran several miles over a handkerchief, all to help her!”

Cheng Ruyi said, “Lady Lin, why are you so certain that Little Hong was abducted rather than sold by her family?”

“She has no family.”

Lin Jiangyue furrowed her brows and sighed. “Little Hong was an abandoned baby…”

Everyone fell silent for a moment. Even an abandoned child ought to have someone to raise her; otherwise, how could she have grown up?

Seeing the confusion on their faces, Lin Jiangyue continued. “Ten years ago, on the night of the full moon, wolves suddenly began howling outside the village. A wolf came into Danhua Village with a newborn baby clamped in its jaws.”

“The villagers barred their doors and dared not come outside. But unexpectedly, the wolf merely set the infant down and then left the village. The villagers all felt that the child’s origins were suspicious, and since she had been carried in by a wolf, no one dared raise her. Only a married couple surnamed Zhao was willing to take her in… They named her Zhao Xiaohong.”

Young Master Han listened with great interest, while Cheng Ruyi frowned slightly and shook his head.

“What happened to the couple?” Yan Kuang asked.

“They died…”

Lin Jiangyue sighed. “When Xiaohong was six, her foster parents went into the mountains to gather firewood. Several days passed without their return, and at night, the mountains would occasionally echo with ghostly wails and wolf howls. The villagers did not dare go up to investigate. They reported the matter to the authorities, but waited and waited without a single official arriving. It happened that I was passing through, so I went up the mountain in their place.”

At this point, Lin Jiangyue’s expression grew grim, as though she had recalled a horrifying sight.

“When I found the Zhao couple, they had already been savaged beyond recognition…”

Young Master Han’s expression changed drastically. Only then did he understand that this was not a story from a book, but real life in the world he inhabited—living, breathing human lives.

“I killed the wolf and buried the couple, then returned to the village and told everyone what had happened. Though the villagers sympathized with the Zhao couple, they were convinced that such misfortune had befallen them because they had adopted Xiaohong… Thus, no one dared take her in again.”

Even now, recalling the scene, Lin Jiangyue remained furious. She slapped her thigh and said,

“Enraged, I declared that from then on, the child would be cared for by me, Lin One-Blade!”

Cheng Ruyi had nearly guessed how the story ended. “But as a wandering heroine, it must have been inconvenient for you to travel the martial world with a little girl.”

Lin Jiangyue nodded in agreement.

“She was still so young. I couldn’t drag her all over the place with me, but I also couldn’t remain in Danhua Village forever…”

At that, Lin Jiangyue suddenly gave Yan Kuang a meaningful look.

She slammed her hand onto the table and glared at him through clenched teeth. “We had agreed back then! We would roam the martial world together, punish evil, and defend the innocent… Yet someone went off to become a hound of the court!”

Yan Kuang fell silent.

Young Master Han, utterly confused, asked, “Who? Who are you talking about?”

Cheng Ruyi coughed twice. “Lady Lin, Xiaohong’s situation is more important.”

At the mention of Xiaohong, Lin Jiangyue gradually calmed down. The rugged, heroic woman took on a rare softness.

She said, “I wanted to wander the world and uphold justice, so all I could do was return from time to time to see her, bringing her some money and little trinkets. Each time I came, I would stay with her for a while before leaving again… But after she came into my life, I no longer dared travel too far. I stayed mostly around the capital and returned to see her every month…”

“Who could have imagined something like this would happen? If I had known, I should have taken her with me!”

As she spoke, Lin Jiangyue lifted her great saber. “No… Even if I have to turn Fengzhou upside down, I’ll find Xiaohong!”

She made to leave with the saber in hand, but Yan Kuang said, “How will you find her? What method will you use? If you charge blindly into the city like this, you’ll be seized by the authorities before you even lay eyes on Xiaohong.”

“Don’t try to frighten me!” Though Lin Jiangyue stopped, she remained defiant. “You’re a hound of the court, so of course you’ll speak on its behalf! Hear me well, you imperial hunting dogs and lackeys—if one of you comes, I’ll kill one! Includ—”

Yan Kuang said blandly, “Are you trying to kill people or find someone?”

Page 2 of 3

Cheng Ruyi sighed inwardly. Whether it was his junior sister or his younger brother, why did both of them have to make things so awkward with Yan Kuang?

Seeing that Lin Jiangyue was about to lose her temper, Cheng Ruyi said, “Lady Lin, I’m sure your senior brother has a better plan. Since we share the same goal, why not work together?”

Young Master Han’s eyes lit up. Clapping his hands, he chimed in, “Exactly! Let’s work together! I’ve always dreamed of robbing houses and holding up travelers alongside Lady Lin!”

Yan Kuang and Cheng Ruyi fell silent. Lin Jiangyue had just been about to nod when she suddenly realized what he had said. She ground her teeth and shouted,

“It’s upholding justice, not robbing houses!”

…

Along the Maple-Red Mountain Road, a donkey cart rolled noisily over the fallen leaves. Cheng Ruyi sat at the front, driving the donkey, while Young Master Han snored away in the back. Beside him lay Lin Jiangyue’s great saber and Yan Kuang’s sword. Fortunately, the saber’s blade was wrapped in burlap; otherwise, Young Master Han’s face would have been scraped bloody by now.

Maple leaves blew over and covered Young Master Han’s face, waking him from his sleep.

“Mm… Sister-in-law, where are we?”

Cheng Ruyi explained helplessly, “Young Master, I’m really not your sister-in-law… We should be about halfway there.”

Young Master Han sat up and stretched. “We’re going this slowly? If I’d known, I would have walked with Lady Lin and the others.”

Cheng Ruyi smiled. “Her senior brother and she are traveling by flight. Could you keep up with them?”

“Sigh… No, I couldn’t.”

As Young Master Han gazed at the scenery along the road, he could not help admiring it.

The capital was a fine place, but its scenery was too meticulously crafted and refined. Even its people seemed to have been made from the same mold. No matter how recklessly he had behaved over the years, he had still been living within invisible boundaries.

The natural landscape before him, however, felt fresh in a way he had never experienced.

Young Master Han sighed. “Everything is so red. It’s beautiful… If we weren’t in such a hurry to find Little Hong, we really should have asked Big Brother and Lady Lin to slow down. We could find somewhere high, sit on the ground, and eat meat and drink wine!”

This time, Cheng Ruyi could not hold back and burst out laughing.

He would never have imagined that the sole son of that old fox, Han Shaozhen, would actually be a sheltered young master who knew nothing of the world and cared only about eating meat and drinking wine.

He glanced up at the sky, then turned to Young Master Han. “Your brother and the others should have reached Fengzhou by now…”

…

Night had fallen. Though Fengzhou Prefecture was not as prosperous as the capital, it was still lively.

Sparse lights shone from the Buddhist pagoda in the distance. The street stalls were neatly arranged, while the taverns and inns blazed with light. The roadside snacks were varied. Unlike the delicate, finely made foods of the capital, the local fare consisted mostly of noodles and other flour-based dishes, served in considerably larger portions.

With her arms folded, Lin Jiangyue followed behind Yan Kuang and said impatiently, “All you’ve done is eat and wander around. What exactly are you trying to accomplish? Every time you see a meat sandwich stall, you buy one! You’ve already eaten six!”

Yan Kuang held a meat sandwich and ate as he walked. “Why aren’t you eating the one I bought you earlier?”

Lin Jiangyue gripped the sandwich in her hand, suppressing her anger. “Do you think I’m in the mood? Besides, I’m sick of them. I’m not eating it!”

Yan Kuang took a large bite and chewed carefully. “Are meat sandwiches tasty?”

Lin Jiangyue finally exploded. “Aren’t you eating one yourself? Why are you asking me whether they’re tasty?”

Her voice drew the attention of several passersby, and Lin Jiangyue hurriedly lowered her head in embarrassment.

After walking a few more steps, Yan Kuang suddenly asked, “Haven’t you noticed that something is strange?”

“Strange? What’s strange about it… You’re the strangest thing here!” Still angry, Lin Jiangyue took a bite of her sandwich.

Yan Kuang said, “Even in the capital, there are beggars.”

“But here, there are none.”

Lin Jiangyue froze. She quickly looked around again. The corners of the walls, the mouths of the alleys, and the entrances of the shops were all spotlessly clean.

Page 3 of 3

The two senior and junior disciples traveled quickly. By then, they had nearly covered the length of Fengzhou’s main street, yet there truly was not even the shadow of a beggar to be seen.

Yan Kuang said gravely, “It isn’t only beggars. Haven’t you noticed that there are hardly any young women or children either?”

Lin Jiangyue fell into thought. “That’s true… Why is that? When I came here a few years ago, it was clearly not like this…”

“Fengzhou Prefecture is not Danhua Village. If you simply ask whether anyone has seen a little girl of about ten, no one will remember.”

Yan Kuang continued, “Junior Sister, do you remember what I asked the first meat-sandwich vendor when I bought one?”

Lin Jiangyue tried to recall it. Suddenly, she looked up. “You asked him how much one cost?”

At those words, Yan Kuang’s chewing stopped abruptly.

He answered frankly, “I asked him whether there was anywhere in the city that took in people with no homes.”

The man inside the carriage Young Master Han had encountered on the street had introduced himself in precisely these words:

“We specialize in taking in people with nowhere to go. Come home with me, and I’ll make sure you have enough to eat and something warm to wear. What do you say?”

In light of what came later, the statement seemed almost insignificant. Heard on its own, it was difficult to believe. But…

Yan Kuang said, “Yet from the moment we entered the city gates, there hasn’t been a single beggar—or even an idle vagrant—on the road.”

With Yan Kuang’s reminder, Lin Jiangyue suddenly understood. “And the vendor said… He said there was such a place! He really did!”

Yan Kuang took another bite of his sandwich and nodded.

Lin Jiangyue clapped her hands. “Senior Brother! Then why have you been wandering around aimlessly? And eating, eating, eating—stop eating! Let’s go there and take a look!”

“We’re almost there,” Yan Kuang said.

“Almost where?”

“Almost finished eating.”

As he spoke, Yan Kuang held up the sandwich, of which only a small portion remained, to show her. Then he continued walking and eating.

Lin Jiangyue pointed at him and stamped her feet in fury, but she could only follow.

After walking another half a street, Yan Kuang suddenly turned into a side lane. Lin Jiangyue was wondering what he was doing when she saw him put the last bite of the sandwich into his mouth, crumple the oiled paper in his hand, and throw it into a wastebasket.

“Junior Sister, we’re here.”

Yan Kuang pointed ahead. Lin Jiangyue saw an imposing residence with grand gates. On either side of the entrance, couplets inlaid with white marble stood out beneath the hazy moonlight.

The upper couplet read:

“Raise towering halls to shelter all who wander.”

The lower couplet read:

“Lay bare our hearts and spill our blood to bless countless homes.”

Three large vermilion characters were written across the plaque:

Leisure Hall.

Lin Jiangyue looked it over. “This… is it?”

“According to the directions given by all those meat-sandwich vendors along the way, there can be no doubt that this is the place.” Yan Kuang lowered his voice. “Whatever happens in there, do not speak, and do not act impulsively. Respond according to the situation.”

Lin Jiangyue said, “No wonder you kept asking the vendors about Leisure Hall… My thoughts were such a mess that I didn’t notice at all. What exactly are you planning?”

“We’re short on time. I’ll explain later.” Yan Kuang looked at her. “Trust me.”

Lin Jiangyue frowned, but she nodded all the same.

Yan Kuang stepped forward and knocked on the ring of the gate. Absolute silence reigned within. Before long, however, a kindly old man came to open the door.