Chapter 51: Ruan Fengshan

Once Duan Rong began Standing Stake, he was like a tireless machine, continuing on and on until the midnight Zi hour.

But tonight, he had only been standing for about an hour when someone suddenly called out to him.

"Duan Rong, disperse your Qi!"

Duan Rong found the voice quite familiar, yet for a moment, he could not recall whose it was.

Duan Rong furrowed his brows, exhaled toward the sky, and expelled all the white mist from his mouth before looking up.

Not far away, a lantern hanging under the eaves cast a dim, yellowish light; in the half-light and shadow, Duan Rong recognized that face.

"It is Escort Zhao Mu!"

Duan Rong felt a slight joy; after all, Zhao Mu had taught him for three months, and he was a decent person.

The reason Duan Rong had not immediately recognized Zhao Mu's voice was that Zhao Mu had spoken in a deep, hushed tone, which was completely different from his usual easygoing, cheerful demeanor.

"Is this Duan Rong?"

Behind Zhao Mu, a low, deep voice suddenly rang out.

Only then did Duan Rong notice that another person was standing in the sparse tree shadows behind Zhao Mu.

This person had thick brows, a straight nose, and a firm jawline; his lips were pressed tightly together. He looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old, at most a year or two older than Duan Rong.

"Yes, Young Master Luan. He is Duan Rong," Zhao Mu replied to the man in a respectful tone.

Zhao Mu's respectful attitude toward that person made Duan Rong slightly surprised.

The man took a step forward, glanced at Duan Rong, and said coldly, "Duan Rong! Come with me to the Inner Courtyard!"

"Inner Courtyard? Now? What for?"

At this hour, being asked to go to the Inner Courtyard—how could Duan Rong not feel that something was off?

The man frowned, clearly having no intention of answering Duan Rong's question.

"You are told to go, so go. Why so many questions?" Zhao Mu urged from the side.

Duan Rong muttered to himself, but his feet remained rooted to the spot.

"If you are unwilling to go yourself, I can break your legs and have Zhao Mu carry you!" A trace of anger appeared in the man's voice.

"I didn't say I wasn't going!" Duan Rong immediately changed his tune.

This person clearly did not come with good intentions, and seeing how Zhao Mu obeyed him implicitly, he was likely a formidable character. As the saying goes, a wise man does not fight when the odds are against him; there was no need to argue with him here.

Besides, the Inner Courtyard was a restricted, confidential area of the Yuanshun Escort Agency; without a summons, even an Escort had no right to enter at will.

Not only did the Manager of the Yuanshun Escort Agency, Ruan Fengshan, and his family reside in the Inner Courtyard, but the Accounting Office and the Sealed Treasury were also located there.

The Sealed Treasury not only held the operating silver of the Yuanshun Escort Agency, but the goods entrusted by clients were also temporarily stored within it.

The Sealed Treasury had three keys: one in the hands of the Manager, Ruan Fengshan; one in the hands of the Chief Leader, Luan Jingfu; and one in the hands of the Chief Accountant, Xu Shouxian.

Although the Sealed Treasury was in the Inner Courtyard, no one except those three knew its exact location!

Being called to the Inner Courtyard at this hour, there must certainly be a matter at hand.

It was just unclear whether it boded well or ill.

Duan Rong followed behind the man and Zhao Mu, crossed the Martial Arts Arena, and headed toward the Inner Courtyard!

Duan Rong suddenly noticed that the man was not wearing the attire of an Escort or an Escort Head, but a black, trimmed, form-fitting fine garment!

Duan Rong's thoughts immediately began to churn. Who was this person?

A thought suddenly flashed through Duan Rong's mind: just now, Zhao Mu had called him Young Master Luan.

Could this person be the only son of the Yuanshun Escort Agency's Chief Leader, Luan Jingfu—Luan Bao!

What exactly could have happened in the Inner Courtyard that concerned him, to the point that the Chief Leader's son had come to fetch him personally!

Duan Rong's misgivings grew even deeper!

He went over his recent actions in his mind, identified a few points that could easily be used against him, and thought of his defense in advance...

A moment later, the three of them arrived at the entrance of the Inner Courtyard.

At the entrance of the Inner Courtyard, lanterns were hung high, and four Guards with swords stood inside and out. Seeing this strict defense, Duan Rong could not help but feel a bit nervous.

Luan Bao brought Duan Rong to a building; he saw that the Candle Lamps inside were burning bright, as bright as day, and the yellow light shining out of the door almost illuminated half the courtyard.

Under the eaves hung two lanterns, their light shining upon a plaque under the eaves, on which the three vigorous characters, "Gathering Justice Hall," were brightly illuminated.

Duan Rong's heart jumped violently; he felt more and more that something was wrong.

This situation...

How did this look like they were about to deal with him?

At this moment, he saw Zhao Mu actually turn back at the door and walk away toward the outside of the courtyard.

Luan Bao shoved Duan Rong, and the two of them crossed the threshold together and walked inside.

Duan Rong suppressed the wild pounding of his heart, pressed his lips together, and looked into the room.

In the center of the hall, backed by a six-paneled embroidered screen depicting a tiger roaring in the deep mountains, sat a tall, wide chair draped with a white tiger skin, upon which sat a middle-aged man of about forty.

This person was dressed like a scholar, wearing a loose brown silk garment; his cheeks were slightly plump, and his face was yellow and beardless.

And below the tall, wide chair were two rows of grand chairs.

At the head of the left and right rows of grand chairs, one person sat in each.

Sitting at the head of the right side was a middle-aged man with a gloomy expression; his face had a circle of whiskers, his cheekbones were high, his eye sockets were deep, and a frown line on his forehead was as deep as if carved by a knife, running across his brow.

And the person sitting at the head of the left side was actually Xiao Zongting!

As soon as Duan Rong saw that Xiao Zongting was also there, he felt much more at ease.

Although they had not spent much time together, Duan Rong could still feel the righteousness that emanated from Xiao Zongting's very bones, as well as his earnest desire to cultivate him.

As soon as Luan Bao entered the room, he walked silently behind the gloomy-faced middle-aged man at the head of the right side and stood there, gripping his sword.

Duan Rong's heart skipped a beat; he glanced over and immediately guessed that this gloomy-faced middle-aged man was likely the Chief Leader of the Yuanshun Escort Agency—Luan Jingfu.

Looking at the seating arrangement in the hall, was it not clear who the person on that tall, wide chair was?

Xiao Zongting glanced at Duan Rong and said, "Duan Rong, why don't you hurry and pay your respects to the Manager, and pay your respects to Mr. Luan!"

A slight warmth rose in Duan Rong's heart; Xiao Zongting was reminding him who the people in this Main Hall were, so he wouldn't be impolite!

Duan Rong immediately stepped forward, cupped his fists, and said in a clear voice, "Apprentice Escort, Duan Rong, pays respects to the Manager!"

"Pays respects to the Chief Instructor, Elder Xiao!"

"Pays respects to the Chief Leader, Mr. Luan!"

Duan Rong made three bows in succession, paying respects to each one, and was not the least bit stage-frightened!

Xiao Zongting was slightly taken aback; this kid was even more tactful than he had imagined.

Duan Rong was no longer nervous at this moment; when soldiers come, block them; when water comes, cover with earth—what the hell was there to be afraid of!

Does anyone have more balls than the next guy?

Although Duan Rong paid his respects one by one, the order in which he did so was Ruan Fengshan, Xiao Zongting, and Luan Jingfu.

There was a method to this!

One must know that the status of the Chief Leader is clearly higher than that of the Chief Instructor.

Yet, with Duan Rong paying respects in this manner, no one could find fault with him.

After all, Xiao Zongting is the Chief Instructor, and he is an Apprentice Escort, so there is the status of teacher and student.

As the saying goes, a teacher for a day is a father for life; who could say he was wrong to respect his teacher!

But Luan Jingfu's expression clearly turned cold, and his eyes, deep in their sockets, shot out a chilling light as he stared at Duan Rong and questioned him in a deep voice, "Duan Rong, were you setting up a stall to sell paintings on West Street?"

Duan Rong's heart gave a slight jolt, and he turned his head to look at Xiao Zongting.

Xiao Zongting met his gaze and said expressionlessly, "Just answer truthfully."

Duan Rong looked at Luan Jingfu and said, "That is the case."

"At the Shen hour today, did you almost cause a homicide in the street?"

Duan Rong's heart skipped a beat, and he finally understood what this whole setup was for.

He immediately defended himself, "When lining up, there was indeed a bit of trouble. But fortunately, it was a false alarm, and no homicide occurred!"

(End of this chapter)