Chapter 5: Manager Pei Hao

After leaving the Golden Dragon Treasure House, inside the carriage, Jiang Jiang Qinge said nothing, so Li Luo remained silent as well, simply holding the box, lost in thought.

The carriage did not stop until it arrived outside a grand estate, where within the grounds small hills rose and fell, pavilions stood in great numbers, the atmosphere imposing in the extreme.

This place was the location of the old residence where Li Luo's parents had once founded House Luolan Mansion.

Four lion-horse beasts came to a halt at the estate's gate, and Li Luo and Jiang Jiang Qinge both stepped down from the carriage.

"Compared to before, this place really has become much more desolate," Jiang Jiang Qinge said with a sigh as she gazed at the estate.

Back when Li Luo's parents were still present, this had been the headquarters of House Luolan Mansion; the bustling, crowded scene of those days formed a stark contrast with the desolation of today.

"House Luolan Mansion's headquarters was moved to Wang Cheng long ago. This is just an old residence, so it's only natural that it's quiet," Li Luo said with a smile.

While the two were speaking, someone behind the main gate came forward to greet them.

The one in the lead was an old man with a simple, warm smile on his face, and beside him walked a woman. The woman's makeup was quite mature, her features lovely; most striking was her voluptuous, well-proportioned figure, like a fully ripe peach, swaying with an enchanting grace.

"Uncle Liu."

Li Luo called out to the old man. This elder was someone who had followed his parents since early on, and now managed this old residence while also looking after Li Luo's daily life.

But the unfamiliar, mature-looking woman left Li Luo somewhat puzzled.

"Uncle Liu, it's been a long time." Jiang Jiang Qinge gave the old man a slight nod of her head, then introduced her to Li Luo: "This is Sister Cai Wei. She's my assistant in Wang Cheng, helping me manage the various affairs of House Luolan Mansion."

"I've met the Young Mansion Master." The mature beauty named Cai Wei revealed a warm, full smile toward Li Luo, her gaze seeming to size him up.

Li Luo nodded with a smile: "Thank you for your hard work, Sister Cai Wei."

"For a period of time afterward, Sister Cai Wei will remain in Nanfeng City to manage some of House Luolan Mansion's industries in Tianshu Prefecture, and all matters will be reported to you," Jiang Jiang Qinge continued.

Li Luo was startled. After House Luolan Mansion moved its headquarters to Wang Cheng, the various industries here in Tianshu Prefecture had remained largely unchanged and quite stable. Why would Sister Jiang Qinge suddenly send a capable general to take over?

"Did something happen?" Li Luo deliberated for a moment, then asked anyway.

Jiang Jiang Qinge's sudden return this time was clearly not just because tomorrow was his seventeenth birthday.

Jiang Jiang Qinge was silent for a moment, her exquisite features turning somewhat stern. Then she stepped forward toward the interior of the estate, gesturing for Li Luo to follow.

"Although you've stayed in Nanfeng City, you've surely heard some rumors about House Luolan Mansion, haven't you? I didn't tell you about these matters before, afraid they would affect you." Walking along the gravel path, with patches of light falling through the shade of the trees, Jiang Jiang Qinge's voice was cool and clear.

Li Luo nodded. Although he had not involved himself in House Luolan Mansion's affairs, he could guess that with his parents missing for several years, House Luolan Mansion certainly would not have been peaceful.

In this Great Xia Kingdom, founding a mansion was no simple matter, and one of the major hard requirements was that only a Marquis could establish one.

Today, within Great Xia, there were five great mansions, and House Luolan Mansion was one of them.

Among these five great mansions, House Luolan Mansion had the shortest founding history and the fastest rise, because back then both of Li Luo's parents had stepped into the Marquis Realm.

Yang Zhu Xuan Hou, Li Taixuan.

Lan Hou, Dantai Lan.

One mansion, two marquises—this was the most important reason House Luolan Mansion had swiftly risen into the ranks of the five great mansions after its founding. Compared to the long, storied histories of the other four mansions, House Luolan Mansion was undoubtedly extremely young, but this also showed that in terms of foundation, House Luolan Mansion was considerably weaker than the other four.

However, this originally wasn't much of a problem. With Li Taixuan and Dantai Lan's talent and strength, it was enough to close this gap in the time to come.

But unfortunately, they had suddenly vanished.

Having lost these two main pillars, House Luolan Mansion's strength plummeted. At the very beginning, the lingering might of the two marquises still remained, so no one dared stir up trouble. But as time passed, there was still no news of Li Taixuan and Dantai Lan, and eventually rumors even spread that they had perished on the Wang Hou battlefield.

As one of the five great mansions of Great Xia, House Luolan Mansion's subordinate industries were countless—this was a piece of fat so rich it was beyond description, and within Great Xia, who knew how many forces were eyeing it covetously.

Therefore, as time went on, the lingering prestige left by Li Taixuan and Dantai Lan gradually weakened, and in the past year or two, some forces could no longer restrain themselves and began baring their fangs at House Luolan Mansion.

Under such circumstances, Jiang Jiang Qinge, who was still studying at the Sacred Profound Star Academy, had no choice but to temporarily take over House Luolan Mansion. However, although Jiang Jiang Qinge's fame in Great Xia had grown stronger over these two years, she had after all not stepped into the Marquis Realm, and in terms of strength and deterrence, she still fell short. So, facing wolves on all sides, she decisively abandoned some of House Luolan Mansion's industries, intending to buy time for recovery and growth.

This continuous abandonment was also one of the main reasons the outside world believed House Luolan Mansion to be tottering on the brink of collapse.

But Li Luo fully approved of this. After all, without sufficient strength, clinging to a mountain of gold would only invite greater trouble. Appropriate endurance was the long-term strategy.

"Although House Luolan Mansion's momentum has declined a lot these past two years, overall it seems to have begun stabilizing, hasn't it?" Li Luo asked, somewhat puzzled.

Jiang Jiang Qinge pressed her red lips together and said calmly: "The external pressure has eased somewhat for now, but this time, the problem lies within House Luolan Mansion itself."

Li Luo's gaze instantly sharpened, and he said slowly: "It's that Senior Brother Pei Hao, isn't it?"

Both Jiang Jiang Qinge and the mature woman Cai Wei beside her glanced at Li Luo with some surprise.

"Although Sister Jiang Qinge hasn't been in charge of House Luolan Mansion for very long, your charisma is unmatched. Now within House Luolan Mansion, your prestige is hardly low, and looking across House Luolan Mansion, the only one who can still stand against you on equal footing is this registered senior disciple taken in by my parents." Li Luo met their surprised gazes and smiled.

Pei Hao, who had been a wandering, down-and-out youth in his younger years, later nearly got killed for offending an enemy. Li Luo's parents happened to save him by chance back then, took pity on him, and brought him into House Luolan Mansion. After entering House Luolan Mansion, he worked diligently, revealed decent talent, and managed to make his way, so in the end Li Luo's parents accepted him as a registered disciple.

After gaining this status, Pei Hao's position within House Luolan Mansion rose steadily, and by the time Li Luo's parents vanished, his power within House Luolan Mansion was already considerable.

Back when his parents were still around, this Senior Brother Pei Hao would actually come to interact with him from time to time, but such contact had decreased a great deal over these past two years, especially after the news of his empty phase spread.

Judging from this point, this Senior Brother Pei Hao was actually quite true to his nature.

"Over these years, Pei Hao has always had objections to my taking charge of House Luolan Mansion, and has acted arbitrarily on many decisions within the mansion. His prestige in House Luolan Mansion is not low; of the mansion's nine halls, nearly half of the hall masters are close to him, which has caused a very bad influence," Jiang Jiang Qinge said coolly.

"Actually, if he could contribute to House Luolan Mansion, I could endure all of this. Even this so-called position of leadership—if Master and Mistress hadn't appointed me before they left, I wouldn't have wanted to step forward."

Li Luo nodded. Jiang Jiang Qinge's personality actually didn't much enjoy these internal mansion affairs; with her talent, focused cultivation was what suited her best.

Of course, in the end, it was still because this Young Mansion Master wasn't quite up to it. But both he and Jiang Jiang Qinge understood that in his current state, this so-called empty phase talent couldn't win over the masses at all. If they really let this Young Mansion Master of his take charge of House Luolan Mansion, the foundation his parents had built would probably fall apart very quickly.

After all, in this world, strength was the fundamental thing that commanded people's belief.

"You've really worked hard, Sister Jiang Qinge," Li Luo said sincerely, gratefully.

Jiang Jiang Qinge shook her head: "No need for that. After all, you and I have an engagement, and House Luolan Mansion has a share belonging to me as well."

How direct.

Li Luo was left speechless, and Cai Wei beside him also covered her lips with a light laugh, her charm captivating.

"Since Master and Mistress vanished, the hearts of people within the mansion have been restless. Although I've tried my best to pacify them, House Luolan Mansion's situation is still plain to see. And that Pei Hao has taken the opportunity to win over hearts, opposing me at every turn. I investigated before and suspect that behind him, there might be other forces secretly helping," Jiang Jiang Qinge continued.

Li Luo reached out and caught a falling leaf before him, saying: "This is... raising a Bai Yanlang."

"Tomorrow, Pei Hao will lead people to Nanfeng City to discuss things with me, but most likely we won't reach an agreement. And the worst outcome of failing to agree is that House Luolan Mansion might split directly, which, given House Luolan's Current State, would be a heavy blow," Jiang Jiang Qinge said. Her golden pupils appeared exceptionally cold at this moment, with even a faint trace of killing intent flowing within.

Li Luo's brow furrowed tightly as well. House Luolan Mansion was already being circled by wolves and watched covetously by tigers within Great Xia. Once it truly split, House Luolan Mansion's strength would be greatly weakened, and it would become increasingly troublesome afterward.

But in the end, he could only sigh helplessly, because with his current strength and state, he could not make even the slightest impact on this situation. This so-called Young Mansion Master—within House Luolan Mansion, probably not many people would look at him straight on; in fact, it was likely that many within the mansion had simply forgotten about this Young Mansion Master of his.

And all of this was still because he himself lacked strength and a future.

"Sorry, I can't offer you much help," Li Luo said.

Jiang Jiang Qinge shook her head and said softly, "Rest assured. Even if the Luo'an Manor is unstable right now, when I finally hand it over to you, I will ensure it is complete and intact."

Li Luo said nothing, for in truth he did not care much about it either; no matter how strong the Luo'an Manor was, it was merely an external thing. In this world, only one's own strength is the foundation of everything.

If he could one day Enter the King-Marquis Realm, all difficulties would be resolved effortlessly.

Afterwards, the two returned to the old manor, ate a meal together, and then Jiang Jiang Qinge went straight to her duties, clearly making preparations for the next day.

Li Luo did not disturb her; he went to the training room to cultivate the Image Art for two hours, then returned to his room to rest.

That night, Li Luo lay awake for a long time. After midnight passed, he flipped off the bed, then pulled the briefcase from under the bed and opened it.

The mysterious black crystal ball was taken out as well. He held it carefully in his hands. At that moment, Li Luo could feel his heart beating violently.

"Father, Mother, what exactly did you leave for me?"

Li Luo gently patted his violently beating heart and joked to comfort himself.

"It shouldn't really be just a birthday cake that's been stored for a few years, right?"

(End of this chapter)