Chapter 283: Ancient Residence

The place where the carriage stopped was a lush green hill. Several strong men were already waiting at the foot of the hill. At this time, they carried the cargo from the carriage and went up the winding path into the hill.

Li Piaoqing raised her eyes and looked. Among the ancient pines and paulownia trees on the top, several ancient eaves were revealed, appearing deep, secluded, and quiet. There was no one for several miles around. As far as ears and eyes could tell, being here was indeed closer to that cold, bizarre, and remote immortal painting legend than when in Xiangzhou City.

Not long after, they reached the top of the hill, and the full appearance of this large residence was revealed. Li Piaoqing took a look; it was indeed large and ancient, built about fifty years ago, and occupied half of the flattened hilltop. If a hundred people lived in it, it probably wouldn't seem crowded.

The grand ceremony would be held tomorrow. At this time, the residence had already been roughly decorated. The courtyards and gates were all swept clean, red festive ribbons were tied on the dark old wood, and there were already some gift items sent by guests before the gate.

However, I don't know if it was because the surroundings were too desolate, but Li Piaoqing found it difficult to feel that joy. She looked into the depths and only felt that this residence seemed to have a cold and lonely heart; no matter how red and festive it was dressed up on the outside, it couldn't reveal that fiery feeling.

After Miss Yi Chengxin finished the handover there, she came back to greet the quietly standing green-clad young girl and took her toward the courtyard.

Dark green moss was lightly spread on the dark stone slab road, and water droplets from unknown sources fell from the old eaves. When they reached the central courtyard, a huge old locust tree shaded half of the courtyard, and the giant shade brought another layer of deeper chill.

"Mother said that this residence was built around it back then." Miss Yi Chengxin said.

Li Piaoqing raised her eyes and looked: "It's indeed very good, it must be very cool in summer."

"Yes, when we were young, we ran around in the courtyard." Miss Yi Chengxin smiled lightly, "It's just that when autumn comes, the yin energy is too heavy."

"Is your mother inside? I'll go pay a visit."

"Mother has already passed away."

"Ah... sorry."

"It's okay, it's been a long time." Miss Yi Chengxin added, "Father also passed away due to serious illness some time ago, so there's no need to pay a visit."

"." Li Piaoqing was speechless, "Who was that just now?"

"The one driving the carriage for us?" Miss Yi Chengxin smiled, "That's my brother. He doesn't like to talk, but he is very formidable."

"Oh." Li Piaoqing was stunned for a while, "Then now in the courtyard actually..."

"Only my brother and I live here."

"Are there no elders? Like aunts..."

Miss Yi Chengxin looked at her in surprise: "No."

". Oh."

Turning past the central hall, Miss Yi Chengxin took the young girl and pushed open the door of a courtyard: "Sister, stay here tonight, it's more spacious and warm."

"Ah, this is too big, I can just stay in a side room."

"It's okay, look at this residence, is there anyone living here?" Miss Yi Chengxin smiled, "The guests are all coming tomorrow."

". Did I come too abruptly?"

"Not at all, just stay." Miss Yi Chengxin smiled lightly, "As long as sister doesn't run out and stroll around in the middle of the night like in the city."

". What will happen if I run out and stroll around?" Li Piaoqing rolled her eyes.

"You will be caught by my brother." Miss Yi Chengxin looked at her, "And then... driven back to sleep."

Li Piaoqing smiled.

Miss Yi Chengxin also smiled and seemed to become more serious. Her clear eyes looked at her: "However... I am sincerely inviting sister as a guest. I am leaving Xiangzhou tomorrow, so let's be friends for two days, sister."

". Hmm."

"Alright, then sister rest first. If you want to stroll, just stroll around, as long as you remember the way."

"Yi sister, aren't you staying for a while?"

"No, wait... at night, I'll come and chat with sister for a while. Now I have to go—"

"Chengxin."

A cold and short voice came from behind, cutting off the young girl's words.

Li Piaoqing looked over. It was exactly that second brother. The man stood upright on the bluestone road, holding a large box unloaded from the carriage with both hands, looking over silently with his eyes covered by a cloth strip.

"Hmm." Miss Yi Chengxin stopped her words, nodded to Li Piaoqing, and walked inside side by side with the man.

Li Piaoqing watched them disappear from her field of vision, and gradually the footsteps could no longer be heard. She looked around and began to feel a strange silence.

Yilan Mountain was also a sect built in the mountains, and the sect members were sparse, but it didn't have this kind of strange cold hardness, as if it rejected all human vitality.

This was because this cold hardness was not brought by the scenery, but by the people—not only the cold-as-ice indifference of Yi Nandai just now, but the strong men and servants encountered along the way, although few in number, were all silent and taciturn as if carved from the same mold.

When in Xiangzhou City, Li Piaoqing felt that Miss Yi Chengxin had some cold air in her bones, but only after arriving here did she realize that the others were growing together with this ancient and lonely residence, and only the young girl still carried some fresh human vitality.

Li Piaoqing put down her luggage. This small courtyard of hers was nothing special; it was swept clean, the room was spacious and tidy, and daily necessities were all available. It was exactly the house used for guests.

After strolling around, she took her sword and cat and went out.

After identifying the direction slightly, this courtyard was on the west side of this large residence. Three courtyards were built side by side, and hers was exactly the northernmost one. The two courtyards next to it could also be pushed open, and they were all swept clean, but no one lived in them.

Li Piaoqing strolled around and headed straight for the main room.

It was truly like an empty residence. This place was still unattended. Li Piaoqing turned to the front of the hall and first saw the two spirit tablets enshrined before the hall. Smoke and clouds swirled beneath them, and the incense had just burned out at one end. It should have been newly changed by the brother and sister who had just passed by.

Li Piaoqing walked forward and saw on the left "Late Father Yi Gong, courtesy name Duanzhi, Lord of the Mansion, born in the Western Lotus position," and on the right "Late Mother Yi Mother Yang, maiden name Zhaoren, born in the Western Lotus position."

Li Piaoqing noted the two names "Yi Duanzhi" and "Yang Zhaoren," turned to the back of the hall, and saw a row of neat ancestral tablets. Li Piaoqing did not look at the text on them, lowered her head, opened the cabinet, flipped through it twice, and sure enough, found a genealogy.

The young girl stood up and flipped through it. In fact, it was only a thin volume. After flipping through a few pages, she saw the name "Yi Duanzhi" at a glance, but when her gaze moved horizontally, she was slightly bewildered.

Just as Miss Yi Chengxin said, she had no aunts. This generation actually only had Yi Duanzhi printed on the paper.

She scanned the previous generation, still didn't see the name she wanted, until she subconsciously flipped a page, and the whole person was stunned for a moment.

【Eldest Daughter Yi Danjun】 【Eldest Son Yi Nandai】 【Second Daughter Miss Yi Chengxin】

"." Li Piaoqing really didn't expect that this woman who had entanglement with Fang Xitian thirty years ago was actually Miss Yi Chengxin's eldest sister—thirty years passed, the era name changed, and they didn't look like people of the same era at all.

And in Miss Yi Chengxin's conversation, she indeed never mentioned her.

Li Piaoqing stood for a while, put back the genealogy, looked around, and first walked toward the quiet large house next to it.

The door pushed open, and inside was a neat emptiness. Daily necessities had been collected, and the whole large house only had large furniture placed on the surface.

Li Piaoqing walked in slowly. The beds and cabinets were all in a state of not being changed for a long time, but although old, they were not dirty, and the simple and rigorous life of the old owner could still be vaguely seen.

Opening the drawer, inside were stacked books. Li Piaoqing pulled out a volume at random. It was a handwritten copy, the handwriting was upright, and the ink characters on the cover were "Gun Intent Condensing Fire Explanation." Opening the first page, there was only one line: "Nandai, this spear condenses intent, only in the four words 'fire born in silence'."

Li Piaoqing immediately reacted. This was exactly the old house of the Yi family head who had just passed away. She flipped through a few pages, all of which were the man explaining this Yi family spear technique in detail. The young girl only read a few lines, and she was stunned and fascinated.

Even though she didn't have the original classic of this martial art in her hand, nor had she practiced spear technique, the commonalities of martial principles still allowed her to see the high-level and ingenious thoughts of this family head.

His writing method was to list a problem and provide an answer. Every time the young girl saw a problem, she felt it was a dead end, but the man's next two lines would enlighten her—to tell the truth, when she was personally instructed by her master in "Yellow Jade," she had never had such an experience.

In the midst of no preparation, suddenly seeing such a talent, she was actually reluctant to put down this volume—even if she didn't practice spear technique, reading every page was beneficial.

The young girl finally put it back in the drawer, pulled out a few more volumes, all of which were notes about spear explanation, arranged from top to bottom in chronological order. The further back, the newer the ink, and the deeper the spear principles. Li Piaoqing gradually couldn't understand them, but she saw another kind of handwriting, guessing it was left by Yi Nandai.

The young girl put them all back, sighed lightly, and this time pulled out the bottom one.

The cover was still the man's ink, and this was the last volume the man left: "Zhu Lian Taiye Introduction."

The young girl was stunned, opened the first page, and there were only two sentences: "To see the true place of the spear, first plant the divine fire lotus."

Flipping through a few pages, this volume made the young girl feel completely bewildered for the first time. It also talked about spear principles, but it was entangled in a greater mystery. The so-called "constructing fire seeds," "planting mysterious lotuses"... it was simply like a Buddhist scripture full of empty words.

The black cat on her shoulder leaned forward slightly at this time.

Li Piaoqing tilted her head, bewildered: "Little cat..."

"Mysterious scripture." The black cat's voice said coolly.

"." A cold breath choked in the young girl's throat.

"It's talking about a spear mysterious scripture with mysterious fire as the core." The black cat said in a low voice, "Let's go."

Li Piaoqing exhaled deeply, put the volume back properly, and left this door.

Leaving the central hall, the young girl headed east. Compared with the guest rooms on the west side, this side looked like it was inhabited. Li Piaoqing pushed open the courtyard gate of the last one and saw at a glance that this was Miss Yi Chengxin's residence.

Several theater costumes were hanging on the pole to dry, and the courtyard was filled with blue flowers and green trees, scattered and unique, simply exactly the same as the temperament on the young girl.

Li Piaoqing hesitated for a moment, didn't go inside, and turned to the second one.

Pushing open the door, the temperament of this courtyard was also clearly identifiable. It was as simple and monotonous as the Yi Duanzhi house just now. The spear rack was placed in the corner of the wall, and the standing dark wood stake stood in the center of the courtyard.

This was of course Yi Nandai's courtyard.

Li Piaoqing didn't go in either. Her gaze had already looked toward the third one.

So, this courtyard is...

The young girl paused and walked slowly before this courtyard.

A huge, rusted lock fell on the yellow, rotten door.

Compared with the two courtyards just now, this one seemed not to be in the same period of time. Dust, decay, sealing... no one took care of it, and no one went in to sweep, as if it had been abandoned in the past.

Li Piaoqing lowered her head and looked at the lock, just about to leap in, when her body suddenly stiffened.

A hoarse, ghostly voice suddenly came from behind.

"Guest, don't enter here."

Li Piaoqing choked and turned her head. The ghostly old man stood three zhang away, his figure hunched only to the young girl's shoulder, his black clothes worn out, his gray-white hair scattered to his chest, and a pair of turbid, muddy eyes staring at her.

". Old man, forgive me, I was curious for a moment. What is this courtyard?"

"A person who didn't follow the clan rules."

"." Li Piaoqing nodded apologetically again, turned, and left this courtyard.

——

Xiangzhou City.

In Qijiu City, the theater.

"Yinyang Yi family, do they have any background?" Pei Ye sat on the edge of the couch, whittling an autumn pear. Ji Yun leaned against the head of the bed, and the old man was still sleeping soundly to the side.

Ji Yun was still short of breath: "I know a general idea about this, but if you want to know clearly, I'm afraid you have to ask the elders in Yinyang."

"Hmm?"

"Ever since they moved to Chaoyue Mountain, the Yi family has been silent for fifty years." Ji Yun said weakly, "According to what Master told me before, fifty years ago, the Yi family could be counted as one of the few great clans in the Xiangzhou area. The population was not very prosperous, but they were good at producing dragons and phoenixes, generations served as officials, avoiding fame and seeking reality."

"Master said, at that time, there was an outstanding person, exactly the current family head Yi Duanzhi who passed away last month. I heard that he reached the peak of martial arts in his twenties and became that... what..."

"Master?"

"Right, right, became the Master you martial artists talk about. Originally, of course, his official career was bright, but not long after he married, he resigned and returned home, moved his residence to Chaoyue Mountain, and from then on lived in seclusion, becoming the Yi family of today." Ji Yun clasped his hands and thought, "And by the generation of Yi sister, they still don't come out much. Think about it, fifty years have passed like this, and people naturally gradually forgot. I'm afraid only people near Yinyang know there is such an Yi family, but as for the past status, only the elders have the chew."

". Oh." Pei Ye stopped whittling the pear, raised his head, and looked at him: "Did you go to the funeral ceremony of this Yi family head?"

"I went, but it was very desolate. Yi sister and the others... seem not to associate with the locals, and I didn't see any relatives."

"Did you see the remains?"

"That, no."

Pei Ye nodded: "My friend ran into Qiyun's proprietor yesterday. It seems it's not a person from the Yi family—young, male, cold face, wearing a pendant on his ear. Does Brother Ji have any impression?"

"." Ji Yun shook his head blankly, "However... if you say the Yi family sold the merchant alliance recently, it makes sense."

"Hmm?"

"Because it's declining now, and the family head has passed away. Presumably, they couldn't support this stall, so for the sake of a heavy betrothal gift, they even married Yi sister far away... sigh, it's hard to say, these big figures' affairs, I'm just guessing wildly."

Pei Ye nodded, and the conversation stopped there.

He untied the small wooden sword from his waist, carved the two characters "Pei Ye" on it, and handed it to the man: "In the future, people from Dingyun and Cuiyu might come over. That... they are all my friends, and the theater can continue to open."

Handing his own name to someone as a serious matter was also the first time for the youth. He was a bit embarrassed to look at the small sword again, carried his sword, and walked out of the courtyard gate.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 284 =====