Chapter 382: The Aristocratic Threshold is Hard to Cross

The Liu family!

If not for Zhang Huaimin leading the way, Zhou You wouldn't even know which way the gate faced.

The magnificent atmosphere of the Fucheng aristocratic family made the Xu and Qi families look like mere country bumpkins by comparison.

The complex of buildings stretching for dozens of miles was as strict and imposing as an imperial palace, and the design of layered gates and overlapping courtyards was dizzying.

Exactly how many gates, how many roofs, and how many eaves there were—one couldn't count them all at a single glance.

There was once a joke about a country bumpkin who boasted about the scale of his residence, only to be overheard by a gatekeeper of an aristocratic family who took him to visit the Fucheng.

The country bumpkin walked through architecture more magnificent than anything he had ever seen in his life, touring and looking for three days, only for the gatekeeper to tell him at the end that he hadn't even left the plot of land he had first stepped onto.

Standing at the gate of the Liu family, Zhou You suddenly remembered this joke, and the country bumpkin in the joke felt somewhat pitiful.

Human imagination has its limits, but the extravagance and debauchery in reality have no end.

Zhang Huaimin had once been a Gate Guest of an aristocratic family and was well-informed; he had also visited the Liu family before and thoughtfully introduced the history of the surrounding buildings to Zhou You.

The two of them were unfamiliar faces, which immediately attracted attention.

On both sides of the Liu family's main gate were high pavilions and watchtowers, used to observe all parties outside the gate and guard against prying eyes with ulterior motives.

It just so happened that a Gate Guest was on duty today and saw Zhang Huaimin bringing someone to the gate, pointing and gesturing.

This was unacceptable!

Prying into the family residence with ulterior motives—they were clearly scoundrels plotting something untoward.

"Zhang Huaimin, what are you, a stray dog, doing at my Liu family? Begging for food?"

The air tore open; a figure fell from high above, smashing the ground into a crater and causing the surroundings to vibrate incessantly.

An Intermediate Martial Master!

Zhou You watched the other person pull their feet out of the deep mud and judged the person's strength level at a glance.

A Liu family Gate Guest and an Intermediate Martial Master; it seemed he was quite familiar with his sworn brother, Zhang Huaimin.

"Lan Zhirou, I'm not here to find you today. Move aside."

Zhang Huaimin said with a sour tone; after he was dismissed by the aristocratic family, everyone kicked him while he was down, and the Lan Zhirou before him was one of those people.

Past friendships had all vanished like smoke after he fell into hard times; meeting now, they were strangers.

Lan Zhirou blocked the way with his arms crossed, "Don't go. Don't you know that the precious land in front of the gate is all the domain of the aristocratic family?"

"You two broke into the Liu family's territory, pointing and gesturing, prying into privacy—this matter won't just pass."

"Why don't you surrender immediately and wait to be dealt with?"

Zhang Huaimin looked at Zhou You, his breathing becoming heavy. He remembered that ever since leaving the aristocratic family, a phoenix fallen from grace was worse than a chicken, and he had been subjected to cold shoulders and ridicule.

But he couldn't endure it now; his younger brother Lu Zhigang had a trump card, and they were here today to be guests of honor.

"Lan Zhirou, stop messing around. If this blows up, you'll be the one to suffer."

Lan Zhirou sneered and shook his head, "Zhang Huaimin, I don't believe a word you say."

As he spoke, he spread his palms and grabbed at Zhang Huaimin's shoulders.

The muscles on Zhang Huaimin's shoulders rippled, instantly becoming as supple as water, brushing aside the other's grabbing palms, and he flicked his hands to strike Lan Zhirou's wrists.

Lan Zhirou's eyes narrowed, his arm extended by three feet, and he countered by poking his fingers toward the back of Zhang Huaimin's elbow.

The two were almost stuck together, their palms shifting through various attack gestures, their Qi and blood contained but not released; within that square inch, there was immense danger.

Zhou You's eyes were truly opened.

An Intermediate Martial Master's restraint and control over power were already very seasoned and proficient.

The two fought in anger, yet not a shred of excess power leaked out, directing all their might at the enemy.

Considering this was the territory of an aristocratic family, where every brick and tile had an owner, the cost of damage was extremely severe. At the very least, when Zhou You was in Gongliang City, he never saw those Intermediate or Advanced Martial Masters show such restraint; the reason behind that was that the two great aristocratic families had withdrawn, and that city had become ownerless land, so everyone had no scruples.

"Smack! Smack! Smack!"

The sound of flesh colliding came through, along with the vibration of Qi and blood and the friction of tendons and bones.

Zhou You estimated that after today's fight, the bruised blood clots on Zhang Huaimin's body would weigh at least ten pounds.

The commotion here immediately drew attention.

An old man in green robes passed by with a group of servants and couldn't help but frown at the sight.

"Why are you fighting at the gate?"

Hearing the old man's voice, Lan Zhirou's attitude became respectful, "Old Housekeeper, someone is here causing trouble."

"I'm not, I didn't, don't talk nonsense!"

Zhang Huaimin hurriedly defended himself, trying his best to resist the other's attempt to frame him.

The old man in green robes held a high position in the Liu family; being called Old Housekeeper, he was certainly a person in charge.

He waved his withered, thin palm, "Call a few more Gate Guests over, take them down. If you can't get any major case out of them, hand them over to the City Gate Guard to be thrown into Zhenxiong Yu."

What the hell? The consequence of offending an aristocratic family was actually being sent to Zhenxiong Yu.

Hearing this, Zhou You gained a deeper understanding of the overwhelming power of the aristocratic families.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—the sound of martial masters' powerful bodies breaking through the air followed one after another; clearly, more Gate Guests had received the order and arrived.

Zhang Huaimin was already struggling to deal with one Lan Zhirou, and the Gate Guests arriving one after another were at least Intermediate Martial Masters, with one or two Advanced Martial Masters mixed in.

"This Old Housekeeper, we aren't here to cause trouble, we are looking for someone!"

Zhou You took out the sash and held it in his palm, stepping forward quickly to show it to the other party.

The Old Housekeeper had originally been squinting, but the moment he saw the sash, his eyes widened into circles, and the wrinkles on his forehead deepened.

He recognized at a glance that the sash was a personal item of the Liu family's darling, Liu Fengji, known as "Lucky One."

Thump, thump, thump—the Gate Guests arrived at the gate one after another and attacked without a word.

In the blink of an eye, Zhang Huaimin's limbs were all locked, his back was pressed by fists and palms, and his face flushed bright red.

His gaze was full of grief and indignation; it wasn't that his skills weren't strong, but the other side had too many people—he was outnumbered!

"Take him down for interrogation!"

Lan Zhirou was particularly excited; he beckoned several Gate Guests to join in, intending to take Zhang Huaimin away.

Suddenly, the Old Housekeeper raised a hand, "Wait, all of you, stand down!"

"Release the person; this is no longer any of your business!"

Lan Zhirou and the other Gate Guests looked at each other in dismay; what was going on? The Old Housekeeper walked up to Zhou You, bowed respectfully, and saluted, "Is this gentleman looking for my young master?"

"That is correct. An old acquaintance has come to visit; please ask him to fulfill a promise."

The Old Housekeeper thought to himself that a promise made with a sash as a token was of great importance; this person was definitely no ordinary individual.

He pointed to seven or eight servants, "Invite the two guests inside to be entertained; I will go report this to the young master."

Inside the gate?

Not only the servants, but Lan Zhirou and the other Gate Guests were stunned. What was the other party's status that they could actually enter the gate? So-called Gate Guests were visitors who were entertained, dined, and lodged under the gate; although they were treated with great courtesy, they could not enter the true core area of the noble family, and their range of activity was limited to the area around the gatehouse.

The territory where the nouveau riche in the joke moved about for three days was theoretically just the area around the gatehouse.

Everyone knew Zhang Huaimin, so what was the background of the Primary Martial Master beside him? Could it be another person with connections coming to snatch their livelihood, wanting to become yet another heavyweight Gate Guest of the Liu family? Amidst the crowd's speculative and suspicious gazes, Zhou You and Zhang Huaimin entered the main gate under the servants' invitation, passing buildings of varying heights and styles on both sides, all of which were areas where Gate Guests and others resided.

(End of this chapter)