Chapter 536: 490 Handed Over to the Sun

Over here, the two green-robed servants, the White-haired Swordsman and Jiang Shenyi, were busy rounding up the house slaves in a chaotic flurry, and the others were not idle either.

The outsider team, claiming to be successors, showed their swift and decisive side the moment they stepped off the carriage; everyone had a task. For instance, Fang Weiran was assigned to go and chat with those two, Xing Wu and Xing Twelve. For instance, Xing Qi was chatting non-stop with the Grand Steward, Xing Cang, unable to free himself all afternoon. Even the two beauties from the Jing'an Division, Bai Zhi and Zisu, were sent out to work—one to audit the accounts, the other to manage the canteen.

Yes, property and food—what could be more important than that?

As for those with nothing to do, there was actually only the YoungMaster himself, oh, no, there was also a fox.

At this moment, on that impossibly wide bed that had been moved into the main hall from somewhere, Zheng Yun was fast asleep. Beside him lay a white-haired fox, lazily resting its head on its own tail for a nap.

Suddenly, Zheng Yun, lying on the bed, opened his eyes, sat up, and stepped off the bed, landing lightly with graceful and elegant movements.

At the same time, the white fox also opened its eyes, glanced at Zheng Yun, and showed a look of confusion.

Zheng Yun nodded and walked toward the outside. The white fox muttered, "Going out? Isn't such good Sunlight perfect for a nap? Why go out?"

The white fox muttered a sound and lay back down lazily.

Zheng Yun's current makeup was plain and unremarkable, making her unable to muster the Spirit to go out with him.

Zheng Yun exited the bedroom, and the midday Sunlight shone down on his head, making his features—no longer stunning after being disguised—shine brightly, as if he had regained some of the style of his past days of reflecting the clouds and holding the sun.

Tilting his head slightly, he sighed, "The Sunlight under Wangliang Mountain is also very good."

As he spoke, he walked toward the outside of the courtyard with his hands behind his back.

Aside from the backyard, the sounds of shouting could be heard faintly from the left and right courtyards; that was his subordinates carrying out his orders, seizing the property of the dye house. If the original people did not cooperate, chaos was inevitable. He acted as if he heard nothing, strolling slowly all the way out.

When he arrived at the main gate, he happened to see Fang Weiran and a white-haired person walking out of the neighboring courtyard. The White-haired Swordsman knelt down to salute the moment he saw Zheng Yun, which made the standing Fang Weiran feel slightly awkward.

Zheng Yun, however, acted as if nothing had happened and said, "It's you, you are called..."

The white-haired person said respectfully, "The servant is called Xing Wu."

Zheng Yun said "Oh," and said, "Xing Wu, I remember you are a Sword Guest in the manor, and there seems to be another person called... Xing Twelve?"

Xing Wu said, "Yes. He is in the room. Does the Young Master want to find him?"

Zheng Yun said, "Master."

Xing Wu was stunned. Zheng Yun said, "Call me Master. Without the old Master, what do you mean by calling me Young Master? You only have one Master, just as there is only one sun in the sky."

Xing Wu was dazed for a moment. Unlike Xing Cang, who was as cunning as an old fox, he actually did not have that many thoughts. After thinking about it, he felt it made sense, so he changed his words: "Yes, Master."

Zheng Yun nodded and said, "I want to go out for a walk, you come with me."

Xing Wu agreed without even thinking, while Fang Weiran was stunned instead and said, "What are you..."

Zheng Yun said, "It's nothing, just going out for a walk. I'll just take Xing Wu, no need for others to follow. You go find Xing Twelve. No need to prepare a carriage either, we'll just stroll on the street. I haven't gone shopping in a long time." Saying this, he went out the main gate. Xing Wu got up and followed.

Compared to Xing Wu, who followed orders by instinct, Fang Weiran was a bit confused: What is this about? Was this part of the plan before? If you change the plan temporarily, give a hint!

Don't look at the noise in the courtyard now; this was actually all planned. Who does what had been fully discussed, and they had held more than one meeting on the road. Today, there was originally no role for the YoungMaster Zheng Yun; he just needed to maintain the image of an impatient, ruthless, and pleasure-seeking playboy YoungMaster. How could he add a scene temporarily?

But although he listened directly to Tang Zhao's orders, Zheng Yun also had a special status in the team, especially due to his identity constraints, so he could not refute him in front of others. He didn't stop them when they went out, thinking that one-on-one, this Sun-Holding Envoy who could trade blows with a Sword Hero should not be in danger. If there really was danger, he seemed to be able to invite a deity to possess him, so there was even less to worry about.

At this time, Tang Zhao was trading blows with Xing Cang in the guise of Xing Qi, so it was inconvenient to disturb him. Fang Weiran thought about it and decided to follow the plan to find Xing Twelve for a heart-to-heart talk.

The YoungMaster went out to the street, charging around.

One could see the current owner of Changfa Manor swaggering on the street, now East, now West, touching this and looking at that, like a hooligan sweeping the street for petty gains, or like a curious baby who had just left the boudoir.

"How much?" The YoungMaster grabbed a handful of hawthorn cake from a stall and asked the peddler selling things.

Compared to the common people in ordinary cities, the peddler in this Yulang City was also burly and fierce-looking; he was not a good person to begin with. However, in this territory, there were too many strong dragons, and ordinary underworld figures didn't even have the qualifications to be thugs, so they were forced to labor for wealth.

The peddler had been on the street for a long time and had a good eye. Seeing that this strange YoungMaster was okay, but seeing the white-haired Xing Wu, he immediately acted like a mouse seeing a cat, hurriedly bowing his head and saying, "It is one tael of silver per catty."

The YoungMaster turned his head to look at Xing Wu and said, "This price is considered expensive, right?"

Xing Wu gave an "um," and the peddler hurriedly apologized with a smile, "Master, in these outer Northwest borders, supplies are scarce and transportation is difficult, especially these fine goods which are all transported from Shenzhou, so they are somewhat more expensive than outside..."

In fact, there was another reason, which was that there were many rich people from Wangliang Mountain here. The money from Wangliang Mountain was not obtained through proper channels; it came easily and went easily, and they were not sensitive to prices, so they were easily ripped off.

Sure enough, this YoungMaster just asked, grabbed a handful of money from his pocket, stuffed it to the peddler, and walked away carrying a bag of hawthorn cake.

The YoungMaster stuffed a handful of hawthorn cake to Xing Wu and said, "Taste it."

Xing Wu was stunned for a moment and grabbed it in his hand. The bright red hawthorn cake was fragrant and soft, making one's mouth water.

The YoungMaster didn't have time to peel the cake before he took a fancy to the fried melon seeds next to it, and bought a handful again. Without realizing it, he had already filled Xing Wu's bag with snacks and candies, saying, "The things sold here are about the same as the cakes I saw over there. Although the people are not the same, most of the things are the same. I usually don't have the chance to eat these kinds of snacks, I've wanted to taste them for a long time."

Xing Wu stared at the hawthorn cake in his hand and said, "Yes, that's right, the pastries sold on the street when I was young were also like this."

The YoungMaster suddenly asked, "When you were young, when was that?"

Xing Wu didn't react for a moment. The YoungMaster changed the way of asking and said, "How old are you?"

Xing Wu hesitated for a moment and said, "Twenty-something? Or thirty? I don't know either. In Wangliang Mountain, you can't see the sun rise and set, and you don't know the months and years, so I just lived in a muddle."

The YoungMaster said, "I think so too, you are not old. People in their twenties are still young, and even if young people are old, they are different from real old people."

Xing Wu laughed and said, "Am I still young? Twenty-something is not young in Wangliang Mountain. Even Sword Guests rarely live past forty, and at thirty, one can call oneself an old man."

The YoungMaster said, "Of course you are young. Although the body is old because of this or that reason, the heart still maintains the background color of a young person. I can tell at a glance that all those surnamed Xing are young people. Only one person is an exception. That is Xing Cang. He is truly old, old from the inside out."

Xing Wu said, "The Grand Steward? The Grand Steward is our senior. When I first met him, he was already an old man. That was ten years ago, right? He might already be fifty years old..."

The YoungMaster shook his head and said, "Fifty? You underestimate him. He is different from you." He didn't continue, put the hawthorn cake into his mouth, his face wrinkled completely, and said, "Eh—sour!"

Although it was sour, he still managed to swallow it, looked at Xing Wu who was just rubbing the hawthorn cake and not eating it, and said, "You have foresight; you knew it was sour so you didn't eat it."

Xing Wu said softly, "The servant didn't know. Because I can't taste anything."

The YoungMaster looked at him, and Xing Wu said calmly, "When I was a sword slave, I once bit off my own tongue. Then for four or five years, I couldn't speak. Later, when I became a Sword Guest, I found a way to repair it. The tongue was reconnected, but I lost my sense of taste forever. So everything I eat is the same. I try to eat as little as possible usually, because eating is very tiring."

At this time, a noble passed by in a carriage, with a dozen sword slaves tied behind the carriage. Those sword slaves were dragging their feet on the ground, one step at a time; that was the unique walking posture of sword slaves.

Ten years ago, Xing Wu also walked like that. After being a Sword Guest for three or four years, he gradually changed it back.

He couldn't help but say, "As long as one has been a sword slave, one will more or less be left with old illnesses. Some can recover, some will never be better for a lifetime. Fortunately, a lifetime is very short and will end soon. I sometimes think, since it will end sooner or later, why drag it out? What is the meaning of staying in this world?"

The YoungMaster suddenly said, "Are you complaining to me?"

Xing Wu was shocked and changed his expression, saying, "The servant dares not, the servant is impolite." Regardless of the people coming and going on the street, he knelt down and prostrated himself, saying, "Master, please forgive me."

In fact, no one on the street cared. At the foot of Wangliang Mountain, where sword slaves were everywhere, such startling things were truly common.

The YoungMaster said calmly, "Stop kneeling, get up, and follow me."

Saying this, he turned and left, and Xing Wu scrambled up to follow in a hurry, cursing himself wildly in his heart:

Had he lost his mind today? To actually pour out his heart to the Master who was the least likely person in the world to understand him? That was the Xingshao who had been high and mighty since birth, enjoying himself by trampling on countless sword slaves; how could these words possibly stir even a flicker of emotion in him?

Was that hawthorn cake some kind of mind-bewitching pill? He hadn't even taken a bite, yet just by looking at it, he had become possessed?

How had the Grand Steward warned him about these people?

Upon returning to the manor, perhaps this sentence would cost him his life?

If it were just a quick death, that might not be a bad thing...

In his panic and remorse, he walked unsteadily, as if he were back to the gait of a sword slave.

Suddenly, the Xingshao in front stopped.

Xing Wu finally came to his senses; this was a deserted alleyway.

The Xingshao was looking at him calmly.

Xing Wu was almost about to beg for forgiveness again when the Xingshao spoke: "Actually, I do not listen to others' grievances. If there is no one to confide in, to what would you confide your grievances?"

Xing Wu was tongue-tied for a moment, his mind unable to process this.

The Xingshao said: "Would you tell a tree hole?"

Xing Wu nodded blankly, and the Xingshao said: "Would you tell your grievances to the sun?"

He pointed to the scorching sun hanging in the sky and said: "A tree hole is just a tree hole, completely useless; at most, it only echoes your own voice back to you. But the sun is above; it exists to dispel darkness and sweep away gloom. It shines upon all the myriad sufferings in the world, and it could never finish listening to every grievance. But with it forever shining in the sky, all evils retreat and pain naturally dissipates, so why would you need to confide in it?"

He said calmly and forcefully: "Find the meaning of your own life yourself. As for suffering, there is no need to say more; leave it to the sun."