Chapter 399: Entering the Capital

Wang Cong didn't book an inn; instead, he led them through alleys, heading east from Chengnan.

Pan Yun lifted the curtain, her brows twitching.

This place felt familiar.

She thought back and remembered—she had run past this area when she fled.

The bustling market faded behind them; the cobblestone road narrowed, the number of pedestrians dwindled, and they entered the residential wards.

On both sides stood residences, their gates small, barely wide enough for a carriage to pass.

Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He leaned out curiously, Hong Yan squeezed her head out too, and said outright: "Someone is secretly watching us."

Pan Yun said: "Those are the residents inside."

She added: "This area is mostly low-rent housing—privilege granted by the imperial court to officials, allowing them to rent in Jingcheng at lower prices. So strangers are rare here; when one appears, everyone hides behind their doors to gawk."

She paused, then said: "When I was a child, I used to hide behind doors and watch people too."

Miao He: "Why not just look openly?"

"Because looking openly takes effort—you have to open the door, greet them, and if they're talkative, they'll drag you into asking about the neighborhood, then give gifts, and gifts demand returns, and returns lead to deeper entanglements."

"So to avoid all that, we never look openly—we just peek through the door crack."

Tao Yanbai: "... So that's how people in Jingcheng think. No wonder last time I came, when they locked eyes with me through their door cracks, they turned and ran."

Pan Yun sighed mournfully toward the sky: "What can you do? We're poor—this is the only way to save."

Pan Yun's home was two streets away, and even that wasn't official low-rent housing—she spent more each month on rent, and was even poorer.

There was no help for it; Zhu's salary was truly meager.

A significant portion of officials didn't live only on salary, but a considerable number clung to their ideals and morals, surviving solely on salary;

The rest had no choice—they had only salary to live on.

So rich officials were truly rich, but poor officials were truly poor.

Her father was slightly better off, because he had a younger brother who earned money—he lived off his brother.

The carriage stopped before a residence; Wang Cong leapt down and called back: "We're here. Get out."

Wang Cong knocked twice on the door; after a while, footsteps rushed toward it.

The door opened, revealing a round face.

Feng Yan peeked out, saw Wang Cong, flung the door wide, and jumped out excitedly: "Senior Brother! You've finally arrived!"

Wang Cong pointed behind him: "Your junior aunt has come too. Go pay your respects."

Feng Yan ran over and knelt before Pan Yun to kowtow.

Pan Yun startled, grabbed him and lifted him up: "Why are you kneeling? Our Daoist path doesn't require this."

Feng Yan grinned apologetically: "I'm just overjoyed—Master mentioned several days ago that Aunt and Senior Brothers would arrive, and told me to wait at the city gate. I went every day, but waited for days and you never came."

"Master said, if you wait endlessly and they don't come, they'll come without waiting—so I shouldn't go out anymore, just wait at home. I didn't expect you to arrive after only two days."

Tao Yanbai and he tore down the threshold together and asked: "Where's Second Senior Brother?"

"Second Senior Brother serves Master directly—he's also in the palace."

The group dragged both carriages into the courtyard; the small yard was instantly half-filled.

This was a single-courtyard residence, with front and rear gardens, but it had a rear annex facing the garden—also livable.

The house was small, but fully equipped: it had a well, and even a small pond with lotus flowers.

The best part: the entire residence, front and back courtyards, had water channels carved into them, allowing the pond's water to flow out and circulate back.

Pan Yun stood beneath the eaves, watching the garden layout, listening to the soft trickle of water, and couldn't help exclaiming: "This is..."

"Correct—it's the Eight Trigrams," Feng Yan explained. "Master specially arranged this house. The wise love water; water attracts wealth. Master used the terrain to make the water circulate, and combined water flow with earth and wood to form the Eight Trigrams, so the Five Elements generate and restrain each other within."

Pan Yun asked: "How much does it cost to rent this entire house?"

Feng Yan: "It's low-rent housing—eight hundred cash per month. After Master was promoted, the government offered to move him to a larger two-courtyard house for only one tael per month, with a garden too—but Master refused. He insisted on staying here."

"This house was meticulously arranged by Master—how could we possibly give it up?"

Pan Yun: "It's still better to rent official housing—you can arrange it however you like, and as long as you're not dismissed, you can keep renting it forever."

Feng Yan, clearly very familiar with it, raised his hand toward the blue sky in praise: "This is the grace of the Taizu Emperor."

Wang Cong called out: "Stop kissing the dragon's ass—no one's around to hear you here. Come help me carry someone."

"Carry someone?" Feng Yan frowned, stepping forward. "Carry who?"

The curtain was pulled aside, and Feng Yan met the gaze of an old man with a white beard.

He paused briefly, but moved quickly, rushing over to help Wang Cong carry the person down. "Who is this? Where should we put him?"

He had cleaned three rooms—only three guest rooms in the house.

The original plan was: Junior Aunt one room, Senior Sisters Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He one room, Senior Brother and Third Senior Brother one room—this extra person...

Feng Yan's forehead broke into sweat; he hurriedly said: "I'll clean out the small study in the rear annex."

Wang Cong said: "No need. Hu Daxia will share a room with us."

Hu Jing: "I don't want to share a room with you."

Wang Cong asked: "Can Hu Daxia now apply his own medicine?"

Hu Jing said nothing. Pan Yun and the others each took their luggage, ignoring Hu Jing, who was being carried: "Hong Yan, you and Xiao Hong will share a room with me."

Hong Yan: "I don't want to share a room with you—I want to share with Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He."

Even Xiao Hong poked her head out of the golden hairpin, manifesting fully: "I don't want to share with you either."

Pan Yun clasped her chest in a Xizi-style pose: "Why do you avoid me like a venomous snake or scorpion?"

Hong Yan and Xiao Hong stared at her with accusatory expressions.

Hong Yan said: "Even though you've restrained yourself, your aura of merit is so strong—don't you know how tempting it is? I've nearly bitten you several times."

Xiao Hong: "It's different for me—I feel sick just seeing you. I want to run as far away as possible."

Pan Yun understood, put down her hand, and picked up Pan Xiaohei to take her to her room. "You four can share a room—after all, one doesn't sleep on the bed, and one hangs directly from the rafters, so it doesn't take up space."

Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He had no objections, but they had one request: "Little Red, you can't swing from the rafters by your neck—we'll get a fright when we wake up at night."

Little Red agreed.

!.

The two people, the fox, and the ghost also entered the room.

Wang Cong finally turned to the trembling Feng Yan and said: "Feng Yan, Hu Daxia is about to fall."

No sooner had he spoken than Feng Yan's hand jerked—Hu Daxia landed with a thud on both legs and let out a cry: "Ow!"

Hu Jing was re-bandaged, his face and hair makeup washed off. By the time all this was done, half an hour had passed. He lay on the bed, expressionless and lifeless: "If every disguise is like this, I'd rather not disguise myself at all."

Wang Cong, tidying up nearby, said flatly: "You should be grateful—you only have to lie there. We're the ones doing all the work. What more could you want?"

Hu Jing fell silent.

Feng Yan was still dazed. Tao Yanbai passed by him and paused, "Senior Brother, should we give him a needle? Or prescribe a calming herb?"

Wang Cong turned and glanced at Feng Yan, snapping his fingers in front of his face: "Snap out of it!"

Then, channeling Yuan Li into his finger, he tapped Feng Yan's forehead: "Stabilize your spirit!"

Feng Yan came to his senses and only then felt a flicker of fear: "Senior Brother, what… what was that just now…?"

"A ghost friend. Don't be afraid."

Feng Yan: "Can a ghost be a friend?"

"She has awareness, has never done anything evil—she's just like when she was alive, except she has no body. So you don't have to treat her as a ghost. Treat her like a person."

Hu Jing, lying on the bed, let out a cold snort.

Only heaven knew how much his heart had trembled when Pan Yun brought Little Red to him and solemnly introduced her identity.

But he showed nothing.

As a famous bounty hunter, what monstrous spirits hadn't he seen?

He wasn't afraid of the most vicious criminals on earth—why should he fear a mere female ghost?

Hu Jing kept convincing himself like this, and by the journey's end, he'd grown used to Little Red.

Feng Yan clearly lacked such composure. Even after Wang Cong stabilized his spirit, he still wandered dazedly as they walked out, his steps unsteady.

Yin Song's household had only three people: Yin Song, his second disciple Yin Qingjun, and the servant Feng Yan—not even a kitchen helper. So buying groceries and cooking fell entirely to them.

No matter how the food tasted, at least it was edible. It wouldn't starve anyone.

Wang Cong didn't treat himself as a guest. After touring the kitchen, he directly ordered Feng Yan to buy groceries, then they cooked for themselves.

When Yin Song and Yin Qingjun returned from the palace, before even entering the house, they smelled the familiar spicy aroma drifting in the air and immediately said: "Cong'er has finally arrived. Let's hurry."

Yin Qingjun also quickened his pace.

Inside, the scent grew stronger. The master and disciple headed straight for the kitchen.

Wang Cong was stir-frying minced meat.

He stir-fried the minced meat with Shan Zhu Yu berries and ginger threads, saying: "I brought rice flour. Tonight we'll steam it into noodles; tomorrow morning we'll slice it and stir-fry it with the meat for breakfast."

"Perfect, perfect," Yin Song hurried into the kitchen, eyes gleaming: "I haven't eaten home-style stir-fried rice noodles in ages."

As soon as Yin Song and Yin Qingjun returned, the kitchen buzzed with activity. Everyone scrambled to greet each other.

"Second Brother!"

"Little Sister!"

"Second Uncle!"

"Master!"

"Hello, Misses…"

Yin Song's smiling face froze when he saw Hong Yan and Little Red. His bent waist snapped with a crack and refused to straighten.

Pan Yun sighed softly: "Second Brother, your cultivation is weak—you haven't trained enough."

Yin Song twisted his waist. Wang Cong, still mid-stir-fry, handed the meat to Little Red. Everyone rushed to reset Yin Song's bones.

Good night

(End of Chapter)