Chapter 7: Yu Manor

The white-robed young man was quite talkative, and on the way back to the manor, he told Liu Le'er many interesting stories about the city, but Liu Le'er was rather distracted and only gave half-hearted responses.

The group passed through several streets and quickly arrived at the central area of Farbright City.

It was a rather quiet area with clean streets that were lined with barely any shops. Instead, the area was home to many large courtyards, and it was clear that this was where the wealthiest families in the city resided.

After making their way forward for a while longer, the group arrived outside a red manor.

In contrast with the other buildings in the city, this manor took up a massive area, and the bright red gates, which were around 20 feet tall, gave off a very majestic and imposing appearance. On either side of the gates were a pair of stone lions that were each around 10 feet tall, and the large gates were riddled with shiny copper nails that glistened under the light of the sun.

There was a guard wearing a suit of resplendent armor standing on each side of the gate. These guards were dressed the same way as the guards from before, but they were equipped with spears as opposed to swords.

All of this was a reflection of the status of the manor's owner.

There was a large golden plaque hanging above the gates, upon which the words "Yu Manor" were inscribed in large golden characters.

Liu Shi raised his head to take a glance at the manor before him, but then quickly withdrew his gaze.

Meanwhile, Liu Le'er was inspecting the manor with a slightly awestruck expression and a hint of unease in her heart.

She had never seen such a massive manor before, and it was clear from this manor that the Yu Family had to be a family of extremely high standing in Farbright City. In fact, there was a very good chance that they had ties with the Prosperous Nation's imperial court.

The white-robed young man could see that Liu Le'er was rather uneasy, and he asked in a gentle voice, "What is it, Sister Liu?"

Liu Le'er forced a smile onto her face as she said, "This place is huge, and it has so many guards! I'm sure your family is no ordinary family."

"You really bright young girl, Sister Liu. My father is none other than the prime minister of the Prosperous Nation, and that's why we have all of this. Otherwise, how could we afford a resident immortal doctor?" Yu Qi replied.

Liu Le'er's eyes widened in shock upon hearing this, while a proud look appeared on the scholarly-robed young man's face.

"Young masters!" The two guards at the gates immediately approached the group upon catching sight of them, then extended respectful bows.

Yu Qi gave a slight nod to acknowledge the two guards, then led Liu Le'er and Liu Shi through the gates.

After entering the manor, the scholarly-robed young man harrumphed coldly, "Father is going to be furious when he finds out you brought these two outsiders into our manor. Don't blame me for not warning you."

He then stormed off with a disdainful expression, but Yu Qi remained unfazed as he led Liu Le'er and Liu Shi toward another direction the manor. "Don't pay any heed to him. Please come with me."

The interior of the Yu Manor was enormous, with pavilions, pagodas, and gardens everywhere.

The ground was paved with top-tier paving materials such as white jade and azure jade, making for a surface that was as smooth as a mirror and as hard as iron, further displaying the luxury enjoyed by the affluent family.

Yu Qi seemed to be quite an authoritative figure in the Yu Manor, as evidenced by the fact that all of the servants that they encountered bowed respectfully toward him, and some even fell to one knee.

Liu Le'er took a glance at Yu Qi upon seeing this with a distracted look in her eyes, and it was unclear what she was thinking about.

The fact that she and Liu Shi were trailing along behind Yu Qi naturally attracted a great deal of attention, particularly given Liu Shi's imposing frame and strange demeanor, but no one dared to look at them for too long for fear of irking Yu Qi.

Shortly thereafter, the three of them arrived in a long corridor, where they were greeted by a tall and slender servant in a green dress.

A joyful smile immediately appeared on the servant's face at the sight of Yu Qi, and she bounded over to them in a spritely manner. "Welcome back, Young Master!"

"There are guests with me, Xiao Wu! Don't be so cheeky," Yu Qi scolded in a displeased voice.

The servant stuck out her tongue in a sheepish display, but she wasn't actually afraid, so it was clear that she was different from the other servants that they had encountered.

Yu Qi took a resigned glance at her, then said, "You came at just the right time, Xiao Wu. These two are esteemed guests that I've invited to our manor. This is Sister Liu Le'er, and this is Brother Liu Shi. Prepare a place for them to stay in the western courtyard."

Only then did Xiao Wu notice the two people behind Yu Qi, and she was rather taken aback by Liu Shi's wooden demeanor. However, her eyes then immediately lit up as her gaze fell upon Liu Le'er, and she giggled, "What a pretty little girl you are!"

"Stop being so rude! Sister Liu is an esteemed guest of mine! My apologies. Xiao Wu has been serving me from a young age, and I've spoiled her rotten." Yu Qi scolded Xiao Wu before turning to Liu Le'er and Liu Shi with an apologetic smile.

"Fine, I'll behave," Xiao Wu conceded, but she made a funny face at Liu Le'er while Yu Qi's back was turned.

Liu Le'er couldn't help but burst into laughter, and she hurriedly clapped a hand over her mouth to silence herself, but a great deal of the tension and anxiety that she had been feeling had been alleviated.

Yu Qi took a glance at his surroundings, then drew closer to Xiao Wu as he whispered, "By the way, I'll be out for the next few days, so..."

The two of them were standing together in a very intimate manner, and Xiao Wu didn't seem to be opposed to this.

Liu Le'er pursed her lips slightly upon seeing this, and what little positive feelings she had developed toward the white-robed young man instantly evaporated.

After a brief, hushed conversation, Xiao Wu gave a nod before departing.

"Please follow me," Yu Qi said as he continued onward.

Moments later, the three of them arrived in a small courtyard, where they were greeted by Xiao Wu again.

Even though it was referred to as a small courtyard, it was only small in the context of the entire manor. In reality, it was quite spacious with a small cobblestone path, to the left of which was a pine tree, while to the left was a cluster of bamboo trees.

A gentle breeze blew past, causing the pine tree and the leaves of bamboo trees to rustle incessantly.

The furnishings in the room were quite simplistic, but all of the furniture reflected exceptional craftsmanship.

The tables and chairs were spotless, and it was clear that they had just been cleaned.

"You two look rather tired, so why don't you take a rest here? I'll arrange a feast later to welcome the two of you to our manor," the white-robed young man said as he turned to Liu Le'er with a smile.

"There's no need for that. All I want to know is when that immortal doctor can attend to my brother," Liu Le'er said as she inspected the room around her.

Yu Qi was silent for a moment before replying, "Alright, in that case, I'll get Xiao Wu to bring you your dinner later. As for the immortal doctor, that'll have to wait until tomorrow."

"I see." Liu Le'er was rather disappointed to hear this.

"By the way, if you need anything else, feel free to speak to Xiao Wu. Have a good rest, I'll be taking my leave now," Yu Qi said as he took a glance at Liu Shi.

Liu Le'er nodded in response with an absentminded expression.

……

Outside the courtyard, Xiao Wu asked with a curious expression, "Young Master, who are those people? Judging from the way they're dressed, they seem to be commoners. Why are you treating them with so much respect?"

"Don't judge a book by its cover! Earlier today, the Azure Wind Horse drawing the carriage that my brother and I were in went on a rampage, and Liu Shi managed to subdue it with one hand and stop the carriage," Yu Qi replied with a faint smile as gave Xiao Wu's delicate chin a light pinch.

"He stopped an Azure Wind Horse with one hand? That's incredible!" Xiao Wu exclaimed.

"Now you know why I invited them to our manor. If I can get someone with such extraordinary strength to serve me, it'll surely be immensely beneficial to me in the future. On top of that, that little girl, Le'er, is sure to become a stunning beauty once she grows up. I

“ can't bear to let a beauty like her wander out in the world with no one to depend on, so it was only natural that I brought her back to our manor as well. Make sure to look after them well. No slacking off, understood?" the white-robed young man instructed with a smile, then turned to depart.

An embarrassing thought seemed to have made its way into Xiao Wu's mind, and she blushed as she hurriedly replied, "Understood."

……

Inside the courtyard.

Having walked the entire day and enduring that close call with the Azure Wind Horse earlier, Liu Le'er was feeling rather weary, and she led Liu Le'er into the bedroom to rest.

Even though it was normally considered taboo for two unrelated members of the opposite sex to stay in the same room like this, the two of them had never been apart the past few years, eating and living together, so Liu Le'er saw nothing wrong with this.

As night fell, Xiao Wu delivered a lavish dinner to them.

Looking at the entire table full of delicious dishes, Liu Le'er was salivating incessantly.

She had never enjoyed such a sumptuous feast, and even though the unfamiliar environment of the prime minister's manor made her feel rather uneasy, she still couldn't help but dig in for a massive meal.

In contrast, Liu Shi didn't display much of a reaction to the feast laid out on the table.

As the sky grew darker outside, the moon gradually rose up.

Liu Le'er laid on the bed, tossing and turning, unable to get to sleep. Her mind was completely preoccupied with thoughts of the treatment that Liu Shi was going to be receiving the next day.

She shuffled over to the side of the bed, then asked in a quiet voice, "Brother Rock, do you think that immortal doctor will be able to cure you?"

Liu Shi wasn't laying down. Instead, he was seated with his legs crossed and his eyes closed by the side of the bed.

He had done this every single night for the past few years, not laying down to sleep even once.

Liu Shi remained completely expressionless and his eyes also remained shut, as if he hadn't heard what Liu Le'er had just said.

Liu Le'er was already accustomed to this lack of response, and she whispered, "Don't worry, Brother Rock. If the immortal doctor here can't cure you, then we'll go somewhere else. I'm sure we'll be able to find someone who can cure you."

A reassured smile then appeared on her face, and she slowly closed her eyes, falling asleep soon thereafter.

Meanwhile, Liu Shi continued to remain completely still like a statue in the darkness.

After an indeterminate period of time, Liu Shi suddenly opened his eyes before casting his gaze toward a certain direction in the Yu Manor. At the same time, he instinctively raised a hand to stroke the dark green accessory that he was wearing around his neck.

……

As it turned out, there was an underground secret chamber in the Yu Manor in the direction that Liu Shi was looking in.

There were dark red runes engraved onto the walls of the secret chamber, converging toward the center from all directions.

At the center of the secret chamber was a black pill furnace, beneath which was a firepit that was holding a scorching flame.

At this moment, the pill furnace was giving off a black glow, and its lid was trembling gently as if it could fly off at any moment.

An elderly man was standing beside the pill furnace, watching it with an anxious expression.

The elderly man was wearing a set of gray daoist robes and a lotus crown on his head. He had a pair of deep-set eyes and a thin and gaunt face. There was a long goatee trailing down from his chin, and his hair and facial hair were all completely white, indicating that he was of quite an advanced age.

Right at this moment, a dull crack rang out from within the pill furnace, following which a burned smell wafted out from within.

The elderly man's expression changed drastically as he swept a hand through the air to release an incantation seal that snuffed out the fire, following which the lid of the pill furnace flew off at his behest.

The pill furnace was still burning hot, but he reached in directly with his hand, only to re-emerge with a handful of black powder, and his expression instantly darkened significantly.

A strong medicinal fragrance intermingled with a burned smell was wafting out from the powder.

The elderly man was furious to see this, and he immediately erupted into an incensed tirade.