Chapter 1590: Is "Sixth Lord" a Name You're Qualified to Call?

Li Dazui set the items before Fang Chen. "Sir Fang, your wine and beans."

He was about to leave, but curiosity got the best of him, and he asked, "You

are

Sir Fang, right?"

He searched Fang Chen's face with wide eyes, desperate to find even a single trace of time's passage, but he found none. Instead of fear, a strange excitement bubbled up within him, as if a childhood dream was finally coming true right before his eyes.

Fang Chen replied with a nod and a smile, "It's me. I went away on a journey of wandering."

"Wandering... Sir Fang truly is a man of the Dao, and one with real cultivation at that!" Li Dazui took the liberty of sitting down, his words spilling out in a rush. "I knew from the moment I first saw you that you were extraordinary. Now I—"

"Uncle Fang? It really is Uncle Fang, isn't it?" called out Wang Yu suddenly.

She leaned heavily on the table, her upper body tilting forward until she was almost brushing against Fang Chen. Her large, round eyes scrutinized him intently.

Li Dazui waved her off. "Little Yu, shouldn't you be selling your tofu? What are you doing here? Shoo! Sir Fang and I haven't finished talking yet!"

Fang Chen said with a smile, "Shopkeeper Li, let me chat with Little Yu for a bit."

"Ah... alright, then."

Li Dazu looked slightly embarrassed and had no choice but to get up and leave.

Several regular patrons asked curiously, "Shopkeeper Li, who is that guy?"

Li Dazui lowered his voice, his tone thick with mystery. "Haven't you noticed? That's Sir Fang."

Someone exclaimed in shock, "Sir Fang!? I thought he'd died out there somewhere."

In these times of war and chaos, Peach Blossom Village remained a pocket of peace and joy only because it was remote and lacked anything worth stealing, save for the annual blossoms. Out in the wider world, one could be cut down by mountain bandits or caught in a skirmish between soldiers, ending up either as forced labor or cannon fodder.

"Don't talk nonsense," warned Li Dazui with a stern look before walking away.

***

Wang Yu looked at Fang Chen with growing excitement. "Sir Fang? It really is you! How is it that you haven't changed at all? You look... like you're around my age."

For some reason, she felt an innate sense of closeness to him. Ever since she was a child, she had found Fang Chen particularly endearing. Whenever she caught him drinking, she would scuttle over to beg for a bean. He was always kind, giving her one while whispering a warning not to tell her mother.

But one year, he had suddenly vanished. She thought she would see him again when the peach blossoms bloomed, so she waited and waited. The second year, he wasn't there. The third year, still no signs of him. As the years rolled by and he remained absent, her heart grew heavy with a sense of loss.

Fang Chen teased, "I simply take good care of myself. Perhaps in a few more years, I'll start looking old."

Wang Yu asked with her face full of curiosity, "Have you been out exploring the world these past few years, Uncle Fang? Can you tell me what it's like out there?"

Fang Chen replied, "If you tell me about your life here in Peach Blossom Village, I'll tell you about the world outside. That's only fair."

Wang Yu let out a bright laugh and began to chatter away. She talked for nearly half an hour, recounting almost every major event of her growing years. She told him how Wang Sanpao had divorced the butcher's daughter and tried to come back to Li Meiyan, only to be rejected. Refusing to give up, he and his mother would come by daily to shout insults.

The harassment only stopped when her eldest sister, Li Meiyan's first daughter, married into a powerful clan in the county. Her new in-laws had sent men to lock Wang Sanpao and his mother up a few times until they finally learned to keep quiet.

"So, your sisters have all married and moved away," Fang Chen noted.

Wang Yu pouted. "Yes, they all ran off pretty fast. Now I'm the only one left helping my mother."

At that moment, Li Meiyan called out, "Little Yu! What are you doing over at Shopkeeper Li's? Get back here!"

She waved from across the street, her expression weary but fond.

"Oh! My mother's calling. I have to go. But Uncle Fang, next time you leave, please don't just disappear without a word. At least let me know!" Wang Yu said.

She stood up and darted off.

Before she made it to the tavern door, she dashed back and scooped a handful of beans from Fang Chen's plate. Then she sped off toward the tofu shop, her laughter ringing out like silver bells.

Fang Chen couldn't help but chuckle. Over the following weeks, he visited the tavern daily to drink. Every time, she would run over to chat for a while and inevitably "borrow" a few more beans.

Before he knew it, the season of blooming peach blossoms had arrived once again. The influx of outsiders into Peach Blossom Village was clear at a glance. The daily patrons at the tavern had doubled as countless nobles and gentry flocked from the county seat to admire the sea of blossoms.

Fang Chen, carrying a jug of wine, found a spot with a broad view. He watched the mountain covered in peach blossoms, breathing in the faint, sweet fragrance.

Wang Yu appeared, barefoot and carrying several large fish. She had clearly just gotten back from a mountain stream.

She asked, "Uncle Fang, you like looking at the peach blossoms too? Is that why you settled down here?"

"Still like playing in the water, I see," remarked Fang Chen with a smile.

Wang Yu laughed. "Water is fun! Plus, I can catch a few fish to eat. I'm planning to give these to my eldest sister. She and my brother-in-law are back in town to visit."

Fang Chen nodded and lapsed into a comfortable silence, sipping his wine against the backdrop of the scenery. Wang Yu stood beside him, gazing at the sea of flowers she saw every year. For some reason, this time, she felt a sudden, deeper pull from their beauty.

At that moment, a young servant dressed in green scurried over. "Little Miss, so this is where you've been hiding!"

He cast a wary glance at Fang Chen before whispering to Wang Yu, "Master and Madam are waiting for you. Please, follow me back immediately."

Wang Yu asked in surprise, "Sister and Brother-in-law? Why are they waiting for me now? It's not even mealtime yet. I'll go back in a bit."

"That won't do! The Sixth Lord has arrived as well. Master wants you to meet him," urged the servant.

"Sixth Lord? The one from last time?" Wang Yu's smile faded, her refusal immediate. She shook her head like a rattle. "No, I'm not seeing him."

The servant's patience was clearly wearing thin as his tone lost its initial subservience. "Whether you want to or not, you must come back. How else am I supposed to report back?"

Fang Chen spoke up suddenly, his eyes fixed on Wang Yu, "That Sixth Lord... has he bullied you before?"

Wang Yu muttered, "He's just... not a good person,"

The green-clad servant slowly straightened his posture, looking at Fang Chen with cold indifference. "And who might you be? Is the Sixth Lord a name a person like you is qualified to speak?"

As he spoke, he began to circulate his energy. Although the Dongsheng Empire was restricted by the Enlightenment God Palace and lacked an Immortal Path, the Martial Path flourished here. This servant had a few years of martial training under his belt and already had inner qi.