Chapter 187 – Sixth Rank Enforcer Woodson, Raking in The Blood Gold - Part 1

As soon as Li Yuan stepped through the residence’s gates, his senses went on high alert, and his body tensed. But only for a moment. He relaxed slightly when he heard the voices drifting over.

“Easy there, my lord!”

“Come back and play again, sir!”

“That old geezer’s so ancient, but he still ordered three girls. What stamina! Young Master, how many would you like?”

Mixed into the air was the heady scent of powders and perfumes, and he caught sight of women flitting back and forth behind the windows in the distance.

So this place was a brothel.

Li Yuan didn’t linger. He didn’t even bother to figure out what the messenger who’d led him here was doing. With a few quick leaps, he left the brothel and slipped into the alley behind it. After a short walk, he emerged onto a street.

Vendors on both sides were hawking their goods. Compared to Gemhill County, the avenues here seemed broader, and the wares for sale looked somewhat different too.

Li Yuan wasn’t in any particular rush. Spotting a street vendor, he ordered a bowl of fish soup noodles and ate slowly, while quietly letting his heightened senses roam, listening in on conversations around him.

Before long, he had polished off half a bowl of steaming noodles. Any lingering tension he felt about crossing the river finally began to ease.

Yes, there was open conflict between those undying husks and martial artists, but that didn’t mean the world was in some apocalyptic state. Plenty of places remained untouched by turmoil.

After all, what could ordinary folks do in a war between undying husks and martial artists? Flee? Most of them had no money to move, and even if they did, where would they go? Life goes on regardless.

Finishing his noodles, Li Yuan drank the fish broth down to the last drop. He placed a few small copper coins on the vendor’s counter and said with a grin, “Thanks, boss. That broth was delicious.”

The vendor beamed. “Of course! We boil the stock over and over until it’s milky white. That’s why it’s so savory!”

Li Yuan laughed, patted his stomach, and walked off.

Only then did he truly relax.

As he’d suspected, he wasn’t some main character who always brought disaster in his wake. He hadn’t stirred up any shocking drama or been inexplicably targeted the moment he arrived. Nor did he suddenly need to swoop in, play hero, and show off.

He had simply made it to Northriver Prefecture, eaten a bowl of fish soup noodles, and gone about his business, nothing more.

There were plenty of travelers in conical hats roaming these streets, so he blended right in, free of any pressure.

His three ninth rank chameleon parakeets were already somewhere in the prefecture. But Li Yuan didn’t even know what township he was in, only that Yan Mu was likely nearby since that messenger was clearly one of his trusted people.

Still, Li Yuan felt no urgency. He strolled around the area, not deliberately asking questions but simply letting useful bits of information drift his way.

One moment he was wandering aimlessly through lanes and alleys, the next he’d grab a seat in a tavern, then he’d pop into a brothel to sip some wine. He never actually bedded any of the women there. He just chatted with them, like he used to do with Madam Yun back at the Heavenly Scent Pavilion, gathering a local tidbit here and there.

It wasn’t that he was trying to act aloof. First, although his blood energy was robust, he wasn’t especially lustful. Second, he did have a touch of cleanliness about him. Third, if he were going to do anything intimate, he preferred a partner he trusted—like Xue Ning, or Mei, Lan, Zhu, and Ju, with whom he was already thoroughly familiar.

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So passed Li Yuan’s first day in Northriver Prefecture. By nightfall, after making sure no one was tailing him, he gave a slight tug on his thousand-mile thread. He slipped into the cold, dark corridor that bridged two worlds and emerged in his own home.

The moment he appeared, he heard the splash of water and the quiet clink of porcelain.

He glanced over and saw Xiao Zhu sitting on a low stool in the moonlight, bent over a basin washing dishes. Another tub nearby held a jumble of clothes, which belonged to him, Xue Ning, and the children.

Sensing movement, Xiao Zhu looked up. Moonlight revealed the familiar figure, and she hurriedly stood. Her voice was sweet and soft. “Welcome back, Master.”

To her, Li Yuan was handsome, powerful, and the one who had awakened a part of her that truly knew pleasure. She felt genuine affection for him.

Li Yuan smiled. “You four maids have your hands full...cooking, cleaning, feeding the horses, the dogs, the birds... It’s a lot of work.”

Xiao Zhu giggled. “It’s all to help you and the mistress. We don’t mind one bit.”

He gave it some thought and quickly understood their routine.

Right now, the only people in this back courtyard were Li Yuan, Xue Ning, Sheng'er, Ping’an, the four maids, and Auntie Wang. Xiao Sheng and Niu Niu, who weren’t able to train in martial arts, had been brought to the Ginger Tavern to learn the business.

Even so, taking care of the home was still no small task. Between the birds, dogs, horse, carriage maintenance, and not to mention occasional visitors in the inner courtyard, the daily chores mounted up.

Originally, splitting chores among the four maids plus Auntie Wang was already enough to wear them out. Now, however, two of the four maids also had to share the master’s bed each night, leaving them even more exhausted.

That same evening, Li Yuan sought out Xue Ning to discuss the matter. His main concern was hiring a few more maids specifically to manage the inner courtyard, feed the horses, and take care of errands like shopping for groceries.

With many employees under her wing, Xue Ning happily agreed on the spot.

Afterward, Li Yuan went straight to see Yan Yu, taking Sheng'er along for some matter. By the time they got back, it was already late. Xiao Lan and Xiao Ju helped him bathe and change, then he followed his usual routine. He vented his excess vigor before falling asleep with the two of them nestled beside him.

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Several days later.

During this time, Li Yuan got a clearer picture of the local situation. This place was Eastspring County, one of Northriver Prefecture’s 36 counties, and currently under the influence of the Homestead Sect. They hadn’t always been here, but retreated here...at least, that was how the common folk saw it.

To regular people, there was no such thing as undying husks or martial artists. As far as they knew, it was simply a local martial arts group butting heads with the authorities.

This martial faction claimed there were ghosts in the government. Meanwhile, the authorities insisted these martial artists were outlaws, breaking the law by force. The martial faction claimed the undying husks were raising people in Little Willow County like livestock, planning to slaughter them all; the authorities accused the martial artists of one-sided slander, insisting everything they did was to protect more civilians. As for those strange rumors about certain villages, the officials called it all a fabrication.

In short, each side threw accusations at the other, while regular folk were left in the dark. No one could distinguish truth from falsehood.

Li Yuan couldn’t uncover the finer details. It was simple logic. Sixth rank martial artists were extremely vigilant, so if he tried spying on them too closely with his white finches or chameleon parakeets, they would sense it right away. And as for the undying husks, they’d already killed one of his finches before. He wasn’t about to tempt fate again.

Apart from that, Li Yuan confirmed that Yan Mu was also in Eastspring County. Apparently, his nephew-in-law would sometimes sneak to the Mellow Moon on the south side of town for a drink. It was no surprise, given Yan Mu’s love of fine alcohol, which Li Yuan had witnessed firsthand back in Gemhill County.

One evening, at dusk, Yan Mu slipped through the moonlit streets in a hooded cloak and arrived at the Mellow Moon. He went there for the same reason as always. They had connections to the Purejade Merchant Association, which meant in spring they served Springwater, Springtime, and Springdream Brew, and in winter they offered Snowbrew.

Following his usual routine, Yan Mu ordered a pot of Springdream Brew along with a small dish of peanuts and another of sliced beef. He chose a private room on an upper floor, sitting by the railing to sip alone beneath the moonlight, wearing a distant look that hinted at homesickness.

He popped a peanut into his mouth and poured himself another cup of rice wine. Inhaling deeply, he let out a sigh of contentment...until suddenly his entire body went rigid. Tension coursed through him in an instant.

The reason? The door to the private room slid open, and someone walked in. That person then sat down across from him without invitation.

Were it not for the fact that the visitor made no effort to conceal his approach, Yan Mu would have attacked on the spot.

Once the man settled into the chair, he spoke in a low voice, and Yan Mu’s brow furrowed at the words.

“You still haven’t had enough of the wine I gave you? You just had to come out here for more?”

The voice was familiar. It was his uncle-in-law. But the face was completely different, lacking any human-skin mask. It was someone Yan Mu had never seen before.

Li Yuan merely smiled at him, then quietly whispered details only the two of them would know.

Yan Mu believed him soon enough, though he still couldn’t help asking, “Uncle, what...happened to your face?”

Li Yuan replied in a soft voice, “A trick of the undying husks, but I’m not part of their faction.”

He was well aware of Yan Mu’s character and trusted him. After all, Yan Mu hadn’t even let slip that Li Yuan’s daughter, Sheng’er, was actually a jade husk, so there was no reason to suspect betrayal now.

Yan Mu’s expression grew serious. “Then the person who saved me back at Spring Breeze really was you. Otherwise, I’d have been in for a nasty blow from that undying husk.”

Li Yuan raised a brow. “You’re surprised, but not all that surprised.”

Yan Mu sighed. “Well...to tell the truth, I’ve been covering for you on something else.”

Li Yuan’s face darkened a fraction. He said slowly, enunciating each word, “Fang Jianlong betrayed me?”