Golden Age Legitimate Fei

“Go inside and have a rest. We won"t be leaving anytime soon.” Ye Li said below her breath after glancing at Han Ming Xi who was asleep on the bamboo couch with a frown.

Secret Guard No.3 paused for a second. Then he nodded and went inside. Ye Li walked into the hall as she opened half of a window and admired the curtain of rain outside.

“Jun Wei, you are so cold-blooded, having a big bed all to yourself while letting me sleep on a bamboo couch.” Before she was aware of it, Han Ming Xi already woke up, lying lazily on the bamboo couch, gazing at Ye Li bitterly with his charming eyes.

Ye Li turned to him with a smile and said: “You can go inside now and share a bed with Zhuo Jing.”

Raising his brows, he looked at her with smiles: “Why can"t I sleep with you? I"m particular about cleanliness.”

“I don"t enjoy sharing. I like to have good things all to myself.” She answered without batting an eyelid.

Han Ming Xi mumbled vaguely as he sat up. Putting his soft crimson gauze robe in order with a frown, he walked up to Ye Li and watched the rain outside the window as well as he sighed slightly: “Rain in Nan Zhao has quite a different charm. But too much rain is difficult to manage as well.” Before Ye Li answered, they heard footsteps outside, then came knocks on the door.

Opening up, the Sick Scholar stood at their door with an oilpaper umbrella in one hand. He didn"t look better after half a night of rest. Instead, he was even more sickly. Covering his mouth with the other hand, he coughed from time to time. “Mr. Han, Mr. Chu, is this a bad time?”

Ye Li smiled slightly: “Not at all, please come in.”

As he stepped inside, he looked around and fixed his eyes on the door to the bedroom.

She smiled slightly: “Zhuo Jing is still resting. Please have a seat. What brings you here at such an early time...”

The Sick Scholar sat down and spoke after he coughed: “I didn"t expect to meet Mr. Han on this trip to Nan Zhao. Mr. Han... *Cough. You know me, don"t you?”

Not expecting him to come straight to the point, Han Ming Xi paused before he answered with a smile: “Right, the third master of the Hall of Darkness, I"ve heard about you a long time ago.” Judging from the way he addressed the Sick Scholar, it was clear he didn"t want to have anything to do with this guy who he feared.

The Sick Scholar smiled slightly. “You are so polite. The Grand Master of the Hall of Darkness is an intimate friend of your brother"s. Besides, I"m on good terms with your brother as well. However... this young lord is quite unfamiliar.”

While she was pondering, Ye Li already flashed a smile as she said: “I don"t belong to the green woods so I don"t know much. Please excuse me for that.” I don"t know you. You don"t know me. So, we are even.

The Sick Scholar gazed at her as if he was calculating. However, Han Ming Xi didn"t like it when he did that so he jumped in the conversation with a laugh: “I"ve heard from my brother that you don"t travel around much in recent years. May I ask what it is that brings you here this time? Is there anything Tianyi Pavilion may be of help?”

The Sick Scholar paused for a second and shook his head with a smile: “Just something personal. I won"t trouble you with that, Mr. Han.”

Since he wasn"t willing to tell, Han Ming Xi didn"t urge him. In fact, he would love to get as far away from him as possible. Why didn"t Mo Xiu Yao kill this illness-plagued man in the past?Han Ming Xi cursed inwardly as he wore a smile.

Apparently, the Sick Scholar didn"t want to talk about his personal matter. He smiled at Ye Li and Han Ming Xi as he said: “What do you think about this village?”

With a frown, Han Ming Xi answered: “I"ve been here for two to three times and never noticed that the village of Luoyi Clan was so close to our border.”

“What about you, Mr. Chu?” The Sick Scholar asked as he looked at Ye Li.

Frowning, Ye Li said: “It"s said Luoyi Clan is one of the largest clans of Nan Zhao. However, I don"t think there are over 100 people here. Besides, I"ve heard that the villages of clans are extremely secret. Why is this village of Luoyi Clan right beside a widely-traveled road?”

Raising his brows, Han Ming Xi said to Ye Li with a smile: “You"ve had those questions last night, Jun Wei. Then why did you come here?”

Ye Li said with arched brows: “Do I have a choice? We had no horses but snakes all around us. The clansmen had decided to invite us over no matter what. It was nicer to be invited here than being tied up like dumplings and thrown here. But... I"m indeed curious about what it is they want to do with disposition of such forces. I... don"t think I"m important enough to let them go through all that trouble except having p.i.s.sed off that young lord in Yong Lin.”

After she finished, she fixed her eyes on the Sick Scholar who sighed: “Mr. Chu, though you are young, you are very intelligent. You are right. Their aim has always been us.”

Raising her brows, Ye Li said: “I"d like to hear the details.”

“I believe you"ve noticed that we were watched last night. Luoyi Clan"s purpose is simple. They want a treasure that Mr. Liang has.” The Sick Scholar said indifferently.

Han Ming Xi smiled: “I never heard you become an escort.”

With a frown, the Sick Scholar curbed his cough and smiled indifferently as he looked at Han Ming Xi and said: “Right, I didn"t come to protect Mr. Liang.”

Leaning on a chair, Han Ming Xi said as he gazed at the Sick Scholar: “I know. You want the treasure too. Why don"t you kill that old man? Instead, you"ve come all the way here with him.”

Looking at Han Ming Xi, a trace of cruelty appeared on his handsome features. Now, he looked sicker than he did before, a different person from the weak and sickly scholar. “Right, I can kill him. But pitifully... he isn"t a fool either. That thing he has is in the capital of Nan Zhao at the moment. He only has the keepsake, half the keepsake, to be exact, which will lead him to it. n.o.body else except him knows who has the other half of the keepsake. Nor does anyone else know how to use it.” He turned murderous. Apparently, he was annoyed at Mr. Liang for being so cunning.

Han Ming Xi smiled with arched brows: “What about interrogation by torture?”

The Sick Scholar snorted coldly: “You really don"t know who he is, do you, Mr. Han?”

Han Ming Xi shrugged as if he couldn"t care less. He smiled as he saw Ye Li turn to him and said with a smile: “Of course I do. After the four richest merchants of Great Chu, followed a Liang Family of the North-west. Wealthier than my brother. Besides, if my big brother loves money as he does his life, that Mr. Liang loves money more than he does his life. I"ve heard once his favorite concubine was abducted by bandits while he didn"t bat an eyelid. He is wealthy all right but he is extremely stingy, living a more austere life than average merchants. Didn"t he boast about visiting Cool Breeze Bright Moon House last night? My big brother hates him the most since he would simply order a cheapest cup of tea for a whole night, spending less than 20 Liang. If he does have a treasure, he probably won"t give it to you even if you kill him.”

Ye Li looked at the Sick Scholar. “I"m curious as to why you are telling us this information, My Lord? Aren"t you afraid we will have evil intentions at sight of treasure?”

The Sick Scholar said indifferently: “I need your help. I saw Mr. Zhuo is good at martial arts last night. Though I have no idea about your level, you can"t be bad either. As for Mr. Han, I won"t let you suffer losses when this ends.”

Han Ming Xi looked at him with his chin supported by his hand and his head tilted: “I think you"ve said you don"t need any help from Tianyi Pavilion, My Lord.”

The Sick Scholar nodded as he said: “Right. I don"t need information from Tianyi Pavilion. However, since we"ve met, I have no choice but to invite you along.”

“Can we refuse?” Han Ming Xi asked.

“I"m afraid not.” The Sick Scholar said in a low voice, glancing over them grimly. Han Ming Xi felt as if he was sliced by a knife. Ye Li looked as usual. However, inside her sleeve, her hand clenched tighter. With an indifferent and ghastly smile, the Sick Scholar lifted his left hand elegantly as he admired his fingers in a slightly different color from those of his right and smiled slightly: “I believe you won"t refuse, will you, Mr. Han?”

Han Ming Xi"s expression changed and looked at the Sick Scholar vigilantly: “You"ve poisoned us?”

The Sick Scholar replied with a smile.

Without an answer, Han Ming Xi turned paler.

The Sick Scholar seemed sure that Han Ming Xi wasn"t going to deny his offer, he then turned to Ye Li as he asked: “What about you, Mr. Chu?”

She poured herself a cup of herb tea. Frowned slightly because of its bitterness, she said: “I refuse.”