As they got closer towards the Lou estate, Ning Xiaoyao suddenly started to worry. Concerned, she turned to Shadowgale, "What if the people of the Lou estate don’t recognize Big Bro Lou?” Shadowgale wanted to reply that their act of rescuing Lou Jing from the Snow Wolf Valley and sending him all the way here was already very benevolent of them. But when faced with Ning Xiaoyao’s blinking almond eyes, Shadowgale couldn’t say anything.
By now, Lou Jing’s face had pretty much recovered back to normal, and his features were very similar to that of Lou Zigui, albeit slightly less contoured. His broken hamstrings had also been treated by Ning Xiaoyao. It’s just that his energy level was still quite poor, and his mind was rather slow. Every time he attempted to use his brain, he would experience a large headache. Hence, he had spent his whole journey in a dazed state. Shadowgale had also deliberately concealed their ident.i.ties; up to this date, Lou Jing had no idea who had saved him. The Dragon Guards that took care of him were ones who didn’t have regular interactions with Lou Zigui, and every time Shadowgale interacted with First Young Master Lou, he had his face covered.
In short, Shadow Commander’s goal was to not leave Lou Zigui any hints of their whereabouts, not even the slightest bit.
"Go find an elderly servant," Shadowgale told Shadowrain and Shadowbolt. "The younger ones might not know their First Young Master, but the elderly definitely should recognize him.”
"Yes," Shadowrain and Shadowbolt nodded. "The guards of the estate are quite strict, you must be careful," Shadowgale added a cautionary warning.
"Then I"ll go," Ning Xiaoyao raised her hand. She could freely come and go in this kind of heavily guarded place.
Shadowgale glanced pointedly at Ning Xiaoyao’s belly. Ning Xiaoyao put down her hand, not letting out another squeak.
"You have a baby, behave yourself!" Big Boss Black swatted Ning Xiaoyao with his paw. "He’s right, Xiaoyao," Little White Fatty howled in support. Ning Xiaoyao’s heart felt very stuffy. She had been reduced to such a state that even Little White Fatty was lecturing her!
Shadowrain and Shadowbolt urged their horses forward. Shadowgale found an inconspicuous alley behind the Lou estate, and so the rest of them decided to wait there. A few minutes later, Shadowrain and Shadowbolt brought the household manager of the Lou estate over, and shoved him towards Lou Jing without a second word.
With his face concealed, Shadowgale asked the old housekeeper, "Do you recognize him?"
The old housekeeper was very old, after squinting at Lou Jing for a long while, his whole body suddenly shook. “First Young Master?!” he exclaimed. Ning Xiaoyao and the Dragon Guards all let out a sigh of relief. Now that they found an acquaintance, things should be much easier!
"We are travelling merchants," Shadowgale didn’t care whether the excited old housekeeper could hear him or not. "We rescued him from the Snow Wolf Valley in the Northern Hu. He said he’s the Lou estate’s First Young Master, so we sent him here."
The old housekeeper knelt in front of Lou Jing, who was sitting on the curb, and gently grasped one of his hands. For a few moments, tears streamed down his face. Eventually, tears began bursting out like a flood and the elderly servant started to wail.
Shadowgale motioned for Ning Xiaoyao to leave. "The guards have already arrived," Ning Xiaoyao sighed instead. Shadowgale quickly looked out towards the alley. Loud footsteps could be heard heading their way and a team of Lou estate guards stormed into the alley.
"They are quick!" Shadowrain spat on the ground.
"Grandpa Housekeeper!" Before he even ran into the alley, Lou Nan had already begun shouting. The old housekeeper heard his little master’s voice and quickly stood up from the ground. But after a little bit of hesitation, he knelt down again and yelled, "Little Master, come quickly! The First Young Master, your father, has returned! First Young Master has come back alive!”
Everyone who had dashed into the alley were stunned by the old housekeeper’s words.
Ning Xiaoyao saw a little boy approximately ten years of age appear in the alley. The little boy looked very weak and his head was larger than his body. Furthermore, his lips were purple, and the front half of his fingers were quite thick. "Congenital heart disease," Ning Xiaoyao muttered to herself.
"What?" Shadowthunder couldn’t hear what Ning Xiaoyao had just murmured. He turned his body slightly closer, indicating Ning Xiaoyao to repeat herself.
Ning Xiaoyao sniffed a little. "It’s nothing. That child is Lou Nan." Shadowthunder gave Lou Nan a considering glance. “Looks like a sick little ghost."
In just a few short steps, Lou Nan was already panting after he ran to Lou Jing. However, he did not remember his father"s face. After staring for a while, he turned to the old housekeeper again, dazed. "Grandpa Housekeeper?"
Ning Xiaoyao raised a corner of her mouth. She went over to Lou Nan’s side and patted his shoulder. "Little Young Master, we brought your father back."
"Little Master," cried the old housekeeper, "This is First Young Master!" Having used up all her energy, Ning Xiaoyao swayed a little. Shadowgale immediately went up to support her and Ning Xiaoyao turned to say, “Let’s go.” Shadowgale turned around and faced his comrades. The old housekeeper realized suddenly that Ning Xiaoyao and the gang were about to leave. So, he hurriedly stood up, "Benefactors, please wait!"
Only after Shadowgale had helped Ning Xiaoyao onto the horse did he turn around to face the old housekeeper. "This is all we can do. Your First Young Master’s body is weak, so be sure to treat him carefully."
"Yes, yes, of course," replied the old housekeeper. "Benefactors, may I ask for your names?” "Since we won’t meet again, there is no need for us to leave a name." Shadowgale gave the old housekeeper a cupped fist salute and then jumped swiftly onto his house. “Go!”
Carrying Ning Xiaoyao, Bujing dashed ahead. Oil Jar sat on Big Boss Black’s head, and both cat and mouse stared worriedly at Ning Xiaoyao. "It"s all right," Ning Xiaoyao waved off their concern. "I"ll be fine in a bit."
Big Boss Black turned around, facing his b.u.t.t at Ning Xiaoyao. Ning Xiaoyao did not understand how she had offended the fat cat, but right now she did not have the energy to ask. Lou Jing also wanted to stop Ning Xiaoyao, but had no strength to speak as well. The people of the Lou estate were all crying. Since the old housekeeper didn’t give an order, none of them thought to chase after their benefactors.
As for Little Master Lou Nan, the child was still in a daze. He still hadn’t caught up on the fact that his father was still alive, and hadn’t realized that he had miraculously become healthier.
Ning Xiaoyao rode out of Black Frost City and took a deep breath of the prairie air. She felt like she had accomplished everything she needed to do. Now all that was left was to take care of her baby, and travel the world with Shadowgale and the rest of the bros.
"Let’s go to Jiangnan," Ning Xiaoyao beamed at Shadowgale. Shadowgale’s face finally showed a smile, "Alright."
"Jiangnan has a lot of delicious food!" Ning Xiaoyao gave an excited shout. She wished she was in Jiangnan right now. Big Boss Black turned his head around to look at Ning Xiaoyao, muttering, “Xiaoyao, Supreme Commander is a bad guy. In the future, don’t think about him anymore.”
Ning Xiaoyao: .... This was the first time this cat had mentioned Supreme Commander Lou in over half a year. She hadn’t expected that he would say something like this.
"I don"t like him anymore," Big Boss Black meowed. Ning Xiaoyao nodded her head firmly. “Mhmm. I don’t like him either.” And so a human and a cat achieved harmony via the same ideological agreement.
"Once it gets dark, we’ll find an inn to spend the night," Shadowgale rode forward to speak with Ning Xiaoyao. “I’ve already looked into it, there are quite a few inns ahead.”
"Sure," Ning Xiaoyao replied, "We’re heading south so no matter what we’ll pa.s.s by the capital. Windy, go pick up Fifth Young Miss. I will be waiting for you guys on the road."
"Okay, that would be great.”
"Then it’s been decided!" Ning Xiaoyao refres.h.i.+ngly clapped her hands. Since things have all been decided, then there was nothing to stress about anymore.
"Hurry! Bring First Young Master in quickly!” the old housekeeper instructed the crowd to carefully carry Lou Jing, who was still too weak to walk, indoors.
"What"s wrong with my dad?" Lou Nan noticed his long lost father looked dazed and couldn’t speak. Furthermore, he couldn’t walk either. Lou Nan was was jerked out of his excitement and started crying as he asked the old housekeeper.
"Little Master, don’t cry," The old housekeeper was also very sad deep down. Back in the day, First Young Master was very handsome. Although he currently didn’t appear to have any outward injury, he looked very haggard and weak. This contrast would cause pain to anyone who had seen him back in his prime.
"Did my father get a disease?" Lou Nan tugged at the old housekeeper"s sleeve, unrelenting and crying while he asked.
"Ah San already went to find a physician," the old housekeeper was afraid the little master would get sick from all his crying, and so he quickly rea.s.sured Lou Nan. "We’ll wait and see what the physician says - the First Young Master has been away from home for so long, he should be fine after some rest. Don’t fret anymore, Little Master. If your father sees this, he will be concerned!”
Hearing this, Lou Nan wiped his tears away. “I won’t cry anymore.” "Ah, Little Master is so mature," the old housekeeper praised Lou Nan. Because Lou Jing’s room had not been used for so long, and there hadn’t been enough time to clean it, the old housekeeper made a split-second decision to put Lou Jing into Lou Zigui’s room instead.
Almost all the physicians of Black Frost City were called in by the Lou estate. Upon learning that First Young Master Lou Jing was still alive and had been rescued, they were all very surprised. Once they arrived, they were ushered into the room by the old housekeeper, to a.s.sess Lou Jing’s situation.
Lou Nan stayed resolutely by the bed, staring at the physicians. The physicians took turns taking First Young Master Lou’s pulse and after discussing for a long time, came to the consensus that First Young Master Lou was fine - his body was just currently too weak. After a few years of rehabilitation, he may not be able to resume slaying enemies on the battlefield, but daily tasks shouldn’t be a problem.
The old housekeeper wiped away his tears as he thanked the physicians. What more could he wish for? Their first young master had been thought to be dead for so many years, and yet now he came back alive. This was the blessing of the Heavens!
The physicians looked at the old housekeeper and also felt a twinge in their hearts. They still remembered the pain-filled funeral from years ago, with paper money blowing around everywhere.
"This is a happy event," Doctor Ji saw Lou Nan staring at him. Doctor Ji had been the official doctor of Lou Nan for many years. "Little Master Nan should be happy.” Lou Nan nodded, but turned around to look at his father. "My father doesn"t talk though."
"Once he recovers his strength, First Young Master will naturally speak with Little Master Nan.” Doctor Ji took his gaze away from Lou Jing lying on the bed, and instead started to scrutinize Lou Nan. A look a doubt began to appear on the physician’s face. It’s been but a few days, so why did this little master’s complexion appear so much better?
With this question in his heart, Doctor Ji simply decided to just take Lou Nan to the side and sat down to take his pulse.
Lou Nan himself was still ignorant and protested, "Mr. Ji, I don"t feel ill." Doctor Ji took his time taking the pulse, and after a while, he looked at Lou Nan in shock. He hadn’t changed the prescription ah, so how did this little master"s body suddenly get better?