Extend His Life by One Year

With the matter settled, Zhou kept him no longer.

Chen Ye took the hint and prepared to leave.

As he was about to go, Zhou glanced at him and warned, "Don't go talking about what happened in the mansion. Don't bring trouble on yourself."

"Rest assured, madam. I know what's at stake."

With that, Chen Ye turned and left the hall.

At the end of the corridor, just as he was about to step through the courtyard gate, hurried little footsteps sounded behind him.

A boy of four or five ran out of a side hall and threw himself into Zhou's arms, his eyes red.

"Mother, was it really Uncle who hurt Father?"

Chen Ye faltered.

He glanced back. Zhou had crouched down and put her arms around the boy's shoulders.

She did not answer. She only gently pressed his head against her shoulder.

A moment later, she spoke, her voice far softer than it had been with Chen Ye.

"From now on, the three of us will have only each other in this mansion."

The five-year-old bit his lip. Two streams of tears ran silently down his cheeks.

He straightened his back. "Mother, don't worry. My little brother and I will protect you. No one will dare bully you."

"Good boy."

Zhou held him close, her chin resting on his head as she gazed at the shadows cast by the flowers and grass in the courtyard.

Chen Ye looked away. Without lingering, he turned and walked out of the courtyard.

The boy wriggled free of Zhou's embrace, rubbed his eyes, and glanced outside.

All he saw was the unremarkable outline of a bloodstained figure receding into the distance.

He looked up. "Mother, who was that?"

Zhou stood and took his hand, watching the figure that had already vanished beyond the courtyard.

"A clever man Mother may need someday."

Chen Ye left the hall and waited outside the Feng Family Ancestral Hall for a while. Then Zuo Dongxi and Su Guang emerged from the Dungeon.

Both men were skeletal, their faces ashen. Their ordeal in the Dungeon had left them barely recognizable.

They knew nothing of what had happened within the Feng Family over the past two days. When they were dragged out of the Dungeon, they thought their time had come.

Only when they saw Chen Ye standing there did they realize they had been saved.

"Brother Zuo, and you too, brother. You're safe now."

Chen Ye's clothes were torn and stained with blood, but he was in fine spirits. A keen light shone in his eyes.

Zuo Dongxi and Su Guang exchanged a glance. Even they could see that their escape from the Dungeon had everything to do with the young man before them.

Su Guang looked over. The servants of Feng Mansion had packed up his belongings and left them there.

No one had said it outright, but he knew he had been turned out.

He felt little sorrow. If anything, he felt lucky to be alive.

He bowed deeply. "Young brother, I'll never forget what you've done for me."

Chen Ye caught him by the arm. "Brother Su, there's no need for that. A man's knees are worth their weight in gold. Without your help that day, things might not have gone so smoothly for me. Let's talk once we're out of the mansion."

Guided by Feng Family servants, the three slipped out through the back gate.

Zuo Dongxi had spent over a decade with the Patrol Horse Gang. He had taken blades and dealt dirty blows, but loyalty had always mattered most to him.

Today, though, he felt like a scoundrel for the first time.

He had dragged Chen Ye into the Feng Family's muddy waters so there would be someone ahead of him if trouble came.

Instead, the man he had meant to use as a shield had saved his life.

And to think he had believed Chen Ye was only using him.

Now he saw that he had measured a gentleman's heart with a petty man's yardstick.

Once they were through the back gate, he stopped and stepped in front of Chen Ye. "Brother, words can't repay what you've done. If you ever need me, just say the word. I'll cross mountains of blades and seas of fire."

"You're too kind, Gang Leader Zuo." Chen Ye glanced at him and said no more.

With Su Guang beside them, Zuo Dongxi said at once, "Dinner's on me tonight. I'll book a private room at Fengqing Restaurant. Just the three of us. You must come."

After all they had been through, the three agreed to meet at Fengqing Restaurant that evening.

Zuo Dongxi hurried off toward the Patrol Horse Gang, while Su Guang returned to his lodgings.

Chen Ye went back to the carriage company alone.

The moment he entered the main hall, several workers who knew him stared wide-eyed, then rushed toward the yard behind the carriage depot.

"Steward Shen! Chen Ye is back!"

Shen Chongsan was tending to some chores. He looked up in astonishment.

He had already heard something of what had happened at Feng Mansion.

As he saw it, little men like them, with no one powerful behind them, were bound to lose their lives if they waded into the muddy waters of Feng Mansion.

Yet the young fellow had come out alive?

He set down his work and hurried outside, where he found Chen Ye standing before him.

Chen Ye cupped his hands. "Steward Shen, this escort job ran into trouble and held up a great deal of work. I'm truly sorry."

Shen Chongsan looked him over and sighed. "What matters is that you're alive."

"I heard you stood up for our carriage company's reputation, too. Come with me to see the owner. We'll see what he decides."

"Sorry for the trouble."

Shen Chongsan led Chen Ye to the same main room as before, went in alone, and left him waiting outside.

Unlike last time, Shen Chongsan stayed inside for quite a while.

Standing at the door, Chen Ye could faintly hear an argument. It went on for some time.

At last, Shen Chongsan came out with a troubled expression.

When he saw Chen Ye again, he hesitated, then shook his head. "I'm sorry, young brother. The owner doesn't want this trouble."

Shen Chongsan gave a bitter smile. "He told me to settle your wages for the month. You'll have to find another way to make a living."

Chen Ye had expected as much. He replied graciously, "Thank you for looking after me, Steward Shen. That's how fortune fell. No one's to blame."

Shen Chongsan waved a hand and said no more. He took Chen Ye to the accounts office to collect his pay.

To Chen Ye's mild surprise, the wages should have been only around one tael, but he received an extra two.

Shen Chongsan said it was additional compensation.

He also handed Chen Ye a new wooden token.

It was official proof of identity, secured a few days earlier with the carriage company acting as his guarantor.

"From here on, you'll have to rely on yourself in the Capital City." Shen Chongsan patted his shoulder and sighed. "As for your room... you can keep it a few more days. Move out once you've found somewhere suitable."

"I won't forget your kindness, Steward Shen."

Back in his familiar room, Chen Ye felt himself relax a little.

He shut the door and set the silver and identity token on the table. Then he took ten gold leaves from inside his clothes.

Zhou had given them to him from her private stores.

One gold leaf was worth ten taels of silver.

Ten made exactly one hundred taels.

Chen Ye summoned the Pawn System. The familiar interface appeared before his eyes.

[Name: Chen Ye]

[Current martial art: Foundation Cultivation Technique (perfected)]

[Realm: Mortal Shedding (II)]

[Current remaining lifespan: two months and thirteen days.]

By now, he still had 1,046 days—about three years of life—to redeem.

The hundred taels in his hand were enough to redeem one year.

Chen Ye picked out nine gold leaves and a few bits of silver, then held them in his upturned palm.

The gold and silver silently dissolved. The system panel changed at once.

[Current remaining lifespan: one year, two months and thirteen days.]

Chen Ye looked at the number and let out a long breath.

For a while, at least, he would not have to worry about how much time he had left.