Departure in the Dark Night

In the courtyard outside, servants were busy washing vegetables, boiling water, cooking meat, and hauling firewood.

In short, Jiang Ziya's wedding celebration today had completely thrown the entire Song Mansion into a flurry of activity, with every servant in sight rushing about in a chaotic scramble.

Lu Chuan headed toward the latrines, and the further back he went, the fewer people he encountered.

Since it was a joyous occasion, everyone's attention was naturally focused on the guest of honor, Jiang Ziya, and most of the arrivals were gathered in the front courtyard.

Aside from those answering the call of nature, very few people ever came to this latrine.

After walking a short distance, Lu Chuan glanced around and saw that there wasn't a soul in sight.

Just as I expected.

Lu Chuan's eyes flashed. Without stopping, he changed his direction and headed straight for a courtyard behind the kitchen.

Lu Chuan remembered that this courtyard was supposedly unoccupied; it was usually used as a storage area for the Song family's kitchen, filled with grain and vegetables.

The courtyard gate was left ajar. Lu Chuan didn't enter immediately; instead, he pressed himself against the gap in the door to peek inside.

There was a large tree in the courtyard, and as expected, it was empty of people. Tethered beneath the tree was a black wolfhound the size of a calf.

The dog was pitch black, without a single stray hair of a different color, and its coat was as smooth and shiny as satin.

Its build was even larger than a real wolf, and it looked incredibly ferocious; its appearance alone was enough to scare most people away.

"Crunch... crunch..."

It lay beneath the tree, its powerful paws pinning down a beef bone as it chewed with a rhythmic, cracking sound.

Suddenly, as if it had sensed something, its ears twitched, and it looked toward the gate with alert eyes.

Lu Chuan took a long look at the black dog, pushed the door open, closed it behind him, and reached for the knife at his waist.

In the front courtyard.

The wedding ceremony was still underway. After the newlyweds had bowed to heaven and earth and completed the marriage rites, the bride was escorted to the bridal chamber.

It was now noon, the banquet had begun, and Jiang Ziya was busy offering toasts to the guests.

Lu Liang took a moment to step away from his duties to find Lu Chuan for a meal, but he couldn't find him in the kitchen. He was told Lu Chuan had gone to the latrine, but he didn't see him there either.

Lu Liang muttered to himself, "Didn't this brat say he was going to help in the kitchen? How did he vanish in the blink of an eye?"

Just as he was pondering this, he suddenly saw Lu Chuan carrying a small wine jar—the kind used at the banquet and now scattered all over the ground—sneaking toward the front courtyard.

"Chuan'er!"

Lu Liang called out, but instead of stopping, Lu Chuan moved even faster toward the front courtyard.

Lu Liang was stunned, then immediately stepped forward to give chase.

The front courtyard was filled with dozens of banquet tables, and the place was a cacophony of noise. With servers and guests weaving through the crowd, there was no longer any sign of Lu Chuan.

"What kind of trouble is this brat stirring up now?"

Lu Liang's eyes grew weary from scanning the crowd. Unable to find him, he had no choice but to give up and return to helping with the banquet.

However, he kept his guard up, constantly keeping an eye out for any sign of Lu Chuan.

Before long, he saw Lu Chuan appear at the main gate. After checking the courtyard warily to ensure no one was watching, he slipped inside and headed toward his room.

"This kid, acting like a thief..."

Lu Liang couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle. He initially thought the boy was just being playful and decided not to interfere.

But suddenly, as if he had realized something, his expression shifted, and he hurried to follow him.

Inside the room.

After entering, Lu Chuan quickly shut the door, leaned his back against it, and let out a long breath before walking over to pour himself a cup of water.

Although sweat beaded on his forehead and the tip of his nose, his face held a look of excitement and satisfaction.

Bang!

After finishing the water, Lu Chuan lay down on the bed, and within moments, he was drenched in sweat.

Bang!

Suddenly, his door was kicked open, and a figure strode inside.

He had been ready to flare up at the rudeness of someone kicking his door open, but upon seeing who it was, he immediately stood up and put on a smiling face. "Father, you... why are you here?"

"Where were you just now?"

Lu Liang asked, his eyes searching the room.

"Nowhere special. I went to the latrine and was just sleeping when you woke me up," Lu Chuan laughed.

"Is that so?"

Finding nothing, Lu Liang sat on the edge of the bed and asked, "Chuan'er, did you 'take' something from the Song Mansion?"

He emphasized the word "take" with a heavier tone.

"Take something?"

Lu Chuan was startled at first, but seeing the scrutinizing gaze of Lu Liang, he immediately understood his meaning and said, "You mean to say I stole something, right?"

Lu Liang was slightly stunned, but he remained silent, which counted as a tacit confirmation of that suspicion.

"No!" Lu Chuan said, "Father, how could I be a thief? You cannot accuse me without evidence for no reason at all."

Seeing that Lu Chuan would not admit it, Lu Liang's face darkened. He thought for a moment and said, "The small wine jar you were holding just now..."

"I picked it up off the ground."

Lu Chuan smiled and said, "Haven't you seen that these wine jars are thrown everywhere outside? Everyone is helping to clean up. If picking up trash that they don't want counts as stealing, then I truly have nothing to say."

"You..."

Lu Liang said in a deep voice, "I am asking you, what was inside that wine jar, and what were you doing sneaking out of the mansion?"

"I wasn't doing anything, just helping to throw away a jar."

Lu Chuan said impatiently, "If you don't believe me, I can go get it back for you right now, how about that?"

Lu Liang fell silent.

Lu Chuan was also feeling very annoyed by the questioning. He sat down in his room, fuming. He hadn't been a thief; he had merely acted like a butcher of dogs.

"Chuan'er, although your father doesn't have much ability, I have enough to support you. If there is something on your mind, tell your father. You are my only son; what would I not give you if you asked?"

The father and son stood in a stalemate for a while before Lu Liang urged, "If you have truly done something wrong, then blame your father for not teaching you well. While it hasn't been discovered yet, we still have a chance to make amends, otherwise, if the matter blows up..."

Lu Chuan cut him off, "I didn't steal anything, so stop letting your imagination run wild."

Make amends?

There was no way to make amends. How could one make amends when the dog was already dead?

Besides, if he hadn't killed the dog, his own life would have been in danger. Don't forget what those bastards said; it was only because they happened to be at Jiang Ziya's celebration that they didn't force him to fight the dog today.

If he didn't slaughter that dog, they would certainly force him to fight the vicious beast another day...

To be honest, if he hadn't had a blade in his hand, he would never have been a match for that big black dog. It was like a calf or a starving wolf. If he had been injured and contracted rabies, would he even have a life left to live?

"Well... alright then!"

Lu Liang stood up and said, "Chuan'er, remember, though we are poor, we must not lack ambition. Do not pick up bad habits."

"I will remember that."

Lu Chuan smiled as he watched him leave, sighing, "I don't want to stay in this Song Mansion for even another moment."

"Tonight, I will follow the plan and go find Jiang Ziya again. If he refuses to take me in, then I shall seek out another master..."

This world placed great importance on the word "loyalty"—the subject's loyalty to the sovereign, the servant's loyalty to the master. The kind of loyalty where if the sovereign wants the subject to die, not dying is considered disloyal. He had seen a bit of this in Lu Liang as well.

So, he would just have to wait until he made something of himself in the future so that Lu Liang would no longer have to be a servant; he figured this "flaw" would resolve itself then.

After making up his mind, he changed out of the clothes that had been torn by the dog's claws. The clothes were ruined in many places, and his hands had a few cuts, though they were from when he gripped the blade to hack at the dog, not caused by the dog itself.

He had aimed for the dog's head and struck several times, enough to chip the blade.

After finishing all this, Lu Chuan finally went to bed to conserve his energy for the actions to come shortly.

The banquet did not disperse until evening.

Jiang Ziya wore a hint of intoxication as he stood at the main gate with Song Yiren to see off the guests.

Song Yu and several close friends had also drunk to their hearts' content. As they prepared to leave, they bid each other farewell at a table in the front courtyard.

Young Master Wang, swaying unsteadily, went to the courtyard behind the kitchen to fetch his dog.

But when he pushed the door open and looked into the yard, he shook his head, then suddenly gave a start. His drunkenness vanished in an instant, and he shouted, "Where is my dog?"

The courtyard was empty. The rope used to tie the dog under the tree was still there, but the black dog was nowhere to be seen.

"What is it? What happened?"

Song Yu and the others in the front heard this cry of grief and hurried over to ask.

When they saw the state of the courtyard, everyone couldn't help but be stunned. They rubbed their eyes, thinking they were seeing things, but after rubbing them, the courtyard remained empty.

"Song Yu, where is my dog? That was a dog I spent fifty taels of silver on and raised for half a year..."

"This..."

Song Yu couldn't make heads or tails of it either and said hurriedly, "Brother Wang, don't be anxious. I will immediately send people to search the entire mansion for you..."

The others also hurriedly offered words of comfort, which managed to stabilize Young Master Wang somewhat.

Song Yu then called for Lu Liang to assemble the mansion's servants and began a search for the black dog throughout the entire estate.

Hearing of this, Lu Liang suddenly associated it with Lu Chuan and the shredded clothes on his body.

Could Chuan'er have stolen someone's dog?

Lu Liang felt a jolt of alarm in his heart, but then he thought, when Lu Chuan left, he was only holding a small jar; how could that hold a dog the size of a calf?

Thinking of this, Lu Liang felt a bit more at ease.

After distributing tasks to the servants, he went to Lu Chuan's room without drawing attention to himself. Although a small jar couldn't hide a dog, he was still a bit uneasy and needed to confirm it for himself.

However, when he arrived, Lu Chuan was already nowhere to be found in the room. Furthermore, several of Lu Chuan's garments had also vanished along with him.