Now, after Jiang Ziya and Song Yiren had clasped their hands and seen off all the guests at the main gate, they turned and returned to the courtyard.
But as soon as they stepped inside, the smile slowly faded from Song Yiren's face, leaving him looking rather displeased.
The courtyard was a mess after the banquet, yet not a single servant was cleaning it up.
Song Yiren called out, "Someone! Someone!"
A servant soon came hurrying over from a moon gate on one side, carrying a lantern. He bowed his head and said, "My lord."
Song Yiren said unhappily, "Where is everyone else? Where have they gone? Why aren't they here cleaning up the courtyard? Are you all waiting for me to do it myself?"
Jiang Ziya also looked at the servant.
"Well..."
The servant glanced up at Song Yiren, then lowered his head and said quietly, "My lord, the dog Young Master Wang brought today has gone missing. Third Master sent all of us out to look for it..."
"Look for a dog? This is outrageous." Song Yiren was so angry he laughed. "Those good-for-nothing wastrels!"
"Elder brother, what happened?"
Song Yiren glanced at the wedding robe Jiang Ziya was wearing, then smiled again. "This has nothing to do with you, worthy younger brother. You should hurry back to your bridal chamber. Don't miss the auspicious hour, or your new sister-in-law will blame me."
As he spoke, he began pushing Jiang Ziya toward his courtyard.
"Elder brother, you... What are you saying..."
Jiang Ziya blushed at those words, then said seriously, "Since something has happened in your household, and it happened during my wedding banquet, how can I simply turn a blind eye? I know a little about divination. I should do my part to help."
With that, he went over to the servant and asked, "Tell me, what did the missing dog look like?"
The servant replied respectfully, "Mr. Jiang, it was a large black wolfhound."
"A big black dog..."
Jiang Ziya nodded and began making calculations with his left hand.
Seeing that he could not persuade Jiang Ziya otherwise, Song Yiren said, "Very well, then I'll have to trouble you, worthy younger brother."
Jiang Ziya calculated for a moment. Soon, his expression shifted slightly. He frowned at his left hand and let out a soft gasp.
"How is it, worthy younger brother? Did you get a result?"
Jiang Ziya shook his head. "Elder brother, there's no bringing it back. The dog is already dead."
Song Yiren pondered for a moment, then suddenly turned to the servant and said, "Why are you still standing there? Hurry and escort Mr. Jiang to his bridal chamber!"
The servant understood at once. He hurried over, took Jiang Ziya by the arm, and began pulling him toward his courtyard.
"Elder brother, I..."
"You what?"
Song Yiren cut him off with a smile. "Worthy younger brother, you've done your part. Now go keep your new sister-in-law company. Don't let this wonderful wedding night pass you by."
Jiang Ziya could only smile wryly. He gave up resisting and obediently headed for his courtyard.
After Jiang Ziya had left, Song Yiren's smile disappeared. Looking down at the disordered courtyard, he swept his sleeve and said, "That worthless son of mine is getting more and more outrageous."
He gave a cold snort, then strode toward the rear courtyard with a dark expression.
Meanwhile, the servant who had escorted Jiang Ziya soon brought him to the entrance of his courtyard, which was decked out in red decorations.
"Mr. Jiang, I'll leave you here," the servant said.
Jiang Ziya cupped his hands and smiled. "Thank you for your trouble."
The servant smiled, then turned and left.
Jiang Ziya looked up at the courtyard gate, which stood ajar. He smiled, let out a breath, and stepped inside, closing the gate behind him.
Bang!
But just as he shut the gate, a dull thud sounded behind him, as if something heavy had hit the ground.
By then, the sky had grown completely dark. A lantern hung in the courtyard, but its light barely reached beyond it.
Jiang Ziya swept his gaze across the courtyard, then fixed it on a patch of darkness in the corner. "Come out."
As soon as the words left his mouth, someone slowly rose from the darkness and stepped into view.
"It's you?"
Jiang Ziya had been on guard, but once he recognized the person before him, he relaxed and smiled wryly. "Xiao Chuan, why did you climb over my wall in the middle of the night?"
The person standing before him was none other than Lu Chuan, who had come to stop Jiang Ziya from entering his bridal chamber.
At first, Lu Chuan had planned to hide inside the courtyard and wait for Jiang Ziya to return, but then he reconsidered. That would be rather inappropriate.
After all, Jiang Ziya was getting married today. Hiding outside his bridal chamber would be both discourteous and disrespectful, so Lu Chuan had waited outside the wall instead.
Fortunately, there was a large tree beside the courtyard. Climbing it and getting over the wall had not been difficult.
Lu Chuan stepped forward as planned and stopped in front of Jiang Ziya, blocking his path to the bridal chamber.
The two stared at each other. Jiang Ziya asked in surprise, "You... What are you trying to do?"
Lu Chuan suddenly bent his knees, dropped to the ground, and kowtowed. "Please accept me as your disciple, Mr. Jiang!"
"You... Why are you here again?"
Jiang Ziya was taken aback, then smiled wryly. "Didn't I tell you already? We can't be master and disciple. Get up."
As he spoke, he bent down and reached out to help him up.
"Elder Jiang, don't try to test me this way. My determination to seek the Dao is as firm as a rock; heaven and earth can bear witness, and the sun and moon can attest to it..."
Lu Chuan dodged Jiang Ziya's hand and poured out a whole string of determined vows. "You won't shake my resolve to seek the Dao by doing this."
"Test you? What test?"
Jiang Ziya froze, then smiled even more wryly. "Xiao Chuan, listen to me. I'm really not testing you. I simply can't be your master. Get up..."
"You're not testing me..."
Lu Chuan's gaze flickered. Looking at Jiang Ziya's anxious, earnest expression, he did not seem to be lying. Could it be that there really was no hope?
Suddenly, another idea came to him. He pleaded, "Elder Jiang, please accept me as your disciple. Those ordinary people can't see what you're capable of.
"But I know you're a true master, hiding your extraordinary skills from the world. I sincerely want to learn from you. If you won't accept me, I'll kneel here and never get up..."
Even Lu Chuan thought that threatening to kneel forever was shameless and downright brazen.
But if he wanted to become a disciple and learn the Dao, what other choice did he have?
Jiang Ziya sighed. "Xiao Chuan, if we're not fated to be master and disciple, why force it?"
Lu Chuan stubbornly shook his head and said nothing.
Jiang Ziya looked at him, then suddenly asked, "You were the one who killed that black dog, weren't you?"
"Yes."
Lu Chuan did not deny it.
"Why?"
Lu Chuan looked up at Jiang Ziya. "Since you know I killed the dog, how could you not know why?"
"It's not that I don't know. I just think you have too much of a taste for killing."
Jiang Ziya shook his head. "That's not a good thing. If you meet a renowned master someday, be careful when cultivating the Dao. I only just thought of this, so I wanted to give you a word of advice."
Some people, even as adults, might not dare kill a chicken.
But a sixteen-year-old boy, whose mind had only awakened half a month ago, had the courage to hack to death a dog bigger and fiercer than a wolf, one powerful enough to kill a person with a single bite.
Many adults would not dare go near such a vicious hound, even with a weapon in hand, let alone run up and hack at it.
Lu Chuan's courage and resolve were indeed rare, and he was ruthless by nature.
But Jiang Ziya had overlooked Lu Chuan's circumstances.
If the dog had not died, Lu Chuan would have. He had seen that, and that was why he had acted. At least this time he had been able to use a kitchen cleaver. Next time, he would probably have to fight it barehanded.
"Xiao Chuan, honestly, you're the only person in Song Yiren's household who truly understands me. You're my kindred spirit."
Jiang Ziya sighed. "Among all the people in the Song household, only you can see that I, Jiang Shang, am no incompetent. It's just a pity..."
Lu Chuan asked dejectedly, "So you're saying you won't accept me, no matter what?"
Jiang Ziya sighed and gently nodded.
The two fell silent.
"Haha! What's all this excitement about accepting someone?"
Just then, a loud laugh came from above.
Before you continue