The Whole Family Leaves the City

By the time Liu Yue found Immortal-Envy Tower, Qiu Yan was wrapping plate after plate of food in lotus leaves and oil paper, tying them up with string and carrying them away, paying no heed to the mocking looks of the surrounding scholars as he strolled off at ease.

"Cousin Yan, what are you doing?"

Seeing Qiu Yan like this, Liu Yue could not help asking.

The moment Qiu Yan saw him, he smiled. "Cousin, you're here. Help me carry a couple of these. These dishes were from the banquet those people treated me to earlier, but they had business and left before even touching their chopsticks. It would be too wasteful to throw them away. The family hasn't had meat for days, so this is just right to bring back."

"Didn't you used to say this disgraced civilized conduct?" Liu Yue found that his cousin seemed subtly different from before. In the past, Qiu Yan would not only have refused to do this himself, but would have stopped others from doing it as well.

"Disgraced civilized conduct?" Qiu Yan smiled. "This does not disgrace civilized conduct. Extravagance and waste are what is shameful. Come on, let's hurry home, or the food will get cold."

Thus, Qiu Yan and Liu Yue returned home carrying large and small bundles. Naturally, the family had their doubts, but they could not withstand Qiu Yan's persuasion. Before long, the dishes were laid out on the table, and everyone gathered around it.

The atmosphere at the dinner table was somewhat heavy, but Qiu Yan deliberately kept up the conversation and soon eased the mood.

"Yan'er, were those people really your friends?" When they were nearly done eating, Liu Huai finally could not help asking. He had been worrying over this the entire time. "Those people run wild and break the law every day. They're all sly, wicked men—the villains and clowns in operas. They change faces faster than the wind. You must not form deep ties with them."

Hearing this, Qiu Yan set down his chopsticks. "Uncle, rest assured. I understand. I know those people's dispositions very well. For now, they are merely holding themselves back. Once the storm passes, they certainly will not let the matter rest. They will surely seek trouble."

"If you know that, why do you still associate with them?" At those words, Liu Huai's temper flared. Ever since disaster had struck Qiu Yan's family and he had fled to Yuan Ning, Liu Huai had treated him as one of the family, caring for and protecting him. Hearing Qiu Yan's words now, he could not help feeling the frustration of seeing iron fail to become steel.

"Uncle, please do not be angry." Seeing Liu Huai lose his temper, Qiu Yan rose from his stool. "The family is trapped in hardship now. I stay in the courtyard every day, unable to help with anything, and I feel deeply ashamed. That is why I resorted to this last measure."

"When trouble comes to the family, I, the head of this household, will bear it. Why should you worry about it?" Liu Huai's anger subsided somewhat. "Besides, what use is there in finding hooligans and army thugs when the family is in difficulty?"

The moment he finished speaking, shouts came from outside the courtyard. Hearing them, Liu Huai could not rest easy. He set down his bowl and chopsticks and hurried out, with Qiu Yan and Liu Yue following close behind.

The moment they left the room, they saw Li Bo and Wang Qiao'er standing outside the door, each holding two bundles. Seeing Qiu Yan emerge, they immediately stepped forward and handed the bundles over.

"Young Master Qiu, everything you asked for is inside. We only hope you will keep your promise."

Li Bo stared reluctantly at the bundles, then gritted his teeth and tore his gaze away. He cupped his hands to Qiu Yan, then left with Wang Qiao'er.

"What is this?"

At Liu Huai's question, Qiu Yan placed the bundles in his hands.

Taking the bundles, Liu Huai's body paused slightly. They were far heavier than he had imagined. When he felt them, something inside clinked together, and his expression changed at once.

"These are..."

Realizing what was in the bundles, Liu Huai sucked in a cold breath. Turning to look, he saw that Li Bo and the others had already vanished. He wanted to chase after them, but Qiu Yan pulled him back into the house.

Back inside, Liu Huai seemed to want to speak but held back. Then he suddenly told Qiu Yan's aunt by marriage, aunt, and the other women to clear away the bowls and leave first, before tossing the two bundles onto the table.

With a clatter, the bundles came apart, revealing their contents. There were strings upon strings of copper coins, along with several small silver ingots!

"What is going on?" Liu Yue froze the instant he saw those things.

In this world, seven hundred and seventy coins made one string, and one string equaled one tael of silver. The small silver ingots varied in size and had clearly been cast in private furnaces, but together they amounted to six or seven taels. At a rough glance, the two bundles held a total of twelve or thirteen taels in silver and coin!

Twelve or thirteen taels meant eight or nine thousand coins—a huge sum. After all, though prices had risen, within Yuanning Prefecture, seven coins could buy one dou of rice, a jin of mixed salt sold for twenty coins, and even an acre of land in the counties outside the city cost only eight or nine hundred coins!

Unlike the stunned Liu Yue, Liu Huai glared at Qiu Yan, anger in his voice. "You extorted others?"

Qiu Yan remained unhurried as he said, "Uncle, you see things clearly. If I had stirred up trouble for no reason and sought them out first, that would have been extortion. But today, Li Bo and the others came to me. Not only did they threaten me, they even made a show of intending harm toward the Liu Household. Even Aunt, the other aunt, and Sister-in-law were frightened. By both feeling and reason, they could not simply be let off."

After hearing this, Liu Huai shook his head. "Now that you've taken so much silver from them, how could they possibly let it go? There will be no peaceful days from now on! Hurry and return it..."

"Leniency and severity, virtue and punishment, cannot both be fulfilled. Favors must be repaid, but enmity cannot be indulged either. Blindly tolerating others is not kindness—it is indulgence." Qiu Yan went along with his words at first, then suddenly changed tack. "But Uncle is right. That group will surely bear a grudge. For safety's sake, we cannot remain in Yuanning City. Please have your family pack their valuables and come with me to Qingchang, where we can settle temporarily."

"You..." Liu Huai was left speechless. In recent days, Qiu Yan had mentioned having the Liu family leave Yuan Ning for a time and live in Qingchang to avoid the storm, but the old Liu family had put down roots in Yuan Ning. Naturally, they had refused.

Yet over the past few days, whenever he went out looking for work, he had run into walls everywhere. Those shopkeepers and acquaintances, knowing that Liu Huai and his son had been driven out by the Pan Household, how would they dare take them in? On the other hand, Liu Huai was no longer young, and the daily early departures and late returns were beginning to wear him down. Now, hearing the proposal again and thinking of what he had endured these past days, he did not reject it at once.

Beside him, Liu Yue looked at the silver and coins on the table, somewhat tempted. But since his father had not agreed, he naturally did not dare overstep his place and make the decision for him.

At that moment, Qiu Yan continued, "If Uncle is unwilling, then Qiu Yan can only set out alone. But carrying this silver while having offended hooligans and army thugs, whether I can even return to Qingchang County alive is uncertain. And I know nothing of managing money. If someone cheats me out of it, that would be terrible."

"This..." Liu Huai fell into thought.

"Father, Cousin's words are not without reason..."

Seeing his father wavering, Liu Yue also began to persuade him. With Qiu Yan adding his words from the side, Liu Huai finally made up his mind before long.

"Then we'll go to Qingchang and stay there for a while, until the storm has passed..."

With the decision made, the Liu father and son began planning which day to depart, only to be interrupted by a single sentence from Qiu Yan—

"Since that is settled, I'll go hire a carriage from the coach station right now. Let's not delay. We leave today."

"That is too rushed." Liu Huai shook his head.

"The sooner, the better; delay breeds change. Who knows whether Li Bo and the others are preparing to raid the household tonight? Besides, there is no need to pack too much from home. With so much silver and coin, we can spend money to buy what we need once we arrive. Keeping this money on us is a disaster waiting to happen; it is better to spend it. And Qingchang County has a rather good medical clinic. There are no doctors here who can save Cousin Pan Rongniang anymore. We might as well try Qingchang County."

After this round of persuasion, Liu Huai was finally convinced. They then informed the aunt by marriage, aunt, and the others. Though the women all felt it was hasty, they said little. The Liu Household had nothing particularly valuable. They packed a few clothes and the land deed, then found a sedan chair to carry the unconscious Pan Rongniang.

"This courtyard was passed down by our ancestors. Who would have thought that in my generation, it would..."

Looking back at the tightly shut courtyard gate, Liu Huai sighed.

Liu Yue hurried to comfort him. "Father, it's not as if we won't return. Besides, Qingchang is not that far from here. In the future, I'll come back every two or three months to clean the courtyard."

"At my age, whether I can return at all is hard to say." Liu Huai shook his head.

Hearing this, a faint sense of guilt rose in Qiu Yan's heart. He also comforted him, "Uncle need not worry. Perhaps it will not be long before you can return in splendor." As his words fell, a thread of black qi, nearly invisible to ordinary people, emerged from the ground and wound around Qiu Yan.

Liu Huai still shook his head, taking it only as comfort from the younger generation.

After locking the door, the family left beneath the curious gazes of their neighbors.

With money on hand, things were easy to arrange. An hour later, the Liu family left the city in a large covered horse carriage.

When the sun sank westward, the carriage happened to reach a village town nearly ten li from Yuanning City. Seeing that it was getting late, the driver guided the carriage into the village and sought lodging at an inn.

After dinner, the family settled down separately, the men and women taking two different rooms.

"When you sleep, stay alert. Don't sleep too deeply." After giving Liu Yue and Qiu Yan a few instructions, Liu Huai lay down first. Before long, he began to snore. As one aged, one's strength inevitably waned.

"Cousin Yan, you spent quite a bit of effort dealing with those hooligans. Go sleep. I'll keep watch tonight." Liu Yue urged Qiu Yan, blew out the candle, and sat by the table.

The three of them slept in one room. Since they feared their wealth might be exposed, someone had to keep watch through the night.

Qiu Yan did not refuse and lay down to sleep.

Everything has been arranged more or less. It is time to act according to the plan.

Lying on the hard, dry bed, Qiu Yan's thoughts turned. His mind guided his soul to gather into one point, surging out from the crown of his head.

His Living Soul left his body, circled the room once, then turned and drifted out through the window. Green light flowed from within the soul, wrapping around its form as it flew swiftly toward Yuanning City.

The night gradually deepened.

P.S. There will be another update tonight.