Li San stepped forward and knocked on the door knocker.
"Is Old He home?" Li San shouted.
"Who is it?" an old woman's voice came from inside.
"We're here to buy the Fate Boat. We discussed it before—I'm Li San," Li San called.
"Please wait a moment. I'll go ask the master."
Before long, light, slow footsteps sounded from within. The gate opened, and an old woman in her fifties with graying hair, hunched back and narrowed eyes, carefully sized up the three of them.
"Oh, honorable officers! Please come in, please come in." The old woman beamed, bobbing and bowing as she stepped aside to make way.
"You're too courteous," Li Qingxian said.
The three crossed the threshold and entered the first courtyard. One side was enclosed by a wall, while the other three sides held two-story buildings. The corridors on either side of the main hall led directly to the second courtyard.
A faint scent of medicinal herbs lingered in the air.
"Please follow me, honored officers. The master is sunning himself in the courtyard."
Li Qingxian swept his gaze around. This was a typical grand residence in the Divine Capital; the walls, buildings, corridor pillars, and every other detail proclaimed the considerable wealth of the house's former owner.
Yet time had changed all things. The windows were broken, the red pillars had lost their paint, and roof tiles were missing. It was no longer what it had once been.
Li Qingxian grew even more puzzled. If He Shouwang could take out a Fate Boat to sell, his household should not have fallen this far. Could gambling or drugs be involved? Or had some woman run off with his money?
They exited through a side corridor and entered the second courtyard, where they saw a white-haired old man