What a Real Guest Elder Was Like

About half an hour later, Liu Hou returned.

He came in looking travel-worn, without even having had time to change his clothes.

As soon as he entered, he saw Ye An, Liu Ruyan, and the others. "Ruyan... Miss, Guest Master Ye, I have not failed in my mission."

He placed the wooden box on the table and opened the lid.

Inside lay a dark-colored herb with intact roots and leaves edged with a faint purple hue, its fragrance subtle yet lingering.

"Uncle Hou, you must be exhausted. Go and rest."

After taking his leave, Liu Hou returned to his residence.

He recalled that more than half a year ago, he had advised Liu Ruyan to consider the marriage alliance with the Song Family in the council hall.

He was one of the key figures in this faction, the one who spoke the most and the loudest.

But what about now?

The Yin-Congealing Grass he found was a gift from the Liu Lineage to Ye An, a guest minister.

During his trip to Clear River Commandery, he inquired at more than a dozen herbal medicine shops before finally finding this perfectly preserved Yin-Congealing Grass, which cost the Liu Lineage a considerable amount of money. At that time, he had only one thought: he had to take it back and hand it over to Ye Keqing.

If this idea had come to him in the past, he would have thought it was absurd.

Why should the Liu Lineage's resources be used on an outsider? When did Liu Hou become this kind of person?

He sat in the chair, then suddenly smiled, as if he had figured something out.

He did it for the Liu Lineage before, and he does it for the Liu Lineage now.

He used to think the Song Family was the Liu Lineage's way out, but now he thinks Ye An is.

He stood up, pushed open the door, and went out.

Several elders from collateral branches were sitting on the veranda, drinking tea and chatting.

Seeing Liu Hou come out of the courtyard, someone waved him over, pulled him to sit down, and the conversation naturally turned to recent events.

"Brother Hou, although things are in a mess at the Song Family right now, I heard that Song Yan is still single. Should we mention it to Ruyan again? After all, Ruyan isn't getting any younger..."

The speaker was another elder from a collateral branch of the family, who was usually close to Liu Hou.

As he spoke, he poured Liu Hou a cup of tea, his tone casual, as if discussing something ordinary. Several people around him nodded in agreement, clearly belonging to the same group, all waiting for Liu Hou to respond.

Liu Hou sat there, picked up his teacup, took a sip, put it down, and then spoke.

His voice was neither too loud nor too soft, and everyone present could hear him. "Song Yan? Who's that? I don't know him."

The group of people were stunned for a moment, thinking they had misheard.

"Brother Hou, what do you mean by that? It wasn't you who..."

"The past is the past, and the present is the present." Liu Hou waved his hand, his tone calm, as if stating something self-evident. "I have always been on Miss Ruyan's side, and that has never changed."

The corridor fell silent for a moment.

Before anyone could say anything more, Liu Hou stood up, dusted off non-existent dust from his clothes, and turned to leave. The remaining people exchanged bewildered glances.

"What's going on? Wasn't it him who supported doing this in the first place?"

"I don't know, but I heard that Guest Elder Ye has already Qi Condensation, and he defeated the Qi Condensation Martial Artist that the Zheng Family brought in with a single move."

"Yes, that must be what made Brother Hou change his mind."

The group remained silent for a while.

One of them broke the silence. "What about the Song Family... shall we still bring it up in the future?"

"Why bring this up? Brother Hou already said we're not familiar with each other anymore, do you want to get scolded? Or do you want to cause internal conflict within the Liu Lineage?"

Upon hearing this, the man immediately shut his mouth and said no more.

The corridor fell silent, save for the sound of teacups tapping on the table.

From that day on, no one in the Liu Lineage ever mentioned the marriage alliance with the Song Family again, as if it had never been mentioned at all.

Lin Wanyue leaned closer for a look and nodded. "It is indeed Yin-Congealing Grass, and the quality is quite good. The roots are intact; the person who harvested it must have been very careful."

Liu Ruyan stood to the side, her gaze fixed on Ye An: "It's good that Master Ye can use it."

Ye An closed the wooden box and looked at Liu Ruyan: "Thank you, Miss Liu. I will remember this."

"Master Ye, there's no need for thanks," Liu Ruyan said calmly. "A single blade of grass is hardly enough to repay what Guest Elder Ye has done for the Liu Lineage..."

Lin Wanyue stood a step away, watching Ye An and Liu Ruyan talk. She gently touched the hilt of her sword and smiled, knowing that Ye An would soon come to ask her for help.

The Zheng Family.

When Meng Qian pushed open the door, Zheng Wanshan was sitting in the hall drinking tea.

Seeing this Qi Condensation Martial Artist he had painstakingly recruited, Zheng Wanshan put down his teacup, a smile spreading across his face, and stood up to greet him, "Master Meng is back? Thank you for your hard work! Did you manage to stop that shipment? The Liu Lineage must have given in by now? The payment for this shipment is ready, Master Meng, don't worry..."

Zheng Wanshan spoke with great enthusiasm, assuming that the matter was settled since he saw Meng Qian had returned unharmed.

A Qi Condensation Martial Artist went to block the Liu Lineage's path, but the Liu Lineage didn't have any Qi Condensation Martial Artist. What could possibly go wrong?

It's simply a matter of the Liu Lineage admitting defeat and taking a detour; the outcome will be the same anyway.

Meng Qian first accepted the payment, paused for a moment to prepare his words, and then spoke.

"You dare to mention payment?!" Meng Qian's voice suddenly rose, and he slammed his hand on the table, making the teacup jump and spill tea all over the tableside.

Zheng Wanshan's smile froze.

Only then did he notice Meng Qian's gloomy and unpleasant expression.

"I stood on the transport route for three days and three nights, exposed to the wind and sun, my legs covered in mosquito bites, without even a sip of water! The Liu Lineage may not have Qi Condensation experts, but Liu Lineage do have Qi Condensation guest elders! Why the hell didn't you tell me?"

Zheng Wanshan was stunned. "The Liu Lineage has Qi Condensation Guest Elder? Who?"

"A young man, dressed in the robes of the Four Symbols Sect, knocked me back with a single palm strike! Do you even know how powerful that strike was?"

Zheng Wanshan's expression changed. "That batch of goods..."

"Goods my foot!" Meng Qian glanced at the payment. "This is what I'm owed. What did you say back then? 'It'll only take three or four days. The Liu Lineage doesn't have any Qi Condensation Martial Artist, so nothing will happen.' You call that 'nothing will happen'?"

Zheng Wanshan wanted to say something more, "Master Meng, this was my oversight... please forgive me."

Even after being scolded like this by the guest advisor, Zheng Wanshan still wanted to keep him.

"I'm not getting involved in this anymore. To be honest, if that Liu Family Guest Elder were serious, I wouldn't be standing here talking to you today. If the Zheng Family wants to continue doing business, they'd better stop eyeing that transport route."

Meng Qian turned and walked towards the door, glancing back at Zheng Wanshan: "Let me remind you, Meridian Opening and Qi Condensation are two different things, and Qi Condensation qi is also different from Qi Condensation qi. Although that guest elder is also in the Qi Condensation Initial Stage, he has learned the core Martial Arts of the Four Symbols Sect. Do you know what that means? It means that he has at least a hall master in the Gathered Origin Realm as his backer. If you want to continue fighting the Liu Lineage, first ask yourself if you can withstand the Four Symbols Sect."

Let alone the Gathered Origin Realm, even the Qi Condensation Realm would be a tough nut for the Zheng Family to crack.

After saying that, he pushed open the door and walked out, leaving Zheng Wanshan alone in the hall.

He looked up towards the doorway, but Meng Qian was already gone.

He looked down at the spilled tea on the table and remained silent for a long time.

In this world, there are quite a few retainers and advisors.

But very few actually work hard for the head of the household; most are just intimidated by money and occupy a nominal position.

Someone like Meng Qian, who was capable of doing things but failed to accomplish them, would be considered to have done a respectable job in any other family.

Zheng Wanshan sighed. He decided to prepare some gifts and go to the Liu Lineage in person to apologize.