A youthful disposition

When Yi Yang returned to the Archive Hall, Sun Hao was slumped behind a desk on the first floor, leafing through a booklet. He yawned every two pages, looking as though the case files had sucked all the vitality out of him.

Huang Yushu stood beside a bookshelf with an old case file in his hand. When Yi Yang entered, his gaze fell on the food box.

"Sir, that person outside was..."

Yi Yang set the food box on the corner of the desk without opening it.

"A relative."

Huang Yushu's fingers paused on the file, and he tactfully lowered his head.

"I spoke out of turn."

Yi Yang sat at his desk and opened a case file.

The paper was coarse, its worn corners curling upward, with a gritty feel beneath his fingers.

But his fingers did not linger over the words. Instead, they rubbed back and forth along the edges of the file.

Should I go or not?

There was nothing wrong with not going.

What did Yi Xun's banquet have to do with these old bones of mine?

A younger brother who had devoured the family's resources in his youth and later tried to swallow up his house and fields was now inviting him for drinks. Could he really serve up a dish of brotherly love and respect?

More likely cold leftovers and sour soup.

But on second thought, the Yi Residence would have plenty of guests today.

Most of Cloud Pattern Town's prominent figures would probably show up.

The case files in the Archive Hall were dead things, but people were living ledgers. Who was close to whom, who sat at the main table, who gave lavish gifts, and who had merely come to sponge off the host-all of it was clearest over drinks.

The interesting thing was that once people drank, their tongues liked to race ahead of their brains. With an opportunity like this delivered to his doorstep, it would be a shame not to take a look.

Besides, he now wore the uniform of the Heaven Patrol Office. Even if he sat at the lowest table, no one would dare overturn it in his face.

Yi Yang closed the file.

"I'll be going out around three."

Sun Hao raised his head from behind the desk. "Sir, should I come along?"

Yi Yang glanced at him.

"What would you come along for? To eat the banquet for me?"

Sun Hao rubbed his belly and gave an awkward chuckle.

"That's not out of the question."

Huang Yushu could not help coughing beside them.

Yi Yang waved him off. "Guard the files. Don't let anyone rummage through them."

Three o'clock drew near.

Yi Yang changed into the Heaven Patrol Office's black uniform with red trim, hung his issued saber at his waist, and left the Inspection Storehouse.

The streets of Cloud Pattern Town bustled.

An old candy-figurine vendor clinked his copper ladle, while someone at a tea stall slapped the table as he recounted Yi Zhanzhi's apprenticeship at the Thundercloud Martial Arts Hall, sending spit flying more vigorously than the tea foam.

"Tendon refining at seventeen! What do you call that? Smoke rising from the ancestral graves!"

"The Yi Family's made it big this time. Who won't have to call him Master Yi from now on?"

"I heard Curator Mu of the Thundercloud Martial Arts Hall took him in personally as his personal disciple. Do you understand? His final disciple! Once that door closes, outsiders won't find so much as a crack to squeeze through."

Yi Yang walked past without stopping.

Passing a silver shop, he went inside and exchanged five taels in loose silver, wrapped it in red paper, and held it in his hand.

Five taels.

For a wealthy household in town, it would not cover one fine banquet.

But for an old woodcutter from Three Trees Village, it was respectable enough.

More would be flattering Yi Xun.

Less would be deliberately shabby.

It was not that Yi Xun lacked more silver, but five taels was just right for him.

Outside the Yi Residence, red silk covered the lintel, lanterns hung high, and several carriages stood before the entrance.

Their wheels had left fresh muddy tracks on the flagstones.

Two servants stood at the entrance welcoming guests. Seeing Yi Yang approach, they first froze, then recognized his aged face. When they noticed his official uniform and saber, they bowed a little lower than usual.

"The eldest master is here. Please come inside."

The form of address was respectful.

But the disdain hidden in the corners of their eyes was like dust left unswept-no amount of covering could conceal it.

Yi Yang stepped over the threshold. Six banquet tables had already been set out in the courtyard.

The scents of meat, wine, and face powder mingled, wafting warmly into everyone's noses.

Thirty or forty guests were present, mostly merchants, minor landowners, and martial arts instructors from town. Their clothes were splendid and their conversation lively; even when raising their cups, they seemed eager to flick two taels' worth of swagger from their cuffs.

At the main table, Yi Xun occupied the seat of honor.

His aged face glowed, his back was ramrod straight, and seven or eight people surrounded him, piling compliment upon compliment.

"Second Master Yi, Young Master Zhan Zhi has a boundless future!"

"A personal disciple of the Thundercloud Martial Arts Hall-that's no ordinary threshold to cross. It's only a matter of time before the Yi Family moves into the county seat."

"Your days of comfort have arrived!"

Yi Xun beamed like a man basking in the spring breeze, never once putting down his wine cup.

Yi Zhanzhi was absent.

Others said he had stayed at the martial arts hall in the county seat to meet his fellow disciples and would return later.

Liu Fu came over and bowed. "Eldest Master, your seat is ready."

His words were courteous, but his feet led Yi Yang to a corner of the very last table.

Several distant relatives and small-time merchants at the same table nodded when they saw Yi Yang's official uniform and saber, but none took the initiative to speak to him.

Yi Yang sat down and poured himself a cup of tea.

Before long, Liu Fu stood in the courtyard, picked up the gift list, and began announcing the gifts.

"Shopkeeper Wang of Wang's Grain Shop: fifty taels of congratulatory silver and two bolts of brocade!"

Cheers rose through the courtyard.

Shopkeeper Wang thrust out his belly, grinning wide enough to show his gums.

"Proprietor Li of the Li Family Pharmacy: thirty taels of congratulatory silver and two portions of Blood Qi Powder!"

"Wonderful!"

"Proprietor Li is generous!"

"Shopkeeper Sun of Sheng's Pawnshop: eighty taels of congratulatory silver and a pair of jade ruyi scepters!"

This time, even people at the main table applauded.

Yi Xun rose with his cup and toasted Shopkeeper Sun from afar.

"You've spent far too much, Shopkeeper Sun!"

Shopkeeper Sun waved his hands and raised his voice. "Young Master Zhan Zhi studying under a renowned master is a joyous occasion for all of Cloud Pattern Town. This paltry gift is hardly worth mentioning!"

Beautifully spoken.

But those eighty taels of silver smelled sweeter than the roast goose on the table.

Yi Yang sat in his corner, listening as the gifts were announced one after another.

That was how social occasions worked: the louder the silver rang, the brighter the face shone.

Just then, a patrol guard from the Heaven Patrol Office entered through the gate.

Dressed in black with a saber at his waist, he walked with steady steps, and half the courtyard's clamor fell away.

Liu Fu hurried forward to receive the gift. After unfolding the gift list, even his voice rose a notch.

"Fang Yue, Patrol Chief of the Heaven Patrol Office: one treasured sword of exceptional sharpness and one bottle of fourth-grade mortal pills!"

At those words, many people in the courtyard stood up.

Yi Xun hurried away from his table to welcome the man personally. "Despite his pressing official duties, Steward Fang still remembered my grandson's occasion. I am deeply grateful!"

The patrol guard cupped his fists. "The chief has an assignment today and cannot attend in person. He specially ordered me to deliver his gift."

"Please sit, please sit!" Yi Xun said repeatedly. "You must have a cup of our humble wine today!"

The patrol guard declined twice, but was still given a seat near the main table.

The surrounding guests immediately looked at Yi Xun with even greater warmth.

Who was Fang Yue?

The chief of the Heaven Patrol Office's Cloud Pattern Town branch, a man in the qi-blood fifth level organ refining realm.

A gift from someone of his standing, even without his presence, was enough for the Yi Residence to boast about for three years.

Liu Fu continued announcing the gifts.

At last, it was Yi Yang's turn.

When he opened the red paper and saw the five taels of loose silver inside, his face twitched slightly.

It was fleeting, but it did not escape Yi Yang's eyes.

Liu Fu cleared his throat.

"Yi Yang: five taels of congratulatory silver."

The courtyard abruptly missed a beat.

Five taels.

Among a courtyard full of gifts worth thirty, fifty, and eighty taels, its paltriness was painfully conspicuous.

Several guests turned toward the last table.

Their gazes moved back and forth between Yi Yang's graying hair and his Heaven Patrol Office uniform.

Someone asked quietly, "Yi Yang? Who's that? What's his connection to the Yi Family?"

That was precisely the question Liu Fu had been waiting for.

He put down the red paper, wearing a steward's practiced expression of propriety.

"This is Second Master's elder brother, Eldest Master Yi Yang."

"After the household split many years ago, Eldest Master lived in Three Trees Village, earning his living by cutting firewood."

"A few days ago, remembering their brotherly bond, Second Master made a special trip to Three Trees Village to visit him. He even offered to bring Eldest Master into town and provide money to help him."

At this point, he sighed.

"But Eldest Master politely declined."

The words were clean.

So clean that filth lurked in the gaps between every word.

Yi Xun was benevolent and righteous.

Yi Yang did not know how to appreciate kindness.

The guests understood.

And so murmurs rose through the courtyard again.

"Second Master Yi is a decent man. Even at their age, he still thinks of looking after his own brother."

"Exactly. What could an old village woodcutter know? Someone offers him a step down, and he doesn't even know how to take it."

"If I had a younger brother like that, I'd have moved into town to enjoy the good life long ago. What's the point of clinging to some shabby village?"

"Now that the Yi Family's climbed onto the Thundercloud Martial Arts Hall, he probably regrets it so much he can't sleep."

They did not keep their voices particularly low.

Some remarks were even sent drifting deliberately toward the last table.

Yi Yang held his wine cup, the pad of his finger resting against its rim.

His hearing in the bone tempering realm was almost too good. Whispers from three tables away were as clear as someone reciting accounts beside him.

But he was not angry.

Sixty years had passed.

Such words would have enraged him in his youth and weighed on him in middle age. Now, he treated them as cicadas calling on a summer night.

Noisy.

But they had little to do with him. Yi Xun wanted face, wanted a grand occasion, wanted to perform a show of brotherly love and respect before his guests.

Then let him perform.

The higher the stage was built, the uglier the fall when his legs gave out.

Yi Yang drank the wine in his cup.

The wine was good.

Fiery on the tongue, sweet in the aftertaste.

But once it reached his belly, it was only a mouthful of distilled grain.

He set down his cup and rose to leave, without going to the main table to offer a toast.

He did not say goodbye to Yi Xun, nor did he look at the pointing, gossiping guests.

He merely straightened his cuffs and left through the side door beside the last table.

His back was slightly bent and his steps unhurried, no different from an old man heading home after a boring drinking party, with a chicken coop still to shut.

At the main table, someone leaned close to Yi Xun's ear and said something.

Yi Xun turned to glance toward the side door, his smile not diminishing in the slightest.

He raised his cup and called out, "Come, everyone, drain your cups! Zhan Zhi owes everything he has achieved today to your generous support!"

The courtyard grew lively again.

No one truly cared that an old man had left his seat.

Yi Yang reached the entrance of the Yi Residence and was just about to step outside when firecrackers crackled beyond the gate.

The wind swept scraps of red paper onto the steps.

The sound of hoofbeats came from the street.

Yi Yang stopped and thought, Today's star has returned.

Liu Fu had already led the household servants out to greet him, bowing deeply, his voice brimming with joy.

"The young master is back!"

Five horses stopped in front of the Yi Residence.

The young man at the front wore a new martial arts outfit, a long saber hanging at his waist. His features were sharp-it was Yi Zhanzhi.

Four young men and women followed behind him, all dressed alike, all disciples of the Thundercloud Martial Arts Hall.

Two senior brothers, one junior brother, and one junior sister.

The girl rode a chestnut horse, her hair ribbon neatly tied. Her gaze swept over the entrance to the Yi Residence with the reserve of a disciple from a county-town martial arts hall.

Yi Zhanzhi swung down from his horse and tossed the reins to a household servant.

"Steward Liu, arrange a few clean guest rooms. My senior brothers and sisters will be staying here tonight."

Liu Fu nodded repeatedly in delight.

"They're ready already, ready already! Rest assured, young master!"

Only then did Yi Zhanzhi head inside.

As he passed Yi Yang, he neither paused nor greeted him.

It was as though he had not seen him.

But Yi Yang noticed.

The young man's sidelong glance lingered on his Official Uniform and the saber at his waist for half a beat.

It was brief, but it still betrayed his inner unrest.

Yi Yang sighed inwardly. Such a boy at heart. He wants to pretend he doesn't care, yet he can't help stealing a glance to see whether I'll congratulate him, apologize for what happened before, and lick his stinking boots.

Yi Yang paid him no mind and walked straight away toward the Heaven Patrol Office.