Yuwen Chengdu Pays a Visit

After being held up at the Heshui County yamen for a while, Yuwen Chengdu immediately set off in the direction of Blue Silver Village.

Jia Shiren watched the direction in which they galloped away, the worry on his face growing.

"Alas! I hope everything goes smoothly!"

"My lord! Why worry so much? Since General Yuwen had no intention of holding you accountable,

"I doubt he took your matter to heart!"

"What do you know? Am I worried about him holding me accountable? Hmph!"

"Yes! Yes! I spoke out of turn!"

The journey from the county seat to Blue Silver Village was twenty or thirty li, and they arrived in the blink of an eye. Looking at the towering walls before him, Yuwen Chengdu could not help marveling.

"These are scarcely inferior to the walls of Chang'an!"

"Who are you?"

While Yuwen Chengdu was still marveling at the walls, members of the defense team came over.

A great deal had happened in Blue Silver Village recently, so they were especially wary of unfamiliar riders.

"Don't misunderstand. We were just passing by and were drawn over by these walls!"

Yuwen Chengdu had no wish to clash with them, so he quickly dismounted and explained.

"Really?"

"I am Yuwen Chengdu, from Chang'an. May I ask where this is?"

"You're from Chang'an? This is Blue Silver Village!"

The defense team took a look at Yuwen Chengdu and his companions and found nothing particularly suspicious about them.

If the imperial court had sent people to cause trouble, it certainly would not have sent so few.

There would not even be enough to go around, so they ruled out the possibility that Yuwen Chengdu posed a threat.

"So this is Blue Silver Village! It really is as wondrous as the rumors say! May we go in and have a look?"

"You may! But you're not allowed to cause trouble inside!"

"Of course!"

Yuwen Chengdu walked straight into Blue Silver Village, looking around curiously.

"This Blue Silver Village really is different. Aside from being a little smaller, it isn't inferior to Chang'an at all. It's even better."

"Young master! Look, there really is blue grass in this world! And so much of it! How peculiar!"

"Mm! I've never seen blue grass like this either. It seems this is the legendary Blue Silver Grass."

As Yuwen Chengdu and his companions looked around Blue Silver Village, they marveled at its wonders.

Everything here seemed separated from the outside world by a barrier; everywhere was filled with the new and unknown.

Though Yuwen Chengdu admired what he saw, he still knew the purpose of his visit.

He wanted to meet that Great Grandmaster-level expert and see how far he fell short of him, and whether the man was as wondrous as the rumors claimed.

"Young master! I've asked around. The true master of Blue Silver Village lives at the Zhang Family Estate. He's a youth named Zhang Sheng."

"Come! Let's pay the master of this place a visit!"

Zhang Sheng's home was the easiest place to find in Blue Silver Village. It was the largest and the most famous; everyone who lived here knew it.

Yuwen Chengdu and his companions soon arrived at the gates of the Zhang Family Estate. Looking at the imposing entrance before him,

Yuwen Chengdu could not help nodding, seemingly acknowledging its status.

"Who are you? What have you come to the Zhang Family Estate for?"

"Sorry for the trouble, but please announce that Yuwen Chengdu of the Yuwen Clan has come to pay a visit!"

"Yuwen Chengdu? You're Yuwen Chengdu, the Great General Tianbao personally appointed by the emperor!"

"I am!"

"Goodness! What a rare guest! Please wait a moment, General Yuwen. I'll go inform my master right away."

After asking Yuwen Chengdu to wait, the guard immediately went to report to Zhang Sheng.

At that moment, Zhang Sheng was drinking tea and chatting with Zhangsun Wugou and the others in the back garden.

When he suddenly saw the guard hurrying over, he promptly asked,

"What has you in such a hurry?"

"Master! Yuwen Chengdu of the Yuwen Clan is here!"

"Oh? Why would someone from the Yuwen Clan come to see me? I have no ties with them."

"Brother Zhang Sheng! Do you think it might be about what happened last time?"

"Mm! I think it's possible. But last time we killed five hundred of their soldiers and a fourth-rank general.

"Why does it seem like nothing's wrong now? Otherwise, it should have been the imperial army coming here, not Yuwen Chengdu."

"Master! Why don't you go see him and find out? I hear Yuwen Chengdu is the imperial court's Great General Tianbao,

"the greatest warrior under heaven. I'd like to see if he's really that formidable."

When Lan Yun heard that Yuwen Chengdu had come, her eyes lit up. During her usual training, she could never find a good opponent,

and was constantly frustrated by it. Now that one had finally come along, she could not let him slip away easily.

"Lan Yun! Just look at you! How are you anything like a girl? All you ever do is brandish spears and wield cudgels."

After hearing Lan Xin's scolding, Lan Yun unconsciously muttered a retort.

"I wield a hammer too!"

To her surprise, Lan Xin heard her.

"What! You dare talk back now!"

"No! No! You heard wrong, Sister!"

Seeing that her sister was about to lose her temper, Lan Yun shrank back in fright.

When Zhang Sheng and Zhangsun Wugou saw this from the side, they immediately burst into unkind laughter.

"Hahaha!"

"Hee hee hee!"

"Mm! You're all bullying me!"

Seeing everyone laughing at her, Lan Yun would not stand for it. She puckered her lips and looked at them with an aggrieved expression.

"All right! We'll stop laughing! Look how aggrieved our Lan Yun is. Hahaha!"

Zhang Sheng had meant to comfort her, but when he saw Lan Yun's expression, he could not help laughing again.

"Master! You... you're a big meanie!"

"Hee hee! Brother Zhang Sheng! We still have business to attend to! Yuwen Chengdu is still waiting at the gate. We can't just leave him standing there."

"Right! Right! Right! I nearly forgot we had business to attend to. Sister Wugou is the thoughtful one!"

Zhang Sheng's casual praise made Zhangsun Wugou blush, though she quickly concealed it.

After all, she had spent a long time with Zhang Sheng lately, and her skin seemed to have grown a little thicker.

After they finished fooling around, Zhang Sheng told the guard to invite Yuwen Chengdu and his companions in. But the back garden was not a place to receive guests,

so Zhang Sheng also left the back garden. Lan Yun had wanted to follow him,

but her sister Lan Xin would not let her and grabbed hold of her.

Of course, given her martial strength, she could easily have broken free of Lan Xin's grip, but she dared not and could not, so she could only obediently stay where she was.

Meanwhile, after Yuwen Chengdu and his companions had waited for a while, they saw the guard return.

The guard then led them to the reception hall, where Zhang Sheng was already waiting for them.

Yuwen Chengdu's first impression of Zhang Sheng was that he was young-far too young. He could not associate him with a Great Grandmaster-level expert at all.

Whether or not Zhang Sheng was truly so young, a Grandmaster was a Grandmaster, and Yuwen Chengdu could not afford the slightest carelessness.

"Junior Yuwen Chengdu greets the Grandmaster!"

"Grandmaster? What do you mean?"

Seeing the puzzled look on Zhang Sheng's face, Yuwen Chengdu was somewhat taken aback. Had he made a mistake?

"May I ask, Grandmaster, did you take action to teach a group of men in black a lesson last time?"

"That did happen. Why? Do you want to seek justice for them?"

"I wouldn't dare! I came to offer my apologies this time, and hope you will not take offense at our recklessness, Grandmaster."

"Oh? Is the dignified Great General Tianbao willing to swallow his anger?"

"You jest, Grandmaster. Even the imperial court must show a Grandmaster some respect, to say nothing of a mere great general!"

"You keep calling me Grandmaster this and Grandmaster that. What exactly is a Grandmaster?"