Chapter 228: Things Remain, People Change

The beginning of the hour of the Dog (7:00 PM).

The setting sun had completely vanished behind the towering western city wall of Central Heaven. In the western sky, the evening clouds were half-immersed in the night, while the other half still floated in the orange-red sunlight.

The Great Wu imperial capital, having been scorched by the sun all day, was just beginning its bustling nightlife.

It was far from time to go to bed.

But some people had already slept.

Suimian Street, the back residence.

Zhao Ning was drenched in fragrant sweat, a few stray locks of hair damp and sticking to her forehead and temples. She lay on her side, pillowing her head on Ding Suian’s arm, her voice relaxed and slightly hoarse, “Old Man brought me here flying. We settled in the west of the city yesterday, and today I came into the city to find you.”

“How many days will you stay in Central Heaven?”

“I don’t know either. I’m listening to Old Man’s arrangements. Old Man also said not to tell anyone else he’s here.”

“Hmm, why didn’t Old Man enter the city?”

“Old Man, he…” Zhao Ning’s eyelashes fluttered. After weighing her words, she whispered, “Husband, it seems there is something in Central Heaven City that Old Man fears. He seems afraid to enter the city.”

“Is there anything Old Man is afraid of?”

“I can’t explain it either. But yesterday, thirty miles away from Central Heaven, he retracted his Divine Ability early, as if worried about alarming something. Old Man also made excuses about not being able to walk anymore, and asked me to enter the city to find someone for him.”

Zhao Ning tilted her head up, her eyes moist and bright, curled in Ding Suian’s arms like a docile little lamb, a completely different person from the cold and distant demeanor she showed outside, “With Old Man’s skills, how could he complain about being tired or unable to walk? He just doesn’t want to, or dares not, enter the city.”

Ding Suian caressed Zhao Ning’s rounded, sweat-dampened shoulder and asked, “You went into the city to find someone yesterday?”

“Yes, an old acquaintance of Old Man, working in the Dianqian Division, surnamed Lin.”

“The Dianqian Division, surnamed Lin?”

Ding Suian turned to look at Zhao Ning, his face full of astonishment.

She thought she had said something wrong, thought carefully for a moment, and then said, “Yes, the residence where we stayed in the west of the city last night is Lord Lin’s villa. Do you know him?”

“Is his name Lin Dafu?”

“Yes! How did you know, Husband?”

Zhao Ning was puzzled, but Ding Suian suddenly sat up.

He felt a chill run up from his tailbone, instantly crawling all over his back.

Lin Dafu and Old Man actually know each other? Hasn’t Old Man been in Southern Zhao for decades?

Lin Dafu has always been in Central Heaven; the two are thousands of miles apart and seem to have no connection. So when did they meet? And why did they meet?

Thinking deeper: when he was transferred to serve at Prince Lanyang’s Estate, was it a coincidence, or was there someone pushing from behind?

Getting to know Lin Hansu, was it ultimately his own choice, or was it a path already secretly set up by others?

The thought was terrifying.

Seeing his expression change, Zhao Ning quickly pulled the quilt over her chest and sat up, asking in a low voice, “Husband, what’s wrong?”

Ding Suian squeezed out a smile and said, “A-Du, put on your clothes. Take me to the west of the city to visit Old Man.”

The end of the hour of the Dog (9:00 PM).

Central Heaven, west of the city, Estate.

A dark shadow, like a night owl returning to its nest, landed lightly without stirring any dust.

The flickering lights in the courtyard illuminated the newcomer. Wearing an old, washed-out Daoist robe, the female Daoist had a slightly hunched figure, and her face was covered in deep wrinkles.

But in the few short steps toward the door, the wrinkles gradually faded, smoothed out, and vanished into nothingness; her hunched waist straightened section by section, and the grey robe was slowly filled out by plump curves.

In the blink of an eye, her silver hair turned black.

By the time she stopped outside the door, the old woman had transformed into a beautiful woman in her forties.

Her eyes darted, with a hidden gleam of sharp light.

“Knock, knock~”

“Come in.”

“A Chen pays respects to Master~”

“Hmm.”

“Master, why did you suddenly come to Central Heaven?”

The woman called A Chen stood respectfully with her head bowed. Old Man tapped his knuckles lightly on the table, answering a different question, “That disciple of yours, named…”

Old Man seemed unable to recall the other person’s name for a moment. After a pause, A Chen whispered a reminder, “Zhao Yan?”

“No~”

“Night Contain?”

“Also no, the one who just came to Central Heaven at the beginning of the year~”

“Master, she is called Ah Ji.”

“Hmm, right, she is settled, isn’t she?”

“Reporting to Master, Ah Ji is settled. Does Master have any instructions?”

“Prince Yinyang’s legitimate son, Heir Apparent, will arrive in Central Heaven soon. Make arrangements.”

“Disciple obeys~”

A Chen, who was answering respectfully, suddenly looked alert. Old Man waved his hand to signal it was fine. After a few breaths, they heard an old male voice outside the door whisper, “Grand Prince, Young Master has arrived.”

The hour of the Boar (9:00 PM – 11:00 PM).

Ding Suian and Yi Yiyi arrived at the Estate in the west of the city. Learning that Lin Dafu was not there at the moment, they thought it would take some effort to get in.

Unexpectedly, the former coachman of Prince Lanyang’s Estate and husband of Nanny Zhang, Uncle Zhang, happened to be at the Estate.

Uncle Zhang was the one among the Lin family servants most familiar with Ding Suian. Upon learning that the latter intended to visit ‘Lord Lin’s guest’, Old Man, he didn’t even ask much and took him directly to the back courtyard.

Old Man sat in a grand armchair, using a small knife to whittle a wooden sword, a layer of wood shavings already fallen at his feet.

“Old Man!”

Compared to the pleasantly surprised Ding Suian, he only glanced at Ding Suian and Zhao Ning, muttering, “You young couple haven’t seen each other for months. It’s rare to meet, and instead of messing around at home, why run here? It’s not like you’re in a rush to see me~”

The Old Man was still as sharp-tongued as ever. Zhao Ning’s face flushed slightly, and she lowered her head to look at the ground.

Ding Suian laughed, “Old Man taught me that young people need to practice diligently and not indulge in carnal pleasures. Lust, I have already given up.”

“Oh?”

Old Man scrutinized them, and just from the lingering passion in Zhao Ning’s eyes, he knew Ding Suian was spouting nonsense. He didn’t expose him, but tossed the semi-finished wooden sword over and stood up, saying, “Alright then, let’s go to the garden and let me see the results of your ‘diligent practice’.”

In Southern Zhao, Ding Suian still had vivid memories of Old Man’s special training with a bamboo stick.

“Old Man, have you eaten?”

Fortunately, Zhao Ning helped him out of the situation. She presented the oil-paper package she was carrying with both hands and said obediently, “Husband was worried that Old Man hadn’t eaten, so he specially bought some venison buns, braised rabbit, and meat skewers in Central Heaven. Old Man, please taste them.”

Old Man’s nose twitched slightly, and his cloudy old eyes swept over their faces.

He immediately took the oil-paper package, grabbed a venison bun, and started gnawing. In two or three bites, a bun the size of an adult’s fist was in his stomach.

Juice dripped down his beard; there was no trace of the demeanor of an expert.

He was clearly eating with great relish, yet he insisted on making harsh comments, “The venison is too tough, and it’s mixed with lard, too greasy. You don’t even know how to buy things. If you’re talking about venison buns in Central Heaven, the Gu Family Steamer Shop is the best, all others are dog shit~”

If it’s dog shit, why are you eating it with such relish?

“Hehe, Old Man, these venison buns are exactly from the Gu Family Steamer Shop.”

Ding Suian said truthfully, but Old Man blurted out, “Gu the Lame isn’t dead yet?”

Gu the Lame? It seems he was the first owner of the Gu Family Steamer Shop.

Ding Suian was slightly taken aback, thought for a moment, and said, “The Gu the Lame that Old Man mentioned passed away many years ago. The current owner of the Gu Family Steamer Shop is his grandson.”

Old Man’s chewing rhythm slowed down significantly, and his old eyes grew slightly vacant.

He seemed to have a sense of things remaining but people changing.

But through this conversation, it undoubtedly proved once again that Old Man had lived in Central Heaven in his early years and was quite familiar with it.

He swallowed the food in his mouth, seemingly losing his appetite suddenly, tossed the remaining half of the bun on the table, and habitually wiped his grease-stained hands on his clothes.

“Wait~”

Ding Suian turned around, took a handkerchief, soaked it in water, walked over to Old Man, and knelt down to help him wipe his grease-stained hands.

Probably unaccustomed to such intimacy, Old Man’s body stiffened slightly, but he did not refuse Ding Suian’s good intentions, only looking down, his Adam’s apple moving slightly.

“Old Man, how did you and the Dianqian Division’s Grain Supervisor, Lord Lin, come to know each other?”

Ding Suian kept his head down, concentrating on wiping between the fingers of the withered palms.

“…”

A brief moment of trance, but due to Ding Suian’s question, his eyes instantly returned to clarity. Old Man smiled. Not only did he not expose his little scheme, but he answered truthfully, “I knew his father first, then I knew him.”

Lin Dafu’s father? The one who single-handedly established the Jiangbei Lin clan as the imperial merchants of the previous dynasty?

Just as he was pondering, he heard Old Man ask in return, “What, do you know Lord Lin too?”

“Uh”

Ding Suian looked up, just in time to meet Old Man’s cloudy eyes. The latter did not avoid or blink, very calmly.

“Old Man, then do you know Lin Hansu?”

“Who is she?”