Lord of the Desert

Chapter 490
The next day, October 23rd.

There was a strong wind in the capital, and clusters of thin clouds were rolling in the sky, which made people dizzy if they looked at them for a long time.

Ye Zhan's residence was located in the north city, two streets away from Princess Xian De's residence and only two miles away from the imperial city.

Since the appointment was for dinner, Hong Fan left home at 2:54 am (4:30 pm) and it took him half an hour to get to the destination. Even though it was his second visit, the vast palace and lush courtyards of the Ye Mansion still impressed him deeply.

Led by his housekeeper, Hong Fan strolled through the side corridor and saw gauze curtains hanging all along the way, swaying in the wind.

At the end of the corridor, two clumps of green trees surround a pavilion with a view of the wind.

The butler stopped here and asked the guest to walk up the jade steps alone.

There is a half-person-high plum vase with ice crack patterns placed at the entrance.

The sound of stringed instruments came from behind the hall.

When Hong Fan entered, he saw Zhan Ye Gong drinking in a plain dragon gauze inner garment and a white fox cloak. His complexion was as white as jade and he was wealthy and handsome, just as before.

"Brother Hong, tell me that you sent me a new mechanical pocket watch from the Instrument Works, two old Ganoderma lucidum from Cangxu Mountain, and a few boxes of local specialties from Liangzhou."

Ye Zhan sat up from the golden nanmu couch. The silk cloth beneath him was splashed with half a cup of wine, turning it purple.

"I told you last time when you came to see me that you and I, Star Lord, are like brothers with different surnames. From now on, just come and don't bring anything."

He put down the ruby-studded gold cup and spoke in a casual tone, obviously not a polite one.

"People have to go through some formalities in life, but they are worthless anyway."

Hong Fan replied and sat down in the guest seat on the side.

"I heard that you are now one of the richest men in Liangzhou. This wine is good. Pour it yourself."

Ye Zhan smiled and nodded, leaning back on the wooden couch.

"I just built a new garden this year. What do you think?"

“It’s absolutely beautiful and impeccable.”

Hong Fan returned immediately and poured himself a drink as he was told.

At this time, the sky outside was already setting.

The incense smoke from the gilded Boshan stove in the corner of the room continued to rise, leaving a few cracks on the screen woven with twelve peacock feathers.

Looking at the entire Ye Mansion, all the equipment is the best in Dahua. However, every time Hong Fan comes here, he feels depressed by the extravagance and recklessness of the host.

"Has the Three Judicial Departments reported any news about the murderer of Zhan Yuanzi this year?"

He put down his glass and asked.

This was also Hong Fan’s first question when he came here last year.

"Jiuzhou is like an ocean. It's not easy to find two innate warriors."

Ye Zhan shook his head.

"It's actually good that we didn't find it. The causes and effects of things in the world are complicated and bizarre. Even with my eyes, it's hard to see clearly."

He pointed at the center of his eyebrows.

If someone else were to think that this was a casual action of comparing the power of fate to the eyes, but Hong Fan could hardly suppress his shock, because he knew that Ye Zhan was pointing at the purple eye between the eyebrows.

"It's stuffy in the room, let's go to the back and get some fresh air."

Ye Zhan seemed to realize it and stood up, grabbing the fox cloak.

Hong Fan followed the sound of stringed instruments and went back, and when he walked around the screen he saw a lake.

Dahua Gardens pays attention to the technique of "changing scenery with every step", and the pavilion of Ye Mansion was originally built leaning against the lake, with dense green plants on the left and right wings to provide protection and partition, so that one can enjoy the lake view alone.

There is a water pavilion facing the lake, paved with teak boards.

In the center of the pavilion there is a tea table and four cushions, and on the side there is a bathtub carved from a whole piece of tourmaline.

What shocked Hong Fan the most was that there was a stage in the middle of the lake, with a team of twelve dancers singing and dancing on the stage - they did not stop even though no one was watching just now.

In terms of luxury alone, Xiao Chu's Princess Xiande's Mansion is far inferior.

When the two sat down, a few white peacocks walked through the landscape on the other side of the lake.

"We're eating camel tonight."

Ye Zhan clapped his hands three times, and the applause drowned out the music and spread across the sky.

Soon, two strong chefs came in with an iron rack in their bare hands. On the skewer were skewered camel humps roasted till golden brown, with grease dripping from them occasionally and blue smoke rising from the charcoal.

"Brother Hong, how are things going between you and Princess Xiande?"

Ye Zhan didn't watch the two chefs preparing the food. He just leaned on the railing and touched the lake water with his fingers.

Hong Fan was shocked when he heard this.

"Don't worry, no one will gossip about you with me. It's just that I can't control my magical powers, so it's inevitable that I know a little about the affairs of Shenjing."

Ye Zhan tilted his head and smiled.

Hong Fan ignored him.

"The Duke is going to hold another gathering of the elite. I'm sure the invitation has been sent to you."

Ye Zhan said again.

"Yes, I have accepted it."

Hong Fan replied.

"You should go there. There will be many rich and powerful ladies at the Diyan Lake, all of whom are here for you."

Ye Zhan turned around and watched the camel hump being cut into pieces and served on a plate, sprinkled with cumin.

“When young people reach their twenties, it’s time for them to think about starting a family.”

"There is ample time."

Hong Fan shook his head.

As the sun set, two white cranes flew over the orange-red water and headed for the next courtyard.

Hong Fan saw that after the dancers finished their dance, they maintained fixed postures during their rest periods, which actually became part of the landscape.

"Pretty?"

Ye Zhan suddenly smiled.

Hong Fan was extremely uncomfortable with this excessive extravagance and felt annoyed, but he had to nod his head.

Ye Zhan burst into laughter upon seeing this.

"Peaceful and beautiful times are always short, so make the most of them!"

He simply picked up the glass bottle and drank madly. The blood-red wine dripped from the corners of his mouth, flowing down along his collarbone and soaking his dragon gauze lining.

An hour later.

The roasted camel hump was eaten to pieces, and the double eaves of the capital had already swallowed up the sun. The two star gods beside the waterside pavilion listened to the wind and leaned on the railing, intoxicated and silent.

Before them the stars were sinking to the bottom of the lake like silver fish caught in a trap.

······
In November, there was occasional drizzle in the capital, which made the air feel especially chilly, like wearing wet clothes in winter.

In the middle of the month, the reward for Tie Mo was finally issued, a full 12,000 taels of silver. Half of it was sent to Hong Fan's residence, and the other half was sent directly to Duanli City via the official post station.

At the end of the month, the three lists will be updated on time.

Yi She, who possessed the five innate combinations, ranked fourth, just behind the three at the peak of the innate realms.

The battle with Tie Mo confirmed Hong Fan's innate four-combination cultivation, which raised his ranking to tenth place. Not only was he ranked first among the four-combination, he also surpassed three of the five-combination ones. Considering that Tie Mo's body was sent to the Zhangwu Academy, the mechanism and power of the armor-piercing bomb must have been roughly cracked by Jie Tianji.

Tang Xingqing rose to 49th place. Duan Qu, the 'Lord of the Bamboo', who was once defeated by Hong Fan, and Feng Tianqing, the 'Snow-Stricken Wind-Taste', were both dropped from the list because they were over 24 years old.

Throughout November, Hong Fan's social life returned to normal.

When he was in the territory of Cangxu City, he often found that the warriors he met were afraid of him, but they also harbored resentment in their hearts. This was obviously a side effect of forcing Qingdi Zhenzong to surrender and forcing Xin Wencheng to death.

But this matter was not of concern in Shenjing - to most of the proud people of Shenjing, the Qingdi Zhenzong was nothing more than another small sect from other places that was conquered by the behemoth Zhangwu Academy.

In a blink of an eye, it was the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month of the thirty-second year of Zhenghe.

The door of Hong Fan's residence in Shenjing rang three times in succession.

Sun Li, who was on duty in the courtyard, stood up on his knees and was about to respond when he saw a man stepping over the threshold - thin, dusty, with his collar open in the cold weather.

"You guys..."

He tensed his scarred face, frowned, and shouted half a sentence, but when he saw the face of the person coming clearly, he was so shocked that his tongue became tied.

"Why is it Young Master Qu?"

Sun Li had followed Hong Fan for a long time and had met Qu Luoyi many times.

"Where are you from?"

"Of course it's from Tianpeng Mountain."

Qu Luoyi raised his head suddenly and threw the strands of hair behind his head in a way that he thought was cool.

"what?"

Sun Li pushed the person inside, but his mind was blocked.

Tianpeng Mountain is two thousand miles away from the capital, which is really inconsistent with the other party's tone of visiting.

Then he noticed Qu Luoyi's feet - his ten toes were scattered on the floor tiles, and there was black mud embedded in the gaps between his toes.

"You came here barefoot from Tianpeng Mountain?"

Sun Li was overloaded with information and didn't know whether to serve tea first or the foot basin and shoes.

"No way."

Qu Luoyi waved his hand.

"Of course I wore shoes when I came down the mountain three days ago. I wore them out while running all the way here to get information."

As he spoke, he rubbed his flat belly and stepped onto the carpet in the main hall with his muddy feet.

"If your second young master didn't come to greet me, I must be away. By the way, has Aunt Liu come yet? Go and ask her to prepare some food for me. I haven't eaten for three days and I'm counting on this meal..."

As soon as Qu Luoyi entered the room, he turned his black eyes left and right, looked around but didn't find anything edible, and a look of sadness appeared on his face.

Sun Li fled away.

Half an hour later, Hong Fan, who had just returned from outside, saw Tang Dageo who had gone out with Taohong to buy things in a hurry, and learned that the kitchen supplies were empty.

On the large dining table for fifteen people, empty plates and bones piled up like a small mountain, and buried behind was Qu Luoyi, who claimed to be only seven-tenths full.

"Are you here to attend the gathering of heroes as well?"

When Hong Fan met them and asked, a smile unconsciously appeared on his face - the two had not seen each other for more than a year, but it seemed as if they had never been separated.

"Yes, the invitation arrived in August. It was written in a very complicated way. If it weren't for my senior sister's help, I would have almost been unable to understand it."

Qu Luoyi rubbed his belly and picked his teeth with the little finger nail that had temporarily grown.

As the top of the list three years ago, there was no reason for Lord Fengcheng not to invite Qu Luoyi.

"Wasn't it the first time you met Kou Yong when you went to spar with him more than a year ago? I heard that Kou Yong comes here every year."

Hong Fan recalled the old days.

"Is this also your first time attending a meeting?"

"It's the first time."

Qu Luoyi nodded.

"Tianpeng Mountain is too far from the capital. Riding a horse costs money, and not riding a horse costs money. Although I was called every year before, I was too lazy to come. This time, I thought of you being here."

Hong Fan's heart warmed when he heard the words, but when he caught a glimpse of the black footprints on the gorgeous carpet, he felt that some external things could not compare to the brotherhood.

At this time, he saw Qu Luoyi burp and wipe the oil off his hands on the table: "Give me five hundred taels of silver first."

"Clam?"

Hong Fan didn't react.

"Look at me. If I want to attend that stupid meeting, I have to buy a new pair of shoes and change into nice clothes, right? Shenjing is a fertile land, so clothes must be very expensive."

Qu Luoyi cried out in injustice.

"Will these cost five hundred taels?"

Hong Fan looked at him with empty eyes.

"I also plan to check out the best brothel in Shenjing tomorrow."

Qu Luo said with righteous words.

"Oh, my Second Young Master Hong, it's a rare trip for me to Shenjing. If I go back without seeing a few courtesans, won't the heroes of Xijing look down on me?"

He stretched out his oily claws and tried to grab Hong Fan's arm, but the latter dodged.

"You go on a long journey without any money?"

Hong Fan coldly took out five hundred taels of silver and slapped it on the table.

"Master wanted to give me some money, but I said you don't need it here, so I'll just spend yours."

Qu Luoyi took the money with a grin and replied smugly.

"He was immediately convinced by me."

"I believe you."

Hong Fan was so angry at Qu Luoyi's shameless look that he laughed instead. He went out and asked the waiter to prepare a bath for him. When he left the courtyard, he suddenly felt that his steps, which had been a little heavy for many days, became much lighter.

(End of this chapter)