The Science of Cultivation [Xianxia]

Chapter 173: Messenger

Li Lang was quickly invited into the large estate under the scrutiny of the pair of peak Energy Gathering guards. It only took him a split second before complying, knowing there wasn’t much of a point in antagonizing anyone when he was just a messenger.

“So, what position does the Yan Family hold anyway, to have such a large estate in this city?” Li Lang innocently asked the guards as he was escorted in.

“What? You come strolling into the estate without even knowing about the Yan Family?”

“Hey, save it. Let the caretakers do the talking. It’s not our place to say any more to him,” one guard reprimanded the other.

The two guards soon made it apparent they wouldn’t answer any questions. They guided Li Lang into a courtyard and seated him in a small gazebo overlooking a small pond. It made Li Lang slightly relieved he wasn’t taken to a dungeon or something of the like. He was even served tea by well-dressed servants.

While the two guards were still present to ensure he stayed where he was, he wasn’t exactly treated badly. He awkwardly sipped on his tea while he waited under duress.

The strange situation didn’t last long as a middle-aged woman soon arrived with a small entourage, and the guards respectfully bowed toward her as she approached.

“You two may go,” she commanded coldly.

“Yes!”

Answering in unison, the two guards quickly retreated from the scene. The so-called caretaker also made others keep a distance away before she sat down across from Li Lang. She didn’t immediately say anything, choosing to pour herself a cup of tea and silently examine the young man before her.

Seeing this wasn’t going anywhere, Li Lang broke the silence.

“Umm, excuse me, but I simply wanted to deliver a letter. If that isn’t possible, I don’t mind leaving.”

The woman snorted at his words and violently placed down her cup, spilling much of its contents in the process.

“Here is the letter I was entrusted with,” Li Lang declared as he quickly slapped down the letter he retrieved from his space ring. “Do with it how you will. My job here is complete.”

Just as Li Lang tried to stand up, he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, pressing him back down. He looked up only to see the same middle-aged woman who was supposed to be across from him. She had moved so fast that it appeared almost like teleportation to the young Energy Gatherer.

“I didn’t say you could go yet. Our Yan Family has invited you in, so you better at least stay to enjoy our hospitality before you leave. Otherwise, it may be taken as a slight against us.”

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“There’s really no need for your generosity. I’m just a humble messenger,” Li Lang tried to explain.

In return, all he got was the silent treatment.

Despite his best efforts to explain himself and disassociate with the sender of the letter, Li Lang couldn’t find an opening to escape. He was forced to sit down and drink his tea under the scrutiny of the middle-aged woman.

By the time he downed five cups, the situation finally changed. The woman abruptly got to her feet, looking off to the side, having sensed something. A few moments later, three girls emerged into the courtyard, scrambling towards the gazebo. From their attire, it was obvious the girl briskly walking at the forefront was the young mistress while the other two were her servants, rushing to catch up to their lady.

“Auntie Cang! What are you doing? I heard you forcefully abducted some messenger! You can’t be doing that!”

The young mistress arriving at the scene only spared Li Lang a brief glance before frowning at the middle-aged lady.

“Young Miss, who told you about that? And who let you into this courtyard? They should know better than to allow you to approach unfamiliar guests. Please, quickly return to your room. It isn’t safe. I will come find you later.”

“Hmph, I don’t need anyone’s permission to walk around my own home, and I’m not a child anymore. I’m a Foundation Establishment expert, so I don’t need to be coddled. I also won’t stand for anyone making use of our family’s standing to bully the poor people of Changjiao City.”

“But Young Miss, you—”

“Enough!” the young woman shouted as she brought her attention to Li Lang. “You there, I must apologize on behalf of our family for treating you so brashly. I heard you came here to deliver a letter to me. Is this true?”

“Umm, if your name is Yan Ruolan, then yes. The letter is right here.”

“Thank you! My family can be a little overprotective at times. Just give me a moment to go over it, and I can get you a reply right away!”

“Young Miss! You can’t! If word gets out, hundreds of others will follow suit!”

“Let them come, then. I, Yan Ruolan, can deal with it.”

The young girl heroically opened the letter and began perusing its contents under the confused gaze of Li Lang. He could only half follow along with what was happening. He couldn’t help but curse at Liang Po for landing him in this situation.

That guy didn’t tell me anything about how this delivery would go! I just want to get it over with so I can make my way back to Emberglow with the new students. His letter better not have anything bad in it!

Li Lang’s prayers weren’t answered as he saw Yan Ruolan furrow her brows as she read on. Her previously confident demeanor changed to that of uncertainty. She was even constantly stealing glances at everyone around her as she grew more nervous.

“You three,” she spoke to her two servants and the caretaker. “Let me speak to this messenger in private.”

“What? Absolutely not!” Caretaker Cang immediately retorted. “To say nothing of the danger that poses, there’s no way we can allow an unwed woman to privately meet with a man. Think of your family’s reputation!”

“Stop making a fuss over everything! We’ll be in plain view inside this gazebo, and I’m stronger than this young man here. There’s nothing to worry about!”

“But—”

“No buts! Get back! All of you!”

Under the command of their willful mistress, the three servants were forced to retreat into the distance, leaving Li Lang alone with the young girl. If he wasn’t being stared at by the caretaker, he would’ve let out a hearty sigh and cradled his head. Instead, he kept his facade on, wearing a fake smile while he awaited Yan Ruolan’s next words.

“Umm, you there,” the girl hesitantly called out with a faint tinge of red on her cheeks. “Do you happen to know the sender of this letter?”

“I’m not exactly friends with them, but I was entrusted with delivering it in exchange for a favor. If anything inside offends you, I apologize, but I have nothing to do with it.”

“Hmmm, really?”

A shiver ran down Li Lang’s spine as the young lady closely examined him. It felt like she saw through all his words.

“Well, it doesn’t really matter, anyway. I don’t think I’ll be able to write a letter back with Auntie Cang scrutinizing everything I do. Can you bring a verbal message back to the sender instead?”

Li Lang didn’t answer immediately. Judging from her words so far, he believed she knew the origin of the letter, which was why she was being so careful. Playing the messenger in that case would just further drag him into trouble. However, he believed it was already too late.

“I can compensate you!” Yan Ruolan supplemented, having seen through his hesitation. “I may not have access to a lot. My caretakers take the reins of my finances, but I can offer you some of my alchemy materials.”

“Hm, I will consider accepting if my reward can be some information instead.”

“Information? What do you want to know? I can’t say I know or am allowed to share everything, but I can do my best. Just tell me what you want to know.”

It didn’t take Li Lang too long to decide what to ask. It was one of his reasons for venturing out into the orthodox sect’s territory.

“Can you tell me all you know about the Abductress and her whereabouts?”

“The Abductress? That sure is something to be asking me about it. Are you trying to say our Yan Family has connections with her?” Yan Ruolan’s words grew more icy as she spoke.

“No, no. You’re misunderstanding me. I’m not saying you would have any close ties with her or anything. It’s just that the few times I tried asking people about her, they were quite dodgy about the subject. I need information about her, no matter what.”

“Well, there’s a good reason why few people want to talk about her,” Yan Ruolan said with a sigh. “Fine, I’ll tell you everything I know, but don’t you dare associate our family with the Abductress again once you take your leave today.”

“Of course. I won’t say anything.”

The young girl glanced out into the garden for a few moments, as if to gather her words.

“Where do I begin?”

“How about why everyone is so secretive and hesitant when it comes to talking about her?” Li Lang suggested. “I heard she’s a Spirit Divide cultivator, but several sects have esteemed experts in that realm as well, right? Why are they so scared of her specifically?”

“Well, that’s because the Abductress is the type of demonic cultivator that is unpredictable. No one knows where she lives, but she could show up anywhere within the Violet Isle at any time. That means she could do a lot of damage to a faction who crosses her, but they’d find it hard to retaliate. In fact, she’s the reason why a lot of the sects have started treating independent cultivators with a lot more respect in the past few decades.”

“How is the treatment of independent cultivators related to the Abductress?”

“From what I heard, independents weren’t treated much better than mortals in the past. Since the Abductress became active, her disciples would occasionally sprout up from time to time, claiming to be independent cultivators. And when a sect wronged one of these disciples, they would inadvertently offend the Abductress. You can imagine how that’d turn out for most sects. Their people would get slaughtered.”

“I see. That means these disciples will also be my lead in finding the Abductress, then.”

“You’re crazy if you want to find her! Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Relax. It’s not as if I plan on doing so immediately.”

Li Lang then asked a few more questions to clarify a few things about the one who had kidnapped his friends. He even inquired about the various materials unique to Vermillion Dragon and how to obtain them.

“Now then, I gave you what you wanted. It’s your turn to deliver my message. Just tell the other party this: ‘While the Nightembers bloom and shadows still, the light of dawn shall shine on that nostalgic hill.’”

“Okay, I will pass it along.”

With the matter settled, Yan Ruolan quickly ordered Li Lang to be escorted out. During the entire time he walked out, he wondered why the message he was supposed to pass along to Liang Po was so weird.

I know it’s probably some encoded message, but it sounds way too poetic for the likes of that white-haired brat. What in the world could he have gotten this young lady involved with?

Li Lang couldn’t help but reminisce about the scene of Sima Xue infiltrating Spirit Grove and making a mess of his former sect.

Could she be an informant of some sort? No, a young lady of some prestigious family shouldn’t be. Then what?