Chapter 47: The Manor

The autumn wind whistled mournfully, and the autumn rain fell with a desolate chill.

Across the Hebei plains in late autumn, even the night breeze was intensely bitter. When bean-sized raindrops lashed down without warning, Zhu Wen instantly felt the cold seep straight into the back of his neck.

The reason for detouring through Hebei was quite simple. To head straight to Pinglu Commandery required crossing directly through Qi Kerang’s Taining Commandery. Since Zhu Wen had recently executed Qi Kerang's deputy commander, Kou Qianzhi, passing through Taining would be nothing less than walking straight into a tiger's den.

Compared to the Henan Circuit, the Hebei region appeared significantly more desolate. Although it was similarly vast flatland, dozens of miles would often pass without a single sign of human habitation. Expanses of farmland that ought to have been ripe for cultivation had degenerated into wilderness choked with tall weeds, where foxes and wolves made their dens.

Though he loathed the corrupt rule of the imperial court to the very core, Zhu Wen had to admit that when it came to squeezing the land dry, there was always someone more ruthless; the garrison lords of the Hehuai warlord factions truly possessed skills beyond compare.

Driven by the downpour, the ground quickly turned muddy, and the mud-guards on either side of the horse's belly were splashed with mottled stains.

Beneath the driving rain, the night grew ever darker. The wind-lamp tied inside the glass shade at the horse’s head flickered uncertainly in the violent gales, threatening to extinguish at any moment.

Zhu Wen hurriedly retrieved a bamboo rain hat from the packhorse to shield his head, then pulled Lan Suting out from behind him, wrapping her tightly within his cloak.

The young girl leaned quietly against his chest, remaining completely silent.

Yet the wind-driven rain still mercilessly hurled droplets against their faces and garments. Some had even frozen into sleet, stinging like fire whenever they struck the skin.

In such bone-chilling rain, let alone humans, even a large beast like a horse would inevitably catch a chill if drenched for too long.

"Achoo," Zhu Wen heard a crisp cough escape the young girl's lips.

Lowering his head to look, he saw her delicate face had already been flushed red by the biting wind.

A girl as slender as her could never withstand being drenched by such a torrential downpour; her frail body simply could not endure it.

He placed his palm against Lan Suting's forehead and found it already burning with fever.

Zhu Wen could not help regretting why he had not prepared a fox-fur cloak, which could block both the cold and the driving rain and snow.

However, he now had to find a place to take shelter from the rain.

Peering through the faint glow of the wind-lamp, he saw nothing but a boundless wilderness all around, not even a single large tree in sight.

Faced with this situation, Zhu Wen was not entirely without recourse.

If worse came to worst, he could find an earthen embankment or even a grave mound, dig a hole in it, and crawl inside with his clothes on. If the hole were dug large enough, they could even make a fire within it. The Great Summer Dragon-Sparrow treasured blade could slice through iron like mud, so he wouldn't need to worry about dulling the blade by digging with it.

However, digging a hole took time, and during that process, they would have to endure the wind and rain.

Zhu Wen's anxiety was by no means groundless worry.

A young girl like Lan Suting, who lacked the strength to truss a chicken and whose physique had not yet fully matured, was exceedingly fragile. Often, a single bout of chills could prove fatal.

A girl who had never even done farm work was hardly suited for such a distant journey.

He had been eager to temper her through trials, which was why he had allowed Lan Suting to accompany him. But if anything were to happen to her, it would not only be a lifelong regret for him, but it would also severely damage his reputation within the camp.

Just as his thoughts were tangling in distress, a dark shadow appeared on the distant horizon, resembling a cluster of courtyard dwellings.

"There seems to be a household ahead. Do you think..." Lan Suting couldn't help sneezing again, trembling as she asked, "Could we ask to stay the night and take shelter from the rain?"

As if understanding human speech, the horse let out a whinny, seeming to echo the young girl's suggestion.

This proposal naturally suited Zhu Wen's wishes entirely. To a wandering knight-errant, whether the host welcomed them was of little consequence. If the host proved inhospitable or even hostile, they only needed to press a blade against the other's throat to make them learn hospitality.

Thus, he immediately spurred his horse toward that cluster of courtyards.

Before long, they arrived in front of the estate, only to find the courtyard walls built with red bricks and azure tiles, presenting a rather grand appearance. He had not expected such a deserted wilderness to harbor such a three-courtyard mansion.

The estate was pitch black, and it was unclear whether anyone was inside.

Zhu Wen dismounted while holding Lan Suting in his arms, struck the heavy courtyard gates fiercely several times with the pommel of his saber, and shouted loudly, "Is the master at home? My younger sister and I seek refuge from the rain and only ask to lodge for the night. If money is required, we shall gladly pay."

After shouting several times, there was still no sign of a response.

Lan Suting softly murmured, "Commander, beneath the eaves of this gate is already enough to shelter from the rain. Why don't we just spend the night here..."

Her almond-shaped eyes, curved like crescent moons, blinked slightly, and her fine, delicate eyelashes fluttered gently, instantly arousing a strong desire to protect her.

"No!" Zhu Wen interrupted decisively. "Look at you, you've already caught a slight chill. The wind under this gate is so strong, and raindrops are still blowing in; how could you possibly endure it? You must go inside the house to rest!"

With that, he wedged the tip of his blade into the door crack and slashed fiercely. The wooden latch was snapped in two after a few ferocious blows, and with a mighty push from Zhu Wen, the heavy gates groaned as they swung open to both sides.

The courtyard remained pitch black, without a single spark of light.

Zhu Wen left the two horses on the stone steps beneath the entrance roof, where water poured in sheets from their coats onto the ground, making them look as though they had just swum across a river.

Holding Lan Suting tightly against his chest, he grasped a glass wind-lamp for illumination in his left hand while holding his saber in his right, and stepped into the courtyard. He thought to himself that although circumstances forced him to act expediently, carrying a weapon and trespassing into private property made him look rather like a murder-and-plunder bandit.

Yet in times of chaos, making people fear you was always better than making them think you were easy to bully.

At worst, after resolving the matter, he could offer an apology and pay some compensation.

The ceremonial gate at the covered walkway stood wide open. Zhu Wen strode through it and entered the main courtyard, only to find the east and west wing-rooms similarly pitch black and eerily silent, devoid of any human voice.

Zhu Wen thought that if the owner was not at home, it would be for the best. Even if there were no charcoal fire inside, he could chop up a piece or two of furniture to make a fire.

After skirting the spirit wall in the main courtyard, they reached the eaves of the main hall. Zhu Wen shouted a few times at the entrance of the main room, but receiving no response, he prepared to kick the door open with force.

Yet at that very moment, Lan Suting's slightly hoarse voice suddenly rang out from his embrace, "Commander, watch out!"

Even a young girl without any foundation in martial arts had sensed the sudden eruption of murderous intent.

The four-paneled main door, made of green sandalwood, swung wide open without a sound, and several lightning-fast, fierce glints hurtled straight toward Zhu Wen's face!

Zhu Wen shoved Lan Suting behind him and swung his saber to parry the incoming glare.

As the blade collided with the fierce glints, he felt them suddenly turn remarkably soft, fluttering lightly with no force behind them.

They were actually strands of silk.

Yet Zhu Wen did not doubt for a moment that if these exceptionally tough threads were pulled taut and swept past at high speed, they would undoubtedly slice open his flesh and skin.

"Could they be accomplices of Yan Jingming?" Lan Suting panted from behind, offering a conjecture.

Zhu Wen had always been the target of envy for his superior talent. After he championed the cause of justice and executed Wang Xianzhi's disciple Yan Jingming, although Wang Xianzhi had claimed he would not pursue the matter, even more people within Wang Xianzhi's army undoubtedly wanted Zhu Wen dead.

However, Lan Suting's conjecture was not the deduction a qualified military strategist should make.

"If this were the doing of the generals in Alliance Master Wang's army, unless they possessed celestial vision, how could they have pre-built such a large mansion along our path and calculated that we would come here to hide from the rain?"

Zhu Wen whispered to Lan Suting.

More threads, however, were already shooting toward him like a weaving shuttle thrown by a celestial maiden. Judging by the sound, the vast majority of them were clearly not operated by human hands; obviously, traps had been laid out at the entrance all along.