Volume 1, Chapter 17: Arrangements

As the group stumbled out of Fen Yin Ze, the sky had already begun to lighten with the first hints of dawn.

Xin Tian Huaying, draped in a black cloak, stifled a yawn and wrapped her arm around Qing Yue's. She cast a cold glance at the four Xin Tian brothers, then wearily rested her head on Qing Yue's shoulder. "Sister Qing Yue, just come back to the mansion with me. Stay at my place. Don't worry about anything else."

Hun Tianhou stood with his hands behind his back, smiling as he watched Xin Tian Huaying. His eyes briefly flicked to Qing Yue before he casually glanced at Xiahou, his smile growing even wider. Xin Tian Xuan Zhi frowned, exchanging a helpless look with Xin Tian Dafeng, both annoyed and resigned. Their irritation only made Hun Tianhou's smile brighter, contrasting sharply with the pale, ashen face of Hei Mingsen, who was seeing them off.

At the bottom of the steps, a man in a red robe with a sharp face quickly approached Hun Tianhou, whispering a few words in his ear. Hun Tianhou's expression changed slightly, and he casually waved at Hei Mingsen. "Hei Ming, no need to see us off. We're all friends here, no need for such formality." He glanced at Xin Tian Huaying, then leaned close to her ear and whispered. Her face changed instantly, and she hurriedly pulled Qing Yue along, following Hun Tianhou into a large four-wheeled carriage, which drove away under the escort of dozens of red-robed guards.

Xin Tian Pan touched his nose and grumbled, "Huaying really is our good sister. When something happens, she runs faster than anyone."

Xin Tian Aolong, even more annoyed, shouted, "It's one thing normally, but this time she let Brother Chihu take the hit for that Qing Yue girl. What sense does that make?"

Xin Tian Dafeng sighed helplessly, "But what can we, as her brothers, do? Punish her? Even if we all teamed up, we'd still end up getting taught a lesson by her."

Xin Tian Xuan Zhi sneered and glared at Hei Mingsen. "Hei Ming, we're old friends, but you need to see this clearly. The Ninth Prince used our Brother Chihu to take the blame and avoid the King's wrath!"

A smile broke out on Hei Mingsen's face, and he straightened his usually hunched back, resembling an icy pillar emerging in a frozen wasteland. With a frosty smile, he said, "Fine, I'll accept it this time. Ten pieces of original jade became ten jade coins—fair enough. And I got Qing Yue without spending a penny."

He pulled a pink handkerchief from his sleeve and wiped his face, appearing quite proud. He lifted his chin and smiled smugly, "Who knew Qing Yue was friends with your family's devil? And she even got the Ninth Prince to cause trouble. This time, it's the Thirteenth Prince who suffers. What's it got to do with us?" He looked at the Xin Tian brothers with schadenfreude, "Just make sure the King doesn't think you're in cahoots with the Ninth Prince."

With a smug flick of his sleeve, Hei Mingsen walked away, surrounded by a group of beautiful women.

Seeing the darkening faces of Xin Tian Dafeng and Xin Tian Xuan Zhi, both brothers cursed under their breath, "That troublesome girl, always causing issues at home. Does she think she's the center of the universe?"

Xiahou realized the intricacies of the situation and shook his head in amazement. Clearly, the King intended to completely humiliate and ruin Qing Yue's family. Qing Yue was friends with Xin Tian Huaying, who then enlisted Hun Tianhou's help to buy Qing Yue at a low price, creating the appearance of generosity by gifting her to Xiahou, who hadn't even touched a hair on Qing Yue's head!

Xin Tian Huaying and Hun Tianhou's interference not only made Li Tianhou resent Xiahou, but also displeased the King. If the King was truly cruel enough to send Qing Yue to a brothel for humiliation, the ideal outcome for him would have been Li Tianhou torturing Qing Yue to death. Instead, it appeared that Xiahou had thwarted that plan, likely angering some powerful figures.

Xiahou was furious. He realized he had been used as a pawn. The biggest beneficiary was Qing Yue, who escaped Fen Yin Ze with ten jade coins and went to live comfortably with her friend Xin Tian Huaying. Xin Tian Huaying had saved her friend and earned a good reputation among her circle. Hun Tianhou had displayed his power, embarrassed the Thirteenth Prince, pleased Xin Tian Huaying, and appeared generous to outsiders by 'gifting' Qing Yue to Xiahou.

"Damn it!" Xiahou cursed internally, feeling humiliated. He stared at the dark sky, mentally berating himself for not having studied interpersonal psychology or gaining bureaucratic experience beforehand. He recalled his failing grades in psychology and social skills during special training.

Seeing Xiahou's frustrated expression, Xin Tian Dafeng patted his shoulder hard. "Brother, it's our sister's fault. She planned this, waiting until Qing Yue was sent to Li Tianhou before you got involved. Then she stepped in."

Xin Tian Xuan Zhi sneered, "Don't worry about Li Tianhou. He may be useless, but he knows better than to mess with the Xin Tian family. If he dares, he'll face consequences."

Despite the tough talk, the group felt humiliated. They had been played by Xin Tian Huaying and Hun Tianhou, left feeling like fools. The Xin Tian brothers, known for their pride, were infuriated at being used without any way to vent their anger. None of them wanted to ride their horses, so they sulked and aimlessly wandered the gradually brightening streets.

After a few steps, Xin Tian Xuan Zhi asked Xin Tian Dafeng, "Have you done your palace duty this month?"

Xin Tian Dafeng shrugged, looking annoyed. "Don't remind me. So many beautiful women in the palace, but we can't touch them. Isn't that just teasing?"

Xin Tian Xuan Zhi replied nonchalantly, "I went to Beiming Great Sky Mountain to find some dragon fruits for our great-grandfather. On the way back, I fought a group of sea people, killed over a hundred of them. Not as impressive as your trip to Yunmeng Ze for tyrannosaur skin armor, but not bad."

Xin Tian Dafeng and Xiahou exchanged smiles. Xin Tian Dafeng burst into laughter, "Ha! Not just impressive, but finding Brother Chihu was—uh, uh, uh."

His laughter abruptly stopped, nearly choking him. Xin Tian Xuan Zhi, Xin Tian Aolong, and Xin Tian Pan also froze, their faces stiffening like mice spotting a cat. They even breathed quietly, stepping lightly.

Curious, Xiahou looked around and saw, opposite Fen Yin Ze, a small, shriveled old man with messy, blood-red hair, carrying a long cloth bag. The old man's face was wrinkled like a dried orange peel, his eyes bloodshot and lifeless, resembling a dying consumptive.

Behind the old man were eight men in black clothes. Despite their rough appearance, they were strong and disciplined, moving in unison. Their synchronized steps and aura of intense killing intent revealed them as hardened soldiers, much like Xiahou's past self.

Xin Tian Dafeng coughed dryly, saluting the old man from a distance. He pounded his fist against his chest and stammered, "Great-Uncle, what brings you here?"

Xin Tian Xuan Zhi quickly added, "Grandfather, I heard you went overseas to find phoenix wood. How did you return so soon?" Xin Tian Pan and Xin Tian Aolong remained silent.

The old man weakly opened his eyes, scrutinizing Xiahou for a long time before smiling faintly. "Found the phoenix wood, brought it back for the master craftsmen to examine. Once refined with sorcery, it'll make a fine instrument."

Xin Tian Dafeng laughed, "Great-Uncle, why not bring Miss Wen back to the mansion? Why always come here with gifts?"

The old man looked at Xin Tian Dafeng in surprise, then coldly snorted, "Just because I eat a hundred pounds of meat daily, doesn't mean I keep livestock in my room."

Xiahou was stunned. What kind of analogy was that? He watched as the old man's words left the Xin Tian brothers speechless, making his way over to Xiahou. The drunken Bai, who had been trailing behind, suddenly let out a shriek, baring sharp white teeth as he protectively stood in front of Xiahou.

The old man smiled faintly and nodded at Xiahou. "Well, well, a Pixiu, and nearly fully grown. Marvelous, absolutely marvelous. I heard you won three matches last night?"

Xiahou nodded, pulling Bai behind him and respectfully bowed. "Your news is well-informed, elder. Indeed, I was fortunate enough to win three matches."

The old man chuckled, a sharp glint in his eyes as he met Xiahou's gaze. Xiahou felt a sharp pain, as if needles were pricking his eyes, and he quickly looked away. The old man nodded in satisfaction, saying, "I may not be very well-informed, but when something happens right next door, I'd have to be a fool not to know. Tightening the cloth bag under his arm, he added, "Elder? Fortunate? You speak interestingly, much more reasonably than those bookish scholars."

Turning sharply, he glared at the Xin Tian brothers. "Youthful arrogance is one thing, but look at yourselves! Do you have the right to be arrogant? If not for Chihu's Baolong siding with you, how many matches would you have lost in An Yi city? If you hadn't won three matches against Xiangliu's effeminate cronies last night, I would have sent you all to the mines in the east! Useless bunch."

Xiahou was taken aback, thinking, "He claims he's not well-informed? He even knows my name!" He observed the short old man, wondering, "Why is this old man so violent? Do grandfathers usually scold their grandsons in public?"

The old man continued, "You have three months to train Chihu Baolong into a top fighter. Crush those underlings of Xiangliu Rou and Shen Gong Kun! Back in my day, when Xin Tian Thirteen ruled An Yi, did the four great families, twenty-five marquises, three hundred seventy dukes, and thousands of officials' children not beg for mercy with broken legs?"

His red hair stood on end as he shouted, "Look at you now, bullied by Xiangliu's brats! If you don't suppress them, I'll lead the Wild Bear Army myself to settle the score!"

Xiahou clearly saw the cold sweat pouring from the foreheads of Xin Tian Dafeng, Xin Tian Xuan Zhi, Xin Tian Pan, and Xin Tian Aolong. The old man ranted, "Fight! Ignore the nonsense about not using force in An Yi. If your allies can't defeat Xiangliu Rou's lackeys, break their legs, snap their necks, and smash their gates!"

As he raged, the old man's muscles bulged, and his body grew two feet taller. His eyes emitted blood-red beams of light, forcing the Xin Tian brothers to retreat in fear.

Eight soldiers rushed forward, wrestling the old man back, laughing, "Marquis, why get angry with the young ones? Xiangliu Rou and his kind aren't worth your effort. Calm down, they'll break their legs for sure."

One soldier shouted, "Miss Wen, prepare tea! The marquis needs to cool down. Hurry with the guqin and calm him down."

The eight soldiers, muscles bulging, dragged the old man back into the dark house. Only then did the Xin Tian brothers breathe a sigh of relief, wiping their foreheads. Xin Tian Xuan Zhi muttered angrily, "That Hun Tianhou and Huaying knew Grandfather was here and still left us to deal with him. We'll settle this later."

Xiahou blinked rapidly, struggling to understand the situation. An Yi city seemed stranger by the moment. An old man, known as Xin Tian Thirteen, loudly ordered his grandsons to break another official's legs in public, his voice echoing for hundreds of meters. How could no one care?

Bai scratched Xiahou's backside, making him turn to see Xiangliu Rou, who had harassed him the previous day, trembling as he watched from a distance. Upon noticing Xiahou's gaze, Xiangliu Rou quickly regained his composure, shouting, "Xin Tian Dafeng, I'm not afraid of you! Don't think bringing elders to fight will save your reputation!"

Despite his bravado, Xiangliu Rou quickly glanced at the house where Xin Tian Thirteen had entered, then hurriedly mounted his horse and sped away with his followers.

Xin Tian Dafeng sighed, looking at Xiahou apologetically. "Brother Chihu, please excuse us. Our great-uncle's temper is... difficult."

Xin Tian Xuan Zhi wiped his sweat, saying calmly, "Enough, let's not discuss it. Fortunately, the King is recruiting new soldiers. Brother Chihu, train for three months, then join our family's army. It'll be easier to act against Xiangliu and Shen Gong later. We don't want trouble with the King thinking you're just a common noble."

Xin Tian Pan hesitated, "But Hun Tianhou invited Brother Chihu to his mansion to spar with Eastern Yi swordsmen."

Xin Tian Dafeng waved impatiently, "Postpone it! We can't provoke our old man. Do you want him leading troops to flatten the Xiangliu house? He'd really do it!"

Xin Tian Xuan Zhi nodded, "Exactly. Three months in the new army, earn some merits, get a high military rank. Then you'll have an official reason to deal with Xiangliu and Shen Gong. It's safer."

Before Xiahou could object, the Xin Tian brothers had decided his fate. The next day, he'd join the army, while Bai stayed at the Xin Tian mansion. During training, Xiahou would study military tactics and practice an advanced sorcery technique chosen by Xin Tian Dafeng.

Xiahou sensed there was more to their haste in sending him to the army, aside from Xin Tian Thirteen's appearance. They likely wanted to avoid entangling him with Qing Yue, protecting him. Plus, it seemed the Xin Tian family had lost many officers in clashes with Xiangliu's forces, needing new blood.

Sighing deeply, Xiahou felt overwhelmed by the rapid changes. He had swiftly become an ally of the Xin Tian family, visited the finest brothel, fought a brawl, offended a prince, and now was about to join the army.

Only Bai seemed unaffected by it all. Watching Bai doze on Hei Yan's back, Xiahou couldn't help but smile genuinely.