Free Web NovelChapter 703: Chapter 703: Sikong Jian, She’s Beyond Your Grasp
Qin Yao was already elated.
She felt a sense of relief throughout her whole body, just feeling refreshed and invigorated.
With one hand on her hip, she waved with the other, and with great delight, she laughed, "Liu San, let’s go, homeward bound."
She could eat five bowls of rice tonight!
Liu Ji quickly shook off the unconscious State Preceptor who clung to his arm, shaking and trembling, and happily ran towards his wife.
"My breathtakingly beautiful Qin Yao Niang—"
Liu Ji slid and stopped precisely, skillfully kneeling on one knee at her feet, sincerely grasping one of her hands, gazing up at her, and declared with resolute clarity: "From now on, you are my deity!"
Qin Yao: "Hmm?"
With a serious expression, Liu Ji said, "In the days to come, I will worship you, and with your blessing, how could I, Liu Ji, ever worry about the family’s prosperity!"
Qin Yao twitched the corner of her mouth, pressing her forehead speechlessly, and cast an embarrassed look of "apologies" towards Sikong Jian, fiercely pulling her hand back and boarding the carriage.
Liu Ji’s smile remained, utterly ignorant of the word awkwardness, and he quickly rose to sit on the driver’s seat, pulled the reins, "Wifey, sit tight, off we go."
With a flick of the reins, the carriage set off steadily forward, heading toward Kuanzheng Square.
The sky darkened, yet Liu Ji’s mood was extraordinarily bright.
He seemed to have endless energy, proudly narrating to Qin Yao the reactions of the people at the National Master Mansion when she lifted the stone lion.
At the funny bits, he would burst into three loud laughs himself.
Qin Yao: "Can you shut up?"
The miseries and joys of humanity are not the same; she only found it noisy.
"Yes, my dear, certainly, my dear." Liu Ji immediately stopped talking.
He took a deep breath, suddenly looking skyward, shedding two clear tears from his flushed eyes, sighing softly — Damn it, once again moved by this formidable woman today!
Although Qin Yao had firmly told Liu Ji that she moved the stone lion merely to scratch an itch and not to show Sikong Jian a lesson.
But! Liu Ji clutched his chest, he understood, he understood it all, it was just a tough facade.
She truly cared for him.
"Wifey, shall I heat water for your bath tonight?" Liu Ji cautiously asked.
Don’t let his mischievous behavior fool you; that was all in the past.
He knew gratitude and recompense; today his wife made a big scene for him, even refusing to be low-profile, he felt he should do something to repay her.
Inside the carriage, Qin Yao closed her eyes, tired, speaking in a tone neither pleased nor angry, "That’s unnecessary!"
Liu Ji: "Alright then."
He would find another chance, to offer himself!
...
The sound of wheels gradually faded away.
That carriage disappeared into an alley, vanishing from sight, and Sikong Jian withdrew his gaze, finally waking up from that surreal trance.
The more awake he became, the more those two stone lions at the gate, already shifted, seemed fiercely imposing, like mighty heavenly deities overlooking him.
Perhaps due to the chill wind, Sikong Jian shivered involuntarily.
"Sir?" Sun Jiang noticed something was amiss and looked at Sikong Jian with concern.
Though their bodies were present, they seemed dazed; as martial artists, their movements were slow. His hand, which held a knife, took quite a while to sheath it.
"You all disperse." Sikong Jian waved his hand, casting another glance at the two displaced stone lions, then turned back inside the mansion.
The sky was dusky, and a slight drizzle began.
The servants in the mansion lit the lanterns, each red lantern swaying in the wind and rain, its flickering light casting shadows distorted like ghosts.
Sikong Jian looked as if he were soul-lost, not knowing where he intended to go, only replaying the scene of the stone lions moving in his mind over and over.
Wandering, wandering, his steps halted, lifting his eyes to find himself at the gate of Pu Courtyard.
The gate was locked, with two guards on duty at its front.
Since returning to the Capital, Gongliang Liao had not stepped out of this gate.
In recent days, Liu Ji had made several attempts to persuade the teacher outside for a walk, to see that detestable, non-display Golden Peacock, all blocked by the guards.
It was now that the light-hearted master and apprentice had to return to reality.
Exchanging glances, sighing helplessly, turning back, they returned to the small courtyard of Pu Courtyard.
Looking at those identical arrangements to the Lotus Courtyard of Liu Family Village, yet lacking any vitality, yawning continuously from exhaustion.
"Sir." The Pu Courtyard guard saluted Sikong Jian.
Sikong Jian nodded slightly, "Open the door."
The two guards opened the door, with one of them insightfully holding a lantern for the dim courtyard.
"Why aren’t the lights on?" Sikong Jian frowned, questioning.
In the blink of an eye, the sky had become completely dark, rendering everything within the courtyard a hazy gray, obscuring visibility.
Whoever was inside had probably already lain down, as not a speck of light could be seen.
Anzi, who remained inside, heard the commotion and opened the door. Seeing the lantern lit in the guard’s hand at the entrance, his gaze shifted left, unexpectedly meeting Sikong Jian’s somber face, and he quickly approached to make his salutations.
Sikong Jian asked again, "Why aren’t the lights on?"
His grand National Master Mansion, surely wouldn’t skimp on a few candles.
The authority of superiors bore down, Anzi nervously swallowed, promptly responding:
"Sir, it was the teacher’s instructions; he said there’s nothing interesting to see here anyway, so better not to look."
"Hence, after supper, he washed up early and went to bed."
"The teacher has already slept?"
Sikong Jian directed his gaze toward the pitch-black doors and windows, it was merely dark early today because of the rain. Following the usual hour, the sun hadn’t completely set yet.
Anzi nodded, "Yes, just fell asleep."
However, Sikong Jian did not leave, instead, he took large strides inside.
The guard quickly handed the lantern to Anzi, who held it to light his way.
The two arrived outside the room door, Sikong Jian’s hand hesitated for a moment before pushing the door, then resolutely pushed it open with a "bang".
Inside, it was even darker, as if it were the dead of night.
But Sikong Jian could feel, behind the screen, a pair of glaring eyes staring at him with anger.
He ordered Anzi to light the candlesticks in the room, gesturing for him to close the door and exit.
Soon, only Sikong Jian remained quietly in the room.
He glanced at the screen, not approaching, instead sitting at the table, asking:
"Teacher, do you know what Qin Yao’s background is?"
Gongliang Liao initially didn’t want to respond, but upon hearing Qin Yao’s name, he couldn’t help but caution:
"You’d better not have any ideas about her, or you’ll meet a swift demise."
Sikong Jian shook his head lightly, dismissively, "I see Liu Ji living just fine, if someone like him could manage, why can’t I?"
He maintained his integrity, was unmarried, of a noble family, overseeing the fortunes of Sheng Country, lacking nothing, how could he not measure up to Liu Ji, an utterly worthless country bumpkin?
Unexpectedly, there came a scornful laugh from behind the screen, as if mocking his overestimation.
"There are always things in this world people can’t explain, thus called anomalies, strange men act against societal norms and conventions; Sikong Jian, you cannot handle it." Gongliang Liao sneered.
Sikong Jian smiled arrogantly, "I don’t believe it."
"You don’t believe?" Gongliang Liao wheeled out from behind the screen, his sharp eyes fixed on Sikong Jian, "What did you see?"
Previously, he showed no inclination towards Yao Niang, only now did this ridiculous ambition arise.
So, something must have happened earlier, beyond where he could see.
