Chapter 293

Chapter 293: The Eerie Manor of Deep Fortune

Li Rou had grown up in a farm family and had worked hard all her life. Later she was sold to Yu Manor as a rough maid, with no freedom. Only after following Yu Zhi Yi did she get the chance to see the outside world. Even then, it was only the world around Yu Zhi Yi. She had never seen the affairs of the martial world and had always longed to.

The heir apparent of Marquis Wu’an and the others were men, yet they also had no chance to deal with people of the martial world and had never seen such a grand martial event. Learning they could come along to gain experience, they traded looks in pairs and saw the same excitement in each other’s eyes. However they had felt when they left the capital, they had now fully adapted to this mission. They even felt truly lucky to have this chance. The knowledge they had gained along the road could never be matched by dull patrols in the capital.

Li Rou’s gaze met the heir apparent’s in the air. They both froze and then quickly looked away.

The Grand Horse Racing Meet started in the afternoon, so the group set out without even eating lunch. Yu Zhi Yi still chose to ride in a carriage. It was not that she could not ride; it was that Li Rou could not.

The meet was hosted at Juxian Manor, dozens of li away. Juxian Manor had a huge race ground, and the horses there were all strong and well-fed. Competitors could ride their own horses into the arena or borrow horses from Juxian Manor. But most people of the martial world rode their own horses. For them, besides weapons and martial manuals, the most important thing was the horse they traveled on. Anyone who could afford a horse bought the best.

Juxian Manor also sat on a mountain, though not as high as the martial alliance. Looking at the lively manor ahead, Yu Zhi Yi suddenly understood why some people wanted to “occupy a mountain and be king.” The Great Sheng Empire had many untapped high mountains. If a force hid deep in them, anyone unfamiliar with the terrain would have trouble finding them. Life there was free and easy, without the rules of the imperial court.

Unlike the martial alliance’s Heaven-Climbing Steps, Juxian Manor had steps that rose from the foot of the mountain but were very gentle, without a dangerous feel. There was also a road for carriages that wound up the mountain.

They followed the mountain road up. Jiang Liu Yun, ever attentive, set out the footstool.

After stepping down, Yu Zhi Yi habitually scanned the area and raised her brows.

Caring deeply about his sister’s mood, the sister-obsessed Jiang Liu Yun asked at once: “Sister, what is it?”

Yu Zhi Yi said with quiet wonder: “The spiritual energy here is so dense. The fortune here is very deep.”

Compared with the martial alliance, this looked more like where the rightful leader of the righteous path of the martial world should live. As for the martial alliance on Mount Ming, the heavy, dark qi there left Yu Zhi Yi with too many complaints to count.

“Spiritual energy?” Jiang Liu Yun looked around and scratched his head, then said: “I can’t see anything.”

“It’s normal that ordinary people can’t see it,” Yu Zhi Yi said: “Even if your eyes can’t see it, your body can feel a comfort that seems to come from the soul…”

Her words trailed off as she frowned. She did not feel the comfort of being nourished by spiritual energy and fortune. Instead, she felt a faint discomfort, a rejection rising from deep inside her soul. She quickly made a finger-count divination, but because it was about herself, she could not read the cause.

“Sister, what happened?”

Yu Zhi Yi said with a knit brow: “Something I can’t figure out.”

She looked up and froze. Jiang Liu Yun was of the Jiang Clan, so the heavy baleful qi of Mount Ming had affected him. But ever since he wore her defensive jade pendant, that thick deathly qi had faded away. With the pendant, unless he faced a rain of arrows through the heart, even falling off a cliff would not kill him. She was sure his face looked normal before they got out of the carriage. Yet in this short time, the deathly qi had returned.

Being stared at made Jiang Liu Yun uneasy, and he asked: “Sister, what is it? Am I going to have an accident later?”

Then he muttered: “Now that you mention it, maybe because I listened to you, I do feel kind of creeped out…”

Yu Zhi Yi did not lie and said: “Your face shows trouble ahead. With the defensive jade pendant, it is not a big problem. At most you will get hurt.”

Jiang Liu Yun thought: [That is still a big problem!] What scared him more was this: he was wearing a defensive jade pendant that could block twelve fatal blows. Did that mean he would face twelve fatal blows today? [That’s absurd.]

To be honest, if anyone but his beloved sister had said this, he would have cursed them as a fraud. But because he knew her skills, he was anxious and asked: “Sister, what should I do? Do we need to set up an altar and perform a ritual?”

Yu Zhi Yi gave a small laugh and said: “It’s not a big problem,” then handed him another defensive jade pendant.

Jiang Liu Yun took the jade, and the deathly qi on his face vanished at once.

“Sister, were you waiting for me?”

The sudden voice made Jiang Liu Yun roll his eyes hard. Jiang Liu Bin ignored his resentful brother, squeezed between them, and said to Yu Zhi Yi with a grin: “Sister, you must be here to watch me compete. Don’t worry. I will take first place and win the Featherflight Bow for you!”

Jiang Liu Yun’s eye roll almost reached the sky as he said coldly: “If my sister wants the Featherflight Bow, I will win it for her. Who are you to boast here?”

Jiang Liu Bin bristled and said: “I admit your lightness skill is good, but on horseback you’re just a rookie.”

Jiang Liu Yun snorted and said: “Save the big talk for after you win.”

As he spoke, he shook the defensive jade pendant in his hand on purpose, then hung it at his waist. Wearing two jade pendants looked strange, but they were gifts from his sister. It was peak prestige, and who cared what the weirdos might think?

Jiang Liu Bin thought: [Sister will give me a defensive jade pendant soon too.]

Watching the exchange, Chen Xin Yue clenched her fists. She felt these two foolish brothers were ungrateful wolves, not worth all the years she had treated them well, especially Jiang Liu Yun. She had cared for his mother for so many years, yet he was not grateful at all. Her eyes went cold. If a brother was useless, then he should be abandoned.

Yu Zhi Yi keenly sensed a flash of killing intent. She looked toward its source, but Chen Xin Yue had already tidied her expression and asked with an innocent face: “Sister, what’s wrong?”

Yu Zhi Yi said with meaning: “Nothing. I just have a feeling someone is going to be unlucky soon.”

Chen Xin Yue’s heart jumped. Had this woman seen through something? But Yu Zhi Yi only tossed off the line and then walked toward Juxian Manor. This place seemed to hide a big secret.

The Jiang brothers and the heir apparent of Marquis Wu’an and the others followed her inside. Chen Xin Yue could no longer hide the poison in her eyes. She squeezed the hidden weapon in her hand and thought: [If Mother was right, then as long as that wretch bleeds inside Juxian Manor, she will die today.]