Chapter 434: Traveler Returning Home (Three)
Lore City was a First Class City of the Gesun Kingdom, but there were several other First Class Cities, so this city didn’t have much weight to it.
Within Lore City, there was a total of four great powers. The Changyang clan, the Tianling Clan, the Cheng family, and the Yanshi clan. These four powers represented Lore City’s strongest and were all separated within the four cardinal directions of the city. Out of the four of them, the Changyang clan had the grandest history. Going back to when the Gesun Kingdom had been established with the Changyang clan making their home here.
At that time within a fancy and sweet smelling room within the Changyang Manor in Lore City, several people could be seen talking to each other.
Within the room, a white robed woman around the age of thirty could be seen pacing the room restlessly. Despite the restless air around her, she still had an uncommon air that added to her personality and made her look very beautiful still.
“Fourth sister, are you here?” Suddenly, a knock on the door could be heard as a soft sounding voice made an appearance on the other side.
At the knock, the woman pacing inside the room opened the door only to see another beautiful woman around the age of thirty as well.
“Second sister.” Upon seeing the woman on the other side of the door, the woman wearing the white dress greeted the newcomer.
After being welcomed into the room by the white dress wearing woman, the second woman spoke, “Fourth sister, I’ve noticed that you’ve been pacing around frequently these days, has something happened?”
The fourth sister let out a sigh as she gathered her thoughts, “Second sister, I’ve felt restless these past few days. It’s been quite difficult to calm down, but I don’t know what’s causing this feeling.”
The second sister’s eyes lit up in realization as she let out a gentle sigh, “Fourth sister, are you thinking of Xiangtian again?”
At the name, the fourth sister immediately went quiet and tilted her head down in sorrow as tears began to appear in her eyes.
Seeing the state the fourth sister was in, the second sister could only mentally sigh to herself. “Fourth sister, please don’t be too hard on yourself. Xiangtian was a genius that surpassed all others. The Heavens will surely protect him, it won’t be long until he returns.” As she spoke, her voice began to fade away as if she herself was losing confidence in her own words. At the age of fifteen, Changyang Xiangtian had been forced to leave the Changyang Manor in order to escape the wrath of the Hua Yun Sect. It had already been several years since that event, and the clan had sent people to look for him, but they returned without any news of him. It was almost as if Changyang Xiangtian had disappeared into thin air, and no matter how much they tried, nothing could be done. Thus, everyone within the manor had just assumed that Changyang Xiangtian had come across some sort of misfortune.
There was far too many dangers within the Tian Yuan Continent with murder being commonplace. Even if one was in a well-protected city, many ill-mannered mercenaries would often times still kill people. Without even a word, a fight could break out at any moment for any reason. A child that was only fifteen years old would find it hard to survive by himself in such a harsh environment.
The second sister’s words made Bi Yuntian grieve even more. Her eyes began to well up with tears that slowly trailed down her face. Bi Yuntian’s body began to shake uncontrollably as she sobbed, “I have no idea where my Xiang’er is, nor if he will even return.” After so long without any news, Bi Yuntian had been extremely worried about her only child.
The second sister lead Bi Yuntian to her bed and sighed, “Fourth sister, don’t be too hard on yourself. You and I both wish for the same thing. Mingyue’s temper was too much. After her dissatisfaction over her engagement a year ago, she ran away in the middle of the night. Up to even now, I don’t know where that silly daughter of mine has gone. As a single female drifter, I can’t help but feel just as worried.”
“Then there’s eldest sister Ling Long, she must be more brokenhearted than the both of us. Ah Hu had all four of his limbs cut off, making life extremely difficult for him. He can only be a cripple for the rest of his life. That must be unbearable for him. I can only hope that when Ah Hu wakes up, he will not decide to commit suicide.”
……
Outside of Lore City, an azure and violet light could be seen quickly descending toward the ground before disappearing within the forest. After several hours of traveling, Jian Chen finally arrived with both Shen Fang and Sans in Lore City.
Jian Chen slowly walked in between several trees as he looked at the nearby city walls. His expression was quite complex, but that was because right around here was the home of his family.
Although several years had past, Lore City was still the same as it always was. Even the ancient scars from time, and past battles had remained where they were. Outside the city gates, plenty of people could be seen traveling in and out. Perhaps it was because of the war, but there was plenty of men heading into the city. There was only the elderly since all of the able-bodied men had already been recruited for the war effort.
Jian Chen looked at the closeby Lore City for a moment before walking with Shen Fang and Sans to the city gates.
Now that the war was all but over, Jian Chen had been able to enter the city without any obstructions. After leaving Shen Fang and Sans at an inn for the time being, Jian Chen left almost impatiently for the Changyang Manor.
Shortly after that, Jian Chen arrived at the clan’s manor. There wasn’t any noticeable changes to the Changyang Manor from a few years back. The same red wall continued to circle the Changyang Manor with several trees planted around it. Their lush green leaves fell at random intervals, painting a beautiful scene.
Jian Chen walked toward the gates to the manor only to see it shut tight. Neither guards could be seen nor could any sounds could be heard. It was almost as if it was completely quiet in the world.
Jian Chen spread out his omnipresence to cover the insides of the manor so that he could see the scenery inside the manor in his mind.
There were very few people to be seen inside. Only fifty soldiers could be seen scattered about with a decent amount of servants and maids scurrying about. In the past, there had been well over a thousand people always busy within the manor, but now the manor was like a shrine. The elderly man that Jian Chen had never been able to gauge the strength of before came into sight. Now, Jian Chen was finally able to see his strength; he was a Fourth Cycle Earth Saint Master and currently the only one around.
Walking up to the gates, Jian Chen’s hand knocked against the doors with a loud reverberating sound.
Not too long after, the heavy gates began to open as an ordinary looking middle-aged man could be seen. Looking at Jian Chen with suspicion, he spoke, “Youngster, who are you?” Although he could not be considered courteous, his tone still retained some manners.
Jian Chen said nothing and instead pressed against the gates with a little more force. As a result, the heavy doors swung open, revealing the giant courtyards behind it.
“Who are you, what do you want?” The man’s face grew a little accusatory and his voice even attracted the attention of a nearby squadron.
Jian Chen tilted his head up high and spoke to the man, “Do you remember the fourth master of the Changyang Clan, Changyang Xiangtian!” Absolutely no emotion could be detected upon his face.
“What fourth master, what Changyang Xiangtiang! Youngster, you are spewing rubbish! State your name immediately!” The man’s eyes immediately hardened into a terrifying glare. At this moment, the squadron arrived by the gates. There were ten people in total, and aside from three middle-aged men, there was another thirty year old youth.
When those three soldiers heard the name ‘Changyang Xiangtian’, their faces immediately registered shock before quickly running forward. Intensely staring at Jian Chen, one of them spoke with impatience, “Who are you, have you seen the fourth master, Changyang Xiangtian?”
Those three soldiers had been soldiers for the Changyang clan for a decent amount of time. They had once seen Changyang Xiangtian before and had been involved in the search for him. Thus, when they heard the name, they were instantly familiar with the name.
Jian Chen remained silent and looked at the three soldiers that were eyeing him. He didn’t recognize a single one of them, but in truth, with so many soldiers, it was impossible for him to recognize every single one of them.
The three soldiers couldn’t help but intently scrutinize Jian Chen’s face. Then, one of them immediately came to a realization and cried out, “You look exactly like the fourth master… yo-you… you’re the fourth master, Changyang Xiangtian!”
Hearing this, the other two soldiers blanched with shock. Looking closer at Jian Chen, they were able to recognize the familiar characteristics to his face despite the years of aging. This youth in front of him was their fourth master, Changyang Xiangtian.
The man who had opened the gates could only look at Jian Chen skeptically. He hadn’t been at the Changyang Manor for long and had never heard of such a name before.
Jian Chen felt a stab of pain his heart. He had left the manor several years ago and had thought that the entire clan would have forgotten about him. What he didn’t think was that some of the guards would still remember him.