Chapter 22: Joining the Han Residence
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
“Young master Mo, you’re back. Where is Miss Yan’Er?” Mo Wuji saw Aunt Lu pushing her small cart back as he arrived at the rental apartment that he and Yan’Er shared. Aunt Lu saw Mo Wuji, and was pleasantly surprised. Based on what she had heard, Mo Wuji’s mental state seemed to have improved.
Mo Wuji bowed in respect, “Aunt Lu, thank you for taking care of me and Yan’Er all these years. But now, Yan’Er has been taken from me. I will soon be leaving Rao Zhou too. I’ve returned today to take Yan’Er’s possessions away.”
This was the first time that Mo Wuji saw Aunt Lu. She was a lady, that was rather tanned and appeared to be over thirty years old. Stress had left many marks on her face, and these creases concealed a beautiful face that should have been there as she was in her prime.
Seeing Aunt Lu returning full of fatigue, Mo Wuji suspected that business was bad at the store last night.
“That’s good, that’s good. Even though Yan’Er has matured, she’s still too young and needs someone to look after her…” Aunt Lu stopped herself from saying any more.
All this while, Yan’Er was supposed to need someone to take care of her, but in reality it was her that took care of this Young Master in front of Aunt Lu.
“Go in and tidy up the place, I’ve kept the room just for you all this time,” Aunt Lu hurriedly pushed her cart away after completing her sentence.
Mo Wuji walked into a storeroom which did not even have a lock and was only secured by a piece of rope. A pile of dust welcomed him. A few months away from the place and the whole interior was covered with dust.
Mo Wuji had only stayed here for two nights ever before. Back then, he had one bed and one decent carpet, but on Yan’Er’s side it was much shabbier. Other than a few neat piles of old and tattered clothes, there was nothing else. This meant that Yan’Er did not even have a rug to sleep on at night.
In his heart, Mo Wuji felt a tinge of regret. Being able to meet a girl like Yan’Er would have used up all of the good karma he had accumulated. Especially after he had been backstabbed, Mo Wuji knew how rare girls like Yan’Er were. He carefully dusted Yan’Er’s last few pieces of clothing before placing them into his bag. It was then he saw a hairpin at the bottom of the pile.
This was a hairpin that Mo Wuji had no recollection of Yan’Er ever wearing, and even though the hairpin was only a plain metal one, it looked to be Yan’Er’s most precious piece of jewellery.
Mo Wuji wrapped up the hairpin, walking over to the mirror which had many scratches on it. This was Yan’Er’s only makeup accessory. Perhaps this mirror was what Yan’Er used to dress up for him.
With a final sigh, Mo Wuji kept the mirror into his bag too.
Looking through this small storeroom one last time, Mo Wuji then walked out.
“Young Master Mo, since Yan’Er is not around, why don’t you join me for a meal?” Outside the storeroom, Mo Wuji saw Aunt Lu with a scarf wrapped around her neck.
Mo Wuji bowed to Aunt Lu again respectfully, took out a cloth bag and passed it to Aunt Lu while saying, “Aunt Lu, I will be leaving Rao Zhou soon. This cloth bag contains a present from Yan’Er and myself. From now on please don’t go to set up your stall. If it’s possible, could you continue to preserve the storehouse that Yan’Er and I lived in? I’m leaving now, take care Aunt Lu.”
After finishing what he had to say, Mo Wuji did not stay any longer, turning around and leaving swiftly. Aunt Lu did not protect Yan’Er and him in any special way, but provided them with a place to stay, and casually gave them half a bowl of rice. That little bit of rice meant the world to Mo Wuji and Yan’Er, and they were very grateful for it.
A hundred gold coins would have been sufficient for a normal family to get by, and he was afraid that giving her too much would bring about a sense of unease.
Only when Mo Wuji disappeared from sight did Aunt Lu remember that she was holding a small cloth bag in her hand. She opened the bag, and the glint and sparkle of gold almost made her scream out in shock. She knew what was going on immediately: Yan’Er and Young Master Mo met a generous benefactor. She hurriedly ran back, unable to keep her heart rate under control.
…
An hour later, Mo Wuji stood before a large residence.
“Han Residence” Two large ancient words told Mo Wuji that this was the place that he would be living in for the next few months: Prefecture Duke Old Han Chengan’s own residence.
From his rough estimates, the Han Residence occupied at least over ten thousand square meters.
In this busy Rao Zhou City Center, how much would such a large residence cost? Who knew how much this cost compared to the old Mo Prefecture Lord Residence was in Northern Qin? Unfortunately Mo Wuji did not even have a vague idea of anything in Northern Qin.
“Hey, you little kid, what are you trying to do, loitering in front of the Prefecture Duke’s Residence? Scram!” The guards in front of the Prefecture Duke’s Residence unhappily shouted at Mo Wuji just as he was sighing.
Mo Wuji frantically went up and greeted them, “My two brothers, I am Mo Wuji…”
“You are Mo Wuji? The one that the Old Prefecture Duke personally invited to the residence yesterday?” exclaimed the guard that was just shouting at Mo Wuji, directly interrupting Mo Wuji.
Following which, he muttered to himself, “He doesn’t look special in any way to me.”
Mo Wuji laughed, “Yes that’s me.”
The guard’s love for gossip was immediately ignited, and he carefully pulled Mo Wuji to one side, asking ,”I heard that you are even a Drug Refiner. Ah yes, why did you leave the position of Prefecture Lord to come to the Han Residence as a worker?”
Mo Wuji then greeted the Han Residence with an imaginary greeting, and said, “Brother, it is inappropriate for you to ask such a question. My admiration towards prefecture Duke Old Han is endless, how could a simple position of Prefecture Lord compare to being a worker at the Han Residence? In other words, If I let you choose between being a guard at the Han Residence and being a Prefecture Lord, which one would you choose?”
“Ah…” This guard was not able to answer at that moment. Wasn’t it obvious to choose to be Prefecture Lord? But no matter how he packaged these words, once news spread about what he said, wouldn’t that be telling others that he had no sense of belonging towards the Han Residence?
“Hehe, I am not that unsupportive of the Old Prefecture Duke, naturally I’ll choose being the guard for the Han Residence.” The guard rubbed his hand and joined in the laughter.
Mo Wuji pat the guard’s shoulders, “Hasn’t this issue come to a close now? For such simple questions that you had the answers to, you still dared to ask me those questions again? You’re intentionally giving me extra work.”
“No, no,” The guard quickly said.
Mo Wuji chuckled, “I’m just kidding. I still have to rely on you to bring me in to report my arrival.”
The guard’s chest went ‘badump badump’, “Brother Mo, just leave this to me. In the future you will be the friend of myself, Ding Bu’Er. Please come with me.”
After speaking his piece, Ding Bu’Er waved and greeted a few other guards, taking the initiative to bring Mo Wuji for reporting. Even though Mo Wuji did not know any martial arts, he was assigned to the Han Residence’s protection department, becoming a Defender of the Residence.
Ding Bu’Er, Mo Wuji subconsciously thought of Ding Bu’San and Ding Bu’Si [1] after hearing this name. This guy looked a little perverted, but he had a good look in his eye and spoke with sincerity, which made Mo Wuji have a good impression of him.
Ding Bu’Er seemed like he was trying to tell everyone that Mo Wuji was under his wing, bringing Mo Wuji around different parts of the Residence, introducing him to everyone.
However Mo Wuji could see that Ding Bu’Er’s position was not a high ranking one. Out of all of the workers and guards, only a few even bothered about what Ding Bu’Er was doing, which was because no one wanted to stand out and embarrass him. Even at the courtyard he was guarding, not many people greeted him at all. He had not even seen the chairman of the new department before.
No matter what, the Han Residence’s treatment of Mo Wuji was still considered to be acceptable. Even for a new worker like Mo Wuji, he had a single room to himself.
“Bu’Er, Prefecture Duke Old Han mentioned that there is a Spring Immortal’s Gate Conference in three months’ time, will the members of the Han Residence need to participate?” After going round the residence, Mo Wuji still did not see the person who would bring him along to the Empire’s Spring Immortals’ Gate Conference, making him quite impatient.
He did not come here simply to be a worker, but to borrow the power of the Han Residence to go to the Xing Han Empire’s capital city. Most importantly, to take a look at the Spring Immortal’s Gate Conference, and take the opportunity to leave Rao Zhou.
[1] Er is two in Chinese, while San is three and Si is four.