Han Anbo slipped the Night Guard a few pieces of broken silver, then returned and said, "Ye Han used your invitation to trick Disciplinary Officer Songg. He claimed he was going to your house, but in reality, he met up with Wei Yong and that Tang Enxuan."
Li Qingxian smiled. "They must be bringing me a grand gift."
The three of them boarded the carriage. Li Qingxian appeared to be resting with his eyes closed, but he was actually running through his plan and the excuses he had prepared, ironing out any potential flaws and preparing for every contingency.
The carriage stopped.
The clamor from outside, mingled with the scent of cooking fumes and sizzling dishes, drifted into the carriage.
The other two men looked at Li Qingxian.
Li Qingxian opened his eyes. "Uncle Xiaozhou, who is protecting my family?"
Zhou Henn was silent for a moment. "The other day, I went to your house and noticed there were lookouts posted nearby, so I investigated. The person recognized me and revealed their identity, but I can’t tell you who it is. All I can say is, he’s protecting your family."
"Because of my father?"
"Yes," Zhou Henn said.
"Come on, let’s get out." Li Qingxian lifted the carriage curtain and stepped down.
The setting sun slanted low, streaking the clouds with gold.
The main gate of the Li Mansion was freshly painted a brilliant red, its bronze knockers gleaming. The green moss between the steps had been swept away completely.
The main gate stood wide open, festively decorated with lanterns and streamers. A string of large red lanterns stretched across the walls of both houses.
Two green-robed Night Guards from the Street Patrol Room stood guard at the entrance.
"Lord Li! Lord Zhou!" the two Night Guards hurriedly greeted them with a salute.
Li Qingxian smiled. "Thank you for your hard work, brothers."
"It’s our duty, our duty."
Smiling, Han Anbo took a couple of red envelopes from his cloth pouch and handed them to the two Night Guards.
The two Night Guards accepted them with a smile. "We wish the young birthday boy great fortune and a swift rise through the ranks."
Li Qingxian suddenly remembered and said in a low voice, "Good thing you’re here, Brother Han. I completely forgot."
"It’s a trivial matter."
Li Qingxian glanced at the sky. The banquet was scheduled to start at 7:00 PM. It was a little after six now, and the courtyard of the Li Mansion was already half full.
A table was set up just inside the gate, with red silk gift boxes piled up beside it. An Old Night Guard sat there, brush in hand, recording the presents.
Li Qingxian stepped inside.
"Qingxian is back?" Hex Lei, the Room Leader of the Street Patrol Room, hurried over to greet him.
Everyone in the Li courtyard rose to their feet, their expressions varied.
The news that Li Qingxian had been forced to deliver an urgent military dispatch overnight had already spread throughout the Night Guard Office.
Li Qingxian clasped his hands in a salute to the crowd and said with a smile, "Thank you, everyone! We’re all friends here, so I’ll dispense with the pleasantries. More guests will be arriving shortly, and I need to get things ready."
"Go on and do what you need to. Don’t worry about us!" the guests called out.
Li Qingxian’s gaze swept over the crowd. Most were familiar faces from the Night Guard and the local tavern. Only at a table in the northeast corner sat a few of his father’s old friends and acquaintances. They were dressed in plain clothes, making it impossible to discern their Grade Level.
A man from the Capital City Li Family—a steward Li Qingxian recognized—was seated there.
Their gazes met, and they nodded lightly.
Hex Lei picked up the gift ledger from the table and whispered, "Some people just dropped off their gifts and left. Probably old friends of your father’s. Some of the gifts are quite substantial; I suppose they were truly too busy to stay."
"I understand. I’ll have to trouble you with things here then, Brother Hex. I’m going to check on things next door," Li Qingxian said.
"Wait. A man named Wang Buku asked me to give you a book. He said it was an important Life Book, so I didn’t even dare to open it." Hex Lei retrieved a black-lacquered wooden box from the table.
Puzzled, Li Qingxian took the wooden box and opened it. Inside, an object was wrapped in silk.
He lifted the silk to reveal a yellowed book. On its cover were two lines of text.
*Miscellaneous Records of Fate Skill.*
*Xu Yuanhai.*
Li Qingxian’s eyes widened.
It was a work by the Great Fate Master Xu Yuanhai.
Hex Lei lowered his voice again. "Wang Buku said he knows Ye Han has wronged you. But since he’s Ye Han’s friend, he doesn’t expect anything from you. Consider this book an apology on Ye Han’s behalf. The man is tactful; he didn’t ask you to forgive Ye Han."
Li Qingxian placed the *Miscellaneous Records of Fate Skill* into his Qiankun Bracelet and sighed. "I remember him. Even though he’s Ye Han’s friend, he only asked me a few questions and never gave me any trouble. He seems like a decent person, someone worth knowing."
"I asked around about him later. Turns out he’s from the Duke Rong Mansion. As for his character, it’s impeccable." As Hex Lei spoke, he gave a thumbs-up.
"Thank you, Brother Hex. I’m going to head next door."
As Li Qingxian stepped out of the Li Mansion’s gate, he saw two teenagers emerge from his aunt’s house next door.
One was burly and dressed in coarse brown cloth. Though only sixteen or seventeen, he had a full, bushy beard, and his head looked comically small on his large frame.
The other, also about sixteen or seventeen, was dressed in a Brocade Robe. With his fair complexion, red lips, white teeth, and a constant smile, he looked like a pampered young scholar.
"Qingxian!" Their eyes lit up, and they walked straight toward him.
The one in coarse cloth gave an honest smile. The youth in the Brocade Robe rushed over, eyes fixed on the black wolf’s head patch on Li Qingxian’s chest. He laughed, "Who’d have thought the craftiest little slacker on the street would one day be wearing a black wolf patch? Look at you, a Ninth-Grade Lord now! This birthday banquet doesn’t count. You’d better invite me to your promotion feast."
Li Qingxian pointed at the youth in the Brocade Robe and introduced them to Han Anbo and Zhou Henn. "These two are my childhood friends. This kid here is Yang Lingyou, nicknamed ’Little Slicker.’ His family owns an apothecary. A proper young master who helped me out more than a few times when I was a kid."
He then pointed to the plainly dressed youth. "This is Wu Dazhuang. He’s built like a bull but has a baby face. He has a bad habit of bursting into laughter during fights, so he uses the beard to hide it."
Li Qingxian then introduced Han Anbo and Zhou Henn to his two friends.
Han Anbo smiled. "Yang Lingyou, your father is Yang Guangbai, right?"
"You know him?"
"I knew him years ago. We lost touch," Han Anbo said.
Li Qingxian said, "Your timing is perfect. Hurry home and get me your best loquat syrup. It’s urgent."
"The best?"
"The best," Li Qingxian said.
"Done! Dazhuang, you go buy the candles yourself. I’m heading home to get it now." Yang Lingyou hurried away.
Li Qingxian said, "I have candles here, no need to buy them. Let’s go inside."
Li Qingxian entered the Chen Family’s courtyard, where two large woks had been set up on temporary brick stoves.
Cooks and their assistants were stir-frying and chopping, while familiar neighbors helped plate the food and lend a hand wherever needed. The scene was one of bustling chaos.
"Brother!" Chen Yuanpeng yelled.
Li Qingxian looked over. Chen Yuanpeng was standing by the chicken coop. A line had been drawn in the dirt, creating a small enclosure. Inside, Chen Yuanpeng, two other young boys, and a young girl were sitting, penned in. They stared out at the festivities, drool and snot running down their faces in their eagerness.
Li Qingxian called out, "Be good and stay put! I’ll get you all some tasty food later!"
"Okay!" Chen Yuanpeng grinned, then turned to the other three children and pointed at Li Qingxian. "See that? That’s my big brother! He’s a Fate Master and a big shot in the Night Guard. He can magic up candied haws in the middle of summer! How awesome is that?"
The three children stared at the Brocade Robe and the wolf’s head patch on Li Qingxian’s chest and nodded vigorously.
Li Qingxian went inside the house and spoke briefly with his aunt, uncle, and his cousin Chen Xiang. All was well.
Li Qingxian offered to help, but his aunt shooed him back next door.
After dropping off the candles and saying a few more words to Dazhuang, Li Qingxian left the Chen residence. Just as he was about to enter the Li Family gate, he caught sight of a procession of carriages approaching.
Li Qingxian stopped in his tracks and looked over.
A round iron plaque hung from the front of the lead carriage, engraved with a stylized character for "Yuan."
"They’re here," Han Anbo said.
"Let’s go inside and wait for them."
Li Qingxian shot the carriage a glance, then entered the Li Mansion once more.
The Li Mansion’s courtyard had been cleared to make way for six large, yellow-wood tables, which were already laden with an assortment of cold appetizers, snacks, and fruit.
Li Qingxian first walked over to the table in the northeast corner to exchange polite small talk.
Unlike the boisterous Night Guards, these men were cultured and refined. Their speech was elegant, and their conversation was tactfully restrained.
As they were chatting, the courtyard suddenly fell silent. A group of people walked in through the gate.
The man in the lead wore a Brocade Robe and a silver coronet. He was handsome, with an imposing and dignified air. Head held high, he surveyed the courtyard, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Ye Han and Wei Yong followed close behind him. When several sturdy Martial Artists tried to follow them in, Zhou Henn extended an arm to block their path.
Tang Enxuan snapped open a paper fan decorated with a peacock in full display. Fanning himself gently, he sauntered inside.