Chapter 162 - 112: Inn (2)
The more expensive ones cost a few hundred silver, while the cheapest could be had for just a few dozen.
However, those wouldn’t be quite suitable.
At least, Jiang Ran didn’t think so.
After all, on the surface, this residence wasn’t a gift for Liu Wenshan. Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense for Jiang Ran to be paying for it.
If Jiang Ran were buying property for himself, with his current wealth, he certainly wouldn’t purchase a small house that only cost a few dozen silver.
After much searching, he finally settled on a modest, three-courtyard residence.
The price was three hundred and fifty silver.
The residence wasn’t particularly large; its three-courtyard designation was more a result of its layout.
It wouldn’t feel too spacious for two people living there.
It had a front yard, a central courtyard, and a backyard. With four wing rooms on the sides, plus the side chambers and main room, it could actually house a good number of people.
The more Jiang Ran looked at it, the more he liked the residence. After he discussed it with Liu Wenshan, Liu Wenshan didn’t overthink it and simply nodded in agreement.
It was too late in the day to finalize the purchase, so he agreed with Ye Jingshuang to go and buy the residence first thing the next morning.
Just as the group finalized their plans, they turned to see Li Tianxin walk through the inn’s doors, looking utterly distraught.
He glanced around, his eyes vacant.
Jiang Ran was puzzled.
’What’s with this look? Can that Zhang Zhihua actually eat people or something?’
Ye Jingshuang was also surprised, her imagination starting to run wild.
’What if Zhang Zhihua had ill intentions?’
’Li Tianxin went out with her... surely he didn’t meet with some terrible fate, did he?’
’Could there be a conspiracy behind all this?’
At that moment, Li Tianxin’s gaze finally focused on Jiang Ran’s group. He immediately rushed over, grabbed Jiang Ran’s wine bowl, and downed it in one gulp.
He let out a long sigh, as if only just then snapping back to his senses.
After staring intently at Jiang Ran for a long moment, he shot to his feet.
"I’m leaving first! Come find me after you’ve finished your business."
"Huh?"
As Jiang Ran and the others stared in astonishment, he was already rushing upstairs.
A moment later, he came back down with his bag slung over his back.
After nodding to Jiang Ran and the group, he bolted out the door, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.
He left Jiang Ran and the others staring at each other, utterly bewildered.
Liu Wenshan looked completely lost.
"What happened to that boy?"
"That lady didn’t seem like a bad person..." Mingyue added in a low voice.
Ye Jingshuang and Jiang Ran exchanged a look, each seeing the same confusion in the other’s eyes.
’This frantic escape... either he was taken advantage of, or he took advantage of someone else. There probably isn’t a third possibility.’
But judging by his state, he probably hadn’t suffered any real harm, so they didn’t dwell on it.
For the next two days, besides dealing with the house, Jiang Ran and Ye Jingshuang were busy finding someone to arrange a job for Liu Wenshan.
To that end, Jiang Ran paid another visit to the Ministry Office of the Sword Holding Department to ask Director Liu for help.
Director Liu assured Jiang Ran he would handle everything and told him not to worry.
And true to his word, for someone like him, some things required nothing more than a simple word to the right person.
Jiang Ran went to see him in the morning, and by that afternoon, everything had been arranged.
He had arranged for Liu Wenshan to become a teacher at the official Academy in Cangzhou Prefecture.
And with that, the matter was settled.
Otherwise, the next few days were peaceful, with nothing else of note happening.
The only exception was on the second day, when Zhang Zhihua came to the door looking for Li Tianxin. Upon learning that he had already run off, she seemed quite distraught for a moment.
She didn’t visit again after that.
Once Jiang Ran and Ye Jingshuang had everything more or less in order, they bid farewell to Liu Wenshan and Mingyue and resumed their journey to Red Maple Mountain.
Reluctant to see them go, Liu Wenshan and Mingyue escorted them all the way to the main gates of Cangzhou Prefecture before finally stopping.
They watched as Jiang Ran and Ye Jingshuang’s figures gradually disappeared from sight.
Liu Wenshan turned to leave but noticed Mingyue was still standing there, not moving a muscle.
He paused, taken aback, and studied his daughter for a moment before sighing and patting her on the shoulder.
Startled, Mingyue looked up at Liu Wenshan, her eyes rimmed with red.
Liu Wenshan simply smiled.
"Let’s go home."
"Mm."
The father and daughter then turned and headed back into Cangzhou Prefecture.
But after only a few steps, Mingyue couldn’t resist looking back one more time. No matter how she strained her eyes, however, she could no longer see the pair’s figures.
...
...
To get to Red Maple Mountain, one had to travel south.
It wasn’t terribly far, all things considered. After all, on the night of the Ye family’s tragedy, Ye Jingshuang had only been fleeing for half the night when she ran into Jiang Ran.
At a normal walking pace, the journey from Cangzhou Prefecture would take about half a month.
But by using the Lightweight Technique or traveling by horse, the journey could be cut in half.
This time, Jiang Ran and Ye Jingshuang were traveling by horse.
The two traveled by day and rested by night, in no particular hurry.
Although Jiang Ran had previously been worried about the old drunkard, now that he knew the man was no ordinary person and was far away in Jinyang Prefecture, he wasn’t worried anymore.
Getting to Jinyang Prefecture would mean crossing mountains and ranges, traversing almost the entire Golden Cicada Dynasty.
That wasn’t a journey of just a day or two.
He had already decided: on this trip, he would take in the sights of the martial world and not be as rushed as before.
He would eat good food, see beautiful sights, and not waste this life he had fought so desperately to preserve.
As for why he was so set on visiting the Ye family of Red Maple Mountain...
...besides putting Ye Jingshuang’s mind at ease, Jiang Ran also intended to visit the Sun family Manor.
Although Jiang Ran felt the rewards for his proxy missions were a ripoff...
...he had, at least, learned the whereabouts of the Jiaowei Zither.