Two muscular bare-chested men stood guard at the gate of the City Lord's Mansion, their very presence enough to awe any who drew near.
The group followed Li Jianqiu as he turned to the right.
Suddenly a crisp voice rang out behind them: "Jiang Wang!"
Jiang Wang turned at the sound and found the petite, adorable Sun Xiaoman bouncing high in the crowd, waving at him. Beside her stood a round, plump figure — who else could it be but Sun Xiaoyan?
"Miss Sun!" Jiang Wang greeted with a smile.
"Why so formal? Just call me Xiaoman." Sun Xiaoman swaggered over and gave him a punch in the gut.
Jiang Wang sucked in a sharp breath. To save face, he kept a bright smile on his face. "R-right, Xiaoman. Xiaoyan, good to see you too!"
It seemed Sun Xiaoman and her people had just returned from outside the city; there were still traces of battle on their clothes. Yang Xingyong and Zhao Tiehe were not with them, probably not on the same mission.
Sun Xiaoman waved her people on ahead and turned back. "Did you come here to see us, or..."
Jiang Wang smiled and introduced Li Jianqiu, Zhao Rucheng, and the others. "We took on a mission to clear out ferocious beasts."
"Good! That's the spirit!" Sun Xiaoman was exceptionally bold. "Haven't found a place to stay yet? You're all coming to stay at my house!"
"Sis." Sun Xiaoyan tugged at her sleeve from behind. "You're a girl, you know. Having a bunch of guys stay over isn't really proper..."
"What's wrong with it? Our house is huge. You can arrange it, can't you?"
"My bed is so small I can barely fit myself!"
"Since when did I say they'd share your bed?"
"Then sharing yours is even worse, right?"
"What exactly is that head full of lard of yours thinking about all day?"
The siblings were nearly coming to blows when Li Jianqiu spoke up in time. "Miss Sun, we've already booked rooms. Besides, we're about to set out to clear the beasts. Staying at your residence would be inconvenient."
Jiang Wang added, "We're all following Senior Brother Li Jianqiu on this trip. He's handling all the arrangements. Xiaoman, Xiaoyan, don't trouble yourselves. Once the mission is done, we'll drink together!"
"Ah, right, right." Sun Xiaoman instantly dropped her fierce demeanor and turned back with a smile. "I'll round up Tiehe and the others when the time comes."
The two groups parted ways.
As soon as Jiang Wang and the others were out of earshot, Sun Xiaoman's face darkened. "Fatty, you're undermining me, are you? All that stinginess — what will our friends from Fenglin City think of us?"
But Sun Xiaoyan knew her well enough not to stick around for a beating. He had already scampered into the City Lord's Mansion.
Sun Xiaoman chased after him, raising a ruckus all the way. The mansion guards were long accustomed to this and kept their eyes strictly ahead.
The siblings burst into the study one after the other.
Behind the desk sat a middle-aged woman of refined beauty, bent over documents.
This was Dou Yuemei, the current City Lord of Sanshan City and the mother of the Sun siblings.
Sun Xiaoyan burrowed into her arms, pointing a chubby finger. "Look at her!"
Dou Yuemei set down her brush, cradling the plump Sun Xiaoyan. She turned her phoenix eyes and fixed them on the wild-eyed Sun Xiaoman charging in.
"Sun Xiaoman! What now?"
Despite her elegant name, her demeanor could only be called fierce.
Sun Xiaoman stopped at the study door, quite defiant. "As the elder sister, I'm the mother figure. What's wrong with me teaching him a lesson?"
"He already has a mother. He doesn't need that many!"
Sun Xiaoman was momentarily speechless, then stomped her bare foot hard against the floor tiles with a bang. "Mom! You're so biased!"
Dou Yuemei hugged Sun Xiaoyan with doting indulgence and said matter-of-factly, "Of course I am. A married daughter is like water spilled out!"
"I'm not married yet!"
"Isn't that just a matter of time?"
Sun Xiaoyan, safe in his mother's arms, chimed in. "That's right. And today she was making eyes at some guy named Jiang!"
"Fatty, your skin is itching!" Sun Xiaoman flew into a rage, raising her fists as she charged forward.
Dou Yuemei raised one hand, and a gentle current of energy held Sun Xiaoman in place, preventing her from advancing another inch.
"A girl should not be so rough." She raised an eyebrow, clearly curious. "What's this about a Jiang?"
"He's talking nonsense!" Sun Xiaoman, unable to push through, seethed with anger. "Jiang Wang is the one who gave us fifty points of Dao Merit for nothing last time. Now he's come to help us clear the beasts. So what if I greeted him? It's this heartless son of yours, all stingy and worried someone might crowd him!"
"Oh, in that case, we should host him properly." Dou Yuemei nodded, then asked, "Is he handsome?"
Sun Xiaoman felt this conversation was going nowhere. "Mom!"
Sun Xiaoyan, eager to assert his presence, said, "He's decent-looking, but not as good-looking as that Zhao guy."
"That's where you're wrong, my silly boy. A man being too pretty is useless. You need some meat on your bones." Dou Yuemei reached out and pinched Sun Xiaoyan's chubby cheek. "Look at you, all soft and round. Adorable."
Sun Xiaoyan's expression twisted, and he blushed a little.
Sun Xiaoman took a deep breath, steadying her emotions, suppressing her temper, and said calmly, "Mom, are you favoring boys over girls?"
Dou Yuemei nodded with complete confidence. "Yes, so what?"
"Dou Yuemei!" Sun Xiaoman roared. "You're a woman too!"
"Exactly! Look at me, aren't I the perfect example? My whole heart was devoted to your good-for-nothing father. When did I ever care about my own family? When my father was dying, he must have regretted not doting more on his precious son.
While your father lived, I served him. After he died, I still had to prop up the Sun family and raise the two of you. I went from a delicate young girl to this rough-voiced, thick-waisted City Lord! Tell me, what's the use of doting on a daughter?"
Sun Xiaoman: ...
She had no comeback.
She kicked the study door off its hinges and stormed off in a huff.
...
Meanwhile, Jiang Wang and the others had parted ways with Sun Xiaoman and were heading to find lodgings.
Huang Azhan's grin was lecherous. "Jiang Wang, you're something, huh. The daughter of the Sanshan City Lord."
Jiang Wang sighed. "We're just ordinary friends."
"Heh heh, I know, I know."
Zhao Rucheng's voice drifted over gloomily. "Huang Azhan, if you're not afraid of being pounded into paste by the Mountain-Shaking Hammer, keep making that sleazy laugh."
Huang Azhan instantly recalled the Mountain-Shaking Hammer sweeping across the Three-City Dao Debate, shuddered, and shut his mouth.
Li Jianqiu seemed to know the area well. He led the group to an inn with practiced ease.
The inn was small, but not shabby.
A few tables and chairs were set in the lobby, all scrubbed clean.
The innkeeper was an old man with failing eyesight. He squinted at Li Jianqiu for a long while before grinning. "Here again, Xiao Li?"
Li Jianqiu greeted him familiarly. "Yes, Uncle Zhang. Four rooms, please."
"Two rooms. Don't throw your money away just because you have it. Four grown men can squeeze a bit, can't they?"
"Alright, as you say."
"Been well lately?"
"Pretty good. And you, Uncle?"
"All right."
Jiang Wang watched this exchange silently. Li Jianqiu seemed so at ease with everything here, as if he had lived here for a long time.
"His son and daughter-in-law were eaten by ferocious beasts on the official road while returning to the city." Li Jianqiu spoke as they went upstairs. "By the time the city garrison arrived, there wasn't even a bone to be found."
Jiang Wang was silent. In the Fenglin City domain, ferocious beasts were generally few, and it was rare for them to breach the official roads.
He found it hard to imagine — if even the official roads weren't safe, how much pressure did the ordinary people of Sanshan City have to endure?
And what was it that kept them clinging to such stubborn hope?
"He always feels his son isn't dead yet, that one day he'll come back. So he stays at the inn door every day."
Li Jianqiu sighed and said no more.