Chapter 49 Zhou Yongyin's grandfather, this is my Daoist partner, Shen Qinggui. ...

The paper crane fluttered its wings and entered the house, stopping only when it reached Jiang Yu's palm. A note was tied to its legs, which Jiang Yu opened and read; it was from Dianxing.

The sunlight outside wasn't too intense yet, so it wasn't too scorching on people. However, the glazed tiles on the main hall of Bailuzhou were still shimmering in the sunlight. Lian Quesheng hurriedly led them inside.

"Why are you in such a hurry to leave? There's still plenty of time. There's a lantern festival at Bailuzhou in a few days, it'll be so lively. Why don't you stay a few more days and then go with your dad when he goes out on business? Wouldn't that be more suitable?"

Lian Chisu had just gotten up in the morning when she heard Lian Quesheng banging on the door. He was also chattering outside, instantly waking her up. If this wasn't her own son, Lian Chisu would have thrown him out on the spot.

“Mother, we’ll head back now. We’ll come back to see you and Father when we have time,” Lian Quesheng said. “It’s just that there was something urgent this time, so I went back with Jiang Yu and the others. You don’t have to worry about your son’s safety anymore, isn’t that good?”

"What are you worried about? You're a grown man, do you think I'd be afraid you'd get lost?" Lian Chisu said irritably. She turned to look at Jiang Yu and Shen Jiuxu, who were standing quietly to the side, and said with a smile, "Jiang Yu, you and Qinggui have only been here for a few days and you're already leaving. In the future, you should come back and visit more often with Quesheng. We, Bailuzhou, will always welcome you."

"Thank you, Sect Leader Lian. Yes, I will. The competition I promised to have with Sect Leader Lian will probably be delayed for a while. Please forgive me."

Jiang Yu politely explained that he had originally planned to stay a few more days, but he hadn't expected to receive a letter from Dianxing this morning saying that Lian Feng had suddenly disappeared. Since he and Shen Qinggui were both out and about, and there was no one to take charge, they had no choice but to return quickly.

"No need to thank me. I should be thanking you for taking care of Quesheng outside. As for the competition, we can have it whenever we have time. Now that Shen Wuke is in trouble, I should have gone with you to help deal with it, but I'm too busy here in Bailuzhou. He just happened to be going to discuss business, so let him come with you."

Before anyone could object, Lian Chisu made up her mind. She clapped her hands, and several guards immediately walked in from outside, carrying several large boxes in their arms.

"Mother, what is this?"

"Luggage! I've prepared luggage for your father and Jiang Yu and the rest of you. Just take it with you when you leave." Lian Chisu nodded, gesturing for them to open the suitcases and take a look.

The first thing you see is a variety of silks, satins, jewelry and gold ornaments. Even the most commonly used teacups, Lian Chisu has prepared two large boxes full of them. Although Lian Quesheng has the temper of a young master, he has never seen anyone take away everything in the whole courtyard on a trip.

"Mom, are you sure you're not joking?"

“This is nothing. Your father always prepares this much when he goes out. I even reduced the amount so that you can travel more easily.”

Hearing this, Lu Buwen nodded. "That's right. Your mother took relatively little this time. We in Bailuzhou are not short of such things. When you're away from home, of course you should live a better life. Why are you living so frugally?"

Lacking money and short of these things, Jiang Yu, Shen Jiuxu, and Xichuang silently lowered their heads. They had always thought that Lian Quesheng was already luxurious enough, but they never expected that "there are always people better than you and heavens beyond heavens."

"Alright, alright, Dad, Mom, then take them all."

Lian Quesheng accepted all of this without hesitation. It wasn't until he got on the ship that he realized his father's travel vessel was far more magnificent than the one he had previously bought.

"Dad, you have so much silver, why don't you give me some?" Lian Quesheng had also learned Jiang Yu's usual tricks this time. He hadn't understood his friend's thoughts before, but now he understood them perfectly, and even copied them very well.

"Get out of here and learn from Jiang Yu and Qing Gui. They don't spend so much money every day like you do," Lu Buwen said while drinking tea to the two people next to him whose eyes had turned green from being so obsessed with extravagance. Jiang Yu smiled bitterly and agreed, "Uncle Lu is right. Money is just an external thing. Who cares so much about daily life?"

Hearing this from behind, Shen Jiuxu couldn't help but smile. He grabbed Jiang Yu's hand and tickled his palm. Some people don't say things like that in other situations.

"Jiang Feiwan, you—"

For the first time, Lian Quesheng experienced what it meant to be "treacherous in people's hearts," especially some of his close friends. He and Jiang Yu stared at each other for a while, but in the end, he gave in and turned his attention to Lu Buwen again, "Dad, how come you're doing so well?"

“Your father is your father. Aren’t all the silver in Bailuzhou earned by me? The silver you spend is mine!” Lu Buwen despised his overconfident behavior and didn’t want to pay attention to his foolish son anymore. Seeing that it was still early, he continued to talk to Jiang Yu.

“Jiang Yu, Bailuzhou’s business is all over the world, but I heard from Asu that your family is in the wilderness. I’ve never heard of it. When will you take me there to see it? I can help expand my business.”

"OK."

Jiang Yu didn't think too much about it. "We'll just be passing by Shenwuke on our way. If Uncle Lu is interested, we can go and take a look. I haven't been back for a long time."

Although it is called "Barren Mountain", it is not actually a barren mountain. It is a group of mountains next to Duanshi Spring. Forests and herbs can be seen everywhere in the mountains. However, the road is difficult to travel and ordinary people rarely find it. The people inside do not go out much. It is sparsely populated, so it was just arbitrarily named "Barren Mountain".

As usual, Zhou Yongyin came out of the small wooden house in the mountains to collect herbs. The sunlight was blocked by layers of branches and leaves, so even in the hot summer, the place was cool. Every now and then, a breeze would pass through the leaves, making people feel refreshed and not hot at all.

"Grandpa Zhou, your grandson hasn't come back to see you either."

A woodcutter who was chopping wood on the mountain saw him alone, with gray hair and obvious wrinkles around his eyes, and couldn't help but ask him something.

"He's busy."

Zhou Yongyin said gently, while tidying up the herbs he had picked up, washing them by the stream, and then inviting people to sit down and rest for a while.

"Look at you, you're so old, why do you still insist on staying here? Why don't you just come and live with me in town? That way you won't have to work yourself to death here every day."

Zhou Yongyin was quite famous in their desolate mountain area. He was a well-known philanthropist. Although his family was not wealthy and could only barely make ends meet, he did not marry when he was young. When he was in his forties or fifties, he found a child in the mountains and raised him by himself. However, he did not allow the child to take his surname, which was quite a strange thing.

“I’m used to living here, and I’m in good health.” Zhou Yongyin shook his head with a smile, filled his water bottle with water, drank more than half of it, wiped his mouth, and continued, “Besides, the fortune teller once said that it’s my destiny to stay in the barren mountains for the rest of my life.”

"You really are—"

The woodcutter didn't know what to say to him, but seeing that the man's complexion was rosy and he looked healthy, he could only believe him. "But your grandson is really promising. A few days ago, a cloth seller passed by and spoke highly of him."

The cloth seller was Zheng Min. Since the seventh day after his death, his shop's business had indeed improved a lot. He then had his waiter stay there while he traveled all over the country selling cloth. He happened to come here.

The story between Jiang Yu and Shen Jiuxu became his catchphrase for attracting business, and once he mentioned it, everyone around Duanshiquan knew about it. No one expected that the baby that Shen Yongyin casually picked up in the mountains would become the sect leader and elder of Shen Wuke.

"Speaking of Young Master Jiang, he is truly a dragon among men. None of the people of Shenwuke dislike him. Look at this fabric, it is exactly the same as the one he wore before. Sect Master Shen and his clothes were all ordered from me."

When Zheng Min heard that this was Jiang Yu's hometown, he was delighted and immediately gave away a large amount of fabric to the people there for free, without even asking how much it cost.

"Grandpa Zhou, your grandson is really promising."

As the woodcutter spoke, a hint of envy appeared in his eyes. Just then, he heard footsteps and thought it was his children urging him to go home. But when he turned around, he found several handsome men walking towards them.

Upon closer inspection, the woodcutter seemed to recognize the man at the front. He tugged at Zhou Yongyin's sleeve, "Hey, old man Zhou, look at him, isn't he your grandson? He looks so much like him to me."

"Uncle Zhang, don't you recognize me?"

Jiang Yu saw them from afar, and naturally overheard their conversation. He even heard Zheng Min praising him while selling cloth, and his face turned red instantly.

"Jiang Yu, your grandfather and I were just talking about this, and then you came back. What a coincidence! And who is this gentleman next to you?"

Shen Jiuxu took two steps forward without making a sound, and didn't forget to straighten his sleeves. He thought his outfit was decent enough, and there was nothing wrong with it.

Lian Quesheng, who was behind him, saw all his little tricks and burst out laughing. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain on his forehead as a flower fell from the sky and hit him on the head.

Bangbang is in pain.

“Uncle Zhang, this is my Daoist partner, Shen Qinggui.” Jiang Yu, oblivious to the intrigue behind them, took Shen Qinggui’s hand and stepped forward. “What do you think? Isn’t he handsome and a perfect match for me?”

"Haha, you two are a perfect match! When I heard Boss Zheng talk about you two before, he praised you both highly." The woodcutter couldn't take his eyes off you until Zhou Yongyin stepped forward. Only then did he realize it was time for him to leave. He said a few more words to them and then carried the firewood down the mountain.

“Grandfather, this is my Daoist partner, Shen Qinggui.”

"Grandfather." Shen Jiuxu called out after him. Zhou Yongyin's eyes darted back and forth between the two of them, making Shen Jiuxu start to panic for the first time. Unexpectedly, his shoulder was suddenly slapped hard. "You little brat, I knew you had ulterior motives back then. Sure enough, Jiang Yu only went away for a few years, and you ran off with someone."

Shen Qinggui then remembered that this was the place where he first met Jiang Yu.

He lay on a tree behind the barren mountain, calling out "brother" to Jiang Yu, a complete stranger, and tricked him into taking him home.

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Author's Note: Shen Jiuxu: I was quite nervous meeting my parents for the first time.

Zhou Yongyin: What are you pretending for? Wasn't that you we saw on the bed in Jiang Yu's house before? I remember it very clearly, you little brat, I've seen you hundreds of times, and you're still pretending.

I'm starting to think about whether I can borrow Shen Jiuxu's tree branch to type. That way, I'll have multiple hands, and my typing speed will increase exponentially [waving hand], allowing me to update many chapters a day.

Finally, I hit the mark! It was really tough.