Chapter 11 Rare Spices
Chapter 011 Rare Spices
"So you had someone bring me this brocade pouch so I could help you get that bottle of chicken gizzard powder?" Wang Sumo asked, resting her chin on her hand.
"How could that be?" Lu Wenqu said seriously. "Since I can guard it, I have a way to get it. It's just that I have some things to do right now, so it's safer for me to stay in the dungeon of Qingyun Manor. Once this storm has passed, I will naturally find an opportunity to leave Qingyun Manor and explain the reasons to the old manor lord and Lord Huo."
“Then let me do it…” Wang Sumo looked at him questioningly.
Lu Wenqu leaned closer and said, "It's a gentleman's agreement. If I discover any rare or precious seasonings, I will have someone send this brocade pouch to you so you can come here."
However, Wang Sumo was pleasantly surprised, "You found it?"
"Hmph~" Lu Wenqu said smugly, "It seems I have quite a connection with this Qingyun Manor. In the place where I hid the chicken gizzard, I actually found a spice. That spice isn't for making incense; it should be used as a seasoning."
Wang Sumo frowned, "Where did you put that bottle of chicken gizzard powder?"
Lu Wenqu took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Deep inside a cabinet in a corner of the pharmacy."
Wang Sumo looked at him and said, "Aren't you afraid that someone might use you in a place like a pharmacy where people come and go?"
Lu Wenqu laughed heartily, then said in a low voice, "How could that be? I already said it's in a really remote corner. Otherwise, how would we have found the seasoning you're looking for? It's in a really remote corner, and I don't know how long it's been there. The outside of the cabinet is clean, but the inside is covered in dust. No one would have found it in less than ten or twenty years."
So Lu Wenqu really did stumble upon Qingyun Manor by accident, and that's how she accidentally discovered the spices she was looking for.
Even while imprisoned, Lu Wenqu still remembered their gentleman's agreement.
“I know that Bazhenlou doesn’t come to our door, but if we don’t come, you won’t be able to find this spice. So, I’m trying to sneak in and have someone deliver this brocade pouch to you. Once you see the pouch, you’ll definitely keep your gentleman’s agreement and come. Once you come, you can find the spice.” Lu Wenqu sighed. “But Qingyun Manor is a prestigious and upright sect after all. It took me some time to sort out the relationships here while I was locked up here.”
Wang Sumo found it both amusing and exasperating.
Lu Wenqu spread his hands and said frankly, "Alright, I've said everything I needed to say. You'll have to figure out the spice issue yourself. Don't worry about what's going on here. Once the rumors die down, I'll leave. Don't worry, my leg is back in place. I'm in the top-tier cell here, which isn't much worse than outside."
Wang Sumo has a big head.
"Don't touch my gizzard lining!" Lu Wenqu warned as a final reminder. "That's my precious gizzard!"
Wang Sumo scoffed lightly.
But she understands those who are obsessed with it.
Finally, Lu Wenqu added, "I heard that the old master has a poor appetite and can't eat much. Now that you're here, there's a chance for things to turn around. Let's do a good deed today."
Wang Sumo crossed his arms. "Lu Wenqu, you seem to care a lot about the old master?"
Lu Wenqu paused for a moment, then laughed, "I still need to stay at Qingyun Manor for a while longer, so I naturally hope that the old manor lord will enjoy a long and healthy life."
Wang Sumo knew there was something hidden in his eyes, but since he didn't want to talk about it, she didn't ask.
A gentleman's friendship is as pure as water.
"I'll come see you again before I leave the manor." Wang Sumo stood up and put her straw hat back on.
Lu Wenqu clasped his hands in a fist salute.
*
Emerging from the dungeon, I was suddenly transported to a completely different world, a place of beautiful mountains and clear waters.
He Lin, who had been idly waiting outside the dungeon, started kicking pebbles. When he saw his fellow disciples leading Wang Sumo out of the dungeon, He Lin greeted them, "So long?"
Wang Sumo looked at him and said 'seriously', "We just seriously discussed the specific details of the prison break and escape, so it's naturally taken a while."
He Lin: -_-||
He Lin regretted being harsh with Wang Sumo several times when they first met. She was truly petty and vindictive.
His words, though seemingly casual, are more deadly than hidden weapons.
"I'll take Miss Wang back to her room to rest first," He Lin said to his fellow disciples, who chuckled and bowed respectfully.
Qingyun Manor is really huge. The way from the main gate of the manor to Lianfeng Pavilion with He Huai'an, all we saw were the training grounds of the manor disciples.
Along the route from Lianfeng Pavilion to the dungeon, there were many disciples on duty, mostly guarding the manor's supplies, warehouses, and armories, all on a line with cliffs on the side.
Now, to get back to the guest room from the dungeon, just follow the path He Lin took.
This side of the path is mostly quiet.
It could be a library, a place to read; an ink-washing pool, a place to write and paint; or a medicine room, a place to store medicinal herbs and elixirs...
Wang Sumo couldn't help but glance at the medicine room a few more times, remembering what Lu Wenqu had said about his chicken gizzard powder being hidden there, as well as a rare seasoning she had been searching for.
Another path leads to the chores area, such as the laundry room and the kitchen.
Walking straight along this road, you pass through the area where the disciples of Qingyun Manor live. The buildings spread outwards in layers like flower petals, arranged neatly, which shows that there are many disciples in Qingyun Manor.
He Lin also enthusiastically told her which room he was staying in.
Wang Sumo couldn't very well not look, so she just glanced at it symbolically.
Passing through the living area of the disciples of Qingyun Mountain Villa, there was a lake in the middle of the mountain. Wang Sumo rarely saw such a place, but there were water birds roosting on the lake, and some disciples were walking and meditating around the lake.
The long corridor beside the lake connects to the guest room area, and walking along it feels like entering a paradise.
No wonder so many people are desperate to get into Qingyun Manor and become its disciples.
Amidst the turmoil in the imperial court and the constant chaos in the martial world, Qingyun Manor truly stood as a tranquil haven, isolated from the world.
No wonder they were able to raise a hothead like He Lin.
"Miss Wang, we've arrived." He Lin was very familiar with the layout of the guest rooms. Wang Sumo looked around the whole way, then asked in a low voice, "Am I the only guest in the entire Qingyun Manor right now?"
"How could that be?" He Lin said enthusiastically. "I just inquired and found that quite a few martial arts practitioners have come to the manor to pay their respects to the manor lord, but the manor lord instructed that the quietest courtyard be reserved for Miss Wang so that no one else would disturb her. Don't worry, Miss Wang, here it is, the Treasure Garden."
The name is quite fitting.
He Lin chuckled and pushed open the door. "The master of the manor told me to stay next door for the next few days. Miss Wang, just tell me what you need."
Wang Sumo: (⊙o⊙)…
Does Master Huo really trust He Lin's ability to handle external affairs?
But He Lin does have a thoughtful side. “I saw there was a fish pond here. The bamboo basket was too small, and the crucian carp were crowded in there, so I put them in to play first.”
It was the bamboo basket of crucian carp she was carrying.
Helin has truly come to regard them as her pets.
Wang Sumo didn't expose it.
After passing through the front courtyard and arriving at the main hall, He Lin continued, "This courtyard has two floors. The lower floor is for receiving guests, and the upper floor is for living. Miss Wang, your bundle has already been put up on the second floor, and your belongings are in the kitchen behind the main hall."
As Wang Sumo went upstairs, he asked, "Does the old master have a small kitchen?"
She had noticed the kitchen was quite far away; it must have been a large pot of food prepared for all the disciples of the manor. If the old master had a poor appetite, he probably wouldn't be able to eat the food cooked in the manor's large stoves and pots.
“Yes.” He Lin responded as expected. “The old master has not had much of an appetite lately. The master specially set up a small kitchen in the old master’s place, with cooks and food prepared, just in case the old master wants to eat something and can eat it immediately.”
The stairs leading from the first floor to the attic creaked and groaned, reminding Wang Sumo of his Eight Treasures Pavilion.
The stairs leading up to Bazhenlou also have such windows, and like Bazhenlou, you can see outside through the windows on the stairs.
The view was lush and green, with a waterfall in the distance.
It is truly a beautiful place with clear waters and lush mountains.
"You grew up in Qingyun Manor?" Wang Sumo suddenly asked.
He Lin nodded, "Yes. The disciples of Qingyun Manor are divided into two categories. One category is those who have been rigorously selected to enter the manor; the other category is like my senior brother and me, who are orphans picked up by the sect members when we were young. My senior brother and I were both picked up by the manor lord."
No wonder Master Huo trusts He Ping and He Lin; they've been raised by his side since childhood.
Wang Sumo understood.
"He Lin, where does the old master live?" Once on the second floor, Wang Sumo opened the window wide. The guest quarters were situated on high ground, signifying that guests were far away and that the height represented nobility. The windows in the attic offered a wide and open view.
Wang Sumo saw the places he had just passed along the way, with a clear view of everything.
He Lin was very familiar with this place, so he didn't need to look around carefully. He simply pointed to the open space on the right and said, "Look, that open space near the back mountain. The old man wants to raise free-range chickens there."
Wang Sumo heard the key point: raising chickens.
"Such a large area, and they only raised one free-range chicken?" Wang Sumo recalled the details from before.
"No! At first, the old master raised many, many more, but he only managed to keep one alive. It was incredibly precious, his only offspring, and he pampered it like a treasure every single day. Then, it was taken away by that person..."
He Lin now understands that it's best to stop when you've made a point.
Moreover, that person was someone Miss Wang knew well.
"The old master was really heartbroken for a long time," He Lin sighed.
In a way, Old Master He and Lu Wenqu are quite similar.
They both love to study and they both love raising chickens!
In Lu Wenqu's dungeon, her clothes were neat and clean, she could tie her hair up and shave, and she could even get He Ping to send her a brocade pouch. Lu Wenqu must have some support at Qingyun Manor.
He is the only successor of the Tianxiang Sect in this generation. He infiltrated Qingyun Manor for that special chicken gizzard, even willing to lose his leg; but now he insists on staying at Qingyun Manor, which means there is something more important to him than chicken gizzard and spices...
Let's ignore him for now.
After dealing with Master He, she had to rush back; Lao Qu and Bazhenlou were waiting for her.
After closing the window, Wang Sumo looked at He Lin and said leisurely, "Have someone tell Master He that the head chef of Bazhenlou is here. He said he'll be making stir-fried lamb liver for dinner and lamb soup for supper. Ask him if he wants to eat."
He Lin: ? ? ?
[Author's Note]
He Lin: Is it really that direct? [Covering face and peeking]
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