Faraway Wanderers Novel (English Translation)

Shuzhong

Chapter 44.

Upon seeing that it was Ye Baiyi, Wen Kexing's expression grew foul. Upon seeing that Ye Baiyi was staring unblinkingly at Zhou Zishu's face, Wen Kexing's expression grew even more foul.

Zhou Zishu, on the other hand, was rather surprised. From a distance away, he bowed and said, "Senior Ye."

Ye Baiyi looked at him for another long while, before he remarked, "It's you? Why do you always have to make yourself look so ghastly--do you not look quite like a proper human like this? Moreover, the ancients have the saying ‘Wherever you go and no matter the situation, one should not change his name’, much less the looks naturally bestowed on you by your parents. Do you not know what is meant by ‘to live as plain as day’?”

Zhou Zishu raised his head to look at the sky, as if this action could suppress his quiet desire to smack Ye Baiyi flat. Half a beat later, he finally lowered his head, put on an apologetic, humble smile, and said graciously, "As Senior chides."

Indifferent, Ye Baiyi nodded, and told them, "Follow me."

Wen Kexing felt that it was impossible to make sense of this old fart’s stubbornness through logical means, and humphed coldly. "Who are you? Do I know you?"

Ye Baiyi looked back at him. It was impossible to discern any particular happy or unhappy expression from his face. He remained silent for a while, before he asked, "Do you all not want to know what happened to Rong Xuan and his wife Yue Feng’er thirty years ago, as well as what the truth behind that whole Lapis Armour mess is?"

Wen Kexing, who had already turned away and was about to walk off, abruptly halted in his tracks. With his face turned to the ground, it was impossible for anyone to tell what expression he had on.

The few of them were at such an impasse for a half-beat, before Wen Kexing finally turned around and asked in a very incredulous tone of voice, "Why would we…want to know what happened to Rong Xuan and his wife?"

Suddenly, Ye Baiyi sighed, and said, "When you live to be the age I am now, you will understand that sometimes, being able to tell what a person wants is not as difficult as you think."

Wen Kexing immediately disliked his tone of voice that was flaunting his seniority.

Zhou Zishu exchanged glances with him, and asked, "Does Senior have some information?"

Ye Baiyi smiled briefly--because of that stiff face of his, it was always impossible for others to tell if he had sincerely intended a smile, or if it was a sarcastic, fake one. Soon afterwards, they heard him say, "What do I know? I am no more than an old fool who has lived for many years as a hermit on Changming Mountain, what can I know?"

He turned and walked on, with his back towards them. "Although I do know one person who might be clear about what happened all those years ago."

Zhou Zishu instructed Zhang Chengling, "Keep up", and caught up to Ye Baiyi. Wen Kexing found it a little odd as well, so he asked, "What person has such omnipotent knowledge?"

Ye Baiyi did not even look back as a few words drifted from his mouth. "Long Que of the Puppet Manor."

Zhou Zishu's brow furrowed as he could not help but point out, “Legend has it that there is indeed such a Puppet Manor within Shuzhong, but it is concealed deep within the mountains. The lord of the Puppet Manor, Long Que, is a master of traps and of the art of the vanishing door; that manor appears to be migratory. I have repeatedly ordered men to create a map, and each time, the one who edited the map would swear that there was nothing wrong with the map, but when one visited the place again, there would be no trace of the manor that appears and vanishes mysteriously…”