He said that and turned to leave.
The Xu Juening and Tang Bulan at the door naturally followed on either side and departed.
“…” Yu Qing who was rendered speechless reached out as if to detain him. He felt a bit dazed. Why had the man simply run off?
He could not understand it. At the start the man had been quite fierce. Had he not even told the troops stationed outside the city to wait until tomorrow?
Yet as soon as he heard it was the Wolf Guard he had immediately backed down?
As far as Yu Qing knew the Southern Administration Mansion held a position in the Jin Kingdom that was second only to the emperor and above ten thousand others. To put it bluntly they did not even take the Jin Kingdom court very seriously.
In the jianghu they were top tier existences.
How could a figure just below the peak of such an organisation lose his fire in front of the so called Wolf Guard? Where was the face of the Southern Administration Mansion?
He did not know why the esteemed Mister Housi had suddenly turned cowardly. He had still been hoping the man would back him up.
In truth his impression of the Wolf Guard was not good at all.
The first meeting today had been one of a ferocious and murderous attitude. He had only just returned from his first visit to Xiyue Fang and the moment they appeared they came to smash the place.
The Wolf Guard gave him an impression of being overbearing, domineering and unreasonable.
Being sought out by such people left him very uneasy inside. He truly had no confidence at all.
He had thought himself lucky that Mister Housi was present and that the man happened to need something from him.
Yet the moment Mister Housi heard it was the Wolf Guard he had run off. He clearly did not wish to confront them directly. How was Yu Qing supposed to feel about that?
He was at a loss as to what to do.
At this point hiding and refusing to meet them was impossible.
Moreover they had ordered him to come out and see them immediately.
With no other choice he could only steel himself and go.
His heart was filled with unease. He regretted dragging his feet and not leaving earlier.
He realised that the more he delayed the more troubles arose. He discovered that this capital was truly a place full of disputes, nothing but endless trivial and pointless matters.
What he feared most was that the Wolf Guard would be too overbearing and force him to write something on the spot.
Lately almost everyone who met him wanted him to do exactly that.
Every day people kept stabbing at his weak spot without end yet he had to maintain an appearance of not being guilty, not being afraid and acting as if nothing was wrong. He felt he was about to go mad.
He could no longer endure this kind of life and had made up his mind. Tomorrow even if the sky fell he would leave.
His mind was made up. Nothing would make him stay.
At this moment his reason was also comforting itself. After all he was the honourable top scholar of the current imperial examinations. Even if they were the Wolf Guard they probably could not do whatever they wanted to him.
On the way under the street lamps he saw three familiar faces: Zhong Su, Du Fei and Steward Li.
As soon as they saw him Zhong Su immediately asked “Shi Heng what exactly is going on? Mister Housi from the Southern Administration Mansion has only just left and now the Wolf Guard have come? The Wolf Guard normally do not enter the city. How did you manage to summon them as well? They say they want you to come out and meet them.”
He was also somewhat startled. A pack of ferocious giant wolves surrounding the outside of the Zhong mansion was truly rather frightening. The Zhong mansion guards did not even dare to breathe loudly.
Yu Qing was also somewhat puzzled. “Mister Housi is fine but I do not know what the Wolf Guard want with me either. By the way what exactly are the Wolf Guard?”
At the very least he sensed that even Chu Tianjian was unwilling to face them.
Du Fei said “They are a cavalry unit personally founded by Duke Xuan of the State, Ying Xiaotang. Those selected into the Wolf Guard are all top experts from the military. It can be said that they are full of masters. They have always been stationed outside the capital and rarely enter the city.”
Yu Qing only understood that they were a cavalry force made up of military experts. He did not really grasp the rest of the people and matters even after hearing it once. He muttered in confusion “What do they want with me?”
Just then the gatekeeper came running over. Seeing several people present he looked as if granted amnesty and hurried to report “Young Master the Wolf Guard outside have issued an ultimatum. They say they do not wish to trespass into a private residence and want you to come out and meet them immediately. Otherwise do not blame them for charging straight in.”
Steward Li waved his hand to dismiss the gatekeeper first then said after a moment of thought “Young Master logically the Wolf Guard should not make things difficult for you.”
Chu Tianjian seemed to have said something similar before. Yu Qing immediately asked “How so?”
Steward Li replied “Only after the old master was exposed did we learn that the old master and Duke Xuan of the State should have belonged to the same faction. Duke Xuan still holds influence over the military. The Wolf Guard should not make things difficult for you.”
Du Fei nodded. “If that is the case then it makes sense. With the Wolf Guard’s arrogance and Duke Xuan of the State, Ying Xiaotang, backing them even the Southern Administration Mansion has to give way by three parts. They have charged straight into the city yet the Zhong mansion gatekeeper could not keep them outside. It seems they truly bear no ill intent.”
Steward Li looked Yu Qing up and down once more. “Young Master did the old master never mention anything at all to you about your connection to Duke Xuan of the State’s faction while he was alive?”
Yu Qing could only shake his head silently with nothing to say. He sighed helplessly in his heart.
If he knew anything then he would not have to live in fear day after day nor would he be in such a passive position.
A Shi Heng had never told him these things either. He could understand why not. There was no need to tell him. Some matters were not suitable to be casually revealed. A Shi Heng would never have imagined that he could pass the metropolitan examinations and achieve first rank.
Things had reached this stage. It was truly Yu Qing himself who had messed up. He could not blame A Shi Heng.
Steward Li and the other two could not help exchanging glances. They were clearly somewhat puzzled. Since the old master had allowed his son to enter official service such a major matter should not have been kept completely secret while he was alive. Could it be that he had died too suddenly and had no time?
Zhong Su sighed. “They are blocking the way outside. We cannot avoid facing them. If they charge straight in it will look even worse. You had better go out and show your face to see what the situation is.”
Du Fei waved his hand. “Come on. I will go with you.”
Yu Qing nodded. He adjusted the sword at his waist that he had not yet had time to remove and strode off with him.
Zhong Su and Steward Li did not stay out of it either. They followed along as well.
Outside the main gate of the Zhong mansion several giant wolves carrying riders paced back and forth. There were also some in the lanes on both sides as well as on the walls of this courtyard and the neighbouring one patrolling like they were walking on a single plank bridge.
The giant wolves had blood red maws, sharp fangs glinting coldly, ferocious faces and eyes flashing with eerie green light under the moonlight.
Their already aggressive aura combined with the spike covered armour worn by the wolf riders made this group of Wolf Guard appear even more fierce and vicious.
Only the leader at the gate had no face covering on his helmet. He was a cold faced, black skinned man with a knife scar on his face. The scar extended to his lips where a piece of flesh was missing. The gap in his lips exposed two teeth and their gums giving him a sinister and terrifying air. He was staring coldly at the inside of the Zhong mansion gate and waiting quietly.
A group of people emerged from inside the gate. It was Chu Tianjian and his party from the Southern Administration Mansion.
Chu Tianjian who had walked down the steps stared at the scarred wolf guard and snorted. “It is you, Wei Lin. As the internal guard commander of the Wolf Guard you are not stationed outside the city on defence duty yet you have brought troops to trespass into the capital and press straight up to a private residence. What is the meaning of this?”
The man named Wei Lin whose lips were missing a piece of flesh swept a cold glance over and spoke in a detached and mocking tone. “Are you perhaps a court appointed official?”
Chu Tianjian pressed his lips together and said in a deep voice “You are disturbing the peace of the people.”
Wei Lin said coldly “Are you a good citizen? A mere jianghu disciple dares to comment recklessly on court military affairs. Who gave you the courage? Did the Earth Mother instruct you to interfere in military and political matters?”
“Arrogant.”
Chu Tianjian flicked his sleeve and left with an angry expression on his face. Yet he did not dare to continue the exchange. If the other party insisted on seizing such a reason to speak he could not say much more.
However after only a few steps he suddenly paused. He saw the large corpse of a black leopard lying on the ground between two wolf riders. The black leopard’s body was pierced with many holes.
It was a female leopard. With his eyesight he could tell at a glance that the wounds were caused by arrows from a great archer.
To make a great archer shoot so many arrows this was definitely no ordinary black leopard. It was a demon cultivator.
He reached a conclusion in his heart and glanced back at the Zhong mansion gate. He realised that the Wolf Guard’s arrival this time was probably not about discussing old friendships with A Shi Heng. It was likely truly about the matter at hand.
What he did not understand was what connection A Shi Heng could possibly have with a dead leopard demon.
Wanting to know what was going on he leaned against the wall and stayed for the time being. He wanted to observe.
Who would have thought that Wei Lin would sweep a cold glance over and say indifferently “Unauthorised persons are not permitted to pry into our military secrets. Clear the area. Those who resist will be killed.”
Immediately some wolf riders pressed towards Chu Tianjian and the others. A masked knight pointed his spear towards the outside of the lane and shouted in a deep voice “Get lost.”
“You…”
Xu Juening was furious.
Even a mere low ranking wolf guard soldier dared to be so rude to the rear administrator of the Southern Administration Mansion. As a subordinate how could he endure it?
If he did not even dare to make a sound where would the face of the Southern Administration Mansion be?
Yet the moment he took half a step forward he was urgently blocked by a hand waved in front of his chest.
The one blocking him was none other than Chu Tianjian himself.
Chu Tianjian held him back with one hand while staying highly vigilant of the surroundings in an extremely guarded manner.
Precisely because of that small step Xu Juening had taken in an attempt to resist a large commotion erupted instantly.
The sound of swords being drawn rang out all around.
The Wolf Guard on all sides drew their blades and swords. Spears with sharp tips were also pointed in their direction.
Even the giant wolves lowered their bodies slightly baring their sharp fangs with fur standing on end. They let out low growling “wu” sounds towards them as if ready to attack at any moment.
On the rooftops of taller buildings outside the lane cold glints flashed as well. They were the moonlight reflecting off arrowheads.
Chu Tianjian sensed that the Wolf Guard’s great archers already had arrows nocked on their bows and were aimed at them.
The wolf guard who had angered them slowly lowered the tip of his spear that was pointing outside the lane. Under the moonlight the sharp spear point came to rest right at the tip of Xu Juening’s nose.
The sharp spear point was only a finger’s distance from Xu Juening’s nose issuing a silent provocation.
It was as if to say try moving if you dare.
The reactions all around made even Xu Juening not dare to act rashly. His throat bobbed once.
Chu Tianjian swept a cold gaze towards Wei Lin.
A faint dragon cry sound caused by slight friction echoed lightly.
Wei Lin gripped the sabre at his waist with a reverse hand and slowly drew it.
The blue green blade shone with an increasingly bright glow as it was drawn under the moonlight.
Wei Lin’s gradually chilling eyes met Chu Tianjian’s directly.
The atmosphere at the scene instantly turned ice cold to the extreme and so heavy that the two gatekeepers at the Zhong mansion entrance almost suffocated. Their legs trembled slightly.
Chu Tianjian’s cheek twitched slowly and forcefully proving that he was secretly grinding his teeth.
He suddenly said in a deep voice “Leave.”
He first pulled Xu Juening away from under the spear tip then pushed him out. After that he flicked his sleeve and walked away.
However the Wolf Guard who were in an attacking stance did not let them pass. They still blocked the lane and stared at them with tiger like vigilance.
Unable to get through Chu Tianjian stopped. He turned back and said in a deep voice “Wei Lin do you truly intend to forcibly block me?”
Whoosh. The treasured blade that Wei Lin had drawn in reverse slid back into its sheath. He tilted his head and gestured.
Only then did the group of Wolf Guard withdraw and open a path.
Chu Tianjian with a face full of dark clouds strode ahead. His mood matched his expression exactly.
It was not that he feared the Wolf Guard but that the reason was currently in their hands. They could say whatever they liked. If he made a move first it would become him causing trouble without reason. If it escalated he would have to bear the responsibility.