Chapter 17: Trouble

The old man didn't seem to hear the coldness in Lin Yan's voice. Instead, he chuckled, revealing a mouthful of uneven yellow teeth. "The largest aristocratic family in Qingzhou City, the Xiao family—does that count as big trouble?"

Lin Yan looked at him with indifferent eyes. "I've only been here for two days. I don't know any Xiao family or Wang family."

The old man smiled again, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes bunching up. Pointing a withered finger at Lin Yan, he shook his head. "I figured you were young and fearless.

"Doctor Zhou is a daughter-in-law of the Xiao family. However, her husband had a falling out with the family in his early years and moved out in a fit of anger.

"The Xiao family sent people to invite him back time and time again, but they couldn't even get through the door. It wasn't until last year, when he met with an accident and died a tragic death far from home, that Doctor Zhou was left a widow, guarding a cold and desolate household."

Lin Yan frowned slightly. He wondered if she was yet another widow.

"I'm not interested in these things," Lin Yan interrupted, his face expressionless. "I just thought those villagers were pitiful, so I gave them a way to survive."

The old man shook his head as if lamenting something. "Some things will happen whether you're interested or not. The Xiao family comes from a long line of nobility, and what they value most is their reputation.

"They don't want their daughter-in-law showing her face in public, taking the pulses of lowly peasants.

"But due to certain past events, it's inconvenient for them to intervene directly."

The old man raised his eyelids. In those somewhat cloudy eyes, there was a faint hint of someone who had seen through the ways of the world. "Therefore, they put the word out long ago. Within a hundred miles of Qingzhou City, anyone who dares to help Doctor Zhou is making an enemy of the Xiao family."

He paused for a moment before adding, "You're a kid from out of town, unfamiliar with the area. If you rashly interfere, the Xiao family will definitely be dissatisfied and will inevitably come looking for trouble.

"So, I advise you that rather than staying in Qingzhou City, you'd be better off leaving early and saving yourself a whole lot of grief."

Lin Yan suddenly found it a bit ridiculous. But he rarely smiled, so the corners of his mouth only turned up slightly. "Is that so? If the Xiao family is really that powerful, then let them come. Let me see if the laws of Qingzhou City are written by someone named Xiao."

The old man's expression turned serious. He wanted to say that the law was useful at times, but useless at others. However, such words clearly didn't fit his current guise, so he could only shake his head. Seeing that the old man remained silent, Lin Yan didn't linger and drove the ox cart forward.

The sound of the ox's hooves gradually faded into the distance. The setting sun stretched the shadows of the man and the cart long into the distance until they disappeared at the end of the street. The old man remained standing in place, motionless.

"Rain does not nourish rootless grass..." he sighed softly in resignation. "Don't you lack roots as well? Why bother nourishing that withered grass?"

After that encounter, Lin Yan's interest in continuing his stroll had faded significantly. He simply turned the cart around, planning to return to the inn to rest. As the ox cart passed through the long street and turned into a somewhat deserted alley, a figure suddenly appeared ahead. The person stood dead center in the alley, perfectly blocking the cart's path. Lin Yan pulled back on the reins and looked up.

It was an imposing middle-aged man. He wore a navy-blue robe. Though the material wasn't top-tier, it was immaculately pressed without a single wrinkle. His hair was meticulously combed and pinned back with a silver hairpin, every strand resting exactly where it belonged. His beard was trimmed so neatly it looked as if it had been measured with a ruler. From head to toe, the man exuded an air of rigid traditionalism. He stood there with his hands clasped behind his back, looking at Lin Yan calmly.

"An ox cart, a young man, a profound aura—this must be him."

Lin Yan watched him without speaking. The middle-aged man wasn't in a hurry either. He took a handkerchief from his sleeve and carefully wiped his fingers, even though they were already perfectly clean.

"My surname is Xiao," he said, his expression unchanging. "My master would like to invite you over for a chat, young man."

Lin Yan's brows twitched. He hadn't expected that right after meeting the old man, someone from the Xiao family would immediately come knocking. Sitting on the shaft of the cart, he looked down at the middle-aged man named Xiao, his frown slowly deepening.

They say a sharp weapon in hand naturally stirs murderous intent. He was just an ordinary person, and to suddenly gain such formidable power while maintaining his restraint was already quite remarkable. These past few days, everyone he had killed had struck first. He had never actively provoked anyone, nor had he ever used his martial arts to oppress others. Yet, not only did these people refuse to avoid him, they actively sought him out. It was simply too much! He wondered if they thought he was just a pushover.

Just as Lin Yan dropped the reins and was about to speak, a figure suddenly sped toward them from a distance. The silhouette moved incredibly fast, like an arrow released from a bowstring, sweeping from the mouth of the alley to the cart in the blink of an eye. Once she landed, Lin Yan could clearly see her face. It was the female guard who was always by Doctor Zhou's side. She stood in front of the ox cart, glaring at the middle-aged man.

"Xiao Wu!" Her voice carried an uncontrollable anger. "What exactly do you want? Madam cut ties with the Xiao family a long time ago! Why must you be so relentlessly overbearing?!"

The middle-aged man called Xiao Wu looked at the woman, his face devoid of any emotion. "Miss Mei, I am only following orders. My master is very interested in Mr. Lin, so he wishes to see him."

"Following orders?" Mei sneered. Though her sword was still in its sheath, her gaze was as sharp as an unsheathed blade. "Madam is saving lives and accumulating good karma. She hasn't used a single copper coin from the Xiao family, nor has she borrowed even a fraction of your name.

"What right do you have to make things difficult for her time and time again? Now you won't even spare the people who have helped her?"

She grew angrier the more she spoke, the veins on her sword-gripping hand bulging. "Your Xiao family has gone too far!"

Hearing this, Xiao Wu fell silent for a moment. He subconsciously reached into his sleeve to pull out his handkerchief, but for some reason, he stopped himself. "Miss Mei, there are some things I originally didn't wish to say."

His tone remained the same, but a flicker of emotion finally appeared in his eyes. "The First Madam is, after all, a member of the Xiao family. She shouldn't be showing her face in public, much less using the title of a Xiao family daughter-in-law to take the pulses of those lowly peasants."

Xiao Wu continued as if speaking to himself, "Everyone says she has the heart of a saint, but in my eyes, she is making a public spectacle of herself!"

"You!" Mei was furious to the extreme. "Fine, say what you will, but this gentleman merely helped out. Why must you find trouble with him too?"

"Trouble?" Xiao Wu raised an eyebrow. "So in Miss Mei's eyes, this is what the Xiao family has become... Well, so be it. Call it trouble if you must. I don't want to hurt you, so step aside obediently."