The Return of Stars to the Jianghu

It was already noon, and Luo Yifei and Bili had been pulling weeds in the yard for quite some time. They had only managed to clear a path through the yard.

"That's enough. If you can't find anyone to take care of the yard later, you can pull the weeds out then." Qiao Zhi said to Luo Yifei and Bi Li after walking back and forth along the stone slabs covered with weeds.

"I've already checked it. This three-courtyard house just has a lot of weeds in the yard, and the houses are just dusty. But I'll have to spend some time inspecting it to see if there are any loose parts that need repair. I'll go to the market this afternoon to see if I can find any skilled craftsmen." Qi Zhi said, already walking from the house through the front yard to the gate.

Qiao Zhi walked out of the courtyard and gestured for the group to return to the inn together. Qingwei and Huaxi followed without saying much.

On the contrary, Luo Yifei and Bili lagged behind. Bili locked the courtyard gate, and Luo Yifei said to him, "Can't we hire laborers and craftsmen? Let me come with you to pull weeds."

“It’s normal to weed your own yard. My Bi family isn’t like the Ji family, which are big merchants, nor is it like the Qiao family, which are officials, where we have to rely on servants to do everything. My Bi family believes in doing everything ourselves,” Bi Li replied to Luo Yifei.

"Are you two going back for lunch?" Qiao Zhi called out to the two men who were still talking at the courtyard gate.

Upon hearing Qiao Zhi's words, Bi Li quickly walked over, and Luo Yifei had no choice but to follow. However, after hearing Bi Li's words, which didn't seem like a joke, Luo Yifei was even more confused about the Bi family's style, or the complexity of people's hearts in this world.

Luo Yifei followed behind the group. Suo Xing didn't think much more about it. Ever since he obtained the only clue last night, he had been pondering his next plan.

With war raging everywhere, Luo Yifei was torn between going directly to Meng Kingdom according to the address or trying to find a way back to Mount Emei first.

Although they were walking, the courtyard wasn't far from the inn. They had previously gone to the Bi family's grain store at the market, taking a longer route. This time, however, they returned to the inn quickly.

After finishing his meal, Luo Yifei told everyone that he was still a little dizzy and wouldn't participate in any activities that afternoon; he was going upstairs to rest.

Qiao Zhi had originally planned to ask Luo Yifei to go to the market with him to find craftsmen and find some items needed for the new house, but after hearing what Luo Yifei said, he had no choice but to give up.

Luo Yifei lay on the bed with his eyes closed, planning his next steps, but ultimately couldn't come up with a safe solution.

After a long time, Luo Yifei still couldn't fall asleep; instead, he became restless. He finally got up and sat up, seeing Bi Li sitting at the table, wiping his sword. He wondered if any souls had perished beneath that sword.

"Bili, do you think it's better for me to go back to the West to find help and then go to Meng to look for clues, or is it better to go directly to Meng?" Luo Yifei walked to the table and asked Bili.

“Neither is good,” Bili answered directly. “Mount Emei is now surrounded by the Later Tang, and it won’t be easy to get in. As for going directly to Meng, that’s probably not feasible either. We’ve only been in the Southern Han for a short time when Nanzhao colluded with Meng and Nanping to attack Nanyue. Unexpectedly, Meng and Nanping stopped fighting shortly after the three kingdoms entered the border of Nanyue. Nanyue then marched north into Nanzhao, but remained indifferent to the other two kingdoms crossing the border. To get to Meng, we have to pass through the war zone between Nanzhao and Nanyue.”

Luo Yifei didn't say much after hearing Bili's words, and directly took out a map. He pointed to the map and said to Bili, "What if I take the sea to go around to Meng?"

“You seem to have forgotten what Qi Yuan said about pirates. We didn’t encounter any pirates this time, firstly because pirates rarely operate in coastal waters, and secondly because Qi Yuan’s planned route bypassed the pirate’s area. Even if you were lucky enough not to encounter any pirates, given how seasick you were the whole way, traveling at sea would probably have been very dangerous.” Bi Li didn’t give Luo Yifei any face at all.

After a moment of silence, Luo Yifei said to Bili, "Since the Tang Clan leader wants to see me, he certainly doesn't want me to die on the way. How about I meet him first, and then take a route through the Later Tang Kingdom to Mount Emei?" Luo Yifei pointed to An Island on the map, then slid north to the capital of the Later Tang Kingdom, and then west to Mount Emei in the Qi Kingdom.

“Okay, but you’ll have to walk that road yourself. Once you’ve settled in these next couple of days, Qi Yuan will definitely be returning to Freedom City, and I’ll go back with him.” Bi Li put away his polished sword and said to Luo Yifei.

"Knock, knock, knock." Just as the two were talking, there was a knock on the door. It wasn't their door that was being knocked on, but the door of the room next door.

Upon hearing the sound, Bi Li picked up his sword and went outside. As soon as he opened the door, he saw Dugu Xin knocking on the door of the next room, while Qi Yuan walked towards him.

"It's me, Dugu Xin." As Luo Yifei walked out of the room, he heard Dugu Xin calling out to the next room, and then he saw Qingwei open the door for him.

Although Luo Yifei had been very curious about their love story before, he had no interest in watching the spectacle at this moment.

"Bi Li, Luo Yifei, come to my room." Qi Yuan himself waved to them.

"Wait for me, I'm coming too." At this moment, Hua Xi also walked out of the room she shared with Qingwei. Clearly, she wanted to give Dugu Xin and Ji Qingwei some private space.

Dugu Xin casually closed the door, unaware of what he was going to talk about with Ji Qingwei.