Yan Liqiang watched as Fang Beidou and the others left Deer Villa.
Then, with a different state of mind, Yan Liqiang started strolling in Deer Villa.
It was snowing and the lake where Yan Liqiang cultivated his spear technique was long frozen. Only a few rocks stuck above the water surface but they were covered by snow. The thatched cottage was still around, but Li Hongtu was no longer here. Not only him, but Ji Xiaoyao and their beloved ‘Little Ying’ had left Deer Villa.
According to Little Li, all of them vanished from Deer Villa two months ago. They left silently and no one knew where they had gone. They didn’t pack anything either. They left all the treasures that the Emperor bestowed upon them here untouched. When the Emperor received news of their disappearance, he even took some time off to come to Deer Villa, and visited Li Hongtu’s thatched cottage and Ji Xiaoyao’s manor. In the end, he could only leave with a sigh after seeing all the items they left behind.
Seeing the thatched cottage made Yan Liqiang miss its owner. Yan Liqiang lingered around Li Hongtu’s thatched cottage for a good while, then made his way to Ji Xiaoyao’s manor. He took a stroll around the bamboo forest beside it, then sat quietly in the pavilion where Ji Xiaoyao would usually play his zither. After a long while, Yan Liqiang sorted out his feelings and familiarly found his way to the artisan workshop in Deer Villa.
As soon as Yan Liqiang arrived at the workshop entrance, he was greeted by the sight of Supervisor Wen.
“Oh, Lord Yan! Why are you here? I just received news about your return and was thinking of paying you a visit tonight to see if there’s anything I can do for you!”
Supervisor Wen immediately jogged toward Yan Liqiang when he saw him, then gave him a bow. It had been a long time since they’d seen each other — Supervisor Wen had grown a lot rounder and his eyes had gotten real squinty. He wore a heavy fur coat and hat. Looking at his round body shape, it was hard to not laugh.
“Long time no see! Supervisor Wen, you seem to have put on some weight again. Looking healthy!” Yan Liqiang teased.
“It’s all thanks to you, Lord Yan…!” Supervisor maintained his smile as he cupped his fist to Yan Liqiang.
“Are the items I left here before still around?” When Yan Liqiang left Deer Villa, he left all the iron poles he used for his training in the workshop with Supervisor Wen.
“Yes, of course! I still keep it for you, Lord Yan! They’re all in the storeroom. If you need them, I’ll send them over to you on a carriage!”
“No rush!” Yan Liqiang waved. “Those 350-jin iron poles are too light for me to use now. Can you recycle them? Good thing there’s a furnace in the workshop, so it shouldn’t be troublesome. Please melt them, then remake twelve of them for me. Make each of them a thousand jin heavy…”
Despite being covered by a heavy fur coat, Supervisor Wen involuntarily shivered when he heard Yan Liqiang’s request. The iron poles Yan Liqiang requested were those that were meant to be used like nunchucks. It would take at least three to five burly men to move even one of them, and now Yan Liqiang was requesting twelve of them. That meant a whopping 12,000 jin. Good heavens, a carriage pulled by two oxen might not even be able to transport such heavy items. Could he really lift that alone?
Supervisor Wen sized up Yan Liqiang in a strange manner while thinking. It had been a few years since they last met, and Yan Liqiang indeed changed slightly in appearance. He seemed much more energetic now, but he didn’t look all that different from an ordinary person. Regardless, Supervisor Wen simply couldn’t relate Yan Liqiang’s physique to those 12,000 jin iron poles.
“What’s wrong? Is the workshop unable to provide 12,000 jin of iron or are the artisans too busy? If it’s too troublesome, just let me know. I can find someone else to do it!” Yan Liqiang asked when he noticed Supervisor Wen’s silence.
Supervisor Wen immediately snapped back to reality when he heard Yan Liqiang’s question and slapped his own chest. “Of course not! We are always ready to serve Lord Yan! The artisans happen to be very free over the next few days. They are only making some farming tools that the royal families ordered and those should be done soon. I should be able to get those ready for you in three days at most and have them delivered to you, Lord Yan…”
“Good! I’ll leave that to you then, Supervisor Wen!” A friendly smile appeared on Yan Liqiang’s face. “Keep this low profile, don’t let too many know about it lest it invites trouble!”
12,000 jin was only 6,000 kilograms. Considering the density of iron, six tonnes of iron was less than a cubic meter. For Yan Liqiang currently, it wasn’t considered heavy for he had acquired a terrifying amount of strength ever since he sucked that ten thousand-year spirit leech dry.
“Rest assured, my lord. I understand. Unless it is a question from Eunuch Li himself, no one will talk about it. The artisans in this workshop know their place too!”
“Mhm, glad to hear that. Just have them delivered to the courtyard I used to live in once they are ready!”
“Yes, yes. Leave it to me, my lord!”
After telling Supervisor Wen his request, Yan Liqiang left immediately.
There were three more months until spring, when the Emperor would leave the Imperial Capital. Yan Liqiang didn’t want to waste his time doing nothing during this period. He had to seize every opportunity to cultivate and strengthen himself, so he decided to pick up the extreme training routine he used in the past again…
After Yan Liqiang was done at Deer Villa, he went to the Imperial Capital city once more on carriage and submitted his official license to the Ministry of Appointments as a proof that he had reported himself in at the Imperial Capital upon receiving the imperial edict. Then after he returned to Deer Villa again, he focused on performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing in the courtyard he used to stay in.
The next day, Yan Liqiang went to visit Eunuch Liu at his residence only to find out that he had left the Imperial Capital and went to inspect a horse ranch in Hui Province.
At first, Yan Liqiang thought the Emperor would only summon him after a few more days. Little did he expect that a day after he reported in, a eunuch from the palace came to Deer Villa in the evening on the third day and informed Yan Liqiang that the Emperor had summoned him. Yan Liqiang was given some time to prepare before he was taken into the palace for the audience.