Chapter One Hundred and Six: Looking for Someone

After waiting a long while, Zhang Xuan finally saw Elder Tong returning from outside the gate. “Elder Tong, I heard a rumor that we are leaving here?”

“Where did you hear that rumor? It is rather accurate. In a few days, we will set out for the sect. I believe I mentioned this to you before. We plan to give you all special training there, and also introduce you to some senior brothers and junior brothers. When the time comes, if you have the chance, you can go out into the world together and pursue your dreams,” Elder Tong replied.

“Senior brothers and junior brothers?” Zhang Xuan frowned and thought for a moment. Could he have meant Zhang Ren, Zhang Xiu, and the others? But after a while, he stopped thinking about it. He would see them soon enough anyway. Right now, he had something important to ask Elder Tong. “Elder Tong, could you help me ask whether there is someone named Yan Liang in the Yan family?”

“Yan Liang, Yan Liang? I’ll ask about it later. I need to go back and tell your mistress that we are going to the sect, and ask whether she wants to go as well. I’ll help you make inquiries afterward.” With that, Elder Tong headed toward the inner courtyard.

Seeing the hour, Zhang Xuan went to the study hall to read. Knowledge was power, after all, and learning a few more characters was no bad thing. Besides, he could also ask around at the school and see whether anyone knew Yan Liang.

By the time Zhang Xuan reached the school, the classroom was already packed with people. Several students shared a single bamboo slip, passing it from hand to hand, and while doing so they carved words onto it with small knives. Compared with their enthusiasm for study, Zhang Xuan was truly far too idle.

Zhang Xuan went to the Yan family’s well-informed source, for within every great household there was always such a person whose information was the most comprehensive: from the head of the family’s decisions to the psychological changes of the cesspit workers, every sort of detail was in their grasp. “Brother Yan Tong, let me ask you something. I wonder if you know the answer?”

“So it’s Little Xuan. Nothing in the Yan family can really be hidden from me. I even know how many snores you make at night, so feel free to ask,” Yan Tong said. Over these past three months, Zhang Xuan had already become quite familiar with the martial practitioners, servants, and hired laborers of the Yan family. Many of them called him “Little Xuan,” and the nickname had become deeply rooted in people’s minds.

“Do you know someone named Yan Liang?” Zhang Xuan asked. To be honest, even he did not know whether Yan Liang’s family was actually here. He was simply asking on the off chance of catching a lucky break. It would be great if there were news; if not, it would not matter much. After all, such things depended on fate.

“Little Xuan, I don’t think the Yan family has anyone by that name. I’ve also never heard of such a person among those who train here in the Yan family. After class ends, I’ll help you ask the steward. He manages all the people here, so he should know better.”

“Then I’ll be troubling you. Class is about to start, so I’d better go back too. If you get any news, remember to let me know.” Zhang Xuan had already spotted the rather strict old scholar. He did not want to provoke him; he had already done that once before and was made to stand for an hour and a half as punishment. That punishment had been mocked for many days by Yang Zaixing, Yuwen Chengdu, Elder Tong, and a few other utterly conscienceless people. So Zhang Xuan, following the principle that if he could not afford to offend someone he should simply avoid them, behaved as meekly as possible in that old scholar’s class.

That afternoon, Yan Tong found Zhang Xuan. “Little Xuan, I asked the steward. He said that, as far as he remembers, the Yan family doesn’t seem to have anyone called Yan Liang. He even went to ask the elders at home, and they all said they had never heard of such a person.”

“All right, thanks. If there isn’t one, then there isn’t one.” That made sense too. The world was so vast, and there were so many people with the surname Yan under heaven—why would that person happen to be near him? Ideal hopes were always full and bright, but reality was truly skeletal. After all, Zhang Xuan did not have some golden finger that could summon civil ministers and military generals with a bit of hatred points or delight points.

Later, Elder Tong also told Zhang Xuan that, from what he knew, the Yan family indeed had no one by the name of Yan Liang. He even asked how Zhang Xuan had come to know Yan Liang in the first place. Zhang Xuan said they had once been playmates, but later, because of war, his family moved away, so he only wanted to inquire about him. After hearing this, Elder Tong told Zhang Xuan not to worry and said that if fate allowed, they would meet again someday.

A few days later, according to Elder Tong’s arrangements, Zhang Xuan and the others were to leave the Yan family, where they had lived for nearly four months. He felt somewhat reluctant to part. Before departing, Zhang Xuan and his group made one last trip to the mountain at the edge of town for a barbecue. This time, they even brought along the family head, Yan Mao, and some of the Yan family’s key figures, such as the steward. After all, in deference to Elder Tong’s face, the Yan family had cared for Zhang Xuan and the others free of charge for so long; they had to show their gratitude somehow. They had nothing else to offer, so all they could do was use these barbecue skills to honor them.

After the group had eaten and drunk their fill, Family Head Yan Mao and the others also voiced a complaint, asking why they had not been allowed to try this so-called barbecue sooner. In the end, Zhang Xuan could only teach the Yan family chefs how to prepare it. Later, Family Head Yan Mao made the barbecue method a secret of the Yan family. But that was a story for later.

Zhang Xuan and the others packed up their belongings and, together with Elder Tong, set off on the road to the sect.