Li Yan possessed Divine Skills related to the sense of sll, which made him extrely sensitive to odors.
At the ceremony where Zhou Pan washed his hands of the underworld, Li Yan had a brief encounter with Han Kun and was introduced to him by Zhang Yuanshang, exchanging a few words.
Although they were not familiar with each other, the scent was already etched in his mory.
A thought crossed Li Yan’s mind, and he quickly stepped forward.
According to the intelligence, Lv San was also residing within the Cao Gang at Manchuan Pass. With his introduction, he might be able to find them quickly.
"Stop right there!"
Hearing the footsteps, two of Han Kun’s n imdiately beca alert, swiftly turned around, and blocked Li Yan’s path.
The temples of the two n bulged slightly, their eyes gleaming with sharpness, clearly indicating their skilled prowess.
Just as Han Kun turned around, Li Yan hurriedly greeted him with a salute, "Junior Li Yan, I am pleased to et Gang Leader Han."
"Li Yan?"
Han Kun was initially startled, then quickly rembered and nodded slightly, "What a coincidence, are you also here to attend the ceremony at Manchuan Pass?"
Li Yan was surprised, "What ceremony?"
Han Kun smiled, "Every year on the seventh day of the tenth month, Manchuan Pass holds a ceremony to worship Marquis Zhuge. It’s also the ti for a gathering of our Cao Gang brothers. Little Brother Li, what brings you to this place?"
At first, he didn’t really care.
The Cao Gang was not an ordinary guild. Not to ntion Li Yan, who was just a rising junior from Xianyang, even Zhou Pan had to be very polite to him when they t.
For such a junior from the pugilistic world, a simple acknowledgnt would suffice.
However, Han Kun suddenly recalled sothing.
Guan Wanche’s subtle maneuver at the ceremony where he declared leaving the underworld had not escaped his notice as an old pugilist.
And since Guan Wanche had joined the Captain Bureau and had also beheaded the Incense Master of the Maitreya Sect with Li Yan at Chaotic Burial Mound, it was sothing he had to consider more seriously.
As the Cao Gang lived off the waterways, it was necessary to maintain good relations with the court, so Han Kun’s tone was sowhat more courteous when speaking to Li Yan.
"I’ve co to Manchuan Pass to..."
Li Yan was about to speak when Han Kun gestured with his hand, "No rush, this place is too crowded. I’m just about to et an old acquaintance, where it’s quieter. We’ll talk when we get there."
"Thank you, senior."
With no other choice, Li Yan followed behind.
The group moved along, passed through Qin Street, then on to Chu Street, turning right after a few steps into an alley.
The alley was much quieter, and the residences all had high walls and large courtyards, with huge red lanterns hanging at the gates, looking quite festive.
"Gang Leader Han is here!"
Outside the second courtyard, two robust Protectors were standing guard alongside a young man in a white shirt. Upon seeing Han Kun, he imdiately went forward, bowing and scraping, "Auntie Fang guessed you would co and has been waiting for a long ti."
"Ha ha ha..."
Han Kun seed to be in a good mood, "I was delayed a bit on the way."
Li Yan’s expression was a bit strange.
Even across the courtyard, he could sll the scent of makeup powder.
An old acquaintance? It was clearly an old fla.
Led by the doorkeeper, they circled around the screen wall and entered the courtyard, and indeed, it was a brothel—and not a cheap one at that.
The style of the building was interesting as well.
It seed that due to its position connecting the north and the south, the residence combined the grandeur of northern mansions with the delicate elegance of southern courtyards.
The banquet was being set up in the main courtyard upon entry, with people filling up the side wings and main hall, all heads of the Carriage Shop, clinking their glasses and playing drinking gas, their loud voices drowning out the songs of the girls nearby.
They went through a side door into the back yard, where the layout was even more complex, with corridors, arches, pebble-strewn pathways, and bamboo groves... separating the small courtyards, creating both privacy and an impression of more expansive space.
Although Han Kun appeared to be walking without pause, he was stealing glances at Li Yan from ti to ti. Seeing that his expression was as usual, neither servile nor overbearing, Han Kun inwardly nodded in approval.
The last ti he had brought a young relative here, the young man had been gawking all over and even a little fearful.
No wonder he had made a na for himself at such a young age. This Qi Cultivation Technique alone was not sothing an ordinary youth could match.
Soon, they arrived at a quiet and elegant courtyard.
Inside the small pavilion in the courtyard, a banquet had already been prepared, with screens to block the wind and rows of lanterns, as gauze curtains fluttered in the night breeze.
In such an atmosphere, it would be fitting for a beautiful woman to play the pipa, yet there sat an old man, cradling a drum, holding wooden clappers, and singing by the pavilion’s side, "Of all under heaven~honorable and virtuous be few, in the Human World~how many such n can one accrue, at ho you may think~pugilistic world is fine, but once abroad you realize~being a guest is hard to define..."
His voice carried a worn timbre, his face lined with the hardships of the years, and he spoke in the soft dialect of Wu.
Li Yan could only vaguely understand and knew this to be a drum book performance, probably singing so sort of moral narrative.
However, Han Kun’s fra stiffened, his eyes reddening slightly after a long pause, he sighed softly, "Qin Fang, you’ve put thought into this."
"Good you realize it."
A gentle voice sounded, and from the side room of the courtyard, a white-clothed woman slowly erged, not tall and no longer young, but still in the pri of life, exuding a charm of her own.
Han Kun shook his head with a smile, "I haven’t heard the dialect of ho in twenty years. Suddenly hearing it today brings up a lot of emotions, making the joke in front of Qin Fang."
The woman also sighed, "When we fled our hotown, I was just a street singer and you just a boat hand. Who could have thought that you’d beco the gang leader today?"
Impressive!
Li Yan kept his expression steady, but internally he praised.
He didn’t know the true relationship between the two, but he could guess.
Even if this woman was an old fla, Han Kun spent most of his ti in Xianyang and couldn’t co often, so their relationship was inevitably strained.
A song in the dialect of ho, a mory from the past, was enough to soften the heart.
Any matters to be discussed would then beco much easier to approach.
Han Kun was an old pro at this ga, and he could tell the woman’s motives. He smiled faintly and changed the subject, "Qin Fang, let introduce to you. This young man is an erging talent from Xianyang, his surna is Li and his na Yan..."
"I know."
The woman smiled behind her fan, "When there’s no tiger in the mountains, the monkey may claim to be king. But even a roaring cub can scatter a monkey nest; you sure carried yourself with aplomb atop Niuback Ridge."
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