Chapter 467: Special Envoy Arrives, Weishui Patrol

Chapter 467: Chapter 379: Special Envoy Arrives, Weishui Patrol

When the banquet concluded, Chen Ping’an walked toward the main gate, surrounded by a throng of Mu Family Clan Elders. These elders, renowned within the Mu Family for their stern, unsmiling authority, now appeared exceptionally cordial and enthusiastic, every one of them beaming.

As the group made their way out, the Mu Family’s servants and stewards hurriedly parted to create a path. They remained rooted to the spot even after the party had passed, many of them watching the scene unfold with unconcealed astonishment in their eyes.

“Lord Chen, please forgive us if our hospitality was lacking in any way!” Mu Tianxiong said, his face wreathed in smiles as he and the Mu Family Clan Elders stood at the gate to see Chen Ping’an off.

“Patriarch Mu, you are too kind.” Chen Ping’an exchanged a few pleasantries before boarding the carriage under everyone’s watchful eyes. A guard lifted the carriage’s front curtain for him, lowering it slowly only after he was settled inside.

“Safe travels, My Lord!”

Amidst the chorus of respectful farewells, the carriage slowly began to move, pulling away into the distance.

…

In a courtyard within the Mu Family estate, Mu Zhixuan stood with red, swollen eyes and disheveled hair, staring blankly out the window at the sky.

‘Mang Blade Chen Ping’an… ranked fifth among the rising stars… his combat prowess is comparable to the peerless masters…’

‘Only twenty-two years old… and already promoted to Deputy Commander-in-Chief…’

The Clan Elders, who had always been so haughty and looked down on everyone, had shed all their dignity and pretense before Chen Ping’an. The image of their expressions, a mixture of cordiality and fawning, replayed endlessly in Mu Zhixuan’s mind. Each scene was like a tidal wave crashing against her heart.

…

After the Mu Family banquet, Chen Ping’an accepted invitations from several other families over the next few days, attending dinners hosted by the Liu, Fu, and Fang Families in succession.

As he made his way to the Fang Family banquet, a number of memories from the past surfaced in Chen Ping’an’s mind.

Back then, after he had killed Zuo Wumei, an apostate from the Shadowless Blade Sect, he had gone to the Fang Family’s Treasure Pavilion to choose a treasure. While the occasion itself should have been a positive one, Chen Ping’an’s experience had been far from pleasant.

The prejudice and arrogance of a millennium-old Noble Family had been on full display. The irony was that the one exhibiting this arrogance and prejudice wasn’t even one of the Fang Family Elders, but merely an outer steward.

“Young Master Chen, there’s something you may not realize. Joining the Fang Family wouldn’t hinder your career in the Garrison Commandant’s Office in the slightest. On the contrary, the Fang Family would be your greatest support, doing everything in our power to help you secure your footing there, and perhaps even climb higher.”

“I’ve grown accustomed to my freedom. Thirty years is too long a commitment, and I really don’t wish to join a faction, only to be ordered about. I appreciate the kind offer, Steward Fang, but I’ll have to pass.”

“Young Master Chen, joining a faction does indeed require sacrificing a degree of freedom. But the benefits are also tangible. For instance…”

“My Fang Family has a thousand-year legacy, and we have brought outsiders into the fold before. Among those who joined, one man performed so exceptionally that he caught the eye of the Patriarch of his time. He was promoted repeatedly, and eventually married a daughter from the direct family line, becoming one of our very own Fang Family Clan Elders.”

Recalling that scene, Chen Ping’an looked at the fawning, smiling Fang Family Elders before him and felt a profound sense of satisfaction and mental clarity. His spirit felt utterly refreshed!

‘Amusing! How utterly amusing!’

He had never truly tasted the vindication from the old saying, “Do not scorn a youth for his poverty, for the river flows east for thirty years, then west for thirty years.” But this experience was close enough, and it brought a similar sense of elation.

“Lord Chen, is everything alright?” one of the Fang Family Elders asked cautiously.

“It’s nothing, I just found myself recalling some things from the past,” Chen Ping’an said with a smile, gently shaking his head.

“Ah, I see. Lord Chen is truly a man of deep feeling.” At these words, the Fang Family Elder’s expression relaxed. He immediately raised his cup, looked around the room, and declared, “Come, everyone! Let us all raise a toast to Lord Chen!”

His declaration was met with a chorus of agreement as many guests rose to their feet, raising their cups to offer a toast.

“Yes, yes! A toast to Lord Chen!”

“To you, Lord Chen!”

“…”

By the time the banquet ended, it was already late into the night. Chen Ping’an walked toward the exit, escorted by the Fang Family Elders.

The Fang Family residence was a labyrinth of winding paths and twisting corridors. As Chen Ping’an passed a pavilion by a pond, another scene flashed through his mind.

On the pavilion, several richly dressed young men and women were laughing and playfully teasing one another, their joy unconstrained.

Maids stood in attendance behind them, and the stone table at the center was laden with a sumptuous spread of pastries and fine foods.

The steward who had been guiding him saw these young masters and ladies, left him standing to the side, and went to bow and greet them. His reward was to be completely ignored by the youths in the pavilion.

Back then, he was just a young man in simple robes, an insignificant junior on his first visit to the Fang Family. Forget the Clan Elders—even the family’s own youths paid him no mind.

And today…

Chen Ping’an glanced around, seeing the members of the Fang Family surrounding him like stars revolving around the moon. The scene couldn’t help but draw a soft chuckle from him.

The surrounding Fang Family Elders had no idea what Chen Ping’an found so funny, but seeing him laugh, they reflexively forced a few awkward chuckles of their own.

Outside the gates of the Fang Family residence, the scene of the crowd seeing him off was a remarkable spectacle. Such a display of power and prestige undoubtedly drew the envy of countless onlookers.

Seated in his carriage, Chen Ping’an watched the smiling faces of the Fang Family members and the respectful gazes of the numerous servants and guards seeing him off. His heart filled with a pure, unrestrained delight.

Only after the carriage had pulled away and vanished from the Fang Family’s view did Chen Ping’an’s elation finally begin to subside.

‘The path of the Martial Dao is long, arduous, and often lonely. Experiences like this can be a welcome diversion, a pleasant distraction on the journey. But I must never lose sight of my true self or become intoxicated by it. Power and status are a tall tower, but the Martial Dao is the foundation. Without a foundation, it’s merely a castle in the sky, ready to crumble in the blink of an eye!’