Hearing this, Wei Hai and the old beggar exchanged a glance, then both turned to Gu Ning'an.
Seeing their looks, Gu Ning'an smiled and said, "I'm not in a rush. But visiting your home now might interrupt your rare time to reunite with Miss Ren Yue."
At this, Li Xunshan waved his hands repeatedly. "There's nothing special between Yue'er and me. I don't have many mutual friends with her… Honestly, I've been too busy earning a living to make any true friends myself."
"But after this journey together, I'll say this from the bottom of my heart: Though we may be of vastly different ages, to me, you are no longer strangers sharing a boat but friends I can open up to and have heartfelt conversations with."
Wei Hai patted Li Xunshan on the shoulder and said solemnly, "Kid, it's fine if you see Mr. Gu and me as friends… but forget about including that old Wen guy."
The old beggar, feeling touched, immediately stepped forward to argue. "Drunkard, explain yourself clearly today! Why can't I be considered a friend?"
Wei Hai sneered and extended his sour-smelling left hand toward Li Xunshan, frowning. "His mouth stinks, and he spits everywhere. I'm worried if you stick around him too much, Miss Ren will start avoiding you!"
The old beggar's breath caught in his chest, unable to go up or down. Pointing at Wei Hai with wide eyes, he finally said, "You're the one reeking of alcohol! If I'd known, I'd have spit on you a few more times!"
Wei Hai spat into his palm mockingly and said, "Old man, earlier you denied it, but now you've confessed yourself!"
"There are river bandits!" The old beggar suddenly pointed behind Wei Hai.
Startled, both Wei Hai and Li Xunshan turned around, immediately on guard.
When they found nothing behind them, they turned back just in time to see Old Wen* walking off in the distance—and heard a loud "ptooey!" [*It said Gu Ning'an in the raw, which is clearly a mistake.]
Splat!
Feeling the wetness on his face, Wei Hai's face turned red with rage. Letting out a loud shout, he took off in pursuit of the fleeing old beggar.
"These two… their combined age is over a hundred, yet they're still acting like kids." Li Xunshan turned to Gu Ning'an, shaking his head in disbelief.
Gu Ning'an nodded. "But it shows their genuine nature."
As the central prefecture governing thirteen provinces and nearly a hundred counties, Jiangling Prefecture was vast beyond measure.
Gu Ning'an's group spent over half an hour just queuing at the city gate and passing the guards' inspection before finally entering Jiangling.
Inside the city, street vendors loudly hawked their goods, the shops lining the roads bustled with endless streams of customers, and the towering, intricate buildings were a dazzling sight.
However, for the group of four, two of them had lived in Jiangling before, so this was nothing new to them. Li Xunshan was especially familiar with the area, as most of his leisure activities took place here rather than in Gucheng County.
As for Gu Ning'an, he had traveled to many prefectures before, including the prestigious Jingji Prefecture in the heart of Great Qian.
Even if he hadn't seen such sights before, the bustling cities of the modern world far surpassed those of this era in their brilliance.
Thus, the architecture here held little novelty for him.
Led by Li Xunshan, the group walked nearly ten miles before arriving at a residence.
Above the gate hung a plaque with four characters written in elegant script: "Ren Family Courtyard."
On the way, Li Xunshan had explained that this courtyard was a secluded home purchased by Ren Yue's parents for her. Other than Ren Yue and a few maids and guards, no one else lived there.
Whenever Li Xunshan visited Ren Yue, he stayed in this courtyard. Of course, they occupied separate rooms, maintaining a relationship that was affectionate yet respectful of propriety.
Ren Yue's parents were aware of Li Xunshan staying in the courtyard. Unlike many parents of this era, they were relatively open-minded and didn't oppose it.
This understanding was partly due to Li Xunshan's gentlemanly conduct and partly due to Ren Yue's personality.
As Li Xunshan was about to step up and knock on the door, it suddenly opened a crack. A petite young woman holding a bundle hurried out in a fluster.
"Xiao Yu, where are you rushing off to in such a hurry?" Li Xunshan asked.
The woman, addressed as Xiao Yu, shivered as if caught doing something wrong. She avoided his gaze and stammered, "Y-Young Master Li, why are you here?"
"I'm here to see Yue'er. Is she home?" Li Xunshan asked with a smile, noticing nothing unusual.
Xiao Yu tightened her hold on the bundle and replied, "Miss returned to the main house today. She likely won't be back until after dinner…
Young Master Li, why don't you come inside and wait for her?"
Li Xunshan hesitated briefly. "That… works too. But what are you holding so tightly? You seem nervous."
"Ah…" Xiao Yu's face froze, her eyes darting around as she answered, "This is a tonic Miss ordered me to deliver to Master and Madam. I'm running late, so I must go now. Please make yourself at home, Young Master Li!"
With that, Xiao Yu hastily left, striding as though a wild beast were chasing her.
"Shifty eyes and trembling speech—this maid is hiding something," the old beggar said, his gaze following Xiao Yu. He added, "Li boy, I suggest you stop her and check what's in that bundle."
Wei Hai nodded in agreement. "Right. With no one else at home, this maid might have taken something and planned to run off."
Li Xunshan waved his hand with a chuckle. "That's impossible. Yue'er treats Xiao Yu like a sister. Whenever she buys fine cosmetics, she always gets a new set just for Xiao Yu. She's never wanted for anything. Stealing is something she would never do."
Since Li Xunshan was so certain, neither Wei Hai nor the old beggar pressed the matter further, though they still felt the maid's behavior was suspicious.
Meanwhile, Gu Ning'an's gaze fell on the slightly ajar gate. He noticed something wedged in the gap on the ground.
Since it wasn't his place to touch anything, he patted Li Xunshan's shoulder and said, "There's something stuck in the door."
"Oh?" Li Xunshan looked over, then quickly stepped forward to retrieve the item.
Once he held it in his hand, everyone could see what it was—two slightly crumpled letters.