OFTLHFRO C181
by berryChapter 181: It Is a Curse
Luo Mingchen had assumed it would be difficult to arrange a meeting with Lan Yiheng.
To his surprise, after merely mentioning it, the City Lord arrived almost immediately.
If anyone was truly busy, it was actually Lan Fei.
No one knew why the responsibility of hunting the Sand Wraiths had fallen upon Lan Fei’s shoulders. However, since neither Lan Yiheng nor Zhu Ruo, his parents, had voiced any objections, it would have been rather presumptuous for outsiders to question the matter.
Thus, no one brought it up.
After entering the room, Lan Yiheng smiled as he looked over everyone present.
Huo Xiang and Huo Xinyue had gone off to play with Lan Fei.
Huo Yuhui sat beside Luo Mingchen, holding Da Bai in his arms.
Only five people remained to discuss business.
After exchanging greetings and taking their seats, Lan Yiheng asked,
“How have you all enjoyed yourselves in the city?”
Luo Mingchen smiled.
“Quite a lot. Everyone has been very welcoming.”
Lan Yiheng laughed.
“They’re only enthusiastic toward people who are good-looking.”
Then again…
If someone weren’t good-looking enough, they would never have been invited into the City Lord’s residence in the first place.
The corner of Luo Mingchen’s lips twitched.
He decided to accept that as a compliment.
After chatting for a while, Lan Yiheng took a sip of tea before asking,
“You didn’t travel all this way to Wolf King Fortress merely for sightseeing, did you?”
Luo Mingchen looked toward Huo Yan, silently indicating that he should answer.
Receiving the signal from his husband, Huo Yan spoke.
“To be honest, City Lord, we’ve come because of Cold City’s mutual market opening this spring.”
Lan Yiheng nodded knowingly.
“Don’t worry. We’ll send people to support your opening when the time comes.”
“Our purpose isn’t simply attracting customers,” Huo Yan explained. “We also hope to learn the prices of goods carried by merchant caravans from various regions so that we can establish fair pricing.”
After listening, Lan Yiheng nodded.
“That’s simple enough. I’ll have someone copy a price register for you later.”
He paused before adding,
“Of course, every region has its own market prices. What I possess can only serve as a reference.”
Huo Yan inclined his head.
“Very well. Then we’ll trouble the City Lord.”
“The yogurt you make is truly excellent,” Lan Yiheng remarked. “I find it even better than the yogurt from Glass City.”
Turning toward Luo Mingchen, he continued,
“And those taro chips were delicious as well. My wife is especially fond of them.”
Luo Mingchen smiled.
“As long as Madam likes them. Later, if I may borrow the kitchen, I’ll prepare some more.”
“That would be wonderful.”
Lan Yiheng no longer treated them with excessive courtesy.
He had already realized that Luo Mingchen was an exceptionally straightforward person.
If treated too politely…
He would genuinely take it seriously.
They chatted for a while longer before Luo Mingchen finally asked the question he had been holding back.
“City Lord… those monsters that attacked us on the night we arrived… what exactly were they?”
Lan Yiheng had expected this question all along.
“They’re the Sand Wraiths. They appear every so often, and no matter how many we kill, they never disappear completely.”
“They fear water… the Frost Art practiced by our Sand Tribe… and arrows forged from a particular metal.”
“Whenever they appear, we close the city gates, activate the defensive mechanisms, and evacuate the merchant caravans.”
Since Luo Mingchen had already opened the subject, Li Yunde followed with another question.
“Then why are they so… unnatural?”
Lan Yiheng replied calmly,
“That is a mystery my ancestors sought for generations.”
“If I knew the answer… those creatures would no longer exist.”
Seeing everyone’s expressions darken, he reassured them,
“The Sand Wraiths only appear near Wolf King Fortress. That has been the case for several hundred years. You needn’t worry.”
Luo Mingchen asked,
“Then why not simply send more people? Wouldn’t that eliminate them more quickly?”
Lan Yiheng smiled faintly.
“To you, they appear numerous.”
“To us… killing them is no more difficult than crushing a swarm of ants.”
“Fei’er alone is sufficient.”
“It also serves as his training.”
“One day Wolf King Fortress will belong to him.”
“Everything he must learn… he has to master before I die.”
The final sentence caused everyone’s expressions to change.
Only Luo Mingchen voiced what everyone else had silently wondered.
“City Lord… you don’t even look thirty years old. Isn’t it a little early to speak about dying?”
Lan Yiheng chuckled.
“I’m twenty-seven this year.”
“But every City Lord of Wolf King Fortress dies before reaching forty.”
“When you calculate it… I don’t have many years left.”
“So no… it isn’t too early.”
“…Huh?”
Luo Mingchen was utterly stunned.
Then—
A horrifying thought crossed his mind.
If his daughter truly fell for Lan Fei…
If the two of them married…
Wouldn’t she become a widow?
And what if…
She became so heartbroken that she followed him in death?
Thinking of that possibility, Luo Mingchen hurriedly asked,
“Is it a hereditary illness?”
The reason Lan Yiheng had deliberately brought up the subject was precisely so Luo Mingchen and Huo Yan would know the truth.
He wanted them to understand it now.
Otherwise, if Huo Xinyue someday married into Wolf King Fortress only to learn the truth afterward…
Wouldn’t that make them seem as though they had deceived her into marriage?
If they couldn’t accept it…
It would be better to distance themselves now.
Fortunately, Huo Xinyue was still very young.
Children forgot things easily.
Thus, when Luo Mingchen asked, Lan Yiheng answered honestly.
“It isn’t an illness.”
“But it passes from generation to generation.”
“Our bloodline produces only one child each generation.”
“And that child is always a son.”
“None of us lives beyond forty.”
“It resembles… a curse.”
“Yesterday I asked Physician Hua to examine me.”
“He found nothing abnormal.”
“But I know…”
“When I reach thirty-nine… my body will suddenly become incredibly aged.”
“Then I will die.”
“Exactly as my father did.”
“And my ancestors before him.”
After hearing that, Luo Mingchen’s expression became rather unpleasant.
Even Ji Bowen had never encountered such a condition before.
It was simply too unbelievable.
Holding Da Bai, Huo Yuhui frowned slightly.
Besides curiosity…
What he felt most was concern for both Lan Fei…
And his little sister.
His sister would probably be alright.
She was still young.
She didn’t remember things well.
Take her somewhere far away…
And she would likely forget Lan Fei before long.
But Lan Fei…
He was far too mature for his age.
He would remember forever.
And as his friend…
The thought that Lan Fei would never live past forty…
Was difficult to accept.
Huo Yan understood perfectly why Lan Yiheng had revealed all of this.
He was deeply grateful for the man’s honesty.
Luo Mingchen, meanwhile, had indeed thought about his daughter’s future.
But he hadn’t realized that Lan Yiheng was actually observing the couple’s reaction.
Instead…
He found himself far more fascinated by the condition itself.
“City Lord…”
“May I examine you?”
Lan Yiheng blinked.
“Lord Luo also knows medicine?”
“No.”
“I don’t.”
Luo Mingchen answered with such absolute confidence that everyone present couldn’t help laughing.
Lan Yiheng sighed helplessly.
“Then… how exactly do you intend to examine me?”
“Hold out one hand.”
“I’ll use my… internal energy to inspect you.”
Upon hearing that request, both Li Yunde and Ji Bowen fell silent.
Wasn’t that…
Rather excessive?
Not only did such an examination require complete trust from the person being examined…
The examiner’s cultivation also had to greatly exceed the other’s.
Yet in their eyes…
Luo Mingchen and Lan Yiheng appeared to possess comparable strength.
If they actually attempted it…
Something might very well go terribly wrong.
After pondering for a long moment, Lan Yiheng asked,
“May I ask… why?”
Luo Mingchen answered just as honestly as before.
“I suspect you’re cultivating the wrong type of power.”
“That’s why this keeps happening.”
“But we’ve tried practicing other cultivation methods as well,” Lan Yiheng replied. “The result was exactly the same.”
Luo Mingchen thought for a moment before saying,
“You’ve never tried mine.”
Those words left Lan Yiheng silent.
Seeing the obvious hesitation on his face, Luo Mingchen reluctantly suppressed his curiosity.
“If the City Lord is uncomfortable with it… then let’s forget about it.”
It was simply a pity…
That the little boy his daughter had chosen…
As the thought crossed his mind, Luo Mingchen concluded that asking Lan Fei directly might actually be easier.
Children were usually far easier to persuade than adults.
Just as he was thinking that—
He suddenly heard Lan Yiheng speak.
“Then… I shall trouble Lord Luo.”
Luo Mingchen looked up in surprise.
Lan Yiheng…
Had actually agreed?