OFTLHFRO C102

Chapter 102 Is He About to Ride the Crane West?

They did not wait long before members of the Huo household had surrounded the estate.

After sensing the situation, Luo Mingchen only snorted inwardly—how afraid were these people that Huo Yan might run away?

Once they had ringed the compound like an iron bucket, someone knocked on the main gate.

To be frank, if the Huo party wanted to leave, another two hundred men wouldn’t have mattered; the problem was that if they did not move, a whole lot of trouble would follow. Even if they fled, those men would pursue them. The law is typically written to restrain ordinary folk—this world made that fact painfully clear.

And unfortunately for them, they were just commoners.

The instant the knock came, Luo Mingchen opened the door.

The man who had been banging on the gate froze.

Whether by coincidence or fate, those men were sizing Luo Mingchen up as he returned the scrutiny and, by habit, asked, “What’s the matter?”

The leader was a strapping man of roughly thirty, upright in bearing and evidently military. He said, “We’re from the Huo household in the capital. We’re here to fetch Huo Yan.”

Luo Mingchen asked, “What’s your name?”

The man’s eyes brimmed with disdain. He had campaigned for years and detested effete types, especially men who kept company with other men—neither wholly masculine nor feminine in his mind. Even if the law allowed it, the sight made his skin crawl.

Hearing Luo Mingchen’s question, the man’s demeanor turned arrogant. “Xue Kang.”

“Oh, don’t know him. Hold on.” With that Luo Mingchen slammed the door shut.

Xue Kang nearly had the door hit his nose: “…”

Who could explain why Luo Mingchen could close both doors at once so fast?

Xue Kang frowned and signaled the men behind him; one of them took the hint and pounded on the door.

This time the blows were harder.

Sensing Xue Kang’s contempt aimed at him, Luo Mingchen called for Huo Yan to come over.

As the pounding grew more forceful, the door was thrown open in a rush and the knocker was flung inside, face-first into the ground.

Luo Mingchen smiled. “Oh? How careless of you.”

The man who had knocked was speechless.

Xue Kang’s brow tightened. That gate was heavy; to open and slam it that quickly suggested someone was on the other side. From his enquiries he’d learned the pair had no servants—only three children—and those kids could not possibly possess such strength.

The knocker scrambled up and retreated behind Xue Kang.

Xue Kang addressed Huo Yan: “By order of General Huo, I’m to invite you to return home.”

On hearing this, Huo Yan punched out at him. Xue reacted quickly and dodged, but Huo Yan kicked him onto the gate. With the tip of Huo Yan’s foot at his throat, Xue realized this force could kill him in an instant if Huo Yan wished.

Xue Kang’s men were stunned and surged forward, only to hear Luo Mingchen drawl slowly, “If you lay a hand on him and he dies, that will be on your heads.”

At that, the men dared not rush in.

Huo Yan kicked Xue down the steps and said with coldness, “Are these the subordinates your father raised? No discipline at all?”

Feeling Huo Yan’s strength, Xue Kang’s arrogance evaporated. He dropped to his knees and bowed his head: “Pardon me, Young Master.”

Luo Mingchen raised an eyebrow—was the man really that craven? A few strikes and he would admit defeat?

Only after Xue Kang softened did Huo Yan say, “Come in and speak.”

“Yes.”

Before Xue Kang’s approach, Huo Yuntao had instructed: if Huo Yan’s strength exceeded theirs, persuade him gently and take him back with the three children; if he was weak, bring him back by force and leave the three burdens to fend for themselves in the village.

Huo Yuntao, however, had not known of Luo Mingchen’s existence, so he had not been told how to treat him. Xue Kang had also visited the village and heard from Lin Tianlei’s household about Huo Yan’s situation in Taohua Town. Before he entered, Xue Kang had peered past the gate and found no one—making everything seem stranger still.

Luo Mingchen noticed where Xue Kang had looked but said nothing.

When the knocks first came, Luo Mingchen had instructed Huo Yuhui to take Huo Xiang and Huo Xinyue into the inner room and pack a few sets of clothes. Thus the main hall held only Luo Mingchen and Huo Yan; they hadn’t even bothered to offer tea to Xue Kang and his men.

“What business does your father have in summoning us?” Huo Yan asked.

Xue and his men dared not sit without orders. “General Huo asks the young master and the three young ones to return home for New Year.”

Huo Yan sneered. “All this for that? Has he taken a leave from the world? After more than a decade without spending New Year in the capital, has father suddenly decided he’s dying and remembered to leave me an inheritance? Is that why we’re summoned?”

Luo Mingchen could not help but laugh.

That was cold.

Xue Kang’s expression soured, but he had neither the strength nor the status to press it. He forced a smile. “Young Master, the General is well—he misses you, and so sent me with men to invite you to return for a gathering.”

Huo Yan bluntly asked: “Did he say he’d compensate for the past ten-plus years?”

That stumped Xue Kang. He had not expected Huo Yan, so seemingly indifferent, to ask such a question.

Huo Yan understood the silence: evidently there was no offer.

Xue Kang was about to speak when Huo Yan continued: “If father invites me home for the New Year, then a hundred thousand taels of silver, plus the restaurant my mother left—which also carries the deed—bring the silver and the deed and then I’ll consider going back to see him.”

“Young Master, General Huo is your father after all—”

“That’s precisely why I would so readily agree to return: he’s my father. If it were anyone else, I’d consider it even for a million taels.”

Xue Kang was helpless. “Young Master, the capital is far from Taohua Town. Perhaps you could return and speak to the General in person?”

“Fast horses will do it—no more than three days one way. Round trip six days. We can wait. Besides, there is still over a month until the New Year. Vice-General Xue said the General is in good health; he’s unlikely to shuffle off before the festival ends.”

Xue Kang: “…”

Huo Yan, satisfied, asked Xue Kang to deliver his message quickly.

Xue Kang was dismissed.

Staring at the closed gate, Xue Kang’s head ached but he had no recourse. Huo Yan wasn’t refusing for refusal’s sake—he simply had conditions.

And with all the militia massed nearby, a fight would not be easy. Moreover, if they acted rashly here and word reached the capital, the General might find himself targeted by political enemies.

Xue Kang could only follow Huo Yan’s instructions: deliver the message to the capital and await directives, and tell the General that to take decisive action would require far more troops.

Walking away, Luo Mingchen asked, “Do you think he’ll pay?”

Huo Yan said, “He will.”

Luo Mingchen doubted aloud, “Even the big restaurant deed?”

“Yes.”

Huo Yan added with meaning, “After all, if I die, won’t it be his then?”

Luo Mingchen’s mouth twitched; he patted Huo Yan’s arm with a bittersweet humor. “Don’t worry—we’ll live long and well. Let’s try to make him furious instead.”

Huo Yan had no objection. “Good.”

Come to think of it, if Huo Yuntao knew his son were backing the Third Prince, with Huo family troops supporting him, he might actually croak from the shock.