TRWSB – Chapter 202 Tomb Sweeping

Zuo Residence.

Zuo Yunfei lingered beside Qi Heng for a while before he finally couldn’t hold back and spoke.
“Hey, there’s a performance by the Tianxueyue Song and Dance Troupe tomorrow. Do you want to go watch it?”

The Tianxueyue Troupe was a grand performance troupe composed of twelve beautiful performers—six men and six women. Each was a sound artist, and the troupe was renowned across various countries. It had a massive following, and their shows would often draw such crowds that cities would seem deserted whenever they performed.

“You’re inviting me?” Qi Heng asked.

Zuo Yunfei looked at him. “What kind of expression is that? Is it so strange for me to invite you?”

Qi Heng nodded. “Yeah, it is strange for you to invite me.”

Zuo Yunfei’s face dropped instantly. “You—”

“Sorry, I won’t go.” Qi Heng apologized slightly.

Zuo Yunfei looked displeased. “This performance is really rare. You seriously don’t want to go?”

“I do want to go. But if I go, you’ll just start nagging about me having improper thoughts toward the troupe members again.” Qi Heng said casually.

“When did I ever?” Zuo Yunfei protested unhappily.

Qi Heng smiled. “Ah, so you didn’t? Then I must have misunderstood you. Turns out, Young Master Zuo isn’t as petty as I imagined.”

“You—” Zuo Yunfei glared at him, a little awkward. “If you really want to go, I’ll just keep my mouth shut, okay?”

Qi Heng looked at him and shook his head. “No need. Tomorrow is the anniversary of my brother’s death. I need to go visit his grave.”

Zuo Yunfei was clearly stunned for a moment when he heard that. “Is that so? Then I’ll go with you tomorrow.”

Zuo Yunfei followed Qi Heng to a remote burial ground.
“This is the place? The Jiang family cemetery isn’t here, is it?”

Qi Heng glanced at him. “I know what you’re thinking of—the Jiang family’s main cemetery. But my father was a concubine’s son, and my brother had extremely low status in the Jiang family. He wasn’t allowed to be buried there. When my brother died, the family hastily buried him in a servant’s grave plot.”

Zuo Yunfei said indignantly, “That’s really disgraceful of the Jiang family!”

Qi Heng shook his head. “In a way, it’s a good thing they were so dishonorable. That’s how I was able to buy the land so easily.”

“You bought a grave site after you came back? I didn’t know about that,” Zuo Yunfei said, surprised.

Qi Heng shook his head again. “No, I bought it years ago, as soon as I had the means. Good thing I did—turns out there’s refined iron beneath it. The Jiang family actually wanted to dig up the coffins and clear the land.”

Zuo Yunfei: “…”

Zuo Yunfei followed Qi Heng to the gravesite. The area around Jiang Heng’s tomb was filled with green trees and blooming flowers. From afar, it looked more like a garden.

Zuo Yunfei easily spotted Jiang Heng’s tomb among the others.

Qi Heng had clearly put a lot of effort into maintaining the grave—it was beautifully cared for, though not excessively ornate, showing his heartfelt devotion.

“Little brother, big brother’s here.”

“Jiang Xingdong and Jiang Yuan are both crippled. Their tongues were cut out. They’re still alive, but I imagine they’d rather be dead. If your spirit is watching from the heavens, you can rest easy now.”

Qi Heng gently brushed his hand over the tombstone. “Maybe I was too narrow-minded. You were always so kind—perhaps you already let go of your hatred and moved on to paradise.”

“Jiang Jin!”

Jiang Sizhong stood not far away, glaring fiercely at Qi Heng.

“So it was you who bought the Jiang family’s grave site. You planned this all along!” Jiang Sizhong growled with hatred.

Qi Heng looked at him coldly, his eyes sharp as blades. Though they were grandfather and grandson, the way they stared at each other was more like sworn enemies.

“Do you need something?” Qi Heng asked.

“You have the nerve to ask? This is all your doing. If not for you, Xingdong and Yuan wouldn’t have ended up like this!” Jiang Sizhong roared.

Qi Heng chuckled. “You’ve lost so many sons and didn’t bat an eye. Now Xingdong’s not even dead, and you’re acting like it’s the end of the world?”

“You bastard born of a bastard! This is all your fault. Why didn’t you just die with your brother?!” Jiang Sizhong shouted.

Qi Heng cracked his whip and lashed it toward Jiang Sizhong.

“You little bastard, how dare you attack me!” Jiang Sizhong shouted furiously.

“You old piece of trash—today, in front of my brother’s grave, I’ll teach you a lesson to honor his memory,” Qi Heng replied.

Zuo Yunfei had no choice but to step aside.

Both Qi Heng and Jiang Sizhong were around seventh-level strength, evenly matched in skill.

But Jiang Sizhong was older and less spirited, while Qi Heng was fueled by rage, which gave him the upper hand.

As the battle raged, Qi Heng whipped out a scroll and smashed it at Jiang Sizhong, causing him to stumble back in pain.

Jiang Sizhong wasn’t defenseless. Just as he was about to unleash his Thundercloud Orb on Qi Heng, Zuo Yunfei struck first, launching a bolt of heavenly lightning that interrupted the attack.

Jiang Sizhong looked at Zuo Yunfei in shock and anger. “Young Master Zuo, you—”

Qi Heng glanced at Zuo Yunfei, displeased. “This was between me and him. You shouldn’t have interfered.”

Zuo Yunfei shrugged. “I didn’t want to, but you looked like you were struggling.”

The Thundercloud Orb Jiang Sizhong had was immensely powerful. If it had landed directly, Qi Heng could have been seriously injured.

Zuo Yunfei’s lightning strike had triggered the orb prematurely, causing it to explode in Jiang Sizhong’s hand. He was now covered in blood, a gruesome sight.

Qi Heng looked at the severely wounded Jiang Sizhong and took a deep breath. Through this, he came to understand just how wide the gap between his and Zuo Yunfei’s strength truly was.

The sound of horse hooves echoed from afar. Jiang Dongming galloped ahead of the others.

“Young Master Zuo, Young Master Heng, apologies for arriving late,” Jiang Dongming cupped his fists and greeted the two.

Zuo Yunfei stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Jiang Dongming with a cold demeanor. “Patriarch Jiang, I think Elder Jiang Sizhong is getting on in years—his mind seems a bit muddled, attacking people without reason. You should take him back and keep a closer watch on him.”

Jiang Dongming smiled apologetically and said, “So that’s what happened. Good thing it was Young Master Zuo he encountered today. If it had been someone else who couldn’t restrain him, things could have gotten very ugly. I’ll make sure he’s properly supervised when we return.”

Zuo Yunfei smiled faintly. “Patriarch Jiang is a wise man. Under your leadership, the Jiang family is sure to prosper.”

Jiang Dongming chuckled awkwardly. “You flatter me, Young Master Zuo. I only hope the Jiang family’s legacy doesn’t fall apart in my hands.”

He then ordered his men to take Jiang Sizhong away.

Qi Heng watched them leave, a hint of confusion flickering in his eyes.

Zuo Yunfei turned to him. “Let’s go.”

Qi Heng nodded. “Alright.”

+++++

“Yunfei.”
Zuo Yunjing called out to Zuo Yunfei.

Zuo Yunfei turned around lazily and asked, “What is it?”

Zuo Yunjing looked at him. “You went out with Qi Heng today?”

Zuo Yunfei nodded. “Yeah.”

“I heard you even fought Jiang Sizhong for him. If you like him, then…”

Zuo Yunfei interrupted impatiently, “Sister, you’re just my sister, not my parents. Don’t you think you’re meddling too much? Instead of worrying about who I like, maybe you should find someone you like and manage that poor guy instead.”

Zuo Yunjing sighed. “I’m just worried about you.”

“Save your concern for someone else. You know, when I lost all my cultivation, you didn’t seem this worried about me,” Zuo Yunfei said as he walked past her.

Zuo Yunjing took a deep breath and clenched her fists tightly.

+++++

Zuo Yunfei entered the room and saw Qi Heng packing.

“What are you doing?”

Qi Heng looked up and gave him a glance. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m packing.”

“Oh? All packed up already? That reminds me, you’ve finished what you came here to do, so now you can go back to Qi Shaorong, right?” Zuo Yunfei said sarcastically.

Qi Heng looked at him and nodded. “Yes. Thanks to you, everything was resolved quickly. I’ve been away for a while—Shaoye likely has a lot for me to take care of.”

Zuo Yunfei looked at Qi Heng and felt a knot in his chest that he couldn’t quite release.

Qi Heng said, “You don’t look so good.”

Zuo Yunfei snorted. “They say, ‘Kill the donkey once it’s done grinding.’ Now that you’re leaving, why do you care how I’m feeling?”

Qi Heng looked at him. “Young Master Zuo, you’re not a child anymore. Don’t act like one.”

Zuo Yunfei: “…”

After a moment of hesitation, Qi Heng said, “If you’re reluctant to part with me, you can come to Yuan Kingdom with me.”

Zuo Yunfei’s expression softened for a second, then he stiffened his face. “Why would I be reluctant to part with you? The farther you go, the better! But I do have something I want to discuss with Qi Shaorong, so I guess I’ll go with you—for now.”

Qi Heng looked suspicious. “What’s so important that you need to speak with the young master?”

Zuo Yunfei glared at him. “It’s nothing major. I’ll tell you once I’ve talked to Qi Shaorong.”

Qi Heng: “…”

+++++

Capital of the Yuan Kingdom.

Qi Shaorong looked at the letter in his hand and smiled. “Ah Heng says the issue with his brother is resolved, and he’ll be returning to Yuan soon.”

Zhuang Hao glanced at Qi Shaorong oddly. “Qi Heng is coming back so soon? What about Zuo Yunfei? He just let him leave like that?”

“Qi Heng didn’t mention him.”

Zhuang Hao: “…”

A carriage raced along the official road. Inside, Qi Heng was writing a letter to Qi Shaorong.

Zuo Yunfei glanced at him. “Is it really necessary to send a letter every single day? For all you know, Qi Shaorong might not even have time to read them.”

Qi Heng replied without looking up, “Shaoye likely has time.”

Zuo Yunfei turned away and snorted.