Chapter 53

Chen Hai didn’t leave the courtyard where Chen Lie lived until midnight.

When Chen Hai walked out, the starry night was quiet, and the North Heaven Gate Village was peaceful, as if the bloody battle that had left tens of thousands of corpses months ago had never happened.

Chen Hai proposed changing his name, just wanting to be himself again, but he didn’t expect Chen Lie to love him so deeply. This deep affection also turned into a responsibility, pressing on his shoulders. In the future, he would still need to consider the interests of the Chen clan when acting. What troubled him even more was how to handle his relationship with Chen Qing and Chen Zhang, and how to win the recognition and trust of the many household guards.

"Master..."

Hearing someone call softly, Chen Hai turned around and saw Zhao Shan and Wu Meng walking over from a pavilion in the outer courtyard. He didn’t expect them to have been waiting outside all along.

"I chatted with Uncle for a while, and didn’t realize it was so late. I made you wait for so long," Chen Hai said.

"Where does Master plan to rest tonight?" Zhao Shan asked.

Since the head of the family, Chen Lie, had officially recognized Chen Hai as his legitimate son, Chen Hai and Chen Zhang would both be considered young masters in the family. However, since Zhao Shan and Wu Meng were personally appointed by Chen Lie to serve Chen Hai, they would henceforth address Chen Hai as "Master" and Chen Zhang as "Young Master Zhang" — this was the rule.

Wu Meng and Zhao Shan had been waiting outside, not out of willingness, but because of the rules. As a protector, Wu Meng was responsible for Chen Hai’s personal safety.

Lixianghai hadn’t considered that Chen Hai would become a legitimate son of the Chen clan’s Chen Lie branch that day, so he hadn’t arranged a separate courtyard for him to stay overnight. The North Heaven Gate Village was narrow, and there were no vacant courtyards available at the moment.

Of course, there were still empty rooms, so Zhao Shan waited until now to ask Chen Hai where he would stay.

Chen Hai, along with Ge Tong and Shen Kun, had taken a day off from Li Hu. After seeing off Chen Lie the next morning, they would return to the South Heaven Gate Village. He hadn’t even had time to chat with Zhou Jingyuan, so he couldn’t stay here directly. He smiled at Zhao Shan and Wu Meng and said, "You two rest first. I still need to find Zhou Jingyuan..."

"Then we’ll accompany Master," Zhao Shan said.

Chen Hai glanced at Wu Meng, nodded, and led the two of them through the streets to where Zhou Jingyuan and the others were staying temporarily.

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Ge Tong, Shen Kun, Zhou Jun, and several other close fellow disciples were all drinking and chatting at Zhou Jingyuan’s temporary residence. They hadn’t dispersed yet. Seeing Chen Hai come over, they warmly welcomed him inside.

Shen Kun and the others already knew about Chen Hai changing his name and being recorded in the Chen clan’s genealogy, but they didn’t know that Chen Lie had just designated him as a legitimate son of his lineage.

It was so late, and besides Zhao Shan, seeing the unfamiliar face of Wu Meng following Chen Hai, everyone was taken aback.

Chen Hai introduced Wu Meng to everyone. Apart from Ge Tong, Shen Kun, Zhou Jun, and Zhou Jingyuan, who were close to Chen Hai, the others immediately became restrained.

In the Great Yan Empire, the branches of noble families were usually extensive, with many collateral lines. Even though these descendants were from noble families, their status was not high, and the treatment they received compared to the legitimate line was vastly different.

Chen Lie appointing a mid-stage Spirit Opening Realm sword cultivator as Chen Hai’s protector clearly meant that Chen Hai was now a legitimate son of the Chen clan.

Since Chen Lie had already established Chen Hai as a legitimate son, regardless of whether his status in the Chen clan was higher or lower than Chen Zhang, he was no longer on the same level as the low-ranking military officers and ordinary disciples from humble backgrounds.

Previously, when Zhou Jun and the others were drinking together, they didn’t care about seating arrangements and sat on the ground casually. Now, they became restrained, and two of them stood up to offer the main seat in the middle of the small hall to Chen Hai.

"From now on, I’ve changed my name, but we are still fellow disciples. Why have we suddenly become distant?" Chen Hai smiled, holding the arms of the two senior brothers and sitting down with them. He also pulled Zhao Shan to sit and drink with them, not feeling that he had the right to act superior.

However, Chen Hai didn’t invite Wu Meng to sit down. He said to him, "I haven’t seen Zhou Senior Brother and the others for a long time. After seeing off Uncle tomorrow, I’ll have to return to the South Heaven Gate Village. I can only stay and drink with them until dawn. Wu Senior Brother, you must be tired from the journey. Why don’t you let Zhou Senior Brother arrange a room for you to rest?"

Chen Hai knew that Wu Meng had only become his protector by Chen Lie’s order and was probably very unwilling. How to handle his relationship with Wu Meng was also a headache.

Wu Meng was also from a humble background. As a sword cultivator with potential, he had his dignity and pride. Chen Hai couldn’t use the same strong-arm tactics on Wu Meng as he did with Zhao Shan and Qian Wenyi, and flattery would only make Wu Meng look down on him, making it impossible to truly win his loyalty.

By letting Wu Meng rest, Chen Hai considered that Wu Meng was unfamiliar with everyone, his cultivation was higher than the others, and he was Chen Hai’s protector and close attendant. Sitting down to drink would be awkward and wouldn’t let the others enjoy themselves. Additionally, he wanted to maintain a certain distance from Wu Meng for now and deal with their relationship later.

Wu Meng, of course, didn’t want to mix with Zhou Jingyuan, Shen Kun, and the others, so he nodded in agreement. Zhou Jingyuan quickly got up and led Wu Meng out to arrange a room for him to rest.

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The Yulong Mountain was at a critical juncture, and Chen Hai, Ge Tong, and Shen Kun had decided to stay at the Yulong Camp early on.

When the Grand Protector General’s Office decided to send Zhao Ruhui and Zhang Huaiyu to Yulong Mountain to establish the Yellow Dragon Abyss Dao Academy, Zhou Jingyuan and the others were the first to request to follow and continue their cultivation at the Yellow Dragon Abyss Dao Academy.

After discussing with Chen Hai, Shen Kun, and Ge Tong through letters, Zhou Jingyuan not only liquidated their assets at the Iron Stream Ridge Dao Academy and planned to rebuild the Medicine Garden at the Yellow Dragon Abyss, but also intended to open another Medicine Garden Armory in Zhaoyang City at the foot of the northern slope of Yulong Mountain.

The armory in Mengyi City would continue to operate. Chen An and Chen Fugtian, who were originally sent by Chen Zhang to monitor Chen Hai, were ordered to manage the armory in Mengyi City.

If Chen An and Chen Fugtian did their job well, the benefits would ultimately go to Chen Hai and the others. If they tried to cheat or embezzle, Chen Hai would have a handle on them.

Chen Hai and the others were thinking of taking this rare opportunity to establish a business in Yulong Mountain.

Zhou Jingyuan came with great ambition, but he didn’t expect that things would develop much better than he had anticipated just a few days after arriving at the Yellow Dragon Abyss.

Chen Hai not only officially entered the Chen clan’s genealogy but was also established as a legitimate son by Chen Lie, who had been promoted to Deputy Grand Protector. What did this mean?

This meant that in the Yellow Dragon Abyss Dao Academy, no noble disciple’s status could surpass Chen Hai’s. Those with higher status than Chen Hai were mostly cultivating in the Inner Gate of the Seven Peaks. This meant that as long as Chen Hai didn’t provoke Zhao Ruhui, Zhang Huaiyu, or the high-ranking officers in the Yulong Camp, he could act freely in Yulong Mountain.

This would provide great convenience for them to establish the Medicine Garden at the Yellow Dragon Abyss and the Medicine Garden Armory in cities like Chenqiao.

For young disciples like Shen Xiu and Zhou Qingyun, entering the Yellow Dragon Abyss Dao Academy would be a matter of course. As long as Chen Hai recommended them to the supervisor Zhao Ruhui, there would be no obstacles.

After arranging for Wu Meng to rest, Zhou Jingyuan returned to continue drinking. The others, thinking that Chen Hai and the others had private matters to discuss, left after a few rounds of drinking, before dawn. Zhou Jun, however, pretended not to notice and stayed.

Recently, Chen Hai and Zhou Jun had become close, and Zhou Jun had a practical teacher-student relationship with Zhao Ruhui. Chen Hai, thinking of his uncle Chen Lie’s intention to court Zhao Ruhui, naturally wanted to deepen his relationship with Zhou Jun.

Zhou Jingyuan was also eager to discuss how they would establish a foundation in Yulong Mountain.

To be honest, Chen Hai was now a legitimate son of Chen Lie. Even if he asked him to join the Chen clan and become a household servant, he would be willing. He was secretly excited that he had made the right choice over the past year.

"The Yellow Dragon Abyss Dao Academy is newly established, and we also need to build a new Medicine Garden here. I want to apply to the Dao Academy for a plot of land about a hundred acres to rebuild the Medicine Garden. I don’t think the supervisor would disagree, right?" Zhou Jingyuan asked uncertainly.

The Medicine Garden on the main peak of the eastern slope of Iron Stream Ridge covered twenty acres. To build a new Medicine Garden at the Yellow Dragon Abyss, it would need to be at least a hundred acres to reflect Chen Hai’s current status.

With so many events happening today, Chen Hai hadn’t had time to sort out his thoughts. He pondered and said, "The Yellow Dragon Abyss has shrunk to less than one-tenth of its original size due to years of drought. There are large areas of riverbanks visible, but when the rainy season returns, the Yellow Dragon Abyss will fill up again, and these areas will be submerged. There isn’t much usable land along the shore, so we don’t need to compete for land here..."

"The spiritual springs in Yulong Mountain, though far from those in Taowei Mountain, should not be limited to just one. The drought has lowered the groundwater level, making some spiritual springs less visible, but if we can find the villagers in Yulong Mountain, it shouldn’t be difficult to find one or two such locations to build the Medicine Garden," Zhou Jun, wanting to get closer to Chen Hai, offered his advice. "Moreover, if the Grand Protector General’s Office wants to make Yulong Mountain impregnable, they will encourage noble families to establish their properties here. Chen Junior Brother should have the opportunity to establish a true Medicine Garden in Yulong Mountain..."

Hearing Zhou Jun’s heartfelt words, Chen Hai’s spirits lifted. A Medicine Garden of a hundred or two hundred acres was indeed too small. He solemnly promised, "If we can find a suitable location in Yulong Mountain to rebuild the Medicine Garden, you, Zhou Senior Brother, will have a share."

Chen Hai’s status was now incomparable to before. Zhou Jun, who had previously thought of using Chen Hai to gain some benefits from Chen Lie, now only needed to focus on building a good relationship with Chen Hai.

After the battle at Shuangfeng Stone Village, Zhou Jun had completely changed his view of Chen Hai. He didn’t pretend to refuse and said, "If Chen Junior Brother trusts me, I will take on the task of finding a suitable location for the Medicine Garden."

Chen Hai laughed and also mentioned that he wanted to ask Real Person Zhao Ruhui to repair the Qingyun Spirit Armor, asking Zhou Jun to convey the message to Zhao Ruhui.