Chapter 81: Awakened from a Nightmare (Special thanks to Quantum Information Entity and Ren Yige for their votes! Thank you.)

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When she saw her convenient senior disciple, a faint smile curved Wang Keyue’s lips. She turned, entered the carriage, and said, “Hong One, Cheng One, Qing One, come down with me. The rest of you, gather your belongings and prepare to disembark. We… are home!”

The moment Wang Keyue uttered the word “home,” everyone in the carriage felt a tremor in their hearts. That word seemed to take root deep inside them at this very moment.

Wang Keyue led the three down from the carriage. The trio, still somewhat tense, instinctively shielded her at the front. Smiling, Wang Keyue urged them to relax and walked directly up to her convenient senior disciple.

“Who… who are you? What… what do you want?” Wen Dali held a long knife in his hands, the very blade his immortal master had once given him.

“You must be Wen Dali, am I right?” Wang Keyue asked, feigning mystery. As she spoke, she drew the deed to Prosperity Manor and the land contract from her bosom.

“Huh? How… how did you know my name?” Wen Dali’s face was filled with astonishment.

“Allow me to introduce myself: I am the Young Clan Leader of the Wang family. Doctor Wang is one of our clan elders,” Wang Keyue replied.

“Ah! You… you’re the young master!” Wen Dali exclaimed, immediately believing her without a trace of doubt. He dropped his weapon, turned, and called for the others to lay down theirs as well.

In the next moment, Wen Dali led everyone to kneel with a loud thud: “Your servants greet the Young Clan Leader. Peace to the Young Clan Leader!”

Their greetings rang out in unison, clear and powerful, obviously the result of disciplined training. Yet the overwhelming sense of servitude made Wang Keyue’s lips twitch slightly.

This convenient senior disciple—he believes everything she says without even a hint of suspicion. Wang Keyue thought this, then beckoned everyone to rise.

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After getting up, Wen Dali grinned foolishly. “Young Clan Leader, well… my master, the venerable elder…?” His master had instructed him to lead the clan to Prosperity Manor and settle there, saying the Young Clan Leader would arrive within three days and that he must prepare everything in the manor.

Just the day before, the original owner of Prosperity Manor had moved out early in the morning with his servants, leaving behind the vast estate. To expedite preparations, Wen Dali decided to move all the clan members who had been living in the grass huts outside into the manor.

By day, they organized and tidied the manor; at night, they rested in the servant quarters and communal beds. He had to admit, the servant rooms and communal beds provided a life far better than before. What had those days of fleeing been like? Sleeping under the sky, lying on the earth, never knowing where their next meal would come from.

Now, they lived in houses of blue bricks and tiled roofs every day, enjoyed delicious coarse-grain buns, and no longer worried about water. The ancient well in the courtyard yielded clear, sweet water, as if they had fallen into a nest of fortune.

Each morning, Clan Leader Wen—ah, now Master Wen—gave them a lesson on gratitude and contentment. If anyone failed to be grateful or content with such good fortune, they would be branded a worthless scoundrel.

Wen Dali pondered many things, constantly hoping the Young Clan Leader would arrive soon. Such a vast manor needed its master to preside.

So when Wang Keyue mentioned the name of his master, the revered physician, and produced the deeds to Prosperity Manor, Wen Dali dropped all defenses and chose to trust unconditionally.

“Doctor Wang has other tasks. In a few days, he’ll bring another group of clan members here,” Wang Keyue said vaguely, thinking to herself that in a few days she would disguise herself as Doctor Wang and pass on the basics of traditional medicine to her convenient senior disciple, so he could spread it far and wide.

The main courtyard of Prosperity Manor stood beside the ancient well. The entire courtyard covered an expansive area. Evergreen trees flanked both sides, lush and thriving—a rare sight in these drought-stricken years.

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The main house was built with classic elegance, grand and luxurious. Yet the rooms felt somewhat thin and austere; the curio shelves stood empty, bearing only two or three cheap porcelain vases.

Such things were of little consequence to Wang Keyue.

“Young Clan Leader, your bath water is ready,” Wen Dali said, guiding Wang Keyue to the entrance of the main house.

“Very well, go arrange accommodations for the others. Hong One can attend to me here,” Wang Keyue replied, mindful of propriety and unwilling to let Wen Dali enter.

Wen Dali bowed his head and respectfully withdrew. Hong One came in his place. With Hong One’s aid, Wang Keyue finally washed away the dust and fatigue, settling comfortably on the bed to rest.

The day’s journey had tired her, but before sleep claimed her, she impulsively sent a voice message to Xiao Hongyu.

“Are you asleep? Where are you now?” She waited for a reply, but none came. Unconsciously, Wang Keyue drifted into sleep as she waited.

Night deepened, moonlight hazy beyond the window. In her dreams, Wang Keyue found herself pursued by a band of towering figures riding black warhorses, their hair braided in thick black plaits. The shadows closed in, and one drew a long knife, its blade flashing with chilling light as it swung straight for her head.

Reflexively, Wang Keyue raised her hand to block, and the blade struck her wrist without pause. Hot blood spurted forth, a wave of searing pain engulfing her.

“Xiaoyue! Wake up!” A voice finally broke through the nightmare, rousing Wang Keyue. She opened her eyes suddenly, heart pounding like thunder, drenched in cold sweat.