Stealing The Heavens
Chapter 17: Provocation

With a humble yet leisurely expression, Wu Qi placed his hands behind his back, examining the men behind Yi Yan while standing beside Lu Chengfeng.

With the exception of Lu Chengfeng, who was to be the new General, standing beside Yi Yan were the three most important officers in Little Meng City: the Officer of Records, the Officer of Internal Affairs, and the Officer of Security.

According to the law of the Great Yan Dynasty, who was the overlord of the Lu Kingdom, the task of the Mayor was to oversee everything in the city. The General was to handle everything related to the military. The Officer of Records was in charge of supervising and reviewing the performances of all government officers. The Officer of Internal Affairs was in charge of the economy and production, and the Officer of Security was in charge of handling crimes and the safety of the city. These four officers would report to the Mayor, but the Mayor couldn’t interfere with their responsibilities. The rigidness and completeness of this system even allowed them to supervise each other.

Little Meng City was located in a remote area which was surrounded by a vast virgin forest and mountain. However, because it could produce a lot of raw materials and minerals, these officers had been milking their fortune here. Wu Qi had seen how many precious items Yi Yan was wearing, but the Officer of Records, the Officer of Internal Affairs, and the Officer of Security were also wearing a lot of gemstones and jewels on them.

As if he was looking at a very attractive woman, Wu Qi kept eyeing the men surrounding Yi Yan, finding more good stuff that he could ‘acquire’. He kept rubbing his palms behind his back, while his fingers were trembling with excitement. It was broad daylight, so it was not the best time for him to steal from them. He would need to wait.

As the Mayor of the city, Yi Yan introduced those officers followed behind him to Lu Chengfeng. After listening to Yi Yan’s introduction, Wu Qi’s lips curved up. The Officer of Records, the Officer of Inter Affairs, and the Officer of Security were all from the Yi family. They must be following Yi Yan here to make their fortune.

As Yi Yan introduced each officer, they stepped forward to greet Lu Chengfeng. Although the General was an important position, it didn’t deserve such respectful treatment. What’s made Yi Yan come all the way to the city gate to welcome Lu Chengfeng was that he was the eldest son of the Lu Family from Liyang. As for the rest of the government officers, they came here for the same reason.

After some introductions and a speech that made Wu Qi want to fall asleep, Yi Yan held Lu Chengfeng’s hand intimately and brought him to the Mayor’s Mansion located in the middle of the city. All of the other officers surrounded both men, laughing and joking all the way, as if the entirety of Little Meng City was welcoming the new General, Lu Chengfeng.

Wu Qi followed beside Lu Chengfeng, examining Little Meng City while they walked to the Mayor’s Mansion.

The road inside the city was properly built with limestone from the mountain. There was a three-feet wide ditch alongside the road, where clear water flowed. It seemed that the sanitation in the city was pretty well-taken care of. Beside the road were brick and mortar restaurants, shops, inns, and residences with a uniform green roof. None of them exceeded the height of three stories.

On this wide road, push carts, fully packed with beast skins, herbs, and minerals, came and went. Behind these push carts were some strong and tall men, wearing flexible armor and carrying sharp blades. From their fierce bearing, one could easily tell they were good fighters that had gone through life and death.

The restaurants, shops, and inns were mostly patronized by rude men, who would draw their blades just because some stranger looked at them the wrong way. Sometimes, women, who wore sexy and seductive clothes, would appear at these places, flirting and joking with these rude men.

Out of Wu Qi’s expectations, Little Meng City was actually quite prosperous. However, this prosperity was accompanied by a rude and savage aura. This really made one feel odd. However, after taking a few more breaths, Wu Qi decided he really liked the feel of this city.

When carriages and pedestrians on the road saw Wu Qi’s group coming, they all moved to the side of the road and made way for them. In a wild place like Little Meng City, Yi Yan represented the law. He represented the most prominent power within this area, and no one dared to step on the dignity of the Mayor.

From time to time, city guards, who were wearing in black cloth and armor, would pass by. When they saw the group, they immediately moved to the roadside and bowed to them. Wu Qi took a glimpse at them and found out they were weaker than the soldiers from the third battalion of Heavenly Group, which was now stationed in Meng village. No matter their cultivation level or their spirit, they were like phonies in comparison.

After following the main road into the city for around three miles, a magnificent and grand mansion came into sight.

The mansion was at least a mile in circumference and had a thick wall built at its perimeter. The wall was much better than the city walls of Little Meng City; it was built from hard rock, five feet tall, three feet thick, and at least ten times stronger than the Little Meng City’s city walls.

Vigorous and energetic guards with good quality armor were patrolling on top of the wall, making sure no intruders passed. Compared to the soldiers who were guarding at the City Gate of Little Meng City, the soldiers here were the elite while those at City Gate were just rubbish.

With a proud smile on his face, Yi Yan pointed at the mansion and said, "General Lu, this is the Mayor Mansion. It is the place where we live and work."

Lu Chengfeng stared at this small-sized castle while feeling amazed and asked, "Oh? The office of Mayor, General, Officer of Records, Officer of Internal Affairs, and Officer of Security are all here?"

Yi Yan patted his stomach with his hand and said with full emotion, "The Little Meng City is located in a desolated area. We are surrounded by dangers, real dangers. Those barbarians keep attacking us and the lousy city wall can never hold them back, so they could come into the city and wreak havoc. For the safety of all government officers, I had spent two years to build this Mayor Mansion!"

All three officers, who were from Yi family, hurriedly praised Yi Yan for his efforts, thanking him for spending so much money to build this mansion and protect their lives. They even said Yi Yan had built something that would be beneficial for a thousand years, and that their descendants would be able to stay safe because of Yi Yan!

Wu Qi snuffled loudly, and asked with a deep voice, "Since you had the money to build a Mayor’s Mansion, why didn’t you spend the money to fix the city wall? Isn’t that a much easier way to block those barbarians from entering the city?"

Three officers were shocked by what Wu Qi said. On the other side, Yi Yan trembled, his thick fat white body shaking as he shouted with a high pitch voice, "No money, we are really poor, Little Meng City is in a desolate place. How much tax can we collect each year? The Mayor’s office had no money in the book. We had spent the tax collection of next ten years to build this wall. We have no more money to fix the city wall now!"

No money? Wu Qi twisted his lip. He just gazed at those gemstones and jewels Yi Yan wore, which worth more than few hundred thousand.

Lu Chengfeng let out a dried laugh but never said anything else. He looked at the soldiers who were patrolling on the wall, then turned around and looked over his shoulder at the city guards who were escorting him here. He rolled his eyes after noticing the difference; the guards of the Mayor’s Mansion were so much better than the city guards.

After some complicated ceremonies that Wu Qi didn’t understand, he followed Lu Chengfeng and entered into Mayor’s Mansion. All seven coaches and servants who followed Lu Chengfeng here were arranged to stay in the General’s residency within the Mayor’s Mansion. The General residency was a luxurious courtyard with few buildings in it, and there were dozens of servants which had been prearranged in it.

This was the first time Wu Qi saw who were in those coaches of Lu Chengfeng. Besides Laohei and Xiaohei, who were father and son, there were eight maids and eight serving ladies, and two wet nurses who were on lactation.

Also, this was the first time Wu Qi learned from Lu Chengfeng that these two wet nurses were responsible for producing human medicine.

Human medicine! Wu Qi learned a new thing from this world.

After roughly arranging some tasks for maids and serving ladies, Yi Yan had sent someone to invite Lu Chengfeng to attend a welcoming dinner.

The welcome dinner was held in the inner hall within the Mayor Mansion. Including Wu Qi, nearly two hundred of Little Meng City officers attended the dinner. As Lu Chengfeng’s hanger-on, of course Wu Qi was qualified to attend the dinner. Welcomed by Yi Yan himself, Wu Qi sat at a low table right behind Lu Chengfeng.

The inner hall was spacious enough to house four to five hundred men at the same time. Right in the center was a low, long table that Yi Yan sat uncomfortably behind. Beside him were all three officers and the General. Besides Lu Chengfeng, who only had Wu Qi sitting alone behind him, the rest of the Directors had at least three to five men behind them. Some even had dozens of men following behind them.

The inner hall was divided into left and right sides, with each side having three long tables. Besides the five highest position officers, the rest of the officers were sitting at these six long tables according to their rank.

Wu Qi was examining the table in front of him. It was a 3 x 1.5-feet low table, made from some heavy timber and coated with dozen layers of shining paint. Gold and silver threads were embroidered on the surface of the table in some geometrical pattern. It looked luxurious and dignified.

The inner hall had sandalwood tile flooring, and everyone was sitting on a thick, warm, and cozy cashmere carpet. There were two rows of huge pillars in the hall, which were made from Golden Nanmu Wood [1]. Dragons and phoenixes were carved on top of the pillar, giving the hall a luxurious and magnificent atmosphere.

The ceiling of the inner hall was made from sandalwood too. Dozens of lanterns hung from it, pouring bright light onto every inch of the hall. There were even tree-shaped chandeliers with candles burning on them at the four corners of the hall. The candles were mixed with some spices which produced a fragrant scent in the air.

Wu Qi had taken a shower back at the General’s residency. He had covered his bald head with a scarf, changed into a comfortable silk robe, and put on some soft cloth boots. When he smelled the fragrance in the air, he felt like falling asleep.

Yi Yan was definitely living a luxurious life, but Wu Qi appreciated this kind of luxuriousness. At least, he could live comfortably, in comparison to Meng Village. Wu Qi was not a monk. If he had the choice of living comfortably, why should he choose to suffer?

Stretching his back, Wu Qi kept throwing an examining look at all the other officers within the hall.

All the other officers had their attention on Lu Chengfeng, trying their best to show the brightest smiles they could. As for Wu Qi, besides from few young maids who gazed at him secretly, no one else really noticed him.

Suddenly, Yi Yan clapped his hand and said with a loud voice, "So are all the men here? Serve the wine, let’s welcome our General Lu. The few thousand miles of journey from Liyang to Little Meng City surely is tough. I bet General Lu must have had a hard time coming here!"

Few hundred maids came out from the back of the hall like butterflies, placing bronze wine bottles in front of all those sitting at the tables.

Everyone raised their glasses and toasted Lu Chengfeng, "It must have been a tough journey. General Lu, let’s drink!"

Lu Chengfeng raised his glass, stood up and smiled back to everyone. After a few rounds of boring speeches, only then did everyone start to drink the wine in their glasses.

Yi Yan clapped his hand again, then the maids started to serve all kind of delicacies. Each and every single plate and bowl was filled with a variety of food. The portions were not big, but there were many different things to try. The fragrance of these delicacies made anyone who smelled them feel hungry.

It had been a few days since Wu Qi had eaten a proper meal, so when he saw the delicacies in front of him, he couldn’t wait and grabbed a yellowish, springy deer tendon with a chopstick and put it into his mouth. The deer tendon was so fragrant and juicy that Wu Qi couldn’t help but praise it in his mind.

When he was in the middle of enjoying the food, suddenly, a muffled sound rang through the hall, and a bronze wine bottle was smashed onto the floor.

A husky fellow behind the Officer of Record stood up, pointed at Wu Qi with his finger and shouted with a stern voice, "Where did this savage come from? Don’t you know what manners are? The master hasn’t said anything, but you have already started to eat?"

Everyone in the room turned their glance over at Wu Qi, then, under the shine from the lantern, they saw some oil dripping from his lips.

After a moment of complete silence, laughter burst out within the hall.

Notes:

[1] Golden Nanmu Wood - a type of wood that was frequently used for building boats, architectural woodworking, and wood art in China. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanmu]