Chapter 30: Zizhu City

"Ugh!" He had only meant to startle Ziyu, but his grandfather had suddenly barged in. Tang Yan splashed the entire bucket of water over himself in a rush, gave himself a hasty rinse, grabbed his clothes, and sprinted back to his room.

"Hehe…" Watching Tang Yan scramble away in such a flustered state, Little Cui beside her couldn't hold back a laugh. She quickly caught herself, stepped forward, and clasped her hands in a bow. "Greetings, Master."

"No need for formalities. This young lady is…" Old Master Tang studied Ziyu with curious eyes. Having met countless people over a lifetime, Old Master Tang could naturally sense that the aura Ziyu carried was something no ordinary woman could possess.

Ziyu offered a faint smile. Without any visible movement of her hands, a jade tablet appeared out of thin air.

The jade tablet was smooth and white as cream, translucent and lustrous. The two characters "Zizhu" were carved in the center, with a single character "Yun" in the lower right corner.

Old Master Tang's pupils contracted sharply, his surprise completely undisguised. He asked urgently, "Could you be Miss Ziyu of Zizhu City?"

"I didn't expect Old Master Tang to know of me — what an honor!" Ziyu returned the greeting with a perfectly composed bow.

Seeing Ziyu confirm it, Old Master Tang couldn't help but draw a sharp breath. Besides the imperial family, the Nation of Tingxiang had three great powers: Zizhu City, the Luosha Gate, and the Gathering Immortals Palace.

These three powers dominated the Nation of Tingxiang, and among them, Zizhu City was the strongest.

Zizhu City was a place of remarkable talent, and many of its members had earned great renown throughout the Nation of Tingxiang — the young woman standing before him being one such example.

Rumor had it that she had entered the ranks of the Heavenly Realm at the mere age of thirty, gifted with extraordinary intelligence that had astonished all who knew of her.

Suppressing his astonishment, Old Master Tang said politely, "Your name has spread far and wide — how could I not have heard of you? You've come to our Tang Clan without any prior notice; if word got out, people might think we had been neglectful of such an honored guest."

Ziyu's mind turned quickly, and she settled on a plan. She said with a charming smile, "I happened to have business in Yun City and had intended to keep a low profile so as not to disturb anyone. As it turned out, I ran into Young Master Tang quite by chance."

Thinking of how Tang Yan had appeared before Ziyu wearing practically nothing, Old Master Tang broke into a cold sweat. "That boy has a wild temperament. If he has offended you in any way, I hope you will forgive him."

"A little boldness in the young is not necessarily a bad thing."

"I wonder, Miss Zi, how did you come to be together with Yan'er?" Tang Ling asked curiously.

Ziyu did not reveal the full reason, and simply smiled. "I happened to encounter him, and I noticed he is something of a promising talent. I would hate to see such a person buried in a small place like Yun City, so I thought to bring him to Zizhu City and nurture him properly."

Upon hearing this, Old Master Tang's heart began to pound. Zizhu City — the top power in the Nation of Tingxiang — its resources were as vast as an ocean.

If Tang Yan were to receive focused cultivation there, reaching the Heavenly Realm was not out of the question.

Yet Tang Yan was the only heir of the Tang Clan, and the old man truly couldn't bear to let him go. He hesitated for a long moment before sighing. "Miss, you may not know this, but Tang Yan already has a master. We would not dare rashly join another power. Perhaps we should wait and ask Yan'er his own opinion?"

"May I ask who Tang Yan's master is?" Ziyu now had some understanding — no wonder Tang Yan had shown such monstrous talent. There was clearly a skilled figure guiding him from behind the scenes.

"I don't know either. I only know that his master lives a free and unrestrained life, unbothered by worldly affairs, and rarely appears." Old Master Tang shook his head with a sigh. "That senior has done our Tang Clan a great many favors, and we have never had the chance to properly express our gratitude."

"I see." Ziyu nodded. "In that case, I won't press the matter. Still, Tang Yan truly is a promising talent with a unique perspective on the martial path. If I were to simply leave like this, I would feel it a pity in the days to come. I'll stay for a while and offer him some guidance. What does Old Master Tang think?"

Tang Ling was overjoyed at the words. What objection could he possibly have? She could stay forever and he would welcome it! He laughed at once. "Of course, of course — Miss Zi may stay as long as she wishes. Consider this place your own home. Little Cui, take Miss Zi to prepare a fine room for her later."

"No need for such fuss. I think this small courtyard is quite nice, and there's still a vacant room — I'll stay here." Ziyu shook her head, declining Tang Ling's kind offer.

Tang Ling had no objection to where Ziyu stayed. After waiting for what felt like quite a while, Tang Ling frowned. "That little rascal — why isn't he out yet? Little Cui, go call him out!"

Before long, Tang Yan shuffled out with his head hanging low.

He had expected things to be awkward between that silly girl and his grandfather, but when he emerged, he found his grandfather's face lit up with the most radiant smile.

"Yan'er, Miss Ziyu is a renowned Heavenly Realm expert in the Nation of Tingxiang. She sees some potential in you and wishes to offer you guidance. From now on, you are to treat Miss Zi with the utmost respect and learn from her with humility. Do you hear me?" Tang Ling said, eyes wide.

"What? A renowned Heavenly Realm expert? How come I've never heard of her?" Tang Yan, just having stepped out, stared at Ziyu in bewilderment. Renowned? More renowned than Sister Wang, the top courtesan of the Red Flower House by the Bright Moon Lake?

"Have you heard of Zizhu City?" Tang Ling asked.

"I think I've heard of it."

"Miss Ziyu is the Third Young Miss of Zizhu City. Having her guidance is your great fortune. If you make her unhappy, no one else will need to lift a finger — I'll beat you to death myself!" Tang Ling warned.

Seeing that his grandfather was clearly not joking, Tang Yan felt like crying. How had things gotten so out of hand? He had only stepped inside to change his clothes for a moment. What on earth had happened in such a short time?

He snuck another glance at Ziyu. She gave him a playful wink, a gleam of cunning triumph in her eyes. Tang Yan knew at once that this silly girl had somehow fed his grandfather some kind of enchanting potion.

Knowing his grandfather's temperament well, Tang Yan understood that if he didn't nod along right now, he would be nagged for half the day. He quickly agreed. "I'll do exactly as told, exactly as told!"

"That's more like it. Then you two talk — I have things to attend to." Tang Ling had no intention of wasting the time Ziyu could spend guiding Tang Yan.

Once Old Master Tang had left, Tang Yan bounced up and demanded, "Silly girl, what did you say to my grandfather?"

"Hmm? Is that how you speak to me? Shall I tell the old master to beat you to death?" Ziyu deliberately put on a stern face and issued a cold warning.

Tang Yan couldn't help but roll his eyes. Helplessly, he said, "I was actually planning to refine a batch of pills for you to help you recover your strength quickly. Now I'm thinking I should just focus on my own cultivation and stop meddling in other people's business."

At the mention of recovering her strength, Ziyu perked up immediately and asked urgently, "Tang Yan, how long will it take for me to recover my strength?"

"At your current rate of recovery — about half a year," Tang Yan said, not forgetting to add, "Of course, that's only when the recovery begins. As for how many years it will take to fully recover — I'm not entirely sure. On the faster end, three to five years; on the slower end, maybe twenty or thirty years."

"What?!" Hearing such a long timeframe, Ziyu's face went completely pale.

Watching Ziyu's reaction, Tang Yan thought inwardly that this girl really couldn't take a scare. He smiled and said, "However, with this young master's pills, it might take three months at most to recover to peak strength — and you might even make some further progress."