Chapter 113: A Melange of Emotions

After three rounds of drinks, Yan Shuihan scanned the room. Seeing Zhong Qiang’s parents and wife present, but noticing his two sons were missing, he asked curiously, "Brother Zhong, where are your little ones? Why weren't they called to join us for dinner?"

The others exchanged knowing smiles. Seeing Yan Shuihan’s confusion, Zhong Qiang turned and pushed open the window behind him. A gust of cold wind rushed in, but as everyone present possessed internal energy and had been sweating over the hotpot, they felt no chill.

Zhong Qiang’s villa was situated near the back mountain. Pushing the window open revealed a vast expanse of the slope. The entire mountainside was blanketed in white, forming a steep incline, and the scene unfolding there left Yan Shuihan stunned.

Across the snowy slopes, the mountainside was dotted with tiny black specks, some sliding downward at high speeds. Cries of excitement and bursts of laughter filled the air. With his advanced cultivation and keen eyesight, Yan Shuihan could clearly see that the slopes were covered with children, and to his astonishment, the Family Head himself was among them.

Each person was perched on a specially crafted wooden board, the front curved and slightly upturned. On either side of the board were wooden handles, which could be lowered into the snow to act as a brake.

The thick snow was crisscrossed with hundreds of long, winding tracks. Dozens of children, some alone and others in groups of two or three, shrieked and laughed wildly. At the foot of the hill, many children who had already finished their descent were dragging their boards back up, tireless and brimming with joy.

The Family Head looked no different from a child himself. He had a small child sitting in front—likely someone too young to ride alone—and was towing another behind him, all of them shouting with delight as they slid down the mountain.

Observing Yan Shuihan’s expression, Zhong Qiang smiled bitterly. "Every child in the Yang family workshops today was taken out to ski by the Family Head. They’ve gone wild with excitement; who would want to come home for dinner?"

He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye and sighed, "In this Kingdom of Liuyun, which other family head treats their servants like human beings, let alone treats their families and children with such genuine dignity? No, I fear in this entire world, only Master Yang does this."

The others fell silent, all reflecting on their own past hardships.

Zhong Qiang turned to his fellow former guards. "Brothers, you have felt the difference yourselves; I need not persuade you further. Aside from Brother Liu, who comes from a great clan, the rest of us were disciples of various sects. We all know what the situation is like in those sects. Some of you may feel that the Yang family is too small and that staying here will hinder your future."

"There are things I cannot speak of plainly. I can only tell you that the Yang family is far from as simple as it appears on the surface. The Family Head is currently in need of loyal men, and since you all possess both skill and character, I have taken the liberty of inviting you to serve him together, so that we brothers may remain united."

Zhong Qiang’s words resonated deeply with the guards. While they were grateful to Young Master Yang for giving them a chance to start anew, people are rarely satisfied. With the gift of freedom comes the desire to seek what lies beyond. On the surface, the Yang family was indeed small, and being a warrior for a minor family hardly seemed like a promising career. Thus, those who joined the Yang family were either like Li Tianjun or Zhong Qiang—driven by gratitude for a second chance at life—or like Murong Tie, weary of clan conflicts and seeking only a quiet, simple life with their families.

However, they all gradually realized that the warriors who joined the Yang family not only received excellent treatment and were reunited with their families, but in a short time, almost everyone had seen a significant improvement in their cultivation. For a warrior, this was a rare opportunity. This realization had begun to sway many of the guards.

Immediately, two of them pledged to Zhong Qiang that they would soon prove their worth and swear loyalty to the Family Head. Zhong Qiang and the others were delighted. Like him, they had their families together and their lives were content, with the added hope of further breakthroughs in their cultivation. What more could they ask for? Their only goal now was to protect the Yang family, help it grow stronger, and ensure that they and their families would never again have to live the lives they once endured. This was why he took the initiative to recruit talent for the Family Head; the Yang family warriors shared the same sentiment.

Liu Feng sipped his strong white liquor, feeling a sudden wave of melancholy. He had performed many meritorious deeds, and in two years, his term of servitude had been reduced by more than a year. Shortly after the new year, he would leave. Who would have believed that his time as a slave would turn out like this? The people and events here had left him strangely reluctant to depart.

The others understood him. He was from a branch of a major clan, far removed from the main line. His father was the head of that branch, and if things had gone as planned, he would have been the successor. Being captured and left to his fate meant that someone had orchestrated it; someone did not want his family to retain control of that branch. He had to return to reclaim what was his; he could not simply accept his lot and let the villains triumph.

Compared to the others, his background was the most distinguished. He had merely suffered a sudden setback. As long as he did not give up, he had a chance to turn things around. Though he was from a branch, his clan was stronger than the small Yang family; he had once been someone of high status. Yet, his near-year of experience in the Yang family had shown him something entirely different.

The servants he once looked down upon were now as close to him as brothers. He couldn't help but think of his own clan, where, despite the outward shows of respect, he likely lacked the true support of the people. Had he not returned, he suspected that aside from his closest kin, few would have cared whether he lived or died.

Whenever he saw Yang Cheng discard his dignity to squat on the ground and eat or joke with the guards, and heard the way everyone privately praised the Yang family, he couldn't help but lament his past ways of dealing with people, secretly planning how he would act differently once he returned.

Duan Yuanqing lay on his comfortable bed, reluctant to rise. His family crowded around him, his wives and concubines wearing anxious expressions. It was no surprise; they were ordinary people, and the series of changes had left them uneasy. Even in this new environment, away from the Qing Gang, they remained deeply constrained, afraid to move about freely, huddling nervously around the only pillar of support the family had left.

His two young sons, however, had no such worries. Finding all the novelties in the house fascinating, they ran up and down the stairs, entirely untouched by the gloom of the adults.

Fearing they were too noisy, the wives pulled them into the main room. Being children, they couldn't bear to sit still for long, but they didn't dare go out. They opened the window to look out. At that sight, the entire Duan family was stunned: on the back mountain, children were playing joyfully across the snow-covered landscape.

Such a scene of happiness was rarely seen in Wuzhou City. The boys watched with longing, tugging at Duan Yuanqing and begging to be let out to play. Duan Yuanqing was deeply moved, a complex mix of emotions stirring within him. Yet, feeling like a guest in another’s house and still unsure of his situation, he never allowed his children to go out.

Watching their disappointed expressions, Duan Yuanqing, now a man cast adrift, felt a bitter, complicated ache in his heart, his former arrogance long since extinguished.