Ye Chengfu sat in Yan Shouyi's courtyard, drinking tea brewed by Jiang Ting, for an entire afternoon.
Fortunately, Long Feicheng was there to keep Ye Chengfu company and chat, alleviating some of the boredom.
What Ye Chengfu found interesting was the number of wood carvings displayed in the Yan family's courtyard, including small animals, decorative items, and some things Ye Chengfu couldn't quite identify.
These were all made by Yan Shouyi recently at home. After all, a descendant of Lu Ban was also a carpenter and couldn't stay idle, always wanting to create something.
As the sun began to set, the courtyard gate of the Yan residence was pushed open. Yan Shouyi and Lin Zitong returned home hand in hand, bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun.
The boy carried a fishing rod and a basket filled with fish, while the girl wore a straw hat clearly too large for her. They walked home, chatting and laughing, like an immortal couple living in a land of eternal spring.
For a moment, Ye Chengfu was stunned. He had never seen Lin Zitong look so relaxed and happy.
Lin Zitong had a strong competitive spirit from a young age, always striving to be the first in everything. Even though Lin Ruofu never demanded anything from her, she always worked hard in silence.
From childhood to adulthood, Lin Zitong had never slackened. But ever since she met Yan Shouyi, her body and heart revolved around him, and the drive within her began to slow down.
Ye Chengfu couldn't help but sigh, "Perhaps this is what happiness looks like."
"This is how they are every day," Jiang Ting said with a wistful tone.
Ye Chengfu smiled happily, seeing that the young lady seemed to be living a very happy life every day.
Only Long Feicheng grumbled, "This is the dog food they feed me every day!"
Yan Shouyi put down his fishing rod and smiled at Ye Chengfu, "Grandpa Ye, I'm sorry for making you wait here all afternoon."
"No trouble!" Ye Chengfu waved his hand. "I'm used to city life, but I enjoy the countryside. Sitting here all afternoon, breathing in fresh air, I have to thank you for letting me be lazy."
Lin Zitong called Jiang Ting, and they took the river fish Yan Shouyi had caught to the kitchen to prepare a fish and eggplant stew for Ye Chengfu.
After setting things down and sitting down, Yan Shouyi asked,
"Grandpa Ye, you mentioned earlier that building a house at West Lake encountered obstacles. What's going on?"
After Yan Chou obtained ownership of West Lake from the Li family, he had Lin Ruofu send people to build a wedding house for Yan Shouyi and Lin Zitong on West Lake.
Yan Shouyi hadn't paid much attention to it, as he felt that while West Lake was beautiful, it was too ostentatious and easily became a target.
However, if construction was hindered, he would definitely intervene.
Long Feicheng also chimed in, "Yes, Old Master Ye, please tell us if there's any problem. Frankly, I've learned a lot from Brother Yan recently, so perhaps I can handle it myself without Brother Yan needing to step in!"
Ye Chengfu sighed and explained,
"In order to speed up the construction, the family used all their connections. But for the past half month, the process has been stalled at the piling stage. The strange piles simply cannot be driven in. No matter how skilled the construction team the family head summons, various problems always arise."
Yan Shouyi pondered for a moment and asked, "Could it be a feng shui obstruction?"
When he first went to Rongcheng, Zhang Guodong's bridge had a similar issue; it couldn't be built no matter what. It was only after Yan Shouyi intervened that the project proceeded smoothly.
In reality, feng shui issues on construction sites were common, but most of the time, the problems weren't major, with severe cases usually resulting in minor accidents.
If it were ghosts or spirits causing trouble, they generally wouldn't even harm human lives.
Ye Chengfu said, "If it were a feng shui obstruction, it would be easy to resolve. The family head invited the sect leader of Lushanshan Sect, Lu Jing, for assistance. After Lu Jing walked around the site, he shook his head, saying he couldn't handle it."
Long Feicheng was perplexed, "How could he not handle it? Sect Leader Lu Jing is a formidable individual with real strength!"
Yan Shouyi also found it strange.
"Sect Leader Lu said that the problem at our West Lake construction site isn't a feng shui obstruction or anything related to feng shui, but rather—man-made trouble."
"Man-made trouble?!"
Yan Shouyi's heart skipped a beat. "If you say so, does that mean someone is deliberately sabotaging us behind our backs, preventing us from building the house?"
Ye Chengfu nodded. "Sect Leader Lu said so."
Yan Shouyi straightened up, stroked his chin, and began to think.
He did have quite a few enemies in Rongcheng, but most of them had been dealt with. Even those who were still alive wouldn't foolishly come looking for trouble again.
Therefore, he believed that the person causing trouble behind the scenes was not his enemy.
Could it be his father's?
That didn't make sense either. Very few people knew that the Yan family was building a house at West Lake. If there were truly enemies, they should have gone directly to his father, not to Rongcheng.
Yan Shouyi couldn't figure it out.
It was Long Feicheng who asked, "Have Ah Gong and Luo Ning gone to see?"
"They have," Ye Chengfu replied. "Actually, my sudden trip to pick you up was also based on their advice."
"Oh? What did they say?" Yan Shouyi asked.
Ah Gong and Luo Ning wouldn't seek him out if there wasn't a reason. If even they were urging Ye Chengfu to come to Chenjia Village, then the matter must be serious.
Ye Chengfu took out a leather bag from his pocket, unzipped it, and pulled out a dark, iron cleaver.
The cleaver made a clinking sound as it was placed on the table. Judging by the sound, it was a good knife!
"Take a look," Ye Chengfu said.
"What's there to look at? It's just a broken cleaver!" Long Feicheng said dismissively.
But Yan Shouyi's expression turned serious. He picked up the cleaver and examined it carefully for a long time.
The cleaver was sharpened, its blade honed to extreme sharpness, reflecting a silver sheen. The spine of the blade had a metallic luster from quenching, and the patterns on the handle were not chaotic at all, showing meticulous craftsmanship.
The key point was that the word "赊" (shē) was carved on the blade.
Seeing this word, Yan Shouyi finally confirmed the identity of the visitor.
"Brother Yan, why does your expression look so grim?" Long Feicheng asked curiously.
Yan Shouyi sighed and said, "The matter at West Lake is indeed man-made trouble, and the other party is even of our own lineage."
Long Feicheng blinked, "A folk sect?"
"Yes."
Seeing that Yan Shouyi had guessed most of it, Ye Chengfu continued, "This cleaver was left by the other party at our West Lake construction site. Miss Luo Ning was at the scene at the time. After seeing this cleaver, she said that outsiders couldn't resolve this matter and that you must be invited back."
Yan Shouyi nodded. "Matters concerning folk sects cannot be resolved by outsiders; even Sect Leader Lu Jing can't do it."
"Wait, what is all this?" Long Feicheng covered his forehead in confusion. "Brother Yan, who exactly is the other party? Why are they so arrogant, and why are even you taking it so seriously?!"
Yan Shouyi put down the cleaver and said calmly,
"The other party is—a赊刀人 (shē dāo rén)!"