Chapter 141: The Human Lot of Joy and Sorrow, Reunion and Separation (2)

"..."
"You little brat, call me old one more time and I'll clobber you!" Ye Lanyu brandished her fist, threatening Ye Lang.

Ye Lang immediately fell silent. He knew all too well that this was no empty threat; Ye Lanyu had proven on countless occasions that she would genuinely clobber him.

"It’s time to depart. Say your goodbyes quickly, or you won't get another chance," Ye Chengtian said, checking the time and prompting Long Anqi, Ye Lanyu, and the others.

Naturally, Long Anqi needed to bid farewell to Ye Lanyu. With her daughter leaving for such a long time, she was understandably reluctant to part, having held onto Ye Lanyu’s hand without letting go since earlier.

"Xiaoyu, don't just lecture your brother; take care of yourself, too!" Long Anqi said to Ye Lanyu, her eyes filled with reluctance.

"I know, I will!" Ye Lanyu nodded, then turned to Ye Lang, echoing similar advice to him.

The Seventh Princess, meanwhile, was doing the same as Ye Lanyu, fussing over Ye Lang and telling him to mind this and that. Zhen Xiaoyan was much simpler; she only gave one instruction—remember to eat well!

After the goodbyes were said, the group finally set off in a grand procession.

"Little brother, what was that song you mentioned earlier?"

"I’m laughing triumphantly, I’m laughing triumphantly..."

"Go to hell!"

...In the days after Ye Lanyu and the others departed, Ye Lang opened an auction house. Before he could even enjoy the thrill of the auctions, it was time for him to prepare for his own journey. According to his plan, he was heading to the beastman tribes in the north, and it was about time.

Since they were currently in the south, traveling to the northern tribes meant crossing the Xiangkong Empire. That was clearly unfeasible, so they had to take a detour; passing through the Aila Empire would be more convenient. It seemed the Ye family had no grievances with the Aila Empire, so no one would make things difficult for Ye Lang.

Originally, Ye Lang wanted to travel alone, but everyone was uneasy and insisted on the Anna Mercenary Corps providing an escort. For this reason, Anna personally took charge, rushing over to escort the young master to the Tiger Tribe.

On the scheduled day, everything was arranged, and they were just waiting to depart. The only thing missing was the most critical element: Ye Lang.

The appointed time had already passed. Anna had waited at the encampment for a while, but seeing no sign of Ye Lang, she assumed that the young master was simply being unpunctual—a common enough trait for someone of his status. She continued to wait a bit longer to give him some leeway. This was out of respect for Ye Lang; otherwise, she wouldn't have waited at all, nor would she have come in person.

However, even respect had its limits. As a mercenary, she disliked tardiness. After a while, she headed to the City Lord’s Mansion to fetch him. She had intended to do this from the start, but Ye Lang had insisted that the two locations were only a few steps apart and that he could make his own way over. And indeed, it was only a few steps—Anna’s camp was right next to the mansion, just a two-minute walk from the front gate. This wasn't for convenience; the current Ye City was simply so small that they had no choice but to be nearby.

Anna walked straight through the unguarded gate into the mansion to find Ye Lang, but after searching everywhere, she couldn't find a trace of him. She eventually made her way to the main hall, where Ye Chengtian and the others were busy discussing affairs of state. They were preoccupied with the restoration of the city and had neglected many other things.

"Does anyone know where the Thirteenth Young Master is?" Anna walked in, but her arrival didn't draw any attention. Everyone continued their discussion, seemingly oblivious to her question. She was left standing there, ignored.

Anna tried again, raising her voice. "Excuse me, where is the Thirteenth Young Master?!"

"..."
The discussion continued. Ye Chengtian and the others were in the middle of a heated, red-faced debate over an issue and paid no heed to Anna’s "small voice."

After several more fruitless attempts—"Ah!"—Anna lost her temper and let out an uncharacteristically sharp shriek. The entire hall fell silent, finally acknowledging her presence.

"Ahem!" Seeing everyone staring at her, Anna blushed slightly, coughed in embarrassment, and immediately asked, "Could you please tell me where the Thirteenth Young Master is?"

"Isn't he with you?" the group asked, looking blank.

"If he were with me, I wouldn't have come here to look for him!" Anna retorted sharply.

"Is he still in his room? Go check!" the Seventh Brother suggested, sounding slightly annoyed that Anna had interrupted their important meeting to look for Ye Lang.

"I checked. I looked everywhere; he’s not there!" Anna said.

"Did he forget about leaving today and go out to play?" someone asked uncertainly.

"That shouldn't be it. This morning, he said he was leaving and told us to take care of ourselves," Ye Chengtian said. "Ask Anqi. She was the last one speaking with him."

"Auntie Anqi, I couldn't find her either, otherwise I wouldn't have come here to ask you," Anna shook her head.

"That's strange. Where did those two go? Could it be that Anqi couldn't bear to part with her son and locked him up?" Ye Chengtian wondered aloud. The possibility wasn't zero; in fact, it was quite high. Long Anqi had always opposed Ye Lang leaving, especially alone, and had tried every method to stop him. Tying her son up was something she was fully capable of doing.

"The meeting is adjourned. Go find them both!" Ye Chengtian ordered. The others shared the sentiment. No matter how important their discussion was, it didn't outweigh the importance of Ye Lang—not to mention he was the City Lord, though that was a minor detail. The main thing was that everyone cared for him and feared he might get into trouble. Ye Lang’s personality was far too worrying; who knew what he might do?

Soon, they found Long Anqi. She had gone out alone to buy some groceries, trying to use food to dull the pain of her son's departure. When she returned and saw the commotion, she was bewildered.

She was alone. She was all alone!

"Wife, where is our son?" Ye Chengtian asked anxiously.

"Son? Didn't he leave already? Wait, Anna, why are you still here? Are you not planning to escort Ye Lang?" Long Anqi asked, sounding displeased. She had assumed that if Anna was still here, it meant she didn't want to escort Ye Lang personally and was trying to send her subordinates in her stead.