When those people heard the order from Strategist Ji, they immediately answered in unison.
"Yes, sir!"
Advisor Ji turned his gaze away from Li Yan, turned around and waved to those people, speaking in a gentle voice.
"Chen An, Li Yin stay here, and the rest of you can go and do your own things."
After those people dispersed, the two soldiers who were standing in the middle came over.
Li Yan looked at the two men. One was about thirty years old, and the other was about twenty years old. They were both about seven feet tall.
The older one has a square face and a ruddy complexion, which makes him look quite upright; the younger one has a round face, big eyes and slightly fair skin, which gives people a feeling of alertness.
Both of them were wearing standard light armor.
Advisor Ji pointed at the square-faced man.
"His name is Chen An!"
Then he pointed at the young soldier with a round face and big eyes.
"His name is Li Yin. He and the other two are usually in charge of the chores in the valley. They are also familiar with the military affairs. If I am not in the mansion, you can ask them to do anything.
Well... if you go to the city to do business, you can also let them follow you. First, with them by your side, it will be much more convenient for you to do things;
In addition, the two of them are responsible for your safety. After all, this is a border city, and the enemy often sneaks into the city to spy on information. If they know that you are my disciple, they will inevitably turn their attention to you. "
Li Yan felt a tightness in his heart after hearing this, but then he felt warm in his heart and bowed to answer.
"Thank you, teacher." Although he was a little unfamiliar with calling "teacher" before, it came from the heart now.
Chen An and Li Yin also saluted Military Advisor Ji.
"I respect your words, please rest assured."
"Well then, go prepare some of his daily necessities and send them over later."
"Yes, sir!"
After saying this, Advisor Ji called out to Li Yan and walked inside again. Li Yan immediately followed him, but when Li Yan turned around, he didn't see that Chen An and Li Yin looked at each other, then stared at his back with their eyes flickering.
Li Yan originally thought that he lived in one of the two rows of bluestone houses in the square, but he saw that the teacher did not even look at the houses on both sides and walked straight forward.
When the two of them reached the end of the bluestone house and turned right, a valley suddenly appeared in front of them. On the stone wall on one side of the valley entrance were several large bright red characters engraved.
"Military Advisor's Mansion!"
Li Yan thought, this is just a valley, why is it called the "Military Advisor's Mansion", but he couldn't stop, and followed Military Advisor Ji into the valley. After entering the valley, Military Advisor Ji stopped.
The valley is not very big. It is surrounded by mountains on three sides. The peaks are towering into the clouds. Moreover, the slopes of the three mountains are almost straight up and down, appearing very steep and dangerous.
The slope was covered with thin trees and shrubs, some tall and some short, with branches and twigs densely extending from the foot of the mountain to the top. Even if someone wanted to come up, they would have no place to start, as there was only one valley entrance for normal entry and exit.
It was already dark at this time, and the scenery in the valley was all blurry and a little hard to see clearly. There was a row of bluestone houses on the right side of the valley entrance, with about three or four rooms.
At this moment, hurried footsteps were heard behind him. Li Yan turned around and saw two people walking in the darkness. When he got closer, he could see clearly that they were Chen An and Li Yin whom he had just met.
The two of them were already holding some items in their hands, which must be the daily necessities that Advisor Ji had just ordered. They came quite quickly, arriving within a short time of each other.
The two men walked past them quickly, heading towards the bluestone houses. Soon, lights came on in the houses one after another. The lights shone through the doors and windows, and suddenly some of the scenery in the valley became much clearer.
Advisor Ji turned around and said to Li Yan.
"It's getting late today. Chen An and the others will come over to show you around here, and then we'll have dinner and rest.
You have traveled hundreds of miles from home today, so you'd better go to bed early. Come to me early tomorrow morning, and I will tell you about our sect then."
As he was speaking, Chen An and Li Yin came back quickly, and Chen An said with a smile.
"Mr. Li, there are servants here to clean every day, so we just need to bring some daily necessities here."
Advisor Ji saw them coming and gave orders again.
"You guys take Li Yan with you, and we'll deliver the food here later."
After saying that, he smiled and nodded to Li Yan, then walked towards the first house near the valley entrance. Then his figure appeared in the dim light at the door, and then he entered and disappeared.
Li Yan stared at Strategist Ji's back in a daze and thought to himself.
"My teacher is really simple and clear in his work."
Chen An laughed softly and spoke at this time.
"Mr. Li, please come with us."
After Li Yan thanked them, he followed the two of them inside, but their pace had slowed down a lot.
Chen An was very talkative, and Li Yin followed him as the leader, but he was quick with his hands and feet and would occasionally say a few words.
As they walked and talked, Li Yan began to understand some of the situation here.
Originally, Marshal Hong had arranged a mansion for Strategist Ji in the city, but Strategist Ji preferred a quiet and solitary life and did not want to live in the noisy city.
Later, he found this valley outside the city and lived there alone.
But how could Marshal Hong allow an official to live in such a simple way? After seeing that his several persuasions were ineffective, Marshal Hong could only send people to tidy up the valley.
They also cleared a hundred feet of open space outside the valley, built houses and posted soldiers to guard it, and also arranged for maids and servants to take charge of the daily life and food here.
But in the end, General Ji only left behind twenty soldiers and three women in charge of food, and sent the rest back.
In the opinion of Military Advisor Ji, he was the best candidate, but he could not refuse the Marshal's kindness. As for the name "Military Advisor's Mansion", it was of course named after the mansion.
There are four houses in this valley. Except for the first one near the valley entrance where Master Ji lives, the one next to it is used by Master Ji to practice martial arts from time to time. The other two houses are empty and no one lives there.
In Chen An's words, they are not allowed to enter here casually, unless Lord Ji allows them to come in for something. Otherwise, they can only enter for the daily necessary food delivery and cleaning.
Otherwise, if anyone breaks the rules, they will be expelled from the valley by Lord Ji, and one can imagine how Marshal Hong will treat them after they return to the city.
In addition to the four houses, the valley is also equipped with toilets and bathrooms, which are built in the side corners of the houses.
Li Yan finally chose a bluestone house that was built on the mountain wall at the innermost part of the valley. The stone house was very spacious and gave people a very stable feeling. It must have been built by soldiers. The things built by the army pay the most attention to practicality. Solidity and durability are what they need.
Li Yan looked around the four rooms. The floor was paved with bluestone and broken blocks, and was clean and bright. There were simple furnitures, but they seemed inconspicuous in this huge house.
There is a large wooden bed against the wall on the north side of the house, a washstand and some toiletries are placed against the east wall, and a four-layer bookshelf on the west wall with some books on it.
A wooden table was placed against the south window, with several tea cups and kettles and two chairs on it.
There are also two tall boxes woven with old brown vines at the head of the table, placed side by side on the ground, almost at the same height as the table top. I guess they are used to store items such as clothes.
The north and west sides of the stone house are built against the mountain, and the east wall is connected to other houses, so there is only a door and a large window facing the south, facing the valley.
Li Yan noticed that the window was very tall, with fine wooden lattices, and was now open.
Although there is only one window, the room does not feel stuffy at all. Instead, there is a feeling of cool autumn night breeze blowing in, making people feel relaxed and comfortable.
"Mr. Li, please take a rest first. There is hot water in the kettle, and someone will bring the food to you soon.
We can't stay in this valley for long. Lord Ji doesn't like outsiders here. If there's nothing else, we'll take our leave first."
After Chen An and Li put their things away, they spoke to Li Yan.
Li Yan was looking around the room. Upon hearing this, he quickly looked at the two of them.
"Thank you both for your help!"
The two of them bowed and retreated.
Li Yan walked to the table, took off the package from his shoulder and put it on the table, then walked to the brown rattan box at the head of the table and opened the two boxes one by one.
The box was empty, with a piece of black cloth placed at the bottom as a cushion, presumably to hold clothes or something.
Li Yan took the package on the table, unwrapped it, and placed the several sets of coarse cloth clothes inside neatly into a box one by one.
This was hand-sewn by my fourth sister and mother.
Although the fabrics of these clothes were very rough, and some were even cut from other worn-out clothes, Li Yan felt as if the small mountain village was right next to him. The temperature was comfortable, and seeing them was like seeing his mother and fourth sister.
He didn't bring much stuff with him, and the suitcase was wide, so all his clothes only took up about 30% to 40% of the space.
After thinking about it, Li Yan took out the pickles, dry food, etc. from the package on the table, and then arranged them neatly along the table against the wall. He did not put them in another empty box.
After covering the two boxes, Li Yan pulled a chair to the table, took the kettle and teacup and poured a cup of water. The water was quite hot, and it seemed that someone really came to change the water and clean the room every day.
Li Yan was really tired today. He traveled more than 200 miles and only took some dry food and water on the way. Now he was hungry, thirsty, and physically tired.
It was pitch black outside now, and he had no intention of going outside to take a look. He just drank water while thinking about his worries.
Thinking about what happened today and where I am sitting now, everything seems like a dream. After a while, I drank some water, but felt even hungrier and more tired, I thought to myself.
"It's a good thing the teacher didn't assign me anything to do, otherwise I really wouldn't be able to muster much energy, and it would be embarrassing in front of the teacher."
While I was thinking, I heard footsteps outside the door. The door was not closed. This was a valley, and the footsteps could be heard clearly in the middle of the night.
When Li Yan looked up, he saw that the door was dark and a woman was standing at the door holding a wooden tray.
Li Yan stood up and walked to the door. Seeing that the woman was still standing outside respectfully, he spoke.
"Where is your kitchen? I can just go get it myself next time."
When the woman heard this, her face turned pale and her body trembled.
"Mr. Li, don't dare to do this. If Lord Ji finds out, it will be a disaster of great magnitude."
Li Yan reached out to take the wooden tray. He was stunned when he heard the words and asked curiously.
"Why is that?"
The woman answered quickly.
"How can you go to a place like the kitchen where the servants stay? Master Ji will definitely not allow this."
Li Yan felt a little confused when he heard this, but then he understood something and realized that he could stay anywhere when he was at home.
He has not yet adapted to the change of his identity, so he said after taking the wooden pallet.
"Then next time you come, just put the food on the table inside."
After hearing this, the woman looked at him and said to him as if she remembered something.
"Mr. Li, we are not allowed to enter this valley casually except for delivering food and cleaning. Master Ji also ordered that these four rooms cannot be entered casually, so as not to disturb the master's work.
Every time the adults came back, they basically closed the door. If we saw a wooden sign hanging on the door handle, we would put the food on the stone platform outside the house and come back to clean it up after a while.
If the food was not eaten, it would be taken back, thrown away, remade, and delivered again.
No one can clean Lord Ji's room before entering to clean it with the Lord's permission. As no one lives in your room and the room next to it, you only need to clean them on a daily basis.
Now that you live here, we can no longer enter at will."
When Li Yan heard this, he noticed a black wooden sign hanging on the handle on the inside of the door. After thinking about it, he thought that the teacher might have hung the wooden sign on the handle on the outside of the door when he was practicing to avoid being disturbed by others.
Although he did not understand these advanced martial arts, he had always heard of some of them. He heard that when those who practiced internal energy meditation must not be disturbed, otherwise they would suffer from conditions such as going astray and becoming possessed.
The woman told him to put the dishes on the stone platform outside the room after dinner, and someone would come to clean them up. Then she bowed to Li Yanwei and left quickly.
Although the food here is not exquisite, it is also food that Li Yan has never eaten before. Li Yan was still not satisfied with the meal, but soon he thought of the dinner at home.
"I wonder if my parents have eaten yet, or if they are still thinking about me!"
For a moment, Li Yan became a little bored.
He got up, packed up the dishes and put them on the tray, then walked outside. Sure enough, he saw a stone platform in front of the door, so he put his things on it. Not far away opposite the stone house, there seemed to be a pool of water.
Looking up, he saw a dark mass of trees spreading out in the distance all the way to the tops of the surrounding mountains. Above his head was a round sky full of starlight. He stared blankly for a while, missing his old house even more.
After turning back to the house and washing up briefly, he closed the doors and windows and lay down on the bed. On his first night away, Li Yan fell into a deep sleep while missing his parents at home and every tree and blade of grass in the village.