Senior sister, stop working and go home for dinner.

Chapter 431 The Struggle for Accompaniment

The hall fell silent.

Qi Lan spoke those words as if they were the most ordinary thing in the world. She stood there in front of Chen Anran, her amber vertical pupils staring straight at him, a smile on her lips carrying a hint of certainty, a hint of provocation, and a hint of expectation that even she herself might not have realized.

Chen Anran looked at her. After a long while, he finally looked away.

"You can decide the number of accompanying persons yourself. But don't have too many people."

After Chen Anran finished speaking, he turned and walked out of the hall.

His steps weren't fast, but his figure quickly disappeared into the sunlight at the entrance of the main hall.

The people inside the hall looked at each other in bewilderment.

Qi Lan withdrew her gaze, her smile remaining unchanged.

"He's leaving the decision to me."

Master Tianbao was taken aback: "Let you decide? He just said..."

"He said, 'You decide for yourselves,'" Qi Lan interrupted him, her amber vertical pupils slowly sweeping across the faces of everyone present. "You—he meant all of us. But now that he's gone, aren't we the ones left behind to discuss this?"

Master Tianbao opened his mouth, but was speechless.

Feng Wenzheng pondered for a moment before speaking, "Fellow Daoist Qi Lan is right. Now that True Person Chen has left, this matter requires our joint discussion. However..."

He paused, his gaze falling on Qi Lan's face, his tone tinged with a hint of probing: "How many people is considered 'too many'? Two? Three? Five?"

"Three," Qi Lan said.

Jiang Yan's small eyes darted around: "Three? Then our group... Fellow Daoist Qi Lan counts as one, and the remaining two spots will be hard to decide."

Master Tianbao immediately became anxious: "What do you mean by 'difficult to distinguish'? I spoke first!"

Feng Wenzheng stroked his beard and said unhurriedly, "Fellow Daoist Tianbao, what we were arguing about just now was 'who goes,' not 'who speaks first counts.' Since Master Chen asked us to discuss it, there should be a plan. However, in my opinion, my two sons are the most suitable, because Feng Changyuan and Feng Lie are both close friends with Master Chen, so it would be safest for them to go with him." As he spoke, he gave Qi Lan a provocative look.

That means, don't think that just because our little deer is "temporarily" gone, you can take the opportunity to "take over"!

That's impossible! We, the Feng family, will keep an eye on this place for three thousand years!

But Qi Lan didn't seem to care, as if she hadn't noticed their gazes.

Huiming clasped his hands together and chanted a Buddhist prayer: "Amitabha. Please do not be anxious, benefactors. Master Chen's journey to Tianjing is long and requires someone to look after him along the way. In my opinion, the best choice should be someone who is 'useful'. Whoever can help on the road should go."

Master Tianbao twitched his beard: "How am I useless? When I was traveling all over the country, you were still here..."

"Fellow Daoist Tianbao," Jiang Yan interrupted him with a smile, "You've traveled all over the country, but that's in modern society. Here, everyone is the same. Besides, how many places will you pass through on your way to Tianjing? How many people will you meet? How many situations will you have to deal with? With your fiery temper, if you get into an argument with someone, Master Chen will have to clean up the mess for you."

Master Tianbao was speechless, his face turning bright red.

A new round of debate erupted inside the hall.

Master Tianbao was so angry his beard stood on end. Halfway through the discussion, he couldn't help but point at Jiang Yan's nose: "You fatso, who are you calling hot-tempered? I'm just straightforward! Straightforward, don't you understand?"

Jiang Yan smiled and stepped back slightly, not annoyed at all. He simply said, "I understand, I understand, I'm straightforward. But being straightforward only works in your own backyard. Once you step outside, it might not work. Think about it, what kind of place is Tianjing? It's the capital of the Great Qian Dynasty, full of officials and nobles. If you're straightforward with someone, they might turn around and make things difficult for you, and you won't even know who did it."

Master Tianbao opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but found himself at a loss for words. After a long pause, he finally managed to stammer, "Well... well, we can't let both of the Feng family's boys go, can we? Chang Yuan and Brother Lie are good friends with that Chen boy, but what's their cultivation level? They haven't even reached the Foundation Establishment stage yet!"

Feng Wenzheng stroked his beard and said unhurriedly, "Cultivation level is secondary. When you're traveling, friendships are more useful than cultivation level. Chang Yuan and Master Chen have a life-or-death friendship. Although Lie Ge'er is younger, he's clever and sensible, and he's the most helpful when it comes to running errands."

"A life-or-death friendship?" Master Tianbao's eyes widened. "Just the two of them? With that Chen brat? As far as I know, when that Chen brat went to your Feng family, he got into a fight with your two nephews!"

Feng Wenzheng coughed lightly twice. "But then you said their relationship was very good, wasn't it?"

Just then, Jiang Yan rubbed his fingers together, his small eyes darting around, and suddenly looked at Qi Lan: "Fellow Daoist Qi, what do you think?"

Qi Lan leaned against the window, a faint smile playing on her lips, as if watching a spectacle. Hearing Jiang Yan's question, she slowly replied, "How should I watch? Didn't I say I'd go?"

"What about the remaining two spots?" Jiang Yan pressed.

Qi Lan's gaze slowly swept across the faces of everyone present, finally landing on Huiming.

"Monk, are you going or not?"

Huiming paused, his hand holding the prayer beads, and slightly raised his eyelids. "Amitabha. Benefactor Qi, you've called upon this humble monk."

"What's wrong with you?" Qi Lan asked. "Are you going or not?"

Huiming was silent for a moment, then smiled slightly: "If Master Chen does not find this humble monk in the way, this humble monk is willing to go."

Master Tianbao immediately became anxious: "Hey, hey, hey, how do you call me a monk? I haven't even..."

"Fellow Daoist Tianbao," Feng Wenzheng interrupted him, his tone tinged with helplessness, "please let Fellow Daoist Qi finish speaking."

Master Tianbao held his breath and stared at Qi Lan with wide eyes.

Qi Lan said unhurriedly, "The monk went because he has a good reputation. Monks are respected wherever they go. If they encounter a difficult person, having a monk go up and chant a Buddhist prayer is more effective than us saying a hundred words."

Huiming bowed slightly: "Benefactor Qi is too kind."

Master Tianbao paused, pondered for a moment, and it did seem to be true. But then he thought again and became even more anxious: "What about me? Is my face useless?"

Qi Lan glanced at him, a hint of mischief in her eyes: "Your face... is quite useful. It's just too useful, making it easy for people to remember you. We're going out on business, not to become famous."

Master Tianbao was speechless, his face turning bright red.

Jiang Yan couldn't help but laugh out loud, but quickly suppressed it, coughed twice, and said seriously, "Fellow Daoist Qi, what about this last spot..."

"You guys decide," Qi Lan said. "Anyway, I'll go, the monk will go, and the remaining one—no, let's add two or three more. You guys discuss it."

After she finished speaking, she ignored the crowd's argument and turned to walk out of the hall.

………………