Chapter 159: The Wolf's Den (Part 1)

Zhen Qian had one foot resting on a wooden basin, while two young maidens each tightly embraced a leg, unwilling to let go. This was hardly foot-washing; it was clearly more like playing with precious antiques! Yet inwardly, he was blooming with joy—what a blessing to enjoy the favors of multiple exceptional women!

"Are you two ever going to finish? I doubt there is a second person in this entire world whose foot-washing looks like this."

To treat both maidens with absolute fairness, Zhen Qian felt as though he needed to split himself in two, just to prove his impartiality. Who knew what was going on in their heads? Ordinarily, they were as close as sisters—anyone unaware might have taken them for lovers—yet the moment Zhen Qian appeared, they transformed completely, neither willing to yield an inch. Whatever one received, the other had to have an exact duplicate, or a bitter quarrel would surely ensue.

Case in point: even washing his feet required the attendance of both, each terrified that the other might somehow get the upper hand or an extra share. This, of course, brought endless misery to Zhen Qian himself. When night fell, either both would come together, leaving him completely overwhelmed and unable to truly enjoy the bliss, or neither would pay him any attention at all, leaving him living the life of a near-widower.

"Our master is enjoying supreme blessings yet plays the hypocrite. It smells awful... I'm not washing anymore!"

"Come back quickly! I haven't finished washing his foot yet!"

Urged on by Xiao Mei, Zhen Qian had once again been played by the two little vixens. Having his feet washed required him to cater to their whims, almost driving him to a frenzy—this felt nothing short of a rebellion!

Even so, he secretly relished it. Finding women meant much more than just treating them as ornamental vases or keeping them in bed for mere pleasure. Only the wearer knows whether the shoes truly fit; what Zhen Qian needed were women capable of managing household affairs independently. Such women possessed distinct personalities, neither waiting for others nor relying on anyone, their sharp individuality making them both deeply lovable and infuriating.

Fortunately, there were only Xiao Mei and Xiao Zhu, otherwise his days of romantic bliss would truly have become unbearable.

Zhen Qian had never denied the inherent selfishness and greed of human nature, and there was nothing wrong with that. The only true mistake lay when one's desires and capabilities were vastly out of proportion—towering giants in grand rhetoric, yet pathetic dwarfs in actual deeds.

Just past noon, Wang Lun entered the room. "Eldest Young Master, the carriage is ready. We can depart!"

Wang Lun was an old retainer of the estate, in his early fifties. He appeared entirely unremarkable, his hair somewhat thinning, yet his eyes pierced through one's soul like sharp arrows. Normally, he did not reside within the main estate. Not far from the residence lay a small hill, upon which stood several unassuming flat-roofed houses forming a modest courtyard. Six families lived there, and anyone unaware would have taken them for ordinary farmers. Only Zhen Qian knew that this was a fortified outpost constructed by Wang Lun and his men—easy to defend and difficult to attack. Should any crisis arise, Zhen Qian could slip through a secret tunnel directly into the outpost and quietly make his escape.

Simultaneously, only a few elderly men in the outpost knew the exact location of the Wolf's Den; even Xiao Zhu and Xiao Mei were entirely ignorant of where it truly lay.

Seeing that Zhen Qian was about to leave, Wang You anxiously interceded, "Eldest Young Master, can you take me to the Wolf's Den to have a look?"

Zhen Qian looked at Wang You in surprise. "What would you go there for? We aren't going on a pleasure trip, and I'll be back in a couple of days!"

Wang You looked somewhat displeased. "Eldest Young Master, I am your scholarly attendant, and I am already eighteen years old. Surely you can take me to see the Wolf's Den? If anything ever happens in the future, I can be of help!"

Eight years ago, when Zhen Qian visited his maternal grandfather's household, he used to play with Wang You, who was then just a child. They waded into the river to catch fish and climbed trees to rob bird nests together. Their bond had grown quite strong, and his grandfather eventually gifted Wang You to Zhen Qian to serve as his personal companion. In the blink of an eye, eight years had passed; aside from sharing women, the two had remained inseparable like true brothers.

"Do you truly wish to go to the Wolf's Den?"

"I truly do! I have no regrets..." Wang You nodded firmly. Entering the Wolf's Den meant that their relationship and mutual trust were stepping into an entirely new phase. Every prominent aristocratic clan possessed its own secrets, and these secrets were usually kept strictly concealed, sometimes hidden even from their own biological sons. The significance of entering the Wolf's Den was extraordinary. Apart from Wang Lun and the few elderly retainers who served as honored guests of the estate, no one else knew of its existence.

"Do you realize that once you enter the Wolf's Den, you will no longer be a free man and must remain bound to the estate for the rest of your life? I had intended to grant you your freedom in a couple of years. Do you truly not regret this?"

"I have thought it through. Even if I must serve the Eldest Young Master for the rest of my days, I am willing!"

Zhen Qian glanced at Wang Lun. Seeing Wang Lun give a slight nod, he said, "Very well! Since you have made up your mind, come along and take a look."

Inside the carriage, Wang You appeared immensely excited, staring with great curiosity at the vehicle itself. It was an extremely ordinary-looking carriage on the outside, yet the interior cabin was remarkably spacious, constructed from thick pine planks. Aside from the door used for boarding and exiting, there was not a single window, making the interior completely airtight. An oil lamp hung from the ceiling, casting a dim, lifeless glow. Sitting inside, it was nearly impossible to catch a glimpse of the scenery outside. All communication and transportation between the residence and the Wolf's Den relied entirely on such specialized carriages.

Wang You's initial sense of novelty quickly faded. At first, he tried making intermittent small talk with Zhen Qian, but seeing that Zhen Qian had immediately wrapped himself in a fur cloak and drifted off into a semi-sleep, showing no inclination to converse, Wang You soon began to doze off as well, mimicking his master's posture.

After an indeterminate length of time, when he was finally shaken awake by Zhen Qian, he realized the carriage had rolled directly into a cavern. "We've arrived!"

"We've arrived! Next time you sleep, try not to drool!"

Wang You wiped the corner of his mouth, gave an awkward chuckle, and stepped down from the carriage, only to freeze in astonishment. Before him lay an extraordinarily vast cavern, illuminated brightly by numerous blazing fire basins arranged around the perimeter. In one corner of the cave sat over a dozen identical carriages, looking precisely like the one he had just ridden in.

"Is this the Wolf's Den?" Unbelievable—this looked nothing like the treacherous lair he had imagined, and there were barely any people in sight.

"Of course not. This is merely the entrance to the Wolf's Den. We still have a long way to go before we reach the actual stronghold. Follow me!"

Wang Lun grasped a burning torch to lead the way, while Wang You and Zhen Qian each held their own torches, ascending a flight of stone steps carved deep into the cavern. The stairs wound upward and downward by turns, twisting through labyrinthine turns. They climbed countless steps, seemingly without end.

Wang You rested his hand against the cave wall. The rock surface was not particularly rough, covered in patches of damp moss. The steps were somewhat slick, and in certain spots, their edges had been worn completely smooth and rounded by passage, as if they had existed for countless centuries. There were signs of both human excavation and natural karst formations. From time to time, colorful stalactites came into view, and they even passed a bottomless pool of water. Due to the constant underground temperature, the water was exceptionally ice-cold and sweet. In the profound silence of the cave, water droplets falling from the ceiling produced crisp, echoing ripples of sound.

The three of them seemed to be the only living souls within the entire subterranean maze, their chaotic footsteps echoing against the stone walls as they traversed interconnected caverns before fading into the deep gloom ahead.

"Eldest Young Master, how much farther until we reach the Wolf's Den?" Wang You rubbed his aching calves, feeling as though he had already climbed an entire mountain range; otherwise, it shouldn't have been this exhausting.

"We're almost there." Zhen Qian pointed ahead. Not far away, a glimmer of light filtered through. Wang You rubbed his eyes and saw a massive stone opening forty or fifty meters away, securely barred and sealed off by thick, heavy steel reinforcement bars. Beyond the barrier, two upright figures could be seen standing at rigid attention. Wang You's heart leaped into his throat—he had finally beheld the Wolf's Den.