Time Travel: The Survival of Li Zhi

Chapter 321 Strange old man

"May I ask, Master Bao, how many people know about this?"

Hong Fan frowned and looked at Master Bao seriously, with worry in his eyes.

Master Bao saw this, still with a faint smile on his face, and said calmly: "Such a secret, of course not many people know it. The only ones who know about it are the emperor, me, and your chief minister Zhao Wuji. Oh, by the way, now you have to be added to the list."

When Hong Fan heard this, he felt a little relieved, and his originally tense expression relaxed a little.

However, he still had some worries in his heart. After all, there is no wall that is completely airtight in this world.

Whenever something happens, there will always be some clues left behind. As long as someone pays attention and investigates, it will be difficult to keep it completely confidential.

Take this matter for example, Duan Gang is not a simple character. He has been immersed in the Night Patrol for many years and is meticulous and has many eyes and ears. Once he realizes that something is wrong, he will definitely be able to find out the ins and outs of this matter by following those subtle clues.

Even as long as Duan Gang had doubts about Li Zhi, he would have enough reasons to take action against Li Zhi.

The more Hong Fan thought about it, the more dangerous it seemed. After much thought, Hong Fan decided that it would be safer to bring Li Zhi back to Leizhou as soon as possible. Li Zhi was now wandering around the capital, and Duan Gang might link this to him.

Moreover, as long as they returned to Leizhou, even if Duan Gang realized that it was related to Li Zhi, it would not be easy for him to reach out to Leizhou.

Leizhou is the territory of Hong Fan and his people.

If Duan Gang dared to stretch out his hand, Hong Fan would chop off his hand!

Master Bao seemed to see that Hong Fan wanted to leave. He tilted his head slightly and said with a smile: "If you plan to go back, you must tell me in advance so that I can prepare and send you off. After all, Li Zhi has helped me a lot. If I don't show any appreciation, how can I, Master Bao, live my life?"

There was a hint of joking in Mr. Bao's words.

Hong Fan also smiled and nodded in response: "Then I must take advantage of Master Bao's feast."

 …

According to the information he had heard before, Li Zhi traveled through the slightly messy yet lively streets of the outer city.

The roads in the outer city are not as wide, flat and neatly planned as those in the inner city. The paths here are winding, but fortunately Li Zhi has a good sense of direction, so he didn't have too much trouble.

After a while, Li Zhi arrived at a mansion.

This mansion is considered to be relatively large in the entire outer city area. Compared with the slightly shabby and small houses around it, it is quite conspicuous.

In front of this mansion, there was an old man sitting at the door.

The old man was dressed neatly. His coarse cloth clothes were not luxurious but neatly maintained without any sense of slovenliness.

But his face was a little peculiar, with gaping cheeks and missing teeth, which made a deep impression on people at first sight.

At this moment, he was sitting with his legs crossed, eyes slightly closed, basking in the sun comfortably. He looked so lazy, as if all the troubles in the world had nothing to do with him, and he was completely immersed in this rare leisure.

Li Zhi's eyes flickered slightly. Although he didn't know the identity of this old man, he dared to be so casual and contented in front of Situ Han's mansion. He must not be an ordinary person.

Thinking of this, Li Zhi stepped forward politely and asked politely, "Father, is this Lord Situ's residence?"

The old man was originally squinting his eyes, enjoying the warmth of the sun. When he heard Li Zhi's question, he slowly opened his eyes.

Perhaps because he had squinted for too long, he was not used to the bright light when he opened his eyes. He subconsciously squinted again and looked Li Zhi up and down carefully for a long time. Then he asked slowly, "Who are you?"

Li Zhi still had a gentle smile on his face, and replied in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "I am from the Night Tour Department, and I came here to visit Master Situ."

When the old man heard Li Zhi say that he was from the Night Tour Department, his expression changed slightly, and his originally casual and lazy sitting posture straightened up a little. He nodded slightly and said, "Since you are from the Night Tour Department, then go in. Your master is inside."

Li Zhi nodded and thanked him quickly: "Okay, thank you for telling me, father-in-law."

After saying that, he raised his foot and walked towards the gate, ready to step into the mansion.

But just as Li Zhi was about to step into the door, the old man suddenly said, "Wait..."

Li Zhi paused for a moment, turned his head to look at the old man, and asked doubtfully: "What's the matter, old man?"

The old man pursed his lips at Li Zhi, his eyes fell on the object in Li Zhi's hand, and asked, "What are you holding in your hand?"

Li Zhi subconsciously picked up the cakes and snacks in his hand and replied, "Oh, these are some cakes and snacks I bought. I thought it would be bad to come empty-handed when visiting Lord Situ, so I brought these as a token of my appreciation."

Before Li Zhi finished speaking, the old man interrupted him and said, "Your master doesn't like to eat this stuff, just give it to me."

Li Zhi was stunned when the old man said this. He first subconsciously looked at the pastry in his hand, then raised his eyes to look at the old man in front of him with a matter-of-fact look on his face. For a moment, he felt a little hesitant and was not sure whether to hand the thing to the old man.

Seeing Li Zhi's hesitation, the old man was immediately unhappy and said unhappily, "Would I, an old man, cheat you out of this little food? Don't underestimate me!"

There was a hint of dissatisfaction in those words, as if Li Zhi's hesitation showed great distrust of him.

Seeing this, Li Zhi couldn't insist any longer and could only smile bitterly, thinking, never mind, since the old man said so, just give it to him.

So, he handed over the cakes in his hand and said, "Then I'll trouble you to help me deal with these things..."

Seeing this, the old man instantly showed a look of satisfaction on his face, and his originally serious expression became much kinder. He hurriedly reached out to take the pastry from Li Zhi's hand, as if he was afraid that Li Zhi would go back on his word.

Then, he waved at Li Zhi and urged him, "Alright, alright, go in quickly, don't keep your master waiting for too long."

Under the old man's slightly anxious urging, Li Zhi stepped into Situ Han's mansion.

Although this mansion is located in the outer city area, its scale is quite impressive. Compared with the houses of ordinary people in the surrounding area, it appears quite grand.

As soon as you step through the gate, the first thing that catches your eye is a spacious and open courtyard.

There are flowers, plants and trees planted around the yard. It is the flowering season now, and several unknown flowers are blooming, adding a bit of vitality and brightness to this slightly plain yard.

Li Zhi slightly sniffed his nose, he smelled the scent of medicinal herbs. Although Li Zhi did not have the ability to identify herbs by smell, he knew how to make pills and had even stayed in the pill room for some time.

He was quite sensitive to the smell of medicinal herbs, and Li Zhi could faintly sense the scent of some herbs that replenished vitality.

This made Li Zhi think of Situ Han's nickname and his weak appearance.

Li Zhi's eyes flashed. Could it be that Situ Han, like him, had his vitality damaged, which led to his sickly appearance?

While thinking about something, Li Zhi looked around.

Then, he walked slowly along the corridor beside the yard.

Along the way, his eyes kept scanning the surroundings. He thought that in a mansion of this size, there should be many maids and servants busy everywhere. After all, many daily matters such as cleaning the yard, welcoming and seeing off guests, etc., all need manpower to take care of.

But what made Li Zhi feel more and more strange was that in this huge mansion, he didn't even see the figure of a maid or servant. The surroundings were unusually quiet. Only his own footsteps echoed softly in this empty corridor, revealing an indescribable tranquility and desolation.

Just as Li Zhi was feeling surprised, a sound suddenly came from the front.

"Li Zhi? You're here?"