Chapter 463 - 377: People Are Like Ants, Lives Are Like Weeds

"Ah!" The surrounding gatekeepers cried out in alarm, their minds completely blank!

To them, the Chief of the Patrol Office was already a rarely seen figure. The Commander-in-Chief was an even more astronomical personage. As for anyone higher...

That was the kind of existence one only heard about in legends!

...

On the carriage, Chen Ping’an, who had just been reunited with his little sister, had no idea what a commotion his act of picking her up had caused. He was currently chatting idly with the little girl, his face wreathed in smiles.

Although the siblings hadn’t seen each other in a long time, there wasn’t the slightest bit of distance between them.

The bond forged from relying on each other to survive was something others could hardly imagine. Just those few short months were enough to create memories that would last a lifetime!

"Brother, why did you come to Weishui this time?" the little girl asked, looking at Chen Ping’an curiously, a trace of delight still lingering on her face.

If the instructors from Weishui Academy saw this, their jaws would probably drop. The ever-mature and scholarly Chen Erya actually had such a childish side to her.

"Of course I came to see you! It’s been a while. I wanted to see if our little girl has grown up," Chen Ping’an said, a doting look on his face as he gazed at his sister.

Every time he saw his little sister, he felt a sense of relaxation. He didn’t know if it was psychological suggestion or something else, but a voice would always tell him that he was not alone in this world.

Even though his Cultivation had now reached the Grandmaster realm, this feeling had not faded.

"Brother~" The little girl sounded a bit shy.

Amidst the siblings’ joyous laughter, the carriage headed toward their residence in the Inner City.

Before taking up his post as the Outer Trade Road Patrol Envoy, Chen Ping’an had bought a courtyard home in Weishui Inner City. Although the residence wasn’t large, it was located in a bustling part of the Weishui Inner City, close to the Weishui Garrison, making it exceptionally secure.

In front of the courtyard gate, Chen Ping’an saw Peony, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time. Peony was a few years older than his little sister and looked as lovely and elegant as ever.

Peony was standing at the gate, looking out for her young miss to return from school, when she unexpectedly saw a large, all-black carriage in the distance. The carriage was flanked by elite constables from the Garrison Commandant’s Office, a clear sign that its occupants were not to be trifled with.

Because of her connection to her young miss, Peony wasn’t too afraid. She didn’t step aside, but stood at the gate watching curiously, wondering which big shot was passing by.

Before she could figure it out, she saw the carriage slowly come to a stop right in front of her own courtyard gate.

"Huh?" Peony’s expression froze, and she was just about to ask a question when she saw a guard on the carriage bow and pull back the curtain, revealing two incredibly familiar figures.

"Young Miss... Young Master?" Seeing the two of them, a jolt went through Peony.

Beside the carriage, an accompanying guard had already placed a cushioned footstool.

"Peony! Brother is back!" Chen Erya stepped on the stool and quickly disembarked from the carriage, calling out to Peony.

With Chen Ping’an’s skills, he naturally had no need for a footstool. He took a light step and landed steadily on the ground.

"Young Master!" Having not seen Chen Ping’an in a long time, Peony was still a bit nervous. She quickly curtsied gracefully.

"Mm," Chen Ping’an nodded slightly. Towards Peony, while he wouldn’t put on airs, he also wouldn’t act as familiarly as he did with Chen Erya.

However, Peony was an old acquaintance who had been with them through the hard times, so Chen Ping’an’s expression was pleasant enough.

"Two men will be enough to wait here. The rest of you, return to the Garrison Commandant’s Office and rest!" Chen Ping’an commanded, then walked into the courtyard with his little sister. Peony followed closely behind them.

Chen Ping’an’s current status was worlds apart from what it used to be. As his personal escort, the Weishui Garrison had naturally made the appropriate arrangements. While he was talking with Fan Zheng Heng earlier, his guards had already coordinated with the Weishui Garrison, so now they could head there directly.

"Yes, my lord!" the men replied respectfully to Chen Ping’an’s departing back.

After leaving two men behind to stand guard at the door and await orders, the carriage slowly drove away.

Inside the courtyard, there were also two female servants who usually did the cleaning and cooking. They stood in a corner, a little intimidated by the scene just now. They had long heard that the master of the house held a high position and possessed an extraordinary aura, but they hadn’t expected such a grand display.

Seeing Chen Ping’an enter, they trembled and hastily bowed in greeting.

"Greetings, Master!"

"Brother, these are the ones I hired to take care of the house, just as you said," the little girl explained from the side. Then she added, "Sister Mu checked them all. There are no problems!"

"Mm," Chen Ping’an nodded. He glanced at them, confirmed there were no issues, and then stepped into the main hall.

Having not seen each other for a long time, the siblings naturally had a lot to catch up on. Chen Ping’an asked about his little sister’s studies. The little girl confidently gave him an update.

His little sister’s academic progress was far faster than Chen Ping’an had anticipated, advancing with extreme speed. This made him very pleased and further solidified his decision to have her go to the State City for her studies.

After dinner, the two siblings sat under the large jujube tree in the backyard, enjoying the evening breeze and admiring the bright moon as they talked late into the night. Peony stood respectfully to the side, occasionally bringing out more pastries.

"Ah! Brother, you’re getting promoted again?"

"That’s right!"

"So fast! It feels like you were just promoted not long ago!"

"Hahaha, that’s because your brother is a genius!"

"..."

The moonlight was like water, gently spilling into the small courtyard. Accompanied by occasional bursts of laughter, the scene felt warm and comfortable.

...

"My lord, this is all the information your humble subordinate has gathered."

In the main hall, a guard from the Garrison Commandant’s Office stood before Chen Ping’an, bowing respectfully.

Chen Ping’an sat on the large chair at the head of the hall, contemplating with his eyes closed for a moment. "Mm, you may leave for now."

"Yes, my lord!" The guard respectfully acknowledged the order and cupped his hands in farewell. He backed away until he was out of Chen Ping’an’s line of sight before turning to leave.

’It seems the Mu Family took my words to heart.’ Chen Ping’an tapped a single finger, recalling the information the guard had just reported.

With his little sister studying at the Weishui Academy, he, as her brother, would naturally not just leave Weishui County City without making any arrangements. Before heading to Five Peaks Mountain City to assume his post, he had entrusted the Mu Family with helping to look after her, and had also spoken privately with Mu Wanjun.

Beyond that, he had also mentioned the matter of her care to people like Liu Yuanhua and Zhao Lianzhi. Chen Ping’an had made multi-faceted, multi-layered arrangements for his little sister.

Now that he had returned to Weishui and made some inquiries, he found that they had all taken it seriously. In the end, they had not disappointed him.

’As expected, the greater my reputation as her brother is outside, the more meticulous and detailed others’ care for my sister will be.’

On the matter of his little sister, the Mu Family in particular had put in a lot of effort, secretly arranging for a great deal of protection. He had sensed it yesterday when he went to pick her up from her lessons.

Yesterday, even before arriving at Weishui Academy, he had sent people to inquire about how his sister was doing at the academy. The situation the guard had just reported was, on the whole, in line with Chen Ping’an’s expectations.

Although external forces were protecting her, it was also in accordance with her own wishes to study low-key at the Weishui Academy.

Among the many matters handled, the one thing that left Chen Ping’an slightly dissatisfied was the incident at Weishui Academy where an instructor had told his sister to change her name.

The instructor had initially brought up the name change out of good intentions. It was only after being refuted by the little girl that he became somewhat angered by the embarrassment and said, "This child is unteachable!"

It was this one sentence that stirred up a hornet’s nest. The Mu Family’s subsequent handling of the situation was, in Chen Ping’an’s opinion, a bit excessive.

’According to my thinking, just having that instructor resign would have been enough. There was no need for all this.’

’However, since it’s already happened, I’ll just let it be.’

’Outsiders are ultimately outsiders; they can’t compare to a single hair on my sister’s head! But there’s no need to let her know about such things.’

’Mm! I must find a way to give my little sister more ability to protect herself! In this day and age, human life is as cheap as grass. Without power or strength, a single careless word can bring disaster, just like with that instructor!’

’When she comes back from her studies, I’ll bring up the Martial Dao with her again! Even if she doesn’t achieve anything great, it’s still good for strengthening her body.’

Chen Ping’an sat upright on the large chair, his thoughts racing and his mind churning.

A short while later, his thoughts gradually settled. He focused his spirit and cleared his mind until it was as pure as a polished mirror, without a speck of dust. Spiritual Light surged at his brow heart as he began to circulate his Circulation Heart Method.

+1!

A line of Cultivation Experience materialized before Chen Ping’an. With his eyes closed and his mind free of distracting thoughts, he focused wholeheartedly on his Cultivation of the Dragon Elephant Dominating Body Technique.

With just a few more points of Cultivation Experience, his Dragon Elephant Dominating Body Technique would reach Great Success!