First Immortal of the Sword

-trained, and they weren’t letting anyone enter.

The space around the clinic was empty; all of the patients had long since left.

“Is this some sort of challenge?” Huang Qianyun’s eyes flashed, threatening violence, and he strode forward.
“Hey scumbags! Who told you you could act wildly here?”

“Young Master Huang?” When they saw Huang Qianjun, there was a clear uproar amongst the guards.
However, none of them backed down; they clearly had confidence in their backing.

Their leader, a man in black, said gravely, “Young Master Huang, the Apricot Clinic is the Wen Family’s territory here.
How can you call protecting it ‘acting wildly’?”

“You’re from the Wen Family?” Huang Qianjun was stunned.

The man in black nodded.
“We’re subordinates of the Wen Family’s second elder.
We’ve come here on business with our family’s young master.
Young Master Huang, this has nothing to do with you, so you’d best not get involved.”

Huang Qianjun furrowed his brow.
“Your family’s young master? You mean that Wen Jieyuan guy?”

“Indeed.” The man in black nodded. 

Huang Qianjun instantly understood.
The Apricot Clinic had been under Wen Changqing’s control to begin with, yet yesterday, Su Yi had taken over its leadership.

Furthermore, he’d cleansed the place of everyone indentured to Wen Changqing in one fell swoop.

There was no doubt about it.
Wen Changqing’s son, Wen Jieyuan, was here for revenge!

The man in black had already noticed the nearby Su Yi, and his gaze instantly turned vicious.

He raised his hand, pointed, and shouted, “Wen Family Son-in-Law, you’re finally back.
Do you have any idea how long our young master has been waiting for you?”

The other guards looked distinctly unfriendly too.
After all, they’d come here to help Wen Jieyuan make trouble; how could they possibly treat Su Yi respectfully?

“Damn…” Huang Qianjun was just about to shout when Su Yi put his hand on his shoulder.

“You stay here.” 

Huang Qianjun turned to look, only to see calm indifference in Su Yi’s gaze, as well as a cold glint. 

His heart shook.

“Where’s your young master?” Su Yi strode forward, composed as ever.
He hadn’t cared about the blacksmiths’ taunts, as in his eyes, they were nothing but ants, unworthy of his consideration.

But the Apricot Clinic was different; this was his territory.
They’d come to antagonize him on his own turf.
There was no way he wouldn’t care!

“Come with me.” The man in black glanced at him coldly, then turned and strode into the clinic. 

Su Yi followed, while the other guards stuck close to him, keeping him under close watch as if afraid he’d run away.

Brother Su plans to handle this himself, huh….? Just as Huang Qianjun was about to take action, he recalled Su Yi’s orders and stopped in his tracks. I have to follow his commands, but if I just stand here doing nothing, won’t I look completely useless….?

Huang Qianjun sank into thought.
He wasn’t worried about Su Yi’s wellbeing; he was just lamenting his inability to go watch the show….

Before long, he seemed to reach a decision.
He turned and left.

Meanwhile, within the Apricot Clinic.

Hu Quan, Wu Guangbin and the others were all present, but all of their brows were tightly knit with worry.

When they saw Su Yi step through the door, their expressions changed.

Su Yi had only taken up the clinic’s management yesterday, but Wen Changqing’s son, Wen Jieyuan, was already here to make trouble.
Every member of the clinic’s staff sensed that Su Yi was in for a hard time.

Hu Quan hurriedly called out a warning, “Sir, you mustn’t clash with Young Master Wen Jieyuan! Retreat just this once; there’s a boundless future ahead of you.”

Su Yi neither agreed nor disagreed.
He simply nodded.
“I’m just glad you’re alright.”

Hu Quan wanted to say something, only for the man in black to push him away.
“This is none of your business.
All of you, wait over there!”

Then, he led Su Yi straight to the courtyard behind the clinic. Hu Quan and the rest of the staff watched them leave, then looked at each other and sighed. They deeply admired Su Yi’s medical skills, but this time, it was the Wen Family that had come looking for trouble.
They were in no position to get involved.

The courtyard behind the Apricot Clinic.

Wen Jueyuan stood with his hands behind his back, beside the locust tree.
He was staring intently at the chained-up well, his brow tightly furrowed.
A long time passed before he spoke. 

“Nine years ago, the wandering Daoist Wu Ruoqiu said that any living person who takes up residence in that courtyard would be devoured by the ghosts living in the well.
Why, then, is Su Yi still alive?” Wen Jieyuan was baffled.

He’d come here this morning.
He’d initially planned to see just how gruesomely Su Yi had died.
Who would have guessed that no such thing had happened?

Su Yi was still alive and well!

“Young Master, we brought Su Yi.” Su Yi, the man in black, and the rest of the guards walked into the courtyard.

Slam!

The gates shut, and the guards dispersed, taking up posts nearby. Their cold gazes bore into Su Yi, as if he were prey that had walked right into their trip.

Wen Jieyuan stood beside the well, clad in white.
When Su Yi arrived, he turned to face him, asking, “Tell me, when you stayed here last night, did anything strange happen?”

His tone was pushy and forceful, as if he were giving orders.

Seth's Thoughts

Did I discuss this earlier? I don’t think I did.
Just in case, here’s a quick note about honorifics: the word both the staff and the guards are using to address Su Yi, “姑爷”, is used for sons-in-law, but it’s more something you call the son-in-law of your master’s house than something you’d call your own son-in-law.
There’s no direct English equivalent.

I always try to strike a balance between staying true to the raws and producing smooth, comprehensible English.
Usually there’s no conflict, but in this case, there is.
I’ve decided to translate this term differently based on context and intended nuance.
I’ll do something similar for other honorifics with no obvious English equivalent. 

For this specific honorific, I’ve been translating 姑爷  as “Wen Family Son-in-Law” when the speaker is emphasizing his position or being sarcastic/hurtful (ie trying to remind him that he’s just a live-in son-in-law), but “sir” when it’s used more neutrally/respectfully.
I could probably use “young master” there too, although I feel like we have enough young masters floating around already.
😉