Zombie Bodyguard-Chapter 1422 - 1419: Honor to the Left, Humility to the Right

The ancient trees on both sides were clearly rare species, though it was unclear whether they were nanmu or sandalwood. Of course, camphor trees also emit a special fragrance, but the scent of camphor is more intense. The fragrance in the air here was faint, yet lingered undisturbed.

Just this patch of ancient trees alone was worth more than the entire Qinglan Garden. Indeed, the items passed down from age-old Ancient Martial families or sects spanning hundreds or even thousands of years were either antiques or rare ancient trees, making them exceedingly valuable.

After passing through the Lin Yin Road, there was an artificial lake. A corridor spanned the entire lake, with glazed pavilions and water lilies in the water. The blooming season for water lilies is from June to August, and they were in full bloom at the moment. Water lilies open during the day and close at night. Under the sunlight, the blooming lilies refracted through water droplets, and at that moment, Lin Tian had a vision of the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top.

When Wang Yuanzhou achieved enlightenment, the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top appeared similar to the water lilies before him. Nature is the Great Dao, perhaps realized within an instant of enlightenment.

After walking through the lakeside corridor, they bypassed a rock garden and passed a moon gate. The road ahead branched into two; one path headed left, the other right. Enclosed by walls on either side, the walls contained moon gates and gridded windows.

Through the moon gates and windows, the environment beyond appeared to change dramatically. Behind the left moon gate seemed to be a large garden, and behind the garden were several pavilions, adorned with dragon carvings and phoenix paintings, with flying eaves and bucket arches, appearing ancient and exquisite.

The right side was vastly different. Inside, there was no garden, only an open courtyard with very simple setups. The houses behind the courtyard could not compare with the pavilions on the left, being just ordinary dwellings.

Shen Danxi led them to the left, but as they turned the corner, she turned back to face Lin Tian and the others: "This side is for guest rooms; the accommodations for subordinates are on the right."

Her words were stated very naturally and plainly, yet it was precisely this plainness that delineated a significant social hierarchy. In Huaxia, the left side is honored and costly. From this layout alone, one could see the class divide, and the contrast between the houses on either side made the different classes even more apparent.

Wang Wanxi turned to Shen Danxi and said, "Manager Shen, they are all my friends." The implication was that they should accompany her.

Yet Shen Danxi still replied indifferently, "Do they have an invitation? Or do they come from a particular family or sect? Because of the auction, the accommodations in the pavilion have already been arranged. Even as your friends, they cannot stay on the left side pavilion."

Wang Wanxi was about to say more, but Lin Tian interjected, "Aunt Wang, you should go settle in first. There’s no need to waste time here over a place to stay."

Lin Tian’s words were neither self-deprecating nor arrogant, but spoken with a calm tone. His demeanor made Shen Danxi frown slightly, seeming uncomfortable with Lin Tian’s attitude.

Qingshuang Pavilion possesses the mighty weapons "Purple Lightning" and "Blue Frost," the water and fire-resistant "Ice Silkworm Thread" and "Black Gold Thread," and unparalleled swordsmanship. It’s an achievement for an average family to possess a single powerful weapon, yet Qingshuang Pavilion holds so many, illustrating its power and status.

People in the Ancient Martial World have always held reverence and humility towards Qingshuang Pavilion, making this familiar to its disciples. Their pride is embedded in every disciple’s bones. But at that moment, Lin Tian seemed to lack the usual reverence and humility for Qingshuang Pavilion, which made the female disciple Shen Danxi uncomfortable, even a bit displeased.

Nonetheless, she said nothing, merely giving Lin Tian a glance before turning to walk towards the garden on the left. It was also her first time looking directly at Lin Tian, though seemingly not very friendly.

Lin Tian waved to Wang Wanxi, signaling her to follow, then, before she could say more, led Ghost and Yun Xiaotian towards the right moon gate.

Wang Wanxi still felt some dissatisfaction towards Qingshuang Pavilion, but watching Lin Tian’s departing figure, she suddenly smiled, thinking to herself, this is the mentality of a strong character, Xiao Tian will undoubtedly have a day of glory.

Lin Tian walked into the right courtyard. It didn’t seem as bad as imagined; the ground paved with bluestone was solid and ancient. In the middle of the courtyard stood a large blue-and-white porcelain water vat filled with water lilies.

The blooming water lilies added much color to the simple courtyard. Besides that, there was a two-story house in the courtyard. Though simple, it was actually an ancient wooden pavilion, albeit incomparable in appearance to the Dragon Carving Pavilion opposite.

The wooden pavilion before him had no carvings whatsoever; the wood had hardly undergone any artistic processing, retaining its natural cut state. If it must be said to have undergone secondary processing, it would only be the waterproof and insect-resistant varnish.

"Not bad, it’s still a solid wood pavilion." Lin Tian glanced around the courtyard with a slight smile.

"It doesn’t matter to me, it’s much better than sleeping in the jungle," Ghost was more indifferent as he turned to Yun Xiaotian and said, "Mr. Yun, are you used to...?"

Ghost intended to express concern that Yun Xiaotian, who usually lived in a big villa, might not adapt to such a simple place.

Before Ghost could finish, Yun Xiaotian hurriedly waved his hand, "Brother Lin, Ghost, rest assured, even though others call me young master, I don’t have those young master’s airs. I can even live in a tent. Just now the anger wasn’t about being unwilling to live here, but because Qingshuang Pavilion’s people were bullying too much. I don’t want to see Brother Lin and Ghost suffer at their hands."

Lin Tian laughed, walked over to pat his shoulder, and said, "If you care too much about others’ opinions, then you live like a pair of underpants, catching every fart they let out."

"Brother Lin, your words... make so much sense." Yun Xiaotian’s fair face reddened, speaking somewhat awkwardly, whereas Ghost chuckled—they were commonplace words among mercenaries. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

While they were conversing in the courtyard, a person emerged from a corner, where the entrance to the second floor was located.

To their surprise, it was an old woman, her hair white, slightly hunched, holding a broom—evidently responsible for cleaning.

This courtyard was quite quiet, with no one present upon their arrival. Lin Tian had thought perhaps it was freely accessible, with no one in charge, until someone appeared.

He walked over to the elderly woman, politely smiling, "Grandmother, we are here for accommodation. Is the steward here?"

The elderly woman looked up, glancing at Lin Tian and then at Ghost and Yun Xiaotian behind him, saying indifferently, "There’s no steward here, I’m the only one cleaning."

"So where should we stay?" Lin Tian understood her response—she managed this courtyard, handled cleaning as well, and naturally took charge of accommodation arrangements. Thus, Lin Tian asked.

Earlier, upon entering Qinglan Garden, Lin Tian noticed there were very few people there, incomparable to Ziwei Garden. At least Ziwei Garden had quite a few servants. In this vast courtyard, it was all managed by a single elderly woman.