Under the Bamboo Parasol

To this stranger who he had just laid his eye upon, he had no recollection of ever having seen this person before. This place was the gathering of scholars, therefore this person must be one to attend. And with people of the lower ranks, society was designed in such a way that they would never meet.

But he looked at this young man with what could be said to be mediocre features. He had a nose, a mouth, and lips that were as plain as any sheet of paper that was found in a store. Yet those features did not seem it could be pieced together with those eyes. If this was a puzzle, those eyes could definitely not be placed over that face.

What confused him even further, were those eyes that seemed so familiar. He was sure that he had seen them somewhere before.

As his staring got more noticeable, the young man who was in his line of sight seemed to have noticed and stared directly back at him. Those eyes were fixed on him, carrying a hint of playfulness, which could perhaps be mistaken as a hint of mockery.

"Do you know him?" Ruan Wang asked the servant who was by his side.

The servant cautiously took a look at the young man who was in the middle of a staring contest with his family's lord. After a long, concentrated look, he answered "No. I don't believe so." To be truthful, even if he did see such a person in the past with such plain features, he would not have remembered either way. It was no different from looking into a crowd and trying to remember each person's face.

He watched as this noble lord continued this staring contest with this unknown young man, who was most likely a scholar. Wasn't this too childish to be doing, not to mention status, age was another thing? How old were their ages added up anyway, to do such a thing that even nine-year-olds scorned, was simply too embarrassing?

Soon, it seemed that the young man had given in and a smile cracked on his face. But his eyes had yet to move from Ruan Wang's pupils.

As Ruan Wang stared longer, it was an uneasy feeling that he should be able to know where he had seen them before, he had a feeling that if he didn't remember then he would regret it. He racked his mind to pinpoint exactly where he had seen these eyes before.

Suddenly, he felt a curtain of black before his eyes, and it was all dark.

"Your Highness!" The servant quickly called out and held onto Ruan Wang's unconscious body, preventing him from collapsing to the ground.

"Ruan Wang!" The duke hurriedly called put. He ordered some servants to bring his friend to rest, while he called for a doctor. It was already quite late in the night, so a royal physician was not called, they could only settle for a noble's doctor.

Little did he notice, as he was unconscious, there was a trace of worry from the young man whom he had been having a staring contest with.

The doctor, who was a short white-haired man came in a hurry, barely able to contain the dissatisfaction of being dragged away in such a manner. He seemed to calm down after he arrived at the duke's manor. It seemed that whoever it was must have some status that he could not contend with.

After taking a pulse, it was concluded that the cause of the fainting was an over-exhaustion of the mind and that there were not any severe implications on health.

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"This lord should be fine after some rest." The elderly doctor said as he packed up his medicine case.

"Thank you." Duke Ming Xiang said as he saw the doctor out politely.

"No worries." The doctor said as he quietly left through the back door after getting a hefty sum from the Duke's manor. He seemed to be quite pleased as he walked the night road by himself. There was a tapping sound behind him. At first, he thought it was just a passerby, but soon it was certain that the footsteps were only following him.

Too frightened to turn around, he tucked his money pouch away and quickened up his pace. How he regretted not bringing along an assistant because he had rushed. His throat involuntarily swallowed, only to realize that his throat was dry, and his palms sweaty.

Perhaps if he threw away his money pouch the person following him might leave him alone. With much more value on his life than the money in the pouch, he quickly threw back. Without turning around and quickened his footsteps. The figure looked at the pouch in amusement but held no interest in it.

Soon the elderly doctor was at wit's end, thinking that the pouch he threw did not serve as much of a distraction, he felt as though his heart was bleeding if he knew this would happen, might as well keep it.

Soon the footsteps appeared behind him and a hand grabbed a hold of him.

"This courageous brother, that was all the money I had, this one really doesn't have any more valuables, please spare my life!" The trembling old man spoke with his eyes closed.

The person who grabbed a hold of him did not know what to think. Was he to be mistaken for a common scoundrel for all to see.

"Who needs your pathetic life, I just want to ask you, what was the condition of the man you just saw."

The old doctor did not know if this was a trap set by the duke or his other rivals. If it were to be leaked out that he gave up information on a guest from the duke's estate, then he could kiss his life goodbye. "I don't know what you're talking about." The old man said carefully.

"Do not lie to me, I've been keeping an eye on the duke's estate and you're the only one to come out. Do you not know the consequences of lying to me." The figure shrouded in the night said in a deep voice making the threat more severe.

"Yes, yes. That man was all right, only exhaustion rest should do the trick." The doctor had thought it through. His life was worth much more than information, besides how secretive this person was, he doubted his words would make it to anyone's ears.

There was a cold wind that blew by. The pressure that had caused him to freeze was lifted. Slowly opening his eyes to nothing. There was no longer any pressure on him, could it be that he had been threatened by a ghost. A shiver went up his spine as he went to pick up his pouch. Cautiously finding his way back.