Fu Qian rose from his soft bed and put on his robe, it was a neat dark colored brocade robe, he straightened out his clothes as he looked himself in the mirror and gave himself a nod of satisfaction with a throaty grunt. He had always taken pride in his appearance and since he had been staying in the territory of the young lord of these western hills, he had gradually began to redeem the dignity he had lost while living rough in the open forest.

It was an uneventful grey winter morning, no different from the previous ones he had grown accustomed in this part of the capital, people casually went about their daily routines. Some headed to the mines, some started the first meal of the day and some took over patrol duties relieving those who had been on duty for the night before.

Crunching through the snow-covered ground, Fu Qian went to the house next door. A young woman dressed plainly with brunette hair and big round beautiful eyes opened the door and let him in in an expected manner as if it was a practiced routine.

.

Fu Qian looked at the woman with compassion in his eyes.

"How's things been on you, are you doing well?" he started a conversation with the young miss.

"Dad, is it safe to stay here?" The girl answered with a nervous look on her face.

"I'm not so sure either, but so far so good and no one has attempted to harass you."

He answered as she passed him a steaming cup of tea, he took a sip, "It's better than camping outdoors in the winter though and we're getting fair pay. We'll see whether this young lord is different from the other nobles then decide if we stay or leave after the snows..."

She had a worried look on her face but didn't say anything else.

knock, knock, knock, a few seconds later someone was hurriedly banging at the door.

"Sir," came a hurried voice from the other side giving Fu Qian or his daughter little time to respond.

"We have an intruder at the hills at the entrance..." the voice from the other side came again with a little excitement.

Fu Qian rounded up a dozen men and headed for the area where the intruder was spotted. He was put in charge of securing the perimeter and reported directly to Qin Li, these men who were former bandits camping in the east forest had nothing but respect in their eyes when they looked at the handsome man dressed only in a brocade robe in the bitter windy cold.

It was almost confirmed in their minds that they made the right choice to follow this heroic man and join the ranks of the young lord of the western hills. As a result their life recently had been much more comfortable and dignified. They would never have thought that such a life could exist within the bounds of a noble house.

Fu Qian had decided to have a look at the problem first then send a message to Qin Li if it was needed.

This was the first time since they had been put in charge of securing that premises that someone had dared to intrude on the territory of the young lord. Fu Qian wanted to deal with this matter personally as a sort of thanks for the hospitality he and his daughter had received in the western hills.

Horses galloped frenetically sending specks of mud and snow flying behind in their wake. They rumbled towards the entrance of the manor and soon was on a crest to the south-west. There they saw someone walking casually out in the open with his hands behind his back as if he was in his garden sniffing roses.

"Halt, why are you sneaking around the manor? you bastard come over here" a booming voice sounded, Fu Quian showed aggression as he quickly dismounted from his horse. Wearing only his majestic brocade robe he moved like a hero towards the intruder while the others behind him wearing thick furs moved forward with him.

They followed Fu Qian's lead brandishing brand new shiny swords with their eyes gleaming like kids with new toys.

Fu Qian being in the 1st layer of the xiantian realm had no fear of the cold, it didn't affect him or his confidence, he strode forward briskly to apprehend the intruder...

Fu Qian stopped dead in tracks when he was close enough to recognize the intruder.The older man right behind Fu Qian's right shoulder also immediately recognized the youth as he turned to face them.

The unease in the old man's stomach growled as loud as thunder as he took a few steps backwards in panic colliding with the person behind him.

How could he not recognize the youth? He had been the first to confront the youth in the forest with a rickety cross bow that time...

"Welcome back young lord."

Fu Qian made no qualms about taking a knee in front of his men as he stuttered out his statement then dropped to one knee in a knight's salute with his head bowed. The shell shocked former bandits followed suit after gathering their wits..

The unfathomable power displayed by this youth standing in front of them on that one occasion they had met in the east forest left a lasting impression on their minds.

The youth could have easily bullied Fu Qian and captured his daughter but instead had offered him a job. A bead of sweat ran down Fu Qian's back as he regretted the arrogant way in which he had talked and behaved in front of the youth just now.

"Rise." Hartley said as he grinned at the former bandits who now looked like an organized force, internally pleased with his decision to recruit them.

Some of the men only had a fleeting glimpse the lord of the western hills on their previous encounter in the east forest and now they noticed that the man who was so revered by the commoners was nothing but a teenager.

"How has your stay been in the western hills?" Hartley spoke directly to Fu Qian.

"Its been ten folds better than camping out in the forest my lord," Fu Qian answered as he straitened out his robe standing ram rod straight.

"Good," Hartley smiled.. "Let the men return to their duties while we walk back" Hartley instructed.

The men clumsily bowed their heads, mounted their horses and galloped off into the whiteness.

As soon as they were within ear shot of the manor they started screaming "The young lord has returned." This immediately caused a commotion.

People came out and lined the frozen streets dressed in thick furs creating a buzz of excitement around the manor.

Hartley strode forward casually through the frozen tundra dressed in his simple-styled black robe beside Fu Qian in his brocade robe while inquiring about the state of affairs within the manor for the last month and a half.

Hartley had a good impression of this stylish man, it was like when he had met Qin Li for the first time.

Soon they appeared in the world of white casually walking towards the manor amidst the raucous fanfare of excited onlookers, suddenly a white flash dissected the crowd and went straight at Hartley like lightning.

People saw a pair of jade-like pale arms clung around Hartley's neck, the person wearing a long white dress had her face buried in his chest, she held him so close the frigid wind couldn't pass between the two.

"Welcome back, I missed you so much."

A voice sweeter than the sound of a violin whispered.

Feeling the warmth from her body radiating through her thin dress, Hartley held her close and stroked her flaming red hair. Zhi ruo face blushed red with all the onlookers watching her intimate moment with Hartley.

"I missed you too, now that I'm back we can go ahead with our wedding soon, I'm sorry for taking so long."

When the two separated Qin LI stepped forward from the crowd and greeted Hartley with a slap to the shoulder.

"So, how was the savage foreign lands?" Qin Li asked with a playful smile.

"Not that much different from these savage lands." Hartley replied, they both laughed out at almost the same time.

"Looks like you've been working hard as usual," Hartley looked at Qin LI who was giving strong fluctuations, in this short time he was more than half way towards the 5th layer of the xiantian realm.

"Hmmn" Qin Li smiled.

"Prepare a feast for the returning lord." Qin Li instructed the serving staff and they quickly scattered to make preparations.

The feast lasted into the night, then Hartley retired to his room with Zhi Ruo and caught up

with some activities he had been missing out on.

Three days later a summon was delivered from Prince Jian requesting Hartley's presence in the capital for a debriefing on the mission to Tivoli.