Chapter 212: The Kong Family

Three days later, Su Yan, Ma Chulong, and Ma Chulan embarked on their journey north.

Before departure, Su Yan called Gu Yang as agreed, informing him of their approximate arrival time.

Gu Yang awaited her arrival with eager anticipation.

Almost simultaneously, Su Yao also called him, speaking mysteriously and saying that once he saw Su Yan, he would definitely get a huge surprise.

The surprise Su Yao spoke of was that Su Yan's eyes had already recovered.

Although Su Yan hadn't revealed the slightest hint in front of others while at home, now that they were heading to the capital, there was naturally no need to continue covering her eyes with black cloth.

Listening to Su Yao's excited tone, Gu Yang pressed for details several times. But Su Yao actually didn't reveal a single thing, only telling him he would know the moment he saw Su Yan.

So Gu Yang was practically counting on his fingers, longing for the day he would meet Su Yan.

Su Yan chose a lower berth; opposite her were the siblings Ma Chulan and Ma Chulong. As for the upper berth above hers, it remained empty until the train had been running for a long time, yet no one came.

"Su Yan, don't look. My brother booked four seats."

Ma Chulan, sitting opposite her, seemed to have guessed her thoughts and took the initiative to explain.

Su Yan looked surprised. "There are only three of us, right?"

Ma Chulong said, "I don't like dealing with strangers, so I bought an extra seat."

Su Yan immediately understood; she should have thought of it earlier.

"It sure is nice to be rich."

Coming from anyone else, this would be unremarkable, but coming from Su Yan, it left the siblings laughing and crying.

Just the business deal with Yuan Jing alone had earned her a fortune of ten thousand gold.

"Su Yan, actually I've always had a question."

They had a three-day, two-night journey. With such rare leisure on the road, there was nothing to do but chat.

Su Yan played along. "What question?"

"I feel like you're not a money-grubber, and your family background is good too, so why do you like money so much?" Ma Chulan spoke whatever was on her mind.

She treated exorcising evil spirits entirely as a business transaction, which was absolutely unique among everyone the siblings knew.

Ma Chulan thought back and forth and could only come up with Su Yan liking money as the reason.

Ma Chulong felt his little sister asking this was somewhat impolite, but he didn't stop her, because he equally wanted to know the reason.

If Su Yan really had some unspeakable difficulty, perhaps they could help.

Su Yan was actually a bit surprised by this question. After a few seconds of silence, she spoke: "I have no other hobbies."

Ma Chulong:...

Ma Chulan:...

Su Yan felt she had answered clearly, but they didn't seem to quite understand.

"My master once told me that a person should have a hobby while alive. I searched hard for a long time, and then took making money as my hobby."

After saying this, she looked at them with a straight face.

"Heh, hehe." Both siblings followed along with foolish laughter.

They had thought of many possibilities, but never such a "refreshingly unique" reason.

"Su Yan, the master you just mentioned, is that the person who taught you your skills?" Ma Chulong was dying to know just what kind of reclusive expert it was.

"Strictly speaking, I have two masters. The one just mentioned taught me culture; the other is Granny Li, who lived with me. Granny Li isn't really my master; she's my family."

Mentioning them, Su Yan's expression softened considerably.

"So that's how it is. They must have treated you very well." Ma Chulong drew this conclusion.

Su Yan nodded.

Ma Chulong was about to continue chatting when his attention was drawn by four people who had just boarded and appeared in the adjacent compartment.

Two men and two women, roughly the same age as them. Each carried an identical suitcase.

Although their dress looked no different from ordinary people, the unique aura emanating from the four of them immediately allowed him to identify their status.

Su Yan sensed his change and followed his gaze.

After just one glance, she withdrew her eyes.

Ma Chulong lowered his voice, speaking so only he, Su Yan, and Ma Chulan could hear: "They're the same kind of people as us."

Ma Chulan's eyes lit up, and she immediately started sizing them up.

But her movement was too large, and she was quickly noticed by one of the girls.

"Little sister, what are you looking at us for?"

The speaking girl was about the same age as Ma Chulong. Her voice was cold, but her attitude wasn't bad.

Ma Chulan laughed awkwardly. "Just thought you brothers and sisters are very good-looking."

Flattery is naturally pleasant to hear, and the other party was no exception.

"Little sister has quite a sweet mouth."

"Are you brothers and sisters also going to the capital?" Ma Chulan appeared increasingly innocent.

This was the train to the capital. Although they hadn't boarded at the same station, their destination should be the same.

"Yeah, you guys too?"

The other party was obviously sizing up Ma Chulan and the others as well.

"Mm, me, Big Brother, and a friend are going to the capital to visit relatives, and sightsee along the way."

Listening to Ma Chulan's watertight words, Su Yan felt she had saved herself a lot of trouble.

"Brothers and sisters, what are your names? I'm Chulan, Big Brother is Chulong, and this is Su Yan." Ma Chulan was smart enough to omit their surname. After all, if the other party was like them, they would definitely have heard of the Ma family.

The girl who had been chatting with her subconsciously looked at the man traveling with them.

Seeing the man nod, she then gave her name.

"I'm Kong Yueqing, she's Kong Yueling, then there's Gan Hua, and Ruan Tao."

When Ma Chulan heard the surname "Kong," her breath hitched.

Could it be such a coincidence?

Even Su Yan narrowed her eyes slightly.

Ma Chulan's smile grew even more brilliant. "The two sisters have really nice names."

After the compliment, she calmly sat back down.

"Big Brother, they wouldn't be..."

Ma Chulan didn't finish the rest, but Ma Chulong already understood.

"Maybe it's just a coincidence. The Kong family hasn't appeared in a long time; how could we just run into them? Su Yan, what do you think?"

"Did the Ma family and Kong family have any grudges?" Su Yan felt she should ask clearly beforehand, to be prepared.

Ma Chulong's answer was equally straightforward. "No, they didn't."

"Then their identities have nothing to do with us. Let's just wait and see." Although Su Yan said this, the corners of her eyes still scanned the four people, Kong Yueqing included, from head to toe once more.

This trip suddenly became interesting.

After introductions, they counted as acquaintances, and it wouldn't seem too awkward.

Kong Yueqing and the others didn't have many reservations or defenses, or perhaps they simply didn't put Ma Chulong and the others in their eyes at all.

Through the content of their chat, Su Yan quickly sorted out a very useful piece of information.

(End of Chapter)