Due to the malicious end of the cultivation inheritance from General Xue, Li Guanyi had a restless night.
Everyone has a thirst for knowledge, much like being stuck in the middle of a game’s plot. The next morning, when Li Guanyi stepped outside, the coachman Zhao Dabing was already waiting for him at the door, along with two delicate-looking maidservants carrying food boxes filled with various medicinal dishes.
Zhao Dabing took a bite of a large pancake.
Inside it was rolled with smoked meat and the white part of green onions.
He didn’t even bother to eat the green part!
With one bite, the flavors were distinct, and he said contentedly, “It’s the old family head’s orders.”
“He said, having heard that the guest elder’s wife is weak, he specially prepared these medicinal dishes to send over. These two young ladies are good families raised by the Xue family since childhood, here to help take care of the guest elder’s family. If you’re worried about disturbing them, I’ll take them back to the Xue family every day when I return the guest elder.”
Li Guanyi greeted the elder lady and then sat in the carriage, asking Zhao Dabing why he didn’t eat a bit himself. The man laughed heartily and said, “The medicinal dishes don’t taste good; we might as well eat this! We come from the Central Plains, and although we’ve been in Jiangnan for some time, we still find this pancake more satisfying than rice.”
“This was made by my wife; the flavor is quite strong!”
“Can’t share it with you.”
He flaunted the pancake in his hand, and Li Guanyi smiled, changing the subject.
“However, won’t sending these two young ladies over affect the original work?”
Zhao Dabing replied, “The Xue family has many members, so it’s no problem.”
“There are already many young ladies in the family…”
Li Guanyi wondered, “So many? Where did the Xue family get them?”
Zhao Dabing chuckled and said, “Guest elder, where are you thinking? The Xue family doesn’t engage in such business; rather, it’s the Xue family helping them…” He hesitated and asked, “Do you know about the female officials in the palace?”
Li Guanyi nodded.
Zhao Dabing explained, “When the Chen Kingdom was established over two hundred years ago, our Emperor Wu of Chen enacted a decree to abolish the household registration of servants during the chaotic times. Even servants had to sign contracts, and if nobles killed their servants, they would be heavily punished, even to the point of losing their lives.”
Li Guanyi remarked, “That decree is good.”
“It is good, but that was over two hundred years ago. Emperor Wu of Chen has long since died in battle. He has seen the rules established during chaotic times being violated one by one, and now those useless fellows in the palace are out buying.”
“For the sake of kickbacks, I don’t know when they started buying young girls and boys from the tooth merchants. Human trafficking has gradually emerged, and by now, it has become a routine for the palace to buy young girls from tooth merchants, which is more than a third cheaper than hiring good families. The most important thing is…”
Zhao Dabing hesitated and said:
“If a good family’s child unexpectedly dies, a considerable sum of money must be paid.”
“But if it’s a slave bought from a tooth merchant, there’s no need to pay that money.”
“The chief eunuch in the palace would periodically kill some palace maids and pocket their compensation, using it to purchase properties outside, which has led to tooth merchants employing various means to abduct people, with rumors of them drugging beautiful women on the road.”
“As a result, properties in Jiangzhou are extremely expensive. I’ve heard that some third-rank officials can’t afford to buy a house and can only rent, referred to as ‘foolish money.’”
“Even fools can earn this money, referring to those female officials.”
Li Guanyi looked at Guan Yi City, which was prosperous, and thought that Jiangzhou must be the most charming place in the world. However, such dark matters could only be known by a great family like the Xue family. Zhao Dabing said:
“The second young lady has seen such things, so she bought them and sent them to the Xue family. She can’t afford to confront those chief eunuchs in the palace, and it’s uncertain how Emperor Chen would react.”
“After the old family head learned of such matters, he simply rounded up the people from the tooth merchants in the surrounding ten cities.”
Li Guanyi asked, “Wouldn’t that make these tooth merchants more rampant?”
“Of course not…”
Zhao Dabing laughed and said:
“After that, no one ever saw those tooth merchants again.”
“And the flowers in Nanshan bloomed better than they had in the past thirty years.”
At this point, there was no need for further words.
Zhao Dabing’s carriage was driven steadily, and upon arrival, Li Guanyi lightly jumped down, equipped with a heavy sword and longbow, and first went to the Xue family’s martial artist dining hall. Inside, the meals prepared for martial artists were primarily meat-based, accompanied by rice and a bowl of ginseng soup. The servers all had martial arts skills, steady hands, ensuring you wouldn’t leave hungry.
The energy required for the body refinement in the “Breaking the Formation Song” needed nourishment, and since Li Guanyi was at the peak growing age, he had a hearty appetite and ate to his fill.
During training, Xue Shuangtao seemed to have forgotten her earlier remark about the Xue family sister.
However, her teaching was strict and earnest. Li Guanyi had gained some archery foundation through inheritance, but still focused on the basics, studying diligently. By the end, his muscles were somewhat fatigued, yet the young girl remained spirited, her archery skills sharp.
The eldest young lady of the Xue family had been raised by Xue Daoyong since she was five, practicing qi cultivation, music, and mathematics.
Her martial skills were not lacking compared to others of similar age.
Li Guanyi and Xue Changqing sat on the grass.
“Was Miss Xue this strict before?”
Xue Changqing gulped down her cool tea and murmured, “No, I don’t know.”
“There wasn’t such strictness before.”
“Today, it seems like sister is putting in extra effort, as if someone has provoked her, but she doesn’t look particularly angry. Do you have any idea, sir?”
Li Guanyi thought for a moment, his smile shy and sincere, and answered decisively:
“I don’t know.”
Buzz!!!
The bow over there shot out, spiraling as it flew, the bowstring whistling like a swarm of bees in a frenzy, the arrow pierced directly through the bullseye, shooting out from the target and firmly embedding itself in the wall. Xue Shuangtao raised her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, turning with the bow, her expression as gentle as when they first met, saying:
“Practice archery.”
Xue Changqing’s small face turned pale.
After all, which damned person provoked this tigress!
“Sir, do you have any idea?”
The child with a pale face frantically shot glances at the boy beside her.
The young man remained calm and sincere, thinking for a moment before revealing a warm smile in response.
“I don’t know.”
The archery and footwork were taught by Xue Shuangtao, but the “Seven Strikes Unarmed” was taught by another person, a drunken old man. After demonstrating, Li Guanyi understood why Xue Shuangtao didn’t teach him this move. The old man swayed in front of Li Guanyi, demonstrating the seven techniques in succession.
Arc step to lift the groin, side lift the groin, retreating kick to the groin.
Covering the eyes with a short punch to the throat, striking the throat and inserting the eyes, elbow strike to the back of the neck, side strike to the throat and inserting the eyes.
There were only seven moves, and the old man demonstrated how to use them in various situations before leaving it at that.
“This is the method used by the beggars of my gang. With no meat to eat, little strength, and no weapons.”
“It may not look good, but it’s basically sufficient.”
“Famous sects have expansive techniques, but before entering the realm, they may not be as effective as my seven moves, but they should be used sparingly. These moves require little strength and can kill.”
Since there were seven moves, Li Guanyi quickly became familiar with them.
In the afternoon, he hurried to the library to start browsing through the records, finding the history of the Xue family—wanting to exit the realm required the strength to enter; wanting to obtain inheritance also required the strength to enter; however, the best method to enter was hidden by General Xue.
Li Guanyi remembered.
He said that a friend named Yao Guang found a feng shui treasure for the Xue family, which was why the Xue family relocated to Guan Yi City. Therefore, the historical records should contain corresponding content. Xue Daoyong originally wanted to call Li Guanyi to the Listening Wind Pavilion for a meal, but upon learning he went to the library, he let it be.
However, upon hearing that Li Guanyi borrowed the first book, which was the family history of the Xue family, he was quite surprised.
After thinking for a while, he couldn’t understand and could only smile and say, “Truly different from others.”
“What can he do?”
“Surely he can’t find me a golden house or a white jade pavilion.”
After several days, Li Guanyi browsed through the records multiple times and finally found three possible clues: the back mountain outside the city, a river flowing through Guan Yi City, and the ancestral home of the Xue family. Li Guanyi decided to try all three.
If that didn’t work, he would have to find a way to grasp that divine bow again.
After another two days, Li Guanyi first went to the back mountain. Aside from encountering a lone wolf, which he shot dead with the Su Ni bow, he didn’t gain much, only snatching some fruits from a squirrel and returning amidst the squirrel’s curses, cleaning the jar to make a fruit soaked in wine.
The ancestral home of the Xue family couldn’t be approached easily, so he first went to the river, following the stream to search. There were many people out for a stroll, and the deeper Li Guanyi went, the fewer people there were. Eventually, he found a water gorge, and aside from that, there was nothing else.
“Could it really be at the Xue family’s old residence…”
Li Guanyi felt somewhat disappointed, lost in thought.
As he prepared to turn and leave, his steps suddenly paused: “...No, he was worried that the Xue family would be punished by the emperor at that time, so he placed his battle spear in the holy mountain of the Dangxiang people; leaving the inheritance within the divine weapon, such a person would surely consider the situation of the Xue family’s decline and the ancestral home not being in the Xue family.”
“The Art of War says, ‘Make the real seem false, and the false seem real…’”
“If it were him.”
Li Guanyi pondered, looking at the cold water gorge, gritting his teeth, he took off his clothes to hide them and dove in. After submerging, he found the gorge was deep and didn’t match the stream’s layers; there were hollows in every direction, not knowing where they led.
After swimming for a while, Li Guanyi surfaced for air.
“...It really is here, but it seems to be hidden.”
“Not sure where.”
Li Guanyi thought for a long time, watching the gradually dimming sky.
“Yao Guang… resembles the shaking light of the Big Dipper, the Big Dipper, the north?”
Li Guanyi thought it wouldn’t hurt to try again, diving back into the water.
In the hollow space, he chose the northern direction.
Relying on his internal strength, he swam for a while and discovered a light ahead. Surfacing, he found that the gorge led to a cave. He emerged from the water, gasping for breath, curiously looking around as he climbed up to survey the surroundings.
Is this what General Xue left behind?
At this moment, a new guest arrived at the stream of Guan Yi City.
A young man wearing a hood walked slowly along the stream, rounding the rocky hills, layer upon layer of flowing water, finally arriving at a secluded water gorge surrounded by rocks. The water gorge was tranquil, and the young man took out a yellowed scroll from his bosom, his gaze falling on the surroundings.
“Is this the secret realm found by Yao Guang and the White Tiger Sect five hundred years ago?”
“Coming here to search for the aura of the White Tiger Sect may be related to finding the contemporary White Tiger Sect.”
The contemporary Yao Guang’s eyes flickered, suddenly surprised.
He saw neatly folded clothes behind the stone.
“Already, someone is here?”
(End of Chapter)