Translator: Myuu Editor: Myuu
Yan Liqiang didn’t enter Pingxi City. He kept walking until he reached a place called Wuyang Village, which was west of Pingxi City.
The village was located halfway on the hill, with a population of about only three hundred clans. Below the village was a public road which connected the other two counties in the western Pingxi Prefecture. This public road could lead to White Stone Pass as its furthest location, which was the town of military importance out of the entire Gan Province. Beyond White Stone Pass was Mount Qiyun. All of Mount Qiyun was located at the border between the Great Han Empire and the Black Ram Tribe’s control. The Shatu Seven Tribes had settled down in the long and narrow area east of Mount Qiyun.
Since there were no big cities on the other side of this public road, there were significantly lesser caravans and pedestrians traveling on the path. Therefore, the villages and towns to the west of Pingxi City were obviously less flourished compared to the villages and towns in the east and the south. According to legend, this village only had a total of five rams when it was at its poorest state, and it was thus named Wuyang Village [1].
Wuyang Village was not just poorer than other places; the feng shui of this village was also less than desirable in many people’s eyes. It was simply too inauspicious since the biggest mass grave of Pingxi City was right on the other side of the hill of where Wuyang Village was located.
Unclaimed corpses which had died from various reasons in and around Pingxi City were usually all dragged to that mass grave where they were carelessly disposed of and buried. Sometimes, they’d even be thrown into the valley of the mass grave.
Who in the world would want to settle down next to this mass grave? Hence, people who were slightly more capable or those who had managed to earn some money all moved away. Due to this, there were many abandoned houses in Wuyang Village.
Apart from Yan Liqiang, no one knew the reason why Yan Liqiang had chosen to come here.
By the time he arrived at Wuyang Village, the sky was already completely dark.
There were two inns and restaurants in Wuyang Village, near the public road. Yan Liqiang got a room in one of the inns and stayed there.
After settling down, he had a casual meal at the inn and called the waiter over.
“How may I help you, Sir?”
“Are there any empty houses nearby?”
“Of course, both for rent and for sale!”
“Well then, find me a broker and have him guide me around Wuyang Village tomorrow afternoon!” Yan Liqiang told the waiter this and handed him twenty-seven or twenty-eight copper coins.
The waiter beamed joyfully and stuffed the copper coins in his chest. “No problem. Why are you interested in renting or buying a house in Wuyang Village, Sir? This place isn’t all that great!”
“It’s peaceful here and the cost of living is low!” Yan Liqiang then had a serious look on his face. “To be honest, I’m going to report to the martial arts academy tomorrow in Pingxi City and I will probably spend a very long time there. The cost of living including the daily necessities are so much more expensive in the city compared to outside, so I might as well find a suitable place outside of town. That will save me a lot of money in the long run!”
“Ah, pardon my disrespectfulness, Sir. I didn’t expect you to be a student at the prefecture’s martial arts academy despite your young age!” The waiter praised Yan Liqiang, but he didn’t seem to be that surprised. In rural areas of different counties within Pingxi Prefecture, it was indeed not easy to find a student from the martial arts academy. However, in Pingxi Prefecture, it was very normal to bump into a few students from the martial arts academy. “To be honest, you are right to choose Wuyang Village if you are looking for cheap accommodation, Sir! Students from the martial arts academy have rented here in the past because it’s cheaper to live here. Apart from the longer journey which requires some stamina to travel to the martial arts academy, everything is great here. You can practice martial arts in your own courtyard or on the mountain. No one will ever bother you!”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m thinking!”
…
After the waiter left, Yan Liqiang practiced four rounds of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing in his room at the inn before he slept.
Yan Liqiang’s endless thoughts hit him like the tides tonight, causing him to toss and turn restlessly on his bed. After finally falling asleep with much difficulty, Yan Liqiang’s sleep was intruded by his dreams. He had a bizarre dream in which countless messages came pouring into his mind like visions.
He dreamed that the rock in his mind was called the Heavenly Stone and the space he entered was called the Heavenly Realm. Inside the Heavenly Realm, there were countless parallel worlds and universes alongside reality. When he returned to the current present time, an opening was left for him in the Heavenly Realm. Beyond that opening was the world that he had experienced in the Divine Sword Sect…
…
Yan Liqiang woke up the next day before daybreak. He laid on the bed and spent a long time recalling those bizarre dreams he had last night. He wasn’t sure if those dreams were real or if they were just figments of his imagination born from the subconsciousness of his mind.
After thinking for half a day, Yan Liqiang realized that he was going nowhere so he started to practice his eye technique. After he was done with that, he thought for a moment before he practiced another round of the ear technique. He only got up and washed up after doing both of those things, and then he practiced three consecutive rounds of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. After ensuring that both his body and mind were at their peak, only then did he leave the inn which was at the border of Wuyang Village. He bought two steamed buns at the roadside and made his way towards the western city gate of Pingxi City while eating the buns.
Yan Liqiang entered Pingxi City after paying a toll of two copper coins, then continued walking until he reached the martial arts academy located on Mount Thousand Pine in Pingxi City.
The students who were supposed to report in today had already formed a line in front of the martial arts academy entrance. Yan Liqiang automatically lined up at the end of the line.
Since Yan Liqiang arrived a lot earlier than the ‘last time’ Shi Changfeng had sent him here to report in, the students in queue were naturally different than those he met last time. However, the procedure was still the same — along with the receptionists from the martial arts academy.
Yan Liqiang reported his name, had his identity and fingerprints verified, and he finally received a student identity pass, thus completing his sign-in.
When he turned around and was about to leave, someone suddenly came into his sight— Qi Donglai!
Qi Donglai had also come to sign-in, but he didn’t expect to run into Yan Liqiang here.
After the expression on his face stiffened slightly, Qi Donglai turned his face to the other side and averted his gaze from Yan Liqiang.
Both of them didn’t speak and they brushed past each other as though they never knew each other in the first place…
Yan Liqiang calmly took a deep breath to ease the raging, murderous intent in his heart because he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to restrain himself from slaughtering that despicable bastard, Qi Donglai.
The first time Qi Donglai betrayed Yan Liqiang was for the Hong Clan. His betrayal made Yan Liqiang severe all ties with him. By doing that, he thought it would serve as a warning to Qi Donglai and he would take it as a lesson to be learned. Yet he didn’t expect Qi Donglai to once again become an accomplice to the young lord of the Wang Clan in Huanglong County, Wang Haofei, after they arrived at Pingxi Prefecture’s Martial Arts Academy.
If it wasn’t for Qi Donglai who gave Wang Haofei the information, his father wouldn’t have fallen into Ye Xiao’s clutches when he came to visit him that time. Then, maybe he wouldn’t have been so impulsive and many things that happened later could have been avoided…
Therefore, Qi Donglai was the most wretched person who deserved to die the most.
Unfortunately, although he murdered Wang Haofei and Ye Xiao last time, Qi Donglai still managed to slip away in the end. After his mishap, Qi Donglai instantly vanished from Pingxi City and he never returned to the martial arts academy or his home. Even his parents had no ideas of his whereabouts…
…
After reporting in at the martial arts academy, Yan Liqiang bought some daily necessities in Pingxi City and hired a horse carriage to transport all his stuff back to Wuyang Village. If he wished to live in Wuyang Village, then he’d have to prepare all these things for himself.
The waiter already found a broker for Yan Liqiang. Under the broker’s lead, Yan Liqiang took a tour of Wuyang Village and looked at all the empty houses that were available in Wuyang Village before he finally selected one to rent out.
The house he chose came with a courtyard, occupying about one mu of land. It was at a location in Wuyang Village that was nearest to the mountain and at the highest position. The family who previously lived here had moved to Pingxi City, thus abandoning this old courtyard. It had been a very long time since anyone had lived here.
After haggling with the broker, Yan Liqiang rented this courtyard with the annual payment of a tael and four maces of silver which included the broker’s commission. The broker assisted Yan Liqiang with settling all the paperwork in the afternoon of the same day. He then tidied up the courtyard and moved in everything he had purchased from the city.
