Translator: Kelaude Editor: Kelaude
It had been a couple of days since it had last rained and yet, heavy rain poured abruptly today. From the first drop of rain that had landed on Yan Liqiang’s face until the heavy downpour, it all happened within the blink of an eye.
The heavy rain came pouring before Yan Liqiang even got the chance to collect the arrows that he had released.
Seeing how heavy the rain was, Yan Liqiang swiftly grabbed his bow, his arrows, and his basket of food before speeding off to get shelter from the rain in a small cave at the bottom of a mountain wall nearby.
That cave was very tiny, with a depth of no more than ten meters and height of around three meters. It wasn’t far from that cliff where he practiced his techniques. The old man from the Weaponsmiths Quarter said that this cave used to be a black bear’s den many years ago. Yet not even the fur of a bear could be found in the cave.
The mouth of this tiny cave turned into a waterfall in no time and became quite an appealing sight to behold.
Yan Liqiang sat on top of a rock at the entrance of the cave. He took out the basket of food that he had brought this morning and dug in.
Yan Liqiang had been accumulating his energy throughout the course of the day and never had the opportunity to have his lunch. He kept practicing the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing over and over again. Yan Liqiang’s stomach had been protesting long ago, but he hadn’t given it much thought to it before so he didn’t feel how hungry he was. Now that he had achieved a breakthrough from the realm of the Second Heavenly Layer to the realm of the Third Heavenly Layer in the art of archery, he was completely loosened up now. It was only then that Yan Liqiang could feel himself starving to the point that he could swallow an entire cow alive.
There were two rice balls that were about the size of fists, four eggs, a piece of cooked beef weighing about half a jin and some preserved fruits and nuts in the food basket. They all tasted pretty delicious.
Yan Liqiang finished all the food in the food basket in one go but only felt slightly fuller.
Since Yan Liqiang saw that it was still raining outside after taking half an hour of rest, he figured that he might as well resume practicing the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing in the cave for more two rounds. Yan Liqiang waited until the night began to fall. When the rain had totally stopped and the sky had cleared up, then he packed up and descended the mountain.
…
By the time that Yan Liqiang had climbed down the mountain, the sky was already completely dark.
Yan Liqiang stomped his feet to shake off the mud on the soles of his shoes and shook the droplets that had soaked his clothes outside the courtyard before he pushed open the door to his small courtyard with a ‘creak’. It was then that he saw Qian Su who was waiting for him under the roof of the small courtyard.
“Ah! Uncle Qian! What brings you here?” A smile appeared on Yan Liqiang’s face as he walked towards Qian Su. He winked at Qian Su, “Weren’t you taking a rest and recovering your strength in the quarter yesterday? According to Uncle Qian’s style from before, shouldn’t you be out with your confidante to enjoy the air and the moon today?”
Qian Su blushed and couldn’t help but shoot a glare at Yan Liqiang, “What do you know about enjoying the air and the moon at your age?”
“If I were to talk about all of those romances that I know of and show Uncle Qian the adult service menu[1], then he would have thought that they were really menus from a restaurant,” Yan Liqiang muttered in his heart. He used to work in the marketing business in his past life, thus it was inevitable for him to have to socialize with the customers. Some that had extreme tastes liked to visit those places for carnal pleasures, places that could practically make those who lacked the experience to doubt their outlook on life after their first experience. Yan Liqiang had been there a couple of times, but it didn’t suit his taste. Every time he went there, he would only go as far as sparking conversations the ladies that worked there. On top of that, he reckoned that even ten Qian Su added up together wouldn’t have as much knowledge as Yan Liqiang when it came to romance since he had come from an era of information expansion in his past life.
“Of course! Of course! I definitely have much to learn from Uncle Qian when it comes to romance!” Yan Liqiang laughed. He walked to the side of the pillar under the canopy to put away the quiver he had taken. Only when Yan Liqiang was setting down his quiver did he see that there were a couple of packed boxes at the entrance of the corridor under the canopy, “Did Uncle Qian bring me presents again? What’s in those boxes?”
“Ahem……Ahem…..” Qian Su feigned a couple of solemn coughs, “Those are the outfits I’ve prepared for you. There are new boots and new clothes. Go take a good bath and rid yourself of all the sweat for tonight. Put on all these things I’ve brought for you tomorrow morning!”
“What are these for?” Yan Liqiang blinked.
“Do you know what day it is tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow is the first day of the sixth lunar month!”
“And?”
“And…. it’s also…. tomorrow is also that Six….” When Yan Liqiang relaxed, he had nearly blurted out that tomorrow was Six One Children’s Day. But fortunately for him, he managed to swallow those words back right before he spilled it all out. There was no such thing as the Six One Children’s Day in the Silver Continent. Instead, there was another festival on the first day of the sixth lunar month. Yan Liqiang spun his eyeballs around and instantly recalled it. “Isn’t that… the Half Year Festival that falls on the first day of the sixth lunar month…”
Yan Liqiang finally completed his sentence.
The Half Year Festival of Great Han Empire was held on the first day of the sixth lunar month every year, during the summer. Summer was the time when the crop yields in the farms were at their highest. This was the reason why this Half Year Festival was also known as the Harvest Festival. It was considered to be a fairly lively festival.
“Good! You are correct! It is the Half Year Festival tomorrow and a steward from the Lu Clan came over to Weaponsmiths Quarter this afternoon. They have sent a couple of invitations to invite both of us as guests to join them at the Lu Residence’s Harvest Festival banquet for the Half Year Festival tomorrow. I’ve prepared these for you to wear tomorrow!” Qian Su spoke as he handed over a dark red colored invitation card to Yan Liqiang.
Yan Liqiang took a look and confirmed that it was indeed an invitation from Lu Clan. He scratched his head from being a little surprised. Nevertheless, this invitation was also within his expectations. After all, he had saved a member of Lu Clan just a month ago. This was the Lu Clan’s way of expressing their good will. It seemed that his previous efforts with the Lu Residence was paying off.
“Alright!” Yan Liqiang put away his invitation card. “So Uncle Qian, what time are we going to the Lu Residence tomorrow?”
“Let’s go in the morning! We can go right after our breakfast!”
“That early?” Yan Liqiang was a little startled. Even though this Half Year Festival celebration was an invitation, it would be more suitable for them to go over there in the afternoon. It was only a dinner, what other business did they have for them to be heading over there this early?
“Ahem….. Ahem….. There’s a lotus pond of several thousand mu behind the Lu Clan’s manor and it just so happens that the fish in that large lotus pond are in their season right now. I’m making use of this opportunity to invite a friend to gamble in fishing at that large lotus pond at the Lu Residence tomorrow. So I’ll have to be there earlier!”
Gambling while fishing? Yan Liqiang did not expect for Qian Su to have such a hobby. But since Qian Su said that, he didn’t really have a choice but to show up early. That just meant that they’d just be staying for an extra meal, not that the Lu Clan would mind it anyway.
…
Qian Su left after having resolved the matter. Yan Liqiang shook his head and smiled. He carried the bow bag on his shoulder and held the outfit which Qian Su had prepared for him in his arms before heading up the stairs.
The night passed by uneventfully. To Yan Liqiang however, it was time for his evening cultivation, which could be skipped regardless of how busy he was.
…
When Yan Liqiang gave himself a clean new look and showed up in the dining hall of the Weaponsmiths Quarter in the outfit Qian Su had prepared for him, all of the soldiers in the Weaponsmiths Quarter gasped in surprise. A crowd was gathering around Yan Liqiang in no time as each and every one of them stared at him intently.
As the saying goes, ‘a person depends on their apparel, a buddha depends on gold’ [2]. Originally, Yan Liqiang didn’t look bad at all, he was rather handsome with his thick eyebrows and big eyes. But over this period of time that he cultivated the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, his appearance and temperament had undergone some changes along with his body after being cleansed over and over again. Aside from his height that had increased by half an inch, his skin now glowed with a youthful rosy color. His eyes were also brighter and his body now stood straighter and stronger. Along with his advancement into the realm of the Third Heavenly Layer in the art of archery, was a type of indescribably confident yet insightful temperament that now appeared on him. He had grown from a little handsome man into a handsome man who seemed to be more energetic and more masculine. If he was in his previous world with his current appearance and temperament, he would most likely be able to become an idol among teenage girls too if he were recruited into TFBOYS [3] after a makeover.
On top of all these criteria, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to use the words ‘handsome’ and ‘outstanding’ to describe Yan Liqiang after being fitted into the azure blue silk gown that Qian Su had prepared for him. It was fastened with a belt that was adorned with a few pieces of white jade as well as a pair of buckskin low boots that slightly enhanced his height on his feet.
“Master Yan! I heard that you’ll be paying the Lu Clan a visit today. You’re going to bring yourself a wife home from the Lu Clan tonight if you’re going over there looking like this…” Zhou Yong said jokingly.
As soon as Zhou Yong finished his sentence, the Smith Head of the paint courtyard immediately stepped right in, “With Master Yan’s potential, one is not enough. He should have at least eight if not ten wives in the future…”
“Hahaha…” Everyone in the surroundings laughed out loud when they heard those words.
“Brothers and uncles! Please let me through. My stomach is growling as I have yet to have my breakfast. My entire day depends on this meal. If everyone has not seen enough, then you can watch me as I eat. How about that?” Yan Liqiang bowed to everyone in the surrounding with his hands clasped. This caused the people around laughed even harder, but they still gave way to Yan Liqiang.
…
Two lofty rhinodrake steeds had been prepared in the Weaponsmiths Quarter a while ago. After breakfast, Yan Liqiang took a rest and reorganized himself before he climbed onto the rhinodrake steed and traveled to the Lu Clan’s manor with Qian Su who had also changed his outfit, chatting and laughing along the way.
…
Just as Yan Liqiang was leaving the Weaponsmiths Quarter, a guest arrived at the door of the Yan Clan’s blacksmith shop back in Liuhe Town of Qinghe County early in the morning.
That guest was dressed up as a traveling merchant and wore a hat. Below that tilted hat of his was a face so pale that it would put even the dead to shame, and that face was a pair of unappealing triangular eyes. The most eye-catching feature of that man was the pea-sized mole that was on his left cheek.
This person was also pulling a horse along with him.
Staring at the blacksmith shop that had just opened and was ready for business, the man with triangular eyes had an evil aura emanating from his eyes.
Since Yan Liqiang had been hiding in the Weaponsmiths Quarter, there was nothing he could do about it. But he didn’t believe that Yan Liqiang would continue hiding after he found out that his family was in trouble.
Damn it! His initial plan was to do some business during his stay in Qinghe County. He planned to leave right after he completed his task and obtained the money, but who would have thought that this would drag on for so long?
“Ptui!” He spat as he directed his triangular eyes to the floor. He then called out to the Yan Clan’s blacksmith’s workshop, “Boss! The horseshoe for my horse is broken. Help me make a horseshoe…..”
