Chapter 191: 177 True Self Part 1

A pale yellow bird, fluttering its wings, soared past mountains and rivers, diving downward.

Swish.

The bird flew through a dense coniferous forest and landed in the palm of a woman in a white dress with water sleeves, exposing her shoulder.

“It’s here, it’s here, mother sent a letter!”

The woman wore a white veil, her eyes lively and cunning.

Behind her, a towering figure at least two and a half meters tall slowly approached.

The figure was clad in full metal black armor, with sharp horns on the shoulders, elbows, knees, and heel tips.

On its back, it carried two giant black copper axes resembling bat wings.

“Mother… letter…” the giant figure intoned deeply.

“Let me see…” The veiled woman quickly took the bamboo tube from the yellow bird’s leg and shook out the letter.

“Haha, this time it’s my turn to set out!” The woman immediately felt delighted, “I’ve rested for five or six years, and the distance is just right, it’s only fitting I make the move!”

“Shuangshuang, is it a letter from Xiaoyin?”

Further behind the two, a tall man with white hair and beard slowly emerged from a stone house by the stream.

The man was dressed in a black python robe, holding a staff of refined iron, and his presence commanded respect without anger.

“Yes, father.” The woman named Shuangshuang turned, leaped several times, and arrived in front of the elder, handing him the letter.

The elder took it and glanced over.

“This time, it’s worth your personal intervention. This young fellow, so young, managed to retreat unharmed from two spirit puppets. Quite impressive.”

“This person is also valued by the emotionless woman from the Golden Wing Pavilion,” Shuangshuang added.

“Celestial Maiden, huh… Although those lunatics are eccentric and unorthodox, their judgment is indeed sharp.” The elder nodded.

“It’s fine for you to go, Shuangshuang. This person truly has potential. Win him over with wealth, allure, power—whatever he wants, we have it.

Today, the Eastern Sect is surrounded by enemies, in the eye of the storm. If he is sensible and knows how to advance and retreat, he should know what choice to make.”

“Shuangshuang will certainly do her best.” The veiled woman nodded earnestly.

“If you successfully win him over, he can become a Spiritual Vein seed, adding a master to our ranks. Even if not, having another spirit puppet is still worthwhile.” The elder chuckled.

“And if we can’t win him over?” Shuangshuang asked.

“Everyone has desires. Just keep trying.” The elder smiled, “Of course, if after exhausting all means, it still doesn’t work, what we cannot obtain, no one else should. Then, you must personally act, completely annihilate him.”

“Understood, Shuangshuang will do her utmost!” The woman’s smile was radiant.

*

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Time passed.

Within Wushan Prefecture.

More than a month had passed since the Golden Wing Pavilion sealed off Yinhuai Forest.

Initially, many were dissatisfied, thinking they couldn’t forage in the wilderness anymore.

Later, when reports emerged about missing women, everyone fell silent.

Instead, the sealing and management by the Golden Wing Pavilion made everyone feel more at ease.

After the last great battle, nearly all the martial artists in Wushan Prefecture knew that the current steward Spirit Messenger of the Golden Wing Pavilion was formidable and exerted pressure on Wushan.

With him handling the Yinhuai Forest matters, naturally, people felt more relieved.

However, little did they know, Zhang Rongfang was preparing plans to head to the Great Capital.

Before leaving, he merely left a message for his sister and brother-in-law, saying his insights and cultivation in the Cultivation of Literature had earned him upper-level recognition, prompting him to proceed to the Ancestral Court of the Great Dao Teaching for further studies, and he would write back intermittently.

Being able to go through the Great Dao Teaching also helped to fade the scholarly background imprint.

Zhang Rongyu, although regretful, still supported Zhang Rongfang’s departure.

After all, having luck and gaining recognition from the upper echelon was quite a good opportunity.

His brother-in-law Suda Heqi supported him with silver coins worth a thousand taels for Zhang Rongfang to use at the Celestial Treasure Palace.

Zhang Rongfang didn’t stand on ceremony, knowing that his brother-in-law’s business was vast and wouldn’t mind this amount. So he accepted it readily.

Then there was the arrangement with Jin Xiu. Zhang Rongfang casually found a job at a Golden Wing Pavilion enterprise, arranging for her mother to recuperate.

Everything was arranged properly.

Anyway, he would return.

May 27.

A caravan secretly controlled by the Golden Wing Pavilion slowly left Wushan Prefecture, heading toward the Great Capital.

Two days after the caravan’s departure.

Intense battle occurred around Ten Thousand Miles Manor, with Sea Dragon Merfolk Xue Chengyu making another move, severely defeated once more by a mysterious person, losing an arm and fleeing wretchedly.

June 3.

A caravan transporting stone statues from Wushan to the Great Capital set out again, blending with numerous other caravans, slowly leaving Wushan Prefecture.

*

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“Spring gives to summer, summer brings autumn, autumn slays winter, and winter covers spring. Once this summer passes, autumn chill will arrive again… Life isn’t as easy as it used to be.”

Between Wushan and the Great Capital, at a place called Night Mountain Ridge, there was a relay station inn dedicated to resting and resupplying passing caravans.

The inn was named Bailu.

Busy times only served officials, idle times conducted business.

At this moment, inside the inn, the Feng family caravan sat sprawled in the main hall, each member kneading legs, flexing arms and wrists, awaiting the innkeeper to serve up food.

The leader of the Feng family is Feng Keqin, a fourth-rank martial artist nearing fifty.

At this moment, Feng Keqin was sitting with several heads of the caravan guards, sighing.

“Old Feng, you’ve lived long and seen much. Tell me, have you ever seen weather like this before? In recent years, the seasons seem a bit out of whack. What’s going on?”

The head of the guards, Old Chen, took a sip of mare’s milk wine and tugged at his collar, feeling a bit hot.

“It’s never been this changeable before,” Feng Keqin shook his head. “When I was young, the seasons were distinct, but in the past few years, they’ve mysteriously changed.

But what are you worried about? Everyone has good farmland at home. Even if the harvest is less, it’s still much better than for ordinary people.”

“You don’t know, Feng. My family has received the government’s agricultural guidelines, saying we must strictly follow them. But the condition of good and bad farmland varies in each place… Following the entire manual like this is just reckless, isn’t it?”

Another head, Zheng Jiaxing, was also worried.

“Well, at least the authorities are paying attention to agriculture. I’ve heard these guidelines come from the top. Even if impractical, it’s a good thing. At least if something happens, the government will clear the way because of agricultural matters,” Feng Keqin reassured.

“We can only think of it that way.”

As they chatted idly,

there was a group traveling with the caravan, comprised of those who had paid to join, heading to the Great Capital to visit family, do business, or seek adventure, a dozen or so people.

This group sat separately in a corner; some waited for the inn to serve food while others quietly ate their own dry rations.

Among them, a robust and tall man was also eating a piece of dried pork and a bag of fresh milk tea, eating slowly, bite by bite.

The man wore a black conical hat and the same gray windbreaker cloak as the others, with a multi-pocket garment underneath for easy storage.

Listening to the nearby chatter, this person slightly raised his head and glanced out towards the inn’s door.

Outside, the setting sun cast a red glow over the land, yet there was a faint sense of desolation and bleakness.

The inn’s front door faced a bamboo grove.

The bamboo swayed with the wind, rustling, yet there wasn’t a hint of bird song.

Occasionally, wandering merchants could be seen, dragging goods and urging their mules, passing by without haste.

The mule carts occasionally left tracks on the road, which faded into the distance on the official road.

“Here it is, sir, your garlic shoot shredded meat, spicy tofu, and stir-fried aromatic dried beancurd!”

Soon, the innkeeper’s assistant served the chosen dishes one by one.

The man removed his hat, revealing a face not handsome but rather heroic.

His skin was slightly dark, his eyes bright, his face full, lips slightly pursed, with a thin lip line.

He gave off an impression of stubborn resolve.

This was Zhang Rongfang, who had left Wushan Prefecture alone after critically injuring Xue Chengyu.

He had used the caravan controlled by the Golden Wing Pavilion as bait to lure the Sea Dragon into an ambush, successfully injuring Xue Chengyu heavily.

In reality, it wasn’t just bait because he had indeed gone with the first caravan.

Of course, leaving didn’t mean he wouldn’t return.

The day after the first caravan left, he returned at full speed using his robust body technique, then lay in wait.

Soon, the Sea Dragon was indeed drawn out.

From the end of April to now in early June, more than a month had passed. His attribute points accumulated to three. However, this time, he hadn’t immediately added them to his Cultivation of Literature.

He planned to reach the Great Capital, obtain the secret arts, and see if he could use the attribute points to quickly complete them.

Save some in reserve, just in case there would be no way shortly.

Coming back to his senses, Zhang Rongfang looked at the dishes of the year, sighing inwardly.

Each dish was only half the amount of a normal establishment.

And there was a pitiful amount of meat inside them.

But being able to eat hot dishes and rice in the middle of the journey was already quite good.

He wasn’t picky. He picked up his chopsticks, checked them, and slowly began to taste.

He ate very slowly.

This way, he could quickly stop if he perceived anything unusual.

Even if poisoned, it wouldn’t be severe.

Minor toxins were not troublesome for him at this point.

After all, a life value of over forty was not to be trifled with.

While eating, two people suddenly cried out from a table on his right, leaping up and scrambling away from the table and chairs.

“There’s a snake!”

The two were lone travelers with the caravan, seemingly two merchants traveling together to the Great Capital.

In their haste, the dishes on the table were knocked crooked and fell to the ground.

Food spilled extensively over the table, chairs, and floor.

Everyone looked over to see a slender, turquoise-green snake lazily crawling from beneath the table.

“It’s a bamboo pit viper! Hiss… Why would there be a bamboo pit viper here!?”

Someone exclaimed.

“We were just eating and suddenly felt something crawling over us!” the lone merchant at the table exclaimed.

Zhang Rongfang slightly frowned, faintly hearing soft laughter.

He scanned his eyes and quickly located two youths in the corner.

The two looked very similar, possibly twins.

The boy was delicately featured, his long hair tied with a silver ring, wearing a white long robe with a magpie motif.

The girl had snowy-white skin, her long hair tied into numerous small braids, dressed in a light green, full-length gauze dress.

Zhang Rongfang noticed that both of them held a long bamboo tube with its lid open.

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