Chapter 278: Entering the Mountain for Seclusion

Duan Rong returned to Liu Lu, then climbed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep!

That battle with Tao Rong had also consumed a great deal of his energy.

He had no dreams all night.

Duan Rong woke up amidst the sound of a rooster crowing; the room was pitch black, with only a faint, cold light shining on the window. Duan Rong knelt up halfway and opened the window a crack.

That cold light was not the dawn, but the cold moon sinking in the west.

At this moment, it was still the darkest time before dawn; in the shivering weather, a large star hung upside down in the sky above his head.

Duan Rong felt he had slept enough, so he went into the courtyard to wash up.

Then he returned to the room, opened the cabinet at the head of the bed, and took out the statues of the Four Great Wisdom Kings stored inside.

These statues of the Four Great Wisdom Kings were all hidden within landscapes; Duan Rong rolled them up, placed them in a scroll tube, slung them over his back, and left Liu Lu, arriving on the vast, dim street.

Duan Rong had already made up his mind; during these few days of public notice, he prepared to enter Wild Boar Mountain to go into seclusion and cultivate.

He would achieve the third level of the Womb Treasury Sutra, attempt to break through to the Inner Breath Realm Great Perfection, and use the third level of the Womb Treasury Sutra to try and resolve the entity of blood light from the Filthy Blood Divine Art that was lurking within his own Spirit Sea of clarity...

Duan Rong could imagine that after he became a Sect Registered Disciple, many people would surely come looking for him within these ten days; those relatives he had long ceased contact with might all pop up, and the various major powers of Xiangu County would also come to curry favor with him.

He was entering Wild Boar Mountain to cultivate, firstly to go into seclusion and resolve the problems he faced, and secondly, to hide from these worldly affairs.

Duan Rong first drank a large bowl of beef soup at a steaming beef soup stall and ate two flatbreads. After eating and drinking his fill, Duan Rong stood up and walked along West Street for a distance, turned into an alleyway, and after winding through the crisscrossing lanes, finally walked into Wutong Lane.

Duan Rong returned to his old residence.

Duan Rong stood at the courtyard gate, his Divine Sense suddenly expanding. After confirming there was no one around, he moved as fast as a ghost, flashing into the inner room. Once inside, his figure suddenly swept up like a large bird, landing in the corner of the crossbeam.

Under the scanning of his Divine Sense, Duan Rong accurately lifted the lid of the hidden compartment, took out the Womb Treasury Sutra Secret Manual inside, and tucked it into his sleeve.

Duan Rong covered the hidden compartment again and drifted to the ground.

With his Divine Sense piercing through, he carefully looked over this old residence. Many places matched the memories left behind by the original owner; this was a very strange feeling, like stroking someone else's life...

Duan Rong sighed with emotion; after he entered the Taiyi Sect, he wondered if he would still have the chance to step into this residence again?

This residence was likely the last bit of connection between him and the original owner. Every time he entered this residence, there were always some objects that could link to those delicate memories left by the original owner. Only at these times could Duan Rong realize that the original owner had once existed; at other times, the traces of the original owner had almost disappeared from his body...

Duan Rong walked out of Wutong Lane and went to a carriage agency to rent a horse.

He rode a date-red horse, carrying the scroll tube on his back, and headed toward the East City Gate in the dim, early morning light.

"Master Duan, heading out of the city so early!" A young constable greeted Duan Rong with a smile, revealing his bright white teeth.

Duan Rong was surprised; the constable guarding the city actually recognized him.

When the constable was off duty, he had also gone to watch the Choosing Heroes Assembly. He himself came from a poor background, and he felt nothing but admiration and respect for someone like Duan Rong, who came from a humble background and relied on his own efforts to become a Sect Registered Disciple.

Duan Rong rode on the horse and said casually, "Nothing to do anyway, just going out of the city for a stroll."

The constable guarding the city clearly worshipped Duan Rong somewhat.

He smiled while opening the city gate, and stood by the gate watching Duan Rong leave the city.

Duan Rong whipped his horse out of the city and followed the Official Road toward Wild Boar Mountain.

After eating breakfast in the morning, Zhao Gang brewed a pot of tea in his dormitory manager's hut and began to drink it slowly.

The job of a dormitory manager was very leisurely, and the monthly pay was not small either.

He was only able to land such a cushy job because of his nephew, Zhao Meng.

Zhao Gang had just taken a sip of tea, and the fragrant tea juice immediately made his spirit perk up.

This tea was still what Zhao Meng had brought him during the New Year.

"Truly good tea!" Zhao Gang exclaimed, feeling the fragrance linger in his mouth. "Mengzi, your second uncle really didn't dote on you in vain when you were little!"

Zhao Gang was muttering to himself when he suddenly heard a familiar voice calling him from outside the door.

"Zhao Gang! Zhao Gang!"

It was the voice of the gatekeeper, Ma Wentao.

Zhao Gang immediately stood up and smiled as he went out to greet him, saying, "Uncle Ma, come, come inside and drink some tea to warm yourself up."

As Zhao Gang spoke, his gaze suddenly shifted; he saw another person standing beside Ma Wentao. That person was wearing an official uniform and was clearly a Constable from the Ya Men.

Ma Wentao said, "Drinking tea can wait for another day. This official from the Ya Men has brought a subpoena, saying he wants you to go to the Ya Men to ask you about something."

Zhao Gang was startled and looked timidly at the Constable standing beside Ma Wentao, saying, "This official, this commoner has always been law-abiding and has never done anything illegal or criminal!"

Yang Zhen said, "Manager Zhao, do not misunderstand. There is a case in the Ya Men that requires asking Manager Zhao for some information."

As Yang Zhen spoke, he showed the subpoena stamped with the official seal to Zhao Gang.

Zhao Gang looked at the subpoena and asked, "May I ask, official, what case this is?"

Yang Zhen said, "You will naturally know when you get to the Ya Men. Alright, stop talking nonsense here; our Head Constable Xie is still waiting at the County Office!"

Zhao Gang nodded and bowed in agreement, followed Yang Zhen out of the Yuanshun Escort Agency, entered the County Government Office, and walked straight into Xie Daohan's office.

Xie Daohan had not slept all night, and his eyes were as red as a rabbit's.

Yang Zhen walked in, cupped his hands, and said, "Reporting to the Head Constable, the dormitory manager of the Yuanshun Escort Agency, Zhao Gang, has been brought here."

Xie Daohan raised his head and waved his hand at Yang Zhen.

Yang Zhen immediately retreated and closed the door.

Seeing Xie Daohan's appearance, Zhao Gang couldn't help but shiver; he had long heard of this Head Constable's cruel methods of interrogating prisoners.

Xie Daohan saw Zhao Gang's fear and said, "Manager Zhao, no need to panic! The case I am pursuing has nothing to do with you; I am just looking for you to understand some information."

Hearing that Xie Daohan's explanation was consistent with Yang Zhen's, Zhao Gang's heart finally eased.

Xie Daohan looked at Zhao Gang and asked straight to the point, "Manager Zhao, I looked at the report records from April of last year. You once came to the Ya Men to report a case, saying that two Miscellaneous Servants in the Escort Agency had gone missing."

Zhao Gang's heart skipped a beat; he did not expect Xie Daohan to be asking about this matter.

He had reported the disappearance of Kong Bin and Zhang Zheng to Luan Jingfu and Xiao Zongting, and it was Xiao Zongting's idea to have him go to the Ya Men to report it.

However, when he came to report the case, the Constable who received him had a very bad attitude; he only recorded it briefly and said that missing persons were a common occurrence, and who knew if the Escort Agency had abused them and forced them to run away.

Zhao Gang did not argue with that Constable. The Constable simply recorded a sentence and dismissed Zhao Gang.

Xie Daohan would look at the crime report registration every month, and he also had a slight impression of this report record; two Miscellaneous Servants from the Yuanshun Escort Agency had gone missing, and the registered record didn't even contain the names of the missing persons, so when he looked at it, he just skimmed over it.

Zhao Gang's mind had calmed down by this time; he looked at Xie Daohan and replied, "Reporting to Head Constable Xie, it was not two Miscellaneous Servants. It was one Miscellaneous Servant and one Apprentice Escort."

"Is that so?" Xie Daohan said, "What were the names of the missing persons?"

Zhao Gang replied, "Kong Bin, Zhang Zheng."

Xie Daohan's expression remained unmoved, but his heart was already surging with waves; he continued to ask, "I see your report date is mid-April. Did these two go missing at that time?"

"That is not the case. From the time they were discovered missing to the time of the report, there was an interval of more than ten days," Zhao Gang said with a reminiscent look.

"Can Manager Zhao recall the exact time you discovered they were missing?" Xie Daohan said.

"As for the exact time, I truly cannot remember clearly. After all, so much time has passed, and even the time of the report, if not for Head Constable Xie's reminder, I wouldn't have remembered it either... However..."

As Zhao Gang spoke, his expression suddenly shifted, and he said, "However, I remember that when I discovered the two were missing, the Second Miss of the Xiaojia was holding a funeral!"

Upon hearing this, Xie Daohan stood up from his chair with a start.

Wasn't the time Xiao Baijiao held the funeral the same time Xie Lei was killed?

At the city gate, because of Xiao Baijiao's funeral procession, he had wanted to open the coffin for inspection and had almost come to blows with the group of Escorts from the Yuanshun Escort Agency!

Having worked in criminal law for over twenty years, Xie Daohan could instantly smell the scent in this; this was definitely no coincidence, the disappearance of Kong Bin and Zhang Zheng and the death of Xie Lei must be connected in some way...

And this connection was clearly Duan Rong!

A complete story instantly formed in Xie Daohan's mind.

Because Duan Rong was selling paintings on the street, ten taels each, he soon brought in quite a lot of silver.

This silver aroused the covetousness of Kong Bin, who was also short of money, and Kong Bin had a gang background.

The Whale Tiger Gang had been destroyed, and Zhou Shoushan had been in hiding for many years, so he was likely not well-off either; the two hit it off immediately!

This was clearly a path to wealth.

The few of them set a trap to kill Duan Rong, but they did not expect Duan Rong's cultivation speed to be so terrifying; he had likely already achieved the Inner Breath Realm Second Layer at that time, and in the trap they set, he counter-killed the few of them.

It was also during this process that Duan Rong obtained the Corpse Rot Poison from Zhou Shoushan.

Xie Daohan was indeed a veteran of criminal law!

After several thoughts rolled through his mind, he had already kneaded the sand into a ball, gathering the scattered information from various places and clearing up many details and bottlenecks.

The moment Xie Daohan thought it through completely, he suddenly calmed down instead. He said in his heart, "Duan Rong, it really is you! You hid very well; if you hadn't participated in the Talent Selection Assembly, perhaps I would never have discovered you. What a pity! A rat should not have run into the sunlight..."

Duan Rong rode a date-red horse, galloping along the Official Road, and by the end of the afternoon hour, he could already see the undulating outline of the Wild Boar Mountain range from afar.

Duan Rong whipped the date-red horse beneath him fiercely.

The date-red horse felt the pain, wheezed heavily, and ran forward even more diligently...

Just as the Shen hour began, Duan Rong led the horse toward a village at the foot of the Wild Boar Mountain range.

The date-red horse was somewhat listless because its breathing was obstructed, and it kept foaming at the mouth; this situation meant it had run until its lungs were injured, but in the coming time, if it could rest for several days, it would basically be able to recover.

Duan Rong looked at the village before him.

This village was the village of Qin Laohan's family.

That village that had once been slaughtered.

Only half a year had passed, yet many people had actually moved into this village.

Most of these people were displaced people who had lost their land and homes, yet in this village, there were ready-made houses and well-cultivated fertile fields!

The sounds of chickens crowing, dogs barking, and children's clamor in the village rose from time to time...

The bloody scene of the slaughtered village in Duan Rong's mind was covered over by the idyllic, peaceful scene of the secular farming family before his eyes.

Duan Rong couldn't help but feel moved.

A village also has life; as long as it does not die, it can recover bit by bit.

Duan Rong led the horse to the west end of the village, and many of the households he passed looked at Duan Rong with vigilant eyes.

Duan Rong was a strange face, and he carried a sword at his waist.

The reputation of swordsmen in rural villages was extremely poor; they were like bandits, burning, killing, and looting.

Duan Rong walked straight to the west end of the village, in front of the house of Qin Laohan's family. He stood in front of the fence courtyard and shouted, "Is anyone there?"

A middle-aged man walked out. Upon seeing Duan Rong, he immediately picked up the rake leaning against the wall and said coldly, "The hero should look elsewhere; there has been no grain in this house for a long time."

Duan Rong ignored him and tossed a piece of broken silver at his feet. "I am going into the mountains for a few days; help me watch the horse for a few days!"

The middle-aged man saw the piece of broken silver at his feet, which was worth more than two mace, and then saw that Duan Rong seemed to be wearing the attire of an Escort, and from head to toe, there was no bandit-like air at all!

The middle-aged man put down the rake, picked up the piece of broken silver, and smiled, "The guest can rest assured and go about your business; I will take good care of the horse and feed it well!"

A full two mace of broken silver—in a famine year, a human life wasn't even worth this much.

Duan Rong handed the horse over to the middle-aged man, and a flash of cunning crossed the middle-aged man's eyes.

Duan Rong sighed in his heart; they were displaced people after all, not as simple as mountain folk, so he said, "The horse will rest in the cowshed; do not use it to pull things. When I come down from the mountain, if it hasn't recovered its strength, I will twist off your head!"

The middle-aged man seemed to have been called out by Duan Rong regarding the thoughts in his heart; his expression froze, and he immediately smiled, "You can rest assured, sir! I will raise this date-red horse like my own father, with fresh forage every day, and I won't let it do a lick of work..."

Before the middle-aged man could finish speaking, Duan Rong had already turned and left; he could tell that the guy was just fobbing him off.

Duan Rong walked two steps, then suddenly his figure paused; there was a mountain rock the size of a human head by the fence post, placed there to prop up the fence post.

Duan Rong infused his Internal Breath and crushed the mountain rock into powder with one foot, cursing, "This rock is truly an eyesore!"

The rock dust, turned into fine powder, was lifted by the mountain wind and hit the middle-aged man in the face; for the first time, deep fear appeared in his eyes!

At this moment, he was finally convinced. If this horse was not looked after well, the seemingly harmless youth before him would definitely crush his head with one foot, just like he had crushed that rock!

As soon as Duan Rong entered the Wild Boar Mountain, he unleashed his movement technique and whistled through the mountains and wilderness!

At dusk, when the setting sun draped a hazy red veil over the valley, Duan Rong stood on a certain cliff.

The mountain wind brushed his hair and filled his sleeves. Duan Rong suddenly released his Divine Sense, sweeping toward the cave on the cliff wall. After confirming it was safe, his figure flickered, and he leaped down from the top of the cliff...

(End of this chapter)