Chapter 288: The Hall Master Steps Forward

In the night.

Li Rui stepped out from the back courtyard of the Thousand Cranes Martial Hall, bowing deeply:

"Master He, I won't trouble you further."

There stood:

The hall's master, He Qianian, smiling with arms folded behind his back at the courtyard gate, waving a hand: "By the way, if you see Jiang Linxian, tell him I didn't lose that day—I'll collect that half-move eventually."

"Yes, yes."

"Senior's martial skill is formidable—hardly inferior to Brother Jiang."

Hearing Li Rui's flattery,

though he knew it was deliberate praise, He Qianian was deeply pleased, especially upon hearing "Brother"—he burst into loud laughter:

"You kid"

Then he added: "Don't worry—I came to Qinghe not to meddle in trade matters, merely to repay Marquis Yuan's favor."

"Then this junior will take his leave."

Saying this,

Li Rui mounted the carriage already waiting at the gate and slowly vanished into the night.

Moments later,

he returned to the Anning Guard Assistant Regional Commander's residence.

As he stepped inside, he saw Shi Zhou, Zhou Ting, and Bai Jing waiting anxiously. Li Rui smiled slightly: "Relax—Master He has agreed."

Hearing Li Rui's words, the three let out long sighs of relief.

They had beaten the man.

But if He Qianian decided to settle accounts with their three sects, they'd be crushed—so they'd waited all night at the Assistant Regional Commander's residence, just for this outcome.

Li Rui claimed he was going to meet He Qianian—and didn't return for over an hour.

They'd nearly assumed He Qianian had killed him.

Yet the old master didn't side with his own disciple—he sided with Li Rui.

Shi Zhou couldn't help asking: "Brother Li, you know Master He?"

He knew Li Rui's background well.

Li Rui had spent nearly his whole life in Qinghe—he simply couldn't fathom how he'd ever met He Qianian from the Central Plains.

Li Rui chuckled: "A friend of a friend."

A friend of a friend.

The three's expressions grew even stranger.

But since He Qianian had intervened, their worries were gone.

They feared the Thousand Cranes Martial Hall—not the Cloud Return Sect. He Wanchun was powerful, but their three sects would soon send primordial qi cultivators to Qinghe to hold the line—they weren't truly afraid.

The three assumed Li Rui had ties to Marquis Yuan.

But that wasn't true.

Li Rui met He Qianian thanks to Jiang Linxian.

Precisely, thanks to a notice in the imperial bulletin.

While others focused on the national martial rankings, Li Rui noticed Jiang Linxian had just arrived in the capital and fought someone—someone who was He Qianian.

He Qianian lost by half a move.

Even before hearing the news, Li Rui had asked Wang Li to copy He Qianian's dossier from Annan Town.

This man was a martial fanatic.

Knowing that, and observing He Qianian's behavior since arriving in Qinghe, Li Rui deduced he likely knew nothing about the beast trade.

It was all the doing of his senior disciple, Xiao Yu.

But even with that, meeting He Qianian—or persuading him—would still be impossible.

You beat his disciple and expect him to be happy?

If Li Rui were merely the Assistant Regional Commander of Anning Guard or a retainer of the Marquis's household, He Qianian would've instantly sided with his disciple without a second thought.

So Li Rui presented himself as Jiang Linxian's older brother, offering an apology on his behalf for his younger brother's recklessness.

The fact that Jiang Linxian called him "older brother" was no secret in Qinghe.

He Qianian likely knew.

Jiang Linxian's own older brother personally coming to apologize—that held immense appeal for He Qianian.

As expected, he did meet He Qianian.

Then he apologized on Jiang Linxian's behalf.

This instantly flattered the old master—he was overjoyed, grinning nonstop for a full hour.

Cough, cough.

After all, he was using Jiang Linxian's prestige.

And so the matter was settled.

In truth, it was Jiang Linxian's influence that prevailed—not Li Rui's.

He merely borrowed the momentum.

Li Rui dared to borrow it not only because his bond with Jiang Linxian ran deep, but because the lion's share of the beast trade's profits went to Jiang Linxian.

Using it a little wasn't excessive.

As for why he didn't approach He Qianian from the start,

it was because he intended to make an example.

He wanted the city's factions to see that even the Thousand Cranes Mountain Estate had been humbled—so any other faction that came would meet the same fate, or else face even greater troubles later.

Indeed,

since news of the Thousand Cranes Martial Hall incident spread, fewer factions came to visit Li Rui.

There was no choice.

The meat was limited.

Li Rui wasn't a god—he'd already stretched himself to the limit opening the existing trade routes. The Great Witch showed face, but if you pulled his face too hard, would he still show it?

So he'd always kept the beast trade within a reasonable limit.

Others could do as they pleased—he couldn't stop them.

But his own channels would take only so much—no more.

That was contentment.

Li Rui was practicing his blade in the courtyard when he saw a figure approaching the gate.

"Master, I'm back!"

Liu Tiezhu's voice arrived before he did.

As he stepped into the courtyard, he turned to look behind him: "Look who I brought you."

Then,

a familiar, burly old man followed Liu Tiezhu inside.

Tie Kuang.

Seeing Tie Kuang, Li Rui was delighted: "Senior Tie."

Tie Kuang had left with Jiang Linxian for the capital—he'd assumed he wouldn't see Tie Kuang again for seven or eight years, yet here he was, so soon.

He looked around the grand residence.

Tie Kuang grinned: "Li kid, you've made something of yourself—now an Assistant Regional Commander? Impressive."

He'd naturally heard Li Rui was now Assistant Regional Commander of Anning Guard.

After arriving in Qinghe,

he first visited his old forge. He'd expected it to return to its former state after he left—but instead, he met Liu Tiezhu.

Liu Tiezhu insisted on dragging him to see Li Rui.

Fine, fine.

Li Rui hurried forward two steps and bowed deeply before Tie Kuang:

"All thanks to Senior's teaching."

Tie Kuang chuckled: "You've got natural talent—has nothing to do with me."

Though he said that, his expression made it clear:

He was deeply pleased.

Li Rui and Liu Tiezhu were both half his disciples—when disciples succeed, the teacher is happy too, proving his efforts weren't wasted.

Li Rui then asked curiously: "Senior Tie, have you avenged your grudge?"

Hearing "revenge," Tie Kuang rolled his eyes:

"Avenging what? Blood Shadow Ancestor somehow gained some fortune—he broke through and became a Second-Rank Grand Master. What's the point? Even if I gave the Immortal Blade to Jiang kid, he still couldn't beat him."

Li Rui was secretly startled—Blood Shadow Ancestor had broken through.

Tie Kuang's hope of revenge was now gone for life; his expression made it clear—he'd accepted it.

He'd pinned all his hopes on Jiang Linxian.

After all, the Divine Weapon Manor had stood for a thousand years and never produced a single Second-Rank cultivator—so it was already unprecedented. Don't burden future generations with impossible hopes.

Tie Kuang grumbled: "My nephew says there's no one left in the manor, so he made this old man come to Qinghe to lend a hand—so here I am."

Li Rui suddenly understood.

He had previously heard Shi Zhou say that Shenzheng Manor was sending a fourth-rank Primordial Warrior to take charge in Qinghe, as the beast trade had now gained serious attention from their parent sect.

He never expected it would be Tie Kuang.

What a coincidence.

Li Rui: "Senior Tie, since you've come all this way, why not stay at my place? I'll send someone to watch over Shenzheng Manor."

Tie Kuang looked at Li Rui with a half-smile.

One mistake, one slip, one detail—everything is visible at a glance!

"What, do you have a blacksmith's forge here too?"

A moment later.

Tie Kuang stared at the massive furnace, tongs, and anvil in Li Rui's backyard—clearly built to full blacksmithing specifications.

He was momentarily speechless.

"You brat, you really set up a blacksmith's forge at home?"

"If Jiang's boy found out you turned his house into this, he'd cut you down."

Tie Kuang burst into laughter.

Li Rui chuckled: "A forge is permanent, soldiers come and go. Since I'm now a Regional Commander, the house is mine to manage. Ever since I met you, Senior, I've grown more obsessed with forging. So I decided to set up a forge at home."

"Indeed, where there's persistent longing, there's a response—just as I finished building it, you've returned."

Tie Kuang glanced at Li Rui.

"Don't try to fool me, brat."

"You've studied Hammer Qi Art for so long and still can't even strike a proper blow—how dare you claim you're obsessed?"

Yet his face betrayed no hint of disapproval—only pure delight.

Li Rui pressed on: "Tie Zhu, hurry up and light the furnace for Senior Tie!"

"Right away!"

Liu Tiezhu responded eagerly, rolled up his sleeves, and moved to ignite the fire.

Soon after.

A towering blaze blazed up in the Regional Commander's backyard.

Watching Tie Kuang and Liu Tiezhu working feverishly, Li Rui knew Tie Kuang wouldn't leave.

The blacksmith's forge wasn't built for Tie Kuang alone.

When Tie Kuang left, Li Rui had been certain he'd never return—why would he have spent so much effort bringing builders from Yunzhou to construct it?

In truth, he built the forge to replace his own weapon.

As the saying goes: a fine horse deserves fine saddle.

Cangfeng is indeed a fine blade, but at only sixth-rank, it's increasingly inadequate for Li Rui's current cultivation base.

That's why he wanted to build a forge and have Liu Tiezhu forge him a new blade.

Under Tie Kuang's training, Liu Tiezhu now has the foundation to forge a fifth-rank blade.

He only needs practice.

But the forge had barely been completed when Tie Kuang returned to Qinghe—so Li Rui simply went with the flow.

Now it seemed Tie Kuang was quite pleased with the forge.

At least for now, he had no intention of leaving.

Of course, Li Rui wasn't so arrogant as to believe his humble forge could rival Shenzheng Manor's—nor that it could keep Tie Kuang, Yunzhou's foremost armorer.

In truth, Tie Kuang simply didn't want to see the people of Shenzheng Manor.

He preferred staying at Li Rui's home.

The forge was merely a face-saving excuse.

Li Rui stepped out of the backyard with a broad smile.

With Tie Kuang living under his roof, the Anning Guard gained another towering pillar of strength—and if he stayed long enough, Li Rui could easily beg him to forge a weapon suited to his needs, right?

His calculations had already been clinking like coins.

He dared such "manipulation" only because his bond with Tie Kuang was close enough.

Otherwise, Tie Kuang wouldn't have abandoned his sect's grounds to come live in this Regional Commander's residence.

Spring passed, autumn arrived.

The Wu Kingdom's war ebbed and flowed, and now showed signs of calming.

With hostilities subsiding, trade between the two nations surged again.

More and more foreign merchants appeared on Qinghe's streets, the town brimming with vitality.

At Li's residence, beneath a pavilion.

Ning Zhongtian and Li Rui lounged on reclining chairs, relaxed and at ease.

"So comfortable."

Ning Zhongtian propped his head on his arm; the cool autumn breeze swept away the last traces of heat.

The only slight flaw was the occasional clang of the forge.

"Big Brother, you're incredible—Shenzheng Manor's Grand Elder doesn't stay at his own home, but moves into the Regional Commander's residence."

The daily clanging of the forge in the Regional Commander's residence couldn't be hidden.

Li Rui never intended to hide it.

In fact, on the very day Tie Kuang moved in, he sent someone to fetch Shi Zhou.

Shi Zhou came—and was scolded soundly by Tie Kuang, then left.

After that, he never dared inquire again.

Tie Kuang's residence in Li Rui's home had spread through Qinghe, sparking much gossip.

As time passed,

people gradually grew used to it.

The people of Qinghe took it as further proof of Li Jiaoxi's personal charisma.

The autumn sky was clear and crisp.

The autumn sky seemed higher than at any other season.

Ning Zhongtian gazed at the deep blue heavens and remembered something: "By the way, Big Brother, isn't the Autumn Hunt coming?"

Li Rui nodded: "Mm."

Hearing this,

Ning Zhongtian sat up straight, eyes gleaming at Li Rui: "Big Brother, I heard Yunzhou is also holding the Autumn Hunt?"

Li Rui smiled faintly: "Marquis Hou has that intention."

Yu Kingdom was founded on martial prowess.

The founding Emperor modeled the Great Hunt after the previous dynasty, setting the Autumn Equinox as the day of the Great Hunt—hence the folk tradition of the Autumn Hunt.

All imperial relatives, nobles, and select high ministers accompany His Majesty to the Tiannan Hunting Grounds, eight hundred li outside the capital, to inspect martial arts and hunt.

It's a prime opportunity for young talents to display their martial skill.

As Marquis Yuan was enfeoffed, by protocol,

he need not journey thousands of li to Tiannan, but must hold his own Autumn Hunt within his fiefdom to demonstrate loyalty to the Dragon Court.

The Duke of Wei is in a similar situation.

All other princes and nobles reside in the capital and naturally accompany His Majesty to Tiannan.

If the Martial Examination is an opportunity for commoner warriors, the Autumn Hunt is the great chance for nobles and military officers.

Otherwise, why would Ning Zhongtian care so much?

Ning Zhongtian asked again: "Has the location for the Autumn Hunt been decided?"

Li Rui shook his head:

"That's still up to Marquis Hou to decide."

(End of Chapter)