Chapter 49: Nostalgia

This title was tossed off casually by the beggar.

Chen Ji and the others hadn't reacted much yet.

Butcher Zhang, however, jolted awake from his earlier astonishment and gave his own fat belly a hard pinch.

Hiss! Not a hallucination!

But on what grounds?!

Butcher Zhang wasn't the jealous sort when it came to friends; he simply couldn't wrap his head around it.

Although he wasn't much interested in matters of the court.

The Outside Qingzhou Commander was a figure of the same generation as the sect masters of the major schools, and combined with Zhen Mo Si's already transcendent position above the martial world, that person could absolutely have the final say in Qingzhou.

One could say that for ordinary martial practitioners, that person was more like a storyteller's tale—something a storyteller would slap the sounding block for to pass the time after meals.

How had it suddenly become entangled with the people right beside him?

"Don't talk nonsense!"

Huang Huang Lao Liu knit his brow and shot the beggar a glare.

Not even a single stroke of the character "eight" yet, and already spreading wild rumors—truly, begging for too long leaves no lock on the mouth.

He shook his head, looked back at Shen Yi, and said with a bitter smile: "In the message to the Commander, that one line really was mentioned, but my lord has been away for years—no one knows when he'll return, and even if he does come back… in any case, you'd best not hold out too much hope."

Huang Huang Lao Liu was a straightforward man; he didn't want the other party, due to such a huge gap, to develop some kind of emotion and waste a promising young martial artist for nothing.

He casually glanced to the side, and Butcher Zhang took the hint, scratched the back of his head, went into the main hall, and started shooting the breeze with Chen Ji and the others.

"Lord Lin was struck by a demonic art and has already been escorted out of Bai Yunxian by dedicated personnel to seek out the Commander; he won't be returning to Qingzhou for the time being."

Huang Huang Lao Liu lowered his voice: "Once you enter Zhen Mo Si, from now on you'll be brothers who share life and death… these brothers aren't afraid to take a blade for you, but they also don't want to see you leap to the sky in a single bound—especially when you've just arrived, it's only human nature, please bear with it."

Concise and to the point.

Rather than a warning, it was more of a reminder.

Shen Yi paused briefly in thought and understood the other's meaning.

The "talent" he had deliberately revealed before Lin Baiwei had indeed worked.

But in everything, gain must come with loss.

Don't be fooled by the smiles on these people's faces—in reality… they probably weren't as happy as they looked.

They were all people who traded their lives for merit.

If he really put on the airs of having climbed onto a high branch, it wouldn't matter if his background were solid enough; the fear was that it wasn't that solid, and then he'd just be asking for trouble.

"According to Li Xinhan's meaning, we'll send you back first; everything will still be handled by the usual procedure, don't leak any rumors, wait until the two lords return before making arrangements."

Once Huang Huang Lao Liu finished speaking, he closed his mouth and said no more.

Boss Li really does have a rotten temper, but his heart isn't bad; if Shen Yi has his own plans, or feels that these people are suppressing him, then that's all there is to say—let him be.

"I have no objections."

Shen Yi shook his head.

Joining Zhen Mo Si was, first, to have a backer when slaying demons, and second, for martial arts and precious medicines.

The former would allow him, when facing demons and monsters, to have more channels of information, rather than being, as now, completely in the dark about everything beyond the county seat.

With sufficient demon-and-monster lifespan to support him.

And with martial arts and precious medicines to assist, his improvement would be far faster than going it alone.

Compared with these tangible benefits, something that was only an empty name and could for now only bring trouble—Shen Yi didn't set much store by it.

Just as the other had said, if there really were benefits, wouldn't they only be obtained once the person returned?

Huang Huang Lao Liu quietly observed the changes in his expression.

Seeing that Shen Yi's eyes were clear, that he said he had no objections, and that his manner truly showed he didn't care.

This reaction, on the contrary, secretly startled him.

Everyone understands the principle that painted cakes don't fill hunger; but when such a heaven-sent opportunity falls on one's person, even if it's ninety-nine percent fake, how many people could completely ignore it?

Of course, there was another possibility: that the other party had already gotten the cake into his mouth.

"Damn, you didn't really take down Lord Lin, did you!"

Recalling the oversized clothes on Lin Baiwei yesterday, Huang Huang Lao Liu gnashed his teeth, and the belief he'd clung to suddenly wavered.

The few behind him hurriedly kicked him to the ground: "You don't want your head anymore!"

To dare spread rumors about a demon-catcher—if that group of ascetics who haunted demon lairs day in and day out heard it, they'd flay the brat alive.

"We came out on assignment and are just making a temporary stop at Bai Yunxian; we're in a hurry—go home and pack up quickly, you can travel with us just in time."

The beggar pressed Huang Huang Lao Liu's face into the ground and gave Shen Yi a helpless smile.

……

Outside the government office.

The few chosen young men clenched their fists in excitement.

In an age of demons and chaos, having some martial skill to one's name was undoubtedly the fastest way to raise one's status.

Don't look at how today they were only ordinary constables and soldiers—if they could pass Zhen Mo Si's trial training, by the time they returned to Bai Yunxian, even the county magistrate would have to receive them with great courtesy.

Thinking of this, they couldn't help but look again at the young man ahead.

No one was blind or deaf; although they couldn't quite make out what those Captains and the other party were saying, just from that attitude alone they could tell.

Captain Shen definitely wasn't going for trial training the same as the rest of them.

It's a pity they hadn't had much of a connection in ordinary days; going to cozy up now would seem a bit stiff… at least with the bond of being from the same hometown, once inside Zhen Mo Si they'd have a few extra points of face.

"Boss Shen, I still need to go home and keep my old mother company, and comfort my wife while I'm at it."

The two who were closer to Shen Yi, on the other hand, didn't have so many thoughts; Niu Da was in a rush to get home, scratched his crotch, and once he finished speaking wanted to run.

Chen Ji had long felt that Shen Yi was no ordinary mortal; he even believed that even if that so-called Commander really took the other party as a disciple, there'd be nothing strange about it.

Whether it was trial training or going straight in to serve, it was only a matter of time.

"Lord Shen…" He cupped his fist.

"That's about enough." Shen Yi gathered his thoughts and waved a hand.

At last he could shed this constable's uniform, and in some sense make a clean break with the rotten things his former self had done.

Since he was no longer serving in the government office, there was no need to keep being called "my lord."

He only watched Niu Da's retreating back and felt a faint stirring of emotion.

Leaving one's hometown was supposed to be a thing steeped in a thousand sorrows.

Shen Yi tried hard to squeeze out a little sorrow, but after thinking it over carefully — he had no kin to bid farewell, no house to remember; the side room he lived in belonged to the government office anyway.

The only two people he could really talk to, one was traveling with him, and the other…

Shen Yi glanced back at Butcher Zhang, saw the fellow chuckling as he followed along, and recalled how he'd said something about going back to Outside Qingzhou to visit an old flame.

Well, the other one was most likely traveling along too.

He couldn't exactly go find the Blue Qilin elder mother to say goodbye.

"Let's go, eat out." Shen Yi flicked the silver note in his hand.

"Together, together! These past days my mouth's gone so bland it'd scare the birds off. Find three more to play the xiao and sing." Butcher Zhang slapped his belly hard.

"…"

Who brings silver notes to eat out?

Chen Ji pulled a silver ingot from his waist and sighed: "Two will do, I don't need any."

"No worries, I'll take two." Butcher Zhang magnanimously clapped him on the shoulder.

Thanks to the bigwigs for the monthly tickets and tips, thanks to the bigwigs for yesterday's follow-reads. The newbie writes very roughly, still one chapter of updates not yet made up, and everyone is still willing to keep reading, willing to help — truly very grateful.

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(End of chapter)