Chapter 120: Announcing the Title: San Huo Niangniang

The next morning, upon waking, Xu Yuan habitually raised his head to check the almanac; today's prohibitions were:

Night travel, sitting on stones, hunting, and receiving wealth.

The almanac could not be flipped through in advance, but doing so would invite "misfortune."

The so-called "misfortune" did not necessarily lead to disaster; it would strike seven or eight times out of ten. Therefore, unless there was something important requiring advance arrangement, there was no need for anyone to check the almanac ahead of time.

Over these several hundred years, the people of the Great Ming Empire had long grown accustomed to arranging their daily lives according to the almanac, and would make certain habitual preparations.

Lin Wanmo did not make breakfast; she spoke through the door to Xu Yuan: "I'm busy. Go to the alley entrance and get something to eat yourself."

There was a breakfast stall at the alley entrance.

Xu Yuan prepared incense, candles, and joss paper, then led Dafu out the door.

After eating a casual breakfast, he went out of the city to visit his father's grave.

Xu Huanyang's grave was ten li south of the city; most ordinary families in the city buried their elders who had passed away here.

This was a sun-facing hillside; atop the hill stood a large temple where a ritual was held every half-month to prevent the ancestors in the graves from undergoing sinister transformations.

Xu Yuan burned paper and bowed, speaking to his father to bid farewell.

"Dad, what exactly are you hiding that you won't tell me?"

"It's very dangerous, right? Otherwise, Lin Wanmo wouldn't look so stubborn; one can tell at a glance she wants to bear it all herself. Hmm, don't I know her?"

"If you don't tell me, can't I investigate myself? Lin Wanmo slipped up last time; the Imperial Astronomical Bureau's 'Forbidden Star Tower' holds our family's Juan Sect files."

Xu Yuan burned the last stack of joss paper in his hand, stood up, and brushed the dirt off his buttocks: "Alright, I'm leaving. I probably won't be back for the New Year. Take care of yourself down there; next time I come, your son will have money, and I'll burn you eight paper-crafted beauties in one go."

This time, many new graves had appeared on the hillside, all the result of the evil spirits' rampage last time.

Xu Yuan walked down the small path and called out to the bushes beside him: "Dafu, let's go back."

Dafu then emerged; he had caught many insects and filled his stomach.

Upon returning, the city was already bustling: cargo carriers, cart pullers, vegetable sellers, labor recruiters, barbers, knife sharpeners, acrobats... you hawking, him shouting, amidst the clanging and ringing, small roadside restaurants lifted their large steamer lids, releasing thick clouds of steam from freshly steamed buns, their scent filling half the street.

Xu Yuan suddenly thought: Is it this human smoke and fire that truly drives away all misfortune?

Just as he was lost in thought, Hu heard someone nearby exclaim in praise: "Hua Hua is so pretty!"

"Grandma Ying is here to buy vegetables?"

"You don't need to buy this rock sugar; you just bought some yesterday. We're neighbors; I can't cheat you."

Xu Yuan followed the sound and looked over; he saw Ah Hua carrying a basket in her mouth, while Grandma Ying walked ahead with her hands behind her back, smiling as she passed every stall, checking to see if she needed anything, and chatting a few words with the stall owners.

It seemed Grandma Ying could integrate into the new environment better than he could; Xu Yuan smiled and felt reassured.

Turning around, Xu Yuan returned to River Work Alley.

He first went to Aunt Wang's house to return the spleen to her and told her he was about to go to Luocheng Prefecture.

Clear pain and worry showed in Aunt Wang's eyes: "Take it for self-defense..."

Xu Yuan, however, forcibly returned it: "Your condition isn't good; lacking this will make it worse. Just rest assured; the Purification Bureau is such a large government office that even if something happens, they surely won't let a proper patrol inspector like me charge forward first, right?"

Aunt Wang sighed, thought for a moment, and said: "Wait for me."

She went up to a loft, rummaged around for a while, found something, came down, and handed it to Xu Yuan: "Take this with you."

It was an iron box three feet square, extremely heavy; Aunt Wang struggled quite a bit carrying it.

Xu Yuan opened it, and inside there was a chaotic clatter of ding-dong sounds.

Inside the iron box lay seven or eight short swords.

At a glance, it was clear these were all Sword Pills!

Since the master had died, the Sword Pills had failed to revert to their pill form. However, these Sword Pills were of high quality and still retained strong spiritual nature.

The iron box was covered in rust; Aunt Wang had collected these Sword Pills for at least ten years, yet they still rang sharply the moment the box was opened; back then, they were certainly not merely at the seventh-tier level.

Xu Yuan had seized Xing Guolong's seventh-tier Sword Pills and casually picked one up to feed and refine it; there was not the slightest resistance because the Sword Pills' quality was insufficient and lacked such strong spiritual nature.

Xu Yuan asked curiously: "Auntie, where did you get all these?"

Aunt Wang looked very reluctant to speak, yet did not want to lie to Ah Yuan; she hesitated before saying: "Sigh, back then, just like your Second Uncle, I wanted to go out and make a name for myself. Young and full of vigor, I later seized these Sword Pills and brought them back."

Xu Yuan raised his thumb.

"I see your Sword Pills are of poor quality. Consume all of these and melt them into yourself. Under no circumstances should you use them directly; if their descendants see them, it will be a trouble."

Xu Yuan secretly smiled and agreed: "Auntie, rest assured; I guarantee no one will recognize them."

"That's good, that's good. Yuan, being out there is not like being at home; endure a moment and the wind and waves will settle; take a step back and the sea and sky will open up! Do not fight for glory or engage in brawls; when you encounter trouble, go around it; never let your blood boil. We are not some great surname family with deep foundations..."

Xu Yuan looked at the box full of Sword Pills, then at Aunt Wang: You went out to make a name for yourself back then, fought and snatched all these things, and now you are nagging me to endure first?!

Aunt Wang did not feel there was any problem; her mind now turned slowly, after all, her brain had also been refined into a pill.

"These are words of gold and jade; I have memorized them all." Xu Yuan closed the box: "Then I must leave first; I still need to visit Uncle Shen."

"Good, good, go." Aunt Wang waved her hand, then suddenly grabbed him: "Hey, Yuan, if anyone out there asks if you know a person from Shanhe County with the title 'San Huo Niangniang', deny it flatly; remember, remember!"

Xu Yuan opened his mouth but said nothing, managing only to nod vigorously.

Auntie, how many people did you provoke back then?

Xu Yuan, half laughing and half crying, came out of Aunt Wang's house, first putting down the box, as the thing was quite heavy.

Then, taking the two patches of ointment and that gourd of wine, he proceeded to Uncle Shen's house.

Uncle Shen was lighting the stove; the old man's hands and feet were no longer nimble; after a long while, only smoke appeared, no open flame.

The smoke made Uncle Shen cough repeatedly; Xu Yuan rolled up his sleeves: "Leave it, I'll do it."

With a "Whoosh," a mouthful of fire blasted in, and the stove ignited smoothly.

The entire stove had ignited.

Xu Yuan looked awkwardly at the stove that had burned into a single mass, scratching his head: "Oh my, I didn't control it well."

Uncle Shen dropped the fire tongs and glanced at him sideways: "Seventh tier?"

"Yeah."

Having only just advanced to the Seventh Grade, his control over the Fu Zhong Huo in his belly was still somewhat inaccurate.

The Old Man waved a hand: "Living life is living life, and cultivation is cultivation. You cannot mix the two, always thinking of using the methods of the Seven Great Sects to solve every problem."

"Eh." Xu Yuan accepted the lesson humbly; regardless of whether what the Old Man said made sense, since you had burned someone's furnace, you had to listen quietly to the scolding.

(End of this chapter)