Chapter 198

Heng Xian really wasn't interested; he had wanted to turn and leave, but then turned back and said, "Do you guys know about Qingzi State?"

"Oh dear!" the old official clapped his hands, "To be frank, I am a person of Qingzi State, and this journey is precisely to rush back to Qingzi State!"

Heng Xian was somewhat surprised, maintaining his composure as he said, "If you want me to be your guard, can you afford the pay?"

The young official gritted his teeth: "My ancestors once left behind a small drum; on clear days it's only the size of a fist, but on overcast rainy days it becomes the size of a normal drum—truly miraculous."

It is said to be a divine object left by an immortal; originally I had kept it as a house‑guarding treasure, but if we cannot return on this trip, everything will be ruined.

So, immortal, as long as you send me back, that drum will be yours!

Holy shit!

Heng Xian couldn't help but feel his heart race; hearing this, the drum sounded like a magic treasure usable only by a Golden Core expert—its value is worth a city!

Thus he feigned silence until the young official's family began to grow anxious, then he nodded slightly: "Fine, let's just go with that."

The young official was overjoyed: "Then which way down the mountain shall we take?"

Heng Xian pointed toward the town: "Let's go rent fast horses and carriages in the town—I'm in a hurry!"

The young official's family and Wu Sheng all jumped in fright: "There are rebel troops in the town—worse than bandits!"

Heng Xian glanced at a few of them: "I'll handle it!"

The young official slapped his forehead: "Look at this old man's brain—come on, come on, with an immortal guarding us, they surely wouldn't dare!"

A crowd rushed straight down the mountain to the town.

Not long after, they reached the hill beside the town; looking down from above, they saw the main street in utter chaos, adults weeping, children shouting,

a group of soldiers cursed and shouted as they drove people away from the town's edge, preventing anyone from leaving:

"Damn it, our general said this town now falls under his jurisdiction—no one may enter or leave; get back inside!"

"Go back!"

……

Wu Sheng hid behind Heng Xian, fuming: "These rebel troops are utterly lawless!"

The official sighed: "The three princes are fighting for the throne, disregarding the lives of the people—Liang State is doomed to collapse!"

As his words fell, at the far end of the long street a squad of neatly armored cavalry came galloping; along the way the townsfolk tried to dodge but were too slow, and were flung aside, their bones breaking on the spot as they vomited blood and died.

The leading general, his face full of a thick beard, laughed to the heavens: "This town, I shall be its king; my foundation starts right here—you all had better obey me!"

Upon seeing him, the official could no longer contain himself, stepping forward and shouting: "General Li, you are outrageously arrogant!"

Alright, still acquainted.

Whoosh—

All the rebel troops and townspeople looked up.

Upon seeing him, the general laughed again: "So it's Minister Yang! I'll strike you down first!"

Saying this, he snatched up his long spear and hurled it forward, fast as lightning.

Just as it seemed about to strike the official's face, there was a clang— the spear was shaken loose and, still in mid‑air, shattered into more than ten pieces.

Ding ding ding—

More than ten sections of the steel spear fell to the ground, scattered everywhere.

The entire long street, packed with people, froze in place.

No one could see what had happened!

Just now, how could such a hard steel spear break??

The general also stood there dazed.

Until the official's reflex arc was too long, he reacted half a beat late, stepped back a few paces, and looked gratefully at Heng Xian.

The general also looked at Heng Xian: "You little punk, where did you come from… uh!"

Before he could finish speaking, both man and horse froze!

Not only him, but the group of cavalrymen beside him also froze.

Immediately,

Thud thud thud—

The general and his troop of cavalry were split clean through the middle, man and horse alike, their blood and entrails spilling onto the ground.

The ground cracked "clang clang", revealing dozens of conspicuous sword marks.

The scene became bloody to the extreme.

Ah—

The townspeople and rebel troops shouted and scattered in all directions.

Behind them, Wu Sheng, the official, and the young lady nearly fainted from fright.

Heng Xian turned to look at Wu Sheng: "Three carriages— the horses must be the fastest, the carriages the best!"

"Good!" Wu Sheng dashed off nimbly.

……

After the time it takes to burn two incense sticks,

To the west of the town, three carriages each pulled by two horses set off.

The leading carriage carried goods, the middle one held the young lady and her maid.

The last carriage carried Heng Xian, the official, and Wu Sheng together.

After a detailed conversation, the official was named Yang Jia, the Minister of War of the local Liang State; this time he was retiring to his hometown, bringing his daughter and servants back to the old home in Qingzi State.

His daughter was called Yang Lan'er, seventeen years old, a typical official's daughter.

Wu Sheng was a student of Yang Jia; this time he would not stay at home, but followed his teacher to Qingzi State to make a living.

Heng Xian felt no interest in these matters; the two sides were utterly people of different worlds. He only wanted to rush as quickly as possible to the place designated by the Heavenly Hexagram, settle there, and cultivate steadily.

Over three hundred li is not too far, but even with walking and stopping it still takes four or five days.

The first day was fine, but starting the second day, cultivators on the road became more numerous, and terrifying figures would occasionally flit across the sky.

It seems the incident of Hua Lou sneaking up on the disciples of the fourteen sects is even more serious than imagined.

It frightened the Yang Jia family and Wu Sheng badly.

Heng Xian also calmed his breath and focused his spirit, restraining his aura.

On the fourth day they entered Qingzi State territory; on the fifth day afternoon, a majestic large city appeared ahead.

Upon arriving here, Old Master Yang Jia straightened his back and his demeanor changed, as if he had gone from an ordinary official to a mysterious great figure.

At this moment, facing the setting sun, he chuckled and said: "This place is my hometown, Qingcheng! Back then, Qingzi State and Liang State belonged to the same country,

"The ancestors of the Qingzi State royal family were originally princes of Liang State; the two states split off, yet they share the same origin. Upon arriving here, this is my territory!"

Wu Sheng said with a smile: "The Yang clan of Qingcheng holds great weight in Qingzi State and is famous throughout the world!"

Old Master Yang Jia stroked his beard and chuckled.

Heng Xian closed his eyes to rest his mind, paying no attention.

At this moment they reached the city gate, only to see a dark crowd of cultivators and luxurious carriages and horses waiting.

The cultivators were basically all at the Condensed Qi stage, and the leader was even at the second level of the Qi Sea Realm.

Old Master Yang Jia poked his head out and waved.

A group of people immediately came forward to meet them, the leader, a Qi Sea Realm cultivator, laughing and saying: "Second Uncle! You've finally returned; we sent troops three ways to Liang State to welcome you, but due to the chaos of war, we never managed to meet you along the way."

Old Master Yang Jia got off the carriage: "No problem! As long as you have this filial heart, it's good; you've finally come back, home!"

Saying that, he then boarded a carriage among the group of cultivators on his own.

Heng Xian opened his eyes, a faint cold smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

At this moment Wu Sheng enthusiastically asked him to get down, and Miss Yang Lan'er from the neighboring carriage also walked over with a lovely smile: "Brother Yan, please!"

Over the past few days, after chatting, they became familiar with each other, and Yang Lan'er greatly admired Heng Xian's words and deeds.

Upon seeing the group of Yang family cultivators, they all looked over; the leader, a Qi Sea Realm cultivator, his eyes full of scrutiny, said calmly: "This person is……"

From a distance, in the sedan chair, Yang Jia said lightly: "I happened to meet a little friend on the road; please invite him to our residence!"

The leading cultivator extended his hand: "Please!"

The group entered the city gate and headed straight for the northern main city district; not long after, they arrived at a vast complex of residences covering the largest area.

Above the gate hung the two large characters "Yang Gate", written with dragons soaring and phoenixes dancing, as if about to fly away.

At some point, Yang Jia and his daughter disappeared, and Wu Sheng was also escorted elsewhere.

That leading Qi Sea Realm cultivator led Heng Xian into the manor, turning left and right to arrive at a side courtyard.

The courtyard was not large, its decoration ordinary, but very clean.

After ordering the servants to pour tea, the Yang family Qi Sea Realm cultivator sat beside him and smiled faintly: "I am Yang Shu; as the saying goes, people die for wealth, birds die for food. Brother, you protected my second uncle all the way out of greed for my Yang family's treasure—I can understand."

"But now you must also pay the price for your greed, right?"

Having said that, he clapped his hands.

Immediately, the sound of breaking wind came from all around the courtyard, and faintly many people arrived.

Yang Shu narrowed his eyes and continued: "Now I give you two options: first, take one hundred thousand low‑grade spirit crystals and get lost!"

"Second, die!"

Heng Xian rolled up his sleeves and said: "Your shamelessness, I have learned it well; I choose a third path!"

"I want the treasure, I want the lives of your second uncle and his daughter, I want your Yang family to lose a thousand people and compensate me with one million medium‑grade spirit crystals; then we'll call it even, no negotiation!"

(End of chapter)