Chapter 110: 105 Cooking Smoke

Yunzhou is located in a remote area and covers a vast territory; the further north one goes, the colder the climate becomes, and the land grows more sparsely populated. After leaving Yuxia Jun, they traveled northeast, passing through Riyang Jun to Zhengyang Jun; they had only covered half the distance, yet they had already been traveling for several days.

Xing Ji traveled with Tang Zhao, moving on horseback the entire way. Although they were riding fine steeds from the Land Inspection Division, they did not gallop at full speed, proceeding at a steady, unhurried pace. They traveled at sunrise and rested at sunset.

Along the way, Xing Ji changed into casual clothes and took him on detours, avoiding the straight official roads in favor of winding paths, often heading into cities and villages; he had no qualms about visiting places both rich and poor. One day they would stay in a luxurious room in a large city, enjoying fine wine and delicacies at a grand restaurant, and the next day they would go to a roadside inn where a dozen people shared a single bed, gnawing on hard pancakes and dry rations, and the day after that, they would shamelessly borrow lodging at a villager's home, sponging off their food.

After a few times, Tang Zhao guessed that he wanted him to witness the myriad states of the world, so he also paid close attention.

According to his observations, Yunzhou was not lacking in aristocratic families with lavish lifestyles or martial arts magnates who spent money like water, and there were many middle-class families with no worries about food or clothing, but the common people generally lived in poverty; most villages and small-town residents were merely getting by, struggling all year round, eating coarse tea and plain rice, and only getting to eat fresh meat or wear new clothes at the end of the year.

In fact, Tang Zhao had been accustomed to the lives of commoners since he was a child; he was not some young master who knew nothing of the world. His own background was ordinary, with perhaps a few acres of poor farmland in his family and a shop in the city that didn't make much money—at most, they could be considered comfortably off. His neighbors were similar to them, while others were destitute and struggling to survive. Sui Jiaban had taken him to travel the jianghu with no fixed abode, and he had even spent nights in ruined temples and ancestral halls. It was only after seeing Black Spider Villa, Xue Daxia Mansion, and Xue Yeyu's Maotouying Zhi Jia this past month that he realized there was a huge gap between people in this world.

On this day, Xing Ji took him to stay at a villager's home in a remote village. The two of them ate the host's grain pancakes and cabbage soup in the evening, and ate the leftovers for breakfast the next morning. After leaving the village, Xing Ji sighed, "What a truly peaceful and good time."

Tang Zhao was secretly picking wild vegetables out from between his teeth and asked upon hearing this, "What? A good time?"

Xing Ji said, "Life is not bad, is it? We have traveled all this way, and no matter which village we go to, we can eat two solid meals. The commoners don't look troubled when they add two sets of chopsticks for us, and some even slice salted meat to treat us. Isn't this life good? It shows that the people live and work in peace and contentment under the Marquis's rule."

Tang Zhao gave a hum, then fell silent. Perhaps Xing Ji was right, but Tang Zhao always felt it could be even better.

Xing Ji knew he was unconvinced and said, "I really should take you to see outside of Yunzhou—but comparing with the rotten is meaningless. I believe the lives of the common people will get better year by year. I passed through here before, and half the fields were barren. Now they are all planted, and they can even grow winter wheat in Yuxia Jun to the south. It shows that as long as there are no disasters or calamities, the people will naturally thrive. These peaceful years also have some credit from us in the Land Inspection Division."

Tang Zhao nodded, thinking of the fields with crisscrossing paths outside the village and the wisps of cooking smoke above the village at dusk, and his mood gradually improved.

Never mind the good life; the peace is real.

His heart suddenly stirred, and he asked, "Is this the meaning of us fighting through life and death in the Demon Cave?"

Xing Ji smiled and nodded; this was also the meaning of him taking Tang Zhao on such a long detour.

Since he was sending Tang Zhao to Zhuoyu Villa, he certainly wouldn't be entering the Training Camp afterward. Most of the Training Camp's courses were meaningless to Tang Zhao; he could practice martial arts at Zhuoyu Villa, and Tang Zhao had already steeled his nerves by seeing blood in the Demon Cave. As for reading and writing... Xing Ji thought of the greenhorns coming out of the camp and suspected that Tang Zhao knew more characters at seven or eight than they did.

There was only one lesson that could never be missed, and that was knowing what one was fighting for.

This was a course that the Gaoyuan Marquis personally added to the Training Camp when he reorganized the Land Inspection Division; with this lesson, the roots of the Land Inspection Division were upright.

There was no need to preach grand principles; Tang Zhao knew them all. The books were full of principles about "cultivating oneself, regulating the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world," and Tang Zhao might even understand them better than Xing Ji. But only by seeing living people with his own eyes and smelling the true smoke of the human world could those ink-written words come off the page and be carved into his heart.

Xing Ji sighed, "What we must protect is not the delicacies on a banquet table or fat chickens and big ducks, but merely that bowl of coarse tea and plain rice on the commoners' tables."

Tang Zhao suddenly asked, "Can we let the commoners eat fat chickens and big ducks too?"

Xing Ji was startled and said, "That would certainly be better. However..."

However, it was truly difficult; it wasn't that if the rich ate a little less, the commoners would all be able to eat chicken, duck, and fish. The prosperous eras from ancient times to the present were merely times of abundant harvests.

He didn't say these things and instead said, "There are people working on making the lives of the common people better, but that is not our duty. A person's ability is limited; what we can do is use our swords as a barrier to block the demons and ghosts and protect the peace of one region."

This last sentence was what the Judge told him, and it was also the intent behind the Sword Law "Guarding Clarity and Peace."

Tang Zhao pondered; he was thinking about the final lesson Chen Zong taught him, which was touted as a treasure. He had learned those lessons in a muddled state at the time, just memorizing them, but thinking about it now, he understood them just a little bit more.

When Chen Zong finished teaching him back then, he sighed, "It's a pity the version is wrong; in the end, it cannot be applied. There are supermen in this world."

At that time, Tang Zhao asked foolishly, "Supermen, are they the kind that fly whooshing through the sky with light shining from their eyes?"

Chen Zong did not explain further, only urging him, "You must hold the Dragon-Slaying Saber; you must become a superman."

A superman...

Tang Zhao thought about it now and already understood a little—a superman is someone who exceeds ordinary people.

Is a Sword Guest enough? Is a Sword Hero enough?

Is a Sword Immortal enough?

The two walked on the dirt road in the wilderness for most of the day before seeing a high fence ahead, and inside the fence was vaguely a village. A large sign was erected in front of the fence, with the word "Forbidden" written in raw lacquer. It seemed that after many years, the lacquer had faded, and the handwriting had become blurred.

Xing Ji said, "That is Xingquan Cun, commonly known as Yinhuo Township. It is inhabited by disaster victims who escaped from the Yin Calamity. They are isolated from the outside world."

Tang Zhao had heard Sui Dage talk about it before; Yinhuo Township was an absolute taboo among the common people. At the time, he didn't understand and thought that people contaminated by Yin energy were dangerous monsters or contagious patients, and that disaster would strike if one got close. Later, after entering the Demon Cave, he realized that most of it was hearsay. Those whose hair changed color were mostly stimulated by Yin energy and had awakened some Inspiration; the hair color change was just Yin energy accumulation and was not harmful, nor would it spread to others, so why the need for isolation?

Xing Ji explained, "The people of the world are mostly ignorant and reject those who are different from them. Because they look different, rumors are fabricated, and the more they are spread, the more outrageous they become. Moreover, these villagers in Yinhuo Township came after leaving their homes; they are outsiders, and since they occupied their land, there were conflicts of interest, making them even more ostracized. As for the local government, if they sided with the outsiders, it would be thankless work, so they just went with the flow and fenced the refugees in."

Tang Zhao asked, "Then how do they live?"

Xing Ji said, "They have farmland and can be self-sufficient. They also have markets to trade with the outside world periodically. But the locals don't like doing business with them, buying cheap and selling dear, bullying them in various ways. So even if the markets aren't closed, they have gradually devolved into black markets."

Tang Zhao asked, "Then do they stay in the circle for their whole lives? This sign is already old, so it must have been there for many years; is there no day for them to be unsealed?"

Xing Ji said softly, "Who would unseal them? Why unseal them? What if they aren't unsealed?"

Tang Zhao opened his mouth, and suddenly saw a child in the fence peeking at him. He waved his hand subconsciously, and the child let out a sound, turned around, and ran, diving into the dark village in the distance.

From the outside, the village was deathly silent.

Xing Ji called for Tang Zhao to leave, saying, "Don't look too much. After being separated for so long, they don't want to see us either. If you rush in, or even get too close, they will attack you."

The two walked for a while, and Tang Zhao said, "It doesn't matter if we go in or not, but human traffickers will go in."

Xing Ji sighed, "Yes, this is a major tumor of Xingquan Cun. Those children who have developed Inspiration have hair that changes color, making them too easy to identify. By rights, someone should manage this matter. But it seems no one cares, and not even the Marquis's rule is exempt. Ordinary people would report to the officials if they encountered kidnappers, but they won't. As for their attitude toward the human traffickers—whether it is hatred or... cooperation—we don't know."

Tang Zhao said in disbelief, "They are all fellow villagers and have shared hardships; the ones the traffickers take are their own children. It would be one thing if they didn't unite to beat them to death, but how could they cooperate?"

Xing Ji did not explain further, only saying, "Places that are extremely closed off like this often have their own set of rules, and anything can happen." He looked at the stern-faced Tang Zhao and said, "This kind of thing is not within the duties of the Land Inspection Division. But in your personal capacity, if you encounter it and find it unacceptable, you can take action if you want."

Tang Zhao nodded; he gradually had the power to protect himself, and also the ability of a "Sword Hero who defies the law with martial arts."

The two gradually moved away from the high fence, and Xing Ji remembered something and said, "I heard the Marquis intends to try to recruit soldiers from Xingquan Cun. Especially children who have developed Inspiration; they can serve in the army, with the same treatment as ordinary soldiers, and then slowly be given opportunities for promotion. I don't know if their closed loop can be broken. If it can, my Land Inspection Division can also go in to recruit new blood."

Tang Zhao said, "That would be very good. Many of the surviving children in Yinhuo Township had their lives saved by the Land Inspection Division; if they join the Land Inspection Division, grow up, and then save others, good begets good, and it goes on forever—isn't that a beautiful story?"

Xing Ji rubbed his chin and said, "Now that you mention it, that's really not bad! Then I must put in a word; outstanding children from Yinhuo Township should be given priority to join our Land Inspection Division." He looked back at the village and said, "Let's go. As long as there is life, there is always hope."

Tang Zhao followed him and looked back, only to see several wisps of cooking smoke rising above Xingquan Cun in the dusk.

That proved that the people inside were still living.

The two continued on their journey, walking, taking carriages, riding horses, and taking boats, constantly changing transport. In addition to seeing all kinds of human sentiments, if they encountered scenic spots, they would also play around, not in a hurry at all.

Besides Xing Ji's arrangements, Tang Zhao would also ask if Sui Jiaban had been to a place, but there was never any news, and later he knew that they were probably not on the same route. After all, although Sui Jiaban traveled the jianghu, they didn't change places every day. They would sell their performances for ten days or half a month in every town they arrived at, earning enough travel expenses before setting off again. They shouldn't have been able to travel many stops in over a month. Since he hadn't heard anything several times in a row, there wouldn't be any further ahead.

He felt melancholy in his heart; this long journey had taken him hundreds of miles, and he didn't know when they would meet again after parting.

Tang Zhao comforted himself that perhaps the fate was not yet there. He only had a little self-protection power now, and was actually penniless, and was about to go on a long journey; even if he saw them again, they could only meet briefly and part again, and he couldn't even help them financially. When he finished his studies in the future and had accumulated enough, he would see them again and could help them settle down so they would no longer suffer from the hardships of the jianghu.

He just didn't know if Wei Zhangle had found his younger brother and sister?

After traveling another stretch, Xing Ji seemed tired too, changing his method of frequently changing routes, buying two more fine horses, and traveling along the official road. When they talked on the road, they no longer discussed the livelihood of the people or the state of the world, but instead changed to discussing the martial arts situation, jianghu rules, and anecdotes about experts. Those were topics for grand speeches and bragging without preparation, which suited Xing Ji best, leaving Tang Zhao listening in a daze.

Incidentally, he also taught Tang Zhao some martial arts. This was the first time Tang Zhao had seriously practiced martial arts under Xing Ji.

In terms of teaching, Xing Ji's patience fell between that of Guan Lei and Si Liyu; his eccentric personality differed from Ping Jiangqiu's, each having their own strengths; his high-minded talk and sarcastic tone were similar to Chen Zong; and his profound knowledge was likely second to none. All in all, he was a pretty good teacher.

On the road, Xing Ji finally taught Tang Zhao a complete set of the Flowing Fire Chasing Star Sword, which was a Sword Technique that the Land Inspection Division could actually show off. This time, upon returning, he processed the paperwork for Tang Zhao and obtained a badge for a graduate of the Training Camp, counting as if he had skipped the three-year training period and entered the internship period directly, granting him the rank of Ninth-Grade Junior Member and officially admitting him into the Land Inspection Division. Having confirmed that he was one of their own, there were fewer reservations about teaching martial arts, and many of the Sword Law techniques taught within the Division could also be taught.

Xing Ji already had a rough idea of the direction of Tang Zhao's Inspiration and knew he had strong comprehension, so he chose a set of exquisite sword moves that matched his Inspiration, totaling forty-nine moves, which was enough to learn along the way.

Besides this set of sword moves, Xing Ji gave him another manual of sword moves to study on his own, which was the Centipede Spirit Sword Technique, known for its agility and twisting motions.

Upon seeing the name, Tang Zhao knew it was an old acquaintance, thinking: Bugs, oh bugs, how many more do I need to have all five poisons?

On this day, the two entered Zhengyang Jun.

As soon as they crossed the border of the commandery, Tang Zhao felt the temperature rise sharply. Although it was November, he actually started to sweat. The midday sun was large and bright, scorching people until they felt irritable, not at all pleasant.

Although Tang Zhao had learned Inner martial arts, he had not yet reached the level of being impervious to cold and heat. He took off his cotton coat, stuffed it into the Time Jar, and said, "This weather is a bit strange."

Xing Ji had been wearing thin, casual clothes the whole time, only putting on an outer robe when entering commoners' homes so as not to look strange. At this moment, he was still lightly dressed, feeling neither cold in the north wind nor hot under the scorching sun. He said, "That is because the largest Demon Cave in Yunzhou is here—the Jiumei Lihuo Yu. This is an open Demon Prison, and we can go in and take a look."