Chapter 17: The Bronze Cauldron Moves Again, the White Tiger Swallows the Sky

The young master of Huichun Hall, Dai Ziyao, broke into a cold sweat that streamed down his forehead.

He instinctively pulled his right hand back, stepped away, and forced a smile. "This—this, Miss Xue, it's a misunderstanding, haha, yes, a misunderstanding."

The shopkeeper's fat cheeks quivered.

Miss Xue, the eldest daughter of the Xue family, spoke gently and elegantly: "According to the pawnshop's rules, if an item hasn't been paid for and hasn't left the premises, the original buyer may redeem it at the original price, with added interest."

"Do you still recognize this rule?"

The shopkeeper let out a dry laugh, then unhesitatingly told Dai Ziyao: "This—Young Master Dai—it's true indeed. You didn't get lucky today, this Li Xiao…" He swallowed the term "Brother Li" mid-sentence, his tone softening noticeably:

"Mr. Li arrived first. The item must be returned to him."

Dai Ziyao snapped out of his daze. "Yes, yes, that's right."

"Here, Mr. Li, please—please take it."

He no longer carried the calm confidence he had displayed in Huichun Hall; instead, he held out the jade pendant with both hands. Li Guanyi took it, ignored the former young master entirely, pulled out eleven taels of silver, and placed them on the table. "Please bring out the original contract."

"Yes, yes!"

The shopkeeper's fat body flailed as he scrambled up and down, quickly retrieving the old contract. Li Guanyi unfolded it and read:

【Today, a woman with a child pawned a Bai Yu pendant for ten taels of silver.】

The contract bore the woman's fingerprint.

Li Guanyi folded the contract neatly and tucked it into his robe.

As Xue Shuangtao and Li Guanyi prepared to leave, Dai Ziyao suddenly came to his senses, stung by injustice. This was merely a servant from his own Huichun Hall—yet now he'd become a guest of Miss Xue, a "Mr."—and the thought filled him with envy. He also felt Miss Xue was easily fooled.

He clenched his teeth, stepped forward gracefully, and said: "Miss Xue, I apologize for my rudeness today."

"It's been a long time. Your grace remains as radiant as ever."

Xue Shuangtao turned her head slightly, puzzled. "Who?"

Dai Ziyao's confident smile froze.

He stammered: "I am the son of the Dai family from Huichun Hall in the southern city. I met you at a banquet at your home not long ago."

Xue Shuangtao recalled briefly. "Huichun Hall? We purchase some of our medicine from you every year."

A faint smile appeared on Dai Ziyao's face.

Then she remembered asking Li Guanyi about his past in the carriage earlier. She had noticed him being harassed, which was why she stepped down to help. Seeing Dai Ziyao's earlier arrogance, she lowered her gaze slightly and spoke softly:

"Hmm. Then from now on, you needn't send any more."

Dai Ziyao's smile froze.

His face turned instantly ashen.

Xue Shuangtao turned to the plain-dressed youth. "Mr. Li, please…"

After the two departed, the pawnshop keeper pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

His hair was nearly gone; his damp forehead gleamed like a peeled boiled egg.

"Almost stirred up trouble… really…"

He glanced at Dai Ziyao, standing like a wooden statue, shook his head, and felt a flicker of amusement.

There are many pharmacies in the city—not just Huichun Hall. This Young Master Dai must have offended the young lady somehow. Tsk tsk tsk. Huichun Hall's own business won't suffer much—it still opens its doors to common folk, unrelated to powerful clans. But the Dai family will lose its current wealth.

There are quite a few medicine shops in the city, not just the Huichun Hall. This Young Master Dai somehow offended this Young Lady. Tsk tsk tsk. The Huichun Hall's own business won't be affected too much — it still opens its doors to the common folk and has nothing to do with these great clans. But the Dai family will lose the wealth and status they enjoy at this moment.

Li Guanyi sat in the carriage, his hand stroking the jade pendant his aunt had regained. His expression was calm and gentle. Besides the pendant, there were nineteen taels of Bai Yu—enough to rent a better place. He could hardly wait to return to his aunt.

But first, he needed to visit the Xue family to learn the way and receive new clothes.

Li Guanyi asked. The Xue family could help transfer him and his aunt from scattered household status to registered household status. The driver asked where he came from. The youth repeated the story his aunt had invented: "I am originally from the Eighteen States of Jiangnan. My father was a wandering scholar; my uncle, a traveling merchant."

"We traveled together, but two years ago, my father died of a serious illness. My uncle was killed by mountain bandits while on business. Before he passed, my father wished I would return to our ancestral roots. My aunt and I have been traveling toward Jiangzhou, hoping to visit our homeland."

"I brought my whole family along, but unfortunately, two years ago my father fell gravely ill and passed away, and my uncle was killed by bandits while traveling as a merchant. In the end, my father's wish was that I could acknowledge my ancestors and return to the clan. My aunt led me all the way toward Jiangzhou, hoping to go back to our hometown to see it."

After ten years of flight, Li Guanyi told this lie as naturally as breathing.

The driver laughed. "Scattered household status is indeed inconvenient, but no matter. Since you've been hired as a scholar by the Xue family, we can easily register you as a household member."

Li Guanyi asked curiously: "Isn't it supposed to take three years?"

The driver burst out laughing. "Sir, we're the Xue family."

"We've seen plenty of scattered households. Don't worry, don't worry."

"We can complete your registration within three months."

A faint light sparked in Li Guanyi's eyes.

Three months… a hundred days to gather a hundred taels of silver, reach Sufficient to Enter the Realm with Wu Gong. With a Yicheng household registration and experience as a Xue family math scholar, obtaining a travel pass won't be hard. Then I can leave Chen State. Perfect.

But now, the method to enter the Realm has become the hardest obstacle…

General Yue Qianfeng left directly. Li Guanyi's Twelve Layers of "Po Zhen Qu" are nearly enough to meet the entry requirement—but he still can't find the door.

Li Guanyi gazed at the roads on either side, lost in thought.

The Xue family is a powerful clan in Yicheng—could they possess a method to enter the Realm? The carriage passed the main road and finally arrived at the Xue estate. The main gate was imposing, with two stone lions snarling fiercely. The carriage turned to the side gate, where a lacquered wooden door opened. A paved stone path ahead bore two deep ruts—perfectly aligned for the carriage wheels.

The Xue family is a noble house in Yicheng — I wonder if there's a formal entry method to be had? The carriage passed along the main road and finally arrived at the Xue residence. The Xue family's main gate was quite imposing, with two stone lions baring their fangs and brandishing their claws. The carriage circled around to the side gate, where a lacquered wooden door swung open. On the bluestone-paved path there were two ruts running forward, just wide enough for the carriage wheels to roll into.

Walls within walls, courtyards within courtyards.

Li Guanyi lowered his gaze slightly.

The internal Qi of "Po Zhen Qu" flowed slowly through his body. A better life lay just ahead.

Each time "Po Zhen Qu"'s internal Qi circulated, he felt clearly that his body was growing stronger, bit by bit. General Yue Qianfeng had said that only when both internal Qi and the body reached a certain level could they converge into true Qi—that was entry into the Realm.

Once I enter the Realm, I can leave Chen State with my aunt—and only then will I feel truly safe.

But Li Guanyi's innate constitution is truly poor. His internal Qi flows slowly. He could faintly sense that whenever the Qi passed his heart, its speed dropped drastically, and his meridians contracted, making the flow even slower.

It's just that Li Guanyi's root bone really is terribly poor. The circulation speed of his inner Qi is slow, and he can faintly sense that every time the inner Qi flows past his heart, its speed drops sharply, and the meridians within his body contract along with it, making the inner Qi's circulation slower and slower.

This was a feeling that had gradually emerged after the *Breaking Formation Song* had reached Great Completion.

It seemed the cold, vicious poison lodged over his heart was suppressing the circulation of Li Guanyi's internal Qi, slowing its flow to a crawl—each cycle shaved off another layer of speed.

Li Guanyi raised a hand to press against his heart, his eyes slightly lowered.

Night-Rider cavalry, vicious poison.

The young man couldn't help but curse viciously in his heart.

The sensation of his internal Qi being blocked was just like a blazing-fast internet connection that downloads a game to ninety-nine percent, then refuses to budge, dropping to a speed of a few KB—utterly maddening.

What the hell kind of poison did those bastards pump into me?

Where did my original root bone go? They tormented me half to death, and on top of that they shaved off my root bone too?

The day I find out who poisoned me, I'll repay you tenfold.

Li gritted his teeth, and in the little notebook inside his heart, jotted down another mark against the Night-Rider cavalry who'd hunted him ten years ago. With his internal Qi unable to advance any further, he opened his eyes and looked at the sprawling courtyard before him.

It was less a residence than a city within a city, divided into one large and small compounds.

The walls were extremely tall—at least ten meters—separating inside from outside.

Those coming and going included scholars of gentle bearing and burly, broad-shouldered men.

Rosy complexions, bright, lively eyes, not a trace of worry between their brows.

Even the servants' clothes were far, far better than Li Guanyi's.

This was the Xue family…

Li Guanyi recalled only that the Xue family was an old clan of Yicheng, never involved in officialdom, with most of its members in trade. Just as he was wondering, the carriage suddenly came to a halt.

Li Guanyi's body gave a slight jolt.

The bronze tripod over his heart let out a hum.

Suddenly, jade liquid began to gather.

The young man's pupils contracted slightly; Qi swirled up in his eyes, as if piercing through the wall before him. The air in the void twisted, taking the shape of white fur, cold and indifferent blue pupils, black markings like the long night branded upon the white fur, and a tail like a long whip slowly coiling in the void.

A fierce tiger, fully three stories tall, paced slowly forward, head lowered.

And amid the tiger, an ordinary-built old man leaned on a cane, his hair and beard both white.

His bearing was like an abyss, the Bai Hu behind him.

Xue Shuangtao let out a light, cheerful laugh: "Grandpa!!"

She flung open the carriage curtain, hopped lightly down, and walked briskly toward the old man.

Like a fluttering butterfly, she reached out and looped her arm through his, a brilliant smile on her face. Only now did she look like a girl of fourteen or fifteen, rather than the gentle, perfectly poised Young Lady of a great house from a moment ago.

The coachman helped Li Guanyi down from the carriage and said softly:

"This is the former head of our Xue family."

"The very descendant of General Xue Shen, who, five hundred years ago when the realm was unified, took the frontier with three arrows and stood atop the Divine Generals Ranking of the world."

The old man's gaze fell gently.

The Bai Hu behind him lowered its head.

Inside Li Guanyi, the bronze tripod frantically accumulated jade liquid.

(End of Chapter)