Chapter 35: Yaoguang Meets the White Tiger

Because Xue Shen had ended the malice within the martial arts inheritance, Li Guanyi had not slept well all night.

Everyone has a desire for knowledge, just like when a game's storyline reaches the middle and you're stuck in limbo—the next morning, when Li Guanyi went out, the coachman Zhao Da Bing was already waiting at the door, along with two delicate-featured maidservants carrying food boxes, inside which were all manner of medicinal meals.

Zhao Da Bing took a bite of his flatbread.

Inside was smoked meat; he didn't care for the white or green parts of the scallions!

One bite down, the flavors layered distinctly, and he said with satisfaction: "It was the old family head's instruction."

"He said he heard that the guest retainer Mr.'s aunt was frail in health, so he specially prepared medicinal meals to send over. These two Misses were raised by the Xue family from childhood, proper folk, and have come here to help look after the guest retainer's aunt and her family. If you're worried about disturbance, every day when I bring the guest retainer back, I'll take them back to the Xue family."

Li Guanyi said a word to his aunt, then sat on the carriage as well, asking Zhao Da Bing why he didn't eat some of it on the side. The big fellow laughed heartily and said: "Medicinal meals don't taste good, I'd rather eat this—it's a better deal! I'm from the Central Plains; though I've been here in Jiangnan for some time, I still feel this flatbread is more satisfying than rice."

"This was baked by my wife, the flavor's really strong!"

"Can't share any with you."

He showed off the flatbread in his hand, and Li Guanyi smiled, changing the subject.

"Still, if the Xue family sends these two Misses over, won't it affect their original work?"

Zhao Da Bing said: "The Xue family is big with many people, so it's no trouble."

"There are plenty of Misses in the household to begin with…"

Li Guanyi was puzzled: "So many? Where did the Xue family get them?"

Zhao Da Bing smiled and said: "What is the guest retainer thinking, the Xue family doesn't do that kind of business. Rather, it's that the Xue family helped them…" He hesitated, then said: "Do you know about the palace's female officials?"

Li Guanyi nodded.

Zhao Da Bing said: "Over two hundred years ago when the Chen Kingdom was founded, our Chen Kingdom's Wu Di at the time established a decree, abolishing the slave registry from the chaotic times. Even servants had to sign contracts, and if nobles or high officials killed their servants, they would be severely punished—even to the point of losing their lives."

Li Guanyi said: "That decree was good."

"It was good, but that was back then—over two hundred years. Chen Kingdom's Wu Di Your Majesty has long since died in battle on a barren hill. He saw the rules established in the chaotic times being violated one by one. Now those eunuchs in the palace go out to purchase."

"For kickbacks, at some point they started buying girls and boys from slave traders, and the trafficking of people gradually grew. By now, it's become routine for the palace to go out and buy girls—buying from slave traders is over a third cheaper than hiring from proper families, and most importantly…"

Zhao Da Bing hesitated, then said: "If a child from a proper family dies accidentally, a considerable sum must be paid out."

"But if they're slaves bought from traders, there's no need to pay that money."

"The chief eunuchs in the palace would kill off some palace maids every so often, then take their compensation for themselves, buying properties outside. This in turn led slave traders to abduct people by all means—there are even rumors of them stunning beautiful women they see on the road."

"Because of this, property in Jiangzhou is extremely expensive. I've heard of a Third Rank official who couldn't afford to buy a house and could only rent—it's called 【Fool's Money】."

"It means money even a fool can earn, and it refers to those female officials."

Li Guanyi looked at this Chen Kingdom's Yicheng. Yicheng was prosperous, so Jiangzhou must be even more the finest in the world, but such darkness was something only great clans like the Xue family would know. Zhao Da Bing said:

"The Second Young Lady has seen such things, so she bought them and sent them to the Xue family. She can't very well fall out with those chief eunuchs in the palace, and as for Chen Emperor Your Majesty, she doesn't know how to respond either."

"After the old family head learned of such things, he simply bought out everyone from the slave traders in the surrounding ten cities."

Li Guanyi said: "Wouldn't that make those slave traders and traffickers even more brazen?"

"Of course not…"

Zhao Da Bing laughed and said:

"After that, no one ever saw those slave traders again."

"And the flowers on Nanshan bloomed better than in the past thirty years."

At this point, no more needed to be said.

Zhao Da Bing drove the carriage very steadily. Upon arriving, Li Guanyi lightly leapt down, Worn Weight his heavy saber and longbow, and first went to the Xue family's martial artists' dining hall. Inside were meals prepared for martial artists, mostly meat-based, supplemented with rice, and a cup of ginseng soup. Those serving the food all had Wu Gong, their hands very steady—afraid only that you wouldn't eat enough.

The "Battle-Breaking Song" internal energy tempered the body and required energy; combined with the fact that Li Guanyi was at the prime age for a youth to grow, his appetite opened up greatly, and he ate his fill.

When practicing martial arts, Xue Shuangtao seemed to no longer care about yesterday's "Elder Sister of the Xue family."

She was only extremely strict and earnest in her teaching. Li Guanyi had some archery foundation from the inheritance, but he still valued the basics, studying earnestly. By the end, his sinews and bones were somewhat weary, yet the young lady's brow was still spirited, her archery fierce.

The Xue family's eldest Young Lady, raised by Xue Daoyong by his side from childhood, began cultivating Qi at five, skilled in music and mathematics.

Her Wu Gong was not poor among those of similar age.

Li Guanyi and Xue Changqing sat on the grass.

"Was Miss Xue always this strict before?"

Xue Changqing held cold tea and drank it in big gulps, murmuring: "I, I don't know."

"She wasn't like this before."

"Today Elder Sister seems to be putting in extra effort, as if someone had provoked her, but she doesn't look like she's in a big temper. Mr., do you have any idea?"

Li Guanyi thought for a moment, his smile shy and sincere on his face, and answered resolutely: "I don't know."

Buzz!!! The bow over there fired, the arrow spiraling out like a spinning top, the bowstring humming like a swarm of bees in frenzy. The arrow pierced straight through the bullseye, shot through the target, and lodged firmly in the wall. Xue Shuangtao raised a hand to tuck a wisp of hair behind her ear, held her bow, and turned around, her expression still like the gentle Young Lady from their first meeting: "Let's practice archery." Xue Changqing's little face went pale.

Who on earth provoked this she-tiger! Mr., do you have any idea?

The pale-faced child frantically shot glances at the youth beside him.

The youth was calm and sincere, thought for a moment, and responded with a warm smile.

"I don't know."

Archery and footwork were taught by Xue Shuangtao, but the "Seven Scatter Hands" was from another person—an old man who drank heavily. After demonstrating once, Li Guanyi understood why Xue Shuangtao didn't teach him this technique. The old man swayed a few times in front of Li Guanyi, smoothly performing the seven moves in sequence.

Arc step, upward crotch strike; side step, upward crotch strike; retreat step, crotch kick.

Cover-eyes short punch to throat; throat strike, eye gouge; back elbow strike to the Dazhui; side body throat strike, eye gouge.

Only seven moves—the old man demonstrated how to use them in various situations once and then left him alone.

"These are the methods used by beggars' children in our Beggar Sect. No meat to eat, little strength, and no weapons."

"They may not look good, but they're basically sufficient."

"The fist and foot techniques of famous orthodox sects are expansive, but before entering the realm, they may not be as effective as my seven moves. Still, use them sparingly—these moves have short force, requiring very little strength, yet can take a life."

Because there were only seven moves, Li Guanyi quickly became familiar with them.

At noon, he hurried to the library to begin reading through the Juan Sect records, finding the history of the Xue family—to leave the pass required the strength of having entered the realm; to obtain the inheritance also required the strength of having entered the realm; yet the best method to enter the realm had been hidden away by that Xue Shen Jiang.

Li Guanyi remembered.

He said that a friend called Yaoguang had found a feng shui treasure site for the Xue family, which was why he relocated the Xue family to Guan Yicheng, so the historical Juan Sect should contain corresponding records. Xue Daoyong had originally sent for Li Guanyi to dine at the Listening Wind Pavilion, but upon learning he had gone to the library, he let him be.

He was merely surprised to hear that the first book Li Guanyi borrowed was the Xue family's family history.

He thought it over and couldn't figure it out, so he could only laugh and say: "Truly different from others."

"Let's see what he can do?"

"Surely he won't dig up some golden house or Bai Yu pavilion for me."

After several full days of reading through it multiple times, Li Guanyi finally found three possible clues: the mountain behind the city, a river flowing through Guan Yicheng, and the Xue family's ancestral home. Li Guanyi decided to try all three.

If it really didn't work, he'd have no choice but to find a way to grasp that divine bow again.

Two more days passed. Li Guanyi first went to the back mountain; aside from encountering a lone wolf, which he shot dead with the Rainbow Radiance Bow, there wasn't much to gain—just snatching some fruit from the squirrels, and bringing it back amid the cursing of a mountain of squirrels. He washed the jars himself and made some wine-pickled fruit.

The Xue family's ancestral home couldn't be approached lightly. So he went to the river first, following the stream to search. There were many people out enjoying the spring, but the deeper Li Guanyi went, the fewer human figures there were, until he finally found a water gorge; beyond that, there was nothing else.

"So it really is at the Xue family's old home…"

Li Guanyi was somewhat disappointed, lost in thought.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, his steps suddenly paused slightly: "…No, that's not right. He worried the Xue family would be purged by the Emperor at that time, so he placed his battle-halberd in the holy mountain of the Tangut people; he left his inheritance within the divine weapon. Someone like that would certainly have considered the possibility that the Xue family would decline and the ancestral home would no longer belong to the Xue family."

"The Art of War says, what is real, make it appear empty; what is empty, make it appear real…"

"If it's him."

Li Guanyi was lost in thought, looked at the cold, secluded water gorge, gritted his teeth, took off his clothes and hid them, then dove in headfirst. After diving down, he discovered the water gorge was deep and unfathomable, not matching the layers of the stream, with hollow openings in every direction—he didn't know which way to go.

After swimming around for quite a while, Li Guanyi surfaced again, taking great gulps of air.

"…It really is here, but it seems to have been hidden."

"I don't know where."

Li Guanyi thought for a long time, watching the sky gradually darken.

"Yaoguang… sounds a lot like the Yaoguang star of the Big Dipper. The Big Dipper—north?"

Li Guanyi figured he might as well try it, and dove in again.

At the hollow opening, he chose the northern direction.

Relying on his internal martial arts, he swam for a while and discovered light ahead. He floated up to the surface—the water gorge actually led to a karst cave. Emerging from the water, he breathed in great gulps, looked around curiously, then climbed up and surveyed his surroundings.

Is this what the Xue family's Divine General left behind? And at this moment, the stream at Guan Yicheng welcomed a new guest.

A young person wearing a hood walked slowly along the stream, winding around the mountain rocks and cascading waters, finally arriving at a clear and secluded water gorge surrounded by mountain stones. The young person took a yellowed Juan Sect scroll from his bosom, his eyes scanning the surroundings.

"So this is the Mystical Realm that Yaoguang of five hundred years ago found together with Bai Hu Da Zong?"

"Coming here to search for traces of Bai Hu Da Zong's aura might be connected to finding the contemporary Bai Hu Da Zong."

The contemporary Yaoguang's eyes shifted slightly, suddenly surprised.

He had seen, behind a rock, clothes that had been neatly folded.

"Someone's already been here?"

(End of this chapter)