Chapter 445: Year's End

A white crane came flapping its wings, landing far away, startling the carts and horses on the road.

"Second Brother!"

Li Yuan strode over quickly.

Letters were hard to come by these days, and he couldn't keep track of the Master Fuyuan Escort Agency's movements at all times, so he had asked Gao Gang to come and meet him.

"Ah—"

Inside the carriage, Li Lin heard the voice, lifted the curtain, and saw a young man striding through the fine snow, his blue Daoist robe fluttering in the wind.

He was tall and slender, broad-shouldered and straight-backed, his gait unhurried, a smile on his face, his voice neither loud nor soft, yet as he approached the whole official road seemed to fall silent.

The escort heads of the Master Fuyuan Escort Agency all dismounted and paid their respects, some calling him "Martial Uncle," others "Grand Martial Uncle."

"That's Third Brother!"

Wang Juan gave Li Lin a push. He came to his senses, jumped down from the carriage and hurried over, his face full of joy and surprise: "You—you've become a monk?"

Wearing a Daoist robe doesn't mean becoming a monk.

That opening question nearly stumped Li Yuan. He was caught between laughter and tears, and quickly waved off the people from the Master Fuyuan Escort Agency—it was freezing, they couldn't block the road like this.

The caravan continued into the city.

Li Lin pulled Li Yuan onto the carriage. Inside, Wang Juan was holding a little girl and looking him over curiously, while the little boy threw himself into Li Lin's arms.

"Sister-in-law."

Li Yuan paid his respects. Reunited with family after so many years, he felt a joy and an indescribable sense of security.

These were his kin in this world.

"Xiao Yi, Xiao Yu, this is your Third Uncle."

Wang Juan smiled and nudged the two children. The little ones shyly called out "Third Uncle."

"Good children."

The carriage was cramped, so Li Yuan didn't dare pick them up, just patted the two little ones on the head.

Mm, mid-to-lower root bone, just like he had back then.

But he didn't mind. Most people in this world had mid-to-lower root bone; superior root bone was rare after all. He had seen so many because of where he was.

The Divine Weapon Valley gathered the geniuses of an entire prefecture, while Dragon Tiger Temple gathered the outstanding figures of an entire province. Elsewhere, superior root bone was still very rare.

"In the blink of an eye, almost ten years—and you never thought to come home and visit."

Li Lin was mildly reproachful.

"A man's ambitions lie in the four corners of the earth. You think Third Brother is like you, cooped up at home every day, never wanting to step outside?"

Wang Juan glared at him.

"Uh—"

Seemed there wasn't much difference either. Glancing at his deflated Second Brother, Li Yuan felt a deep sense of steadiness.

Over the years, he had more than once considered bringing Second Brother's family over, but he himself had been unsettled—from Hidden Dragon Prefecture, to Dechang Prefecture, and then to Mount Hengshan City, there had been many twists and turns. Only now could things be considered settled.

"Old Zhang is getting on in years and doesn't want to travel."

Li Lin gave a small cough, changed the subject, and brought up old times in Gao Liu County: "He got your letter, and when he heard you'd learned a superior weapon-forging art, he was very happy for you."

Zhang Ben hadn't come along.

Li Yuan felt a twinge of regret, but he understood that not everyone was willing to leave home, especially at an old age.

"Fatty Sun came along."

Wang Juan added a sentence, and the moment her words fell, Sun Hao's voice came from outside the carriage: "Where is Li Yuan? Where is he?"

"Here."

Hearing that familiar voice, Li Yuan stepped down from the carriage. A huge body lunged at him. After all these years apart, Sun Hao's hair was a little grizzled, but his bulk hadn't diminished.

Still, in the blink of an eye, nearly ten years, he had now reached Great Completion of Body Tempering.

"You rascal!"

Sun Hao slapped his shoulder, feeling as if he'd struck an iron ingot, and immediately winced.

"Tch, almost at Internal Strength already. You've been training hard these past few years."

Li Yuan took a look. Still fat, but sturdier now—underneath all that blubber was sinewy muscle, and there was a hint of an ape-like quality in his movements.

That was the White Ape Cloak Hammer, approaching the omen of Great Perfection.

"And thanks to that booklet of yours."

The two didn't get on the carriage, just walked along slowly, chatting about what had happened in Gao Liu County over the years. There wasn't much to tell, really—mostly how hard he himself had worked, and so on.

Of course, what mattered more was the booklet of insights Li Yuan had sent back, along with some pills.

The insights Li Yuan wrote were tailored entirely to his personal constitution and Wu Gong. Following them step by step, Fatty Sun had advanced by leaps and bounds, all the way to Great Completion of Body Tempering.

For him, this was naturally something worth bragging about—his own brother-in-law back then had only reached this realm.

"Keep at it, Internal Strength is within reach."

Listening to Fatty Sun chatter on, Li Yuan felt a warm sense of familiarity. Back in Gao Liu County, if it hadn't been for this fat man's support, his days would have been much harder.

"After you left, the Yuan family looked after our Weapon Forging Shop quite well, and the City Guard was on our side too. Life was pretty good. If you hadn't written in your letters about how wonderful Mount Hengshan City was, I might not have been willing to come."

Sun Hao was quite moved: "Less than ten years, and you've fought your way from Gao Liu County all the way to Mount Hengshan City—a true inheritor of Dragon Tiger Temple. Never could have imagined it."

Over the years, news of Li Yuan had reached Gao Liu County from time to time, and he had felt it even more directly.

Including the Yuan family and the City Guard, the attitude of all the powers in Gao Liu County had shifted—from a few offering shelter, to all seeking friendship, to outright flattery!

When they left Gao Liu, the Weapon Forging Shop was already the number one power in the county. Not just in the neighboring counties, but even the Governor of Yunjing Commandery would personally come to pay visits from time to time.

Just as he said, life was very comfortable.

Sun Hao talked nonstop, and Li Yuan barely got a word in, but he was in a great mood, feeling that particular thrill of returning home in glory.

His friend's heartfelt amazement and admiration lifted his spirits!

"My state of mind still isn't steady enough. Tch, such a common man."

Muttering to himself, Li Li Yuanzhong led the caravan into the city, first sending his second brother's family's luggage and belongings back to the residence in the city, then led the group to find a restaurant.

A welcome banquet—of course there had to be one.

Master Li was rolling in money; he ordered one of every signature dish, one portion each of every kind of spirit fish and spirit beast meat—if they had it, he wanted it. The wine was Hundred Herbs Brew and Immortal's Drunkenness.

His family had come from afar; he couldn't possibly just fry up a plate of egg fried rice.

"This, this…"

Li Lin was a little nervous—what would all this cost? He wanted to stop it, but was held back by Wang Juan.

At the banquet there were also Gao Gang and the others; it was both a welcome and a thank-you. These people had escorted them the whole way—anyone in her shoes would put on a table full of good wine and good food.

"Mother, I want to eat…"

The two little ones were much simpler. The whole journey had been bumpy, and most of the time they'd eaten dry rations. Smelling the meat, their mouths were practically watering.

"Senior Brother Gao, thank you for escorting us the whole way."

Li Li Yuanzhong rose and offered a toast.

"Not at all, not at all."

A few cups of wine in, Gao Gang's face was quite flushed. The other escort captains from Master Fuyuan Escort Agency were also at the table, and seeing Li Li Yuanzhong offer a toast, they were rather flattered.

"Third Uncle!"

Simple-minded Li Yi tugged at Li Li Yuanzhong's trouser leg.

"Go ahead and eat."

Li Li Yuanzhong smiled and picked him up. He didn't care much for the so-called etiquette at the dinner table, but if he didn't sit down, no one would really pick up their chopsticks.

The Great Fortune Dynasty's strict hierarchy touched every aspect of life, and some people felt it was right—as if it should be exactly so.

"Junior Brother Li, let me toast you a cup."

"Second Brother, you have a few cups too; your sister-in-law won't blame you."

"Drink a few cups less!"

Cups clashed, host and guests all delighted.

When Li Li Yuanzhong felt a bit tipsy, the whole table was already sprawled out. He pushed open the window to disperse the wine fumes, instructed the waiters in the building to send everyone back to their lodgings.

Only then did he support Li Lin and head back to the residence.

The mountain was nice, but not suitable for children to live in. After thinking it over, he still settled his second brother's family in the residence in the city.

For the next few days, he didn't really go back to the mountain either. Soon, the New Year arrived.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Fireworks shot up into the sky and exploded.

The eleventh year since coming to Mount Hengshan City—Li Li Yuanzhong spent it in the city. He invited Wang Wang Peiyao, Liu Zheng, Fang Fang Yunxiu, Qiu Qiu Changying and others to the residence for a meal.

The two little ones ran and played in the courtyard; the residence, empty for over a year, finally had some life to it.

After the meal, Liu Zheng went back to the Weapon Forging Shop, while Wang Wang Peiyao took Fang Fang Yunxiu and the two women aside to chat.

"Third Brother, you're not young anymore—haven't you thought about settling down with a family?"

Li Lin was tidying up the dishes, while Wang Juan looked at Fang Fang Yunxiu and the other woman not far away.

She had only been in Mount Hengshan City for a few days, but already several matchmakers had come to the door, all speaking of the great families in the city. Still, in her heart she leaned more toward Wang Wang Peiyao and Fang Fang Yunxiu.

The moment she opened her mouth, Li Li Yuanzhong knew what she wanted to say, but he truly had no such thoughts. He brushed it off casually, and seeing she was about to speak again, he quickly dodged back into the room.

"Sister-in-law really is…"

Closing the door, Li Li Yuanzhong shook his head inwardly.

A genuine successor of Dragon-Tiger, the Dao Child of the Great Dragon Gate—if he wanted to take a wife, the moment a hint of that thought leaked out tomorrow, the threshold would be worn down from people coming.

But he truly had no such thought. Women were less attractive to him than forging iron and casting weapons, let alone practicing martial arts.

"It's probably still Second Brother's idea."

Li Li Yuanzhong was somewhat helpless.

Li Lin had a very plain notion—a man should marry when grown—and had hinted at it openly and covertly many times.

"Huff!"

In the night, fireworks exploded. In the courtyard, children played. Li Li Yuanzhong slowly practiced his stance work, then after a moment finished his form, sat cross-legged, and while visualizing, also sorted through his Wu Gong.

His current focus in martial arts training was on the many Zhong Cheng Wu Gong and lower-tier Wu Gong he practiced concurrently.

With the boost of the two great Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing, and the boost of the various weapons he had gathered through trading old for new, in the two months since killing the Ink Dragon, he had Shi Shi Zuzu cultivated sixty Zhong Cheng Wu Gong and lower-tier Wu Gong to Great Completion!

These Wu Gong were ones he had carefully selected; the worst was still a form of a spirit beast. There were also quite a few Zhong Cheng Wu Gong like the Ancient Elephant Six-Forms Hammer.

Li Li Yuanzhong closed his eyes, and in the place of spirit light, a great clamor immediately rose. The Thunder Dragon exploded like fireworks, transforming into hundreds of different beast forms.

Thanks to the nourishment of the Shan Xuan Whale Qi and the Nourishing Life Qi, his physique and spirit climbed further; even maintaining several hundred visualizations at once, he could now barely manage it.

"Three hundred fifty-three forms!"

Just over two months, and one hundred thirty-three more forms added!

Feeling the surging, powerful great force within his body, Li Li Yuanzhong was deeply satisfied. How could the love between man and woman compare to this kind of self-renewing transformation and advancement?

"A thousand forms—one third complete!"

Li Li Yuanzhong was inwardly thrilled. The modification and enhancement from the Dragon Mirage Belt was also nearing its end.