Chapter 82: Red Gold Is Hard to Come By

Five dry, five wet, ten varieties—sweet pastries, cut fruit, candied preserves, chicken, duck, crab, cured meat…

Inside the private room, a dozen or so people took their seats; on the great table, dishes and plates filled every spot, the aroma of wine and meat wafting thickly.

"Practicing martial arts for barely a year, and your hammer art is already perfected—Brother Li's talent truly makes the rest of us green with envy…"

"Come, Brother Li, drain this cup!"

"If we grow rich and noble, don't forget each other! Brother Li, Brother Yue—when you rise, don't forget the rest of us…"

……

Cups clinked and dice rattled; the atmosphere inside the private room was fervent.

Li Yuan still sat beside Yue Yun Jin, but this time, the one surrounded by toasts had changed.

The people at the table each had their own thoughts, but cup after cup being passed made them seem quite familiar with one another. Though Li Yuan's capacity for wine was decent, before long he felt a little tipsy and waved his hand, declining more drinks.

Yue Yun Jin, on the other hand, got drunk faster than before.

"No wonder Senior Brother Yue is so fond of gatherings—the charm of socializing can only be truly appreciated when one is being flattered and fawned upon…"

Everyone loves to hear kind words; Li Yuan was no exception.

But he only sighed faintly to himself, not indulging in it. Had Lu Lu Bailing not insisted on inviting him, he wouldn't have wanted to come.

He had come for the red gold.

When wine and food were plenty, several more got drunk and were helped away by servants.

Li Yuan then clinked cups with the Lu family's Young Lady, exchanged a few pleasantries, and asked about the matter of the red gold.

"Red gold?"

She shot a glance at Huang Wang Peiyao, who sat beside her as company, and Lu Lu Bailing frowned slightly:

"My father does have some red gold stored away, but he's not here, and I don't know where he keeps it… Once he returns, I'll ask him to give you some."

"The county magistrate isn't in the city?"

Li Yuan's heart stirred, but he could only thank her and did not press further.

"It's no great matter."

The Lu family's Young Lady carried herself with some reserve. Although she had been the one to push hardest for this banquet, she had not drunk much wine and spoke little with Li Yuan, spending most of her time talking with Huang Wang Peiyao.

Li Yuan gave his thanks; his objective achieved, he had no mind to stay. Before long, he found an excuse and, together with Wu Ming, helped Yue Yun Jin back to the Weapon-Forge.

Liu Zheng had not drunk much wine and saw them off the whole way.

"Brother Yue must be feeling quite bitter in his heart, much like the Lu family's Young Lady before, and the rest of us…"

Once they were out the door, Liu Zheng sighed with feeling:

"I heard my father say that each route's Talent-Seeking Envoy of the Divine Weapon Valley only has two recommendation slots. With that wooden token in hand, one is qualified to take next year's inner-gate examination of the Divine Weapon Valley…"

"The inner-gate examination?"

Li Yuan frowned slightly: "If there are two slots, then hasn't Senior Brother Yue already gained recognition?"

"Heroine Fang is only the deputy envoy; she has only one recommendation slot. She gave it to you, so naturally she had to take back the one she'd given out before…"

Liu Zheng gave a bitter smile:

"The difference between the outer gate and the inner gate—Brother Li surely knows it too, yes?"

"Senior Brother Yue's recommendation slot will be taken back?"

Li Yuan frowned slightly.

Setting aside the Divine Weapon Valley, even the Weapon-Forge itself has inner and outer divisions; the treatment of inner-court disciples is far, far better than that of the outer court.

The inner and outer gates of the Divine Weapon Valley naturally have an enormous difference as well.

"It will certainly be taken back—otherwise the Lu family's Young Lady wouldn't have been so miserable before."

Seeing Li Yuan frown, Liu Zheng shook his head slightly:

"Brother Li shouldn't feel that you've stolen Brother Yue's slot. The slot belongs to whoever is capable of holding it… Brother Yue's bone structure is good, but his talent is far inferior to yours.

That slot, even if given to him, would burn his hands to hold."

"Many thanks to Brother Liu for the counsel."

Li Yuan cupped his fist in thanks, then asked about the chief Talent-Seeking Envoy.

"The chief Talent-Seeking Envoy? After all this time, no one in the city knows whether the old gentleman has come or gone. All we know is that his name is Han Han Chuijun, called the Ghost-Faced Prajna, Skilled with heavy hammers."

"Ghost-Faced Prajna Han Han Chuijun? Heavy hammers?"

Li Yuan's expression shifted slightly as he recalled the heavy-hammer expert who had wiped out the entire Bodhisattva Temple.

So it was the Divine Weapon Valley that had made the move…

Li Yuan understood in his heart. Seeing Liu Zheng about to take his leave, he held him back and asked about that 'murderer.'

"The inner and outer cities have been searched several times over, but that Year Nine vanished like he'd evaporated into thin air—no trace left at all… Oh? Brother Li is asking about the other one?"

Liu Zheng coughed a few times, his expression slightly uneasy:

"This case has to have some explanation, doesn't it? Sigh, in just these few days, if the county magistrate still doesn't return, they'll have no choice but to dump him at the burial mound. The stench is too much; the government office can't stand it either…"

Someone has to take the blame.

Li Yuan naturally understood the meaning behind Liu Zheng's words and did not press further, watching him go off into the distance.

"Lu Lu Yunqing isn't in the city either—how is it that one after another they're not in the city? …Sigh, red gold, oh, red gold."

Li Yuan fretted for quite a while. The materials for the advancement of his Soldier Register he had long since prepared, but the red gold was simply nowhere to be found.

He let the wind blow on him for a while and sobered up a little, then turned back home. He had drunk quite a lot, and drowsiness was creeping over him; without even doing his stance practice, he fell into a deep sleep.

……

Over the next few days, there were banquets every day in the inner city. Liu Zheng, Wen Wen Yida, and even martial hall disciples like Miao Zhen all came to invite him to feasts, but Li Yuan mostly politely declined.

After word of that day's events spread, the forging room became extremely lively. Various forces from the inner and outer cities took turns visiting, letting him truly experience for himself the treatment Yue Yun Jin had enjoyed before.

However, no matter who came to invite him, he refused them all. Only after many refusals did things finally settle back to calm.

He shuttled daily between the forge and his second brother's house, practicing standing post and hammering at night, consuming pills to nurture his strength, and keeping the hammer in hand all day; within a few days, he had forged another superior-grade blade.

Several days passed, and the guards sent out to find Cao Yan returned empty-handed.

Zhang Ben sent people to search again, but he himself could only force himself to temporarily manage the business and oversee the mines outside the city; busy as he was, he went unseen for days.

That day, after work, Li Yuan did not go home; instead, while the sky was still not dark, he hurried out of the city with a clear purpose, heading straight for the mass grave.

Whoosh~

The sky grew dimmer, and the wind blew through the wild forest.

Li Yuan quickly arrived at this mass grave, glanced casually, and spotted a straw mat that was obviously newer.

【Human Skin Mask (Second Tier)】

"As expected, it's still here!"

Approaching within two meters, Li Yuan caught a glimpse of that blue glow; his heart relaxed, and with a swipe of his hand, he removed the human skin mask, which showed not the slightest trace.

Beneath the waxen-yellow face was a rugged youth, his eyes wide with rage, filled with extreme unwillingness.

"I'll help you rest in peace; consider this mask my reward!"

Li Yuan, carrying the corpse whose smell had grown very strong, found a relatively better spot, took out Zhen's broadsword from his Weapon Space, and dug a deep pit for the body.

"Ten Directions, all Buddhas, their number like dust; transforming into the ten directions, universally saving heaven and men..."

Li Yuan buried him; since he did not know his name, he left no memorial tablet, merely reciting the scripture silently in his heart to grant him passage. Just as he prepared to leave, he suddenly sensed something, darting behind a large tree.

With a glance from the corner of his eye, he saw several figures rising and falling under the sunset's afterglow, arriving at this place.

These people, tall or short, all wore bamboo hats and covered their faces; the one in front was quite burly, his voice very loud:

"Xu Feng! Have all the people from Zhenwu Hall been dealt with?"

A thin man bowed:

"Reporting to the Incense Master, I left Zhenwu Hall's marks in several county towns, but only six came; one should be in Gao Liu, but his whereabouts are unknown..."

"Continue the investigation!"

That Incense Master seemed to curse, his voice turning cold:

"Cao Yan, that good-for-nothing, was scared out of his wits by Han Han Chuijun and has been missing for months; does anyone know where he is?"

"Reporting to the Incense Master, yesterday I found his location, calmed his mind, and he should return to the city within a few days..."

Someone replied.

"When he returns, you few will temporarily serve as his guards. As for that Han Han Chuijun, he spared Lu Lu Yunqing, likely waiting for us to take the bait? Ghost-Faced Asura..."

That Incense Master sneered coldly, as if saying something.

But Li Yuan could no longer hear; however, he remained extremely cautious, still lying low behind the tree, motionless.

"No one?"

After a long while, a masked person returned to the mass grave, looked around, muttered a few words to himself, turned, and left.

Han Han Chuijun?

Cao Yan... rising up?

What Incense Master? An Incense Master of the Baishen Sect?

"What kind of luck is this? I just went out and ran into something like this..."

Behind the large tree, Li Yuan's breathing was very slow; the few people gathered at the graveyard all gave him a very dangerous feeling, especially that Incense Master, who, even from dozens of meters away, made his heart feel a chill.

He was probably even more fierce than Fang Fang Yunxiu...

"Judging from what that Incense Master said, it seems Lu Lu Yunqing and Cao Yan are all on the same side as them?"

Clutching the human skin mask, thin as a cicada's wing, Li Yuan's face looked very grim.

A county magistrate, a master of a weapon forge operating for over two hundred years with influence radiating across multiple counties, plus an Incense Master of unknown origin—there was no way they were simply gathering to drink tea and chat.

"Could it be they want to rebel against the imperial court? No, against the Divine Weapon Valley?"

Li Yuan felt a bit of a headache.

According to the Great Yun laws, rebels are executed along with their nine generations of relatives; followers, whether coerced or not, are all killed...

"I just want to practice martial arts properly..."

In the night, Li Yuan remained motionless.

He sat pressed against the large tree all night; only when the sky began to brighten the next day did he shake off the dew from his body and hurry back to the city.

Whoosh~

The night was fading, and the wind blew in the mountains.

In a desolate mountain cave, Cao Yan lay prone on the ground like a fierce tiger; his breathing was extremely heavy, even producing sounds like a tiger's roar.

"Shopkeeper Cao's talent is truly excellent; he mastered this Tiger Roar Thunder Sound Bone-Strengthening Art so quickly. No wonder the Incense Master Values so highly you!"

Suddenly, wind blew into the cave.

"Hah!"

Cao Yan exhaled the turbid air, blowing dust rolling through the cave; he stood up, his expression cold:

"Feng Gang! What are you doing here?"

At the cave entrance, a masked middle-aged man stood holding a sword, his expression indifferent:

"Ordered by the Incense Master, I am here to accompany you back to Huicheng."

"Back to Huicheng?"

Cao Yan frowned: "What about that Han Han Chuijun?"

"That old thing was fierce and violent back in the day, but now he is old and weak; since the Incense Master has come, what is there to fear?"

Swordsman Feng Gang let out a derisive snort:

"The Tiger Roar Blade prioritizes courage. You retreat whenever trouble arises; you'll never master it in this lifetime!"

"What does it matter to you whether Cao Mou succeeds or not?"

Cao Yan's expression remained indifferent.

He lifted his blade, stepped out of the cave, and gazed at Gao Liu City, faintly visible through the mist:

"It is time to return."

(End of this chapter)