Chapter 94: Aftermath

Han Han Chuijun left.

Early on the fourth morning after the rain-night battle, under the gaze of many in Gao Liu County, the convoy escorted by three great figures from the Divine Weapon Valley vanished at the end of the official road.

"The master leads you through the door; cultivation depends on the individual. One form is easy, ten forms are hard; the path of a hundred forms is not for ordinary people to walk. I, an old man, cultivated this hundred forms through sixty years of bitter practice...

How you choose is up to you."

Watching the three riders depart, Han Han Chuijun's voice seemed to still echo in his ears.

"A hundred forms, huh?"

Touching the few secret manuals in his chest, Li Lin felt his heart burn hot; Han Han Chuijun's words had pointed out the path for him and also stirred ambition within him.

He had never even thought of cultivating dozens of Wu Gong to great perfection.

People like Han Han Chuijun, after sixty years of bitter practice, seemed not yet to have succeeded; let alone him.

But with the Military Register in hand, as long as there were enough pills and enough Root Diagrams, he believed he could cultivate the hundred forms at an unimaginable speed!

"Pills, weapons, Root Diagrams!"

Li Lin's heart settled.

His peripheral vision swept over those seeing him off; some breathed a sigh of relief, while the majority wore expressions of joy.

They dared not covet the things of the Divine Weapon Valley, but the territories left behind after the collapse of a dozen factions were far better to them than any gold or silver.

The Chai and Yu gangs and other factions had been swept away like rotten wood, but in Gao Liu County, new Chai and Yu gangs would still appear.

"Li, Li brother!"

County Commandant Liu Bin led a group of county officials approaching, his face full of smiles:

"I, Liu, have set a banquet at the Spring Breeze Tower tonight; I hope Li brother will honor me with your presence!"

"Commandant Liu is too polite."

Glancing at Liu Zheng, who showed embarrassment, Li Lin naturally did not correct Liu Bin's address and nodded in agreement.

Although he did not go, these people dividing the territories would not leave him out, but he had to go anyway.

The pills of the Divine Weapon Valley disciples would not fall from the sky; without faction support, like Fang Fang Yunxiu, one would be tight; the more silver, the better.

"Then, we shall meet again tonight at the Spring Breeze Tower!"

Liu Bin clasped his hands to bid farewell, and the other county officials also greeted with smiles, daring not to show the slightest negligence.

Young Lady Liu Zheng, Young Lady Wang Wang Peiyao, and others from the inner city watched from afar; only after the elders of their families had left did they dare to approach.

"Master Li~"

Liu Zheng and others were somewhat embarrassed, but Wang Wang Peiyao pinched her voice, performed a bow, and said in a coquettish tone:

"If you become rich and noble, do not forget us~"

Everyone, originally somewhat stiff, now burst into loud laughter.

Spring Breeze Tower, go there tonight.

But before noon even arrived, Li Lin had been dragged by a group of young ladies and gentlemen to the Yizi Tavern; Yue Yue Yunjin and Wu Ming were naturally brought along as well.

At the wine table, cups and chopsticks crossed; at the small banquet, host and guests were all delighted, only missing the eldest Young Lady Lu...

After eating and drinking their fill, Li Lin packed several bottles of honey water and some pastries, bid farewell to the crowd, and hurried back to his second brother's house.

From afar, he saw a carriage parked outside the alley, with a dozen men dressed as retainers coming and going, moving various pieces of furniture.

Li Lin supported Wang Juan while watching from the side; the couple's faces were full of joy.

"Second brother?"

When Li Lin reached the alley entrance, before Li Lin could speak, an old man with a small mustache and wearing a felt hat already bowed in greeting:

"Master Li, this old man is the steward of the Yuan family; sent by my lord to help you move things..."

"The Yuan family's steward?"

Li Lin felt a slight stir in his heart; Li Lin had already pulled a property deed from his chest, his eyes red:

"Third brother, we are going home..."

Li Lin understood immediately but hurriedly stopped his second brother, who was about to cry:

"Enough, moving house is a good thing; why cry?"

"It is windy here; take sister-in-law inside the house. Once everything is tidied up, we will go home together."

Urging Li Lin inside the house, Li Lin then clasped his hands:

"Then I will trouble Steward Yuan."

He had planned to buy back the Li family's original old residence in a few days; Yuan Yuan Pingjun's move here surprised him slightly, but he did not refuse, nor did he pull out any silver notes.

Accepting gifts is also a way to strengthen relationships.

He might not remain in Gao Liu later, but his second brother and the Weapon-Forge Shop still existed; he needed the support of the Weapon-Forge Shop, so stability was certainly necessary.

"Master Li is too polite."

That steward was somewhat overwhelmed by the honor:

"My lord said he has set a banquet for you tonight at the Spring Breeze Tower; please be sure to honor us with your presence..."

The steward's attitude was extremely respectful; although it was mostly feigned, Li Lin once again truly felt the change in status.

The Divine Weapon Valley is the sky of the Qianlong Prefecture; in the eyes of the common people inside and outside Gao Liu now, he is the one about to ascend to heaven.

The change was drastic, yet it seemed very reasonable.

Just after noon, in the inner city.

The Li family's ancestral residence was not large; front and back, it was merely two courtyards.

Li Lin felt nothing about it, but Li Lin was already sobbing uncontrollably, pointing at each room, every blade of grass and every tree, muttering without stop.

In the end, it was Wang Juan who could not stand it any longer and scolded him a few times before he finally stopped crying.

The ancestral home had clearly just been vacated not long ago, and every corner had been cleaned. Li Lin moved in directly, while Li Yuan declined the Yuan family's kind offer to help him move and went to tidy up on his own.

Four sets of bedding, a pair of tables and chairs, a pile of pots and pans, and one little mouse.

Li Yuan moved with brisk efficiency, but before leaving, he still left a note for Fatty Sun.

"He's been gone for so many days, this fatty should be back by now, right?"

Toting the little mouse, Li Yuan shook his head inwardly.

Yesterday, he had also asked about Tang Tong's whereabouts.

Just as he had expected, Tang Tong had indeed fallen into the hands of Divine Weapon Valley, who even sent for a Physician nearby to treat his wounds. But his injuries were severe, and he never rested after being wounded. He held on for a few months before finally breathing his last.

Considering that he had been very cooperative, and was already dead, Han Han Chuijun did not pursue the matter further and had already released Fatty Sun's sister back home.

But Mount Mount Fajiu was so vast that there was no way to notify Fatty Sun.

……

Whoosh~

The deep autumn mountains were very cold.

"Sister, brother-in-law…"

Fatty Sun leaned against a large tree with great difficulty, gnawing on dry rations with lifeless eyes. Having lost nearly a hundred catties, he could no longer be called a fatty.

Curling up his limbs, he only felt cold all over.

Another fruitless trip, and his heart had gone cold.

"Viper Gang…"

As Fatty Sun was gnawing on his steamed bun fiercely, he suddenly heard a rustling sound. He gave a start and hurriedly burrowed into the thick layer of dead leaves in Lin Zili.

The foul stench of rotting leaves nearly made him throw up the steamed bun he had yet to swallow, but he did not dare to move a muscle.

"The Incense Master is dead…"

In the dense forest, a slightly hoarse voice rang out: "What a fine Han Han Chuijun—years of hard work, all for nothing…"

"The other nine Incense Halls are all safe and sound. We can only blame our bad luck for running into Han Han Chuijun! What a Ghost-Faced Shura!"

Through the dead leaves, Fatty Sun could faintly make out two men in grey. His heart turned cold, and he did not even dare to draw a breath.

"Han Han Chuijun has left!"

In the dense forest, Xu Feng wiped his Cold Iron Blade, his eyes cold:

"Years of planning ruined in one stroke. If we go back, we're as good as dead."

"What good would staying do? With just the few of us, could we possibly take Gao Liu County?"

The other blade-man shook his head repeatedly; he only wanted to leave:

"There's no way out if we go back. Worst case, we'll switch allegiance to Star-Plucking Tower. The world is so vast—surely there's a place for us to take shelter?"

"You think Star-Plucking Tower is that easy to get into?"

Xu Feng sneered:

"Our only way out is to find the secret chamber Cao Yan left behind. As long as we have even one famed weapon, we can buy our lives back!"

"Cao Yan is already dead, his head is still hanging on the city gate—

where would you go to find his secret chamber?"

"Without Han Han Chuijun, where in Gao Liu County can we not go?"

Xu Feng's eyes turned vicious:

"Even if we have to turn Gao Liu County upside down, we must find that secret chamber!"

Whoosh~

The wind howled, and the two men departed one after the other.

In the dead leaves, Fatty Sun did not dare to move a muscle. He waited until the sky was about to darken and he was nearly frozen stiff, then carefully pushed aside the grass and fled back to the city at top speed.

……

……

Gao Liu County at night was pitch black and silent. Only Spring Breeze Tower was brightly lit, and the smell of wine, meat, and cosmetics could be detected from a street away.

Liu Bin held a banquet and invited the heads of the few remaining factions from the inner and outer cities. Li Yuan was among them.

The banquet was unremarkable. The intimidation of the Divine Weapon Valley was enough to cow these old foxes; the scheming and jockeying Li Yuan had anticipated never appeared, and he took over the entire business of the Weapon-Forging Shop.

It went so smoothly that he thought everyone at the table was a perfect gentleman.

"With Old Han's strike this time, unless this batch of people dies, no trouble will brew."

Li Yuan sighed inwardly, and his resolve grew firmer.

Silver and influence were certainly good things, but true strength was the foundation of one's standing. With Han Han Chuijun absent, these people still had to treat him with respect—even though he had not formally become a disciple.

The negotiations went very smoothly; all of Li Yuan's preparations and guesses came to nothing, but this was naturally a good thing.

Another banquet where both host and guests departed in high spirits.

Li Yuan was nearly bursting from drinking honey water before the banquet finally broke up.

"Brother Li, take my carriage back!"

Declining the enthusiastic Liu Bin, Li Yuan waved his hand, bade farewell, and headed home. From afar, he could see lights on in the ancestral home and hear voices within.

"Hm?"

Li Yuan pushed open the unlatched courtyard door and immediately spotted a grey-clad blade-man bound tightly in the shadows by the gate. To his astonishment, one of them actually had a third-tier Cold Iron Blade on him?

"Junior Brother Li, did you enjoy yourself at Spring Breeze Tower?"

In the main room, with Li Lin keeping him company, Sha Sha Pingying was slightly tipsy, still holding a chicken drumstick, his mouth shining with oil.

"Senior Brother Sha? What is this?"

Li Yuan glanced at the two of them: "Stragglers from the Xieshen Sect?"

Good lord, one better at fishing than the next...

Before Sha Sha Pingying could answer, Li Yuan had already guessed; he looked left and right: "Where's the old master?"

"Two small fry like these aren't worth Elder Han's personal hand; the old master should have left by now, no?"

Sha Sha Pingying looked around too, not entirely sure.

Based on his understanding of this Elder Han, it was entirely possible the old man had doubled back to fish as well — when it came to fishing, he was still a novice; that one was the real veteran.

"Could there still be stragglers?"

Li Yuan took that third-tier Cold Iron Blade in his hand, weighed it slightly, and handed it to Sha Sha Pingying.

"There shouldn't be, right? Even if there are, it doesn't matter — before Senior Brother leaves, he's got to sweep them clean for you!"

Sha Sha Pingying took the Cold Iron Blade, twirled it once, but immediately handed it back:

"I don't use blades. If Junior Brother likes it, keep it; if not, sell it. Consider it a meeting gift from your senior brother!"

"How could I possibly accept that?"

Li Yuan casually hung the blade at his lower back, so clean and decisive that Sha Sha Pingying's mouth twitched; he stole several glances and realized he might have misjudged this junior brother who hadn't even joined the sect yet.

"Bang!"

Suddenly, Sha Sha Pingying swung his staff down:

"Keep playing dead and I'll really beat you to death!"

That staff strike was heavy; Xu Feng's vision went black in waves, nearly knocked out for real. He gasped for air, his face turning green:

"Sha Sha Pingying! And to think you're a disciple of a renowned orthodox sect — to launch a sneak attack! You actually... actually..."

Xu Feng was somewhat dumbfounded.

After that rainy night, they had waited a full four days; this morning they had personally seen them leave the city, then waited another whole day before tentatively entering.

Who would have thought, before they even

had time to act, Sha Sha Pingying had led an ambush and netted them all in one swoop.

"Enough nonsense, no need to say more. Besides you, how many people does the Xieshen Sect still have in Gao Liu County?"

The mixed-iron long staff pressed against Xu Feng's chest; Sha Sha Pingying showed no mercy, and Li Yuan beside him even heard the sound of bones shattering.

"Bah!"

Xu Feng spat out a blood-flecked glob of saliva, just about to get vicious when he heard the sound of something cutting through the night wind from the darkness — two thuds, and several people were tossed into the courtyard:

"Looks like that's all the small fry there are."

In the night wind, a voice came.

"Pfft!"

Taking another staff strike, Xu Feng coughed up a great mouthful of blood, his expression wretched:

"Han Han Chuijun!"