Chapter 650 - Li Yuan and Ah Ting - Part 2

As the days passed, the weather grew colder.

One night, Li Yuan crept ashore and stole a set of clothes from a fisherman’s home.

Despite his new form, he still thought like a human. And no matter how natural he felt in the water, he didn’t want to spend all his time naked.

To repay the theft in his own way, he helped the fisherman in secret, driving schools of fish into the man’s nets while he worked. Time after time, the fisherman hauled in massive catches, laughing in delight.

“More black rainbow fish!” he shouted with joy. Apparently, some of the fish Li Yuan had herded in were especially valuable.

During the day, Li Yuan would linger by the lake’s edge, quietly eavesdropping on passing conversations.

And when night came, and the shore grew quiet, he would return to the lakebed to continue practicing the breathing method from the Human Emperor’s Martial Canon, trying to fuse it with the character for Dusk, searching for even the faintest connection.

As the seasons passed, he pieced together more about the world.

Most of the information came from fishermen’s chatter and the occasional conversation between traveling constables.

Through it all, Li Yuan also tracked the growth of his own stat points. Using this, he finally confirmed his first goal, how much time had passed.

A total of 54 years had passed since the world changed.

Not too short. Not too long either.

Next, he figured out where he was, Shooting Star Lake, about 10 kilometers away from Herderton.

So, even though his memory had been vague when he picked his rebirth point, he hadn’t landed too far off. Not perfect aim, but at least he hit the outer ring of the target.

Still, he wasn’t planning to visit Herderton just yet.

He was far too absorbed in his study of the new era’s power.

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And just like that, another year passed.

Through constant training, his combat power had grown from 6~8 to 7~10. Physically, he’d changed too, no longer a small boy, but now looking more like a big kid.

But the real lesson that year wasn’t about strength, it was understanding.

He realized that in this new world, power had rules. Conditions. There was some hidden requirement now, something critical. And without it, no amount of effort could make the path open.

Li Yuan decided to put his martial arts research on hold and find a way to visit Herderton. But getting there wasn’t going to be easy.

Just as he was mulling it over, he heard footsteps nearby.

Tap tap tap!

He instinctively shrank back, slipping behind a rocky outcrop near the shore.

“River God, River God~!” A childish voice called out.

A small figure ran up to the rocks, glanced around and, finding no one, started dashing about in search.

After a while, when she couldn’t find the

River God

she’d come to see, she stopped, took the food basket she’d brought and placed it gently on the ground. Then she knelt and bowed respectfully toward the lake.

“Thank you, River God.” She was a tall girl, bundled in cotton trousers, with a blank, slightly dazed expression, not exactly pretty, but not unpleasant either.

Li Yuan recognized her. She was the daughter of the fisherman from whom he’d once stolen that set of winter clothes. The villagers called her Ah Ting.

And clearly, some of the locals must’ve noticed his presence; otherwise, Ah Ting wouldn’t be here calling him River God.

Li Yuan crept around quietly and peeked into the basket. Inside were warm white rice, some pickled radish, and neatly arranged grilled fish.

Fish again, yes. But this time, cooked.

He leaned in and sniffed. Nothing smelled off.

Then he dug in and ate everything clean.

Afterward, he let out a satisfied burp and couldn’t help but think,

Cooked really is better.

The next day, Ah Ting returned. She gathered up the empty basket, cleaned it out carefully, then beamed at the lake and waved cheerfully.

“River God! River God!”

Her vocabulary was sparse, but Li Yuan could hear the joy in her voice.

From then on, she began coming every few days, bringing food for the River God.

She didn’t speak much. Most of the time, she just squatted by the lakeshore, chin resting in her hands, staring off into the distance with an almost unimaginable patience.

At first, Li Yuan was puzzled by her behavior. But after watching for a bit, he figured it out.

The girl was...slow. Simple. So much so that the other children in the fishing village avoided her.

And so the story became that of a lonely girl, cast out by everyone else, who came to make friends with a river spirit.

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Another half a year passed like that.

By then, Li Yuan and Ah Ting could be considered familiar with each other.

Even before this, he had seen her from time to time, standing at the bow of her father’s fishing boat while her father cast nets nearby.

Li Yuan had secretly helped their family many times, driving fish into their nets. Of course, he remembered her.

But their friendship remained limited, always through water, or from behind a rock.

Then one day, summer arrived.

Fireflies flitted around the lakeside.

Ah Ting crouched at the water’s edge, swaying a stalk of reed back and forth, sending ripples across the surface.

She called out again, “River God! River God!”

A voice answered from the lake, “I’m not a river god.”

Ah Ting asked, “Then who are you?”

But the voice went silent. No reply came.

Ah Ting called out, “Let’s be friends, okay?”

No answer came from the voice in the water. Her shoulders drooped, and sadness clouded her eyes. Two silent tears slipped down her cheeks as she stood up, ready to leave.

But when she turned around, she froze.

Standing among the reeds was a soaking wet boy, tall, older than her, silent.

Ah Ting was so stunned she forgot to be scared. She just stared at him, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, her thoughts circling slowly before finally catching up.

Then her face lit up in a wide, clumsy grin.

“Come to my house. Eat fish,” she said.

Li Yuan had been observing for some time now. From what he’d gathered, the strongest person in the village had a combat power of just 2~3, and that was only because they carried a good fishing spear. So overall, things looked safe.

After a year and a half in the lake, he’d already planned to head ashore. And this girl,. Ah Ting, seemed like the perfect entry point.

So, he followed her home.

Ah Ting’s parents were a pair of kind-hearted fisherfolk. The father was called Hei Niu, and the mother, Wu Niang. They welcomed him warmly, treating him like a stray pup who had finally come in from the cold.

Wu Niang even laid out a freshly warmed bed for him, insisting he rest properly indoors.

Li Yuan didn’t turn her down.

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The next morning.

After waking, Li Yuan found a few sets of boys’ clothing in the old wardrobe beside the bed.

Wu Niang saw him looking and said quietly, “Old Hei and I...we had a son. But...he’s gone now. These clothes should fit you.”

Neither she nor Hei Niu believed he was some kind of river god. They just assumed he was an orphan who had somehow survived alone among the reeds.

Since fate had brought them together, and he was just a boy, they took him in without hesitation.

A few days later, the bailiffs came again, demanding the village’s quota of black rainbow fish.

Before they even got close, Wu Niang shoved Li Yuan under the bed. If the officials saw an extra person, they’d have to pay extra head tax, something the family could never afford.

Hei Niu handed over their share of fish as required. But their neighbor, a fisherman named Ah Chang, had come up short.

In broad daylight, loud crashes and angry shouts erupted from next door.

Li Yuan crawled out from under the bed and peeked through the window. One of the bailiffs was leaving Ah Chang’s house, sword at his waist, a 2~3 glowing faintly above his head.

Then Li Yuan saw what the bailiff was holding, a small ornate box like a jewelry case.

Behind him, Ah Chang stumbled out, voice breaking. “Sir! Please! That was my wife’s keepsake...I’ll make up the missing fish, I swear I will!”

The bailiff didn’t even pause. He turned and kicked Ah Chang hard in the chest, sending the man crashing back into the dirt.

All the fishermen watched in silent fury, helpless and bitter. Only after the constables were gone did anyone dare to help Ah Chang up.

Li Yuan used the incident to try and learn more about the world’s current state.

But the fishermen knew very little.

They didn’t even know the Emperor’s name. All they knew was that every year they were required to hand over a quota of black rainbow fish. The more they delivered, the more their taxes were reduced. If they didn’t deliver...they couldn’t survive.

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And just like that, another month passed.

The Hei Niu family had clearly been giving it some thought, and in the end, they decided to officially register Li Yuan as a household member. Lately, their fishing hauls had been unusually good, more than enough to feed an extra mouth.

And besides, Li Yuan, though a tall and sturdy young boy, had a gentle, refined look that made him easy to like.

In fact, Hei Niu and Wu Niang had quietly come to believe he was their lucky charm.

Ever since he arrived, their catches had been bountiful month after month.

So one day, Hei Niu hired an ox-cart and set off for Herderton to sell fish at the market and to get Li Yuan properly registered.

Li Yuan had been waiting for this.

He climbed onto the cart without hesitation. Ah Ting and Wu Niang came along too.

At the market, Ah Ting and Wu Niang set up shop to sell their fish, while Hei Niu took Li Yuan to the administrative office to register his household status.

As they walked, Li Yuan took in everything around him, ears tuned for any mention of the Huyan Clan or Zhangsun Sanniang.

In his mind, the Huyan Clan was a prestigious family, and Zhangsun Sanniang was far from ordinary. News about them should’ve left some mark on a town this size.

But the entire walk through the town, he heard nothing. Not a whisper of either name.

Soon enough, his registration went through smoothly.

Ah Ting and Wu Niang did well with their sales too.

But by the time everything was packed up, the sky had already turned dark.

And in these times, nightfall often brought danger. Bandits were known to roam the roads.

After some discussion, Hei Niu and Wu Niang decided to stay the night in town. They rented a small room at an inn. The four of them squeezed in, two adults and two kids.

That night, once Li Yuan was sure the others were sound asleep, he silently got up, slipped out of the inn, and headed in the direction of Zhangsun Sanniang’s residence, relying on fragments of memory.

The town wasn’t large. And although there was technically a night curfew, the night watchmen were lazy at best, only going through the motions. None of them would catch someone like Li Yuan.

And besides, with a combat power of 7~10, Li Yuan was less a boy and more a beast wrapped in human skin.

He darted through back alleys like a shadow, silent and swift. Before long, he arrived at his destination.

But one look, and his face darkened.

Zhangsun Sannniang’s estate was still grand in scale, just as he remembered. But the once-vibrant red lacquered gates were now sealed with official paper strips.

Something had clearly gone wrong.

Li Yuan stayed hidden and observed for a while. The street was quiet. No signs of people nearby. He listened closely. Nothing.

Seizing the moment, he sprang over the wall with practiced ease, landing silently inside the compound. Navigating a winding path through the inner courtyards, he eventually reached the main hall.

The secret chamber was supposed to lie just beneath it.

An hour passed.

His face by then had gone completely grim.

Both hidden chambers were empty. The secret art steles were gone. The Beast Gate was gone.

Zhangsun Sanniang was gone too.

Something had happened.

And the promise she made him had been broken.