Chapter 652 – Journey to the Imperial Capital, Heavenly Master’s Manor, and Immortal Attendants - Part 2

On a wintry afternoon, snow began to fall.

Seeing that the market was empty and most of the fish were already sold, Li Yuan packed up early, exchanged some banter with the other fishmongers, and began the slow journey back to the village on a cart.

Since he’d closed up shop early today, he decided not to stay the night at the town’s inn.

There was another reason for his hurry too. Lately, he’d been hearing rumors from the other vendors, talk of bandits showing up in nearby areas. With the new year approaching, he figured he’d try his luck.

Maybe something would come of it.

He hadn’t made it halfway back when night fell. Before long, under the dim, snowy skies, two burly men stepped into the road ahead, faces bare, long blades in hand, blocking the way.

At a time like this, with darkness and snowfall thick as mist, no one could really see anything anyway. No need to cover their faces.

But Li Yuan wasn’t your average traveler. Even without the blessings of a spiritual-energy-rich era, his celestial bloodline gave him senses far sharper than any ordinary man. One glance was enough for him to clearly make out the men’s faces.

He casually swept his gaze around and spotted two more figures sneaking up from behind.

He glanced up at the numbers above their heads, floating faintly in his inner vision.

Three of them rated at 2~3. One of them was a 3~4.

“Not bad,” Li Yuan muttered to himself with a sigh. He even felt a little nostalgic.

He honestly couldn’t remember the last time someone had tried to rob him.

The bandits, completely unaware of their impending disaster, swaggered forward with blades raised, shouting with savage grins, “Hand over the silver, boy, and maybe we’ll let you live!”

Li Yuan didn’t say a word. He simply jumped off the donkey cart, and in the blink of an eye, took down all four bandits with casual efficiency.

The robbers, now bruised and battered, lay groaning on the snowy ground, wide-eyed with terror as they watched the cart disappear into the night.

Li Yuan, meanwhile, weighed a rough hemp sack in his hand.

Well, that handled part of his travel funds.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much inside, just about three taels of silver and a dozen large copper coins.

These coins were clearly of recent mint, different from those of the previous dynasty. They bore intricate designs of flying birds and the imperial carriage, symbols that surely meant something, though Li Yuan wasn’t sure what.

As for a weapon, he didn’t need to buy one anymore. He now had four perfectly usable blades.

He inspected the blades but found no distinctive markings, so he stopped by a blacksmith and traded three of them for four taels of silver. The last one, he kept.

He gave it a few test swings and glanced at his data panel.

His stats had jumped. Where it used to read 7~10, it now displayed 22~25.

The blade itself was nothing special, cheap and crude. The massive boost came purely from the absurd level of mastery Li Yuan had in martial arts.

In other words, if he ever got his hands on a high-quality weapon, his power would shoot up even more.

By the time he returned to the fishing hut, night had fallen. Before going inside, he stashed both the blade and the silver under a hidden stone near the doorway.

Only then did he step back into the house.

Hei Niu welcomed him with a relieved grin. Wu Niang reheated some food and muttered as she laid it on the table.

“They say bandits’ve been roaming nearby. Good thing you didn’t run into any. Next time, don’t travel after dark!”

Li Yuan ate quietly, occasionally glancing over at the girl.

Ah Ting still looked like the same child, stuck in time. Dull-eyed, listless, kneeling on the bench, chin resting on the windowsill as she stared blankly at the snow outside.

Li Yuan called out, “Ah Ting, let’s make a snowman later.”

She responded with a soft, “Mhm.”

He finished his meal quickly, then brought the little girl outside.

It was pitch black beyond the door, and only the sliver of warm light leaking from inside let them distinguish the snow from the shadows.

They didn’t go far. Just beyond the threshold, they knelt and built a small snowman together.

Ah Ting’s face was flushed with excitement, hands sweeping through the snow again and again. She didn’t seem to feel the cold at all, either because she really didn’t, or because the snowfall itself made her so happy, she simply forgot to notice.

Li Yuan watched her for a long moment, then turned his gaze toward the warm glow inside the house, where Wu Niang was cleaning up the dishes, and Hei Niu was pouring cheap wine, hollering from inside.

“Yu’er! You’re no little kid anymore, come have a drink!”

Li Yuan smiled faintly.

He’d decided that once spring came, he’d say proper goodbyes to this family and set off for the imperial capital.

He had to go, no matter what.

Once upon a time, he might’ve thought about settling things for this family first. But now, his heart felt...oddly calm.

There was joy in their time together.

But departure felt neither bitter, nor reluctant.

He had already said goodbye to one era. Now that he had returned, he found that he was just a passing traveler.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

The next day.

Li Yuan sat on the doorstep with Ah Ting beside him, both propped up on their elbows, staring off into the distance.

He had no idea what Ah Ting was thinking, but he was still turning over the problem of travel expenses in his mind.

His approach was simple and brutally straightforward.

The world was clearly in a rough state. Bandits were everywhere. Traveling at night, especially along routes rumored to be crawling with outlaws, meant running into them.

And bandits had money.

Li Yuan needed money.

So, he made up his mind. He’d keep walking those dark roads, intentionally heading toward places where rumors of banditry spread, all to gather some funds for his journey, while leaving some silver behind for the family that had taken him in.

He didn't just think about it. He acted on it.

And just like that, the local bandits...found themselves

blessed

.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Three months later.

Stories began circulating around Herderton about a mysterious martial hero haunting the outskirts.

The bandits fled in droves.

And Li Yuan? He’d gone from having 7 taels of silver and 12 copper coins to 10 gold ingots, 28 taels of silver, and 200 large coppers.”

He buried a portion of the wealth beneath the fishing house, keeping only 5 taels of gold and 5 of silver for himself, and upgraded his blade to something clearly more refined.

Once he saw his combat power rise from 22~25 to 27~30, he decided it was time.

He was going to the imperial capital.

Even if it meant taking detours or more time, he had to go.

But perhaps luck was on his side. Before he could even bring up his departure, a fresh wave of bailiffs arrived at the village.

Before they reached Hei Niu’s home, Li Yuan and Ah Ting heard crying and shouting drifting in from the distance, followed by the cold bark of official commands.

“Please, sir, he’s my only son! I beg you—”

“Sir, please don’t take him!!”

“Enough noise! This is a great honor! By imperial decree, the Heavenly Master of the Central Capital is selecting gifted children to serve as immortal attendants!”

“Sir! We don’t want this

honor

! We don’t want it!”

“Don’t want it? You dare defy the Emperor’s command? Hah! Every household in this village with a child, boy or girl, has to offer one up.”

Soon, wails and sobs rang out all around the village, filling the snowy air with despair.

Hoofbeats thundered like war drums as soldiers in full armor rode in on tall horses, long spears gleaming. They circled the tiny fishing village like predators closing in on prey, their presence so overwhelming that no one even dared to resist.

Behind them rumbled heavy ox-carts. Children were dragged from their homes and thrown into the wagons like goods.

Some families tried to help their kids run, only to watch them be chased down and caught.

Others tried to hide their children, but the bailiffs had brought census records. A single glance was enough to confirm whether a household had a child unaccounted for.

Wu Niang stood at the doorway, frozen, limbs numb with terror.

But what could she do?

Soon enough, the officials arrived at their home. One sweep of the room and their eyes locked onto Ah Ting. She looked the perfect age for a

young girl attendant

.

A blade flashed cold and sharp in the lamplight. The air turned icy.

Hei Niu dared not move.

Wu Niang collapsed into sobs.

The officers looked impatient, clearly used to the scene.

Ah Ting stood there, blank-eyed. She didn’t struggle. She simply followed the official out the door, one small step at a time.

And then, just as she was about to cross the threshold, Li Yuan stepped in front of her.

Funny thing was, he’d been wondering how to get to the capital.

And here it was, a direct ride. A

special transport

, so to speak. Meals included. Lodging provided. Why worry about travel expenses now?

Without hesitation, Li Yuan stepped in front of Ah Ting and declared, “I’m also a gifted child. Take me instead!”

“You?” The bailiff raised an eyebrow at the tall, strapping youth before him.

Li Yuan replied calmly, “I do a lot of manual labor, so I grew strong early. But I’m still a child. The whole village can vouch for that.”

As he spoke, he yanked Ah Ting behind him, shielding the girl whose oversized sleeves completely covered her tiny hands.

The bailiff narrowed his eyes and checked the household registry.

Sure enough, it read that he was eight years old. Doing the math based on the registration date, that meant this boy should be nine years old this year.

But what kind of nine-year-old looked like

that

?

The bailiff hesitated, but only briefly.

Before he could argue, Li Yuan had already climbed up into the ox-cart meant for transporting the chosen children, and casually waved goodbye to Hei Niu, Wu Niang, and Ah Ting.

The bailiff, clearly in a rush, didn’t bother pushing the issue. He turned and headed for the next house.

Hei Niu and Wu Niang collapsed into each other’s arms, crying.

Ah Ting stood motionless, eyes blank, watching the cart disappear into the snowy distance. Then slowly, almost belatedly, she raised her hand and waved, even as the cart shrank into a tiny black speck on the horizon.

She was saying goodbye.

And Li Yuan? He was already thinking ahead. This journey to the Central Capital...he’d use it to test the waters, see if he could draw out whoever might be lurking in the shadows.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

A few days later.

Five ox-carts rumbled down the road toward the capital, each carrying a load of freshly conscripted immortal attendants.

Back in the fishing village, Hei Niu and Wu Niang cleaned out Li Yuan’s small room and found a stash of silver and gold hidden inside a clay jar beneath the bed.

They held each other and wept.

They weren’t young anymore. After losing their only son years ago, they’d finally found another, hardworking, handsome, and kind. How could they bear to lose him too?

But now, with this much gold and silver...

“Wu Niang, let’s move to Herderton. Open a little shop or something. Life’s too hard here.” Hei Niu said.

Wu Niang nodded slowly. “That child, Yu’er... Who knows when he managed to save up all this money... When we get to town, I...”

“We’ll have another kid,” Hei Niu interrupted, gently. “And this family will be three people again. We’ll live well, together.”

Wu Niang sighed deeply, then began packing up their clothes.

They had enough now for a better life.

She folded their clothes, hers, Hei Niu’s, and only the ones left behind from their deceased son. All boy’s clothing. Large. Baggy. Ill-fitting.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

April.

Ah Ting sat alone on a cliff deep in the forested mountains, her clothes ragged and threadbare.

Chin in her hands, she stared blankly at the endless waves of rolling hills and drifting clouds, as if the human world were something unfamiliar and far away.

Her eyes had that glazed, unfocused look of someone who’d been staring at the same spot for a long, long time.

Suddenly, there was a rustle behind her.

A small monkey scampered into view, clutching a freshly plucked peach.

Ah Ting stood up.

Her eyes lit up when she saw the monkey, and she chased after it, laughing, “Little monkey! Little monkey!”

The monkey darted off, and Ah Ting ran after it, her laughter echoing through the green valleys of spring, fading into the mountains and rivers beyond.

Authors Note

Writing faster would make the story feel too

floaty.

Sometimes you need to slow down to build a solid narrative foundation.