Martial Cultivator

After crossing the river, Chen Chao headed towards Sword Qi Mountain leisurely.

Having wasted quite some time on the round trip earlier, Chen Chao felt no rush now. As he slowly made his way to Sword Qi Mountain, he occasionally ventured into the mountains and resumed his old profession: killing demons.

Compared to the other prefectures of the Great Liang Dynasty, Yellow Dragon Prefecture had relatively fewer demons. The reason was partly due to the presence of Sword Qi Mountain. The swordsmiths of Sword Qi Mountain liked to use demon beads to ignite their furnaces. The blood essence of demons infused in these beads not only helped the furnace heat up quickly, but also prolonged the burning time significantly. Therefore, many itinerant cultivators would gather in Yellow Dragon Prefecture to hunt demons, then sell their spoils at high prices to Sword Qi Mountain for profit.

Although most of the swordsmiths in Sword Qi Mountain did not have high cultivation realms, and there were even many ordinary people, generations of them had been forging flying swords for sword cultivators, accumulating substantial family wealth over the years. As a result, there was certainly no shortage of skygold coins in the mountain. Most of this skygold currency was used by them to purchase various sword-making materials, indirectly boosting many local businesses too. For instance, the demand for crystal sand, a material essential for sword forging, led to the establishment of several crystal mines in Yellow Dragon Prefecture. Even several crystal mines under the jurisdiction of the Great Liang Dynasty mostly sold their crystal sand to Sword Qi Mountain every year.

As Chen Chao traveled, he would occasionally venture into the mountains, and also encounter several itinerant cultivators teaming up in the forest to hunt demons. In fact, this to some extent made life better for the common people of Yellow Dragon Prefecture. Although the cultivators were not killing demons for the sake of the locals, the reduction in the demon population naturally improved their lives.

However, with fewer demons and more cultivators, there were also more instances of cultivators oppressing the local people. Along the way, Chen Chao encountered several such incidents. If it had been before, he might have turned a blind eye to them. But after experiencing what happened with the young girl Xie Ying, Chen Chao could not just stand by and watch. However, he would not intervene lightly. After all, when doing good deeds, one must consider the consequences. If he simply drove away the cultivators, they might retaliate when he left, which would be disastrous for the local people.

Hence, Chen Chao would stop intermittently along the way, and his traveling speed was far from swift.

On this night, Chen Chao rested in a small town. The only inn was overcrowded, so he could not get a room. Stepping out of the inn, Chen Chao was currently hesitating whether to find an abandoned house to stay in. Outside of Divine Capital, there were many incidents of demons preying on people. In many towns and even commandery cities, there were houses left empty after the residents were eaten. Most of the authorities would not reclaim these houses. Even if they did, it was difficult to sell them too. The local government naturally would not bother with such high-effort but low-reward things.

Just as Chen Chao stepped out of the inn, a slender and weak-looking young man holding a lantern made of paper stepped out and quietly asked, "Guest, are you looking for a place to stay?"

Chen Chao was taken aback, looking at the sharp-eyed young man dressed in patched-up clothing, and asked, "Isn't there only one inn in this town?"

The young man was straightforward, speaking frankly, "Although there's only one inn in town, my home has empty rooms. If you're looking for a place to stay, you can come to my house. As for the price, it's fair."

Chen Chao nodded after considering it for a moment. "Alright."

The young man nodded excitedly and approached Chen Chao with the lantern. But after just a moment, he caught sight of the saber at Chen Chao's waist in the dim light of the lantern. He became somewhat hesitant and even a little regretful. He stood there dumbfounded, unsure of what to do.

Chen Chao noticed the change in the young man's expression and raised an eyebrow. "Having second thoughts?"

The young man who was indeed considering backing out forced a dry laugh and quickly said, "How would I dare to, Immortal Master?"

In a brief moment, the term of address had changed.

Chen Chao smiled and exposed the young man's thoughts. "You're thinking that I probably won't pay, and you'll end up providing food and lodging for free. But you're afraid to back out for fear of making me angry, right?"

The young man's thoughts were exposed, so he simply nodded weakly and said, "Indeed, I've encountered situations like this quite a lot."

Chen Chao shook his head. "Don't worry, I'm not some immortal master. Carrying a saber is just to intimidate people. In reality, I'm as harmless as a pillow with an embroidered case."

The young man was half skeptical, but he immediately smiled. After all, if he were dealing with the immortals from the mountains, they would not be so easygoing.

But he quickly reminded out of goodwill, "Guess, don't go telling this to just anyone. The most important thing about intimidating people is to keep a straight face." Chen Chao nodded and then asked, "What's your name?"

The young man chuckled, "My family calls me Erhu. How should I address Guest?"

"My surname is Chen."

Chen Chao did not want to say much more.

Erhu was taken aback for a moment before saying, "Chen is the imperial family's surname. Sir, you must be someone extraordinary."[1. Note, he is just flattering him, Chen is a super common surname.]

Chen Chao smiled, "If I were truly exceptional, could I venture out alone?"

The boy called Erhu paused for a moment and felt the same too. If he were truly a young master from a great family, he would likely have an entourage of attendants, and would not venture out alone.

But Erhu did not say anything more. He simply led Chen Chao towards his home while carrying the lantern.

Chen Chao followed him around the town for a while until they arrived at a small courtyard. Faded door-deity paintings adorned the door, and even the lock showed signs of rust.

Erhu took out the key, opened the door, and led Chen Chao inside. They stopped in front of a room. Just as Erhu was about to discuss the room fee with Chen Chao, Chen Chao reached into his pocket and pulled out a skygold coin, handing it to Erhu.

"Just staying for one night. This is enough, right?"

Chen Chao glanced at the youth.

The young man took the skygold coin and was pleasantly surprised, "Don't say just one night, even staying for a month would be enough!"

"Prepare some food, but there's no need for anything special, whatever you normally eat will do. By the way, are you the only one in your family?"

Chen Chao stood in front of the house, not immediately pushing the door open.

The young man nodded. "My parents passed away early, leaving behind this house."

Chen Chao nodded and did not say anything more either. He just pushed the door open and lit a tung oil lamp inside the room.

Looking around, he saw that the entire room had only one bed, neatly made with a somewhat passable blanket. However, it had been washed too many times and was somewhat faded.

The young man scratched his head sheepishly. "It's a bit simple. Sir Chen, please don't mind."

Chen Chao nodded. The young man then left to prepare some food for Chen Chao.

Not long after, he returned with food. There were only two steamed buns, a small dish of vegetables, and a meat dish, which was shredded meat with pumpkin. However, the shredded meat was pitifully little.

Chen Chao smiled. "You're quite skilled."

The young man felt too embarrassed to speak.

"Don't come over tonight. You can collect the empty plates tomorrow morning."

After instructing, Chen Chao closed the door.

After the young man left, Chen Chao made do with it and ate some of the food, then sat cross-legged on the bed, and began to regulate his breath.

Previously, when he climbed Clearwater Mountain alone, he had sustained serious injuries. Later, after burying the little girl and killing many demons, his injuries worsened. Although he recovered quite a bit afterward, the frequent stops and fights along the way delayed his recovery. Now, he was only about 60% to 70% healed; far from being completely healed.

So every chance he got, he had to circulate his qi to repair his injuries. He did not know what the situation was like at Sword Qi Mountain, but he knew he needed to be fully healed before he could be sure.

Feeling the white mist circulating along with his qi inside his body, Chen Chao's complexion gradually became rosy. This ancient sect's White Mist Art was something he still did not fully understand. But with a complete cultivation method, the circulation of qi within his meridians could grow the white mist within his body boundlessly. Moreover, as a martial artist, he could cultivate this White Mist Art too, which made Chen Chao suspect that if this was a spell designed for martial artists. Perhaps just as that immortal medicine hinted, martial artists might indeed have been able to cultivate magic spells in ancient times. This thought filled Chen Chao with anticipation.

After several circulatory cycles, Chen Chao opened his eyes and took out the cultivation insights he had obtained previously on Clearwater Mountain from Daoist Sage Tianyi.

Although Chen Chao would not follow the path of cultivation that this martial artist intended to pioneer, he was curious about his novel ideas and hoped to gain some benefits from them.

In the blink of an eye, it was already midnight.

Chen Chao glanced out the window, feeling somewhat tired.

……

In the courtyard, the young man entered the woodshed and pulled aside a wooden plank in a pile of firewood, revealing a cellar beneath.

After confirming that there was no one nearby, he entered the cellar.

Going down the wooden ladder, he finally arrived in the cellar, where a young girl had been waiting for a long time.

"Big Brother."

The girl called out softly.

The young man answered in a soft voice before lighting the oil lamp in the cellar.

After seeing the young girl in front of him, the young man took out two steamed buns from his bosom and handed them to his sister. The girl took a bite, but before she could speak, the young man handed her the skygold coin that Chen Chao had given him earlier, smiling broadly. "This isn't small change."

Taking the skygold coin, the girl dug out a box from the nearby ground and opened it to reveal a number of copper coins inside, but there was only one lone skygold coin inside.

"We have two now."

"That person is really a good person."

The girl was somewhat happy, looking at the skygold coin in her palm, unable to take her eyes off it.

The young man nodded and said, "When we save up enough money, we'll go to the Divine Capital. Life will be better there. Even those so-called immortals on the mountain won't dare to cause trouble."

The girl was a bit puzzled. She did not know what kind of place the Divine Capital was, but ever since their parents were killed by the so-called immortals on the mountain, she knew that the young man in front of her was her only living relative. Wherever her big brother told her to go, she would go.

But soon, the girl sighed and said worriedly, "But Big Brother, if we leave, who will come to light incense and kowtow at our parents' graves? What if we don't burn paper money for them during Qingming Festival? How will they afford food down there without money?"

The young man's expression also turned grave, but he quickly shook his head. "I asked the old people in the town, and they said as long as we think of our parents when burning paper, no matter where we are, they will receive it."

Listening to her big brother's words, the girl smiled. But she soon thought of something else and asked with concern, "What if the paper money in the Divine Capital is expensive? Should we buy some paper money to take with us?"

The young man waved his hand, not too concerned about this. "How expensive can it be?"

But the girl didnot think so. She just whispered, "It's always good to save what we can."

The young man frowned, thought for a moment, and then pulled out a box from a corner. After opening it, there was a bright green bead inside.

It was a demon bead.

The young man could not help but shed tears as he looked at the demon bead.

It was because of this demon bead that his parents were killed.

Suddenly, the young man asked, "Do you think if I were to give this demon bead to that person, would he buy it with money?"

The girl's face showed some conflict. "He should be a good person, right?"

She could not tell either, feeling somewhat hesitant.

Taking a deep breath, the young man whispered, "If we could really sell it, we would have enough money to go to the Divine Capital immediately. But I don't know if he would just take the demon bead away. This cost our parents their lives."

The girl said weakly, "I think he's a good person."

The young man was taken aback, then said huffily, "You've never even met him.

Despite being scolded by her older brother, the little girl did not get angry. She just said softly, "But he gave us a skygold coin right away. He doesn't seem like those immortals on the mountains who just snatch what they want by force."

The young man wanted to retort, but he opened his mouth and could not say anything.

"I also think he seems like a good person, but I'm not willing to take the risk."

The young man felt a bit disheartened. Indeed, he had no ability whatsoever. If the other party really decided to snatch it, he had no other choice but to watch helplessly.

"Then maybe we should keep it and sell it in the Divine Capital. That's the Emperor's territory, so there shouldn't be as many unreasonable people there, right?"

The young man was somewhat hesitant too. Despite talking about going to the Divine Capital, it was just a place he had heard of but never been to.

The girl nodded. "I'll listen to Big Brother."