Chapter 281
Chapter 281
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 281
>Chapter Title: Yinling City
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“Om Wuma Duo Tuo Ye She!”
As Li Huowang silently recited in his mind, he followed the instructions in the technique, mobilizing that breath of qi in his dantian.
Next, he lifted the copper coin sword with his left hand and thrust it fiercely toward the verdant bamboo shoot ahead.
In the next moment, the copper coins on the sword trembled slightly. They scattered in the air before, guided by the red string, embedding one by one into the bamboo shoot.
Li Huowang lifted the sword hilt again, and the worn copper coins swiftly returned, reforming the copper coin sword.
By the time the copper coin sword was reassembled, the bamboo shoot over a meter tall in front of Li Huowang had already been split into pieces.
Li Huowang then turned to the moss-covered black stone beside it. He gripped the sword tightly and slashed fiercely toward it.
In the next instant, Li Huowang felt a powerful force transmit from the sword. At that moment, it felt as if he wasn’t wielding the sword, but rather the sword was dragging his hand along.
Just as the copper coin sword was about to collide with the stone, it suddenly scattered entirely. As the empty hilt brushed past the boulder, the copper coins, linked by the red string, reformed and severed a decaying tree several meters behind the stone.
“This sword is useful. Extremely useful.” Li Huowang looked at the copper coin sword before him, a hint of delight rising in his heart.
Compared to the other things he possessed, this was clearly far more practical. And most importantly, it had no side effects.
This copper coin sword could, to some extent, compensate for his weakness in ranged attacks.
The scholar watching from the side felt burning envy. The divine ability he had painstakingly learned with great hardship, the other had mastered better in such a short time.
With this in mind, the scholar rushed forward excitedly, his expression fervent.
“Master’s divine abilities are unmatched in the world!! Peerless under heaven!”
Facing the flattery, Li Huowang’s expression soured as if he’d swallowed a fly. This illiterate couldn’t even flatter properly.
“Master, what divine ability should I learn next?”
The scholar’s eyes burned with eagerness as he voiced his greatest concern.
Li Huowang looked at the youth before him without answering. He had taught him the technique earlier not only to dispel the baleful aura on him but also to have him test it first for any pitfalls.
Now that the goal was achieved, Li Huowang knew it was time to consider how to deal with this cheap disciple.
Li Huowang understood that with his current temperament, directly expelling him from the sect wouldn’t work. He needed a more roundabout approach.
“Learn to read. That’s your next step.”
Li Huowang’s words stunned the scholar. This was far from what he’d expected.
“Do you know why I learned this technique faster than you? Because I can read.”
“So what if I can’t read? I can still learn divine abilities without it! I can still cultivate immortality!”
The scholar’s tone was indignant.
“You won’t learn? Fine then. Don’t blame me for not teaching you.”
Li Huowang turned and walked away.
“Master, I was wrong!”
The extremely anxious scholar dropped to his knees before Li Huowang with a thud, kowtowing three times heavily.
“I’ll learn!”
When Li Huowang emerged from the bamboo grove, the scholar behind him was already hugging a book filled with characters, furrowing his brow in painstaking memorization. He had never studied this hard in his life.
Seeing his master return, Mantou trotted over with small steps, wagging her tail, and gently sniffed at Li Huowang’s hem with her nose.
Li Huowang patted her dog head and said to the others by the ox cart,
“Let’s go. Hurry up. We need to enter Yinling City as soon as possible.”
As the cart wheels rolled, Li Huowang unfolded the map in his hand again. According to it, a major city of Great Liang, Yinling City, was not far ahead.
From what he had learned, this city ranked high across the entire Great Liang. It was the fief of one of Great Liang’s princes.
Of course, Li Huowang didn’t really care what the city was like. What mattered more was that once they passed it, Cowheart Mountain wasn’t far away.
Once they reached Bai Lingmiao’s hometown, this arduous long journey would finally come to an end.
“Senior Brother Li, I’ve never been to Yinling City before. I only heard my second uncle say that the people there are filthy rich. Back when he was young, he hunted a chicken-footed deer and sold it in Yinling City. When he came back, he built three large tiled houses!”
“He said Yinling City is huge and beautiful, and the food there is especially delicious. When I was little, I often wondered just how tasty it could be.”
Bai Lingmiao, her eyes covered with a white silk ribbon, held onto Li Huowang’s hem with both hands, chattering nonstop. This was completely different from her usual demeanor.
She spoke, and Li Huowang listened silently. One in front, one behind—they looked quite the pair.
Under Bai Lingmiao’s voice, like that of a hundred larks, a tall, oppressive city wall gradually appeared before them.
As they followed the crowd to the base of the wall, and their bodies were fully shrouded in its shadow, Li Huowang looked up, nearly mistaking it for a mountain.
“T-This wall... this wall...”
Gouwa stared blankly, stammering.
“This wall is huge!”
Yang Kid finished for him.
“You and your mouth.”
Gouwa wrapped an arm around his wife’s waist and quickened his pace to catch up with the cart.
In the long line ahead, within the barbican, guards with a “soldier” tattoo on their chests were checking people one by one.
Compared to Qingqiu before, scrutiny here was much stricter. Everything had to be inspected thoroughly before passage was allowed.
Everyone grew tense involuntarily, pulling down the black gauze hats over their heads.
Just entering the dozens-of-meters-long barbican, Li Huowang noticed that even speech echoed, showing how vast it was.
“What’s your business entering the city?”
The inspecting guard’s tone was utterly cold.
“Officers, we’re a troupe of performers. Please show us some leniency.”
Lv Zhuangyuan smiled obsequiously as he handed over their travel permits. The silver beneath was tossed to the ground.
Seeing the official seals on the permits, the guards who had moved to inspect their belongings stepped back.
“Pass. Next.”
Those words made Li Huowang, standing by the ox cart carrying the Black Tai Sui, breathe a sigh of relief.
Once inside, sighs of amazement rose around Li Huowang nonstop, though it was only natural. Along the spacious streets on both sides stood numerous multistory buildings.
Between these buildings unfolded a bustling scene, a living Qingming Riverside painting.
Seeing this prosperous yet unfamiliar sight, even the worldly Lv Zhuangyuan felt at a loss. Their group stood in the middle of the road, unsure which way to go.
Many onlookers sneered disdainfully at their actions—another bunch of country bumpkins who’d never entered a city.
“What’s there to panic about? Same as always—find an inn to settle first.”
Li Huowang looked ahead and walked on. The others hurried to follow.
Li Huowang gazed complexly at everything around him. He truly hadn’t expected such a prosperous place to exist in this world.
He had thought that this deranged world had no single good patch left.
(End of chapter)