Chapter 120 First Steps Out of Zhuangzi, Righteous and Chivalrous Deeds
The Great Wu Dynasty had a vast territory.
The four celestial domains of the east, west, south, and north are each governed by a "Dao," which in turn governs prefectures, and further down the prefectures are counties or states.
Not long after leaving the village, the setting sun disappeared, and everything was pitch black.
The magnificent horse wasn't fast, but it moved with remarkable stability. Li Xian sat outside the carriage, holding the reins, but he had no say in where they were going.
Mrs. Wen sat cross-legged and rested in the carriage.
With nothing else to do, Li Xian pondered the "Azure Palm" in his mind. He had a deep understanding of this palm technique and was mentally rehearsing its variations.
Gradually fill in the gaps...
“Every hour, you shall ring this bell to ward off demons.” Just as Madam Wen was about to calm herself down and recuperate, she suddenly caught a whiff of demonic energy. With a wave of her hand, she sent a black copper bell out of the carriage.
Li Xian asked, "Madam, is this an exorcism bell?"
"Hmm..." A voice came from inside the carriage. The lady had already closed her eyes.
Li Xian took the bell. It was completely different from the exorcism bell that Pang Long had held last time. This was the real beast-repelling bell.
The purpose of this trip was to collect medicinal herbs. The lady, not wanting any further trouble, drove away demons along the way to avoid being disturbed.
Li Xian shook the bell. There was no sound. He channeled his inner energy and shook it again. Only then did a faint sound emerge, but such a sound was hardly enough to scare away the demons.
Li Xian gathered his inner energy and poured a large amount into the exorcism bell, then shook it violently.
A clanging sound rang out, carrying a mysterious power.
From that pitch-black depths, a rustling sound immediately came.
The demons lurking in the shadows were terrified and scattered upon hearing the bell.
"Good heavens, there are so many demons!" Li Xian was taken aback. He knew that there were demons in the world, hiding in various places, but he did not expect there to be so many.
When he was in Heihe Village, he often went up the mountain to hunt. Sometimes he went far into the mountains and spent the night in the wild when it got late.
But I've never encountered demons surrounding me.
Why is it so troublesome to leave the manor with the lady?
In reality, martial artists who have undergone a complete transformation are more likely to attract demons.
Qingning County has recently been quite turbulent. Turbulent places naturally become havens for demons, which is why many demons are eyeing them covetously.
Things will get much better once you leave Qingning County.
Every hour, Li Xian would ring a bell. Each time the bell rang, it would scatter a group of demons.
But ringing the bell is no easy task.
By the time the third ring was struck, the sky was gradually turning white, and the demons had diminished.
"There is a river ahead, let's stop and rest."
Inside the carriage, the lady spoke again.
Li Xian looked closely and indeed saw a river several miles away. He immediately stopped the carriage by the riverbank, where a lush green meadow stretched out.
"Madam, where are we going?" Li Xian asked.
“Chimu Prefecture, Fulai Village,” the lady replied casually. But Li Xianquan had never heard of either “Fulai Village” or “Chimu Prefecture.”
This was his first real trip outside.
Although I had gone to Huangyu County before, I only stayed for less than two days in order to save my younger brother.
During breaks, Li Xian, unwilling to waste time, found a place to practice martial arts whenever he could.
[Proficiency +1]
[Proficiency +1]
The Sunset Blood Sword has become increasingly refined, its strikes are unparalleled in their ferocity, and the blade is imbued with intense scorching energy.
[The Sword of Setting Sun and Fading Blood]
[Proficiency: 1367/3000 Mastery]
Lady Wen watched from a distance, nodding slightly. This Li Xian could indeed "make up for his lack of talent with diligence." Although his natural talent wasn't top-notch, his hard work and perseverance meant that his achievements were bound to be quite remarkable.
She sat cross-legged, eyes closed, focusing her breath, seemingly practicing some kind of extraordinary skill. After a long while, she slowly opened her eyes and murmured, "This kind of practice is very ineffective, and there's even a slight tendency to regress. That Silkworm Feather Jade Inlay Technique... is there really no other way?"
Madam Wen called out, "Come back, continue heading southeast."
Upon hearing this, Li Xian ceased his sword strike and hurried back to the carriage. However, he had just practiced the Sunset Bloodshed Sword Technique, and his yang energy was abundant, causing his blood to surge. Approaching him, he was like a wave of heat.
Seeing that Li Xian's yang energy was abundant and his youthful vigor was vigorous, Madam Wen couldn't help but glance at him a few more times. She then said, "Alright, I'll wait for you for a moment. Go to the river and steady your breathing."
The river water was cool. After steeping for half an incense stick's time, Li Xian's burning sensation subsided. He then acted as the coachman, continuing the journey southeast...
By afternoon, they had already left Qingning County and even the poorest part of Sichuan.
While traveling on a mountain plank road, the horse "Baiyun" moved with light hooves, as if traveling through clouds and mist. The plank road was not even as wide as a carriage, yet it could travel steadily on it.
Li Xian felt relieved after realizing she wouldn't fall off the cliff.
I had the illusion of floating on clouds, and I looked around and gazed into the distance.
The mountains stretched out in a breathtaking panorama, each with its own unique shape: some with jagged, towering rocks, others reaching straight into the clouds, and still others lush with verdant vegetation…
Further away, a silvery waterfall cascades down, its rushing waters flowing endlessly. It's truly a sight never before seen.
Hundred zhang? Thousand zhang?
It's probably far more than that!
"What a vast and boundless world! If a man is born here and cannot fully experience it, then he has truly come to nothing!"
The beautiful scenery inspires the heart. Li Xian took in all the wonders of the world and felt a grand ambition to "ask the heavens how high they are".
If Li Xian were traveling alone, he would really like to find a mountaintop, shout into the wind, and unleash his spirit and boundless ambition.
"Madam, where is this place?" Li Xian asked.
After a long while, the lady briefly explained, "This is Yunshan Prefecture, a barren and uncivilized land, with many mountains and forests." The lady, who was used to seeing beautiful scenery, did not find it particularly remarkable.
This continued for two days.
Although Li Xian has little time to practice martial arts, his proficiency in the "Sunset Blood Sword" has steadily increased, and now it has reached [1584] points.
We are only halfway to achieving our goal.
On the third day, Lady Wen intended to enter a large city to purchase some rare and precious fodder to properly reward her horse, "White Cloud."
She doesn't come here often and doesn't know where in the city it is, so she sent Li Xianqian to inquire.
The carriage stopped in the mountains, and Li Xian, lightly dressed, walked along the road, believing that it wouldn't be long before he saw other pedestrians.
"The footprints here are dense, as if many people have just passed by. Let me see if I can catch up and ask them for details."
Soon, he saw many messy footprints. Li Xian gathered his Qi to his chest and followed the footprints, but the more he followed, the more uneasy he felt, because the footprints on the ground were of varying depths, exuding a sense of disorder and dread…
Sure enough, after chasing for seven or eight miles, they found human tracks.
Then a burst of noise was heard.
"You bastards! When you heard that our Yellow Dragon Army was coming, you didn't even hold a three-day banquet, send your sons and daughters, or volunteer to join the army. You still dare to run away!"
"If you run away, he runs away, and everyone runs away, how can we achieve anything great? Most importantly, if you all run away, what will we, the Yellow Dragon Army, eat?"
"Hey bro, show off your skills!"
"Let these lowly people taste our power!"
Not far ahead, they saw seven or eight commoners, with their families and children, surrounded by four soldiers.
The soldier rode a horse, clad in armor, and carried a long spear. He was well-fed, strong, and exuded a fierce aura.
They were clearly elite soldiers in the "Yellow Dragon Army" and were highly valued.
Li Xian looked again...
Blood was visible on the ground, indicating that someone had been injured. It was an eight- or nine-year-old child, whose body had been pierced by a spear and thrown into the air.
"Hey, here you go."
The soldier flicked his spear, tossing the child into the air. Another soldier laughed loudly, "Behold my divine might!" and thrust his spear forward, piercing the child.
"My son..." A middle-aged man cried out and knelt on the ground. His family huddled together, their eyes filled with despair.
The child was barely breathing, too weak to cry out, and was about to die.
Li Xian's heart skipped a beat. He had grown up in Qingning since childhood and knew that Dawu was in turmoil and that various rebel armies were gaining momentum.
Although Qingning County is located in a remote area, it was fortunate in the past to have escaped several uprisings and rebellions.
I only saw it today.
The Great Wu Dynasty's court was corrupt, which was naturally bad. But the various rebel armies were also bloodthirsty and murderous, and were no better.
Seeing the scene of their brutal killing, Li Xian frowned. "These people are truly despicable. It's a good opportunity to test the power of my sword!"
Zheng Ye was eager to try, so he immediately drew his sword and charged forward, knocking off the headdress of a soldier.
"Who!" The four people were all startled.
Li Xian replied, "Damn it." He thrust his sword diagonally upwards. The sword's power was profound, penetrating the armor and piercing through the abdomen, rupturing the liver and spleen.
Kill him with one sword...
"Kill!" The other three were both shocked and frightened. They spurred their horses forward and thrust their spears at each other.
Li Xian raised his palm and struck. His martial arts manifested in a strange way; his inner energy transformed into a green wave of phantom energy, surging forth. This caused the horses to tumble and fall, throwing their formation into chaos.
Li Xian leaped into the air, looking down from his vantage point, and unleashed the "Three Yangs Bring Prosperity" technique, striking out with three sword strikes in quick succession. He killed all three of them.
The people were saved, and while holding the tragically dead child, they wept bitterly and kowtowed to thank Li Xian for his great kindness.
Li Xian offered a brief reassurance before getting straight to the point, asking, "I happened to be passing through this area and am looking for a large city to rest in. Are there any decent large cities nearby?"
An old man said, "My benefactor, please...please don't...we just escaped from the city."
"What's going on?" Li Xian frowned.
The old man said, "Three days ago, we heard that the Yellow Dragon Army was going to enter 'Xiang Le City', so we prepared to flee."
"That damned magistrate said everything was just a rumor and told us not to believe it. He even had the person who spread the rumor killed in the street."
“We were so foolish that we believed everything. But last night, the magistrate ran away on his own. When my family and I realized what was going on, we also hurriedly fled.”
"Unfortunately, it was too late. The Yellow Dragon Army entered the city early this morning and carried out widespread burning, killing, and looting. Some of their mounted guards even took pleasure in capturing people."
Li Xian asked, "The Yellow Dragon Army?"
The old man was just a farmer, and his knowledge was limited.
But from him, Li Xian did learn that Xiang Le City was the largest city within a radius of over a hundred miles. And now it had been occupied…
"Alright, you all should run now." Li Xian took out some water and food and distributed them to everyone.
I can only do so much, and I can't help everyone completely.
"Thank you, my benefactor! Thank you, my benefactor!"
The group kowtowed three times, accepted the water and food, and fled into the distance.
As for the four corpses… Li Xian searched them thoroughly and took the valuables. He also wanted to collect items like the armor and spears, which could be exchanged for a considerable sum of money.
However, since I was traveling with my wife, it was really inconvenient, so I had to reluctantly give it up.
After wandering around the area and rescuing several refugees, Li Xian returned to the carriage and told his wife everything.
The lady frowned: "The Yellow Dragon Army?"
"These rebels are incapable of accomplishing anything and pose no real threat. However, they have done a great deal of burning, killing, and looting."
“What a pity.”
The lady was not simply acting out of kindness, lamenting the injustices of the world for the sake of the people.
Martial artists need a large number of people to cook fine food. Therefore, in her eyes, such indiscriminate killing was extremely "regrettable".
Compared to the rebels, the lady was a true living bodhisattva.
"Madam, shall we still go to Xiangle City? Within a hundred miles, I'm afraid only Xiangle City can afford to supply such precious horse feed," Li Xian asked.
"Although the Yellow Dragon Army is not a force to be reckoned with, it still has a large number of people. We can simply take a detour," Madam Wen said calmly.
(End of this chapter)
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