He touched the dagger sheath tucked inside his outer robe against his left waist, then readjusted the position of the treasured sword on his back. Following the map in his master's travelogues, Li Yu hurried toward Huaian City, a place he had bypassed the first time because he had stayed behind to save his master.
"I wonder if that kind family who gave me a bowl of rice gruel back then has been living in peace and safety all these years," Li Yu muttered to himself.
Because the *Lishen Manual* and the travelogues recorded no spells whatsoever, Li Yu possessed spiritual power without knowing how to use it. His journey relied entirely on foot power. Worldly lightness skills could only provide a brief burst of acceleration before failing to be used again. Because lightness skills still fell within the realm of physical stamina, although Li Yu had undergone marrow-cleansing and body-altering once to improve his constitution, it only allowed him to hold out a bit longer than before.
He simply took his time journeying along the road, catching wild rabbits, chickens, and other game just as he had done in the Sea of Bamboo, roasting them to eat whenever he grew hungry. Having endured a wretched past as a beggar, Li Yu's roasting skills were quite decent. After all, meat had rarely been available in the old days, and he had always wanted to make it taste as delicious as possible. When hungry, Li Yu ate wild fruits and game; when thirsty, he drank mountain spring water. When night fell, he would find a large tree and use his lightness skill to leap up onto a thick branch to rest. Throughout the journey, he never forgot to sit in meditation for an hour before going to sleep. Though he could only absorb a few wisps of spiritual Qi by sheer chance, it was still better than nothing.
Trudging wearily along in this manner, Li Yu finally arrived half a month later at Anyuan Prefecture's capital, Huaian City.
As a prefectural capital, Huaian City was larger than any place Li Yu had seen before. The grayish-blue city walls stood three zhang high, and the main street paved with black flagstones was as flat as the large communal bed back in his hometown. All kinds of shops lined the sides of the street, and the goods displayed at the roadside stalls were dazzlingly diverse. Whenever Li Yu had begged in the past, he had always headed toward residential areas; this was the first time he had stood on a main street like this to admire an urban landscape. Having undergone a complete transformation—from beggar to "immortal"—Li Yu felt as though stepping into this bustling place once more belonged to a past life. He no longer needed to bow and scrape or read other people's expressions.
Inside his bundle were five hundred taels in bank notes, twenty taels of loose silver, superb martial arts, the cultivation of the 1st Layer of Qi Refining, and the life-claiming flying daggers at his waist, along with...
"Forget it, it's just a sword," Li Yu sighed, a helpless sigh escaping him.
When entering the city, the guards watching the city gate had confiscated the treasured sword on his back under the pretext that unregistered weapons were not allowed to be carried. Although he was reluctant to lose the treasured sword that had accompanied him for many years, Li Yu figured that since he was now a cultivator of immortality, a sword made of mortal iron would certainly be of no use to him in the future. Better to avoid trouble than invite it; since he had just stepped out into the world, he would just have to swallow this grievance for now.
Finding an inn that looked reasonably prosperous, he had barely stepped through the doors when an enthusiastic waiter hurried over to ask whether he wanted to rest and eat or take a room. Li Yu ordered a top-tier banquet spread for the table, requested a first-class guest room, and sat by the window in a daze.
"Master said in his letter that he has a close and trusted friend in this city whom I can rely upon. But since I've decided to venture into the cultivation world on my own now, there's no need to go and disturb them. As for the 'Achieving Dao Taoist Temple' in the Chu Country capital, that's certainly even less necessary to visit; with my Five Spiritual Roots aptitude, going there would simply be inviting humiliation. Master's travelogues mentioned that immortals flying through the sky frequently roam the region between Ningan City and the Hengduan Mountains. Since I have nowhere to go, I might as well go and take a look there. Perhaps I can make the acquaintance of a few fellow practitioners and gain a better understanding of the cultivation world."
While Li Yu was lost in thought, the waiter finished serving all the dishes. After finishing his meal, Li Yu casually tossed the waiter a few taels of loose silver and went upstairs to rest.
The night passed without incident. Rising early the next morning and finishing his washing, Li Yu first went to a tailor's shop to buy several long robes, as the outer garments of this style were better suited for concealing his flying dagger sheath. Naturally, he purchased a complete set of belts, shoes, and socks as well. He also bought some seasonings packed in small bottles; with the journey being long, he might need to hunt some game to reward his stomach. He had even wanted to purchase a fine steed to experience the thrill of galloping across the land and living unrestrained in the pugilistic world, but alas, his master had never taught him how to ride horses, so he had to abandon the idea.
After asking around, he learned that tomorrow the local "Weiyuan Escort Agency" would have an escort convoy setting out for Ningan City.
It had to be said that in this world where spiritual Qi existed, cities could only be regarded as places where mortals gathered in the vast plains to keep warm together. The much more vast regions were actually uninhabited and boundless mountain ranges, swamps, deserts, and oceans. Especially in an era when the cultivation world remained hidden and mortals possessed limited capabilities, the best way to travel far was actually to pay money and accompany an escort agency on the road.
Escort agencies not only escorted cargo but also provided accompanying services, offering carriages for passengers to ride in as well as communal meals cooked in large pots for them to eat. For the escort agency, this increased their income without delaying their delivery schedule; for the passengers, not only would their route not go wrong, but escort fighters would also provide protection. In the boundless and hazy mountains, wild beasts were countless, and bandits even fiercer than wild beasts were equally countless. As an escort agency with many years of operation, Weiyuan Escort Agency not only boasted powerful escort fighters, but their various preparations and arrangements along the road were surely executed to the utmost perfection.
Li Yu found Weiyuan Escort Agency, paid the travel fee, and received a small wooden sign inscribed with "Weiyuan" as his basis for departure the next day. Afterward, he returned to his inn room; with the road ahead shrouded in uncertainty, he temporarily had no mood to wander about idly.
He immediately took out the three flying daggers from his dagger sheath, wiped them down with meticulous care, and practiced a few opening stances for throwing daggers to brush up on his skills. When he finished, Li Yu took out his master's travelogues and began reading them with great relish. Although the Spiritual Sense in his Niwan Palace provided the ability to remember everything at a glance, texts could only yield new insights when held in one's hands and perused repeatedly.
At the hour of *chen* the following day, Li Yu left the inn and hurried toward the city gate, where the personnel of Weiyuan Escort Agency were gathering outside the city.
This time, Weiyuan Escort Agency had undertaken the cargo of several prominent households in Huaian City, totaling twenty-six freight wagons. Each wagon was pulled by two bay horses with exceptional stamina, and every freight wagon was manned by two escort fighters who took turns driving while protecting the cargo. Including four accompanying carriages, there were thirty carriages in total. The accompanying carriages only required a single horse to pull them along with one driver each, and every accompanying carriage could only seat four passengers. In addition, more than a dozen escort fighters on solo mounts rode alongside to act as circumstances dictated.
This journey would pass through three prefectures, seven major cities, and over a dozen small towns, taking an estimated six months to reach Ningan City, where Li Yu was headed.
"Young fellow, come, come, come," shouted an elderly man in a brocade robe to Li Yu, who was observing the escort convoy with his Spiritual Sense.
"Old sir, what can I do for you?" Li Yu stepped forward and asked with a puzzled expression.
"I wonder if the young brother has anyone traveling with you? If not, why not share a carriage with me? I'm still one person short of four in mine," the elderly man said with a smile.
"I'm traveling alone. Since that's the case, I'll gladly accept rather than decline, and I hope for much care and looking after along the way."
"That's wonderful! Traveling together on the road, there's no need to speak of 'looking after'; when difficulties arise, we just lend each other a helping hand. Old man's surname is Wu; if you don't mind, you can just call me Uncle Wu. The other two people in the same carriage are my two nephews from the same clan."
"Uncle Wu, where are the other two?" Li Yu asked.
"They're already waiting in the carriage. The convoy is about to leave, let's get in first," the old man said.
"Very well, Uncle Wu, please go ahead," Li Yu said, making a polite gesture of invitation.
Having spoken, the two of them walked toward the accompanying carriage located at the very rear of the convoy.
Before long, the head escort with a ferocious scar across his face took the lead and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Set out!"
With thirty carriages and a party of over eighty people, the escort convoy began its journey.
Everything went smoothly and without incident. After traveling for over a month, they arrived at the first major city, Lin'an City. As per custom, the escort fighters delivered the cargo to Weiyuan Escort Agency's stronghold in this city, while the accompanying passengers were given a single evening to move about the city, with the convoy departing promptly at the hour of *chen* on the second day.
Li Yu got off to stretch his limbs. Having endured the hardships of travel all the way—although they stopped to eat and rest during meal times and at night, the space inside the carriage was small and did not allow for a full stretch, inevitably leaving his limbs numb—he temporarily bid farewell to the three people sharing his carriage and walked toward an inn.
After finishing the specialty dishes of the establishment and satisfying his appetite, he called the waiter to open a top-tier guest room. In the room, Li Yu took a proper hot bath to wash away the dust of the journey, then asked the inn worker to carry out the wooden tub. Afterward, Li Yu closed the door and began his meditation.
Having gone a month without practicing, his cultivation had remained stagnant, but Li Yu could do nothing about it. The worldly spiritual Qi was incomparably thin, and he had only two Spirit Stones left in his bundle for self-protection, so cultivation yielded negligible results. Furthermore, with three other people sharing his carriage, he naturally could not sit and practice in front of others.
Along the way, aside from admiring the scenery, he spent his time chatting with the elderly Wu. Although Li Yu was only at the age of binding his hair, having experienced the hardships of a beggar's life and later receiving instruction from Situ Kong, his maturity far surpassed his years. Not only was he well-versed in human affairs, but his speech was also quite refined, and having thoroughly read Situ Kong's travelogues, his knowledge did not lag behind others. Consequently, he was greatly favored by the elderly Wu, and the two of them conversed happily all the way. Moreover, with Li Yu intentionally guiding the conversation using his Spiritual Sense, the old man spilled every last detail of his background.
The old man, named Wu Shaozhang, had been introduced in his youth to work as an odd-job servant in the city lord's mansion, barely managing to scrape together a living. He had worked there for ten years. Because he had been diligent, hardworking, and reasonably quick-witted during that time, he had won the favor of the old city lord and was directly assigned to wait upon the eldest young master, who was still young at the time, and attend to his daily life. Following that, he served the eldest young master wholeheartedly until he reached adulthood, right up until the old city lord passed away. When the eldest young master smoothly succeeded to the position of city lord as expected, Wu Shaozhang also made a comeback and became one of the stewards in the mansion. Because he enjoyed the city lord's deep trust, this secret operation involved bringing along his two nephews who served as guards in the city lord's mansion—Wu Xiongbin and Wu Xiongjian—to purchase a pill of "Eternal Youth" for the city lord's wife.
The old man not only carried a staggering number of bank notes on his person, but among the cargo being escorted were also several wagons of expensive items specifically intended for purchasing the "Eternal Youth Pill."
The reason the old man had invited Li Yu to share his carriage was that he saw Li Yu was young and posed no threat. Little did he know that if Li Yu harbored malicious intentions, the city lord's wife would likely be in for a disappointment.
At the same time, Li Yu had also learned the truth about the Eternal Youth Pill from the old man. The sole function of the "Eternal Youth Pill" was to allow the person who took it to maintain their current appearance until their physical functions suffered a drastic decline, at which point they would age rapidly. If taken at age twenty, aging would not begin until age forty. Such an effect made young women chasing after beauty flock to it like ducks. Of course, those who could afford it were inevitably immensely wealthy or high-ranking officials and nobles in the mortal world.
This cemented Li Yu's determination to go to Ningan City; that Eternal Youth Pill had to be some kind of immortal spiritual pill, otherwise it could not possibly possess such miraculous efficacy. And throughout the entire Chu Country, the easiest place to purchase this pill was Ningan City.
Having finished his meditation, Li Yu exhaled a breath of turbid air, then leaned to the right, lying down on his side fully clothed to sleep, his hand resting in a position suitable for drawing a flying dagger quickly. In an unfamiliar place among strangers, Li Yu naturally had to keep his wits about him.