Early that morning, He Laohun knocked on Jiang Yi’s door and shouted at the top of his lungs:
“Brother Yi, there’s a Transmission Elder opening the altar to lecture on the Inner Peak today. Are you still going or not?”
“I’m going—why wouldn’t I be? I’ve been waiting for this!”
Jiang Yi pushed the door open and stepped out, brimming with energy, not the slightest trace of sleepiness in his eyes. Clearly, he had been awake for some time.
Even without work to attend to, this Inspector Jiang was not the sort to lie idle. His mind was filled with thoughts of entering the Inner Peak, and he never dared slacken in his daily cultivation.
Especially after the Heavenly Book had provided him with that “superior cultivation plan,” he had redoubled his efforts.
From morning to night, from meals to sleep, every hour had been arranged with perfect clarity.
[The deduction results are as follows:]
[At the Zi hour, you may rest indoors through reclining meditation. Like a bow unstrung, let the mind go empty, neither thinking nor pondering. Breathe long and even, fine as a drifting thread, to nourish the newly sprouted primal yang qi within the body…]
[At the Mao hour, on the eastern side of Red Flame Peak, when the east is just beginning to pale, sit in meditation and breathe in and out. At this time, heaven and earth shift from yin to yang, and one’s sense of qi is at its purest and most lively. With long-term persistence, there is an extremely low chance of triggering “surging true qi,” which can equal half a day of ordinary bitter cultivation…]
[At the Chen hour, return to your residence or seek out a quiet place to perform heavenly circuit circulation, temper fire-nature, and refine the original essence…]
All twelve hours of the day had been arranged without the slightest gap. After cultivating according to this for the past two days, Jiang Yi only felt that everything came easily; there was not the slightest fatigue anywhere in his body.
Though no great changes could be seen in such a short time, he believed that if he persisted like this over the long term, his cultivation would ripen naturally and progress as a matter of course.
Seeing Jiang Yi so full of vigor, He Laohun could not help feeling somewhat envious. Menial workers like them spent years laboring in the workshops, their qi and blood depleted quickly, their vitality ground away by seven or eight parts.
Thus they were the most prone to appearing “prematurely aged.”
Brother Yi’s painstaking cultivation had clearly borne fruit. His bearing was growing more and more extraordinary, and he increasingly resembled those true disciples of orthodox lineages and cultivators of Dharma veins from storybooks.
He Laohun chuckled and said:
“Then all right. In a while, we’ll go to the forge and meet Overseer Zhou. I’ve already paid the talisman coins for you.”
When Jiang Yi heard this, he immediately took out several talisman coins and stuffed them into He Laohun’s hand.
“How could I let Brother He spend money on my behalf? None of us earns these few talisman coins easily. Take them!”
He Laohun still wanted to refuse—after all, Brother Yi had once stood up for him, killed Dong Ba, and crippled Zhang Chao. Smoothing things over afterward must certainly have cost quite a bit.
Though He Laohun was usually petty over every little thing, he still understood the principle of repaying kindness.
“Brother Yi, I’ve seen you practicing morning and night these past few days without pause. You must be aiming for the fifth level of Qi Refining so you can take over Overseer Yang’s post.
Old He here doesn’t have much ability and can’t be of any great help. This little bit is just my intention…”
Jiang Yi waved his hand as he walked toward the courtyard gate, his tone open and cheerful.
“Brother He, just see to the miscellaneous affairs of the quenching room. There’s no need to worry about anything else.
The fifth level of Qi Refining is still far off. A few talisman coins here and there won’t add much progress. If I were single-mindedly seeking money, why would I have refused Zhang San and Dong Si back then?”
Jiang Yi had always believed in “spending money to get things done.” Whether large sums or small, so long as it was used where it mattered, it was worth a thousand times over.
Ever since he had activated the Heavenly Book and glimpsed that slim chance to turn his fate around, what he sought had never changed.
It had always been to enter the Inner Peak and seek the Dao.
Clinging to Yang Xun was for this. Killing Dong Ba and crippling Zhang Chao, thus avoiding even more trouble and entanglement in the future, was also for this.
Jiang Yi was unwilling to join those two vicious dogs in their filth. On one hand, he looked down on those petty profits;
on the other, he also knew full well that once he got involved, chaos would inevitably arise because of profit, and trouble because of wealth.
Better to settle it once and for all, and uproot it completely!
“Let’s go, Brother He. If we delay any longer, you’ll be late for work.”
On the way, Jiang Yi stopped by the kitchen and picked up a few warm flatbreads.
They were the breakfast Widow Qin had specially saved for him.
Ever since he had borrowed money from her last time, their relationship had grown closer and closer. When they interacted now, they were more like an elder sister and younger brother.
“Right away.”
He Laohun hurried to keep up, sighing inwardly.
“Brother Yi truly changes by the day. Sooner or later, he’ll become the overseer of the quenching room and be just as impressive as Old Man Yang.”
The two of them arrived together at the forge. As it happened, Overseer Zhou Guang was there supervising work today, saving them another trip.
Unlike Yang Xun, with his long face, bald brows, and vicious features, Zhou Guang had a round face like Maitreya Buddha’s. He was always smiling, with a large belly thrust out before him, looking leisurely and carefree.
“To borrow a flying crane and go to the Inner Peak to listen to a Transmission Elder open the altar and lecture…”
Zhou Guang sized Jiang Yi up. It was rare to see such a spirited young man on Red Flame Peak.
“You must be Inspector Jiang from the quenching room?”
Jiang Yi bowed and replied:
“Thank you for asking, Overseer. This junior is Jiang Yi, and I do indeed serve in the quenching room.”
Zhou Guang laughed twice, the fat on his cheeks trembling with it.
“The Dong Ba I promoted was beaten to death by you, was he? Looks like you’ve cultivated Overseer Yang’s Fire Controlling Art to quite a profound level.”
He Laohun trembled from head to toe. Whether he was cowed by Zhou Guang’s aura or because fear of overseers had already sunk deep into his bones, he immediately moved to kneel and explain.
But Jiang Yi stepped forward and blocked him, then said unhurriedly:
“Please see clearly, Overseer. That night, circumstances forced my hand. In a moment of carelessness, this junior harmed a talent you had promoted.
This matter has already been confessed to Overseer Yang. Thanks to his elder’s understanding of the difficulties involved, I was not severely punished.
In future, I will certainly act with strict restraint. I hope Overseer Zhou will be magnanimous.”
What a glib-tongued boy!
Zhou Guang narrowed his little eyes and let them circle Jiang Yi twice. For a long while, he said nothing.
Only after a moment did he burst into laughter.
“Overseer Yang really did pick up a treasure. Zhou has always been fair in his dealings; one matter is one matter. Since I’ve accepted your talisman coins, I won’t make further issue of it.
This is the hand token for riding the flying crane. Keep it safe. If you lose it, you won’t be able to come back.
Remember, once the evening bell rings, if you are still lingering on the Inner Peak, you will have violated a taboo.”
Jiang Yi received the exquisite jade token with both hands and said respectfully:
“Your Excellency Overseer is broad-minded. This junior deeply admires you.”
Zhou Guang waved his hand, his tone meaningful.
“Go on, go on. If you enter the Inner Peak in the future, perhaps Zhou will even have to call you ‘Senior Brother.’”
“Overseer is joking. How would this junior dare harbor such extravagant hopes?”
Jiang Yi’s face was full of humility, as though he had never once entertained such a thought.
He Laohun listened from the side, dazed.
The Inner Peak?
Brother Yi could actually enter the Inner Peak?
That was a place even more impressive than being an overseer…
He stared blankly at Jiang Yi’s back as he walked toward the “Crane Garden,” his thoughts surging for a time.
In the past, he had only felt that Brother Yi was lucky to have gained Old Man Yang’s favor;
after the matter with Zhang San and Dong Si, he had admired Brother Yi’s methods and courage;
but now it seemed…
“Back when I was taking further studies in Daoist learning, the teacher was always talking about things like ‘between the tree and the wild goose, the transformation of dragon and snake.’ I never understood it.
Now I finally do. So it turns out he was talking about people like Brother Yi.”
He Laohun’s heart was filled with a hundred emotions. In his mind, he could not help picturing Jiang Yi wearing a dark robe, respectfully addressed by a group of overseers as “Senior Brother Jiang.”
He could not help smiling in relief, murmuring to himself:
“I’ve lived half my life in mediocrity, with no hope on the Dao path. I only hope Brother Yi can go a little farther, and in place of us menial weeds, take a look at that broader world.”
At this thought, he lifted his head, narrowed his eyes, and gazed at the figure riding a white crane as it gradually entered the cloudy haze. In a low voice, he murmured:
“It’s truly good to be able to fly upward… Come to think of it, I once rode this crane too.
Go on, Brother Yi. Fly higher. May you soon ascend that path to the clouds on the Inner Peak.”
With that, he raised his hand and waved, then turned and strode toward the quenching room.
Today, he still had to go to work!