“This humble one is Li Rulong. Greetings, Senior!”
Li Rulong had a square face, its lines resolute and firm. He stepped forward solemnly to offer his thanks.
Although Fang Qing looked a few years younger than him, he was clearly an old monster skilled in the art of preserving his youth, and not someone to be treated lightly.
“Senior?”
Fang Qing touched his own face. “I’m about the same age as you. Just call me Fang Shui…”
“About… the same age?”
Li Rulong’s eyes widened.
Fang Qing scratched his head with an honest grin. “When I was little, I fell off a cliff and found the legacy of a senior. There was also a red-fruit tree beside it. After I ate the fruit, my martial power increased greatly…”
This was the background he had fabricated for himself. The image of a simple, honest lad would make others look down on him, and could also explain why he basically knew nothing.
More importantly, the identity of “Fang Shui” was protected by the Daosheng Pearl, wrapped in a layer of an effect akin to “being within the calculations.” He had no fear of others investigating or divining him.
“So… that was how it was?”
Li Rulong felt as though he were listening to a tale from a storybook, yet his heart stirred. “Still, for this man to reveal his background the moment we meet, he truly does seem inexperienced in the ways of the world…”
The two returned to the caravan together, and Li Rulong introduced everyone to Fang Qing one by one.
Their group had originally consisted of seven people, all disciples of martial clans from ancient Shu. They were all kindred spirits, and so had sworn brotherhood, calling themselves the “Seven Swords of Shushan”!
Unfortunately, in today’s battle to punish the strong and aid the weak, three of them had died outright!
Only Li Rulong, the eldest, remained, along with the second brother Liu Wansu, the sixth brother Zhu Zhenheng, and the youngest, seventh sister Guo Tianhong.
At this moment, all of them were wounded; Li Rulong was actually in the best condition.
“Many thanks… Senior Fang… Brother Fang, for saving us.”
Liu Wansu wore a green robe and had the bearing of a jade-like young master, but at this moment he was drenched in blood. Zhu Zhenheng had lost an arm. Only Guo Tianhong was slightly better off, though her face was as pale as gold paper, and she had suffered no light internal injuries.
“No need to be so polite…”
Fang Qing exchanged a few courteous words, then saw a matronly woman from the caravan walk over. “This humble woman is Pu Feiling, of the Yulin Pu clan. Many thanks to you all for saving us.”
With that, she gave a graceful bow.
Immediately afterward, she hurriedly ordered the physicians to come forward and bandage everyone’s wounds, then had the corpses cleared away and the caravan continue on its way. Everything was handled in perfect order.
The Seven Swords of Shushan—no, the Four Swords—were all wounded, and under Madam Pu’s warm invitation, they could only board the carriages to recuperate.
Fang Qing also agreed to escort them to the next city.
……
Several days later.
At night, the moonlight was like water.
Beside the bonfire, Li Rulong was drinking with Fang Qing.
After spending these days together, he was certain that this “Brother Fang Shui” truly was a lucky youth ignorant of worldly affairs.
Moreover, he had lofty ambitions.
“You want to seek immortality?”
Li Rulong took another sip of wine, his eyes fixed straight on Fang Qing.
“Of course… My family even has a copy of the immortal calendar. Immortals definitely exist, it’s just that I can’t find them…”
Fang Qing answered honestly.
“I’ve seen the immortal calendar as well… It’s said that some great aristocratic clans even have secret transmitted versions…”
Longing likewise appeared in Li Rulong’s eyes.
After all, who did not wish to become an immortal?
“To be honest… the seven of us brothers wandered the jianghu with the same wish to seek immortality. We just never expected…”
At this point, Li Rulong could not help but grow despondent.
The two drank themselves thoroughly drunk, then each returned to their carriage to rest.
Little did anyone know that after Fang Qing lowered the carriage curtain, his expression instantly became incomparably clear, the hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth.
He gathered spiritual power into his ears, and his hearing immediately sharpened.
In the distance, inside a carriage.
Pu Feiling sat cross-legged. Across from her was a young girl with a round, slightly plump face, appearing smooth and lovely as a pearl.
“Mother… is that Fang Shui really all right?”
At this moment, the young girl asked in confusion.
“He… should be just as he said, a worldly martial artist who was fortunate enough to swallow a spiritual fruit!”
Pu Feiling’s face carried certainty. “I tested him by announcing the name of the ‘Yulin Pu family.’ If he were truly someone of cultivation, it would be impossible for him not to know the great name of a Zifu immortal clan… Moreover, these past few days, I have deliberately tested him and found no flaws.”
Hearing this through his eavesdropping, Fang Qing’s mouth twitched slightly.
He truly did not understand the cultivation world of this realm. It could only be said that by acting as himself, her probing had all come to nothing…
“So that is how it is… This time, when our family suffered disaster, the Seven Swords of Shushan and Fang Shui both helped us. We ought to repay them somewhat…”
The young girl pondered for a moment. “Mother, could we?”
“No!” Pu Feiling’s expression immediately became extremely stern. “Mother is only from a side branch of the Pu family. Back then, I married out early; how much face do I still have with the main family? This time, I specifically changed your surname to Pu so that we could return and acknowledge our ancestors. If you possess aptitude and can cultivate by ingesting qi, then all spiritual resources must be prepared for you. Do you know how precious that first mouthful of ‘true qi’ upon entering the Dao is? Even cultivators of the main family must painstakingly gather qi for several years, even a dozen years, before obtaining one strand… You can hardly look after yourself, and you still want to support someone else?”
The young girl immediately fell silent.
Then Pu Feiling continued, “Moreover… as I see it, those Seven Swords of Shushan may not necessarily possess the aptitude for immortal cultivation. As for that foolish boy, since he had a fortuitous encounter in his youth, perhaps he carries some measure of destiny. It would be acceptable to form a good connection with him.”
“What does Mother mean?”
“We do not have the ability to help someone enter the Dao… but giving them a bit of guidance is not difficult. Counting the days, the Floating Boat Market will soon open, and it just happens to be nearby. We can let them go and try their luck… As for spiritual resources? Naturally, we will not provide a single item.”
Pu Feiling spoke with certainty.
She did not know that the conversation she and her daughter believed to be secret had already fallen entirely into Fang Qing’s ears.
After listening to the whole thing, he suddenly smiled. “How could swallows and sparrows understand the ambition of a swan? And they want to tempt me with a rotten rat?”
Although there were a few spiritual items in the caravan, they did not enter Fang Qing’s eyes.
Even if they were precious enough, how could they compare to smoothly and quietly integrating into the cultivation world of this realm?
“The Yulin Pu family, is it? Zifu? It sounds like a major power. I should avoid them as soon as possible…”
“That Floating Boat Market, on the other hand, seems like a decent place to go…”
……
Yunying City.
This city was located at the southern end of Ba Commandery. Going farther south would take one beyond the borders of Ba Commandery.
The closer he came to this city, the more Fang Qing felt a gradual return of order.
Outside the city.
“I’ll escort you only this far.”
He looked at the caravan of the Pu mother and daughter lining up to enter the city, and directly took his leave.
“We are endlessly grateful for Benefactor’s life-saving grace.”
Pu Feiling led her daughter in giving a bow. “We mother and daughter will remember this great kindness. Benefactor mentioned before that you wished to seek immortality? This humble woman happens to know of some clues…”
“Mm?”
Hearing this, Li Rulong and the other three Swords also became interested. “We ask Madam Pu to enlighten us. We likewise have the wish to seek immortality.”
“Not far from this city, there is a ‘Floating Boat Market.’ It is said that cultivators conduct some business there…”
Pu Feiling took out a wooden token. The token was entirely bright yellow, seemingly carved from wood, with the character “Pu” engraved on its front. “Although Floating Boat Market is not open to mortals, if you present this token, they should give the Pu family some face.”
“Many thanks, Madam.”
Fang Qing accepted the token without hesitation, turned, and left, not dragging things out in the slightest.
“Many thanks for Madam’s guidance. If we succeed in seeking immortality, we will surely repay you in the future.”
Li Rulong cupped his fists in salute, then hurriedly led the three Swords of Shushan after Fang Qing’s footsteps.
“I never expected… Madam Pu looks so gentle and delicate, yet she knows of immortal opportunities.”
On the road, the youngest, Guo Tianhong, finally could not hold back and said, “Perhaps when we saved them at the start, she was secretly watching us make fools of ourselves.”
Her tone clearly carried some resentment.
“Seventh Sister, you must not be so rude.”
Li Rulong hurriedly stopped her. “I know the deaths of Third Brother and the others weigh heavily on you, but the dead are gone…”
The group immediately fell silent and continued on their way.
At last, a mountain peak shrouded in dense mist appeared before Fang Qing’s eyes.
“Floating Boat Market… so it turns out the clouds here resemble floating boats?”
Fang Qing had already transformed his spiritual power; at this moment, he was simply a mortal. Looking at the clouds in the firmament, he sighed.
“I wonder whether we can become immortals?”
When Li Rulong and the others saw that the immortal opportunity they had dreamed of day and night was now right before their eyes, each of them strove to remain calm, yet the hearts in their chests were almost leaping out.
“Become immortals… Haha, what’s so good about becoming immortals?”
Just then, an aged voice suddenly came from nearby.
Fang Qing looked over and saw a slovenly old Daoist strolling toward them, a mocking look on his face. “Even if you become immortals, you still have to work like oxen and horses for the immortals above you… No, they aren’t immortals at all, but devils! Some spread plagues, some kill people to harvest their blood qi… What have they turned a perfectly good land like Ba Commandery into?”
“Spreading plagues? Could he be referring to the Black Chong Sect? And killing people to harvest blood—could that mean those rebel soldiers?”
Unlike the utterly astonished Li Rulong and the others, Fang Qing knew some of the truth and immediately formed an association.
Ba Commandery had yet to be pacified even after so long, and a large number of its people had died. It seemed there were other hidden circumstances.
“The cultivators of Ba Commandery seem to lean more toward… the demonic path?”
After struggling and surviving in the Bihai Sect for three years, Fang Qing naturally knew some of the inside story behind the Sea Dragon King’s Birth Festival.
After all, the missions had been posted in the General Affairs Hall.
Right now, he was only thankful that those who had accepted the missions were all Qi Refining disciples, unable to release their divine sense and scrutinize every detail. Naturally, the watcher on the island back then would not have discovered anything wrong with him.
“Moreover… even when the Bihai Sect wants to feed demonic beasts, they only occasionally get some mortals killed, and they still use the pretext of making offerings to the Sea Dragon King to cover things up… Unlike here, where they massacre cities so openly?”
Countless thoughts flashed through Fang Qing’s mind in an instant, and then he heard Li Rulong shout, “Who are you?”
“Haha… All men know immortals are good; only conscience they forget. Where now are emperors, generals, and ministers? A pile of dry bones, even their graves are gone…”
The slovenly old Daoist looked at Li Rulong, his eyes seeming to hold a trace of pity, then walked into the dense fog on his own.
In the blink of an eye, his figure vanished.
“So he was also an immortal.”
Among the Four Swords of Shushan, Liu Wansu said in surprise, “Why was he so careless about his appearance? No, so eccentric?”
“Perhaps immortals have the aesthetics of immortals.”
Fang Qing grew wary inwardly, took out the Pu family token, and walked into the dense fog.
Before long, an archway appeared before the five of them.
On the archway were written three large, vigorous characters: “Floating Boat Market.” Behind it, buildings stood in layered shadows.
A man in coarse hemp robes was leaning against the archway, dozing. Suddenly, he opened both eyes and looked at Fang Qing and the others. “Mortals? What business do you have at my Floating Boat Market?”
“We have come to seek an immortal opportunity. We ask Immortal Master to make things convenient.”
Fang Qing stepped forward and handed over the token.
“The Pu family?”
The hemp-robed man’s expression changed, and then he said, “Let me make this clear to you: though this market does contain immortal opportunities, you are mortals. Even with the Pu family’s face, if you wish to enter, you must still prove your assets.”
“That is no issue. My family has considerable wealth.”
Li Rulong said confidently.
“I do not mean worldly gold and silver, but spiritual assets—in other words, spiritual items!”
The hemp-robed man shook his head. “If you have no spiritual items, then even if you enter the market, you will be unable to trade. You might as well go back where you came from…”