Because of General Xue's malice in the transmission of the Cultivation Technique, Li Guanyi did not sleep well the whole night.
Everyone has a desire for knowledge, just like when a game's plot gets stuck in the middle, neither advancing nor regressing. The next morning, when Li Guanyi left his house, the coachman Zhao Dabing was already waiting for him at the door, along with two graceful maids carrying food boxes, which contained various medicinal meals.
Zhao Dabing bit into a large pancake.
It was rolled with smoked meat and the white part of green onions.
He wouldn't even consider eating the green parts!
With a single bite, the layered flavors were distinct, and he said with satisfaction, "It was ordered by the old Family Head."
"He said, hearing that the Guest Elder's Aunt was frail, he specially prepared medicinal meals and sent them over. These two young ladies have been raised by the Xue Family since they were young, and they are here to help take care of the Guest Elder's Aunt's family. If you worry about it being an inconvenience, I can take them back to the Xue Family when I bring you home each day."
Li Guanyi informed his Aunt and then also got into the carriage, asking Zhao Dabing why he didn't help himself to some food. The man laughed heartily and said, "Medicinal meals taste bad, I'd rather eat this for a good deal! I'm from the Central Plains, and although I've been here in Jiangnan for a while, I still find pancakes more satisfying than rice."
"This is made by my wife, and tastes really strong!"
"But I can't share it with you."
He showed off the big pancake in his hand, and Li Guanyi smiled and changed the subject.
"However, won't sending these two young ladies here affect the original tasks at Xue Family?"
Zhao Dabing replied, "The Xue Family has a large household and plenty of people, so it's no trouble."
"There's already an abundance of young ladies in the house..."
Li Guanyi was puzzled, "That many? Where does the Xue Family get them from?"
Zhao Dabing smiled and said, "Guest Elder, where are you thinking of? The Xue Family doesn't engage in such trade. Rather, it's more like the Xue Family helped them..." He hesitated and then added, "Do you know about the palace maids?"
Li Guanyi nodded.
Zhao Dabing continued, "Over two hundred years ago when Chen Country was established, Emperor Wu of Chen decreed the abolition of servant origins from the times of chaos. Even servants had to sign contracts, and if nobles beat or killed a servant, they would be harshly punished, even to the extent of paying with their own lives."
Li Guanyi said, "That's a good law."
"It is good, but that was back then, over two hundred years ago. Emperor Wu of Chen has already died in battle on a barren hill. He witnessed the rules he established during chaotic times being violated one by one, and nowadays, those bird-less fellows from the palace go out to purchase."
"To take kickbacks, at some point, they began buying boys and girls from traders, and the trade in humans slowly began to emerge. By this time, it had become routine for the palace to go out and buy girls. Buying from the traders could be more than a third cheaper than hiring from good families, but the most important thing is..."
Zhao Dabing hesitated and then said,
"If a child of a good family accidentally dies, it requires a significant sum of money."
"But if it's a slave bought from the trader, there's no need to pay that."
"The palace eunuchs would kill some of the palace girls from time to time and then take their bereavement benefits for themselves, buying properties outside. This caused traders to use various means to abduct people, and there were even rumors of beautiful women being fainted and kidnapped on the road."
"As a result, property in Jiangzhou is extremely expensive. I've heard that a Great Officer of the third rank couldn't afford to buy a house and had to rent, which they called 'foolish money'."
"It's said that even a fool could earn this money, referring to those female officials."
Li Guanyi looked at Chen Country's Guan Yi City, which was prosperous, and imagined Jiangzhou to be even more splendidly the world's premier, but such dark matters were only known to great clans like the Xue Family. Zhao Dabing said,
"The second young lady had seen such things, so she bought them and sent them to the Xue Family. In the palace, it wouldn't be good for her to clash with those powerful eunuchs, and how Emperor Chen would react, who knows."
"Once the old Family Head learned of this, he simply bought up all the people from the traders in the surrounding ten cities."
Li Guanyi said, "Wouldn't that encourage those human traffickers to become even more rampant?"
"Of course not..."
Zhao Dabing laughed and said,
"After that, no one ever saw those traders again."
"And the flowers on South Mountain have bloomed better than they did thirty years earlier."
Having said this, there was no need for further words.
Zhao Dabing's driving was very steady, and when they arrived, Li Guanyi jumped down lightly, wearing a heavy knife and a longbow, and first went to the Xue Family's Martial Artists' dining hall. The food there, prepared for martial artists, was mainly meat, complemented by rice and a bowl of ginseng soup. Those who served the food had martial arts skills and steady hands, ensuring you'd have enough to eat.
The Inner Qi refinement of the body needed energy, as described in the Breaking Formation Song, plus Li Guanyi was at the age where young men grow rapidly, so he had a voracious appetite and ate his fill.
During martial arts practice, Xue Shuangtao seemed no longer to mind yesterday's remark about Miss Xue.
She was extremely strict and serious in her teaching. Li Guanyi, having gained some foundation in archery from the inheritance, still valued the basics. He learned sincerely, and by the end, his muscles and bones were somewhat weary, yet the young girl continued to display her spirited brow and sharp archery skills.
The eldest young lady of the Xue Family had been brought up by Xue Daoyong from an early age, began Qi Cultivation at the age of five, and was adept at playing the zither, arithmetic, and other disciplines.
Her martial arts skills were excellent among those of similar age.
Li Guanyi and Xue Changqing sat on the grass.
"Has Miss Xue always been this strict before?"
Xue Changqing took a big gulp of iced tea and muttered, "No, I don't know."
"It wasn't like this before."
"Today, sister seems to be exerting more force, as if someone has upset her, but she doesn't seem to be really angry. Mister, do you have any idea?"
Li Guanyi thought for a moment, his face showing a shy and sincere smile, and he replied decisively,
"I don't know."
Whizz!!!
The bow from over there shot out, spiraling through the air, the bowstring whining and buzzing as if a swarm of bees were in a frenzy, the arrow piercing straight through the heart of the target, exiting from the other side and lodging firmly in the wall. Xue Shuangtao lifted a lock of hair to tuck it behind her ear and turned around holding her bow, her expression as gentle and demure as when they first met, she said,
"Practice archery, okay."
Xue Changqing's face turned deathly pale.
In the end, who on earth brought this tigress here?
Sir, do you have any clue?
The child with the ghostly pale face desperately threw meaningful glances at the young man beside her.
The young man, calm and earnest, thought for a moment, then responded with a warm smile.
"I don't know."
Shooting techniques and stepping skills were taught by Xue Shuangtao, but the "Seven Falling Scattering Hands" was taught by another person, a drunkard elder, who demonstrated it before Li Guanyi realized why Xue Shuangtao did not teach him this move; the old man wavered in front of Li Guanyi, practicing the seven moves in succession.
Curved Step Ditch, Side Groin Slash, step back and kick the crotch.
Covering the eyes, Inch Fist to the throat, elbow strike to the back of the neck, side body strike to the throat and gouge eyes.
Just seven moves, the elder demonstrated how to use them in various situations and then left it at that.
"These are the techniques used by the beggar children of my sect, no meat to eat, little strength, and no weapons."
"It might not look pretty, but it's basically effective."
"Renowned sects may have graceful punches and kicks, but they may not be as practical as my seven moves before entering the realm. However, use them sparingly; these techniques require very little strength and yet can kill."
Because there were only seven moves, Li Guanyi quickly became familiar with them.
At noon, he hastily went to the Book Collection Pavilion to start reading the scrolls, trying to find the history of the Xue Family—wanting to leave the city required the power of Entering Realm; wanting to obtain the legacy also required the power of Entering Realm; yet the best method to Entering Realm was hidden by General Xue.
Li Guanyi remembered.
He said he had a friend named Shaking Light who found a geomantic treasure for the Xue Family, which is why he moved the Xue Family to Guan Yi City. Therefore, in the historical scrolls, there should be corresponding content. Xue Daoyong, who had originally gone to find Li Guanyi to join him at the Wind Listening Pavilion, learned that he went to the Book Collection Pavilion and simply let him be.
Only upon hearing that Li Guanyi had borrowed the genealogy of the Xue Family as the first book did he express surprise.
Thinking over and over, unable to understand, he could only laugh and say, "Indeed different from others."
"What can he do?"
"Surely he won't be able to discover some golden house or White Jade Pavilion from it?"
After several days of reviewing the scrolls several times, Li Guanyi finally found three possible clues: the mountain outside the city, a river running through Guan Yi City, and the ancestral home of the Xue Family. Li Guanyi decided to try all three.
If all else failed, he would have to find a way to grasp the Divine Bow once more.
Two more days passed, and Li Guanyi first went to the mountain behind the city. Aside from encountering a lone wolf which he shot and killed with the Su Ni Bow, there were no significant discoveries, just some fruits he competed with the squirrels for. He took them back amid the curses of the forest squirrels and cleaned out a jar to make wine-soaked fruits.
Since the Xue Family ancestral home could not simply be visited, he went to the river first, searching along the stream. There were many people enjoying the greenery, but as Li Guanyi went deeper, there were fewer and fewer people. At last, he found a quiet Shui Jian, and beyond that, nothing else.
"Is it really in the old Xue Family estate..."
Li Guanyi felt a bit disappointed, lost in thought.
Just as he was about to turn around and leave, his steps paused slightly: "…No, that's not right. He was worried that the Xue Family would be purged by the Emperor of that time, so he placed his Battle Halberd in the Holy Mountain of the Dangxiang people; the legacy was left within the Divine Weapon. A man like that would definitely consider the eventuality of the Xue Family declining and the ancestral home not remaining with the Xue Family."
"The Art of War by Sun Tzu says, 'appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak'…"
"If it were him."
Li Guanyi pondered and looked at the chilly Shui Jian, and with a grit of his teeth, he took off and hid his clothes before diving in. Once submerged, he found that the Shui Jian was deep and the layers did not match the stream, with hollows going off in various directions, with unknown destinations.
After turning around for a while, Li Guanyi resurfaced, gasping for air.
"…This is it, but it seems to be hidden somewhere."
"I'm not sure where."
Li Guanyi pondered for a long time, looking at the gradually darkening sky.
"Shaking Light… reminiscent of Shaking Light among the Beidou Seven Stars. Beidou Seven Stars, the north?"
Li Guanyi thought trying wouldn't hurt and dove into the water again.
In the hollows, he chose the direction of the north.
With his Internal Strength, he swam for a while and spotted some light ahead. Emerging from the water, he found the Shui Jian led to a cave. Breathing deeply, he curiously looked around, climbing out to survey the surroundings.
Is this what General Xue left behind?
At this time, the stream in Guan Yi City welcomed a new visitor.
A youth wearing a hooded cloak walked slowly along the stream, circled around the rocks, passed the layers of flowing water, and finally arrived at a Shui Jian surrounded by mountains. The water was serene, and the young person took out a yellowed scroll from their bosom, eyes scanning the surroundings.
"Is this the secret place discovered 500 years ago by Shaking Light and the White Tiger Sect?"
"If I search for the aura of the White Tiger Sect here, it might relate to finding the present-day White Tiger Sect."
The present-day Shaking Light's eyes flickered with surprise and curiosity.
He saw the neatly stacked clothes behind a rock.
"Has someone already been here?"