Linjiang Station.
Chief Clerk Yang's expression was complex, showing a hint of shock.
Last night, this Flag Commander, alone, defended three hundred and sixty steps.
He had thought that most likely, he would not see this Flag Commander today.
Either last night he fell victim to the evil forces, dying a terrible death.
Or last night he had deserted his post.
The former does not need mentioning, but if it were the latter, then deserting in the face of the enemy would be a crime punishable by beheading!
Thus, he vaguely felt that if the Flag Commander had not already been executed, then by now, he must have already fled High Willow City, doomed to live a life on the run, taking refuge in various Pure Lands, never to rise again.
Perhaps if fate allowed them to meet again in the future, he himself would be dressed in finery, looking slick and well-fed, but the once bright Master Wu would be in ragged clothes, disheveled and filthy, starving and suffering from cold, pitifully wretched and utterly miserable...
"You're overthinking this."
Lin Yan looked at him deeply, his expression calm, and slowly said, "Last night, the evil forces broke into the city, attacking many places, as the Chief Clerk of my Linjiang Station, you must lead people to take inventory."
Linjiang Station, as a branch of the Observatory, holds the authority to monitor.
Now that many places have been attacked, the southern district's government office sent people to deal with the aftermath.
It was inevitable that some people, driven by greed, would line their own pockets, skimming off money and grains, or even harming lives, to further profiteer more benefits.
"I understand, but..."
Chief Clerk Yang raised his head only to find the Flag Commander's figure had already disappeared.
Only a cold voice lingered, slowly reaching him.
"Do your job well. Tonight, I will return to Linjiang Station to check things personally."
"Also, no matter who comes looking for me today, have them wait."
——
Name: Lin Yan.
Cultivation Technique: Five Elements Inner Breath Technique.
Cultivation: Refining Essence Realm (72/3650) +
Divine Power 1: Eat the Evil Qi!
Divine Power 2: Demon Suppression!
Techniques as follows:
Thunder Blade First Layer (100/100)
Paper Cutting Horse (100/100)
Disguise Technique (67/100) +
Breath-Concealing Technique (31/100) +
Evil Qi: 513
"The gains last night were far beyond expectations!"
"Adding what I used last night, I gained over six hundred strands of Evil Qi!"
Lin Yan thought, "This one night's results are comparable to two years of accumulation."
With this in mind, he hesitated not a bit before adding all the Evil Qi to his cultivation level.
Refining Essence Realm (585/3650)
In that instant, he felt his physical body strengthen continuously.
His skin, flesh, muscles, bones, meridians, bone marrow, and internal organs all seemed to solidify a lot at the same moment.
His Qi-Blood surged within his body like roiling rivers, and in an instant, his blood boiled.
He slightly closed his eyes and then opened them, his eyes shining brightly, his gaze intense.
"Yesterday, I had just entered the Refining Essence Realm, which was the lowest level within this realm."
"After today, among the Martial Artists of the Refining Essence Realm, I could also be considered to have quite some expertise!"
"There's still a long way to go from the peak of the Refining Essence Realm."
"Despite slaying many evils yesterday, the truly powerful evils were ultimately sent away by incense."
"This dark world is filled with strangeness, endless evil, and even at the peak of the Refining Essence Realm, one might not truly be safe."
Lin Yan thus cautioned himself in his heart, dispelling the slight arrogance and complacency that came with his breakthrough in cultivation.
He scanned the surroundings and continued on, finding a suitable place to change his attire, he tore off his disguise, reverting to Lin Yan's appearance.
He then firstly went to the street where his second brother lived, watching from a distance, making sure his brother was unharmed by last night's events.
Relieved, he returned to his old home, took a bath, had a meal, and then set out for the salt estate.
During this time, he noticed that the "strange egg" pattern in his left palm seemed more active than before.
"I need to figure out what this 'strange egg' really is!"
——
Linjiang Square.
Inside the courtyard.
Mr. Lu's expression was bland. He closed his book and set it aside, sighing, "It's too noisy."
The middle-aged man who was about to chop wood froze.
Facing the pile of firewood, hesitating whether to chop or not.
"Stop reading, you continue with your work."
Mr. Lu stood up, suddenly tilted his head, and asked, "How do you feel about moving from the inner city to the outer city?"
"Something feels very wrong."
The middle-aged man silently set down his axe and said in a deep voice, "This High Willow City, which is among the top three cities in Qifeng Prefecture, always feels somewhat rough around the edges, emitting a strange vibe."
Mr. Lu calmly said, "Are you referring to the division of the districts within the city, the City Guard Mansion, or the Observatory?"
"All of them."
The middle-aged man replied.
"You must understand, when High Willow City was first built, it modeled itself after Qifeng Prefecture City."
Stroking his beard slightly, Mr. Lu smiled and said, "As you come from Qifeng Prefecture City, the High Willow City you see inevitably seems incomplete in every corner."
"But don't forget, the construction of Qifeng Prefecture City was also based on imitating ancient city ruins."
"This includes the regulations, various government offices, and official ranks, all revised according to the remnants of ancient texts."
"In today's world, everything is rebuilt from ruins, exploring amidst confusion."
"Don't dismiss its shortcomings, but rather observe the progress made here in recent years."
"Take for example the inner city of High Willow City once produced chaos, which was due to its past imperfections."
"Afterward, the Observatory from Qifeng Prefecture was dispatched, stationed here long term to monitor the entire city, which was the method of improvement."
At this point, Mr. Lu said deeply, "At least, so far, from what I've seen, this old man is quite satisfied. At least over these years, High Willow City has been improving, better than it used to be."
The middle-aged man nodded slightly, just about to speak, when he turned his head toward the gate and frowned.
"Do constant visits like these, those who wish to attach themselves to you, also please you, old sir?"
"The so-called social interactions are also part of this era's trend of gradually restoring order and civilization, from which one can glimpse that High Willow City has been relatively stable and increasingly prosperous in recent years."
"So?"
"Let them roll! Stop bothering this old man from reading."
"Understood."
The middle-aged man slapped his coarse palms together and walked out to open the gate.
Outside the courtyard had gathered more than ten people, each from different families within the inner city.
"The Sun Family is hosting a banquet and wishes for Mr. Lu to attend, here is the invitation..."
"My Liu Family has a pair of 'Pure Land' ancient relics, asking Mr. Lu to appraise them."
"The Bai family recently caught a strange horse, covered in scales, suspected to be a Jiao Linma; please, Mr. Lu, bestow a name."
"The Zhou family acquired a rare flower that they fear they cannot keep alive, respectfully requesting Mr. Lu to cultivate it. All expenses during the period will be borne by the Zhou family."
"The City Guard Mansion has cleared three residences in the inner city, interconnected, to serve as the High Willow Academy."
Then a man from the City Guard Mansion respectfully said, "Now recorded under Mr. Lu's name, hoping Mr. Lu will return to the academy to take a seat and teach, enlightening our High Willow."
"..."
The middle-aged man was expressionless.
He seemed already accustomed to the scene before him.
It was like this when Mr. Lu had just returned to High Willow City.
Because he was annoyed, he had moved to Linjiang Square in the outer city two days ago, which had been much quieter and more peaceful.
But last night, evil entities crossed over the city walls and intruded into Linjiang Square; everyone assumed it was Mr. Lu who acted to suppress the chaos.
Moreover, this morning, news from Qifeng Prefecture City arrived, stating Mr. Lu's direct disciple had been selected as one of Wutong Temple's twelve temple priests!
The restless days thus started again.
All sides in High Willow City vied to send invitations.
This was not the first batch.
Before dawn broke, a temple priest from Liu Venerate Temple personally came, under the pretext of seeking instruction, inviting Mr. Lu to the inner city, hinting that a visit to the temple would not disappoint him.
Today, there were also three batches from outside High Willow City, representing their respective powers, coming to visit, directly with real gold and silver, all of whom he had sent away.
"Mr. Lu is unwell and cannot receive guests, everyone please go back."
The middle-aged man slowly said, "As for the gifts... Mr. Lu does not accept objects from outsiders in his life; the principle of no merit without reward, take them back, everyone."
The crowd was about to speak, moving forward.
The middle-aged man's face grew cold as he said, "Last night's evil attack on the city caused significant damage; if you really care, you should be dealing with the aftermath and various matters..."
As his voice fell, he was about to shut the courtyard door with a stern face.
But the next moment, his eyebrows lifted as he looked towards the end of the alley.
The crowd followed his gaze, turning their heads to look.
There, a young man with a complex expression appeared, handsome and dressed simply with traces of needlework.
In his left hand, he carried a strip of cured meat.
In his right hand, he also held a cloth bag.
Those close enough tiptoed for a glimpse and discovered it was a small bag of fine salt.
"You are..."
The middle-aged man furrowed his brows.
The young man, originally planning to leave upon seeing the crowd, spoke somewhat helplessly, "I came to visit Mr. Lu, but since he is not receiving guests or gifts, I won't bother for now and will come back later."
People from various powers looked at each other, feeling the situation was absurd.
No wonder Mr. Lu had seemed quite annoyed recently. Was it because here in the outer city, any Tom, Dick, or Harry hearing of Mr. Lu's name thoughtlessly wanted to connect?
A strip of cured meat and a bag of salt as gifts for a visit?
Did they think Mr. Lu was a poor old man struggling day by day, living down their street?
But just as the youth turned to leave, a voice called out from within the courtyard.
"The tea is ready, won't you try some of this old man's skill?"