Departure (I)

Night.

The cold wind howled.

The weather was growing colder and colder.

In the blink of an eye, several more days had passed.

In the courtyard, Lin Zheyu and Han Mo stood bare-chested, steam rising from their bodies.

They had just finished a sparring match, their blood still boiling.

"In weather this cold, by tomorrow morning, there'll be dozens more corpses outside the city."

Han Mo sighed. Every time he dealt with corpses, he felt deeply uncomfortable.

"Things in the city haven't been peaceful lately either. If this keeps up, the Rebel Army won't even have to reach us—the city will descend into chaos first."

"Prices keep rising. It feels like ordinary people can barely survive anymore," Lin Zheyu said.

He had heard that many people who could no longer make ends meet had begun taking up weapons and heading into the mountains to become bandits.

Many hunters no longer dared to enter the mountains casually to hunt. The bandits in the mountains were more likely to hunt them instead.

"Winter has arrived. The Rebel Army should quiet down for a while, recuperate, and launch another attack when spring comes next year," Han Mo said.

Liang Song watched the two of them chatting and smiled faintly, staring blankly at the moon.

He had always been a taciturn man, capable of sitting alone and spacing out for an entire day.

After resting for a while, the two returned to the courtyard.

Han Mo held a blunt saber, his expression solemn.

Lin Zheyu moved like a shadow, darting swiftly beneath the moonlight as he waited for an opening to attack.

He did not use his Viscera Refining Realm strength. Instead, he concealed his abilities and honed his combat skills with Senior Brother Han Mo.

By now, Lin Zheyu had already figured out how to deal with opponents armed with weapons.

His movements were incomparably nimble. He darted about rapidly, seized an opportunity, and shot forth like lightning, lashing a Whip Kick toward Han Mo's back.

The gust of wind howled, carrying astonishing force.

Han Mo swiftly turned, slashing out with the saber in his right hand. Lin Zheyu did not dare meet its edge head-on. He abruptly withdrew his attack, flickered, and launched an assault from the other side.

The Golden Goose Skill was a cultivation method chiefly focused on training the legs. Once mastered, it made one's body nimble, coming and going like the wind.

Han Mo's saber technique was exceptionally formidable—clean and direct, each move packed with deep force. His saber shifted with his body and changed at will, sealing off the space around him without the slightest gap.

No matter how Lin Zheyu attacked, Han Mo's fierce saber momentum forced him back.

Yet Han Mo could do nothing to him either.

Although Han Mo had reached Peak Viscera Refining, his leg techniques lagged far behind Lin Zheyu's. He lacked both speed and agility.

One attacked while the other defended, and within moments, they had exchanged more than a dozen rounds.

The edge of the blunt saber brushed past Lin Zheyu time and again by the narrowest of margins, but he always evaded it with exquisite skill.

More than an hour later, Han Mo stopped, panting heavily.

"No more, no more."

Han Mo waved his hand.

Fighting a speed-type martial artist like Lin Zheyu left him feeling utterly stifled.

"Let's call it here for today. If I go home too late, your sister-in-law will start nagging again."

Han Mo smiled. "It's about time you found yourself a wife too. Living alone is so dull."

"How is it dull?"

"Are the girls at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion no longer sweet enough, or is martial arts no longer worth practicing?"

"The world is full of color and wonder. Why get a wife and have a few children just to trap myself?" Lin Zheyu said with a chuckle.

"You brat, when you get a little older, you'll understand what it feels like to have a lamp waiting for you at home, no matter how late you return at night," Han Mo said with a smile.

"A feeling?"

Lin Zheyu muttered, thinking of the men from his previous life who returned home and hid in the underground garage, unwilling to go upstairs.

Mm, better forget it.

What was so good about marriage...

"Master, was there anything in that fight I need to improve?"

Lin Zheyu walked over to Liang Song and asked.

"No. You already did very well."

"To cultivate the Golden Goose Skill to such a level in less than a month—you're far more talented than your master," Liang Song said with a smile.

Before leaving Songyi City, being able to take in a disciple as astonishingly gifted as Lin Zheyu brought him great comfort.

Liang Song swept his gaze over the flowers and plants in the courtyard. "Zheyu..."

"Yes, Master? Is something the matter?"

Lin Zheyu answered, sensing that Master Liang's tone was somewhat off.

"Han Mo has his own home in Songyi City. That courtyard of yours is rented, isn't it?"

"This courtyard will be yours from now on. Remember to take good care of these flowers and plants." Liang Song looked at the greenery in the yard, an indescribable emotion showing in his eyes.

"Master, you're leaving?"

Lin Zheyu was startled, and he felt intensely reluctant to part with him.

Liang Song had treated him extremely well, holding nothing back and teaching him everything he knew as much as possible.

To Lin Zheyu, Liang Song felt like family.

"Master, you're leaving so soon?" Han Mo said, equally reluctant to see him go. "Won't you stay a little longer?"

"It's time to leave."

"You've already learned the Golden Goose Skill. A master leads you to the door, but cultivation depends on the individual. From now on, you'll have to train diligently on your own."

"And you—the Six Harmonies Saber may only be a third-rate cultivation method, but if you train it to its peak, you can still break through to the Qi and Blood Realm."

"Once you reach the Qi and Blood Realm and can no longer advance, begin practicing the Golden Goose Skill. If there's anything you don't understand, ask Lin Zheyu for guidance."

Liang Song took a sip of tea and continued, "I came to Songyi City more than ten years ago in the blink of an eye. It's time to return. I wonder whether those old friends are still around."

"How about I leave with you?"

"There's nothing in Songyi City worth my lingering over. It's the same wherever I go," Lin Zheyu suggested.

"You can forget about that."

"You should stay in the city obediently, make money telling stories, and focus on practicing martial arts."

"Remember, unless you reach the Qi and Blood Realm, do not casually venture into desolate places like mountains and forests," Liang Song warned.

"Uh?"

Lin Zheyu asked in confusion, "Is it because bandits run rampant outside?"

Liang Song shook his head. "This world is not as peaceful as it appears."

"Whenever troubled times arise, fiends are sure to emerge."

"In the past, demons remained hidden, leaving no trace. That was because the fortune of the Great Wei Dynasty suppressed them, and they did not dare come out to cause trouble."

"Now, the Rebel Army is rising everywhere, the people can barely live, and that fortune is waning. It can no longer keep them suppressed."

"It's still all right within cities, but once you leave them, it becomes extraordinarily dangerous." Liang Song spoke slowly, his expression extremely grave.

"Master, what are demons like?" Lin Zheyu could not help asking.

All sorts of legends about demons and monsters circulated among the common folk, but most were exaggerated and held little truth.

"I've only seen demons a few times myself."

"Like in the stories you tell, some were transformed from people, while others were transformed from Mountain Spirits and Wild Monsters. Every one of them was incomparably strange."

"Demons are powerful, with vigorous vitality, and they are not easy to kill."

"For ordinary martial artists, encountering one almost certainly means death. Only after reaching the Qi and Blood Realm does one have the strength to fight demons."

Liang Song said slowly, "If you encounter anything strange in the future, keep away from it as quickly as possible. Never go over to join the excitement."

"Yes, Master."

Lin Zheyu nodded, then asked curiously, "Master, you said people can turn into demons too?"

"That's right."

"Since ancient times, countless emperors and powerful figures have pursued immortality and sought the path of immortal cultivation."

"Some cultivated and cultivated until they became demons—neither human nor ghost," Liang Song explained.

"Master, do immortals truly exist in this world?"

"Perhaps they do. Perhaps they do not."

"I am merely an ordinary man. My strength is only at the Qi and Blood Realm; I have not reached that level and cannot access such secret information."

Liang Song shook his head, his expression calm.

"Oh..."

Lin Zheyu did not press further. He sat beside the stone table and drank tea with Master Liang.