"Song Chengan!"
Song Chengan opened the door.
Before him stood an exceptionally burly woman, nearly as tall as he was.
Song Chengan was close to six feet tall.
She was broad-shouldered and thick-waisted. Song Chengan felt that ancient female generals had probably looked just like this.
Only a woman this strong could punch someone to death.
"Miss Zheng!"
Song Chengan cupped his fists.
Zheng Duo.
Butcher Zheng's daughter from Lingqiu City.
Butcher Zheng was quite a figure in Lingqiu City.
He had dozens of workers under him, and the pork trade west of the city was practically all his.
It could be said that the Zheng Family had stumbled upon good fortune.
For three generations, they had slaughtered pigs. Though they never lacked food or clothing, they still could not grace the halls of the powerful.
That continued until this generation.
No one knew what stroke of shit luck Butcher Zheng had run into.
He had a son who was originally conscripted for corvée labor, escorting military provisions to the border.
Then, somehow, he caught the eye of an officer in the army and was kept on.
During those first few days, the Zheng Family wailed to heaven and wept to earth, convinced their son would never return.
Did anyone think being a soldier was easy?
At the Chen Kingdom's border, how many fine young men died every year?
But what no one expected was this.
The officer who had taken a liking to the Zheng Family's eldest son had continued rising through the ranks and, after only a few years, returned to the Liangzhou Garrison as a Pacification Commissioner.
The Zheng Family's eldest son had risen with the tide, chickens and dogs ascending to heaven, and become a Company Commander.
And so, the Zheng Family's business grew.
It had originally been just a small butcher shop.
Now they had seven or eight connected storefronts and dozens of workers above and below.
The great households in the city all liked buying pork from the Zheng Family whenever they could.
There was no helping it.
No one knew whether the Zheng Family's eldest son would continue rising through the ranks.
As for Song Chengan and Zheng Duo.
Zheng Duo had been married before, but that man later died.
Half a year ago, she saw Song Chengan on the street.
Seeing how handsome he was, she had someone ask around until she found him.
So long as he promised not to gamble, she was willing to marry him with twenty mu of farmland, a house, an ox, and fifty taels of silver.
At the time, Song Chengan had thought of nothing but winning his money back.
Seeing how wealthy Zheng Duo's family was, he had agreed without hesitation.
But what happened in the end?
One could see a man gamble away his entire fortune, but never see him turn back from the wrong path.
Song Chengan coaxed the silver out of her, then went gambling.
At first, Zheng Duo tried to persuade him. She knew such a habit was not so easily broken.
But Song Chengan still refused to listen.
After three times.
Zheng Duo left without the slightest hesitation.
From then on, the two never had dealings with each other again.
She truly was an extraordinary woman.
Thinking of their past.
Song Chengan thought to himself.
She loved beauty.
But she was also clean and decisive.
"What brings you here?"
Song Chengan asked.
Zheng Duo held a bundle of pork wrapped in lotus leaves.
"You probably haven't had meat in quite some time."
"Thank you, Miss Zheng."
Song Chengan accepted it with a smile.
This Miss Zheng was rather interesting.
He had never seen someone give pork as a gift.
Was that some special gift-giving custom among butchers' families?
"My brother found me a master in Liangzhou City. I'm going there to train in martial arts."
Song Chengan nodded. "Martial arts are good. Training in martial arts is good."
Cultivation required innate aptitude.
Not everyone could become a Qi Refiner.
Martial arts, on the other hand, were a path anyone could take.
At least, with Butcher Zheng's family wealth, Zheng Duo could afford to walk it.
Zheng Duo looked Song Chengan over. "You seem to have become more handsome."
Song Chengan said, "Have I?"
Had cultivation changed his complexion and bearing?
"It feels like you've become a different person. Or perhaps it's just an illusion."
"After all, lying has always been what you do best."
After saying that, she laughed.
Back then, Song Chengan had always found excuses to swindle a little silver for spending money.
"I came today to tell you that what lies between us ends here."
"Neither of our families is some great household, and there's no marriage contract or anything like that."
"I came to tell you in person. Let's call the matter off."
"What do you think?"
Song Chengan nodded. "Since Miss Zheng has spoken, I naturally have no objections."
Zheng Duo snorted. "Not even a moment of hesitation."
"You men really are practical."
"Is it because I'm not pretty that you don't hesitate at all?"
Song Chengan said, "What are you saying, Miss Zheng? Don't you also like handsome men?"
"Who doesn't like looking at beautiful things?"
Zheng Duo froze for a moment.
Then she laughed.
She patted Song Chengan on the shoulder. "You seem to have become a little more interesting."
"But that's all."
"I'm leaving."
Raindrops the size of beans began to fall.
She waved her hand.
Then strode toward the distance.
The curtain of rain descended.
Song Chengan stood beneath the eaves.
It was as though they belonged to two different worlds.
"Hey, Scholar Song, I heard your wife ran off to Liangzhou."
"She says she's going to train in martial arts, but I think she found some other pretty boy in Liangzhou."
"You're going to become a bachelor."
The moment Song Chengan entered the Noodle Shop, several men who saw him came in teased him.
"Shopkeeper, bring me a bowl of noodles. Extra meat, extra noodles."
Song Chengan ordered a bowl first, then smiled at the men who had just spoken.
They were all neighbors.
Laborers from the docks.
"I'm not too sure either. In a while, I'll take you lot to the west of the city and ask Butcher Zheng."
The moment those words came out.
The men immediately gave awkward smiles.
"We were only joking with you."
Who didn't know Butcher Zheng was a notorious rascal in the west of the city?
"By the way, have you heard?"
"Something happened at the docks last night. Someone died."
"Someone died?"
"I heard it involved the Wu Family."
"Didn't someone die away from home and get transported back?"
"But no one knows what happened last night. Someone ended up dead."
"The docks are under lockdown now."
"I heard they've gone to seek out an expert from Xuanqing Temple!"
Song Chengan ate his noodles while pricking up his ears to listen to the gossip.
"It wasn't the docks."
One of the men who had spoken earlier said.
"The trouble didn't happen at the docks."
"It was at the Wu Family's ancestral graveyard."
"Their old patriarch rose from the dead. I heard he injured several people."
"Didn't you say someone died at the docks?" someone continued asking.
"The person who died at the docks was worked to death."
"Not one of the Wu Family."
"But you'd better not go near the Wu Family's area lately. Their old patriarch..." The speaker lowered his voice. "I heard he was bitten to death by a zombie back then."
"A zombie?"
The others all changed color at once upon hearing that.
"Isn't that so!"
"When their old patriarch was buried back then, didn't something happen?"
"The Wu Family is offering fifty taels of silver and inviting experts everywhere!"
Song Chengan listened quietly.
Fifty taels of silver.
If it had been before, he would have rushed over long ago.
But now, fifty taels of silver held no attraction for him.
Gold and silver were useless to cultivators.
If he wanted gold and silver, he could simply take out a Talisman Coin and exchange it.
No wonder cultivators in novels were never tempted by gold and silver.
To cultivators, this stuff was simply far too cheap.
"That Wu Family zombie is really that fierce?"
"Of course. The people who saw it said its whole body was covered in white fur."
"One look was enough to tell it had become a zombie."
"I think the place where their old patriarch was buried may be a corpse-nourishing ground."
"That can't be right. The Wu Family is a wealthy household, and wealthy households care most about feng shui." Someone raised a doubt. "A family like that would surely hire the most capable Yin Yang Master for a burial. How could they end up burying someone in a corpse-nourishing ground?"
"Who knows?"
"Maybe they offended someone."
Inside the Noodle Shop.
Song Chengan listened to the surrounding gossip.
"What do you mean, so fierce? The zombie transformed from the Wu Family's old patriarch hasn't been subdued yet?"
Someone entered at that moment, heard the discussion, and asked.
"Subdued? What subdued?"
"Didn't the Wu Family go to Xuanqing Temple to invite a High Monk?"
"They did, but they didn't manage to invite one. I heard the monks of Xuanqing Temple asked for far too much."
"That makes sense. I heard that when something happened to Anyuan's maternal family before the New Year, Xuanqing Temple demanded both silver and land."
"I heard that the zombie Old Master Wu turned into went on a rampage last night, slaughtering the whole family until only a pile of widows and orphans remained."
"Shh."
Just then, someone made a silencing gesture.
Song Chengan looked up and saw several martial monks carrying long staffs walking past the Noodle Shop.
The moment those martial monks appeared, the Noodle Shop fell so quiet one could hear a needle drop.
Only long after those martial monks had left did faint voices return to the Noodle Shop.
"When Peach Blossom Temple was still around, things weren't like this."
"My father said that back then, asking an expert from Peach Blossom Temple to act didn't require any silver. A token of sincerity was enough."
"Enough of that. Xuanqing Temple's good days won't last much longer either. I heard the Imperial Court has already issued an official notice, allowing the Demon Suppression Divisions in each county to recruit people as they see fit."
"Recruit people?" One of the middle-aged men's eyes lit up at those words.
The speaker cupped his fists toward him. "Old Sun, if I remember correctly, your boy practices martial arts, doesn't he?"
"If there's a connection to be worked, you can try to pull some strings."
"This is a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity. If you wait until later and want to enter the Demon Suppression Division to eat from the government's bowl, you'll probably have to take the martial examination."
"Brother Shi, where did you get this news?"
The man called Brother Shi smiled. "Old Sun, have you forgotten? My nephew works as a clerk at the County Yamen."
"The Demon Suppression Division has only just been established and is desperately short of hands. As long as you can get through to Lord Duwei, you'll soar to the heavens in a single step and eat from the government's bowl."
"If you don't seize this chance, then once the Demon Suppression Division is fully staffed, you'll likely need to take the martial examination to get in."
"And that will be difficult by more than a little."
"Thank you, Brother Shi. I'll take my leave first."
After saying that, the man called Old Sun hurried away.
Song Chengan did not join the conversation.
He simply ate the noodles in his bowl in silence.
The Demon Suppression Division?
The Imperial Court was recruiting people.
It seemed the Demon Suppression Division had deliberately let the news slip. It felt like they intended to select people through martial contests.
Song Chengan pondered inwardly.
He knew this man called Brother Shi. He was a man in Lingqiu City who could be at home in all directions.
He always had bits of back-alley news that others did not know.
But the issue was that news of the Demon Suppression Division recruiting people should not have been back-alley news.
At the very least, it should not have reached someone like him.
It felt as though the Demon Suppression Division had deliberately leaked the news.
Should he join the Demon Suppression Division?
Song Chengan sank into thought.
He was now a cultivator, but only a Rogue Cultivator.
If he could join the Demon Suppression Division and lean against the great tree of the Chen Kingdom... it would definitely benefit Song Chengan's cultivation.
Wealth, companions, methods, and land.
Song Chengan had none of them.
But if he could join the Demon Suppression Division, then he would have everything.
Perhaps I can give it a try.
Song Chengan made up his mind.
He would see whether he had a chance to join the Demon Suppression Division.
Leaning against a great tree made for good shade.
Leaving everything else aside.
With the identity of a Demon Suppression Division member, he would be someone with status in Lingqiu City.
But it probably would not be easy.
Since the Demon Suppression Division had spread word of recruitment, they presumably wanted all the capable young people in Lingqiu City to compete for it.
That would be somewhat difficult.
The odds were overwhelmingly in favor of a martial contest.
"Boss, the bill."
Song Chengan took out three copper coins and paid for the noodles.
He could never grow tired of these noodles.
He would come again next time.
Song Chengan walked out of the Noodle Shop.
He wondered whether his Phantom Body had finished comprehending the spell.
Song Chengan's consciousness entered the Void Heaven Mirror.
Inside the Void Heaven Mirror.
The lake had vanished, and the Phantom Body that had been cultivating the Water Repelling Art sat cross-legged in a daze.
"It's already old."
Song Chengan looked at the Phantom Body's face.
It had already become frail with age.
"Looks like I'm not particularly talented when it comes to comprehending spells."
Song Chengan shook his head. Then that Phantom Body transformed into a glowing Dao Fruit orb, which he absorbed.
As the Dao Fruit orb was absorbed, insights regarding the Water Repelling Art entered his mind.
The Water Repelling Art had reached major mastery!
"The Water Repelling Art reached major mastery?"
"Is the Water Repelling Art really this difficult?"
"With the Summoning God Technique, a single Phantom Body could comprehend it to the realm of perfection."
"It truly was worthy of being a spell passed down by the River God Mother."
Song Chengan shook his head, then condensed another Phantom Body to continue comprehending the Water Repelling Art!
"I can now condense two Phantom Bodies."
"The Heavenly Radiance Dao Qi can no longer be comprehended any further. I can only cultivate it myself to raise my realm and cultivation."
"I need to learn a new skill, so the other Phantom Body can be put to use."
With Song Chengan's current realm and cultivation, he could now condense two Phantom Bodies.
Previously, he had used the other Phantom Body to cultivate the Heavenly Radiance Dao Qi.
But later, he discovered that after the Heavenly Radiance Dao Qi allowed him to comprehend the first wisp of true qi, it could no longer be further comprehended.
Everything afterward was cultivation accumulated day by day to raise his realm, and he could only cultivate it slowly himself.
In other words.
The Void Heaven Mirror's Phantom Bodies could only help Song Chengan comprehend spells; they could not cultivate on his behalf.
Cultivation could only be done by Song Chengan himself.
That left Song Chengan somewhat regretful.
If only the Void Heaven Mirror's Phantom Bodies could cultivate their own cultivation.
Then he would not need to do anything. As long as he continuously condensed Phantom Bodies to cultivate, his realm could climb step by step, ultimately pointing straight toward the Great Dao.
"Nothing in this world is perfect."
Song Chengan shook his head and withdrew from the Void Heaven Mirror.
"Tomorrow will be the tenth."
"Tonight, I need to go to the Ghost Market and collect my weapon."
Song Chengan looked at the sky.
The tenth.
It was the agreed day to collect his weapon.
"I'll go back and sleep first."
That night.
As soon as midnight passed.
Song Chengan woke up on time.
It was rather strange.
He did not know whether it was because of cultivation or something else, but Song Chengan found that he could wake up whenever he wanted.
It was even more accurate than the alarm clocks from his previous life.
Song Chengan washed up, then walked out of his home.
He took out the Ghost Token.
True qi flowed into it.
A line of small words appeared on the Ghost Token.
"Duck Herding Candy. After midnight, enter the water to enter the market."
Before you continue