One Year

A year passed by in the blink of an eye. In the Eternal Night World, there's no concept of winter giving way to spring; it's perpetually cold and dark.

Without sunrise or sunset, Li Qing found it difficult to accurately track the passage of time. He estimated it based on the consumption rate of grain stored in his warehouse.

He divided all his provisions according to his daily intake, estimating it would last about a year and a half. He used his body's internal clock to gauge how much time had passed.

However, this method of calculation was inherently inaccurate. After all, his appetite had increased significantly upon reaching the Outer Strength expert level.

The food that was originally enough for a year and a half was nearly gone in just one year.

With the grain in his cellar dwindling, it was time to return to his other world and gather some information.

"This past year wasn't wasted. My Outer Strength has become much more substantial," Li Qing said, spreading his hands and feeling the surging power within his body with great satisfaction.

During his time hiding from the war in the Eternal Night World, he had brought his True Intent of the Fierce Tiger, Ancient Profound Hammer Technique, and Light Silk Leg to the Minor Accomplishment stage.

Only the Turtle Breath Technique progressed slowly, still hovering on the edge of introductory level, yielding only a negligible amount of internal energy.

Li Qing wasn't disheartened by this. Instead, he held high hopes for this internal martial art.

This internal martial art might represent the ceiling of his martial path. Whether he could reach the Martial Arts Grandmaster realm likely depended on the Turtle Breath Technique.

"Some things have happened in Obsidian City during this time. I wonder how the Feng Kingdom is doing now."

When he left, bandits were rampaging through the border regions, and the Feng Kingdom's Wu Li Army was also en route to Wangyuan City. He couldn't accurately judge if the war was still ongoing.

Just as Li Qing was preparing to travel back, a knock sounded at the door.

Knock, knock, knock!

An old voice followed, it was Old Man An's.

"Master Li, are you home?"

Li Qing walked to the front of the courtyard, opened the gate, and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Outside his gate stood the hunched and small Old Man An, along with a thin, sallow-faced little girl. This malnourished girl looked no older than twelve or thirteen, her face pale and bloodless, but her eyes were very clear.

If he wasn't mistaken, this girl must be Old Man An's granddaughter.

"Old Man An, why are you suddenly here with your granddaughter?" Li Qing glanced at the little girl before looking away.

Old Man An said with a bitter expression, "Master Li, I'd like to entrust my granddaughter to you. Let her be a servant here, helping you out from time to time. What do you think?"

"Grandpa..." The little girl clutched the corner of her grandfather's clothes, her face filled with fear and unease.

Taking in a servant? That was impossible!

He held the secret of traveling between two worlds. How could he possibly be willing to keep such a burden around?

"Old Man An, why do you need me to watch your granddaughter when you can take care of her yourself?" Li Qing asked in a cold tone.

"Alas, I plan to go out of the city to harvest Black Rye Mushrooms these few days. We haven't eaten at home for several days," Old Man An said, stroking his granddaughter's head.

"Old Man An, are you trying to die? At your age, going out to harvest Black Rye Mushrooms? Isn't it good enough to just sew clothes and make shoes for others as you usually do?" Li Qing's eyebrows twitched slightly.

"Oh, how I wish I could. But the Yan Family declared recently that no one in the city is allowed to do business with me anymore."

Then, Old Man An explained what had happened recently.

It turned out that the Second Young Master Yan had taken an interest in Old Man An's granddaughter and wanted Old Man An to willingly send her to the Yan Family's mansion.

Old Man An naturally refused, gritting his teeth and refusing to let his granddaughter fall into the Yan Family's pit of fire.

In Obsidian City, the Second Young Master Yan had a notorious reputation. Any woman he set his sights on who entered the Yan mansion met a terrible end, either going mad or drowning themselves in a well.

However, Li Qing found it surprising that the Second Young Master Yan hadn't resorted to forceful measures for some reason.

With the Yan Family's influence in Obsidian City, forcibly taking Old Man An's granddaughter would not have been difficult.

Li Qing guessed that the Second Young Master Yan, to satisfy his perverted desires, wanted Old Man An to willingly send his granddaughter to the mansion, hence all these elaborate schemes to torment Old Man An.

Now, Old Man An was at his wit's end. Unable to do business, and to avoid starving, he had no choice but to go out of the city to harvest Black Rye Mushrooms, working hard for a meager amount of food.

It's worth mentioning that all the land where Black Rye Mushrooms were grown outside the city belonged to the Yan Family. Almost everyone in the city could be considered a tenant of the Yan Family.

Those without any special skills who wanted to eat had to go out of the city to help the Yan Family plant and harvest Black Rye Mushrooms, receiving a small portion of the mushrooms as payment.

Harvesting Black Rye Mushrooms outside the city was no easy task. Beneath the land where Black Rye Mushrooms were grown lived creatures called Black Sand Worms, which were extremely deadly to elderly people like Old Man An.

Furthermore, even if they avoided the dangerous Black Sand Worms, Old Man An might not return to the city safely after finishing his farm work.

An old man like him, on his way back to the city, couldn't guarantee he wouldn't encounter someone who would rob and kill him for his earnings.

This was why Old Man An had decided to entrust his granddaughter to Li Qing. He knew himself that this trip out of the city was likely his last.

After listening to Old Man An's account, Li Qing sighed inwardly.

The Yan Family was truly despicable, using their power to oppress the city's residents.

He was now an expert who had cultivated Outer Strength, so he wasn't as afraid of the Yan Family. However, he hadn't yet gauged the Yan Family's strength and didn't want to attract their attention prematurely.

After all, most of the martial arts he had learned, except for the Ancient Profound Hammer Technique, originated from the Yan Family.

Li Qing absolutely did not believe that the Yan Family didn't have a few Outer Strength experts serving as their retainers!

"Alas, Old Man An, you should take your granddaughter back. I won't take her in," Li Qing said with a sigh.

At these words, Old Man An's face grew even more dejected. He wanted to say something more, but ultimately gave up.

"Fine, I was the one bothering you, Master Li. The Yan family is indeed not someone to be trifled with."

With that, Old Man An took his granddaughter's small hand and hobbled back home.

As he turned around, Li Qing saw the mist welling up in the little girl's eyes, and a pang of reluctance struck him.

"Wait, Old Man An," Li Qing called out to the grandfather and granddaughter.

"Master Li, if you find it difficult, please don't force yourself," Old Man An said sheepishly.

But Li Qing turned around, went into his own warehouse, and brought out all the Black Rye Mushrooms he had earned from forging for others over the past year.

"Take these. It should be enough for the two of you to eat for a long time. Wait a while and see if the situation calms down. The Yan family can't possibly keep an eye on you forever."

As Li Qing spoke, he handed the Black Rye Mushrooms to Old Man An.

"No, no, how can this be, Master Li, you..." Old Man An panicked for a moment. He wanted to refuse, but couldn't bring himself to say it.

Li Qing smiled and said, "Take it back. I don't lack this much food."

"Xiao Xuan, quickly thank your Uncle Li!" Old Man An urged his granddaughter, pulling her forward to express their gratitude.

"Thank you, Uncle Li! Thank you, Uncle Li!" Tears fell from An Xuan's eyes like pearls, dropping onto the ground.

Hearing their thanks, Li Qing's lips twitched. He then waved his hand and returned to the courtyard without another word.

I'm only eighteen years old in this life, and I'm already an uncle. Although my mental age does match this seniority.