Du DaYa

Du DaYa

Days passed in the blink of an eye, with the sun rising and setting.

Widow Wang's disappearance stirred up some talk in the village.

Some said she had taken her daughter Outside the Pass, hoping to return to her hometown...

Others said the woman had become completely unhinged and was planning to sell her daughter to human traffickers in Chang'an City...

Of course, it was all just talk.

She was a widow from another clan, and she went around stinking all day. No one cared for her.

Who would care whether she lived or died?

At most, they sighed over the poor child, not yet four years old.

Village Chief Li HuaiRen cared even less.

He simply sent someone to the yamen to report her missing, then had his household servants seize the land Widow Wang had left behind, angering several others who had harbored the same idea into cursing him behind his back.

This was all that Widow Wang's family left behind in Li Family Fortress...

Rumble, rumble!

Several old horses strained as they pulled stone rollers.

Summer Harvest was drawing near, and golden waves of wheat rolled across the fields.

Though it was not yet time to reap, there was no shortage of farm work.

The women had to gather mulberry leaves, raise silkworms, and cook for the whole family.

The men took sickles, wooden forks, wooden shovels, wooden rakes, and other farming tools from the storerooms to repair and maintain them in preparation for the Summer Harvest.

Besides that, the threshing ground also had to be rolled smooth and flat with stone rollers.

After all, harvesting grain was like fighting a war. If preparations fell short and something went wrong during the harvest, followed by rain or something of the sort, they would not have an easy day for the entire year.

Li Yan was not idle either, feeding the horses at the threshing ground.

"Brother Yan, there's nothing bad to say about this animal."

The driver Du SiXi flashed a mouthful of crooked teeth, spraying spittle as he made his sales pitch.

"A horse over ten years old is still in its prime. It hasn't suffered any injuries either. It can't travel a thousand li a day, but making regular trips to and from Chang'an is no problem..."

"If you want to roam the jianghu, a blade alone won't do. How can you go without a horse?!"

Li Family Fortress was not wealthy. Only Village Chief Li HuaiRen's household had a few old horses for labor, which they occasionally rode around the village.

Even that was enough to make all the young men in the village envious.

Li Yan naturally wanted one as well, not for that bit of vanity, but because he wanted to practice mounted archery. It would also make things more convenient whenever he had time to go to Chang'an.

Yet at the moment, he was somewhat distracted.

Watching Du SiXi boast endlessly, Li Yan's heart stirred, and he asked, "Old Du, what famous Daoist temples are there in Chang'an City?"

Widow Wang and her family had already been gone for several days.

No one knew that something terrifying had once slipped into the village to wreak havoc.

Though the matter had settled down, for Li Yan, it was only beginning.

For one thing, he knew that the misfortunes in his household, as well as his father's and his former self's violent deaths, had all been caused by an enemy using a Yansheng Curse.

The other side's methods were vicious. They could even tamper with something bestowed by the imperial court, so their influence was surely no trifling matter. Once they learned that the method had failed, they might very well make trouble again.

Besides, Li Yan had no intention of letting the matter rest.

For another, according to Widow Wang, he had opened the Yang Six Roots and acquired Olfactory Mystical Power. Sooner or later, sinister things would set their eyes on him again.

Thus, entering the Xuan Gate had become his most pressing goal.

This Du SiXi before him was a carriage driver from the neighboring Du Family Village. He usually traveled between nearby villages, taking people to Chang'an or hauling carts and delivering goods.

For the past two days, he had harnessed horses to haul stone rollers for several villages.

Though the man looked utterly unremarkable, he was also a jianghu man.

There were Five Lines and Eight Crafts in the jianghu. The Five Lines referred to carts, boats, inns, porters, and brokers; the Eight Crafts referred to all manner of artisans, such as blacksmiths, carpenters, Leatherworkers, and so on.

The jianghu was not merely about fighting and killing. It was also a means of making a living.

Moreover, among the Five Lines and Eight Crafts were forces that even famed ruthless men of the Greenwood Path had to show some respect when they met them.

For example, among boatmen, there was the Raft Sect in the south, the Cao Gang in the north, and the Four Seas Gang at sea.

Then there were the Porters Guild. Though they were laborers who lived by brute strength, every dock had its own gang.

And then there were inns. Several famous branded hostelries were not only resting places for jianghu travelers, but also places where all kinds of information flowed.

Carriage companies were much the same.

Think about it: if one made a living in a place, doing the business of seeing people off and receiving them, how could one manage without someone watching one's back? Not to mention traveling north and south.

Where there were people, there were interests. Where there were interests, there was the jianghu.

Chang'an City had two major carriage companies: Tai Xing and Chang Sheng.

Not only did they control all carriage and horse work in Chang'an City, they held sway over the entire Guanzhong region. They also had close ties with every escort agency, branded inn, the Cao Gang, Porters Guild, and brokerages.

Their martial strength might have been ordinary, but their information network was exceptionally sharp.

Du SiXi belonged to the Tai Xing Carriage Company. Because he had a mouthful of large crooked teeth, people had given him the nickname Du DaYa.

Though he had little ability and low status, and could only scrape by in the various villages, he truly knew quite a lot.

Li Yan asked because the man had once received favors from his father, Li Hu.

"What else is there to say?"

Du SiXi grinned. "Chang'an City has gone through several bouts of war, but it was still the capital of several dynasties. There are one hundred and eight wards in the city, with countless Daoist temples and Buddhist monasteries, large and small."

"What, Brother Yan? Are you thinking of going to burn incense? I happen to be heading to Chang'an tomorrow..."

Li Yan waved a hand and cut him off, saying gravely, "Old Du, I want to know where there are genuine Xuan Gate Experts!"

"Xuan... Xuan Gate?"

Du SiXi froze. "What are you asking about that for?"

So he really did know?!

Delighted, Li Yan put on a smile and pulled Du SiXi beneath the shade of a tree to squat down. "Old Du—no, Uncle Du. Since you know, tell me about it."

That "Uncle Du" pleased Du SiXi greatly, but he also knew what sort of person Li Yan was and did not dare act presumptuously. Smiling obsequiously, he said, "Brother Yan, don't make fun of me. Your father, Master Hu, was someone who made a name for himself on Guanzhong Road."

"Who hasn't heard of the Guanzhong Sick Tiger? How could I not know about such things?"

Li Yan looked thoughtful. "Just tell me. Don't drag in anything else."

Come to think of it, his father had taught him plenty of jianghu matters, even passing on all the secret jargon of the trade. Yet he had never mentioned anything about the Xuan Gate.

Could it be that he had deliberately concealed it...

Seeing Li Yan's expression darken slightly, Du DaYa's heart gave a jolt. He did not dare babble further and said, "The jianghu has the Three Religions and Nine Schools. Besides ability, there is also a hierarchy of status."

"I'm only a cart driver. In the company, I'm nothing more than an errand runner. I don't know much, but I have occasionally heard a few things."

"The term Xuan Gate is very broad. Anyone who knows a few strange arts can be called Xuan Gate People. But there are all sorts of fish and dragons mixed together, and it is hard to tell real from fake. Still, if they truly have ability, no one who sees them would dare underestimate them."

"There are two factions among them."

"One faction is officially appointed by the imperial court and registered with the Ministry of Rites Mystic Sacrificial Official. They can receive Daoist Certificates and Buddhist Certificates, preside over famous mountain temples and monasteries, and call themselves the orthodox lineage of the Xuan Gate. The most famous is the Tai Xuan Orthodox Sect."

"The other faction is much broader. Yin Yang Masters, Witches, Shamans, and those in the jianghu who know extraordinary arts and spells all count."

"Though the orthodox sect looks down on them and calls them deviant side paths, their status in the jianghu is anything but ordinary. Some of the more formidable ones are even supported by various gangs."

"It's just that ordinary people cannot tell whether they are frauds or possess the true transmission..."

Li Yan hurriedly asked, "Do you know any Xuan Gate People?"

"Brother Yan, you're joking."

Du DaYa smiled obsequiously. "I, Old Du, am just scraping together a meal. I'm not even worth a hair in the company. Besides, with these mortal eyes of mine, how could I know such Experts?"

Seeing Li Yan's brows draw together slightly, he quickly lowered his voice. "Brother Yan, don't worry. I, Old Du, may not have much skill, but there is someone with wide connections. He also has ties with your family, and he should know some."

"Who?"

"Sha LiFei!"

"Him?!"

At that name, Li Yan's expression immediately turned strange.

After chatting with Du DaYa for a while, Li Yan returned home.

As soon as he arrived, he saw his grandfather, Li Gui, squatting on the threshold with a long tobacco pipe in hand, puffing out clouds of smoke with an angry look on his face.

Li Yan smiled. "Grandpa, what happened this time?"

The old man frowned and cursed, "That dog Li LaoShuan cheats even when playing chess. A thing that won't get to eat more than a few dishes in his whole life!"

Li Yan laughed. "Calm down. Go deal with him tomorrow."

When these old men played chess, what they competed in was not skill, but their mouths.

Losing the game was no big deal. Losing an argument was what truly made them angry.

Still, was that not a good thing?

Ever since the Yansheng Curse in the plaque had been broken, his grandfather Li Gui had visibly changed. He no longer sulked all day, and seemed to have let go of many things.

Either he played chess with the old men in the village, or he went fishing at West Small River. He had even clamored about wanting to go to Chang'an City to watch opera.

Seeing the old man like this, Li Yan was happy from the bottom of his heart. Yet at the same time, his hatred for the person who had laid the curse deepened, and killing intent arose within him.

Having lived two lives, he had never been the sort to swallow losses without a word.

And on the way back, he had also figured out a few things.

Logically speaking, his father had also been an old hand of the jianghu. He could not possibly have known nothing about the Xuan Gate. Yet he had taught Li Yan everything except this, which seemed deliberately concealed.

Could his father, Li Hu, have been investigating in secret as well?

But that did not seem right either. If his father had known someone was secretly cursing their family, how could he have allowed that plaque to remain hanging above their door?

And there was the cause of his death. He had not thought much of it before, but now the more he considered it, the more Suspicious Circumstances there were...

At that thought, Li Yan's heart stirred. He looked at Li Gui, squatted down, and asked with a smile, "Grandpa, who exactly did you offend back then?"

Li Gui's white brows shot up. "What are you asking that for?"

Li Yan grinned. "Just curious. Besides, if not for that person, maybe I could have become some young master from an official family. Then whenever I felt unhappy, I'd have a reason to curse someone's mother."

"Young master my ass!"

Li Gui puffed on his pipe and cursed, "You're fated to dig food from the dirt, so don't go thinking about all that nonsense. It happened so many years ago—don't tell me you still want to go after them?"

"Besides, that person is already dead."

"Dead?!"