Unexpected People

Yang Qingyuan had no idea what was happening outside.

At this moment, he,

after half a month of effort, had completely mastered the Six Harmonies Saber and Bewildering Steps!

Moreover,

during this intense cultivation process, he had repeatedly drained his Qi and Blood completely, then repeatedly digested medicinal materials to refine his Qi and Blood and replenish it to full.

Through this back-and-forth training, his realm had also improved considerably.

The Late Entering the Realm stage was already within reach!

His overall strength had improved tremendously over the past half month.

"With my current strength, if I were to face the Golden-Eyed Leopard again, I'm confident I could kill it within twenty moves without using Mind Slash!"

After gauging the strength he currently possessed, Yang Qingyun could not help but feel delighted.

Just then,

a figure hurried in through the door, drenched in sweat and red-faced, panting as he ran.

"Young Master Yang, Father sent word that he's already found that place!"

The man was short and thin, dressed in gray clothes, with sweat soaking through the back of his shirt.

He was Wang Zhu's son, Wang Xiaoshi.

As payment for Wang Zhu bringing him the spirit ginseng and setting out to search for the place where the spirit ginseng grew, Wang Xiaoshi had moved in during this period.

During that time, Yang Qingyun had given him some guidance.

Although he had yet to break through,

under Yang Qingyun's instruction, he had already laid a fairly solid foundation.

"Oh? He's found it already?"

Yang Qingyun came back to himself, his eyes lighting up,

but when he saw Wang Xiaoshi gasping for breath and the urgency on his face, he suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

"Hmm? Where's your father?"

"Young Master, the situation is a little complicated. For some reason, some Imperial Guards appeared in that village."

"My father was worried that something might happen, so he sent me back first to report the news. He stayed in the village to keep an eye on those people."

"Imperial Guards?"

Yang Qingyun frowned,

What was going on?

Why had people from the imperial government appeared there as well? Had something happened?

Please don't let anything go wrong. Yang Qingyun's heart tightened.

"Let's go. Lead the way!"

Yang Qingyun did not delay,

and set out at once.

Deep within the endless mountains, green hills rose and fell like waves.

After more than half a day,

under Wang Xiaoshi's guidance, Yang Qingyun finally arrived at the small mountain village hidden deep within the forest.

This was a small village far into the mountains, completely surrounded by peaks and forming a tiny basin.

The villagers relied on the river and had cultivated many fertile fields in the basin.

Cooking smoke drifted faintly upward, and from time to time, the cries of birds could be heard in the mountains.

To avoid unnecessary trouble,

the two did not make contact with anyone or alert anyone. They climbed over the village's wooden fence and quietly slipped inside,

and fortunately, nothing unexpected happened. They easily found Wang Zhu.

"How is the situation now?"

"Don't worry, Young Master. I've been very careful. When I entered the village earlier, I claimed I was visiting a distant relative, so although those Imperial Guards appeared afterward, they didn't notice me."

Hearing this, Yang Qingyun nodded, and his heart eased slightly.

"That's good, then!"

"Tell me what's going on first. What's the story with the place where the ginseng grows, and with the Imperial Guards?"

Wang Zhu hurriedly acknowledged him.

This small mountain village was called Green Stone Village. It lay relatively deep within this stretch of mountains and was one of the most remote villages in Huangshi Town. Beyond the forests deeper in, there was nothing but a barren wilderness untouched by man.

That was precisely why it had taken Wang Zhu more than half a month to finally find a lead.

Several years ago, one night, a white meteor streaked across the sky above Green Stone Village and ultimately fell deep within the forest. A burst of white light shone from that place, accompanied by a tremor that shook the earth.

An old villager had said that it was an auspicious sign from Heaven—the Mountain God had descended.

Thus, the villagers living in the mountains built a Mountain God temple facing that direction.

More than half a month ago, the villager who had sold Wang Zhu the spirit ginseng went into the mountains to hunt. He was chased by a wild boar and accidentally stumbled into the place where the Mountain God had fallen in the past. By a twist of fate, he brought back the Old Mountain Ginseng.

That led to the series of events that followed, ultimately resulting in the spirit ginseng falling into Yang Qingyun's hands.

"What about the constables from the government? Do you know why they appeared here?"

"Those Imperial Guards seemed to be from some organization called the Six Doors. Their leader was a bearded man with a jug of wine hanging from his waist, a fellow who was drunk all day and was called Foreman Zhao. He had three subordinates. None of the four looked very cheerful. It seemed they had been ostracized and sent into these deep mountains and old forests to investigate."

"I also overheard a little about the purpose of their investigation while they were talking."

"It seemed to be an order from their superior. He wanted those people from the Six Doors to search for strange and unusual incidents that had occurred in various places, then investigate them one by one."

"The Falling Stars and Mountain God's Advent from several years ago had spread far and wide, so they came here as well."

"About an hour ago, they found a villager and had him guide them to the place where the Mountain God had descended. There's still been no word from them."

The Six Doors,

investigating strange and unusual incidents?

After hearing Wang Zhu's account, Yang Qingyun's brows drew tightly together.

He had heard of the name Six Doors in his Previous Life.

But in his Previous Life, he had merely been at the bottom rung and had never crossed paths with people from the imperial government.

What was more, at this point in his Previous Life, he had still been digging ore in the mines of the White Feather Sect. He knew even less about what had happened during this period.

Thinking of the man they had discussed when he spoke with Zhou Weilong earlier—the man named Gu Hanlin who had entered the Connate realm overnight—Yang Qingyun's heart tightened.

The Six Doors' target,

could it be the same treasure land where the spirit ginseng appeared?

The opportunities within it—

could someone else seize them before him?!

"Young Master, don't worry. When those Imperial Guards were looking for a guide, they happened to find the villager who often went into the mountains to hunt—the same villager who sold us the ginseng!"

"To prevent anything unexpected, I've already bribed that villager. I told him to lead those Imperial Guards around in circles through the mountains and keep them away from that area for now."

Seeing Yang Qingyun's expression change, Wang Zhu hurriedly explained.

"Good! You did well!"

Yang Qingyun looked at Wang Zhu with some surprise.

Ten days or half a month earlier, the man had still seemed honest and simple-minded. He had not expected that after some time, Wang Zhu would reveal a fair bit of cleverness and quick wit.

Perhaps he had never been lacking in ability. It was simply that, coming from the lower classes and spending every day bent over the fields in hard labor, that sharpness within him had been buried.

"Still, long nights breed trouble. The longer this drags on, the more likely something unexpected will happen. Take me there now!"

Yang Qingyun had no intention of coming face-to-face with the people from the Six Doors just yet,

and planned to get there first,

explore that place before them, and deal with the rest afterward!

My stockpiled chapters are all gone. On top of that, with the transition between autumn and winter, I'm exhausted and don't feel like writing. The second update will probably be a little late.