A Minor Interlude

The Shangdan Sect lay within Hushan Kingdom in the southern part of Central Province. For an Ordinary Person setting out from Shang'an Prefecture, a round trip took nearly three months.

On the morning of the tenth.

After breakfast, Wang Ping began packing under Daoist Yucheng's urging: two gray-blue Daoist robes, four sets of underclothes, an Iron Sword, and at least four pairs of shoes, all stuffed into a travel pack.

Lastly came the travel expenses: one hundred taels of silver. That money would let Wang Ping live quite freely on the road.

Once he had packed and was ready to set out, Daoist Yucheng had vanished somewhere. Wang Ping waited uneasily for Half an Hour. Only when the winter sun was about to break through the Clouds did he cast a divination for himself and walk out through the courtyard gate.

At the Front Hall, several junior brothers who knew him hurried over and called him senior brother.

Looking at the vastly changed Front Hall, Wang Ping felt as though a lifetime had passed. The once deserted Training Ground and courtyard were now filled with people coming and going, while Pilgrims from the Mountain Foot streamed in without end to burn incense.

When he reached the Renovated Main Gate, his three senior brothers and junior brother Wang Kang, who had been waiting for a long time, gathered around him.

Eldest Senior Brother gave Wang Ping some travel medicine to ward off insects. Second Senior Brother slyly fitted a Concealed Weapon onto Wang Ping's right wrist for self-defense. Third Senior Brother gave Wang Ping his own Steel Sword, while junior brother Wang Kang gifted him a Water Canteen made from a segment of bamboo.

After leaving the Main Gate, Wang Ping discovered that the road up the mountain had been rebuilt at some point. The muddy path of old had become Stone Steps, winding for several kilometers as far as the eye could see.

The formerly quiet mountain road was now crowded with people as well, with a pavilion for resting every so often.

A bustling market had appeared at the Mountain Foot at some point. At the entrance to the mountain road, some Officials and Nobles were selecting Palanquin Bearers. The Peddlers and Laborers gathered there bowed from afar upon seeing Wang Ping in his Daoist robe, while the Officials and Nobles all nodded to him in greeting.

Thousand Wood Temple had spread its teachings very successfully over the past two years. At the very least, the Surrounding Areas had all come to believe in the temple's incense offerings.

Following his memories, Wang Ping left the market from the north and finally saw a familiar river. The small path by the river had become an Official Road.

After leaving the market, he gazed toward the village on the South Bank. That was his mortal home.

The little village that had once consisted of low earthen houses had become a settlement lined with Tiled Houses. A massive Waterwheel stood out conspicuously downstream along the canal.

Wang Ping merely paused to look for a while, without heading toward the village.

Eight Days later.

Wang Ping left Nanlin Road and entered Mozhou Road. He had been timing his journey carefully, but when he reached the county town nearest the Official Road, he found that its gates had long since closed.

Many people had met the same fate as Wang Ping, including a merchant caravan heading south. Several of the caravan's leaders sat in the only pavilion outside the city gate, eating Dry Rations.

Wang Ping did not study the caravan too closely. He went to the outskirts of a Temporary Camp a hundred meters away from them and bought a bundle of firewood from the Camp Boss.

When he got the fire going, waves of cheers rose from the distant county town. The city's residents were likely celebrating something. The sound of their cheering stirred homesick emotions in the Travelers and merchants sleeping rough outside the city.

"I'm hungry..."

Yulian voiced her protest.

Wang Ping took out the Dried Meat he had specifically bought for Yulian. She swallowed it in two bites, looked around with her tiny eyes, then burrowed back into his sleeve.

"I saw lots of Villains!" Yulian did not hurry to sleep.

"Mm."

Wang Ping answered her, then took out a hard chunk of Dry Rations and placed it over the campfire to roast. Nearby, two foul-smelling beggars had long set their sights on the solitary Wang Ping. When they saw him take out the food, one of them swallowed, and the instinct to survive drove him crawling toward Wang Ping.

Clang!

A cold gleam flashed. Before the crawling beggar could understand what had happened, a sharp pain shot through his cheek. He instinctively stopped crawling, only to see an unsheathed sword pointing at him coldly.

"Take it aside and eat. Don't disturb me!"

Wang Ping tossed a small piece of Dry Rations to the beggar and spoke in an icy voice.

The two beggars froze at first, then, like beasts fighting over feed, they scrambled for the food as they rolled away into the distant darkness. Everyone else watched in silence.

At that moment, the cheers from the county town sounded somewhat grating.

"Alas!"

An Old Man sighed. "Yuanning County has gone seven or eight years without a County Magistrate taking office. Life in the surrounding villages is getting harder and harder."

"Isn't that so? I heard that riots broke out in several villages downstream before the new year!"

Once this topic was opened, it surged forth like floodwaters that could not be stopped.

Wang Ping listened quietly. After hearing it all, he once again felt the cruelty of this world. Ordinary people not only had to bear heavy Farm Work and Corvée Labor, but also endure oppression and exploitation from local strongmen. If they were not careful, they might even be swallowed by Lesser Demons causing trouble.

Yulian rubbed her little head against Wang Ping's finger again.

"I'm fine!"

Wang Ping replied softly. He wolfed down the softened Dry Rations, took two gulps from the Water Canteen his junior brother had given him, then sat in meditation to rest.

Deep Night.

Wang Ping opened his eyes as if sensing something. The campfire before him had dwindled to Embers, and most people in the camp had already fallen asleep. At the edge of the distant merchant caravan, two Night Watchmen patrolled back and forth with torches.

Everything was normal.

Wang Ping turned his gaze toward the Thatched Hut where the Camp Boss had piled up firewood. Picking up the sword resting on his knees, he rose and leapt into the darkness beyond the moonlight. Two Breaths later, he landed atop an Old Tree in the distance and crouched down, blending into the tree under cover of the night.

By moonlight, Wang Ping saw five or six people crawl out of the Camp Boss's Thatched Hut. They swaggered among the sleeping crowd, rummaging through luggage for valuables. Their movements were loud, yet they did not wake a single person, because the Camp Boss had spread Sleeping Powder beforehand.

The merchant caravan had noticed the camp's situation long ago, but they merely watched coldly.

From the practiced movements of those people, it was clear they had done this sort of thing many times before. Coupled with Yuanning City closing its gates early...

"You bastards, I've finally caught you!"

A Woman's voice rang out to Wang Ping's left. Then he saw a long blade blazing all over with firelight rip through the dim night sky, slashing toward one Bandit's head. Yet when that earth-shaking strike fell, it was only powerful enough to knock the Bandit unconscious, not take his life.

Then, someone charged out from Wang Ping's right with equally imposing momentum, seemingly holding up a cauldron. But upon reaching the camp, he too set it down lightly like the Woman before him, merely knocking the Bandits unconscious.

Once all the Bandits had been bound, the Woman who had rushed out first pointed in Wang Ping's direction and shouted, "That heartless little Daoist, get down here!"

Wang Ping knew the Woman was talking about him, but he had no intention of coming down.

After several Breaths of stalemate, the Woman snorted coldly and took out a packet of medicinal powder from her pocket, scattering it. Before long, the sleeping Travelers woke one after another...