The Official Farewell

Qinghe County Office, Second Hall Study.

Outside the window, rain pattered down all night, washing away the stench of blood that hung over the entire city.

Thin wisps of smoke curled from the Rosewood Incense Burner on the desk. The County Magistrate sat upright in his Grand Master Chair, turning a smooth Jade Thumb Ring in his hand, while his gaze fixed like a hawk's on Chen Ping, who stood with his head bowed below.

"Chen Ping, more than thirty members of the Jin Family were wiped out overnight—not a single chicken or dog was spared. Even that old bastard Jin Zhenshan had his heart meridians shattered by sheer force."

The County Magistrate's voice gave no hint of his feelings, but carried a heavy pressure.

"You are this county's Tanhua in the Imperial Military Examination, and you were also tasked with escorting the distinguished guest. What do you make of this?"

Chen Ping's body trembled, and just the right degree of fear and lingering shock appeared on his face.

He stooped slightly, hands tucked inside his sleeves, and spoke with a faint quaver.

"Your Excellency, I... I heard the commotion last night, but I was so frightened I didn't dare go outside. The neighbors said the bandits from Black Wind Stronghold came into the city to settle a score. Master Jin had made many enemies over the years, so I imagine..."

At that, Chen Ping broke into a violent fit of coughing. His face grew even paler, and he looked as though the massacre had terrified him out of his wits.

The County Magistrate narrowed his eyes and studied Chen Ping for a long while.

The purge last night had been swift and clean—not the work of ordinary bandits.

But he had checked Chen Ping's whereabouts. He had stayed in his own little courtyard and never gone out.

More importantly, in the County Magistrate's eyes, Chen Ping was merely a martial artist who had gotten lucky. There was no way he could have wiped out the Iron Palm Martial Hall, with its several experts, without anyone noticing.

"Black Wind Stronghold..."

The County Magistrate tapped his fingers lightly on the desk and smiled meaningfully.

"If they were bandits on the run, then the case is closed. The Jin Family has no heirs, so their property will be confiscated for the public good. What comes from the people should be used for the people."

Chen Ping hurriedly cupped his hands.

"Your Excellency is wise."

"Chen Ping..."

The County Magistrate changed tack, his tone turning warm and kindly.

"Now that Jin Zhenshan is dead, the county has an opening for a constable. I intend to promote you to Chief Constable and put you in charge of security throughout the county. Also, my younger daughter has just turned sixteen. Though she is a concubine-born daughter, she is well-read and sensible. If you are interested, I can arrange for her to become your secondary wife. Then you and I will be family, and I'll see to it that you enjoy wealth and glory here in Qinghe County."

It was a blatant attempt to win him over and bind him to the County Magistrate.

Chen Ping sneered inwardly, but his face showed only flattered alarm and extreme trepidation.

"Your Excellency is too kind. I... I hardly deserve such favor!"

Chen Ping spoke earnestly, even squeezing out a few tears.

"It's just that I overtrained when I was young and damaged my foundation. A few days ago, I was escorting the distinguished guest when yin energy invaded my body. Now I'm strong on the outside but weak within. Whenever it rains, my whole body aches terribly. I'm afraid I don't have many years left. The post of Chief Constable is an important one; if I accepted it, I'd only get in the way of Your Excellency's affairs. And as for your daughter... with this broken body of mine, I wouldn't dare hold back such a fine young woman."

After speaking, he broke into another violent bout of coughing. He even circulated his inner force until his face flushed red, then turned deathly pale.

The County Magistrate watched Chen Ping's sickly appearance, his eagerness quickly fading into distaste and regret.

A ruined martial scholar was indeed not worth winning over.

"Very well."

The County Magistrate waved his hand, took the resignation letter, and casually tossed it onto the corner of the desk.

"Since your ambitions lie elsewhere, I won't force the matter. Go and take good care of yourself."

"Thank you for your graciousness, Your Excellency!"

As if reprieved, Chen Ping kowtowed and withdrew from the study.

The moment he stepped out of the county office, the stiffness left Chen Ping's back, and the corner of his mouth lifted in a faintly mocking smile.

Several head constables at the entrance saw him and gathered around. When they learned he had actually resigned instead of taking office, they erupted.

"Master Chen, what are you thinking? The Chief Constable's a plum job that people would kill to get!"

"Exactly! You're throwing away a bright future just to go home and farm? Have you trained so much that your brains have turned to mush?"

Their jeers reached him without the slightest attempt to hide them.

Chen Ping only smiled and cupped his hands, saying nothing.

How could sparrows know the lofty ambitions of swans and geese? In his eyes, the "bright future" these men spoke of was nothing but a shackle on the path to immortality.

He packed his belongings, hired a carriage, and moved back to the quiet little courtyard in the south of the city without looking back.

From then on, Chen Ping vanished from the official circles of Qinghe County.

In the courtyard, the furnace fire roared.

Chen Ping tossed in all the Gold Leaves and broken silver he had accumulated in recent days, along with the gold ingots he had bought using the silver notes won at the gambling house.

Flames licked the crucible, and the gold and silver melted into scalding liquid.

With a focused expression, Chen Ping poured the molten gold into specially made molds, casting it into small ingots as thick as fingers.

This shape was easy to carry close to the body and convenient to trade in the Cultivation World.

After all, gold was hard currency in the mortal world. In the eyes of low-level cultivators, it was also an auxiliary material for refining certain Magic Artifacts.

Besides melting down gold, he had also used connections at the medicine shops to buy large quantities of rare medicinal seeds at high prices.

Ginseng, lingzhi, fleeceflower root...

They were only ordinary medicinal herbs, but with the Everlasting Spring Technique and the residue of that spirit stone, perhaps he could cultivate a trace of spirituality in them.

Several days later, one afternoon, someone pounded on the courtyard gate so hard it seemed ready to shake off its hinges.

"Brother Chen Ping! Are you really going to retire from the world?"

Tie Niu limped inside, his face full of worry and bewilderment.

He had just returned from the countryside after buying grain. As soon as he heard the news, he had rushed straight over.

Looking at the honest, straightforward man, Chen Ping felt a warmth in his heart.

In this deceitful and treacherous world, Tie Niu was one of the few who had treated him with genuine kindness.

"Tie Niu, sit down."

Chen Ping poured him a cup of tea, his expression calm.

"The official world is a vat of dye. I'm a laid-back sort, and I can't stand all those constraints. Now that the Jin Family has fallen and I've saved enough money, I just want to spend a few peaceful days with Yun Niang."

"But..."

Tie Niu tried to persuade him again.

Chen Ping raised a hand to stop him, went back inside, and brought out a heavy bundle and a thin booklet. He pushed them across the table to Tie Niu.

"Here are five hundred taels of silver. Use them to renovate your house and buy a few acres of good farmland. This booklet contains an improved version of the Shattered Stone Palm and some methods for circulating qi. I removed the parts that damaged the body. You have good Root Bone. Practice according to the instructions. You may not become an unparalleled expert, but you'll have more than enough to ensure no one in Qinghe County dares bully your family."

Tie Niu looked at the silver and martial arts manual in front of him, and his eyes immediately reddened.

He was a rough man who didn't understand lofty principles. He only knew Chen Ping was laying out a path for him to follow.

"Brother..."

Choking with emotion, Tie Niu dropped to his knees.

Chen Ping caught him and laughed.

"We're brothers. None of that formal stuff. When I'm gone, remember to burn a stick of incense for Lord Guan at the Broken Temple every New Year and holiday."

After sending Tie Niu off, Chen Ping's life grew even more "dissolute."

Every morning, instead of rising at dawn to train, he accompanied Yun Niang to the market to buy vegetables.

During the day, he took Yun Niang to the silk shop to choose fabric and to the theater to listen to the lilting, wavering melodies of Kunqu opera.

To outsiders, the former Tanhua of the Imperial Military Examination had indeed wasted away from his injuries, lost in a life of luxury and tenderness, and become a wealthy man who did nothing but dote on his wife.

Only Yun Niang knew that her husband's eyes were brighter than ever.

Night deepened, and all was silent.

After Yun Niang fell asleep, Chen Ping quietly rose and went to the secret room in his study.

By the light of a flickering lamp, he spread out the Beast Hide Map he had taken from Jin Zhenshan's secret chamber.

The map was incomplete, its lines archaic. But by piecing it together with the fragments he had heard from Ye Muqing, he had finally pinpointed the approximate location of a place called Taihang Market.

"A thousand li away, in the deep mountains and vast marshes..."

Chen Ping slowly traced the route marked on the map with his finger, his brows furrowing.

The route passed through several mortal kingdoms and over primeval forests teeming with ferocious beasts.

For a mortal, it was a journey with ten deaths and no chance of survival.

Even though he was now a first-level Qi Refining cultivator, he didn't dare claim he had any certainty of making it.

Putting away the map, Chen Ping took the Storage Pouch he had looted from the Evil Cultivator, the old Daoist priest.

The little gray pouch looked unremarkable, yet weighed as much as a thousand jun.

His Spiritual Sense was too weak now. He couldn't erase the spiritual imprint on it directly, the way Ye Muqing had.

"I'll have to wear it down, drop by drop."

Chen Ping bit his fingertip, squeezed out a drop of Essence Blood containing spiritual energy, and let it fall onto the mouth of the Storage Pouch.

"Zzz..."

The Essence Blood touched the Storage Pouch with a faint hiss, turning into a thin red thread that slowly seeped into the invisible restriction.

Chen Ping sensed the solid restriction loosen ever so slightly as the Essence Blood ate away at it.

At this rate, it would probably take several months and consume a great deal of Essence Blood before he could force the Storage Pouch open.

"What might be inside? Spirit stones? Magic Artifacts? Or a higher-level Cultivation Technique?"

Chen Ping's eyes brimmed with anticipation.

It was like opening a blind box. Every drop of blood brought him one step closer to that mysterious Cultivation World.

Days passed one by one, filled with peace and anticipation.

That was, until one autumn evening.

Yun Niang was at the stove, simmering Chen Ping's favorite Crucian Carp Soup.

Suddenly, a sharp crash broke the quiet of the courtyard—the sound of a porcelain bowl shattering on the floor.

Chen Ping was chopping wood in the courtyard when his heart clenched. He shot into the kitchen like a ghost.

Yun Niang lay limp beside the stove, her face pale as paper, eyes shut. Only the faint rise and fall of her chest showed she was still alive.

"Sister Yun!"

Chen Ping was stricken with alarm. He scooped Yun Niang into his arms and poured his Everlasting Spring Magical Power into her without restraint.

Half an hour later, the old doctor from Huichun Hall withdrew his hand from her wrist, sighed heavily, and shook his head.

"Scholar Chen, forgive this old man for speaking frankly. Your wife worked herself too hard in her younger years and depleted her constitution. On top of that... on top of that, she's had a blockage in her heart meridians since birth. Though she's been well-fed and cared for, it's like a water jar with a hole in the bottom. No matter how much water you pour in, it won't stay."

Chen Ping's face turned ashen. He stared at the old doctor. "Speak plainly! How long does she have?"

The killing intent in Chen Ping's eyes startled the old doctor, who stammered.

"If... if she's sustained with Century-Old Ginseng and carefully looked after, she may have... twenty years."

After seeing the doctor out, Chen Ping sat beside the bed, holding Yun Niang's cold hand as she slept with her brows still faintly furrowed.

"Twenty years..."

Chen Ping murmured, his nails digging deep into his palm. "Is this the fate of mortals?"

The time he had left was running short.

The peaceful days in Qinghe County had to come to an end.