Autumn Nears Its End

After finishing his morning routine and circulating Dao Essence, Jiang Wang sent Jiang An'an off to school, then headed outside the city to see Du Yehu off.

Traveling far in these times was no easy matter—it was filled with the bitterness of partings that could be life and death.

The reason humans gathered in villages, towns, and cities was largely due to the endless hordes of wild beasts, and even the fierce beasts and demonic beasts lurking in the mountains and wilds.

Towns were safe, as were the official roads. Not that the array patterns carved into those roads were foolproof—the Zhuang Court neither could nor would make such a massive investment; in truth, those patterns mostly served as deterrents.

A more effective measure was that the Zhuang Court would dispatch powerful cultivators to regularly sweep these roads—officially termed "Plowing the Land"—to ensure that the instinct-driven but mindless fierce beasts remembered the danger and dared not approach easily.

Given Du Yehu's strength, as long as he stuck to the official roads, there was no great danger.

By the time Jiang Wang reached the city outskirts, Zhao Rucheng and Ling He were already there, and no one else. Among the brothers, Du Yehu was the most gregarious and had the most friends, but he disliked fussy, sentimental farewells, so he hadn't told anyone else about enlisting, leaving Ling He to inform them later.

A table of wine and food had been set up in the open field—unquestionably Zhao Rucheng's doing.

Jiang Wang pulled out the Four Spirits Body Refining Technique, which he had copied out overnight, and handed it to Du Yehu.

Du Yehu flipped through only two pages before his tiger-like eyes lit up. "Third brother, this is a treasure!"

"Let me see, let me see." Zhao Rucheng leaned in with great curiosity.

But after just a few lines, he turned away. "Body refining? That's way too much work."

"Such a fine technique!" Du Yehu said, exasperated. "Look a few more times—you won't want to let it go."

Though he recognized at a glance that this technique was a complete, elevated version of the White Tiger Body Refining Technique, he didn't ask Jiang Wang where it came from. When Jiang Wang wanted to talk, he would. Everyone had their secrets—even Jiang An'an had little things she kept to herself. There was no need to pry.

Nor did he intend to hoard it. He had fallen in love with the technique at first sight, and he hoped his brothers wouldn't miss out on it.

Zhao Rucheng waved a hand. "Too long, didn't read."

Du Yehu turned to Ling He, who shook his head. "I'm currently focused on opening my meridians and stabilizing the Heaven-Connecting Palace. I can't afford to be distracted by other techniques."

He was a steady sort, taking one step at a time. The brothers' Dao Merits, pooled together, were only about twenty points short. These days, he had been constantly taking on tasks, but the ranked ones were too difficult for his current strength. He mostly followed senior brothers around, doing odd jobs, earning very few Dao Merits—sometimes one or two points, sometimes nothing at all. Still, he was getting closer and closer to transcendence.

Jiang Wang smiled. "I'll be using this technique to refine my body too. When we meet again, we'll see who's progressed further."

"I can't match you in swordsmanship talent, but when it comes to Military School cultivation methods... heh, just you wait." Du Yehu was brimming with confidence.

"Then... see you in Xin'an!"

"See you in Xin'an."

For Jiang Wang and the others, going to Xin'an City meant entering the State Daoist Academy. For Du Yehu to go to Xin'an, he would at least need to become a general with real power in the Jiujiang Black Armor before he could attend the martial assembly in the Zhuang capital.

Such grand visions of the future were all spoken in the idle chatter of youth.

The brothers ate a few bites and chatted a while. Except for Ling He, who never drank, the other three each downed three large bowls as a farewell toast. No one's sleeves were wet with tears.

Then Du Yehu raised a bowl of wine toward the southwest as well, but said nothing—just poured it out on the ground.

Everyone knew who he was saying goodbye to.

Du Yehu was leaving for Jiujiang through the south gate, taking the official road. The path to the Green Willow River lay in the southwest.

The Jiujiang Black Armor's recruitment was facilitated by both the Ministry of War and the Dao Academies, since this army was practically the face of the Zhuang Kingdom. So leaving the City Daoist Academy didn't require much paperwork.

Everything that needed to be said had already been said. Seeing a friend off a thousand miles, in the end, one must part.

"I'm off!"

With that, Du Yehu shouldered his pack and set out bare-handed.

At that moment, there was no wind or rain, and the clouds were slowly parting.

Autumn was nearly over.

As a collateral descendant of the Lin Clan of Wangjiang City, Lin Zhenglun had been making quite a splash lately.

First, he married a widow and was mocked for it, but he didn't care. The couple got along well. Then, within days, he cracked open the medicinal herb market in Maple Forest City—a feat that earned him considerable recognition in commerce-heavy Wangjiang City, and through it, he began to take control of the Lin Clan's internal herb business.

It looked like a collateral branch was about to become the main line, a sparrow turning into a phoenix.

Only then did people realize that the widow he married was no ordinary woman. She came with a dowry! The pharmacy with the best reputation in all of Phoenix Creek Town.

Everyone knew that Maple Forest City's herb business depended entirely on Phoenix Creek Town's harvest. And in Phoenix Creek Town, the Jiang Family Pharmacy was famous far and wide, quietly leading the pack. Of course, now it had taken the Lin surname.

The Lin Clan had tried every way to break into the Maple Forest City herb market but made little progress. No one expected Lin Zhenglun to find a way through marriage. Many who were slow to catch on now regretted it—after all, the widow herself was not without charm, let alone the profits she brought.

Wangjiang Pavilion in Wangjiang City. Sitting in Wangjiang Pavilion and gazing into the distance, the mighty Qing River coiled like a dragon before the eyes.

Lin Zhenglun sat in the seat of honor, clinking cups with his newly made friends, basking in the waves of flattery from everyone present. He was thoroughly pleased.

Thump~ thump~ thump!

The sound of footsteps on the stairs was so clear. Lin Zhenglun turned his head, about to see who had no sense of occasion—hadn't he, Lord Lin, clearly rented out this entire floor?

But as he looked, everyone seated with him rose to their feet one after another.

"Master Lin."

"Master Lin!"

There were many young masters named Lin, but only one could make all these respectable people bow and scrape—the legitimate son of the Lin Clan patriarch, the Lin Clan's already-confirmed future leader, Lin Zhengli.

Lin Zhenglun instinctively started to stand, but forced himself to stay seated. He smiled and said, "Zhengli, what brings you to Wangjiang Pavilion today? I've already rented out this floor—feel free to enjoy yourselves, put it all on my tab."

Yes, technically speaking, he was still this Young Master Lin's elder brother. In the past, his low status meant there was nothing to say, but now, with his great contributions earning him a place in the main lineage, it was only right to discuss seniority and arrange seating order.

Even though he couldn't possibly contend with Lin Zhengli for the position of Lin Clan head, he was about to take control of the entire clan's medicinal herb business, so naturally he had the confidence to speak while seated.

At these words, the young masters following behind Lin Zhengli all laughed. They were all sons of various nobles, and even if their laughter seemed inexplicable, Lin Zhenglun couldn't very well say anything about it.

Lin Zhengli himself, however, was quite composed. He even clasped his hands and bowed to Lin Zhenglun. "Brother Zhenglun is too polite."

After being earnestly invited by Lin Zhenglun to take a seat, Lin Zhengli smiled and said, "I've never really had the chance before, but since we've happened to meet today, little brother has something he'd like to discuss with elder brother."

Lin Zhenglun glanced around with considerable self-satisfaction, as if to say, Look, see how much respect the future Lin Clan head shows me?

But his words were deliberately modest: "Brother Zhengli is too courteous. If you have something to say, by all means speak freely. Your elder brother is a few years older and does have some life experience to share with you."

"That's good." Lin Zhengli smiled. "Has the medicinal herb business over in Maple Forest City been secured yet?"

This question hit the spot, and Lin Zhenglun laughed heartily. "With your elder brother on the case, how could it not be settled? Brother Zhengli, just watch—within two or three years, the medicinal herbs of the entire Maple Forest City domain will bear the Lin name!"

"That's good, that's good." Lin Zhengli nodded repeatedly. "In that case, elder brother can rest easy and go to Autumn Garden to recuperate."

"Of course!" Lin Zhenglun first agreed reflexively, then caught himself: "Wh-what?!"

Autumn Garden sounded nice, but it was merely a place where the clan's elderly widowers and widows went to live out their days. At his age, how could Lin Zhenglun possibly need to retire there?

"Brother Zhengli, don't joke like that," Lin Zhenglun said with a forced smile.

But Lin Zhengli's smile faded. "I never joke. I'll be taking over the medicinal herbs myself."

The young masters who had come upstairs with him laughed again. The laughter was light, yet it sounded heavy.

The autumn wind brushed across the surface of the Qing River, then slipped into Wangjiang Pavilion and blew against Lin Zhenglun.

He realized he couldn't resist.

Only then did he feel the cold.

So it's already deep autumn, he thought.