Chen Changhong

Arriving at the village.

Chen Changhong could no longer suppress his thoughts, rushing toward a small courtyard in the southwest like an arrow returning to its target.

Compared to the surrounding houses, this one was relatively small and somewhat dilapidated.

Faint wisps of cooking smoke drifted up from the side of the backyard.

Grandfather is cooking...

When Chen Changhong saw the smoke, he felt an inexplicable sense of relief.

Even before entering the courtyard, he straightened his clothes, rolled up his sleeves, and took several deep breaths before pushing open the gate.

"Grandfather! You... what are you burning?"

As he spoke, Chen Changhong picked up a small bundle of firewood in front of the yard.

His voice trembled slightly.

Yet, as he walked, he looked at the clothes hanging in the yard and felt they seemed a bit too tall and wide; they did not look like something his grandfather would wear.

"Who are you?"

At the same time, a man tending the fire in the yard heard the unfamiliar shout and stepped out from the side. Upon seeing a strange, handsome young man, he revealed a look of wariness and confusion.

"And who are you?" When Chen Changhong saw the stranger, a bad feeling rose in his heart, and his expression turned icy. "My name is Chen Changhong. This is my home. Where is my grandfather, Chen Guan?"

Though Chen Changhong usually appeared sunny, his sudden shift to a gloomy demeanor caused the surrounding air to take on a scorching, feverish heat.

From a distance, one could even see the air within the courtyard appearing to warp.

"You... you..." Feeling the heat and seeing the air around Chen Changhong visibly distort, the man seemed to realize something. Terrified, he stammered, "Changhong! You are the Changhong who was taken away as a child! I... I am the third son of your Uncle Li Er next door! We used to play by the river when we were kids..."

The man spoke in a panic, unaware that Chen Changhong had joined a cultivation sect.

Chen Guan had never spoken loosely about such matters to the neighbors.

But seeing Chen Changhong's supernatural, ethereal temperament, which resembled the legendary Qi practitioners, anyone could tell that in the decades since he left, Chen Changhong had gone to an extraordinary place.

For instance, a legendary immortal gate.

"Brother Li?" Hearing Brother Li's words, Chen Changhong paused, the oppressive aura receding slightly, but he immediately asked urgently, "Where is my grandfather? And why are you in my house?"

"This... this..." Upon hearing this question, Brother Li suddenly dared not speak.

The Chen Changhong from a moment ago had been truly terrifying!

However, thinking that if he didn't speak, something even worse might happen, he quickly said, "Years ago, people from the yamen came... they said..."

As he spoke, he cautiously observed Chen Changhong's expression.

"They said... your... your grandfather was murdered..."

When he reached this point and saw Chen Changhong's face turn deathly pale, he feared that this "childhood playmate who is now an immortal" would vent his anger on him. He ran away, crying out, "Spare me, Immortal! We didn't occupy your house! We just thought we'd wait here for your return... to let you know..."

"My grandfather..."

Chen Changhong paid no mind to Brother Li, nor to the neighbors peeking their heads out from the distance. Instead, he gripped the Life-Extending Pill tightly, staring blankly at his grandfather's thatched hut, standing there for a long, long time.

In this moment, Chen Changhong suddenly felt the first sense of bewilderment in his life.

It was the hollow emptiness of suddenly losing his greatest attachment in this world.

He did not know why he had risked life and death to rush hundreds of thousands of miles, exhausting all his efforts to painstakingly seek the Life-Extending Pill.

It was not until half an hour later that Chen Changhong gradually regained his senses and turned his gaze toward the direction of Ling City.

"Underworld Bureau... I will go to Ling City to find the Orthodox God of the Underworld... I will demand the City God investigate... who killed my grandfather... I will find the person and imprison their soul... While I live, I will make them suffer the torments of the Avici Hell! Before I die, I will make their soul scatter, never to enter the cycle of reincarnation!"

"It's ruined, it's ruined!"

At the same time, in the nearby Liuqi County.

The magistrate, already in his fifties, could not sit still for a single moment upon learning that a suspected cultivator had appeared in his county.

"Quick, quick, quick! Send a message via spirit-messenger pigeon to notify the Prefect of Ling City!"

Both Little Liuzi Town and this county fell under the jurisdiction of Ling City.

Ling City was guarded by a "Xiantian Minor Accomplishment" expert, who could resolve most disturbances caused by rogue cultivators.

As the magistrate saw it now:

This cultivator was casting spells in the county at will, likely acting in an unreasonable and self-willed manner.

Inviting an expert to oversee the situation was absolutely the right move.

"How could a cultivator come to such a remote and desolate place as ours?"

The magistrate was bewildered, yet he still had his men prepare while he adjusted his robes, intending to track down Chen Changhong and pay him a personal visit.

Facing such an unexpected expert, while caution was necessary, proper etiquette had to be observed as well.

In his philosophy of governance, these two approaches, though slightly awkward, did not conflict.

Of course, more importantly, ordinary cultivators would not move against imperial officials.

Otherwise, the magistrate would never have dared to approach a self-willed cultivator.

However.

When he arrived at the small village at dusk, having tracked Chen Changhong with a heart full of trepidation, he found that the man had already departed.

The magistrate stood with his guards, gazing at the empty courtyard, feeling a mix of relief and the disappointment of a missed opportunity.

"A cultivator who can consume qi and extend their lifespan..."

The magistrate, already in his twilight years, looked at the setting sun with a sense of longing.

Two days later.

Little Liuzi Town, late at night.

"Many thanks for your hospitality, Shopkeeper Sun!"

On the way back to the residence of Bandit Brother.

Chen Guan and Bandit Brother sat in the same sedan chair, drinking tea on opposite sides, the atmosphere harmonious.

Anyone unaware would have thought the two were close friends.

"Not at all, not at all!" Bandit Brother was in an excellent mood. "That Young Hero Chen would grace me with his presence and visit my humble abode brings great honor to my home!"

As he spoke, Bandit Brother bowed slightly, offering a toast of tea to Chen Guan.

"You are too kind, Shopkeeper." Chen Guan smiled and drank with him, glancing through the gap in the curtain toward the direction of Sun Mansion.

"For this period of time, I, Chen Guan, have nothing to do, so I shall be troubling you, Shopkeeper Sun."

"You are too polite, Young Hero Chen!" Bandit Brother was overjoyed to hear that Chen Guan intended to stay with him. "That Young Hero Chen is willing to associate with me is my honor!

Such an honor is worth more than a thousand pieces of gold!

How could there be any talk of trouble?

If anything, it is I who am troubling Young Hero Chen!"

Bandit Brother beamed, feeling that his relationship with Young Hero Chen had taken a step forward.

At the same time.

Bandit Brother looked at Chen Guan's youthful appearance, feeling immensely smug.

At such an age, so young, he may seem like a veteran of the jianghu, but in reality, he is still just a child.

With me, a true veteran of the jianghu, taking the lead...

Bandit Brother sat composed, secretly making a grabbing gesture with his hand.

...naturally, I can easily manipulate him!

Young Hero Chen.

You are still too young; you do not know the dangers of the jianghu or how unpredictable the human heart can be.