Lin Hanzhou stood in the middle of the wrecked square, his expression cold as he gazed upon the hellscape before him.
He knew he had to erase every trace of what had happened here as quickly as possible.
Though Zhou Fengyu was dead, the Cloud Glow Sect would never let the matter rest.
If they sent someone here, the faintest clues at the scene might lead them to uncover something.
He wasn't afraid. He just didn't want the hassle.
Until he had the strength to protect himself with absolute certainty, keeping a low profile and building his strength was the way to go.
He walked to the side of a collapsed house and picked up a still-burning beam to use as a torch.
Without hesitation, he tossed the flame onto the pile of firewood and straw.
"Whoosh—!"
The flames surged up, spreading at an astonishing speed.
Before long, all of Zhang Family Village was engulfed in a raging sea of fire.
The towering flames turned the night sky crimson.
This blaze would erase every trace that the village had ever existed.
Lin Hanzhou watched in silence. Only when the fire had grown too fierce to put out easily did he turn to leave.
Before he went, his gaze fell on the long sword Zhou Fengyu had dropped.
He walked over and picked it up.
The sword felt slightly heavy in his hand. It was forged entirely from some unknown black iron and gave off a faint chill.
Its edge was razor-sharp. It could slice through stone as easily as tofu.
Lin Hanzhou recalled how his earlier punch, infused with second-tier spiritual power, had failed to damage it in the slightest.
That alone proved the sword was made of extraordinary material.
"It's at least a low-grade Profound-rank weapon. In this world, it should count as a divine weapon."
Lin Hanzhou thought to himself.
He was just short of a decent weapon, and this sword would do nicely.
He also had no need to worry about it being traceable. It bore no mark of the Cloud Glow Sect.
He fastened the sword at his waist, took one last look at the village slowly turning to ash in the flames, and walked away without a trace of regret, disappearing into the night.
His destination was the nearest town: Green Mountain Town.
He needed to gather information about this world there and plan his next move.
A night of steady travel was nothing for Lin Hanzhou, now a second-tier cultivator.
As the sun slowly rose in the east, the outline of a small town came into view.
It was Green Mountain Town, the nearest town to Zhang Family Village in the original owner's memories.
To avoid attracting attention, he had changed into clean clothes and wrapped the fine sword in a piece of rag.
Dressed like this, he wouldn't look out of place in town.
Green Mountain Town wasn't large, but it was fairly prosperous.
Its streets were paved with bluestone, and all kinds of shops lined either side: rice shops, cloth stores, blacksmiths, and more. The place was full of life.
Lin Hanzhou didn't wander around. Instead, he went straight into a place called Yuelai Inn.
"Would you like a meal or a room, sir?"
A waiter hurried over to greet him warmly.
"A room. I want a first-class one. Also, bring your manager over. There are a few things I'd like to ask him about."
As he spoke, Lin Hanzhou took several taels of silver from his clothes and slipped them discreetly to the waiter.
The silver, of course, had been generously sponsored by Zhou Fengyu.
The waiter weighed it in his hand, his smile growing brighter, and quickly led Lin Hanzhou to a clean private room on the second floor. Then he called out loudly,
"Right away! Manager, we have an honored guest!"
Soon, a middle-aged man with a plump build and a neat mustache walked in, his face wreathed in smiles.
"What can I do for you, sir?"
Lin Hanzhou got straight to the point.
"I'd like to ask you about the current state of affairs in the Great Gan Dynasty."
The manager paused in surprise, then understood.
It seemed this was a martial artist from some remote mountain who had spent too long out of touch with the world.
He'd met plenty of people like that.
"Sir, you've come to the right person."
The manager rubbed his hands and continued,
"As for the Great Gan Dynasty these days... well, sigh, it's a mess! An absolute mess!"
He lowered his voice and spoke in a mysterious tone.
"You wouldn't believe it, sir. The current Gan Emperor has been gravely ill and bedridden for years."
"Word on the street is that his days are numbered. He might not even last through this winter."
"And at court, the eunuchs have taken control."
"They're the vilest creatures imaginable. They keep hiking taxes every year, stirring up such wrath that the people are driven to ruin. In many places, commoners are literally starving to death."
"On top of that, Prince Yan, who guards the north, Prince of Wu in the southeast, and Prince of Shu in the southwest are all itching for a chance to act. Each of them commands a formidable army."
"If word gets out that the Gan Emperor has died, the realm will probably shatter into four pieces, and war will break out all over again!"
The manager leaned out to check the doorway, then lowered his voice even further.
"And that's not all. There are also the three great sects of the martial world: the Cloud Glow Sect, the Emotionless Gate, and Vajra Temple. Not one of them is easy to deal with. Their disciples are scattered across the realm, and they've never been particularly obedient to the court."
"Then there's the ambitious Great Qing Dynasty to the north, which has been eyeing Great Gan hungrily for years. The Great Gan Dynasty is truly a house on the verge of collapse, hanging by a thread!"
Listening to the manager, Lin Hanzhou finally gained a clear and vivid understanding of this world.
The emperor was gravely ill, eunuchs ruled the court, feudal lords were ready to rebel, sects stood everywhere, and foreign enemies encircled the realm...
This wasn't merely a house on the verge of collapse. It was a powder keg about to explode.
This world was far more complicated than the Great Sui he'd visited last time.
"So this is what they mean by a dynasty in its final days..."
Lin Hanzhou understood.
"Manager, I'd like to buy some more information privately."
As he spoke, Lin Hanzhou took out another ten taels of silver and placed them on the table.
"Tell me as much as you can about the Cloud Glow Sect. I'd also like a basic map of the Great Gan Dynasty."
The manager's eyes went wide at the ten taels. He quickly tucked them into his sleeve.
"Of course, of course! Please wait a moment, sir. I'll fetch them for you right away."
Before long, the manager returned to the room with a rolled-up parchment map and a thin booklet.
Lin Hanzhou opened the map and studied it carefully.
The Great Gan Dynasty covered a vast territory divided into eighteen provinces.
The Qing Province where he was now was in the northeast of the dynasty.
He then opened the booklet on the Cloud Glow Sect. It contained a rough description of the sect's location, along with information about some of its famous elders and disciples.
"Yun Province, Cloud Glow Mountain..."
Lin Hanzhou located the Cloud Glow Sect on the map.
He discovered that it was extremely far from Qing Province.
Several provinces lay between them.
Even a Grandmaster flying through the air would need at least a week to get there.
Learning this finally put Lin Hanzhou's mind at ease.
A week was more than enough time for him to reach the ends of the earth.
By then, finding him would be like searching for a needle in the sea.
Looking at the map, Lin Hanzhou had already decided where to go next.
He would head south, to a more remote province far from the heart of the turmoil.
There, he would find a place to settle down and steadily increase his strength.
An age of chaos was dawning. His own strength was the only thing he could truly rely on.
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