Road Away from Home!

Road Away from Home! By the time Mu Yang returned to his little courtyard, a faint fish-belly white had already appeared on the horizon.

Mu Yang washed up simply, glanced at the time, and saw that there was only about an hour left until roll call.

He did not sleep. He merely fetched water for a bath and changed into a brand-new set of dark black fitted clothes.

Then, as usual, he hung the Black Gold Four-Edged Mace at his waist and strode out the door.

"Morning, Chief!"

The moment Mu Yang stepped through the gate, Old Fang, Li Chuang, and the others, who had already finished roll call, immediately came up to greet him.

Even Old Ye, who used to be somewhat fond of arriving late, had begun showing up early for roll call after witnessing Mu Yang's achievements with his own eyes. He had never been late again.

"Morning."

Mu Yang nodded slightly.

After that came the usual assignment of duties.

Lin Xiaoqi and the others followed Old Fang and Old Ye to patrol the streets within the city, while Li Chuang accompanied Mu Yang on an inspection outside the city.

Over the course of the day, Mu Yang took Li Chuang through two villages.

Unlike Huang Village, whose atmosphere had once been oppressive, and Li Village, which had been half-destroyed before being rebuilt, the two villages Mu Yang visited this time were both peaceful.

Farmers bent over the yellow earth with their backs to the sky filled the fields, while children chased and played by the roadside.

By the time Mu Yang and Li Chuang returned to the County Office, it was already time to finish duty.

Usually, Mu Yang would leave alone at this hour, but this time, he called everyone from Fifth Squad, along with Wu Cai, and went to a restaurant.

Wu Cai, who had long heard that Mu Yang was leaving, immediately guessed what this meant. Li Chuang and the others seemed to realize it as well, and the atmosphere on the road suddenly grew more somber.

Only after everyone entered a private room at the restaurant and jar after jar of fine wine went down their throats did the heavy mood gradually disperse.

"Tomorrow morning, I'll be heading to the Prefecture City with Head Constable Xue. From now on, Fifth Squad will merge into Brother Wu's Fourth Squad. You must listen to Brother Wu," Mu Yang said, raising his wine cup in instruction.

As soon as his words fell, the private room grew noticeably quieter.

Old Fang and Old Ye exchanged a look. Though they were reluctant to part with him, they were older and had seen more, so they could keep their emotions under control.

They merely raised their cups and offered their blessings.

Lin Xiaoqi, the youngest among them, had his eyes redden at once. "Chief, will you come back?"

"If I get the chance, I will."

Mu Yang replied.

"Chief!"

Li Chuang abruptly rose to his feet and lifted the wine cup before him. His eyes were red, and though his voice choked slightly, it was incomparably firm. "I'll definitely cultivate diligently and strive to go to the Prefecture City to follow you!"

After saying that, he drained the wine in his cup in one gulp.

"Good."

Looking at him, Mu Yang revealed a rare hint of a smile.

That night, everyone drank a great deal of wine and said a great many things.

From their initial restraint and reluctance to part, they gradually began speaking freely. The atmosphere in the private room was both lively and sorrowful.

It was not until deep into the night that everyone, drunk-faced, supported one another as they left the restaurant.

Mu Yang was the last to leave. His expression remained as usual. With his strength, ordinary wine was no different from water and could not intoxicate him at all.

Yet that atmosphere made his gaze slightly hazy.

He walked out of the restaurant and raised his head to look at the sky.

The moonlight was white as snow, and the streets were quiet and peaceful.

The next day, at dawn.

East City Gate.

The sky had only just begun to brighten, and the morning mist had yet to disperse.

Xue She had already led two magnificent steeds there and waited.

The horse on the left had bright yellow fur and a tuft of red hair on its forehead. It was Xue She's companion of many years, a First Rank steed that had entered the ranks.

Though its combat strength could not compare to that of a First Rank martial artist, its speed rivaled that of a Third Rank monster.

The horse on the right was likewise a First Rank steed. It was entirely black, without the slightest trace of another color.

It was spoils seized from the Wang Family estate after the Wang Family was destroyed that day.

Of course, its owner had now become Mu Yang.

"Morning, Brother Mu!"

Xue She had not waited long before he saw Mu Yang, dressed in dark black fitted clothes, emerge from the city gate.

He carried very little. Apart from the Black Gold Four-Edged Mace, he only had a rather small-looking bundle.

In truth, Mu Yang had indeed brought very little.

Other than gold and silver, he had only brought a change of clothes and the three High-Grade Martial Arts manuals given by the Liu Family.

The rest of his miscellaneous belongings had been left in the courtyard at home.

With Wu Cai, Li Chuang, and the others around, it was not as though thieves would break in.

"Brother Xue."

Mu Yang nodded in greeting, swung onto the horse, and sat steadily in the saddle. The black steed merely stamped its four hooves once, its muscles tightening.

It showed not the slightest sign of resistance.

Xue She was stunned by the sight.

Ranked steeds were generally proud and arrogant. The higher their rank, the prouder their temperament.

Even a Third Rank martial artist like Xue She had personally raised his own horse for nearly a month before building a good relationship with it.

Yet the one beneath Mu Yang had clearly never been ridden by him before, but it was obedient beyond reason.

Xue She could not help feeling envious for quite some time.

Could it be that even horses judged faces these days?

Black horse: Do you know where Wang Rudong died? The stable!

"What is it, Brother Xue?"

"Nothing. Let's go."

Xue She shook his head and squeezed the horse's flanks with his legs.

The two magnificent steeds shot out like arrows loosed from the bowstring, quickly vanishing into the morning mist.

The trees on both sides of the official road flew backward, while the wind howled past their ears.

As he rode, Xue She told Mu Yang about Qinghe Prefecture.

"Qinghe Prefecture is one of the thirteen prefectures under Anling Prefecture in Liang Province. Within Anling Prefecture, both its territory and overall strength rank among the best..."

Great Jing Dynasty, Liang Province, Anling Prefecture, Qinghe Prefecture, Qingxi County.

This was the place where Mu Yang had lived for twenty years.

Qingxi County was merely a small county town. Its strongest expert was only at Third-Rank Perfection, and it could not even find a Fourth Rank Qi Condensation Realm martial arts manual.

But Qinghe Prefecture was different. Its lands were vast, its population numerous, and powerful martial artists were everywhere.

Just how powerful was it?

According to Xue She, the heads of Qinghe Prefecture City's two most famous lineages, the Lei Family and the Mei Family, were both Fifth-Stage Channel-Opening Realm experts.

Beyond that, there were also forces such as the Pingwei Escort Agency on the roads and the Water Transport Gang on the rivers, with fish and dragons mixed together.

Of course, the strongest forces in the Prefecture City were still the Demon Slayer Bureau and the Prefecture City Yamen.

The former's renown shook the entire Great Jing Dynasty, its glorious achievements there for all to see, while the latter had the Constable Office under its command, dedicated to maintaining public order.

Its Chief Constable was likewise a Fifth Rank expert.

It was precisely because powerful experts were everywhere in the Prefecture City that there were almost never rumors of monsters devouring people within its walls.

"All in all, Qinghe Prefecture isn't some small place like our Qingxi County. Fish and dragons are mixed together within it, and experts are countless. You must act cautiously and never rush into things," Xue She specifically reminded him.

Considering Mu Yang's brilliant record in Qingxi County, Xue She had deliberately added that warning.

Mu Yang merely nodded silently in response.

He had always handled matters steadily.

Time passed like a white colt flashing through a gap, and in the blink of an eye, ten days had gone by.

During those ten days, the two traveled by day and rested by night, never stopping their journey.

Other than re-equipping the three High-Grade Martial Arts manuals obtained from the Liu Family because he had enough time, his martial arts were permanently fixed, and an Equipment Slot had opened up, nothing unexpected happened along the way.

They encountered neither monsters nor bandits blocking the road, much less the sort of chance encounter with a chivalrous maiden at a ruined temple in the dead of night.

The journey was extraordinarily smooth.

Mu Yang felt rather regretful about that.

He had been thinking that if they ran into a few monsters, he could at least increase his strength a little.

From what Xue She had said, it seemed that members of the Demon Slayer Bureau frequently traveled the official roads, so there were almost no monsters foolish enough to block the way.

Because those foolish enough had mostly already been unable to open their eyes.

Just then, a burst of noisy arguing suddenly rose from the official road ahead.

Mu Yang's eyes lit up.

Could there really be a monster foolish enough to block the road?