On the Road

Xiao Fan was overjoyed. Reaching perfection in the Qi Refining Realm meant he could prepare to break through and enter the wonderful new world of the eighth-grade martial realm—the Iron Bone Realm.

His father, Xiao Wu, was a seventh-grade martial artist in the Spirit Tempering Realm, so he could simply ask his father for guidance on reaching the eighth grade. That would be no great problem!

"Next, then, I just have to escort Ji Xuanyuan safely back to the Capital City."

He rose and went to the window, where he saw the young master tirelessly trying to persuade the villagers in the square.

The night was quiet, and with Xiao Fan's martial artist hearing, he could just make out the gist of what Ji Xuanyin was saying.

The fellow was actually urging the villagers to move to Golden Mound County...

His heart was in the right place, of course, but that suggestion was a castle in the air.

Sure enough, none of the villagers cared to pay him much attention. Once their prayers were finished, they all went home.

Before long, the Sacred Flame prayer gathering in the central square had dispersed, leaving Ji Xuanyuan standing there all alone.

The young master slunk back to the inn, looking utterly dejected...

He simply could not understand it. He had meant well, so why would these villagers not listen to reason? He did not understand... not one bit.

Before he could start complaining, Xiao Fan sighed first. "If I'm not mistaken, no one took Your Highness's advice?"

Those words struck right at the heart of Ji Xuanyuan's grievance. "Exactly! I kindly advised them to move to the county town, but they wouldn't appreciate it. Ignorant peasants! Every last one of them!"

"The villagers make their living by farming. Let me ask you, Your Highness: if you have them move to the county town, what will they eat?"

"Well, uh..."

Ji Xuanyuan froze... He really had never considered that. To him, "what will I eat?" had apparently never been a question that required any thought.

Then Xiao Fan asked again, "If the villagers of Cloud Hidden Village move to the county town, where should the people from the other villages go? If everyone moves there, how will they be accommodated?"

"Well..." Naturally, Ji Xuanyuan could not answer those questions, because he had never considered them at all.

Xiao Fan lay down on his bedding on the floor. "Don't forget, Your Highness, Cloud Hidden Village is their home." With that, he closed his eyes and went to sleep, saying nothing more.

That last sentence silenced Ji Xuanyuan completely. For a while, he could not find a single word to say...

The night passed without incident.

The red sun rose in the east, spilling golden light across the land.

Sensing the sunlight, the Bureau of Celestial Observation's triple-layer formation automatically suppressed the pure white sacred flame, keeping its seed at the size of a tiny spark to conserve as much wax as possible.

"I have to admit, the Bureau of Celestial Observation used to take its duties seriously." Xiao Fan washed up at lightning speed, returned to the room, and gazed at the red sun on the horizon.

Ji Xuanyuan said nothing... He had been lost in thought since last night. Anyone who did not know better might have assumed he was pondering the nature of the universe.

"Oh, Your Highness, did you bring any money for the journey?" Penniless, Xiao Fan looked rather awkward.

He did still have the lustrous jade token Ji Xuanyuan had given him, which looked quite valuable. However, there seemed to be a special formation from the Bureau of Celestial Observation inside it, so he could not sell it casually.

Still wearing a stiff expression, Ji Xuanyuan rummaged through his clothes for ages before finally producing a jade pendant.

Holding the translucent, gleaming Coiled Dragon Jade Pendant, he hesitated briefly before handing it to Xiao Fan.

"Take this pendant and exchange it for some silver. If possible, buy a carriage... Also, I'm hungry."

Xiao Fan accepted the pendant, keeping a smile on his face, but he could not help grumbling inwardly. Are you some pampered young lady out on a countryside excursion? A carriage, too? Are you just itching to be ambushed and killed again?

For a small mountain village, keeping horses was a luxury. Donkeys, by comparison, offered far better value... They were hardy, easy to keep, and cheap.

He took the pendant downstairs and found a wealthy local landowner, exchanging it for fifty taels of silver, a donkey cart, and assorted food supplies.

That Coiled Dragon Jade Pendant from the Western Regions was worth a fortune. Had he taken it to a legitimate pawnshop in the county town, it would have fetched at least two or three hundred taels.

With a few less "legitimate" connections, he could even have raised the price by another thirty percent or so on the black market.

But Xiao Fan had no choice. For now, he could only sell it dirt cheap...

They were six hundred li from the Capital City, and the area around Golden Glow Mountain was sparsely populated. Without these supplies, a certain young master probably would not last until the next place they could restock.

When he returned to the inn with the supplies, Ji Xuanyuan was astonished all over again!

"Whoa! So my pendant was worth that much? It bought all this? But why does this horse look so strange?" The young master, who had never seen what a donkey looked like, was thoroughly puzzled.

"Your Highness, this isn't a horse. It's a donkey..."

Xiao Fan smiled faintly, as though he could smell the sweet scent of overnight riches. "Do you have any more pendants like this at your residence? Once we get back, I'll help you sell them. I guarantee you'll get at least this much!"

"I do! Last year, the Western Regions sent a batch of top-grade yellow jade as tribute, and Father bestowed a piece on me. It was huge!" Ji Xuanyuan gestured with his hands. It was roughly the size of his washbasin.

Now that's a benefactor... Yellow jade from the Western Regions, and a huge piece at that... I'll settle for a modest profit and pocket a sixty-percent markup. Then that mansion on Sunrise Street in the Capital City will be within reach!

As he thought about it, Xiao Fan's mouth betrayed him, letting tears of gratitude dribble from its corners.

"Eat up, Your Highness. Once you're finished, we can get on the road!" Someone was already itching to return to the Capital City.

He took two steamed buns from the supplies on the donkey cart and handed them to Ji Xuanyuan, then took out ten taels of silver for the innkeeper as thanks.

"We're leaving now. Take care of yourself."

The innkeeper refused the silver. "What are you doing? Didn't you pay for your room yesterday? Take it back, take it back."

"If I tell you to take it, please take it. A drop of kindness should be repaid with a gushing spring. Don't refuse." Xiao Fan pressed the silver back into the innkeeper's hands.

Before leaving, he hesitated. "Oh, I noticed the village's Red Crystal Candle Stand is almost burned out. You'd best make preparations early."

"No trouble, no trouble. The court replaces it for us every year. They seem a little late this year, but perhaps they'll deliver it in a couple of days."

"Besides, we pray to the Sacred Flame every day. Radiance will protect us!"

Looking at the innkeeper's smile, Xiao Fan felt a tangled mix of emotions. He could not be certain whether the Bureau of Celestial Observation would replace Cloud Hidden Village's candle stand.

Over the past few years, he had seen plenty of villages like this... and the ruins of villages after Night Erosion...

"Let's hope so."

Afterward, Xiao Fan got a set of coarse hemp clothes from the innkeeper for Young Master Ji to change into. His embroidered silk robe was far too conspicuous.

The two drove the donkey cart toward the Capital City.

The donkey cart trundled and swayed along the road. Even if they wanted to hurry, they could not.

"Xiao Fan, I've been thinking about what you said yesterday... We'll have to ask Father to deal with the Bureau of Celestial Observation embezzling the crimson crystal wax!"

Ji Xuanyuan seemed to have finally grasped a simple truth: he could not solve a matter affecting the people's livelihoods all by himself.

Young master... Did something that simple really take you this long to figure out? Xiao Fan could not help grumbling inwardly.

Xiao Fan hesitated briefly. "But have you considered, Your Highness, what if... and I do mean what if... His Majesty himself has tacitly approved the Bureau of Celestial Observation's actions?"

The moment he said that, Ji Xuanyuan bristled. "How dare you! You must not speak recklessly of Father! He would never tolerate such conduct!"

"See? You're getting worked up again... I said it was only a possibility."

Ji Xuanyuan lifted his chin. "Not even as a possibility!"

"All right, all right... His Majesty is wise and mighty, and would never tolerate such dealings. I misspoke. Please calm your anger, Your Highness."

Xiao Fan coaxed the young master as though he were soothing a child. After all, this was his benefactor. That mansion on Sunrise Street still depended on him.

"That's more like it... Speaking of which, I remember you're a ninth-grade martial artist in the Qi Refining Realm?"

Xiao Fan nodded slightly. "Your Highness has an excellent memory!"

"Hmm... How about this? Once we get back to the Capital City, why don't you teach me martial arts?"

At those words, Xiao Fan felt as though he had been struck by lightning. Young master, are you all right in the head...?