After tidying up his residence a little, Li Qinghe left Taiyang Academy, hired a crafted carriage, and arrived at a village by the Flood River, twenty li northeast of Auspicious Light City.
This was one of the Beardfolk villages. More than ten villages of varying sizes in the area together housed around ten thousand people, most of whom lived by hunting and farming.
The Beardfolk were also the tribe that had most deeply embraced Celestial Xia culture, yet they still preserved their own tribal heritage. Mainly because they were unwilling to regard themselves as equal to Celestial Xia people, seeing themselves only as a race of servants and slaves to the people of Celestial Xia.
After Li Qinghe rode into the village, he saw that its roads were neat and clean, with stone slabs laid along the main roads. Every household had a small enclosed yard before its door, planted with all manner of vegetables and fruits, while strings of small lanterns hung outside the corridors built from green bamboo.
He stopped before one household, got down from the carriage, and paid the fare. At that moment, a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old Beardfolk girl came out from within, cradling a tabby cat. She seemed to have noticed the commotion outside and had come out to take a look. When she saw him, she first froze, then asked hesitantly, "Is that... Brother Li He?"
Li Qinghe smiled. "Yes, it's me."
Delight appeared in the girl's gray eyes. Turning back toward the house, she called, "Father, Brother Li He is back!"
A burst of hurried footsteps came rushing from inside. A middle-aged man of around forty ran out the door, looked Li Qinghe over a few times, and said joyfully, "Li He?"
Li Qinghe smiled, bowed, and said, "Uncle, it's me. But my