"Ah!"
Liu Qiaolian had never expected Xia Daoming to take the initiative to speak of avenging her. For a moment, she simply stood there with her mouth open in a daze.
"This servant kowtows in gratitude for Master's great kindness. This servant..."
After quite a while, Liu Qiaolian suddenly flipped off her horse and dropped to her knees, choking with sobs, utterly at a loss for words of thanks.
"You foolish woman, what are you doing? You are your master's Lian'er. If I lacked the ability, that would be one thing, but now that I have it, how could I possibly stand by and do nothing over your great vengeance?" Seeing this, Xia Daoming hurriedly dismounted, helped Liu Qiaolian up, and drew her into his arms.
That day, the two failed to reach the next town before nightfall and had no choice but to spend the night in the wilderness.
That night, Liu Qiaolian took the initiative to ask Xia Daoming to play cards wildly.
It seemed that aside from this method, Liu Qiaolian did not know how else to repay this man's kindness or express the feelings etched into her very bones.
Another half month passed in the blink of an eye.
Over that half month, Xia Daoming noticeably slowed his purchases of new pills, focusing most of his efforts on acquiring potent medicines.
Under normal circumstances, they would reach Mangzhou's provincial capital in another ten-odd days—the largest and most prosperous city in Mangzhou, Yuan Cang City.
It was said that several Martial Dao Grandmasters were stationed in Yuan Cang City.
The medicinal herbs and pills sold there were certainly beyond compare with those in other cities.
Xia Daoming wanted to save his silver for a major use in Yuan Cang City.
One day, the two stood on horseback atop a small hill, looking down at the winding road below. Groups upon groups of commoners moved along it like a twisting, sinuous serpent.
They carried bags and bundles, supporting one another as they trudged onward. Children cried, adults shouted, horses whinnied, and cart wheels rumbled, the sounds rising and falling without end.
It was a scene of people fleeing disaster.
"Master, something is wrong. By rights, the closer we get to the provincial capital, the denser the population should be and the fewer refugees there should be.
But over the past few days, large stretches of farmland we passed have been abandoned, many houses stand empty, and the number of refugees we have encountered has surged.
Today's situation is even stranger. Why are there so many people fleeing? Could some battle be underway?" Liu Qiaolian asked, her delicate brows slightly furrowed.
"Something is indeed wrong. Let's go down and ask around." Xia Daoming nodded and urged his horse down the hill.
After making inquiries, Xia Daoming stood by the roadside, watching the fleeing crowd gradually disappear into the distance. His brows were tightly knit, and his expression was somewhat grim.
This group of refugees came from the same place: Xin Family Village outside Yuan Cang City.
The Xin Family Village chief told him that Emperor Jian of Great Liang intended to reduce the power of the vassal lords, provoking the kings into rebellion.
Now Yan Yanfeng, Great General under the King of Lingzhou, had led troops to surround Yuan Cang City and would launch an attack before long.
Outside the city, Yan Yanfeng's soldiers were conscripting able-bodied men everywhere, burning, killing, and plundering.
Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, the Xin Family Village chief made a prompt decision and moved his entire clan northwest.
That area was close to the Vast Mountain Range. The conditions were harsh, the mountains high and the emperor far away, and resources relatively scarce. The King of Lingzhou's army was unlikely to attack there, and even if it did, it would not be anytime soon.
"Master, what do we do now?" Liu Qiaolian asked.
"Turn around and go home!" Xia Daoming said helplessly.
With tens of thousands of soldiers charging and fighting, let alone him, even a Martial Dao Grandmaster would be swallowed up.
Not to mention that there were surely formidable martial masters in the army, and the powerful soldiers and officers in the military had been tempered through slaughter on the battlefield. They were completely unlike pampered young masters such as Shi Yingdeng.
The return journey was much faster than the journey there.
News of the King of Lingzhou's rebellion and his army attacking the provincial capital gradually spread.
Along the way, Xia Daoming and Liu Qiaolian could clearly feel that the atmosphere in the cities they passed was different from when they had come.
Everyone was gripped by panic, as though an invisible Killing Intent hung over the cities.
Bandits outside the cities and gang forces within them took the opportunity to loot and cause trouble.
The situation grew even more chaotic.
Refugees and corpses lay everywhere in the countryside.
Houses and fields had been abandoned in vast swathes.
On the road, Xia Daoming and Liu Qiaolian encountered even more robbers than before.
Only after the two gradually moved away from the southeastern region did the situation begin to improve.
Southern Mangzhou was mountainous. The closer one got to the main range of the Vast Mountain Range, the more ridges there were and the harsher the environment became.
Mountain roads were difficult to travel, and news traveled poorly.
Word of the rebel army attacking the provincial capital had not yet spread there so quickly. Moreover, even if it had, judging from the wars and chaos of past dynasties, the rebels likely would not be in a hurry to seize those remote cities near the Vast Mountain Range.
On the return journey, feeling the pressing urgency of war, Xia Daoming began taking potent medicines.
The medicinal potency of the three-hundred-year Blazing Qilin Ginseng was indeed exceptionally fierce. When its power surged and collided through his meridians, even Xia Daoming's remarkably powerful meridians felt threads of tearing pain.
But its effects were also extraordinarily pronounced.
Before taking the medicine, his Level Three meridian enhancement progress had stood at thirty-eight percent.
After taking one small portion each day and finishing the three-hundred-year Blazing Qilin Ginseng over five days, he had reached fifty percent of Level Four meridians.
In other words, one three-hundred-year Blazing Qilin Ginseng had helped him complete more than one full level of meridian enhancement.
As he traveled home, he consumed the remaining potent medicines.
The hundred-year Ice-Cold Purple Ganoderma, the three-hundred-sixty-year Blazing Qilin Ginseng, and the three-hundred-year Crimson Flame Ganoderma were all consumed by Xia Daoming one after another.
The later Blazing Qilin Ginseng had a greater age and fiercer medicinal potency, while the three-hundred-year Crimson Flame Ganoderma's potency was even somewhat stronger than that later Blazing Qilin Ginseng. However, the further meridian enhancement progressed, the greater the demands became.
When, one month later, Xia Daoming caught sight of Li City in the distance, his Sixth-Rank Realm meridian enhancement progress had ultimately stopped at ninety percent of Level Six.
After a journey of three and a half months, aside from failing to reach the provincial capital and leaving behind some regret, Xia Daoming was satisfied with everything else.
The enormous change in his strength especially satisfied Xia Daoming.
He was now confident that he could utterly defeat a Seventh-Rank Great Martial Master despite being a rank lower.
Even against an Eighth-Rank Great Martial Master, if they had only recently advanced or were somewhat elderly, he was confident he could fight them.
The sun set in the west, its fading light as red as blood.
After three and a half months, Xia Daoming and Liu Qiaolian returned to Li City.
Before even entering the city gates, Xia Daoming and Liu Qiaolian noticed that Li City's atmosphere was somewhat different.
There were few travelers on the official road outside the city, and even those who were there hurried along with anxious expressions.
From time to time, yamen runners pulled flat carts carrying corpses out of the city as though hauling goods.
A considerable number of those corpses bore wounds from fighting and slaughter.
Once they entered Li City, Xia Daoming and Liu Qiaolian found the atmosphere growing increasingly wrong.
Previously, with the Xu family and the three major powers keeping watch over the city, it had been much more stable and orderly than outside.
But upon returning this time, Xia Daoming discovered that incidents of low-level gangs fighting over territory had clearly increased.
On the short journey to the Hidden Dragon Martial Arts School, he actually encountered three group brawls.
However, those involved were basically ordinary people. The strongest were only Second- or Third-Rank Martial Masters.
Before long, the two arrived outside the Hidden Dragon Martial Arts School.
The vermilion gates of the martial arts school were unexpectedly shut tight.
Xia Daoming turned back to glance at the blood-red afterglow of the sun, which had not yet sunk behind the mountains, and his face darkened slightly.
It was still far from the time for the martial arts school to close.
Xia Daoming removed his bamboo hat, stepped forward, grabbed the copper ring, and hammered it heavily several times.
"Creak!"
Only after quite a while did a young man in fitted martial attire open the door.
"So it's Instructor Xia!" Upon seeing Xia Daoming, the young man visibly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Little Wei, why has the school closed so early today? Where is Instructor Yuchi?" Xia Daoming asked.
"They're all in the inner courtyard. The headmaster has called them together for a discussion," the young man replied.
Hearing this, Xia Daoming secretly relaxed.
As long as his master and the others were still here and safe, that was enough.
As for what exactly they were discussing, Xia Daoming could not spare the thought for it right now.
"Lian'er, wait in the front courtyard first. I'm going to the inner courtyard," Xia Daoming instructed Liu Qiaolian as he turned to her.
"Yes, Master!" Liu Qiaolian curtsied and accepted the order.
"Little Wei, this Miss Liu is one of my people. Help me receive her first," Xia Daoming specifically instructed Little Wei before leaving.
"Yes, Instructor Xia." Little Wei quickly agreed, then led Liu Qiaolian toward the reception hall in the outer courtyard.
When Liu Qiaolian entered the reception hall and removed her bamboo hat, her delicate, stunningly beautiful face was immediately revealed. Little Wei stared blankly for a moment, secretly admiring how well Instructor Xia knew how to enjoy life.
The four Xia He sisters were already each lovely as fresh water lilies, yet he had not expected Xia Daoming to have such a ravishing beauty by his side as well.
Inner courtyard, discussion hall.
Liang Jingtang sat in the seat of honor, while Yuchi Xiao, Zhuo Xingji, Jiao Yongbao, and Liu Xiaoqiang sat on either side.
The hall's atmosphere was oppressive.
"Master, you are already advanced in years. You definitely cannot go alone. If a disciple accompanies you, at least there will be someone to look after you," Yuchi Xiao said.
"Your master is old. Even if I escape this calamity, how many more years can I live? Gu Ren can no longer be relied upon. The Hidden Dragon Martial Arts School can only depend on you now. If you go with me and something happens, then the Hidden Dragon Martial Arts School will truly have no successor left!" Liang Jingtang said.
"Master is right. The Hidden Dragon Martial Arts School will have to rely on Senior Brother in the future. This time, I should accompany Master," Zhuo Xingji said after hesitating for a long time, finally gritting his teeth and speaking.
"No. Your Zhuo family has a great household and a great estate, with many mouths still depending on you. Besides, you only had a fine son the year before last. At my age, how could I bear to take you into danger with me?" Liang Jingtang waved his hand without the slightest hesitation.
"This disciple should go!"
The moment Liang Jingtang finished speaking, Jiao Yongbao and Liu Xiaoqiang spoke almost at the same time.
"Your strength is insufficient. Going would be far too dangerous, and you would only distract your master. Enough. Say no more. I alone will go on behalf of the Hidden Dragon Martial Arts School!" Liang Jingtang slapped the table and declared in a tone that brooked no objection.
Yuchi Xiao and the other three all looked anxious and worried, yet were utterly at their wits' end.
"Master, where are you going?" At that moment, a young man's voice rang out from outside the discussion hall.
PS: I suddenly realized that the monthly ticket rankings reset at the start of a new month. Although this book has not entered V yet, I would still like to ask for your monthly ticket support, so we can strive for a better ranking and attract more readers. Also, with everyone's tremendous support, this book reached third place on the Immortal Hero Contracted New Book Rankings during its first trial recommendation round. The two books ahead of me were both published half a month earlier, so taking first place in the future is still very possible. Charge!
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