Entering the City Again

Military Advisor Ji was greatly relieved to hear Li Yan's statement. Perhaps after he recovers, I really won't need to delve into that dangerous place again. I hope this boy can cultivate to the peak of the Qi Condensation Stage as soon as possible. Then, after I break through to the fourth level, I might have to explore the place marked on that map after all.

With that thought, Military Advisor Ji stood up, preparing to return and recuperate in peace. Just as he stood up, he saw Li Yan looking somewhat hesitant, so he smiled and said, "Is there anything else?"

Li Yan mustered his courage and said, "Teacher, I would like to go into the city."

The smile on Military Advisor Ji's face faltered slightly, and he raised an eyebrow, asking, "What for?"

Li Yan quickly replied, "Teacher, please don't misunderstand. I simply want to go into the city to give some silver to people from the same village, so they can take it back to my parents. Also… also, I'd like to go out for a walk. I've been cultivating in the valley constantly, and recently I've felt my state of mind is unstable, and my progress has been somewhat slow. So, I thought going out for a walk might help my state of mind."

Military Advisor Ji fell silent upon hearing this. In his heart, it would be best if Li Yan could spend all twelve hours of the day cultivating. Even then, he would still think his cultivation was too slow. But what Li Yan said was also very sincere. If he were to refuse outright, the boy would inevitably feel resentful, and his cultivation would probably be twice as difficult.

He smiled at Li Yan, whose face was filled with apprehension. "Well, so be it. Go then, but Chen An and Li Yin will accompany you. They are familiar with the affairs of the city, and you have been cultivating here all along, so you are unfamiliar with many people and things in the city. With them both along, it will be easier to get things done."

Li Yan's apprehension was genuine. He truly didn't know what the result of making such a request would be. If his teacher became suspicious at this moment, then his chances of escaping would be extremely slim. When he heard that he was allowed to go out, he was overjoyed, but Military Advisor Ji's subsequent words made his heart sink.

He understood perfectly well what was happening. This wasn't about thinking of him; it was clearly about arranging for two people to supervise him at all times. It would be extremely difficult for him to escape. Chen An and Li Yin would definitely be instructed not to leave him for even half a step. He had originally planned to wander around the city after going out, then find an opportunity to hide and escape, but now he realized how naive that idea was.

"Thank you, Teacher!" Li Yan said, a look of joy on his face, and bowed.

"Well, then pack your things. I'll go and instruct Chen An and Li Yin. If you need anything, just have them take care of it." With that, he turned and went out the door.

Li Yan stood in place for a moment, then turned and took out the silver from his box. I can only take things one step at a time, he thought. I must take the opportunity to leave if I get one, but I must take this silver with me no matter what. If I can escape, I'll use it for future expenses. If I can't escape, I'll give it all to Li Shan or Li Yu, and have someone from the village bring it to my parents.

When Li Yan arrived at the Valley Entrance, Chen An and Li Yin were already standing there with their hands at their sides. The stone door of Military Advisor Ji's house inside the Valley Entrance was closed, and the black wooden plaque was hanging on the doorknob, but he knew that if he were to flee out of the valley at this moment, Military Advisor Ji in the house would definitely appear before him in an instant.

"Young Master, shall we enter the city now?"

Li Yan's thoughts were interrupted. He looked up and saw Chen An looking at him with a flattering smile. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly. One of these two was smooth, and the other meticulous. How easy would it be to escape from their sight?

"Let's go!" he said, and walked towards the plaza outside the Valley Entrance.

"Young Master, shall we ride horses, or just walk over like this?" Chen An caught up from behind and asked.

Li Yan stopped and turned around. "Oh, we can ride horses? Then why did Teacher walk?"

"Of course, Lord Ji just prefers it that way. This distance of about two miles isn't too far anyway," Chen An replied.

"Alright, then let's ride horses," Li Yan said after a moment's thought.

"Yes, Young Master," the two replied, bowing.

As Li Yan stood on the plaza outside the valley, he looked back at the three large characters "Military Advisor's Residence" above the Valley Entrance, and a feeling of returning to the human world arose in his heart. Although this plaza was still this plaza, and the two rows of stone houses were still the same, and there were still those soldiers standing guard or resting, and those few women who could enter the valley every day, it felt like two different worlds, two different kinds of air. At the same time, he felt that after leaving the valley, the spiritual energy here was almost zero, and the feeling of breathing fresh air had disappeared, but he still liked the air here, because it had the breath of freedom.

The soldiers in front of the stone houses looked at Li Yan standing in the center of the plaza. Although this was the third time Li Yan had met them, they still felt a sense of mystery.

Chen An and Li Yin had already led out three fine horses from the woods behind the stone houses, each one fat and strong, and obviously good steeds from the army.

On the winding mountain path, lush trees lined both sides. In the late autumn, a full view of dark green and gold intertwined. Sunlight scattered down from the large, towering canopies, shining on the slowly moving three riders. The sound of hooves echoed through the mountains and forests.

Although only two months had passed in the valley, his thoughts had undergone many changes. He had long regarded the world outside the valley as a wide, blue sky, but he was still confused as to whether he should fly freely from now on.

Before long, they had passed through the forest path, and a turn to the right led them onto the main road.

The three of them rode towards the North City Gate of Green Mountain Pass. During this time, Li Yan had deliberately tried several times to increase or decrease the speed of Chen An and Li Yin's mounts, but with his amateur riding skills learned in the village, there was no way he could shake them off. These two clearly came from the ranks of fierce soldiers in the army.

Although Li Yan was now at the first level of the Qi Condensation Stage of cultivation, he had not learned any immortal techniques, not even any Martial Arts, only a few rudimentary village moves. Although he felt that using spiritual power to activate those rudimentary Martial Arts might kill the two of them, it was broad daylight, and fighting here with two Imperial Dynasty soldiers in military uniforms would only attract more soldiers. There would be no other possibility. Secondly, he was only imagining that spiritual power might greatly increase the power of those few village moves. He had never tried practicing them in the valley. If Military Advisor Ji knew that he was practicing some mortal Martial Skill for no reason, he would inevitably become wary of him. Thirdly, these two looked like fierce soldiers who had experienced battlefield killings. He had no confidence in facing such people, even if it was just one of them, let alone dealing with two at the same time. The odds of winning were really not very high.

After several secret observations, Li Yan could only helplessly give up the idea of escaping outside the city.

The distance of about two miles could be reached in the blink of an eye on horseback. Along the way, they passed some pedestrians and merchants heading towards the city gate. Soon, they saw the North City Gate in the distance. Two rows of soldiers were inspecting the merchants and pedestrians entering and leaving Green Mountain Pass.

Although their three horses were not galloping, they were still quite fast, which was somewhat conspicuous. Some of the soldiers guarding the city had already gathered with weapons and were watching.

Li Yan didn't do it on purpose. It was just that he was sandwiched between Chen An and Li Yin, and they had inadvertently increased his speed a lot. According to his personality, the more low-key, the more it suited his wishes. He began to pull the reins to slow down, but even so, they were still galloping towards the city gate.

"Who goes there? Galloping so recklessly, aren't you afraid of violating military law?" Among the soldiers guarding the city, one had already drawn his saber with a "clang" and leaped in front of the crowd. The soldiers behind him also instantly used their spears, the tips of several spears gleaming coldly, pointing directly at the horses' necks and bellies.

Li Yan only felt a dazzling light in front of him. If his horse galloped forward two more steps, a spear would pierce through its neck, and he would be made into a candied hawthorn skewer. At this moment, a hand suddenly reached over and forcefully pulled Li Yan's reins. The three warhorses raised their front hooves, and with several neighs, the three horses retreated a few steps and stood still.

"I say, Old Liu, your temper is too fiery, haha." Chen An jumped off his horse with a loud laugh. Only then did Li Yan see that Li Yin was holding his reins in one hand and his reins in the other, stopping the two horses at the same time.

"Oh, who is it? So it's 'Chief Chen,' who was promoted to the Military Advisor's Residence. Are you trying to force your way through the city gate?" the man who had leaped out of the crowd said in a sinister tone.

"Old Liu, I've gone from a team leader to a soldier in the residence. What are you still nagging about? I'm accompanying Lord Li into the city on business. Lord Li didn't control his horse speed well, please forgive us, please forgive us! Hehe."

"Lord Li? Which Lord Li? Eh?"

Li Yan had already dismounted at this time, and couldn't help but feel ashamed. His riding skills were truly appalling, and he almost broke through the gate. He dropped the reins, looked up at the officer standing in the road, and was about to apologize, but he couldn't help but be stunned when he saw the person's face.

The duty officer was none other than Liu Chengyong, whom he had seen when he first entered the city. Liu Chengyong also recognized him somewhat, but he wasn't sure, after all, they had only met once.

"Here, this is Lord Li's Waist Token." Chen An held the reins in one hand, and with the other hand, he took out a Waist Token from his body and threw it over.

Liu Chengyong reached out and caught the Waist Token in his hand. He looked down and saw that it was a Deputy Commandant of Defense Waist Token, which was several ranks higher than his ninth-rank official position. He couldn't help but be shocked, and quickly looked up again at Li Yan, who had an apologetic expression.

When Li Yan saw Liu Chengyong looking at him, he quickly clasped his fists and bowed. "Greetings, Captain Liu. It was my poor riding skills that disturbed everyone. I apologize here."

"You are? You are that kid from Great Green Mountain Li Family Village." As soon as he said those words, Liu Chengyong knew that he had blundered and caused trouble. He quickly cupped his hands and bowed. "This subordinate is reckless, this subordinate is guilty, please punish me, Lord."

This surprised Li Yan, and he looked hesitantly at Chen An and Li Yin next to him. Li Yin was holding the reins of a horse in one hand, and his expression was serious and he remained silent. Chen An looked at Liu Chengyong, who was bowing and waiting to be punished, with surprise and suspicion, then stepped forward and bowed. "Young Master, please forgive Captain Liu's slip of the tongue. I don't know if you two have met before?"

"We have met. Captain Liu was the one who inspected and released me when I first came to Green Mountain Pass to join the army. But why is Captain Liu doing this?"

Chen An was very worldly-wise. After a little thought, he understood Li Yan's current confusion. He came to Li Yan's side and said in a low voice, "Young Master, you are now the Deputy Commandant of Defense, but Captain Liu's superior. The Waist Token he just saw was yours, but after it was processed, you rarely came out, so it was kept with Lord Ji. Lord Ji gave it to this subordinate today when we went out, so that it would be convenient to act in the city. And just now Captain Liu misspoke, so…" Chen An looked at Li Yan with some embarrassment. He had been tortured by this lord's temper a lot recently. Who knew if he would suddenly explode today? He couldn't help but worry about Liu Chengyong.

The twenty soldiers who were on duty in the Military Advisor's Residence were also selected from the various camps in the army. He had also been in the second team of the Zhan Bing Battalion before, and he and Liu Chengyong were old acquaintances. They had cooperated many times on the battlefield, and they had rolled together in life and death. It was just that Liu Chengyong was now loyal to Marshal Hong, and he was now more inclined to Military Advisor Ji.

After hearing this, Li Yan's face suddenly dawned on him. Although he knew that he still had a position in the army, he didn't know what he did specifically, or how big of an official he was. Now it seemed that he should be higher than this city gate captain. How would he know that this was more than just a little higher than Liu Chengyong? In fact, it was two or three levels higher. At the beginning, Marshal Hong gave him this official position only as a false name. He knew that he would take another path in the future, just to give Military Advisor Ji more face, and Military Advisor Ji also had his own plans. Not to mention an official position from the eighth rank, even if he gave the position of Military Advisor to Li Yan, as long as Hong Linying had the ability to handle it, he would have no problem. It was just another matter whether Li Yan could live to enjoy this official position.