chsdbacks Chapter 21 Returning Home in Glory, A Flowing Feast
Chapter 21 Returning Home in Glory, A Flowing Feast
Once outside the Foreign Affairs Hall, Li Qingshan was not as calm as he appeared.
One month ago.
Carrying the hopes of his clansmen and the thirty-odd taels of silver they had scraped together, he entered the martial arts school under the guidance of his cousin, Li Tie.
Li Qingshan knew he possessed a self-healing ability and was destined to rise again.
But I never thought I would get up so quickly.
Now that he's registered in the martial arts register, not to mention other preferential treatments, the thousand taels of silver he has is a huge sum of money that ordinary people wouldn't even dare to dream of.
And this is just the beginning.
...
Li Qingshan was very curious about the reaction of his clansmen after he returned.
They must all be dumbfounded.
Haha.
Li Qingshan didn't go back empty-handed either.
He first went to a carriage shop, took out his newly acquired martial arts license, rented a carriage and a driver, and then asked the carriage shop to help him purchase several cartloads of supplies.
It was almost afternoon.
A group of people left the county town and headed towards Stone Village.
...
Not long after Li Qingshan left.
Those with good connections went to visit Wang Xiao's residence and Li Qingshan's newly acquired mansion, but they didn't find anyone and could only leave with the gifts they had brought.
Li Tie's father-in-law, Zhang Shouzhou, is not on duty today.
He was snacking and listening to audiobooks at a nearby teahouse to pass the time.
Seeing the empty mansion on the street, people would come up to visit from time to time, and the leisurely people in the teahouse also became interested.
The mansions and courtyards along the surrounding streets were places where the Iron Legs Sect's martial artists could rest.
This is a newly promoted martial artist at the Body Refinement Realm.
"Give Instructor Zhang a plate of chicken feet on this table."
A portly middle-aged man made a few remarks to the waiter, then sat down with a smile: "Instructor Zhang, you are the instructor of Martial Arts Hall No. 8. Are you familiar with the situation here?"
Zhang Shouzhou was also thinking about this.
He shook his head: "I don't know, anyway, they didn't come from our No. 8 Martial Arts School. What, is Master Wang thinking of investing in us?"
The well-to-do middle-aged man shook his head: "Investment is out of the question. Business in such a poor place is not something a small family like mine can touch. It's just that I have a daughter who is of marriageable age, and as her father, I... well, I guess."
Someone nearby listened and shook their head: "Old Wang, why are you in such a hurry? If you ask me, we should take another look."
They relied on the resources flowing out of the Bitter Realm.
In the county town, even a moderately wealthy family can easily cultivate a member of their clan who has reached the physical body realm, as long as they are willing to invest time and effort.
The difficulty lay in surviving the harsh conditions of service that followed.
Otherwise, do you really think that Iron Legs Gate is so generous, giving away money and houses, and doing charity work?
The others nodded in agreement.
The well-off middle-aged man didn't think much of it, but simply kept it in mind.
These people may seem to live a leisurely life, but they are actually in a rather awkward position in the county town. They are neither up nor down, and they rely on each generation to raise one or two people with physical bodies to keep them afloat.
It's really not easy for children to marry into those established martial arts families.
Anyway, he has many daughters.
He would throw his daughter out whenever he saw an opportunity.
Maybe you'll run into a physical martial artist who's long-lived and can establish a firm foothold.
If you find even one, you've made a profit.
Even so, he was worried that the other party wouldn't be interested in that small dowry, and that his daughter wouldn't be able to get rid of it.
Zhang Shouzhou felt even more distressed as he listened to the discussion.
His son is a good-for-nothing.
She has two daughters. The elder daughter is doing well; she married well and will be able to provide some support to the family in the future.
Youngest daughter...
Hmm.
...
Inside the carriage, Li Qingshan was flipping through the "General Strategies for Martial Artists" gifted to him by the Foreign Affairs Hall.
Part of this contains information about Qingyuan County and the surrounding forces.
The other part is information about the Iron Leg Gate.
This information might just be common sense for those martial arts families from county towns, but for him it was a timely help.
After a quick, cursory glance, Li Qingshan closed his eyes, feeling somewhat weary.
He began to understand what Wang Xiao had said earlier.
Within the county seat, there is a town called Zhenling.
Once a martial artist breaks through the physical realm, the life force emanating outwards undergoes a qualitative change and is then silently recorded by the spirit of the town.
It can be said that ordinary people have absolutely no privacy under the surveillance of Zhenling.
The only way to avoid this is to set up an array in your own courtyard as well, so that another spirit can provide cover.
Iron Leg Sect will not forcibly recruit martial artists who have broken through to the Physical Realm.
As long as you don't actively register in the martial arts register, you can come and go as you please.
But without the status of a martial artist, one can forget about future cultivation resources and methods.
The cultivation resources on the Guixu Continent have been depleted.
If you still want to improve, you can only plunder resources in the Bitter Realm, but the entrance to the Bitter Realm is controlled by various sects and families.
Ordinary martial artists have absolutely no right to choose.
...
"According to the information in the booklet."
"Martial arts practitioners at the Body Refinement Realm who join the Iron Leg Sect will be given subsequent cultivation methods and monthly resources, with a maximum of six months of free time, after which they will have to serve in the Bitter Realm for ten years..."
Li Qingshan stroked his chin.
He has already been registered in the martial arts register, and his aura has been recorded by the town's spirit guardian. He will definitely have to serve for ten years.
He wasn't going to run either.
Li Qingshan is struggling with the choice of his next talent.
"Since I can't go to the Bitter Realm anytime soon, and those places in the county town are under the surveillance of the town spirits, plus I can use my [Hundred-Ton King Dharma Image] once a month, and my talents can be stacked, I might as well just find any ferocious beast to deal with for now..."
Thinking about it this way, everything became clear.
He carefully put away the booklet, took out the book about martial arts that Wang Xiao had left him, and began to read it carefully.
There are methods above that can suppress the effects of martial bones.
That's exactly what he needs right now.
...
Stone Village.
The entire Li Shitou family, without exception, was busy in the fields.
Without Li Qingshan, a strong laborer, we are in trouble.
This year's autumn harvest is under much greater pressure.
Li Shitou got up, rubbed his aching back, glanced at the sky, and then continued working.
My eldest son went to the county town a month ago.
I wonder if he's getting used to it.
High up in the distance from the field ridges.
Several able-bodied men from Stone Village, armed with weapons, were warily scanning their surroundings.
Every autumn harvest season, there are mountain beasts that seem to have become spirits, which take advantage of the busy farming season to either steal rice or raid villages for food.
They need to keep an eye on things.
Among the vigilant young men was Li Tie.
He chewed on a dry blade of grass, gazing at the distant mountain path, his emotions a jumbled mess.
More than two weeks ago.
His father-in-law sent someone to deliver a message, questioning why he hadn't mentioned that his cousin Li Qingshan had already been infected with the blood. He also said that Li Qingshan's methods to attract the attention of the martial arts school instructors were clumsy, and after being exposed, he left the martial arts school in a fit of rage.
If Li Tie hadn't recognized the messenger, he would have almost thought the person was joking with him.
Before Li Qingshan went to the martial arts school, had he already undergone blood transfusion?
so funny.
How could his cousin, who had personally taught Li Qingshan wrestling, not know whether the other party had any prior experience with martial arts?
This left Li Tie somewhat unsure of what had happened.
My cousin Li Qingshan didn't return to the village either.
Left with no other choice.
He could only ask the other party to pass on a message, asking his father-in-law to help find out about Li Qingshan.
If it weren't for the recent autumn harvest...
He was so tempted to make a trip to the county town.
"After I finish these last couple of days, I'll go to the county town to check on things. I hope nothing bad has happened to Qingshan..."
Li Tie kept the matter to himself and kept it to himself, which caused him to be distracted frequently these days.
Sudden.
A whistle can be heard from the sentry post ahead.
Li Tie quickly looked over there and saw several carriages approaching from the direction of the mountain road.
This is already the mountain road in the village.
The other party was heading towards their Stone Village.
Li Tie quickly called to the others and headed towards the mountain path.
...
"Sir, someone is coming."
Outside the carriage, the driver's respectful voice could be heard.
Li Qingshan put down the booklet in his hand, put it in his pocket, lifted the curtain, looked outside, saw Li Tie and the others, and jumped off the carriage with a smile.
Li Tie was still wondering why a caravan would come at this time. When he saw the person getting off the cart, he was first stunned, then overjoyed: "Qingshan, is that you?"
He rushed over: "A few days ago, my father-in-law said you had caught a blood disorder and had left the martial arts school. I also need to oversee the autumn harvest, so I had no choice but to ask him to help me find you..."
Li Qingshan never expected that Li Tie's father-in-law had actually paid attention to him and even sent someone back to the village to deliver a message.
He said somewhat embarrassedly, "Well, I met a benefactor back then, and inexplicably angered the martial arts instructor, so I went with the benefactor. I forgot to inform my family, so it's my fault."
This was indeed his oversight.
Li Tie sighed, "Well, it's fine if the martial arts school is failing, as long as everyone's alright... By the way, what about these carriages?"
As if he had just realized something, he took two steps back, looked Li Qingshan up and down, and then his face lit up with joy. He exclaimed excitedly, "Qingshan, you're much stronger and fairer than before. Could it be that you've really had a hemorrhage?"
Li Qingshan shook his head: "It's not blood induction."
Li Tie's excited expression froze.
He was somewhat disappointed, yet also amused: "I was overthinking it. We've never had the means for medicinal baths since we were little. Blood transfusions aren't that simple."
Li Qingshan laughed heartily and revealed his martial arts registration card:
"Bloodlust is nothing!"
With the help of a benefactor, I have broken through the physical realm and entered the list of martial artists.
From now on, our Li family will no longer be peasants!
Li Tie: ? ? ?
The people behind Li Tie: ? ? ?
...
Crazy clang~
The sound of gongs could be heard from outside the paddy field.
The busy villagers put down their tools and looked at the ridge of the field with some confusion.
Li Tie and several clansmen, holding gongs and their faces flushed, shouted, "Back to the village! Qingshan has become a martial artist! Back to the village..."
One person shouted, and the others followed suit.
In the fields.
Li Shitou wondered if he had heatstroke, and looked at his wife: "Honey, why did I hear Xiao Tie call Qingshan's name?"
Li Qingshan's mother was also somewhat bewildered.
The younger ones, however, exclaimed excitedly after hearing this, "I think I heard Brother Tie say that Big Brother has become a martial artist."
"Yes, that's what I've heard too!"
Li Shitou laughed: "Your eldest brother has only been in the county town for a month, how could he become a martial artist so easily? You must have misheard."
The family is discussing this.
Li Tie, however, came running over, banging on a gong: "Uncle, what are you still doing? Qingshan is back. He's become a martial artist. Let's go back to the village!"
Holding a sickle, Li Shitou's sun-reddened face was full of confusion: "What, Qingshan, a martial artist?"
Li Tie nodded emphatically: "Yes, they've already been registered as military officers, and the city even rewarded them with a mansion..."
Li Shitou could no longer hear what Li Tie said next.
He felt a buzzing in his head, as if something was rushing up.
Li Tie was wondering why his sixth uncle was still unmoved when he saw the man's eyes roll back and he faint...
...
Li Shitou was so excited that he fainted.
After everyone in the village had gone home.
The Li family members were all incredibly excited as they watched Li Qingshan lift a millstone weighing several hundred pounds with one hand and toss it around, and as they saw the cartloads of food and fabric that had been brought back.
"Our Li family has produced a prodigy!"
"A martial artist! Our Li family has produced a martial artist!"
The other villagers around also wore expressions of joy.
With a martial arts master emerging from the village, the villagers will have more face to show when they go out into the world.
Moreover, when Li Tie first announced the good news, he told them that they could register all the land under Li Qingshan's name, and from then on, they would be exempt from paying taxes.
Even villagers who weren't from the Li family could benefit from it.
How could they not be happy?
Li Qingshan was surrounded by the crowd, a stiff smile on his face.
It lasted for more than an hour.
He laughed repeatedly until he was numb with laughter.
In the end, it was Grandpa Li Qingshan who came to the rescue.
He waved his hand and announced, "Everyone, if you have relatives or in-laws, go and inform them that Stone Village is hosting a three-day feast!!!"
"good!"
The crowd left happily, feeling honored.
...
Seeing this scene, Li Qingshan felt extremely satisfied.
When one person attains enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven!
Nothing could be more perfect than this.
Cool!