Longevity by Grinding Skills

The middle-aged man instinctively shielded Chi Suwen behind him and demanded in a deep voice, "What business brings you here?"

"Elder Chen, he’s here to buy a horse," Chi Suwen explained softly.

"It’s you!"

Uncle Jin, the Golden Saber at his waist, shot out from behind the cloth curtain of the back courtyard. His expression was wary, the Golden Saber half-unsheathed and glinting with a cold light.

Xu Yunfan was a little surprised. He cupped his hands in a salute, a faint smile on his face. "I didn’t expect to run into you two here."

Upon learning that Xu Yunfan was just there to buy a horse, Uncle Jin, who had been so tense he was about to break out in goosebumps, finally calmed down. His taut nerves relaxed, he sheathed his Golden Saber, and his expression softened slightly.

He cupped his hands and said no more.

Elder Chen stepped aside to stand beside Chi Suwen, his eyes fixed firmly on Xu Yunfan. If the man made the slightest move, he would strike with all his might.

The threat he felt from the man was no less than the oppressive presence of a Flesh Refining Realm master.

Chi Suwen noticed Elder Chen’s expression and understood that Xu Yunfan’s strength was not to be underestimated. She smiled and said, "Although we had a minor incident before, you are more than welcome to buy a horse. Qingzhou is famous for its fine steeds, and we bought quite a few on our trip. If you would like one, please feel free to pick one out from the inn’s stables."

Chi Suwen was also keen on building a connection. The first time she had met him, he was merely a Second Level Martial Artist, yet in just four or five months, he could make a Grand Martial Master like Elder Chen nervous. She certainly wasn’t going to turn away a Martial Artist with such immense potential.

Xu Yunfan cupped his fists in thanks and followed Chi Suwen into the stables.

In the slanting morning light, the mane of a date-red horse shimmered with a reddish-gold luster. It looked about eighty percent similar to his previous mount, and Xu Yunfan took a liking to it at first glance. This horse could carry a thousand catties and still gallop as if flying; it could run at full speed for a thousand li and still have energy to spare.

Xu Yunfan stroked the horse’s mane and couldn’t help but sigh. ’What a pity about the horse I left at the foot of Thunder Accumulation Mountain.’

Just as he was about to untie the reins, he heard the delicate sound of a golden hairpin swaying beside him.

"Young Hero Xu, you’ve wandered far and wide. For you to come to Cangzhou and meet me... it must be fate. Have you ever considered finding a place to settle down?"

Chi Suwen’s slender fingers lightly stroked the horse’s mane, the silver-threaded vine pattern on her plain white cuffs stirring slightly in the breeze.

’She’s trying to recruit me.’

Xu Yunfan said, "I have been thinking about finding a Sect to join. Rumors in the Mortal World say the Eight Sects of Cangzhou each have their own strengths. I was planning to visit them one by one to see which is the best fit."

"If you were to join my Chi Family as a Tributor, you would never lack for Elixirs or be short on Spiritual Food. There is also a considerable stipend: thirty Profound Origin Pills a month, a hundred bushels of Yellow Rice, and an annual salary of five thousand taels of Patterned Silver."

She added as a final enticement, "Heaven-ranked Tributors can also read the fragmented scrolls of the Great Zhou Martial Scripture."

Xu Yunfan’s brow twitched. He hadn’t been idle these past few months and had, of course, heard of this scripture. The Great Zhou Martial Scripture was said to have been compiled by the Founding Emperor of the Great Zhou in collaboration with nine Qi Cultivation Grandmasters. Their ambition was to spread martial arts throughout the world, allowing every person to become as mighty as a dragon.

Unfortunately, the project failed, leaving behind only scattered fragments. He never expected the Chi Family to possess one of those fragmented scrolls.

’A pity it’s only a fragment, though.’

"I have heard that your family’s ultimate skill, the Wandering Dragon Stunned Swan Step, is unrivaled in North Ji Province. I wonder, can it be taught to outsiders?"

The slender fingers Chi Suwen used to stroke the horse’s mane suddenly froze. After a long moment, she said, "Family martial arts are only passed down to the direct bloodline."

Before her voice had even faded, Xu Yunfan had already swung himself onto the horse. The date-red steed snorted, its hooves clopping crisply on the ground.

"Miss Chi, I appreciate the kind offer."

He tightened the reins and gazed toward the end of the long street, the direction leading out of the city.

"It’s just that a hawk accustomed to the wild like myself cannot bear the rules of a golden cage."

As nine hundred-tael silver notes from Datong Yinzhuang were placed on the counter, Chi Suwen leaned against a red-lacquered pillar of the inn, watching the green-robed figure on horseback disappear into the dust of the marketplace.

"Miss, why are you so insistent?"

Elder Chen finally straightened his back and stepped forward, his murky old eyes staring at the fading dust on the bluestone slabs.

"This young man has a dense, lingering aura of bloodlust, and a hint of a warrior’s edge between his brows. He’s clearly come from battle. People like him are wild by nature, with no respect for the law or the authorities. If he’s even slightly displeased, he might do something outrageously bold."

Chi Suwen shook her head slightly. "Elder Chen, his innate talent is exceptional. If we could recruit him now, we might gain a Grandmaster of at least the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm in the future."

Elder Chen let out a short laugh. "Ha ha."

"Miss, the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm isn’t so easy to reach. The Great Zhou has a population of hundreds of millions, yet how many Grandmaster experts of the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm are there? As for wanderers like him, who knows? He could die on the road any day."

She gazed at the drifting clouds in the sky, murmuring as if to herself, "And who is it again that currently oversees my Chi Family’s shipping operations in Yuezhou?"

At that exact moment, the final clop of hooves from the end of the street faded away, mixing with the cries of the morning market and crushing an unspoken answer into the May spring breeze.

Naturally, Xu Yunfan had no regrets. ’If I had agreed just like that,’ he thought, ’my path would have been set for life, with no more room to grow.’

Joining a Sect was one thing, but in an aristocratic family like the Chi Family, you’d be constrained in everything you did if you weren’t connected by blood. ’Worse,’ he thought, ’I could end up being used as a scapegoat.’

Xu Yunfan galloped on, his spirited steed neighing beneath him.

There were some minor incidents along the way, but he dealt with them easily. He rode on until Cangzhou State City, Cui Bo City, appeared in his line of sight.

Xu Yunfan reined in his horse on a long, misty, willow-lined causeway. The towering city walls were bathed in the emerald light of the lake. On the Bronze plaque, the two words "Cui Bo" glowed with a damp, dark sheen.

On the waterway of the barbican, a barge emerged from the mist. Cormorants on its bow flapped their wings, occasionally diving into the water and resurfacing with fish in their beaks.

Many merchants bustled to and fro, and the pedestrians seemed peaceful and at ease. Faintly, he could even hear the happy laughter of children playing.

This place was a world apart from the war-torn Wuzhou, where one could travel for a thousand li without seeing a soul.

After dismounting and leading his horse into the city, Xu Yunfan finally saw Changfeng Tavern again, standing on a corner in the city center. Willow catkins drifted from the street, brushing past the word "Changfeng" embroidered in gold thread on the tavern’s banner.

A smile couldn’t help but appear on his face.

"Waiter, take good care of my horse—feed it the best fodder. I’d like a private room on the second floor."

"You got it! Private room for one on the second floor!"

A one-armed waiter walked over to greet him.

"Patron, this Scale Horse of yours is exceptionally well-raised."

He stroked the horse’s mane, full of admiration. "Would you like me to add three taels of wormwood and half a mace of dragon’s blood to its feed?"

"Add what you see fit."

Once in the private room on the second floor, he pushed open the carved window, which perfectly framed a corner of the Moon-Embracing Pavilion’s eaves.

A server entered, parting the curtain while carrying a tray. In a large celadon bowl on the tray lay a three-foot-long, silver-scaled fish. The server flicked the rim of the bowl, and the fish’s body instantly split into a hundred pieces. Each slice of meat was coated in a layer of ice crystals as thin as a cicada’s wing. It was a Snow Dragon Trout, which takes a decade to mature at the bottom of Cuibo Lake.

When the second dish arrived, the scent of charcoal mixed with a bloody aroma washed over him. A piece of a broken horn was stuck jauntily in the seared, brown meat chop. The cross-section of the horn revealed growth rings as dense as stars in the sky.

These two dishes of Exotic Beast Flesh, along with the other food on the table, were not cheap, costing Xu Yunfan nearly ninety taels.

But he ate to his heart’s content.

(Ten thousand words achieved today. Now writing tomorrow’s quota. Thank you all for your support!)