Chapter One Hundred and Eighteen: Return to Qu Long

The car moved at a great speed, and before long I was in the city. I got out in front of my apartment building and then made my way to the meeting spot in the park. Chen Chen wasn’t there yet, so I sat idly on a bench. Many old people were out for morning exercise, and dressed this way, I drew almost every glance. Fortunately Chen arrived not long after from the park gate, and when I waved he jogged over.

Chen’s cultivation progress had not been slow—he had already reached the second rank of Spirit Blossom. He sat beside me and asked, “Do you know how to get to Qu-Long Town?”

I nodded. “Of course. I’ve been there once.”

Chen was also dressed in a black short robe today, looking even more like a man of the martial world.
“You look good in those clothes,” he said, admiring me as if it were the first time he had seen me like this.

“Enough. Stop talking and tell me how we’re getting there,” I said first.

After thinking for a moment, Chen said, “Let’s wait. Li Zhi-jian will be here soon.”

It was Chen who brought Li again this time; whenever the three of us move, we always end up doing everything together. He also told me in detail how he had obtained the token. It was lucky by chance: the place had no real danger, and he had merely stumbled on it by accident—like fortune itself could not be stopped from finding him.

We had not chatted long before Li Zhi-jian came running up from afar, bouncing like a child.

“Hmm, why are you both dressed like this… It’s too attention-grabbing,” he said.

I whispered a quiet remark to Chen, and he only gave a faint smile, because Li was wearing nearly the same kind of robe as Chen, with old Li right behind him.
“Yao-ge! Old Chen!” Li shouted before he was even close, as if afraid no one would notice him.

By the time he got nearer, I could see his cultivation was just a little lower than Chen’s—Spirit Blossom First Rank, though still excellent.
“Come on, then. Let’s go. No more dawdling,” I said and stood up before Li finished speaking.

“Where are we going?” Li asked, clearly not sure of the destination.

“Qu-Long Town!” Chen answered before I could.

Li had never heard of it, so old Li explained, “Qu-Long Town is the trading market of the cultivation world. It has existed for a long time.”

After that, we headed out. With Li with us we surely wouldn’t need to take another taxi. And since there were three of us today, Li had even switched to a luxury business sedan—one with a built-in refrigerator, no less.

Old Li had lived longer and seen more than most, so he had been to Qu-Long Town himself. He started the car. Chen and Li sat in front, and I sat at the rear. Li had not seen us in a long while and, since he wasn’t practicing at all this time, he started talking nonstop. Li’s cars were always excellent; this one was no exception—it ran over dirt roads with hardly a whisper.

“I’m telling you, Chen, what do you want to buy?” I asked, staring out the window, bored.

“I want to change my weapon. I’ve been learning gun techniques lately and want to buy a handgun.”

As soon as he said it, Li seemed struck with the same thought and hurriedly asked the driver, old Li, “Old Li, how much money did my father give you this time?”

Old Li checked his phone and said, “This time he gave me three hundred thousand. With what was left before, it’s still over seven hundred thousand.”

At that, I suddenly thought the few hundred thousand on me felt suddenly unimpressive. I had guarded that money as if it were treasure, while he’s getting that much in a single day.

“I’m changing mine too. My pair of fist-spikes is too garbage; it’s not right for me at all,” Li said.

Old Li replied calmly, “It may not suit you, that could be true. But those two are not ordinary—your father hired a master to forge them. They’re not lacking anything.”

“I’ll change mine then…”

Amid the laughter and chatter inside the car, we were already near the border of Qu-Long Town when, all at once, a man appeared right in front of the car. He did not come walking from anywhere; he simply manifested there.

I glanced at his spiritual energy—he had a second-rank Spirit Blossom aura, yet he stood rigidly still. I noticed, too, that he had no pupils, just like the hulking shadow-spirit from last night at Second Uncle’s house. Without doubt, this was a puppet of the Xia family.

I didn’t hesitate. I jumped out through the open sunroof and landed solidly in front of the car. As soon as I came close to him, I felt an intense wave of dark energy. I didn’t waste a breath: one kick. Unlike the one from last night, this shadow-spirit didn’t even dodge. I knocked it a few meters away and followed with my Thunder Verdict move, killing it on the spot.

When its body was blown apart and scattered by the wind, another small pouch appeared on the ground. I picked it up; there was another tiny note inside.

It read: “The Xia family remembers today’s grudge.”

I gave a blank, speechless look. Was this Xia family trying to stir trouble everywhere?

I tossed the pouch and note aside and climbed back into the car.
“Uncle Li, have you heard about the recent incident where the Sky-Soaring One took on the Xia family?” I asked.

Once we were moving again, I asked him.

“I’ve only heard of it in passing. This family’s name has been loud lately.”

Li Zhi-jian and Chen had never heard of it, and old Li was happy enough to explain to them. What he said was much the same as what I’d heard from Second Uncle: in short, the Xia family was not good people at all.

Before we knew it, the car had rolled into Qu-Long Town. It was exactly the same as the first time I came; even the old men and grandmothers seated in front of the gates seemed unchanged.

“Let’s get out and walk from here,” I suggested. Old Li pulled over by the roadside and the four of us got out.

As we walked, Li asked, “This doesn’t look like a trading market at all. Old Li, did we take the wrong road?”

Chen and I exchanged a knowing glance, and I said in a teasingly mysterious tone, “You’ll see soon.”

Old Li and I were both familiar with the place, so not long after we reached the area by Kirin Hall. I passed by Kirin Hall and headed straight for the cliff behind it; old Li, Chen, and Li followed.

At the cliff I could still see a thin veil of spiritual energy above it.

“Hey, what are we doing here? Don’t tell me we came just for the scenery,” Li said. He’s afraid of heights, and he clutched old Li’s clothing hem so tightly he didn’t let go.

I looked at Li once, then leaped down.

“Hey, Yao-ge, why are you doing this—what are you thinking?”

Li watched me jump from above. I even raised my middle finger at him in the air.
After descending to a certain height, that familiar feeling returned. I opened my eyes and landed on the ground.

I had entered the real Qu-Long Town. Everything was as before: people of every kind, and scenery that was still beautiful.

I waited by the side. Not long after, a flailing sound came from him—Li, his legs trembling, his hands flapping in the air.

“Alright, we made it,” I called.

Li slowly opened his eyes when he heard me.
“Damn, Yao-ge, you’re not dead... Wait, this can’t be heaven, can it? Damn, I’m still so young.”