Immortal Refiner

Upon entering the mansion, Old Man An looked at Li Qing, who was dressed in thin clothing, and let out a heavy sigh. ”Master Li, are you practicing martial arts?”

The spirited Li Qing nodded and replied, ”Just practicing some boxing and kicking techniques to build up strength. It makes forging easier.”

In this world, mastering a craft was still very important, which was why both Yan San and Old Man An respected him greatly.

In the nearly deserted Blackrock City, it was almost impossible to find a skilled blacksmith like Li Qing.

Old Man An glanced at the pile of finished sickles by the courtyard, a hint of sorrow flashing in his eyes.

”Sigh, I’ve seen many martial artists in my time, but now they’re a rare sight. With the land yielding no crops, it’s hard to achieve anything significant through martial arts,” Old Man An shook his head and continued, ”Master Li, feel free to ask anything. My only advantage is that I’ve lived long and seen much, so I should be able to answer many of your questions.”

Hearing this, Li Qing’s heart stirred slightly. It seemed that in Old Man An’s youth, there were many martial artists, which suggested that food wasn’t scarce back then.

Indeed, the World of Eternal Night wasn’t always shrouded in darkness; otherwise, human civilization couldn’t have developed to this extent.

In the past, or at least several decades ago, there must have been a sun!

This was the question that concerned Li Qing the most.

”Old Man An, so you’re saying that crops could be grown in the past?” Li Qing tentatively asked.

Old Man An was momentarily taken aback, then, noticing Li Qing’s youthful face, he chuckled bitterly. ”Yes, about several decades ago, there was still a sun in the sky. Master Li, you’re still young, so you probably don’t know what the sun is, do you?”

”It was a huge, glowing orb, much brighter than the red moon above us. You couldn’t look directly at it, or your eyes would be dazzled!”

”Back then, the sun was in the sky, and it was warm. Crops grew in the fields, much tastier than these Dark Wheat Mushrooms.”

It must be said that once this topic came up, Old Man An became quite talkative, sharing a wealth of information about what life was like when the sun still existed.

Then one day, the sun never rose again, and this world was plunged into eternal darkness, where cold and hunger became the norm.

Because it was so long ago, the days when the sun rose had become legends told by the elderly like Old Man An.

Those born later listened to such tales as myths, for they had never seen the sun themselves and thus didn’t believe such an era had truly existed.

”Master Li, you’re also a poor soul, living in this sunless world where we can only eat Dark Wheat Mushrooms. Everyone here is a poor soul!” Old Man An’s eyes revealed a longing and nostalgia for the past.

Li Qing didn’t say much in response, nor did he express any doubt.

He asked, ”So where did the sun go? Why did it disappear?”

Old Man An was surprised that Li Qing didn’t first question whether the sun had ever existed, but instead asked where it had gone.

It’s worth noting that whenever his granddaughter heard him say this, she would roll her eyes, not believing a word of it.

Old Man An spoke in a reminiscent tone, ”No one knows, no one knew. At that time, some said we had angered the gods, so they took away the sun to punish us.”

Back then, some took advantage of the situation to promote various doctrines, gathering crowds and amassing wealth, wreaking havoc in the region.

But as the sky remained dark for longer and longer, these opportunistic sects gradually disappeared, and fewer and fewer people survived in this era.

It’s foreseeable that if the Dark Wheat Mushroom hadn’t been discovered as a food source, the entire World of Eternal Night might have fallen into desolation, with not a soul in sight. Soon, Li Qing asked his third question: ”With the Yan Family causing such havoc, isn’t there anyone to keep them in check?”

He wanted to know if there was still something akin to a government or official authority in this world or the region he was in.

However, Old Man An’s answer didn’t surprise him.

”When the government was still around, there was someone to manage things. But now that the government is gone, Blackrock City is under the Yan Family’s control.”

Li Qing’s eyes narrowed quickly. Since there was no government, it was utterly unreasonable that the Yan Family could exchange Dark Wheat Mushrooms for the secret martial arts techniques of those martial arts schools! In other words, if he were one of those powerful martial artists, on the brink of starvation, his first choice would undoubtedly be to raid the Yan Family’s granary rather than trade his martial arts secrets for food.

As the saying goes, ”When the neighbor hoards grain, I hoard guns; the neighbor becomes my granary!”

The fact that the Yan Family could protect such a large granary was inherently unreasonable.

From this perspective, either the Yan Family had formidable enforcers of their own, or they had powerful backers behind them.

Regardless of which possibility it was, it seemed that the Yan Family was not someone he could easily offend at the moment. Therefore, it was best to maintain this relationship and not draw their attention.

Li Qing’s thoughts jumped as agilely as a flame in a furnace. He set up the damaged iron pot and placed it on the stove to heat.

Repairing this level of damage was quite simple for him, and it wouldn’t take much time. A few taps with a hammer would fix it.

While repairing the pot, Li Qing asked the last question that concerned him: ”Are there other cities near Blackrock City?”

Old Man An answered without hesitation, ”Of course, if you go west from the city gate, there’s Giant Rock City, which is much larger than Blackrock City. To the south, there’s Black Earth City, where most of the coal we burn comes from.”

”But Master Li, you mustn’t think of traveling far alone! The roads are too dangerous, and it’s easy to meet with misfortune!”

Listening to Old Man An’s advice, Li Qing quickly finished repairing the pot with his hammer.

”Alright, I have no more questions. Old Man An, take the pot back,” Li Qing said, handing the still-warm pot to Old Man An.

Old Man An looked grateful and said, ”Master Li, thank you so much!”

Without keeping him any longer, Li Qing sent Old Man An on his way and securely closed the courtyard gate.

Today’s conversation with Old Man An deepened his understanding and perception of this world, allowing him to roughly sketch an impression in his mind.

”The sun disappeared and angered the gods?” Li Qing murmured softly, then shook his head.

Whether in his past life or this one, he had always been a staunch atheist.

He believed in the existence of beings with immense individual power, but he clearly found it hard to believe in gods who could take away the sun in a fit of anger.

After a moment of inner mockery, Li Qing returned to his comfortable room, ready to enjoy a good night’s sleep.

Since taking up martial arts, he had placed greater importance on his sleep. Fortunately, traveling to the World of Eternal Night provided ample time to accomplish this.

(End of the Chapter)

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