Scripture of Days Past

Chu Qiguang’s group traveled along an official road, and the beginning of their journey proved relatively peaceful. They encountered a few bandits, but the sight of Chu Qiguang and the others remaining completely unaffected by the cold immediately alerted the bandits that they were not to be trifled with.

As Chu Qiguang and the others discussed the route they planned to take to Shu Province, Qiao Zhi suddenly perked up in Chu Qiguang’s lap and asked, We’re traveling to Shu Province through Yong Province, aren’t we?

That’s right. Is there a problem? Chu Qiguang asked.

It’s currently January of the seventeenth year of the Yong’an Era... If I recall correctly, another of the Eight Han Resurgence Generals is about to emerge in Yong Province, Qiao Zhi replied.

Chu Qiguang was immediately intrigued.

Last year, an official in the Ministry of Divination named Lei Yi impeached Grand Secretary Wu, Qiao Zhi continued. He was flogged before it was later discovered that he had been colluding with the border military bases. In the end, he was stripped of his official position and banished to Lake Mountain Relay Station in Yong Province. His son, Lei Yushu, is one of the Eight Han Resurgence Generals.

Lei Yi was an official in the Ministry of Divination, yet he couldn’t tell that his own son was one of the Eight Han Resurgence Generals? Chu Qiguang exclaimed.

It’s a rather strange situation, Qiao Zhi explained. As an official in the Ministry of Divination, Lei Yi naturally conducted divination on his own son, but those divination readings yielded nothing of note. During the early years of his life, Lei Yushu also displayed no remarkable traits to suggest that he could be destined for greater things. After his father was banished to Lake Mountain Relay Station, he accompanied him there to look after him.

However, his father had sustained severe injuries from the flogging he received in the capital, and he’s in such terrible condition that he’s definitely not going to make it past January this year. Perhaps he’s already passed away. Following his father’s death, Lei Yushu’s fate suddenly took a drastic turn, and he gained the makings of a Han Resurgence General.

What happened after that? Chu Qiguang asked.

After his father died, Lei Yushu expressed a desire to rid the imperial court of corrupt officials and avenge his father by bringing down Grand Secretary Wu, Qiao Zhi replied. In order to accomplish these objectives, he traveled north to join the military, and he also became a member of the Vast Heavens Faction.

He arrived in the north just as the border military bases rose up in revolt. He made many significant contributions toward quelling the revolt, becoming one of the most respected young generals in the north and earning the approval of the high-ranking members of the Vast Heavens Faction.

After that, he reached the Dao Comprehension state by cultivating the Blazing Peach Blossom Spear, one of the twenty-five orthodox arts. He almost single-handedly beat the northern eagle race into submission, forcing them to make offerings of appeasement to the Great Han Empire.

Unfortunately, he made enemies of several powerful officials after impeaching them for corruption and embezzlement. When the wolf race invaded, those same officials plotted against him by deliberately delaying reinforcements for three days.

As a result, he was forced to fight alone, and all his troops were quickly killed. He fought for three days and three nights, but was ultimately slain at the Cloud Midst Military Base by several of the wolf race’s most powerful cultivators.

It sounds like he’s worth paying a visit, Chu Qiguang remarked.

After leaving Spirit Province and entering Yong Province, their surroundings became increasingly bleak and decrepit the further west they traveled.

Just then, a series of frantic screams rang out up ahead, only to quickly fade into silence.

Chu Qiguang’s group immediately sped up. Upon arriving at the scene, they discovered a horse-drawn carriage lying on its side beside the official road, while around twenty bandits looted the bodies scattered nearby.

The bandits immediately turned their attention to Chu Qiguang’s group. At their leader’s command, the bandits quickly dispersed to surround Chu Qiguang and the others.

Hao Xiangtong could barely contain her fury at the sight of the lifeless bodies on the ground.

Chu Qiguang cast a cold glance at the bandits, then said, ”Chen Gang, Hao Xiangtong, you two take care of them. It’ll serve as decent combat training for you.”

Among everyone in the group, Chu Qiguang wasn’t the oldest, nor did he come from the most prestigious background, and as far as Zhang Haizhu and Hao Xiangtong were aware, he wasn’t the most formidable martial artist, either. After all, they were under the false impression that he was only a fourth-state martial artist, while Zhang Jitian had already reached the fifth state.

However, everyone reflexively followed his instructions, as if he were a natural-born leader with an innate ability to influence others.

Chen Gang and Hao Xiangtong didn’t want to risk injuring their horses, so they dismounted to face the bandits on foot. It didn’t take long for the bandits to realize that they were fighting a hopeless battle.

After the fifth bandit was slain, the rest began fleeing in all directions in a panic.

Chu Qiguang raised a hand, and Zhang Jitian immediately shot forward like a bolt of lightning, swiftly making short work of the remaining bandits one after another.

Why is Zhang Jitian so obedient to Brother Chu when he’s a fifth-state martial artist? Zhang Haizhu wondered with a puzzled expression. It feels like there’s some kind of... strange relationship between the two of them.

It wasn’t long before they encountered two more groups of bandits. The first made sure to stay out of their path, while the second attacked, only to be quickly decimated.

”Is this what things are like everywhere in Yong Province?” Hao Xiangtong said after the last bandit from the second group was killed.

Zhang Haizhu was from Yong Province, and at this moment, he sat atop his horse, surveying the vast stretches of barren and abandoned fields with a grim expression.

”Yong Province has suffered through several years of grueling drought, and it was also previously plagued by the White Cloud Religion,” he explained coldly. ”Instead of doing anything to improve the situation, all the local authorities did was exploit the people, forcing everyone to abandon their fields and become bandits to survive.”

”Why hasn’t the imperial court done anything about this?” Hao Xiangtong asked with righteous fury in her eyes.

”The entire system is corrupt,” Zhang Haizhu shrugged. ”Even honest officials sent here by the imperial court become corrupt within a few years.”

”That’s only a secondary problem,” Zhang Jitian said. ”The biggest problem in Yong Province is its nobility. Yong Province is home to more feudal lords than any other province in the Great Han Empire.”

”Let’s keep going,” Chu Qiguang said. ”We have to reach Lake Mountain Relay Station by tonight.”

”Why’re we going there?” Zhang Haizhu asked.

”I heard that the scenery there is really nice, so I want to take a look,” Chu Qiguang lied.

***

Spirit Province, Heavenly Melody Manor.

Inside one of the manor’s courtyards stood a brawny man over two meters tall with waves of heat radiating from his body.

All the falling snow within a radius of ten feet around him evaporated into plumes of steam before it could even reached the ground.

The man wielded a long saber that rumbled like thunder as he swung it through the air, and with each mighty swing, the snow within a radius of several dozen feet exploded violently.

Wu Wei was watching from the side, and in his eyes, the saber resembled a brush in the man’s hand, one with which he could alter the snowy tapestry around him as he pleased.