Martial Cultivator

Wei Prefecture, Tianqing County.

Today, a light drizzle fell steadily.

It was said that spring rain was as precious as oil, but after entering summer, rain was no longer as valued. After all, with the season progressing, the time for summer storms neared. In the South, particularly in Wei Prefecture, rainfall was abundant. Not only was the rain worthless, but the common folk also hoped it would not be excessive. After all, once the summer floods come, there was always the risk of a major flood.

Wasn’t the Great Flood of Wei Prefecture two years ago just like that?

The common folk, unable to pray for wealth and glory, could only hope for enough to eat and wear. If even that was not possible, then they could only long for peaceful days.

How could peace be achieved? Simply by hoping that the heavens would not act unpredictably and that the Emperor would show a little more care to the people.

Amid the curtain of rain, two oiled-paper umbrellas moved slowly, one ahead of the other. Rainwater dripped onto the surface of the oiled-paper umbrellas and slid down along the edges, landing on the black stone pavement below.

The faces of the two individuals were obscured by the umbrellas, making them indistinct. However, it was clear that both wore official boots. The boots of the person walking in front were embroidered with cloud patterns, following the prescribed regulations, indicating they were a civil official of the Great Liang Dynasty. As for the person behind, their boots were entirely black, with only faint patterns upon them; clearly the attire of a military officer.

In the entire Tianqing County, there were only a few civil and military officials qualified to wear such boots. The identities of the two were actually almost certain.

The two approached a small alley, stopping one after the other. The man in front listened as the sound of raindrops on his umbrella quieted. With the rain no longer striking as frequently, he simply folded up his umbrella, revealing a young face.

The man was slender and dressed in official robes. His youthful face showed no trace of immaturity but carried a hint of steadiness.

”That person who’s already like the noonday sun in the Divine Capital, I heard that he once live in this very alley?”

The young official shook the rain from his oiled-paper umbrella, gazing into the alley named Peach Blossom Alley with a smile and remarked, ”Warden Ning ought to find a residence here too. Who knows, in just a few years, you might end up serving as a warden in some prefecture, and bit by bit, make your way to the Divine Capital.”

Warden Ning, a very interesting form of address.

The equally young warden shook his head and said, ”How can it be so simple? At first, I also thought his achievements were mostly due to luck. But ever since I came to Tianqing County, I haven’t found a single demon in the nearby mountains these past few years. That’s when I realized that not everything can be attributed to luck.”

The young magistrate chuckled and said, ”Does it have something to do with being surnamed Chen?”

Warden Ning shook his head. ”Plenty of those with the surname Chen have already died in recent days.”

Tianqing County was quite a distance from the Divine Capital. News from there took time to reach here, but it always arrived eventually. Now, the stories of that night in the Divine Capital had spread to this place. They both knew what had transpired in the Imperial City that night and had come to understand the true identity of the young man who once served as warden here.

”The path he’s taken is extraordinary. Putting aside that he’s now only reached the position of Left Guard Commander, even if he became the Lord Warden Commander, I would feel that it’s only a little early, that’s all.”

Warden Ning glanced at the young magistrate and asked with a smile, ”What do you think, Lord Magistrate?”

A surname like Ning was indeed intriguing.

The young magistrate smiled and said, ”It makes a lot of sense. But does Warden Ning truly wish to see him take that seat?”

Warden Ning smiled but said nothing, his gaze fixed on the small alley.

The young magistrate said with vicissitudes of emotion, ”Who would have thought that someone capable of influencing the direction of the world once lived in such a shabby little alley so many years ago? It’s truly remarkable.” ŕ𝘢

”Do you want to take a look?”

The young magistrate tilted his head back and said, ”We’ve walked until here, why not?”

Warden Ning said, ”The one who came before me, upon learning this was his former residence, supposedly couldn’t sleep for days. He must have considered countless times whether to restore the place. But in the end, he probably feared that making changes without permission might displease him, so he did nothing.”

”Being an official is hard.”

After lamenting in agreement, the young magistrate said no more and stepped forward into the alley. He had only been serving as magistrate here for two months, just long enough to familiarize himself with the area, but he had not yet had the chance to step into the courtyard.

Warden Ning had arrived around the same time as the magistrate and likewise had never been to the courtyard.

Seeing the young magistrate step into the alley, Warden Ning did not follow. Instead, he stood in the alley for a moment, then shook his head and looked up at the sky. ……

……

The young magistrate walked into the alley and soon reached its end, arriving at the courtyard gate. The lock on the gate was long covered in rust.

After standing still for a moment, the young magistrate did not step into the courtyard. Instead, he turned and looked toward the opposite courtyard.

Sitting idly on the threshold of the front gate was a man, holding a large bowl and eating.

It was indeed lunchtime.

Seeing the young magistrate in official attire, the man showed no interest in acknowledging him. Instead, he shoveled a few mouthfuls of rice into his mouth and added a few leaves of vegetables.

The young magistrate looked at the man and smiled. ”This official hasn’t eaten yet. Could I join you for a meal?”

Hearing the term ’this official,’ the man did not care and just muttered vaguely, ”Not the same kind of people... can’t sit at the same table.”

The young magistrate nodded, lamenting. ”The Zhou Family’s front gate... was indeed hard to enter back then... But... this official happens to be an old acquaintance of Lord Zhou.”

The man swallowed the rice in his mouth and nodded. ”Being an old acquaintance is impressive.”

”Does that mean I still can’t share a meal at your place?” The young magistrate smiled as if oblivious to the sarcasm in the man’s tone.

The man chuckled. ”Forget about right now, even if it’s back then, we shouldn’t have had any relationship with you.”

The young magistrate sighed. ”What’s the point of talking about the past? So much time has passed. Who would have thought that after causing such a huge disaster, you’d still be alive? It seems that one’s surname might not matter much, but who stands behind you certainly does.”

”Without that incident, Brother Zhou would likely have become the next dean of the academy, right?”

Standing in the middle of the alley, the young magistrate lamented, ”Fate truly loves to toy with people.”

The man set down his bowl, stood up, and looked at the young magistrate. After some thought, he said, ”Seems like we’ve met before.”

”More than just met. Back then, we were classmates. It’s just that Brother Zhou was luckier and gained the Dean’s favor, while I wasn’t so lucky.”

The young magistrate rubbed his forehead.

The man sized up the young magistrate in front of him, his expression puzzled. ”Wearing a fake face? Or some other trick? Either way, pretending to be a young man, how fucking shameless can you get!”