Five Immortal Sects

Chapter 30: Re-entering the City

Military advisor Ji felt a sense of relief upon hearing Li Yan’s words. 

‘Perhaps after I recover, I won’t need to take such risks again. I hope this child can quickly reach the peak of the Qi Condensation stage, and then, after I break through to the fourth stage, I’ll have to investigate the location marked on the map.’

With that, Military advisor Ji stood up, preparing to return to his quiet cultivation. As he stood up, he noticed Li Yan’s hesitant expression and smiled.

“Is there something else?”

Li Yan’s face showed a mix of emotions, and under Military advisor Ji’s encouraging gaze, he finally gathered the courage to speak.

“Teacher, I’d like to go into the city.”

Military advisor Ji’s smile froze, and he raised an eyebrow. 

“What for?”

Li Yan’s face revealed a hint of fear.

“Teacher, please don’t be angry. It’s not that I don’t want to cultivate diligently, but I want to go into the city to give some silver to the people from my village and have them deliver it to my parents.” 

“Moreover, I’ve been cultivating in the valley for a long time, and recently, I’ve been feeling unstable. Going out for a walk might help calm my mind.”

Military advisor Ji remained silent, thinking that Li Yan should focus on cultivating for 12 hours a day, and even that would be too slow. 

However, Li Yan’s words were reasonable, and if he refused, Li Yan might become disheartened, which would affect his cultivation. 

Considering this, Military advisor Ji smiled and said, “Alright, you can go! You’ve been cultivating here for a long time, and you’re not familiar with the city. Let Chen An and Li Ying accompany you; they’re familiar with the city’s affairs, and with them, you’ll have an easier time.”

Li Yan’s anxious expression was genuine, as he didn’t know how Military advisor Ji would react to his request. 

If Military advisor Ji became suspicious, it would be extremely difficult to escape in the future.

When he heard that he could go, he felt a surge of joy, but Military advisor Ji’s subsequent words made him pause. 

He realized that this was not out of concern for him, but rather an arrangement to keep him under close supervision. Chen An and Li Ying would likely be instructed to keep a close eye on him, making it extremely difficult for him to escape.

“Thank you, Teacher!”

Li Yan’s face lit up with a smile as he bowed in gratitude.

“Alright, you pack up, and I’ll arrange for Chen An and Li Ying to accompany you. If you have any matters, just let them handle it.”

After saying this, Military advisor Ji turned and left.

Li Yan stood still for a moment, then turned to retrieve the silver from the box. He thought to himself:

“I can only take it one step at a time. If I get the chance, I’ll definitely make a move. But for now, I’ll bring this silver with me. If I can escape, I’ll use it for future purposes. If not, I’ll give it to Li Shan or Li Yu, and they can bring it back to my parents.”

When Li Yan arrived at the valley entrance, Chen An and Li Ying were already standing there and waiting for him.

The stone door of Military advisor Ji’s residence was closed, with a black wooden sign hanging on the door handle.

Li Yan knew that if he tried to escape now, Military advisor Ji would appear before him in no time.

“Young Master, shall we go to the city?” Chen An asked, breaking Li Yan’s thoughts.

Li Yan looked up to see Chen An’s smiling face and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. These two were like oil and water, one smooth and one strict, making it difficult to escape their surveillance.

“Let’s go!” Li Yan said, and he began walking towards the square outside the valley.

“Young Master, shall we ride horses or walk?” Chen An asked, catching up to him.

Li Yan stopped and turned around.

“Oh, can we ride horses? Why did the teacher say we should walk?”

“Of course, it’s up to the adults’ preferences. The distance is only a few miles, and walking won’t take too long,” Chen An replied.

“Then let’s ride horses!” Li Yan said after a brief pause.

“Yes, Young Master!” the two replied in unison.

As Li Yan stood in the square outside the valley, he looked back at the “Military Advisor’s Residence” sign and felt a sense of returning to the human world.

Although the square was still the same, with the two rows of stone houses unchanged, the atmosphere felt different. The soldiers standing guard or resting, and the busy women, all seemed to be in a different space, with a different air.

At the same time, Li Yan felt that after leaving the valley, the spiritual energy here was almost nonexistent, and the refreshing feeling of breathing in the air was also gone. But he still liked the air here, because it had a sense of freedom.

The soldiers in front of the stone houses looked at Li Yan, who was standing in the center of the square. Although this was their third meeting, they still felt a sense of mystery.

Chen An and Li Ying had already led out three fine horses from behind the stone houses. The horses were sturdy and healthy, clearly well-bred military horses.

As they rode down the winding mountain road, the dense trees on both sides were a vibrant green and golden yellow, with sunlight filtering through the tall tree crowns above. The sound of horse hooves echoed through the mountain valley…

Although Li Yan had only been in the valley for two months, his thoughts had undergone many changes. He had already begun to think of the outside world as a vast, open sky, but whether he could fly freely like a bird was still uncertain.

Before long, the three of them had passed through the mountain road and turned onto the official road.

They rode their horses towards the north gate of Green Mountain Pass, with Li Yan occasionally trying to speed up or slow down to create some distance between himself and Chen An and Li Ying. However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t shake them off, as they were clearly experienced soldiers.

Although Li Yan had reached the Qi Condensation stage, he hadn’t learned any magical techniques, and his martial arts skills were limited to a few rough village-style moves.

Although he thought that with spiritual energy, he might be able to defeat the two, he knew that it would be unwise to try in broad daylight on the official road, as it would only attract more soldiers.

Moreover, he was only guessing that spiritual energy might enhance his martial arts skills, and he didn’t dare to try it in the valley, lest Military advisor Ji become suspicious.

The two men were clearly seasoned veterans of war, and Li Yan felt uncertain about taking them on, even if it was just one of them, let alone both.

After observing them secretly, Li Yan reluctantly gave up on his plan to escape outside the city.

The two-mile journey was quickly covered, and they soon saw the north gate of Green Mountain Pass. The two rows of soldiers were checking the merchants and travelers entering and leaving the city.

Their three horses, although not galloping, were still moving quickly, and they soon attracted the attention of the city guards, who gathered to watch them.

Li Yan wasn’t intentionally trying to cause a scene, but he was being pulled along by Chen An and Li Ying, who were speeding up the pace. 

According to his personality, the more low-key, the better. He started to pull the reins to slow down, but even so, they still galloped to the city gate.

“Who dares to ride their horse so recklessly at the city gate? Don’t you fear breaking the military law?” 

Among the city guards, one of them drew his sword with a “whoosh” and jumped out in front of the crowd, while the other guards instantly readied their long spears, pointing the cold, sharp tips at the three horses’ necks and bellies.

Li Yan felt a chill run down his spine as he gazed at the gleaming spearheads. If his horse took two more steps forward, the spears would pierce through the horse’s neck, and he would be skewered like a kebab.

Just then, a hand suddenly reached out from the side and pulled the reins of Li Yan’s horse, causing the three warhorses to rear up and whinny loudly. The horses took a few steps back, finally coming to a stop.

“Ha ha, old Liu, you’re getting too worked up,” Chen An laughed as he dismounted his horse. Li Yan finally realized that Li Ying was holding the reins of both his horse and Li Yan’s horse, bringing them to a simultaneous stop.

“Ah, I see. So it’s you, Military Officer Chen. Are you trying to force your way into the city?” 

The guard who had jumped out earlier spoke in a gloomy tone.

“Ha ha, old Liu, I’ve gone from being a squad leader to a military officer in the general’s mansion. You’re still nagging me? We are escorting Lord Li into the city on official business. Lord Li lost control of his horse’s speed, please forgive us, forgive us!”

“Lord Li? Which Lord Li?”

Li Yan had already dismounted his horse, feeling embarrassed and ashamed. His horsemanship was truly terrible, and he almost crashed into the city gate.

He tossed the reins aside and looked up at the guard standing in the way, about to apologize, but was startled when he saw the guard’s face.

The guard was none other than Liu Chengyong, the same person he had met when he first entered the city. Liu Chengyong also seemed to recognize him, but wasn’t entirely sure, as it was only a brief encounter.

“Here’s Lord Li’s token.”

Chen An handed over the token, and Liu Chengyong received it with a bow. He examined the token and was shocked to find that it was a vice commander’s token, several ranks higher than his own ninth-grade official position.

Li Yan saw Liu Chengyong looking at him and hastily bowed. 

“Greetings, Captain Liu. I apologize for my poor horsemanship earlier, which startled everyone. I offer my apologies.”

“You’re… you’re that young kid from the Li family village in Great Green Mountain!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Liu Chengyong realized he had made a mistake and hastily bowed.

“I was reckless, I know I was wrong. Please, Lord, punish me.”

This sudden outburst left Li Yan stunned, and he turned to look at Chen An and Li Ying, who were standing beside him. Li Ying was holding the reins of a horse, his expression serious and unyielding.

Chen An looked at Liu Chengyong with surprise and bowed, waiting for him to receive his punishment.

“Young Master, please forgive Liu Chengyong’s mistake. Have you two met before?”

“Yes, we’ve met. I met Liu Chengyong when I first entered the city through Green Mountain Pass. He was the one who inspected and let me pass. But what’s going on with Liu Chengyong now?”

Chen An, who was well-versed in the ways of the world, quickly understood Li Yan’s confusion and approached him, speaking in a low tone.

“Young Master, you currently hold the position of Vice Commander, which makes Liu Chengyong your subordinate. The token I showed him earlier was yours, but you rarely go out, so it’s been kept by Lord Ji. Today, Lord Ji handed it over to me, so I could use it to facilitate our movements in the city. That’s why Liu Chengyong made a mistake earlier.”

Chen An looked at Li Yan with some difficulty, as he had been tormented by Li Yan’s unpredictable temper lately. He didn’t know when Li Yan might suddenly explode, and he was worried about Liu Chengyong.

The twenty soldiers stationed at the Military Advisor’s mansion were handpicked from each battalion, and Chen An had previously served in the second squad of the War Tiger Regiment, where he had worked with Liu Chengyong. They had fought side by side on the battlefield, sharing life and death experiences. However, Liu Chengyong was now loyal to General Hong, while Chen An was more inclined towards Military Advisor Ji.

After listening to Chen An’s explanation, Li Yan’s face lit up with understanding. Although he knew he had a position in the military, he didn’t know what his duties were or how high his rank was.

It seemed that his position was higher than Liu Chengyong’s, but he didn’t know that it was actually two to three ranks higher. General Hong had given him the position as a mere formality, and Military Advisor Ji had only done it to save face.

Li Yan didn’t know that he was walking on a different path, and Military Advisor Ji was indifferent to the whole situation. As long as Hong Linying could get the job done, he didn’t care if Li Yan held the position of Vice Commander or even Military Advisor. But whether Li Yan could enjoy his position safely was another story altogether.