Five Immortal Sects

Chapter 5: Separation

At this moment, Li Yan and his group’s horse-drawn carriage was making its way through the long city gate tunnel.

The city gate tunnel was extremely long, but it wasn’t damp or humid. The high and spacious design allowed for good ventilation and sufficient lighting inside.

After walking for dozens of steps, the horse-drawn carriage finally exited the city gate and entered the city.

Facing the city gate tunnel were three roads, all paved with large bluestone slabs.

Due to the constant flow of people and vehicles, the road surface was polished to a bright shine, and even the slight unevenness on the bluestone surface and the gaps between the stones had been worn smooth.

The middle road was noticeably wider than the other two, and it was undoubtedly the main road.

The two side roads branched out from the city gate tunnel and extended in both directions, disappearing into the distance.

On both sides of the road, there were rows of two- to three-story buildings, with various awnings and signboards hanging above the doors.

At this time, the streets were bustling with people and vehicles, with hawkers’ cries and calls echoing through the air. Although it was afternoon, the scene was still lively and vibrant.

The pedestrians on the street were quite crowded, so Li Guoxing’s horse-drawn carriage had to slow down.

Li Yan and the others felt like their eyes weren’t enough to take in all the sights, and their heads kept turning from side to side, feeling that everything around them was fresh and new.

Many things they had never seen or heard of before.

“Brother, look at that door with iron railings and a high counter. The person outside can only stand on tiptoes and lean forward to talk through the small window. It must be a pawnshop, right?” Li Yu asked, pointing at a pawnshop.

“Little Yu, Little Yu, look at that three-story wine shop! It’s so majestic! Hmm… it smells so good, this aroma is unlike anything I’ve ever smelled before. If you can learn to make dishes like this in the future, that would be a great achievement.”

Li Shan pointed at a wine shop they had just passed by.

Li Guoxing turned his head and smiled, saying, “You’ll be staying here for a long time in the future. You’ll have plenty of time to look around, but you must learn to be capable and not get sent back to the village in shame. Your destination is still ahead.”

Li Yan also felt that everything was fresh and new, with many things he had never seen or heard of before. Some were things he had heard from his father and villagers, while others were completely unknown to him. He couldn’t help but sigh at how vast the outside world was and how shallow his own knowledge was.

The horse-drawn carriage continued to move forward through the crowd for a while before finally stopping in front of a two-story wine shop.

Although the wine shop only had two stories, its facade was quite wide, with seven or eight adjacent doors facing the street. The interior was connected, making the main hall particularly spacious and bright.

At this time, it was not yet peak customer hours, but there were already some customers coming and going.

It seemed that this place was the type where customers could come and go as they pleased, without fixed meal times.

The wine shop’s signboard spanned across several doors, with gray background and green letters that looked very elegant and eye-catching, bearing the characters “Natural Wine Residence”.

Li Guoxing drove the horse-drawn carriage to the rightmost door of the “Natural Wine Residence” and stopped under a large tree, tying the reins to the tree trunk. He then let Li Yan and Li Shan wait beside the carriage.

He himself, accompanied by Li Yu, walked into the middle door of the wine shop.

Li Yan and Li Shan stood beside the carriage, watching the bustling scene on the street, and for a moment, neither of them spoke.

In fact, with Li Yu’s departure, they both knew that the time for them to part ways had really arrived, and they would have to live alone in this unfamiliar place from now on.

The excitement and anticipation they had previously felt were now gone, replaced by a sense of unease and fear of being alone in a strange land.

The two of them were lost in thought, silently staring at the middle door of the wine shop, watching the flow of people coming and going, their eyes filled with confusion.

After a while, Li Guoxing and Li Yu returned to the carriage, accompanied by a man in his thirties, who was a bit overweight and wore a loose, long robe.

The group quickly gathered in front of the carriage, and Li Guoxing said to Li Yu, “Take out your luggage!”

Then, he turned to the stout man and smiled, saying, “I’ll take this contract back to your parents, and this child… this child will be left in your care. I hope you can take good care of him, considering our familial ties. I, Li, thank you in advance.”

After finishing, Li Guoxing bowed deeply to the man.

The man’s round face also broke into a smile.

“Don’t be polite, Guoxing. As fellow clansmen, we should take care of each other. This child will be fine here, as long as he can endure hardship and is willing to learn. He will surely make a name for himself in the future.”

Li Guoxing waved his hand at Li Yu.

“Follow your uncle and take care of yourself. Be diligent and quick, and don’t be afraid to ask questions or take action.”

Li Yu had already taken out his luggage and bowed to Li Guoxing, then looked at Li Yan and Li Shan with tears in his eyes.

“Brother Shan, Brother Yan… come visit me when you’re free!”

He said, almost crying.

Li Yan and Li Shan also forced a smile, answering separately.

“Okay, we’ll come visit you when we’re free…”

“Little Yu, do your best, and when your Brother Shan comes, I’ll eat the dishes you cook, and make sure to save some for me!”

“Uh-huh!”

Li Yu nodded heavily.

The manager smiled at this scene.

“Let’s go.”

He said, and with a nod to Li Guoxing, he turned and walked into the wine shop, with Li Yu following behind him, carrying his luggage. Li Yu looked back several times, reluctant to part, before finally disappearing into the wine shop.

Li Guoxing watched them disappear behind the door, then called out to Li Yan and Li Shan to get on the horse-drawn carriage. He untied the reins from the tree and sat back on the driver’s seat, seeing the heavy hearts of the two brothers. He couldn’t help but point at them.

“Men should be brave and strong, don’t be so weak and timid. You’re here to learn a trade, and when you’ve learned it, you can bring your parents here. That’s what a real man does.”

He said, then didn’t look back at them again, driving the horse-drawn carriage forward.

The carriage continued on its way, turning several corners before stopping in front of a place called “Ironware Pavilion”.

Just like before, Li Guoxing let Li Shan get off the carriage and follow him, leaving Li Yan alone to guard the carriage.

After a while, Li Guoxing and Li Shan returned, but this time they were followed by two people.

The first person was a tall, muscular man with a bare upper body, his muscles rippling in the sunlight like a group of mice jumping on his body. He had thick eyebrows and was around 40 years old.

Next to him was a half-grown boy, about the same size as Li Shan, but with a sturdy build, large hands, and large feet, bigger than Li Shan by a circle.

Li Yan later learned that the muscular man was Master Lu Qi, a master craftsman who made excellent ironware. He was skilled in both military equipment and farming tools, and was familiar with the local garrison troops, often helping them repair their weapons.

The person beside him was his senior apprentice, Liang Shi. Li Shan had now become the second apprentice.

The subsequent events unfolded similarly to Li Yu’s earlier departure. Li Guoxing gave some instructions, and Li Shan also bid farewell to Li Guoxing and Li Yan with tears in his eyes, following the two men.

The young boy had experienced several partings in one day, and his emotions were now at an all-time low.

Li Guoxing looked up at the sky and said to Li Yan, “We should hurry to the martial arts training ground. It’s probably around noon now, and if we’re late, it might be tomorrow already.”

Li Yan also quickly composed himself, nodding in agreement. He was now feeling sentimental, thinking about his parents and siblings, and the earlier scenes with Li Yu and Li Shan had left him feeling emotional.

However, he knew that he could only take things one step at a time and couldn’t turn back now. As for his future, he was uncertain and confused.

Li Guoxing drove the horse-drawn carriage, hurrying towards a destination. After about half an hour, they arrived at a large gate surrounded by high walls.

Li Yan looked at the walls, which curved outwards in both directions, and couldn’t see the entire range of the walls, suggesting that the area inside was enormous.

Li Guoxing stopped the horse-drawn carriage at a distance and tied the reins to a post. There were already many horses and carriages gathered there. Li Guoxing quickly tidied up, then led Li Yan towards the gate.

At the gate, there were over ten soldiers guarding the entrance, and there were also over ten young men and women, as well as some escorts. They looked at Li Guoxing and Li Yan, but didn’t show much surprise, instead looking towards the soldiers and the gate, as if waiting to enter.

When Li Guoxing and Li Yan arrived at the gate, a soldier walked towards them.

“Are you here to participate in the Imperial Guard recruitment?”

Li Guoxing pointed to Li Yan, then bowed and replied, “Yes, sir, he’s here to take the exam.”

The soldier pointed to Li Yan and said, “Good, then you can go with this group of people.”

Li Yan quickly followed the soldier, taking his place at the end of the line of young men.

The soldier looked at them, then turned to Li Guoxing and said, “You can wait over there. The results should be out around noon, and we’ll know whether you’ve passed or not.”

At this point, Li Guoxing finally noticed that on the other side of the gate, farther away, there was a dense crowd of people sitting or standing, each one craning their necks to look in this direction. It seemed that these people had arrived earlier to escort the new recruits.

Looking at the scene, Li Guoxing thought that there should be many participants in this recruitment. After all, the responsibility of the Imperial Guard was still a coveted position that stirred the hearts of many villagers.

Li Guoxing glanced at Li Yan, and Li Yan also looked back at him. Li Guoxing pointed to that area and then pointed to himself, indicating that he would wait for him over there.

Li Yan nodded slightly to show that he understood, and Li Guoxing then followed the dozen or so people who had arrived earlier to the waiting area.