Chapter 42: Six Years in the Blink of an Eye

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Chapter 42: Six Hasty Years

The following day.

Qin Yuan had just arrived at the Office of Left Historiography when he ran into Lin Dongze.

“You’re here early,” Qin Yuan said with a smile.

Lin Dongze glanced at the sun, which was already high in the sky, and smiled. “I just got here myself.”

Seeing that Lin Dongze appeared to have something to say, Qin Yuan invited him into his room.

They sat down, each with a cup of tea.

“Well? What is it?”

Lin Dongze pulled a letter from his robes and said sheepishly, “I don’t want to do this anymore.”

“All right.”

Qin Yuan did not offer a single word of protest.

That left Lin Dongze somewhat uncertain, and he hurried to explain. “During these past few months at the Office of Left Historiography, I’ve met many people and witnessed many things. I’ve realized that I’ll never accomplish anything here.”

“All right.”

Qin Yuan was still smiling, his reply brief and to the point.

Unable to hold back, Lin Dongze asked, “You’re really not angry?”

“You’re following your own path. I couldn’t be happier for you. Why would I be angry?”

As he spoke, Qin Yuan pulled a banknote worth three hundred taels of silver from his robes.

“I couldn’t possibly accept this.”

“This is an advance wedding gift.”

If he had not put it that way, Lin Dongze certainly would not have taken it. After all, their friendship was still rather shallow.

“But this is far too much.”

“You can pay me back someday.”

Only then did Lin Dongze accept it.

Qin Yuan suspected that he would never be able to repay him in this lifetime.

Firecrackers suddenly sounded outside, breaking the silence.

For a moment, it seemed as though the entire world had come alive.

“It’s New Year.”

“It’s New Year.”

In the blink of an eye, the sixth day of the lunar new year arrived—the day Lin Dongze was to marry the young lady of the Yun family.

The wedding was held in Tofu Pool Alley.

Lin Dongze’s father-in-law held no lofty position, but he had many friends, including more than one grandmaster.

Many guests came to the wedding.

Qin Yuan and several colleagues from the Office of Left Historiography could only squeeze around a single table.

Li Shoumin, who was visibly thinner and had a healthier complexion, ate only the greens in front of him and scarcely touched anything greasy.

Whenever anyone asked him about it, he gave the same two-word answer:

“Healthy living.”

A man who had spent every day with bloodshot eyes from lack of sleep had suddenly undergone a complete transformation.

His colleagues at the office were utterly bewildered.

“Mr. Zhao has arrived!”

Someone cried out in surprise.

Qin Yuan turned to look.

The newcomer was an ordinary-looking middle-aged man nearing forty. He looked no different from a commonplace schoolteacher.

As he conversed with the others, his reactions seemed slightly slow.

A typical scholar from an academy.

Qin Yuan did not go over to make conversation.

This man was nearly dead.

If he stood too close, blood might splash onto him.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Luoting came over of his own accord.

“Might you be Registrar Qin?” Zhao Luoting asked with a smile.

“That is me.”

Qin Yuan rose from his seat.

He had always maintained the most basic courtesy. He had never considered himself superior to others—apart from the occasional lapse.

“You stole my disciple without even saying a word,” Zhao Luoting said, pretending to be angry.

Lin Dongze was Zhao Luoting’s nominal disciple. Qin Yuan had heard him mention it before.

“You’re not the only one who stole your disciple.”

Qin Yuan glanced toward the bridal chamber.

The remark made everyone burst into laughter.

The courtyard filled with a joyful atmosphere.

Speak of the devil.

Lin Dongze, dressed in his groom’s robes, came over and asked with a smile, “What’s everyone laughing about?”

Someone explained the situation.

Lin Dongze joined in the laughter.

After a while, when everyone had finally settled down, Lin Dongze poured a cup of wine for both Qin Yuan and Zhao Luoting.

“Thank you both for your kindness. I’ll drink to your health first.”

After the toast, a sarcastic voice rang out.

“Hey, Zhao! Didn’t you claim to know the art of dragon-slaying? Why not give everyone a demonstration?”

Qin Yuan took a quick look.

It was a monster.

There was an eighty percent chance Duan Hu had sent it to test them.

Thud!

The monster collapsed.

Qin Yuan, along with everyone else, stared at Zhao Luoting in astonishment.

Zhao Luoting: “…”

Qin Yuan was not worried in the slightest that anyone would suspect him. There were plenty of eighth-rank and ninth-rank cultivators present, as well as grandmasters and several people who appeared weak but possessed unusual methods.

“The instructor’s dragon-slaying art is truly beyond the understanding of gods and ghosts,” Lin Dongze exclaimed.

The others followed suit with their praise.

Zhao Luoting could only give an awkward yet courteous smile.

And so, six years passed.

It was now the fifteenth year of the Shared Rule era. Qin Yuan had been in this world for twenty-eight years, and he was forty-eight years old.

Dozens of miles beneath the earth, everything around Qin Yuan had turned golden.

It was as though he were swimming through a sea of gold.

He was deliberately suppressing the power. Otherwise, the effect would have been even more intense.

“The Golden Membrane has finally reached perfection.”

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Qin Yuan inevitably became swollen with confidence once more.

It was time to prepare to make his move against the Empress Dowager.

He had endured her for a full twenty-eight years.

That was not a short time.

“I’ll act no later than the year after next.”

Qin Yuan set a reasonably definite deadline.

Smack!

Qin Yuan slapped himself across the face.

From within his qi sea, he took out the Diagram of the Old Emperor’s Death at the Hands of Duan Lang.

The illustration depicted Emperor Shitian being killed by Duan Lang.

He had drawn it to remind himself never to become reckless.

“Still, it would be better to find someone bold enough to blaze the trail while I follow behind and reap the benefits.”

Qin Yuan stroked his beard and spoke cautiously.

After a while, he withdrew the Golden Membrane and rose to his feet. As usual, he inspected his body.

The Dao Platform, where his spiritual sense resided, had grown from half the size of a fishpond into a small lake.

The Golden Membrane’s completion had surpassed one hundred percent. Qin Yuan called this the Transcendent Mountain-Sea tier, meaning it stood one level above the Mountain-Sea realm.

His qi sea had developed vertically, becoming the size of three coal mountains.

The Five Beasts’ Killing Art had reached the Mountain-Sea tier.

His Tyrant Blade technique had also reached the Mountain-Sea tier.

His magical power had increased from one hundred years’ worth to one hundred and seventy years’ worth.

After nodding in satisfaction, Qin Yuan—who had not left his home in six years—headed straight for Little A-Qiao’s breakfast shop.

The moment he sat down, a woman with a waist as thick as a barrel, coarse dark skin, dull eyes, and rough clothing brought him steamed dumplings and soybean curd pudding.

Eighteen years had passed since he first met Little A-Qiao.

Time was indeed a butcher’s knife. There was no denying it.

“Old Qin, I haven’t seen you in ages.”

So I’ve become Old Qin now.

Never mind. In a few years, I’ll come back under a new identity. Then I’ll still be Little Qin.

“I’ve been traveling outside these past few years,” Qin Yuan replied with a smile.

He picked up his chopsticks and spoon, eating while listening to the customers’ conversations.

They revolved mainly around two topics.

The first was people cursing the northern military governors for ignoring the monsters running rampant while waging war year after year, month after month.

The second concerned the southern frontier. Several popular societies had joined forces with other factions to form a small organization called the United Will Army. Its slogans were astonishing: destroy the alchemists, eliminate the monsters, and unify the realm. Its actions were equally bold. It had sworn an oath at a certain location and was preparing to march north.

After finishing his meal, Qin Yuan found a tea master at a nearby teahouse and asked him in detail about everything that had happened over the past six years.

After Mad Dog Feng died, a general nicknamed Scholar Wu took his place. In a short time, he had risen to a position comparable to Duan Hu’s.

Dongzhou, where Mount Changbai was located, had also seen the rise of a powerful military governor.

The north had already become a three-way struggle for supremacy.

Six years earlier, Zhao Luoting had managed to intimidate Duan Hu with Qin Yuan’s help. He was now famous throughout the realm and had become a figure approaching the level of a god.

The leader of the southern United Will Army was named Zheng Sanfa. He claimed to be the inheritor of Fisherman Song’s legacy. It was said that he had close ties with several major alchemists. He shouted slogans about destroying the alchemists, yet his body had already leaned toward them.

Another Wang Jixin.

Lin Dongze had also joined the United Will Army, and his position was not a low one.

…

Thanks to the reader Mu Jiu Coisini for the reward of one hundred reading points.

End of chapter.

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