Chapter 36: Autumn Nears Its End

After completing his morning exercises and breathing techniques as usual, Jiang Wang sent Jiang An'an to school, then headed out of town to see Du Yehu off.

In these times, going on a long journey wasn't easy; it was filled with the bitterness of parting and the possibility of death.

The reason humans lived in villages, towns, and cities was largely due to the endless wild beasts, as well as the ferocious beasts and demon beasts lurking in the mountains and wilderness.

Towns were safe, and so were the official roads. It wasn't that the formations engraved on the official roads were foolproof; the Zhuang Court couldn't and wouldn't make such a huge investment. In fact, the effects of those formations were mostly deterrents.

A more useful method was that the Zhuang Court would dispatch powerful cultivators to regularly clear these roads – officially called "plowing the land" – to ensure that those unintelligent but instinctively sensitive ferocious beasts remembered the danger and dared not approach easily.

With Du Yehu's strength, as long as he stayed on the official road, there wasn't much danger.

When Jiang Wang arrived at the outskirts of the city, Zhao Rucheng and Ling He were already there, and no one else. Among the brothers, Du Yehu was the most outgoing and had the most friends, but he didn't like sentimental farewells, so he didn't tell anyone else about his enlistment, but asked Ling He to inform them later.

A table of wine and dishes was set up on the open ground, undoubtedly Zhao Rucheng's handiwork.

Jiang Wang took out the "Four Spirits Body Tempering Art," which he had copied overnight, and handed it to Du Yehu.

Du Yehu's eyes lit up after flipping through just two pages. "Third brother, this is great stuff!"

"Let me see, let me see," Zhao Rucheng eagerly crowded over.

But after reading only a few lines, he turned away. "Body tempering? That must be tiring."

"Such a good cultivation method!" Du Yehu said, exasperated. "If you read it a few more times, you wouldn't want to put it down."

Although he immediately recognized that this cultivation method was a complete and upgraded version of the White Tiger Body Tempering Art, he didn't ask Jiang Wang where it came from. Jiang Wang would naturally tell him when he wanted to. Everyone had their own secrets, even Jiang An'an had her own little secrets she didn't want to share, so there was no need to pry.

He also didn't have the idea of keeping it to himself. He loved this cultivation method at first sight and hoped that the other brothers wouldn't miss out on it.

Zhao Rucheng waved his hand. "Too long; didn't read."

Du Yehu turned to Ling He, who shook his head. "I'm focusing on stabilizing my Tongtian Palace after opening my meridians right now. I can't be distracted by other cultivation methods for the time being."

He was a steady person, taking one step at a time. The brothers' combined Dao merits were only twenty points short. These days, he had been doing tasks, but tasks that required entering the ranks were difficult for his strength to handle. He mostly followed his senior brothers and did some peripheral work, so he earned very few Dao merits, usually one or two points at a time, and sometimes nothing at all. But no matter what, he was getting closer and closer to transcendence.

Jiang Wang smiled and said, "I'll also use this cultivation method to temper my body. When we meet again, let's see who has cultivated deeper."

"I'm not as talented as you in swordsmanship, but in this military cultivation method... hehe, just you wait and see," Du Yehu said confidently.

"Then, see you in Xin'an!"

"See you in Xin'an."

Jiang Wang and the others would go to Xin'an City on the day they entered the State Dao Academy. And Du Yehu would go to Xin'an City only after becoming a general with real power in the Jiujiang Black Armor Army, so he could participate in military exercises in the Zhuang capital.

No matter how grand the imagination of the future was, it was all in the casual words of the young men.

The brothers ate a few bites and chatted for a while. Except for Ling He, who never drank, the other three drank three large bowls each as a farewell toast. No one shed any tears.

Then, Du Yehu raised another bowl of wine towards the southwest, but said nothing, just poured it out.

Everyone knew who he was saying goodbye to.

Du Yehu was leaving for Jiujiang through the south gate, taking the official road. And the path leading to the Green Willow River was in the southwest direction.

The Jiujiang Black Armor's recruitment was made easy by both the Ministry of War and the Dao Academy. After all, this army could be said to be the face of the Zhuang Kingdom. So, he didn't need too many procedures to leave the city's Dao Academy.

Everything that needed to be said had already been said. One must part ways eventually after sending a friend off for a thousand miles.

"I'm off!"

In the end, Du Yehu only said this, then carried his bag and set off empty-handed.

At that time, there was no wind or rain, and the clouds gradually cleared.

And autumn was coming to an end.

...

Lin Zhenglun, as a collateral descendant of the Lin family of Wangjiang City, had been in the limelight recently.

First, he married a widow and was ridiculed, but he didn't care. After the marriage, the couple was loving and harmonious. A few days later, he pried open the medicinal herb market in Fenglin City, which undoubtedly earned him considerable recognition in Wangjiang City, where commerce was highly valued, and he used this to start controlling the Lin family's internal medicinal herb business.

He might even change from a collateral line to the嫡脉(dí mài) - direct line, and become a phoenix.

Only then did people realize that the widow he married was not simple. She brought a dowry! The most reputable medicinal herb shop in the entire Fengxi Town.

Who didn't know that the medicinal herb business in Fenglin City depended entirely on the harvest in Fengxi Town? And in Fengxi Town, Jiang's Medicinal Herb Shop was well-known far and wide, and held a leading position. Of course, now it was surnamed Lin.

Initially, the Lin family's medicinal herbs tried every means to squeeze into Fenglin City, but made little progress. No one expected that Lin Zhenglun would take a different approach and break the deadlock with a marriage. This made many people regret their belated awareness, because the widow herself was quite beautiful, not to mention the benefits she brought!

Wangjiang Tower stood in Wangjiang City. Sitting in Wangjiang Tower and looking into the distance, the body of the mighty Qingjiang River, like a dragon, danced before one's eyes.

Lin Zhenglun sat in the main seat, toasting with his newly acquainted friends, listening to the chorus of flattery from everyone present, feeling very proud.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of footsteps climbing the stairs was so clear. Lin Zhenglun turned his head, about to see who was so clueless. He, Lin the magnate, had clearly reserved this floor.

As soon as he looked, everyone sitting with him stood up one after another.

"Young Master Lin."

"Young Master Lin!"

There were many young masters surnamed Lin, but there was only one who could make so many prominent figures present nod and bow. That was the direct son of the Lin family's patriarch, the confirmed future patriarch of the Lin family, Lin Zhengli.

Lin Zhenglun subconsciously wanted to get up, but forcibly restrained himself. He remained seated and said with a smile, "Zhengli, why are you free to come to Wangjiang Tower today? I've already reserved this floor. You can all have fun as you please. The expenses will be charged to my account."

After all, he was still this young master Lin's elder brother. In the past, when he was low in status and had no power, there was nothing to say. Now, relying on great merits, he had joined the嫡脉(dí mài) - direct line. It was only right to discuss seniority and arrange seating.

Even though he couldn't compete with Lin Zhengli for the position of heir to the Lin family's patriarch, he was about to take control of the entire family's medicinal herb business, so he naturally had the confidence to speak while sitting.

As soon as he said this, the young masters following Lin Zhengli behind him all laughed. They were all sons of various dignitaries. Even though they laughed inexplicably, Lin Zhenglun couldn't say anything.

Lin Zhengli himself was very calm. He even bowed to Lin Zhenglun and said, "Brother Zhenglun is too kind."

At Lin Zhenglun's eager invitation, Lin Zhengli sat down and said with a smile, "There hasn't been much of an opportunity. Now that I've happened to run into you today, I have some things I want to say to my brother."

Lin Zhenglun glanced around quite self-importantly, as if to say, "Look at that, how much respect does the future patriarch of the Lin family have for me?"

But he said modestly, "Zhengli, you're too polite. Feel free to say anything. As your elder brother, I'm a few years older and always have some life experience to share with you."

"That's good." Lin Zhengli smiled. "Has the medicinal herb business in Fenglin City been consolidated?"

This question scratched his itch, and Lin Zhenglun laughed loudly. "With me in charge, how could I not take it down? Zhengli, you just watch. In no more than two or three years, the entire medicinal herb market in the Fenglin City region will belong to our Lin family!"

"That's good, that's good." Lin Zhengli nodded repeatedly. "In that case, brother can rest assured and go to Qiuyuan to recuperate."

"That's right!" Lin Zhenglun first subconsciously echoed, then immediately reacted. "Wh... what?!"

Qiuyuan sounded like a nice place, but it was just a place for the elderly and widowed in the family to retire. How old was Lin Zhenglun? How could he be going to retire?

"Zhengli, don't make such jokes," Lin Zhenglun said with a forced smile.

Lin Zhengli put away his smile. "I never joke. I'll personally take over the medicinal herb business."

The young masters who came upstairs with him laughed again. The laughter was very light, but it sounded very heavy.

The autumn wind blew across the Qingjiang River, and then into Wangjiang Tower, blowing on Lin Zhenglun.

He realized he couldn't resist.

Only then did he feel cold.

So it was already late autumn. He thought.