Chapter 2 Dragons and Tripods

As he saw the cloud pattern, the experiences from ten years ago seemed to surge before Li Guanyi's eyes once again.

Having hidden his real name and lived incognito outside for ten years, always dodging and hiding, those years had been calm. But now, the illusory calmness, fragile as a bubble, was shattered. The cloud pattern from a decade ago reappeared, the smell of blood lingering at his nostrils; the big man's hands were as hard as iron, and Li Guanyi's efforts to pry them off were utterly futile.

The big man supported his waist knife with one hand, his tiger-like eyes sweeping around with a murderous air.

No one around dared to speak, only the suppressed cries of pain and gasps from those three martial artists could be heard.

But these cries of pain only turned everyone's faces even paler.

This was the largest herbal medicine shop on the old streets of East Guan Yi City, hiring three guards who were martial artists. They usually trained by lifting millstones, capable of chopping down large trees with the thickness of a bowl with just one strike, but now they had been kicked and couldn't get up for a long time; everyone just covered their noses and mouths, their faces filled with panic.

All they could do was look with pity at the youth being lifted by the neck.

Only the shopkeeper of Huichun Hall bustled over with a hurried bow, revealing a flattering smile. He grabbed the big man's arm and hurriedly stuffed a bulging pouch into his sleeve while obsequiously apologizing with a smile,

"Misunderstanding, misunderstanding, my lord, could there have been some kind of mistake?"

"Our Huichun Hall is an old and reputable establishment in Guan Yi City, conducting our modest business with integrity and always abiding by the law. How could we possibly harbor a fugitive wanted by the court? Could there be some misunderstanding? Let's talk this over slowly."

"This child is in poor health, I'm afraid it could lead to loss of life, having the blood of a man on my lord's hands would be inauspicious."

The big man bellowed angrily,"Hmph, you slick old swine, are you implying that I have wronged you?"

With a casual toss, he threw Li Guanyi flying, and with a quick grab, the bulging money pouch fell into his own robe. Perhaps because the shopkeeper had offered a sufficiently tempting sum, Li Guanyi wasn't smashed against the wall – he crashed onto a table instead. The solid wood table cracked with a snap, and the young man fell heavily to the ground.

A flash of red light gleamed from within the bronze tripod at his chest. Li Guanyi only felt a sharp pain in his back, yet his vitals were unharmed; his back must have already turned into a bruised, swollen mess. He barely turned over and lay there, hiding his face while a sudden calm came over him —

They weren't here for him.

The shopkeeper kept on pleading, invoking various relationships with the city's high-ranking officials, to no avail. The big man gestured with a hand, and a group of sword-wielding men rushed into Huichun Hall like crazed invaders, violently searching. They went through every medicine cabinet.

Within mere moments of burning incense, Huichun Hall was in total disarray.

Different herbs scattered across the floor, their fragrances filling the air; every room was turned upside-down, and the pharmacists and physicians of Huichun Hall stood pale-faced and trembling, wanting to speak up but unable to utter a sound.

Li Guanyi lay on the ground, watching the young man step inside.

The big man hurriedly stepped forward, bowing deeply, and said, "My lord."

The young man waved his hand dismissively as his pristine boots stepped over Li Guanyi lying in front of him, seemingly loathing to tread on the scattered herbs on the floor. He stepped on the young man's back as he walked by; Li Guanyi's back was already bruised and swollen from the fall, and this step caused unbearable pain, but he suppressed any sound.

The young man was dressed in clean, luxurious clothing, his right sleeve hanging down, dense with white cloud patterns. He spoke indifferently,

"Not found?"

The big man answered respectfully, "We've searched several times, indeed we have not found anything."

The old shopkeeper continued to wear a smile on the side.

The young man didn't even glance at him but simply nodded and murmured, "It seems the criminal is sly, shopkeeper..."

The old shopkeeper quickly responded, "I'm here, here, what is your command, sir?"

The young man took out a scroll, shook it fiercely, and spread it out toward the people below, asking, "Have you seen this man?"

The old shopkeeper looked closely; the scroll depicted a middle-aged man with only a few strokes.

With curly beard and hair, his leonine eyes even conveyed a daunting presence on the drawing, resembling an anthropomorphic Azure Dragon. The old shopkeeper shuddered instinctively and said, "No, no, I don't recognize him..."

The young man watched him, a flicker of light crossing his eyes as he used a secret technique to confirm that the shopkeeper indeed had never seen this man.

Lifting his chin slightly, the big man at his side pulled out a piece of paper and threw it, barking,

"Bring out all the medicine listed here for your lord!"

The young man said impassively, "The fugitive has been injured; he will need these drugs for his recovery."

"Your shop's medicine has been requisitioned by the authorities; once we catch the criminal, they will surely be returned in full."

The old shopkeeper internally groaned, almost crying out loud.

The government opens its mouth twice, and what goes in, how could it possibly be returned? Seeing the brutality of the big man, where could the shopkeeper dare to speak back? He could only let these sword-bearing brutes carry away all the medicine. Aside from the regular ingredients, rare tonics like Ganoderma and ginseng were taken away in large quantities; the old shopkeeper knew this was an opportunistic looting. Watching them, he dared not express his anger.

The youth in the black cloud-patterned garment walked out leisurely, the big man following deferentially, helping the young man onto his horse. Glancing around, the big man shook out the scroll and nailed it to the signboard of Huichun Hall. The scroll fluttered down and unraveled as he announced loudly, "This man is a major criminal of the court, plotting to break the prison. If anyone discovers traces of this man, report to the government office."

"If the information is valid, they shall receive a reward of five hundred taels of silver."

One tael of silver was worth about one hundred to two hundred copper coins, and the value of silver was high.

Five hundred taels would amount to roughly six hundred thousand copper coins.

A massive sum!

Onlookers immediately realized that this must truly be a heinous and vicious criminal. A jailbreak it was said to be, but whose prison had to be broken into to warrant such a high bounty? Regardless, this person was certainly extremely dangerous.

This group of people moved like the wind, quickly heading towards another large pharmacy.

The burly man, as swift as a flying horse, came up laughing beside the young man, "Your Excellency is wise. That thief is badly injured and must need these herbs for his recovery. We'll just empty all the pharmacies in the surrounding cities," he laughed heartily. "Let's see how he heals without them. We probably won't even need to lift a finger."

The young man spoke indifferently, "Yue Qianfeng possesses unparalleled martial arts, bears the Dragon and Tiger Dharma Form, and ranks forty-second on the Dharma Form list."

"Even if he was injured by the Great General and the current Sword Immortal of the Luzhou Sword House, it won't be easy for him to die."

"Moreover, the Wan Li Tracking Hounds have been summoned."

The burly man was momentarily startled, then had a sudden realization, and chuckled, "I see. So we are openly seizing medicinal herbs to force Yue Qianfeng out, while actually it's an act to lull him into complacency. If he comes out, that's best. If he becomes suspicious and hides, once the Wan Li Tracking Hounds arrive, we can directly find him!"

The young man said, "There is a third reason."

The burly man listened attentively.

The young man said leisurely, "Inside the government office, they're missing some medicine."

Riding on a tall horse and looking down at the passing commoners, he spoke softly, "We protect the commoners. Without us, how could they enjoy their good days?"

"Just borrowing a bit, that's all."

"It's good to have such an opportunity, no need to find another excuse to take the medicine. It saves you and me some effort. These petty citizens can be of use to us, they too are contributing to the country, and they should take pride in that."

...

"Ouch, it hurts."

"Hiss—be gentle, be gentle..."

"It's painful."

In Huichun Hall, however, there was a symphony of groans. Some were packing up the medicine while others helped the three martial masters up. Dr. Chen helped Li Guanyi up and looked at the young man's bruised back, sighing, "That was a nasty fall, but thankfully the lungs and viscera are unhurt. That's very fortunate."

"I'll prescribe you some ointment. Apply it when you get back, and you should recover quicker."

Li Guanyi, grimacing in pain, managed to amuse Elder Chen with a wince.

The cheer vanished from the doctor's face as he looked outside and said, "Ah... such aggressive momentum. It seems they're going to ruin all the pharmacies and medical halls in the city, not knowing who they're performing for. Here they come again."

Li Guanyi said, "As long as it has nothing to do with us, that's fine."

The old doctor sighed, "Yes, those Ti Qi always act so high-handedly. Look at these medicinal herbs, they're either for Qi cultivation or for calming the spirit. This time, it's probably not even about some fugitive. They're probably just short of some medicine for their own cultivation and decided to take a bite out of us."

Li Guanyi took the medicine from the doctor and said softly:

"Elder Chen, there are too many ears around."

The old man stopped speaking, added some tonics to the young man's prescription, patted him on the shoulder, and went back to his work.

The customers of Huichun Hall had dispersed, leaving a heavy atmosphere in the shop. Li Guanyi, having sustained injuries, decided to head back early. On his way home, he bought a roast chicken, a jug of old wine, a few steamed buns and slowly made his way. His house was situated in a secluded location, and he took a deserted side path where he was the only one walking.

There was a dilapidated Mountain God Temple up ahead.

He stopped.

The bronze tripod at Li Guanyi's chest began to warm slightly.

Within the imprint of the bronze tripod, the red Jade Liquid gradually started to accumulate, driving away the cold feeling of the toxins and being replaced by a healthy vitality. The bronze tripod glowed faintly, an aura flowing into his eyes, allowing him to see some special existences with the naked eye.

He looked up, faint blue light shimmering in his eyes. In his line of sight, a creature beyond the mundane was circling slowly above the Mountain God Temple.

With scales of crimson armor flowing like clouds, it perched tranquilly, as if connecting with the mist at the horizon. Behind it lay the city, literary men passing by on horseback, shy and timid beauties, water droplets ticking past the ancient path on a green horse, knowledgeable doctors swaying their heads, and children running and laughing.

All of this seemed to be crawling beneath the existence of this being.

That being was so majestic, so serenely looking down upon the little young man in front of the temple.

Dragon.

Li Guanyi steadied himself, feeling the imprint of the bronze tripod gradually accumulating Jade Liquid.

Bowing his head, he ignored the dragon and entered the Mountain God Temple, which hadn't seen many visitors in a year.

Inside the decrepit temple, he looked up, his gaze skillfully falling on a hardly noticeable position at the very edge.

There sat a beggar.

He had a tall stature that was extremely uncommon among ordinary beggars, his clothes were shabby and stained, his eyes closed, his eyebrows unkempt, his back straight, his large hands resting on his knees, his facial hair fluttering in the wind, and he sat quietly and composedly, like a calm tiger in the night.

He was the spitting image of the portrait hanging in Huichun Hall.