Chapter 6: The Difficult Wait

On the other side.

Qian Qi, a large man in black riding a tall horse, watched from a distance. He saw Cheng Buzheng walk into Yaoshan Town with his own eyes, and then, without a moment's delay, he turned around and headed back the way he came.

At the exact moment the man in black turned his horse to return, Cheng Buzheng, who had originally walked into the medicinal herb town, emerged from a corner and quietly watched the retreating figure.

He recognized this person; he was one of the mounted guards on either side of the Qian family's convoy.

Cheng Buzheng turned silently and walked into the town. Nearly a full day of continuous travel had left him exhausted, and besides, this was certainly not the best time to leave Yaoshan Town.

He found an inn in a remote corner of Yaoshan Town, filled his stomach, and then collapsed onto a bed to sleep soundly.

At night, in the early hours of the morning.

In a remote corner of Yaoshan Town, a small figure emerged from an inn.

Cheng Buzheng walked out of the town under the cover of darkness. Fortunately, the moonlight spilled down, so it wasn't too dark to roughly see the road. He walked along the main road toward the county seat. He stumbled and fell countless times along the way; a journey that should have taken one hour ended up taking him three full hours.

Through the moonlight, Cheng Buzheng saw three large characters carved atop the city gate: "Ping'an County." At this moment, he looked wretched, his clothes stained with much dirt, and his face was smudged as well.

At first glance, he was indistinguishable from a little beggar. The only difference was the dirt-covered bundle he held in his hand.

Seeing that the city gates were tightly closed, Cheng Buzheng knew that a youth appearing to be a beggar could not simply command the gate guards to open the doors and let him into the county seat.

Only the powerful, wealthy clans or high-ranking figures held such privilege. For ordinary people, the guards wouldn't even spare them a glance; unless the money was right, they wouldn't even look at a few measly coins.

Cheng Buzheng knew it was impossible to enter the county seat now. He would have to wait until the hour of the Rabbit when the guards would open the gates. He calculated silently in his heart; it would be about another hour.

The night wind was bone-chillingly cold, prompting him to tighten his clothes as he prepared to find a place to shelter from the wind.

Before long, he found a hollow in the city wall that could block the night wind. He crouched in a corner, waiting quietly for the gates to open.

He did not know how much time had passed. Cheng Buzheng endured the night chill in silence, his entire body shivering from the cold.

Suddenly.

"Squeak... squeak..."

The sound came from the city gate. Cheng Buzheng looked up. Having been crouching for a long time, he stood up with difficulty and stretched his limbs. Although his face was still somewhat stiff, he could at least move.

At this moment, the sun had not yet risen.

He walked slowly toward the city gate and found that elderly women selling vegetables and old men selling charcoal were already lining up to enter.

As time passed, the line moved forward. Before long, it was his turn. After a brief inspection by two guards, he was allowed in.

Cheng Buzheng knew that these guards' conduct was no different from those in the town; every copper coin was at risk of being stolen. Therefore, he had long ago hidden his money in a compartment in the soles of his shoes to avoid such a fate.

This money was his usual pocket money, enough to sustain him until the arrival of the Immortal; otherwise, he would have to live by begging.

To meet an Immortal, one had to maintain clean clothes and a tidy appearance to avoid causing any offense. Cheng Buzheng could only do the absolute best he could; the rest was up to fate.

The sun began to rise, and the sky turned slightly bright.

Cheng Buzheng wandered through the county seat until he finally found the cheapest inn. Although it was in a corner of the county and quite simple, the price was comparable to the inns in Yaoshan Town.

It was a bargain.

Cheng Buzheng opened the door to his room and laid out the contents of his muddy bundle on the bed: clean shoes and clothes, three porcelain bottles, and a cleaned calligraphy brush.

After fetching some hot water and washing up.

He took the brush and the three porcelain bottles from the bed. Looking at his clear reflection in the wooden bucket, he opened the bottles and used the brush to apply the pigments inside, continuously painting his face.

By now, the sky had brightened, and Cheng Buzheng had finished his makeup.

His originally somewhat sallow face had become very fair. His sword-like eyebrows looked heroic and spirited; his entire countenance was completely different from before. Unless someone who knew him well looked closely, they would certainly not recognize him.

The pigment in the porcelain bottles was an essence he had obtained from processing medicinal herbs. Plain water could not wash it off; it could only be removed with specialized medicinal liquid.

Cheng Buzheng did this because he feared someone from the Qian family would recognize him. Given Qian Zhe's harsh temperament, the consequences of being seen in the county seat would be unimaginable!

It wouldn't just be trouble for him alone; even his family would be implicated. One must always prepare for the worst.

Once his belongings were packed away.

Cheng Buzheng lay on the bed, thinking silently, and before he knew it, he fell into a deep sleep.

In the evening, the setting sun shone through the window, casting golden light upon Cheng Buzheng's face.

His eyebrows twitched slightly. After a moment, he opened his drowsy eyes, glanced at the sky, and felt a pang of hunger. After tidying himself up, he left the inn.

Many vendors were shouting their wares in the streets, creating a bustling scene. Along both sides of the street were many stalls selling buns, toasted flatbreads, wontons...

Cheng Buzheng bought two of the cheapest flatbreads to solve his hunger.

Afterward, he wandered around the county seat, slowly familiarizing himself with the terrain to make all necessary preparations.

He knew that the arrival of the Immortal would cause a massive sensation. Over the next few days, he planned to wander the county once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Fortunately, the county was not large, so he had enough time.

Cheng Buzheng ate flatbreads every day for his three meals, trying his best to spend as little money as possible to sustain himself for a longer time. Although the inn's cost was not high, it was hard to withstand the passage of many days!

Otherwise, he would have to sleep on the streets, where he would likely be driven out of the county by the guards. After all, at this critical moment before the Immortal's arrival, those officials wanted to maintain their dignity and would not care about the survival of beggars.

When the critical moment arrived, he would have no time to earn money. At his current age, even if he did earn money, he wouldn't be able to keep it—it would be like a child carrying gold through a crowded market, seeking his own death.

One morning.

While wandering and lost in thought, Cheng Buzheng muttered to himself

"With my current money, I only have enough for seven days of lodging, and I still need to buy flatbread every day... Sigh... I wonder when the Immortal will descend!"

Despite the worry in his heart, his expression remained as still as a stagnant pool, undisturbed.

Suddenly, screams of alarm came from the distance.

"The Immortal is coming! The Immortal is truly coming!"

In an instant, the crowds surged, everyone looking toward the distant sky.

"It really is an Immortal! I saw one ten years ago!"

"I want to become a disciple of the Immortal!"

For a moment, almost everyone looked extremely excited, and discussions broke out everywhere.

Cheng Buzheng looked up at the distant sky. He saw a white jade boat that had originally been only ten feet in size. As the boat approached from the distance, its size continued to grow larger and larger.

A sigh of relief finally escaped his heart.

"Finally, they've come... If they hadn't, I would have ended up on the streets!"