Chapter 36: Autumn is Fading

As usual, after completing his morning exercises and breathing techniques, Jiang Wang sent Jiang An'an off to school before heading out of the city to see Du Yehu off.

In this era, traveling long distances was not a simple matter, but a bitter experience filled with the potential for life and death.

The reason humans clustered in villages, settled in towns, and found security in cities was largely due to the inexhaustible number of wild beasts, and even the ferocious beasts and demons lurking in the mountains and wilderness.

Towns were safe; beyond them lay only the official roads. It wasn't that the formations etched into the official roads were infallible—the Manor could not, nor would it, afford such a massive expenditure—but in reality, the effect of those formations was primarily for deterrence.

A more effective method was that the Manor would mobilize powerful cultivators to periodically sweep these roads—officially termed "plowing"—to ensure that those beasts lacking intelligence but possessing keen intuition would remember the danger and not dare to approach easily.

With Du Yehu's strength, as long as he stuck to the official roads, there wouldn't be much danger.

When Jiang Wang arrived at the outskirts of the city, Zhao Rucheng and Ling He were there, but no one else. Among the brothers, Du Yehu was the most heroic and had the most friends, but he disliked sentimental displays, so he had not informed the others about his enlistment, instead entrusting Ling He to convey the news later.

A table of food had been set out in the wild, undoubtedly the work of Zhao Rucheng.

Jiang Wang pulled the *Four Spirits Body Refining Manual*, which he had transcribed overnight, from his robe and handed it to Du Yehu.

After flipping through only two pages, Du Yehu's eyes gleamed like a tiger's. "Third Brother, this is the good stuff!"

"Let me see, let me see," Zhao Rucheng leaned in with great curiosity.

But after reading only a few lines, he turned away. "Body refining? That sounds exhausting."

"Such a great technique!" Du Yehu said, exasperated by his friend's lack of appreciation. "If you read a few more lines, you won't be able to put it down."

Although he could tell at a glance that this technique was a complete, sublimated version of the *White Tiger Body Refining Manual*, he did not ask Jiang Wang about its source. If Jiang Wang wanted to tell him, he would. Everyone had their own secrets; even Jiang An'an had her own little matters she wasn't willing to disclose. There was no need to pry.

He had no intention of keeping it to himself either; he had fallen in love with this technique at first sight and hoped his other brothers wouldn't miss out.

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

Du Yehu turned to Ling He, who shook his head. "I am currently focusing on stabilizing my meridians through the Heavenly Palace; I cannot afford to be distracted by other techniques for now."

He had a steady temperament, taking one step at a time. If the brothers pooled their Dao Marks together, they would be only twenty or so points short. He had been taking on missions lately, but with his current strength, he struggled to handle high-ranking ones; he mostly followed his senior brothers to do the grunt work, so the Dao Marks he earned were minimal—usually just one or two points, sometimes nothing at all. But regardless, he was getting closer and closer to the Transcendent realm.

Jiang Wang said with a smile, "I will also use this technique for body refining. When we meet again, let's see who has cultivated more deeply."

"My swordsmanship talent might not match yours, but this military cultivation method... hehe, just you wait and see," Du Yehu said with full confidence.

"Then, see you in Xin'an!"

"See you in Xin'an."

For Jiang Wang and the others, going to Xin'an City would naturally be the day they entered the National Academy. For Du Yehu to go to Xin'an City, he would need to at least reach the rank of a practical general within the Nine Rivers Black Armor to attend the martial arts demonstrations in the Manor Capital.

Grand imaginations of the future were woven into the casual banter of the youths.

The brothers ate a few bites and chatted for a while. Except for the non-drinking Ling He, the other three drank three large bowls each as a farewell toast; no one shed tears.

Then, Du Yehu raised a bowl toward the southwest, but said nothing, simply pouring it out.

Everyone knew who he was saying goodbye to.

Du Yehu's journey to Nine Rivers would be via the southern gate and the official roads. The path leading to the banks of the Green Willow River lay to the southwest.

The recruitment for the Nine Rivers Black Armor was wide open from the Ministry of War to the Academy; after all, it was no exaggeration to say this army was the pride of the Manor State. Thus, his departure from the City Academy required little formality.

The words that needed to be said had already been spoken; even a thousand-mile send-off must end in parting.

"I'm off!"

Finally, Du Yehu said only this, shouldered his bundle, and set off empty-handed.

At that moment, there was no wind or rain, and the clouds were gradually parting.

And autumn was drawing to a close.

...

As a branch descendant of the Lin clan in Wangjiang City, Lin Zhenglun had recently been stealing the spotlight.

First, he was mocked for marrying a widow, but he paid no mind, and the couple lived in harmony after the marriage. A few days later, he broke into the medicinal herb market of Maple Forest City. In the highly commercial Wangjiang City, this undoubtedly earned him considerable recognition and allowed him to begin controlling the Lin clan's internal medicinal herb business.

It seemed he might turn from a branch member into a direct descendant, like a sparrow transforming into a phoenix.

It was only then that people realized the widow he married was no simple woman. She came with a dowry! The most reputable medicinal herb shop in the entire Fengxi Town.

Who didn't know that the medicinal herb business of Maple Forest City depended on the harvests of Fengxi Town? And in Fengxi Town, the Jiang Family Pharmacy was famous far and wide, holding a dominant position. Of course, it had now changed its surname to Lin.

Previously, the Lin clan had tried every possible way to squeeze into the Maple Forest City market, but progress had been difficult. No one expected Lin Zhenglun to find a different path and break the deadlock through a marriage. This left many who realized it too late feeling regretful; after all, the widow herself was quite beautiful, let alone the immense profits she brought.

Atop the Wangjiang Tower in Wangjiang City, sitting inside and looking into the distance, the vast, surging Qing River moved like the body of a flood dragon before his eyes.

Lin Zhenglun sat in the seat of honor, clinking glasses with new friends, feeling quite smug as he listened to the tide of flattery from those present.

*Thud—thud—thud!*

The sound of footsteps ascending the stairs was so clear that Lin Zhenglun turned his head, about to see who was so tactless as to disturb him when he, the Great Master Lin, had clearly booked this entire floor.

As he looked, the people sitting with him all rose one after another.

"Young Master Lin."

"Young Master Lin!"

There were many young masters named Lin, but there was only one who could make so many prominent figures bow and scrape. That was the direct son of the Lin clan patriarch, the confirmed future patriarch of the Lin clan: Lin Zhengli.

Lin Zhenglun instinctively moved to rise, but he forced himself to stay seated, saying with a smile, "Brother Zhengli, what brings you to Wangjiang Tower today? I have booked this floor; please feel free to enjoy yourselves. Put all the expenses on my tab."

Indeed, technically, he was the elder brother of this Young Master Lin. Previously, when he was of low status, there was nothing to say, but now that he had gained great merit and entered the direct line, it was only natural to assert his seniority and seating order.

Even though he could never compete with Lin Zhengli for the position of clan patriarch, seeing as he was about to control the entire clan's medicinal herb business, he naturally had the confidence to sit and speak.

Upon hearing this, the young nobles following behind Lin Zhengli all laughed. They were all sons of various powerful families; even though their laughter seemed inexplicable, Lin Zhenglun could not say anything.

Lin Zhengli himself, however, was very composed. He even bowed to Lin Zhenglun with cupped hands. "Brother Zhenglun is too kind."

After taking a seat at Lin Zhenglun's earnest invitation, Lin Zhengli smiled and said, "I haven't had much opportunity until now, but since we have met by chance today, I have a few words I wish to say to my elder brother."

Lin Zhenglun glanced around quite proudly, as if to say, *See? Look how much the future patriarch of the Lin clan respects me!*

Yet, he spoke with intentional humility, "Brother Zhengli, you are too polite. Please, say whatever is on your mind. As your elder brother, I have a few years of life experience that I can share with you."

"That is good then," Lin Zhengli smiled. "Has the medicinal herb business in Maple Forest City been consolidated yet?"

This question hit the mark. Lin Zhenglun laughed loudly. "When I set out, how could I fail? Just watch, Brother Zhengli. In two or three years, all the medicinal herbs in the Maple Forest City region will bear our Lin surname!"

"That is good, that is good," Lin Zhengli nodded repeatedly. "In that case, brother can rest easy and go to the Autumn Garden to recuperate."

"Of course!" Lin Zhenglun echoed instinctively, before suddenly reacting, "Wha... what?!"

The Autumn Garden had a pleasant name, but it was merely a place for the clan's elderly and solitary to live out their lives. At his age, why should he be going to a retirement home?

"Brother Zhengli, don't joke like that," Lin Zhenglun forced a smile.

Lin Zhengli's smile vanished. "I never joke. Regarding the medicinal herbs, I will be taking over personally."

The young nobles who had come up the stairs with him laughed again. The laughter was light, yet it sounded incredibly heavy.

The autumn wind blew across the surface of the Qing River, drifted into the Wangjiang Tower, and brushed against Lin Zhenglun.

He realized he could not resist it.

Only then did he feel the cold.

*It is already late autumn,* he thought.

(End of Chapter)