The dense, suffocating canopy of the Primeval Ghost Forest gradually gave way to sprawling green hills, vast bamboo groves, and clear, winding tributaries.
By the late afternoon of the following day, Li-Wen had traversed over a hundred miles of rugged mountain wilderness, leaving the dangerous territory of Azure Mist City far behind. Ahead of him lay the tranquil, picturesque expanse of the Green River Region.
Nestled within a quiet valley surrounded by ancient pine forests and rushing mountain streams was Pine Creek Town. Unlike the grand, war-torn martial cities with their high iron walls and armaments, Pine Creek was a peaceful, low-profile trade town. Its streets were paved with worn grey cobblestones, lined with wooden tea houses, grain merchants, and small herbal shops catering to local mountain hunters and tea farmers.
To any outside observer, this town was a completely insignificant speck on the map of the province—a place where major cultivation clans would never waste their time searching.
Walking down the peaceful main avenue, Li-Wen looked like an entirely different person.
He had taken off his navy aristocratic robes, replacing them with a simple, dark blue scholar's gown made of coarse cotton. His long black hair was tied back with a clean bamboo ribbon, and over his shoulder hung a weathered bamboo basket filled with common medicinal herbs he had gathered along the forest trail.
Using a subtle technique from his ancient Divine Will, Li-Wen had suppressed the golden-purple resonance of his bones, completely cloaking his cultivation. To the eyes of any passerby, he appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary, delicate eighteen-year-old traveling scholar or a junior physician's apprentice.
"A quiet place with fresh air and simple people," Li-Wen thought smoothly, feeling the tranquil breeze brush against his cheeks. "The perfect environment to stabilize my Fourth-Stage Ki and nourish my spiritual foundation."
As he walked past the town square, he stopped before a quaint, two-story wooden building situated near a rushing stream. Above the entrance hung a dark oak plaque carved with three simple, elegant characters: Medicine Harmony Hall.
Inside the shop, the rich, earthy scent of dried ginseng, licorice root, and star anise filled the air. Rows of neatly arranged wooden medicine drawers covered the back wall, each labeled with various herbal names.
Behind the counter stood a middle-aged man in his early fifties named Doctor Song-Jiang.
Doctor Song-Jiang was the chief physician and owner of Medicine Harmony Hall. He possessed a kind, weathered face with gentle wrinkles around his eyes, wearing a clean, patched green robe. Although he had reached the Second Stage of Ki-Refine in his youth, he had long abandoned the brutal path of martial arts to dedicate his life to healing the common folk of Pine Creek.
Beside him was a lively, sharp-eyed twelve-year-old boy named Xiao-Lian, the shop's young apprentice. Xiao-Lian was currently using a small stone mortar to grind dried root stalks into powder, his forehead beaded with sweat.
"Old Master," Li-Wen spoke smoothly, stepping into the wooden shop. "Are you currently hiring an assistant or an herbal collector?"
Doctor Song-Jiang lowered the copper scales he was holding and looked up. He examined the young man standing before him—despite the simple, worn cotton robes, Li-Wen possessed a posture that was remarkably upright, his eyes clear, calm, and entirely devoid of the restless arrogance typical of young martial artists.
"A traveling scholar?" Doctor Song-Jiang asked kindly, placing his scales on the counter. "Young man, working in a medical shop requires more than just reading books. You must identify hundreds of wild herbs, understand their heating and cooling properties, and endure long hours of pounding powders."
"Master, we don't need another worker!" young Xiao-Lian chimed in, wiping his forehead with his sleeve. "I can grind fifty pounds of medicine roots every day by myself!"
Li-Wen smiled faintly. Without speaking, he stepped forward and reached into his bamboo basket, pulling out a handful of wild, greenish-brown roots he had picked near the riverbank.
"Seven-Leaf Earth Lotus," Li-Wen said calmly, placing the roots on the counter. "Harvested near running mountain water. Its outer skin is cold, but its core contains mild thermal essence. If ground directly, its juices will curdle and lose sixty percent of their healing value. But if roasted lightly over charcoal with three drops of wild honey, it becomes an exceptional salve for chest congestion and internal bruising."
Doctor Song-Jiang's eyes widened in sharp surprise!
The Seven-Leaf Earth Lotus was a notoriously tricky herb that even seasoned city alchemists often mishandled. Yet this young traveling scholar had explained its exact medicinal properties and preparation method in a single sentence!
"You... you understand medical composition?!" Doctor Song-Jiang stepped out from behind the counter, looking at Li-Wen with newfound respect and excitement. "Young man, what is your name? Where did you learn such advanced herbal lore?"
"My name is Ah-Wen," Li-Wen replied smoothly, using a simple pseudonym. "My late grandfather was a traveling herbalist in the southern mountains. I learned basic pulse-reading and herbal preparation under his guidance before he passed away."
"Ah-Wen..." Doctor Song-Jiang nodded repeatedly, a warm, welcoming smile spreading across his face. "Excellent! Truly excellent! Medicine Harmony Hall has been overwhelmed with patients from the surrounding farms recently, and my old eyes are no longer as sharp as they used to be. If you are willing to stay, I will offer you room, board, and three silver coins a month."
"Thank you, Doctor Song," Li-Wen bowed slightly.
Thus, without drawing a single eye, the former God Emperor who had shaken Azure Mist City quietly settled into the small, peaceful medical shop of Pine Creek Town as a humble physician's assistant.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
During the daytime, Li-Wen fulfilled his duties with absolute diligence and perfection. He organized the medicine drawers, prepared herbal decoctions for local tea farmers, and assisted Doctor Song-Jiang in examining common ailments. His gentle demeanor, profound medical knowledge, and extraordinary patience quickly earned him the affection of old Doctor Song and the deep admiration of young Xiao-Lian, who began following Li-Wen around like a devoted younger brother.
During the cold quiet of the nights, Li-Wen sat cross-legged in his small, clean attic room above the shop.
While the town slept, he cultivated the Void Sovereign Technique, allowing the vibrant dual energies of his newly formed Ignis-Frost Astral Rune to quietly nourish his internal organs and refine his skeletal marrow. His Fourth-Stage Ki became increasingly dense, pure, and completely stable.
However, peace in a border town was rarely permanent.
On the morning of the fourth day, a loud, chaotic noise shattered the tranquil atmosphere of Pine Creek's main street.
CLANGER! CLANGER!
The sound of iron swords beating against brass gongs echoed outside Medicine Harmony Hall, accompanied by the panicked cries of local shopkeepers closing their wooden shutters.
"Doctor Song! Get out here right now!" a harsh, arrogant voice yelled from the street outside.
Doctor Song-Jiang's face turned pale. He let out a heavy, tired sigh, his knuckles tightening around his wooden cane. "It's the Iron Tiger Gang..."
Xiao-Lian huddled nervously behind the counter, his small hands trembling. "Master... they've come to collect the monthly protection fee again!"
Li-Wen, who was calmly sorting dried mint leaves near the window, looked out toward the street.
Standing outside the shop were six heavily armed men clad in rough leather armor. The leader was a burly, scar-faced man named Captain Hu, wielding a wide steel broadsword. His internal Ki vibration reached the Third Stage of Ki-Refine—a level that allowed him to act like an absolute tyrant in a town populated mostly by commoners and low-stage farmers.
The Iron Tiger Gang was a low-level mercenary group that controlled the trade routes around Pine Creek Town. They extorted monthly protection fees from small businesses, backed by their connection to a wealthy merchant house in the neighboring district.
Doctor Song-Jiang walked out to the doorway, bowing slightly. "Captain Hu... last week we already paid twenty silver coins. Our small shop barely makes enough profit to purchase basic herbs..."
"Shut your old mouth!" Captain Hu sneered, slamming the flat edge of his broadsword against the wooden doorframe, splintering the oak wood. "Twenty silver was last week's rate! Starting this month, the protection fee for Medicine Harmony Hall is fifty silver coins!"
"Fifty silver?!" Doctor Song-Jiang gasped, his voice shaking. "That... that is more than three months of our entire income! How can we possibly afford such a sum?"
"If you can't pay gold or silver, then hand over your medical shop!" Captain Hu laughed ruthlessly, pointing his broadsword at the wooden medicine cabinets inside. "My master, Young Master Lin of the Lin Merchant House, wants this prime property by the stream. Pay fifty silver now, or my men will smash every medicine jar in this hall and throw you old bones into the river!"
The two leather-armored thugs beside Captain Hu stepped forward, drawing their heavy wooden clubs to smash the glass counters.
Old Doctor Song-Jiang stood in front of the doorway with his arms spread wide, tears of helplessness welling in his old eyes. "No! This shop was left to me by my ancestors! You can't do this!"
One of the thugs raised his heavy club, a cruel grin on his face, aiming straight for Doctor Song's shoulder! "Out of the way, old fool!"
The terrified villagers watching from their windows gasped in horror, shutting their eyes.
SWISH!
Before the wooden club could descend, a faint breeze swept through the doorway.
Li-Wen stepped casually between Doctor Song-Jiang and the thug. Without drawing a weapon or releasing a single thread of visible Ki, Li-Wen simply raised his right hand, two fingers extended like a pair of iron chopsticks.
CRACK!
The heavy wooden club was caught squarely between Li-Wen's index and middle fingers!
The immense downward momentum generated by the muscular thug vanished instantly into thin air, as if the heavy club had struck an invisible mountain of solid iron!
The thug froze mid-strike, his arms shaking violently as he tried with all his strength to pull the club back or push it forward. But Li-Wen's two fingers remained completely immobile, clamping the wood with absolute, effortless pressure.
"What?!" The thug gasped, his eyes bulging in shock. "You... little scholar, let go!"
Captain Hu's eyes narrowed into sharp slits. He stepped forward, resting his heavy broadsword on his shoulder as he glared at Li-Wen. "Who are you? A mere assistant dares to meddle in the business of the Iron Tiger Gang?"
Li-Wen didn't look at Captain Hu. He turned his head slightly toward Doctor Song-Jiang, speaking in a calm, gentle tone. "Doctor Song, please step inside with Xiao-Lian. The dust out here is bad for your lungs."
"Ah-Wen..." Doctor Song-Jiang stammered in horror, trying to pull Li-Wen back. "Be careful! They are ruthless killers from the mountain camps!"
"It is fine," Li-Wen replied faintly.
Li-Wen turned back toward the thug holding the club. His fingers twitched slightly.
SNAP!
The reinforced oak club shattered into hundreds of wooden splinters, exploding right in the thug's hands! The heavy kinetic feedback blasted the thug backward, sending him crashing onto the cobblestones three paces away, clutching his bloodied, numb hands in agony!
"Courting death!" Captain Hu roared in fury.
Realizing that this scholar possessed hidden physical strength, Captain Hu didn't hold back. He unleashed all his Third-Stage Ki into his broadsword, the steel blade flaring with a crude red light as he slashed straight toward Li-Wen's shoulder!
"Iron-Cleaving Slash!"
The wind howled as the heavy blade descended!
Li-Wen stood completely still. To his ancient soul consciousness, Captain Hu's full-power slash was as slow as a crawling snail, filled with dozens of fatal flaws.
Li-Wen didn't use his two hundred and ten thousand jin of physical force—if he did, a single strike would obliterate Captain Hu and shatter the entire street. Instead, Li-Wen used a microscopic thread of internal Ki, guiding it to his right palm.
He stepped forward, his body naturally dodging the broadsword by a fraction of an inch, his palm sliding smoothly past the steel blade to lightly tap Captain Hu's right wrist.
TAP!
A microscopic pulse of vibrating energy hit Captain Hu's nerve acupoint.
"ARRGH!" Captain Hu screamed as his entire right arm instantly went completely numb. The broadsword fell from his grip, clattering uselessly onto the stone floor.
Before Captain Hu could understand what had happened, Li-Wen's left hand struck his chest with a soft, gentle push.
BOOM!
Despite the gentleness of the movement, Captain Hu felt as if a heavy iron log had slammed into his ribs. He flew backward fifteen feet through the air, crashing heavily into a pile of wooden crates across the street, coughing up a mouthful of blood!
The remaining four thugs stood paralyzed in absolute horror!
In less than three breaths, their Third-Stage leader had been completely neutralized by a quiet scholar who hadn't even broken a sweat!
Li-Wen adjusted his cotton sleeves, stepping forward with slow, deliberate steps. He stopped three paces away from Captain Hu, who was groaning in the shattered crates, clutching his broken ribs in sheer terror.
"Fifty silver coins?" Li-Wen asked softly, his face calm and devoid of anger. "Or will the Iron Tiger Gang pay fifty silver for the damage done to Doctor Song's doorframe?"
Captain Hu looked into Li-Wen's dark pupils. For a fleeting second, behind the calm appearance of a young scholar, Captain Hu felt as if he were looking into the ancient, terrifying eyes of an absolute deity who could erase his existence with a single thought!
Cold sweat soaked Captain Hu's entire back. The sheer psychological terror broke his spirit instantly!
"We... we will pay!" Captain Hu shrieked frantically, pulling a heavy leather pouch from his waist with his left hand and tossing it onto the ground. "Fifty silver! It's all here! Don't kill me!"
"Scram," Li-Wen said quietly.
"Retreat! RETREAT!" Captain Hu yelled hysterically.
The four thugs scrambled forward, dragging their broken leader and their unconscious companion off the street, fleeing down the alleyway like terrified dogs with their tails between their legs.
The entire street fell into a quiet, stunned silence.
The surrounding shopkeepers and tea farmers slowly opened their shutters, staring at the navy-robed scholar in absolute disbelief and awe.
Old Doctor Song-Jiang and young Xiao-Lian walked out from the shop, their mouths agape.
"Ah-Wen..." Doctor Song-Jiang whispered, his eyes filled with profound amazement. "You... you know martial arts?!"
Li-Wen turned back, picking up the pouch of fifty silver coins from the ground and handing it to Doctor Song-Jiang with a gentle, humble smile.
"Just a few basic physical deflection techniques my grandfather taught me to defend against wild mountain wolves," Li-Wen explained smoothly. "Doctor Song, the street is clear now. Let us resume preparing the afternoon medicine."
Doctor Song-Jiang looked at the heavy pouch of silver, then looked at the calm youth before him. He knew in his heart that "Ah-Wen" was no ordinary traveling scholar, but a dragon hiding among common mortals. Yet, seeing Li-Wen's genuine kindness and humble demeanor, the old doctor's heart filled with warmth and deep gratitude.
"Good... good!" Doctor Song-Jiang smiled warmly, patting Li-Wen's shoulder. "Xiao-Lian! Go fetch the tea! Today, we celebrate!"
As the afternoon sun cast a warm golden light over Medicine Harmony Hall, Li-Wen returned to his wooden counter, calmly picking up his herbal shears to trim dried mint leaves.
He knew that Captain Hu's defeat was merely a small ripple. The Lin Merchant House backing the Iron Tiger Gang would certainly not let this matter rest. But in this quiet border town, every conflict was merely an opportunity for Li-Wen to quietly expand his influence, gather local resources, and prepare for his grand return to Azure Mist City.
See you in next chapter.....