Yang Qianhuan spoke slowly, “After reflecting for some time, I’ve finally understood the difference between myself and Xu Qi’an.”

“What’s the difference?” Zhong Li chimed in like a perfect foil.

Instead of answering directly, Yang Qianhuan asked, “Zhong Junior Sister, do you remember when Xu Qi’an first gained the people’s adoration?”

Zhong Li tilted her head, her hair falling to reveal a pair of bright eyes. She replied softly, “Was it when he solved major cases during the Imperial Inspection?”

Back then, Zhong Li was a pitiful soul “suppressed” at the bottom of a building, not yet acquainted with Xu Qi’an. She gradually learned about his past later.

“Not quite. During the Imperial Inspection, he may have been in the spotlight, but his reputation was limited to official circles. The common people might have heard of him, but it was far from adoration.”

Yang Qianhuan’s voice was deep as he continued:

“What truly made the capital’s people remember him was the Buddhist confrontation and his journey to Yunzhou. Later, his beheading of the Duke at Caishi Gate brought his fame to its peak. But whether it’s these events or the subsequent legends of Yuyang Pass and his bold act of regicide, they’re all fundamentally the same…”

He paused, then spoke as if unveiling a hidden truth:

“It’s because he constantly cultivated an image of ‘serving the country and the people.’ Naturally, the people adored him. When he killed Yuan Jing, it was seen as slaying a tyrannical ruler. If I were to kill Yongxing, I’d be labeled a traitor.”

Zhong Li was moved, thinking that Senior Brother Yang had finally seen the light.

Yang Qianhuan continued, “Therefore, I must start working for the people’s welfare, making the entire capital grateful to me. In time, I’ll surpass Xu Qi’an and become the great hero in the hearts of the capital’s citizens.”

“How does Senior Brother Yang plan to do this?” Zhong Li asked gently.

“I plan to open several shops in the capital, providing free assistance to the people. Over time, I’ll surpass Xu Qi’an and become a great hero in their eyes,” Yang Qianhuan declared confidently.

“Senior Brother Yang is so clever to think of such a wonderful plan,” Zhong Li praised, happy for him.

Buoyed by his junior sister’s approval and praise, Yang Qianhuan left with great ambition.

…

The cold wind howled, causing the wild grass to undulate.

In the distance, heavy dark clouds gathered on the horizon, swiftly rolling in with the gale. A group traveled along a mountain path, with Mu Nanzhi, wrapped tightly in a fox fur cloak, sitting on horseback.

She frowned slightly and turned to Xu Qi’an, saying, “I’m a bit cold.”

This winter was exceptionally cold. Though it had just begun, frost already hung from the eaves.

Xu Qi’an nodded and placed his palm on the belly of the small mare, gently transferring his qi. He could now refine essence into qi, producing a considerable amount of energy, equivalent to the Eighth-Order Qi Condensation Realm.

Feeling the warmth from her master, the small mare whinnied happily and turned her head to nuzzle Xu Qi’an’s face.

“Xu!” Mu Nanzhi gritted her teeth in anger. Was she less important than a horse?

“For you, experiencing the cold is not a bad thing. Life on the road becomes dull if it’s too comfortable.”

Despite his words, Xu Qi’an still took her small hand and transferred his qi.

Li Lingsu observed their interaction and thought to himself that the wife wasn’t pretty enough, which was why this old fogey Xu Qian was so dismissive of her.

Thinking of his group of beautiful companions, each more stunning than the last, the Holy Son couldn’t help but feel a sense of superiority. He wondered if Xu Qian simply didn’t appreciate beauty or if he was inept at dealing with women.

Otherwise, with his status and cultivation, what kind of beauty couldn’t he obtain?

“Though Madam Xu may be plain in appearance, she’s quite pleasant to look at. The more one interacts with her, the more one realizes she’s different from ordinary women. This must be why Xu Qian married her…” Li Lingsu pondered.

After several cycles of qi transfer, Mu Nanzhi felt warm all over and even began to feel drowsy. She forced herself to stay alert, placed the little fox on the horse’s back, and took out “The Geographic Chronicle of Great Feng” from her travel bag. After flipping through it for a bit, her expression changed slightly.

She swallowed quietly and said in a low voice, “The book says that Xiangzhou has two specialties: water ghosts and zombie escorts.”

They were currently in the territory of Xiangzhou, under the jurisdiction of Zhangzhou.

Upon hearing this, the little white fox, as cowardly as Mu Nanzhi stammered:

“W-what? So many water ghosts…”

Xu Qi’an said irritably, “You’re a spirit beast, and you’re afraid of water ghosts?”

The little white fox cowered and said softly, “I-I’m afraid of ghosts.”

Li Lingsu explained, “Xiangzhou has numerous water systems, with rivers crisscrossing like a chessboard. Countless people drown each year, so it’s natural that there are many water ghosts. As for zombie escorts, that’s a long story.”

Seeing that the two humans and the fox were looking at him, Li Lingsu elaborated:

“Legend has it that about 180 years ago, an extraordinary person suddenly appeared in Western Xiang. His corpse-controlling techniques were unparalleled, and he was invincible throughout Xiangzhou with his thirteen iron corpses. He established a sect there.

“To this day, many jianghu factions in Xiangzhou have some corpse-controlling techniques. The most powerful among them is the Chai family, whose main business is escorting corpses, returning the deceased who died away from home back to their hometowns.

“Any corpse handled by the Chai family won’t rot or stink.”

Xu Qi’an, leading the small mare, asked, “Is this the corpse-controlling technique of the Wushen Cult or the Corpse Gu Branch?”

Li Lingsu smiled and said:

“It’s the technique of the Corpse Gu Branch. That extraordinary person was born in Xiangzhou. In his youth, his entire family was killed by enemies. For some reason, he didn’t die but was sold as a slave to the Southern Borderlands. There, he learned impressive corpse-controlling techniques from the Gu Tribe.

“When he felt his skills were perfected, he escaped from the Southern Borderlands, returned to Xiangzhou for revenge, and established his sect. This person was called Chai Siming, the ancestor of the Chai family. However, his corpse-controlling technique had a flaw and could only reach the Fifth-Order Realm.

“Later, the Chai family developed martial arts, and their members usually practiced both martial arts and gu techniques. The current head of the Chai family is only at the Fifth Order, but throughout their history, they’ve had several Fourth Order family heads.”

Xu Qi’an asked in surprise, “Have you traveled to Xiangzhou before?”

“No,” Li Lingsu replied.

“Then how do you know all this?”

“Because one of my beautiful companions happens to be from the Chai family.” Li Lingsu smiled like a winner in life.

Damn! Inadvertently gave you another chance to show off… Xu Qi’an grumbled inwardly. He nodded and said calmly:

“We’ll reach Xiangzhou City tomorrow. It would be good to pay a visit to the Chai family.”

Li Lingsu’s expression changed slightly, and he discreetly covered his kidneys.

The wind grew stronger, and dark clouds loomed overhead. Just as it seemed the heavy rain was about to pour down, the group quickened their pace. After walking for half an hour, Mu Nanzhi, sitting on horseback, pointed to the distance and said happily:

“There’s a dilapidated temple over there.”

The little white fox echoed cheerfully, “There’s a dilapidated temple!”

The ruined temple was by the roadside. As they approached, they discovered it was a mountain god temple, quite large. It must have had its glorious days in the past.

The temple gate was rotting, half-open, looking as if it would collapse with a push.

Xu Qi’an helped Mu Nanzhi dismount, and the three people and one horse entered the temple. Crossing the threshold, they found the courtyard filled with withered branches and leaves, emitting a faint smell of decay.

The mountain god statue inside the temple had toppled over, covered in cracks and cobwebs. Xu Qi’an took a quick glance around, estimating that the temple had been abandoned for at least ten years.

There were several patches of charcoal ash in the temple, seemingly left by previous visitors who had lit bonfires.

“Ah!” Mu Nanzhi suddenly let out a low cry, pointing to the southern corner and stammering, “A-a coffin…”

In the corner near the southern wall sat a dark wood coffin, its color dull, appearing to be quite old.

An abandoned temple, and an old coffin, coupled with the approaching dusk, the overcast sky, and the howling wind created an eerie atmosphere.

Mu Nanzhi, being timid, immediately became frightened.

Bai Ji, despite being a fox spirit herself, seemed affected as well, voluntarily climbing into Mu Nanzhi’s arms. The two female beings huddled together for comfort.

Xu Qi’an glanced at the coffin before turning his gaze to Li Lingsu: “Go outside and gather some firewood. We’ll make do in the temple for tonight.”

Li Lingsu had only been out for a moment when the rain started pouring down, a miserable wind and rain.

Xu Qi’an took two robes from his storage pouch and spread them on the ground for Mu Nanzhi to sit on. After a while, Li Lingsu returned with a large bundle of firewood.

The amount was substantial.

Soon, a bonfire was lit in the temple, driving away the cold. Xu Qi’an set up a pot and made a pot of meat soup.

Before long, the rich aroma of meat spread, and Mu Nanzhi was no longer afraid. She held a porcelain bowl, enjoying the soup.

The little white fox also had a bowl, happily lapping it up.

At this moment, Xu Qi’an’s ears twitched, catching the sound of hurried footsteps.

At the temple entrance, two figures rushed in, two men and a woman. One of the men wore a scholar’s robe and cap, carrying a book box on his back, seemingly a scholar.

The other man had a long sword at his waist and wore black tight-fitting clothes, appearing to be a martial artist.

As for the woman, she had a pretty face and wore neat, short clothes. Her long hair was tied up high like a man’s, but without adornments on her shoulders and neck, making her appear even more slender and delicate.

“It smells so good!” The young man with the sword at his waist entered the temple, his eyes fixed on the iron pot.

The scholar cupped his hands in greeting and said, “Fellow brothers, the mountain path is hard to find, and we’ve encountered this cold rain. Might we impose on your hospitality?”

Li Lingsu smiled and said, “Please, make yourselves at home.”

The two men and one woman immediately walked to one side and sat down not far from the coffin.

Due to rushing through the rain, their clothes were wet. The man in black tight-fitting clothes took off his sword and looked at the old coffin in the corner, puzzled:

“There’s a coffin in the temple. Perfect, let’s chop it up for firewood.”

The young scholar’s face changed slightly, “That won’t do, Brother Wang. It’s inauspicious. The dead should be respected, we mustn’t disturb them.”

Hearing this, Mu Nanzhi’s hand trembled, and she exclaimed, “Exactly! Why would you chop up a coffin for no reason? Are you asking for trouble?”

It was completely dark now, with rain pattering down. In the abandoned mountain temple, the bonfire flickered in the cold wind that swept into the temple, casting distorted shadows of people on the walls.

The young man in black tight-fitting clothes frowned and said, “What’s it to you?”

He then muttered to his companions, “We don’t even know if there’s a dead person in the coffin.”

At this point, the pretty woman said:

“Whether there’s a dead person or not, it’s still inauspicious. Brother Wang, we martial artists have strong qi and blood, we’re not afraid of the cold. It’s just Brother Lü…”

The scholar quickly waved his hand, “It’s fine, it’s fine.”

The woman shook her head, stood up, and walked to Xu Qi’an and the others. She cupped her hands and said, “Brothers, would it be alright if we came over to warm ourselves by the fire?”

“Sit down!”

Under Mu Nanzhi’s sidelong glance, Xu Qi’an maintained a cool demeanor, not allowing himself to show a warm smile.

So the three sat down by the bonfire. Xu Qi’an noticed their eyes fixed on the iron pot, staring at the meat soup inside.

“If you don’t mind, you can use the bowls we’ve used.”

Xu Qi’an didn’t reveal that he had a storage artifact in front of them.

“Thank you, thank you.”

The scholar was overjoyed and kept bowing.

Even the ill-tempered man in black tight-fitting clothes softened his expression upon hearing this.

The pretty woman took a big gulp of the meat soup, wiped her lips with her sleeve, and said, “This young woman is Feng Xiu, a disciple of the Plum Blossom Sword Sect.”

She looked at the man in black tight-fitting clothes and introduced, “He’s called Wang Jun, a disciple of the Pine Cloud Sect. Our two sects have been on good terms for generations. This Brother Lü is a friend we met in the mountains.”

The scholar took over the conversation, saying, “I am Lü Wei, from Qingshan County. With the new emperor ascending the throne, there will be a benevolence examination next year, so I plan to travel to study and make my way to the capital.”

The Crown Prince has ascended the throne… Xu Qi’an was stunned.

For Great Feng, this was good news.

The only benefit of Yuan Jing’s cultivation was that he had few children. Otherwise, the struggle for succession among princes would only make the situation more chaotic and worse.

Li Lingsu chimed in, “Are you two traveling the jianghu together?”

Feng Xiu’s gaze lingered on his face for a moment before she said softly, “We are responding to Aunt Chai’s call to come to Xiangzhou and participate in the Demon Slaying Assembly.”