A Record of A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

Chapter Two: Qingniu Town

This was a small town—though calling it a town was more accurate than calling it a city. Its name was also Qingniu Town. Only those locals living in the nearby mountain valleys, with little worldly experience, kept calling it “Qingniu City” over and over. This was the honest opinion of Zhang Er, a gatekeeper who had worked here for over ten years.

Qingniu Town was indeed not large. The main street, Qingniu Street, ran only east to west. There was just one inn, the Green Bull Inn, which sat at the western end of this elongated town. So, merchants passing through who didn’t want to sleep outdoors had no choice but to stay here.

At that moment, a horse carriage, clearly having traveled a long distance, entered Qingniu Town from the west. It sped past the Green Bull Inn’s main gate without stopping and continued all the way to the town’s other end, stopping only in front of the Chunxiang Restaurant.

The Chunxiang Restaurant wasn’t large; it was even somewhat old, but it carried a quaint and classical charm. Since it was lunchtime, the restaurant was packed with diners, almost full to the last seat.

A round-faced, slightly mustached, fat man got off the carriage along with a dark-skinned boy about ten years old. The man swaggered confidently into the restaurant, child in tow. Some regular customers recognized the fat man as the restaurant’s owner, “Fat Han,” but nobody knew who the boy was.

“Old Han, that dark kid looks a lot like you! Could he be a son you secretly had behind your wife’s back?” someone teased suddenly.

The comment brought a burst of laughter from everyone nearby.

“Pah! This is my own nephew brought here by my family, of course he looks somewhat like me,” Fat Han said without anger, even a bit proudly.

These two were none other than Han Li, who had just arrived in town after three days on the road, and the “Fat Han” his third uncle had spoken about.

Fat Han greeted a few familiar customers before leading Han Li to a secluded courtyard behind the restaurant.

“Xiao Li, rest well in this room and keep your strength up. When the steward from the inner gate arrives, I’ll call you over. I have to step out and greet some regulars first,” Fat Han said kindly as he pointed to a side room in the courtyard.

With that, he hurried off.

At the door, seeming a bit uneasy, he gave one last reminder.

“Don’t wander off. The town is crowded, so don’t get lost. Better to stay inside the courtyard.”

“Okay!” Han Li replied obediently, which truly put Fat Han’s mind at ease as he left.

Once Fat Han had exited, Han Li felt exhausted and collapsed onto the bed, falling into a deep sleep without a trace of the usual shyness children showed around strangers.

That night, a servant brought some food. While not lavish, it was tasty enough. After Han Li finished eating, another servant came to clear away the dishes. Only then did Fat Han return calmly.

“How’s the food? Missing home a bit?” he asked.

“Yeah, a little,” Han Li answered obediently.

Fat Han seemed pleased with the response and began chatting about everyday matters, boasting about some amusing stories from his own experiences. Gradually, Han Li relaxed and began to laugh and talk with him.

Two days passed just like this.

On the third day, after Han Li finished dinner and waited for his uncle to tell him some tales from the martial world, another horse carriage pulled up in front of the restaurant.

This carriage was painted jet black and gleamed under the light. It was drawn by a rare, exceptional yellow bay steed. Most eye-catching was a small triangular black flag with a rusty silver character “Xuan” edged in red, attached to the carriage frame. It gave off an indescribable aura of mystery.

Any seasoned martial artist traveling within hundreds of miles knew that the arrival of this flag meant an important figure from the “Seven Mysteries Sect” was in town.

The Seven Mysteries Sect, also called the “Seven Absolutes Sect,” was founded two hundred years ago by the famous “Seven Absolute Master.” It once dominated Jingzhou for decades, even spreading influence into neighboring provinces and was well known throughout the Yue Kingdom. But after the master’s death, the sect’s power crumbled. Other factions joined forces to push them out of Jingzhou’s capital city.