The Blade-Wielding Legend

Li Yan's eyes widened as he rolled over and rose to his feet.

Just now, in his sleep, his smell superpower suddenly enhanced, and a surge of various scents woke him up.

This was not the first time it had happened.

The night he had slain the Cold Altar Rampant Soldier, the Substitute Divine Statue had extinguished a Life Fire, and his smell superpower had also increased, but not as noticeably as this time.

The earthy smell of soil, the refreshing scent of wheat, the sweat stench from the reapers in the distance, and even the poisonous stench from scorpions under the ground, he could differentiate them all clearly.

But even stranger was that sweet fragrance!

The Substitute Divine Statue quivered because of it, conveying a sense of yearning.

The treasure, the Substitute Divine Statue he had acquired, was obviously incomplete, and many of its functions could only be vaguely sensed, thus it had taken a lot of time to figure out its purpose.

Normally, it remained motionless, hidden away in his Dantian.

It only came into play when activating the swap injury process.

And this time, it had spontaneously become active.

Could there be some kind of heavenly material or earthly treasure inside that could repair the Substitute Divine Statue?

At this thought, Li Yan's heart throbbed with excitement, his lips growing somewhat dry.

In dealing with the Cold Altar Rampant Soldier, the Substitute Divine Statue had extinguished one of his Life Fires; although he still had two lives left, it was ultimately incomplete.

Who wouldn't wish for an extra life?

If there really was something that could mend the Divine Statue, then what would there be to fear in the future!

He had come seeking Dao Xuan, but he hadn't expected to find this unexpected gain.

However, as he was about to approach and investigate the residence, the scent suddenly vanished.

At the same time, in the Lu family's compound, torches were lit one after another, unusually conspicuous in the black night, accompanied by noisy, chaotic voices.

Had something happened?

Li Yan's eyebrows knit together slightly as he pressed his hand to the hilt of his sword.

Such a commotion in the dead of night was unmistakably peculiar; Sha Lifei also snapped awake with a jolt, running over in a panic with his sword in hand, "What's going on, what's going on, are bandits attacking the kiln?"

Li Yan shook his head, "I'm not sure."

By now, quite a few people had also been awakened.

The old bladesman from Longyou, wearing a sheepskin coat, was named Shan Lao Quan. He frowned deeply, "Let's go take a look; after all, it's the master's house. If something has happened, we can't just stand by and watch."

With that, several bladesmen instructed the reapers not to wander off and then walked towards the Lu family mansion.

A thought crossed Li Yan's mind, and he closely followed them.

When the group reached the outside of the Lu family's compound and knocked on the door for quite some time, Housekeeper Lu emerged with several Protectors, his expression unchanged as he spoke, "What can I do for you gentlemen?"

As soon as these words were out, several of the bladesmen were taken aback.

Weren't these words blatantly superfluous?

With such a ruckus, only a fool would be unaware.

The old bladesman from Longyou, Shan Lao Quan, narrowed his eyes slightly and spoke in a deep voice, "We heard the noise and came to check. Nothing wrong in the mansion, I hope?"

Housekeeper Lu remained serene, "Nothing's wrong. A wild cat got in and caused some commotion. Thank you all for your concern."

"We have to get up early tomorrow to harvest the wheat. You should all rest early."

"That's good then."

The old bladesman from Longyou nodded his head and turned to leave.

There was definitely something else going on at the Lu family, but having been in the pugilistic world for many years, he had long learned to turn a deaf ear. As long as his wages were paid promptly, he was indifferent to any side matters.

In the end, it was just a mess within the walls of a large, deep-household.

The others naturally wouldn't ask further.

But just as everyone was preparing to leave, Housekeeper Lu suddenly added, "Brother Sha, please stay for a moment, I have a question for you."

"Eh, what is it?"

Sha Lifei was completely baffled, stopping in his tracks.

Although the others were somewhat surprised, they too did not pay it much attention.

Although Sha Lifei's martial arts were mediocre, what allowed him to get by in the pugilistic world was not just his swordsmanship but also his thick skin, brains, and mouth.

He had the nerve, the wits, and was smooth-talking, able to cozy up to anyone, spouting nonsense regardless of whether they liked it or not, just to get familiar.

This was not to be underestimated.

Often, when people needed something but were unfamiliar with the ins and outs of that particular field, the first impression that came to mind was this familiar face.

After a few inquiries and a bit of back and forth, even if he couldn't secure the job himself, he could still earn some money for running around and connecting people.

It was precisely this kind of chatter and hobnobbing along the road that led Sha Lifei to rub shoulders with Housekeeper Lu and get acquainted with him.

Others quickly left, but only Li Yan turned and stopped, continuing to wait.

He had a premonition that Housekeeper Lu's seeking out Sha Lifei was definitely related to the earlier incident and perhaps there was a way to follow him into the Lu residence.

There was no need to take anything, but at least he could figure out what it was that had caused the Substitute Divine Statue to react, giving him a target for the future.

He waited quite a while, and by the time the third watch (approximately 3-5 am) came around, when the wheat harvesters had already started their work, Sha Lifei finally emerged from the Lu household, his face brimming with joy.

"What happened?"

Li Yan approached him directly, pulling him aside to inquire in a low voice.

Sha Lifei hesitated for a moment, "Come with me, I'll talk as we walk."

"Where to?"

"Xianyang City!"

…

"The Lu family is looking for a Yin Yang master."

After they were far from Ancient Water Village, Sha Lifei explained: "Landlord Lu's wife is in bad shape, and they want to hire a real yin yang master to choose the burial site and make arrangements for the funeral."

"And they want to keep it quiet, not to make it widely known, so don't blabber about it."

Li Yan was surprised, "A funeral, and they want to keep it quiet?"

Sha Lifei chuckled, "I have some guesses."

"This Landlord Lu, although his ancestral roots are in Guanzhong, doesn't have many clan relatives and fled to the Capital when he was very young. After a lifetime of struggles, he accrued quite a fortune. Hence, after his 'leaves fell back to their roots,' he had little to do with the surrounding wealthy households."

"His wife is from the Capital and followed him to Guanzhong. It seems she was probably bedridden due to the vexation caused by Landlord Lu's romantic endeavors and hardly ever saw outsiders."

"Landlord Lu cares a lot about face; he definitely wouldn't want idle gossip."

Li Yan frowned, "That doesn't make sense, the person is dying, what do they have to worry about? If he has the final say, a lavish funeral would leave no room for controversy."

"Why do you care so much!"

Sha Lifei scratched his bald head, "The Lu family's business is none of our concern, but I did recommend Master Wang, which could earn me a bit of reward money for running errands. It's also the perfect excuse to introduce you to him."

"An excuse? Aren't you well acquainted with him?"

"This... this, even with acquaintances, there are different levels... Let's hurry."

With a dry laugh, Sha Lifei urged him to move faster.

Li Yan shook his head slightly but didn't mind.

He had already guessed that Sha Lifei didn't have the clout he claimed, and if he wanted to connect with Wang Daoxuan, he would have to employ some tricks of his own.

What he was pondering now was whether the Lu family's unusual actions had anything to do with that unknown treasure?

Sha Lifei had a horse and had borrowed another from the Lu family when leaving.

Li Yan wasn't proficient in horsemanship, but he didn't hold them back. By the time the sky was fully lit, the two men had already arrived outside Xianyang City.

This world had a Qin too, but its era was even more ancient.

Xianyang was the capital of the Pre-Qin dynasty, situated at the confluence of the Wei River and the Jing River, teeming with a large population, and a gathering place for the Three Religions and Nine Sects. The water and land traffic was developed.

As the two men rode in from a distance, they could already see numerous vessels of various sizes coming and going on the Wei River, as well as the imposing Qingwei Tower next to the ancient city of Xianyang.

With the city gates about to open, outside the city had already gathered many merchants and villagers from the surrounding countryside. The line stretched far back, with people carrying loads and pushing carts... The sounds of human voices were mixed with the braying of mules and horses.

And at the ferry port, the laborers had already begun offloading and transporting goods.

They approached from the South City direction. To enter the city, they needed to cross the Wei River, but before they even got close to the ferry port, Sha Lifei stopped and chuckled, "Brother Yan, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you to go look for the person in the city?"

Li Yan frowned, "You're not going into the city?"

Sha Lifei touched his bald head and said helplessly, "Didn't I just have a skirmish with Meng Haicheng yesterday? My impressive appearance is too conspicuous in a crowd; they have eyes everywhere, and it would be noticed as soon as we enter the city."

"I'm not afraid; I just don't want to mess with the main task."

Li Yan let out a scoff, "You sure know how to boss people around, fine."

He had mentioned before that they need to disguise their tracks when entering the city. After all, this was Zhou Pan's territory. But Sha Lifei's last-minute change of plans, sending him into the city alone, was clearly out of fear.

Sha Lifei, with his thick skin, hardly cared about Li Yan's mockery, smiling impishly, "Brother Yan, you're much shrewder than I am, but there are some things I need to remind you of."

With that, he pointed to a large ship on the river.

"Xianyang City is the Ancient Ferry; it's a hub for the Three Religions and Nine Sects. There are quite a few figures from the pugilistic world coming from the north and south that you really shouldn't provoke."

"That boat belongs to the Cao Gang of Xianyang; they control the ferry. Whether it's the porters or the Taixing transportation company's branch in Xianyang, they are closely connected. The boatmen on the Wei River also belong to them…"

"In the city, there's also the Beggar Gang; their hideout is near the Chaotic Burial Mound in the north of the city. They can be quite malicious, the little beggars in the city are their eyes and ears. The various tricks they play in the pugilistic world are something you are probably already familiar with, just be careful…"

"The most crucial is the Divine Fist Association; Old Monkey Zhou Pan might have a bad reputation in the pugilistic world, but in Xianyang City, he's the top dog. He not only has connections with the officials, but also both of the gang faction leaders in the city who are his disciples."

"However, Zhou Pan lives near Flower Shop Street, and that Daoist master lives near the City God Temple at the East Gate. Just be cautious, and you shouldn't run into…"

Although Sha Lifei was slippery and unreliable, he was well-informed about various pieces of intelligence, rapidly explaining the different forces within Xianyang City.

Some pugilistic world intricacies are not clear to outsiders, but Li Yan, with his extensive family education, understood it all upon Sha Lifei's explanation.

He made some preparations, donning a white smock, dabbed some grey on his face, and, after a simple disguise, headed to the ferry port wearing a straw hat.

Sha Lifei, on the other hand, led the two horses into a nearby grove to wait.

Li Yan initially thought nothing of it; he had wandered north and south in his past life. In this life, with his father's teachings of numerous pugilistic ways and his own considerable skills, he feared nothing.

However, as he neared the Wei River, his expression changed abruptly.

An explosion of various scents flooded his nostrils.

Among them were even a few that seemed mystical and exceptional…