Chapter 31

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After a brief discussion, Li Wenjun's suspicion was quickly ruled out. This could not be attributed to Wu Xuemei's lack of intelligence, nor to Li Wenjun's cunning, but rather to the fact that the most incriminating evidence against Li Wenjun—the wound on his back—had long since healed on its own.

Without this most damaging piece of evidence, and considering his age, which made him easy to underestimate, he passed through the investigation unscathed.

Just as Wu Xuemei was about to lead her team to continue questioning the remaining dozen suspects, Wu Tao's personal attendant rushed over.

The attendant bowed to Wu Xuemei and said, "Miss, Grandfather has issued an urgent order for you to immediately return to the county office with all your men."

"What? Has something happened at the county office?" Wu Xuemei asked.

The attendant lowered his voice and replied, "Something big has happened. News from Shaowei County says that the notorious bandit Wang Yonggui has fled to our San County."

All the constables drew a sharp breath, and even Wu Xuemei's face turned pale. The wanted poster for Wang Yonggui was still fresh at the city gate, and now the main culprit had escaped to their San County. This was certainly not good news for them.

Wang Yonggui was not a good person; he was ruthless and had killed countless people. He had wiped out entire families, leaving no one alive, not even women, children, or the elderly. To date, Wang Yonggui had taken over a hundred lives, including those of the constables and soldiers who pursued him, and even some officials.

Wang Yonggui's arrival in San County not only meant danger for the civilians but also for them, as their lives could be in jeopardy at any moment.

Wu Xuemei, her face pale, said, "Let's go back to the office."

Kong Yishi urged, "Miss, are we not going to look for the wild ginseng anymore?"

Dai Zenghong, who was more pleased than anyone, coldly snorted, "Why look for wild ginseng? Our duty is to protect the people. With Wang Yonggui in our San County, our top priority is to catch him."

Wu Xuemei glared at Dai Zenghong, who, feeling a chill, quickly shut his mouth and lowered his head.

Li Wenjun had been in the courtyard, chopping all the firewood into thin strips suitable for burning. He knew he had passed this test. Unless something uncontrollable happened, Wu Xuemei and the others would not suspect him again.

Even so, Li Wenjun did not immediately take out the wild ginseng he had hidden but waited patiently for a few days. He maintained his usual routine, spending about an hour each day practicing cultivation, and then going to the martial arts school to train and to the teahouse to listen to storytelling.

At first, Li Wenjun did not notice anything, but after a couple of days, he felt a heavy atmosphere in the city, and rumors began to spread on the streets and alleys—Wang Yonggui had arrived.

When Li Wenjun first heard this news, he felt a wave of relief, followed by a sense of tension.

The relief came from the fact that with Wang Yonggui's arrival, the county office would likely reduce its efforts to investigate the wild ginseng. If enough time passed, it would be even less likely for anyone to suspect him.

The tension came from the possibility that Wang Yonggui could pose a threat to him. Although the city had over a hundred thousand people, and the chances of encountering Wang Yonggui were slim, one could never be too careful. Often, the things one least wants to happen are the ones that do. If he were to encounter Wang Yonggui, Li Wenjun knew he would stand no chance against him.

Wang Yonggui was not like the constables at the county office, who only bullied the common people and dealt with petty thieves. There were rumors in the city that Wang Yonggui was a top-notch martial artist. With Li Wenjun's current skills, a fight with Wang Yonggui would be a death sentence.

The news that Wang Yonggui might have infiltrated San County greatly stimulated Li Wenjun, making him realize the need to quickly improve his strength. Training at the martial arts school to become a top-notch or even a super martial artist was a long and difficult path. In comparison, making progress in his cultivation, which had been stagnant, was the best choice.

With the wild ginseng no longer a focus, Li Wenjun decided to refine the Qi-Gathering Powder. If he could successfully cultivate, he would have a fighting chance even if he encountered Wang Yonggui.

The refining method was detailed in the "Changchun Gong." Li Wenjun first took out the "Changchun Gong" and opened the page with the refining method, carefully reading it.

This reading was not without its problems. Li Wenjun found that although he recognized all the characters on the page and knew their meanings, when they were combined, they became extremely unfamiliar to him.

Refining pills and medicines was a highly specialized task, and doing it on his own was extremely difficult. Otherwise, there would not be the saying that the beginning is the hardest part.

Li Wenjun had no master. If he had one, it would be the dictionary he bought for two taels of silver.

This reference book was not a specialized cultivation manual. The definitions of each character and word were based on daily life, politics, academia, and geography, which were suitable for secular scholars and could meet the needs of monks and Taoists. However, using it to explain the highly specialized task of refining pills and medicines was beyond its capabilities.

Li Wenjun was at his wits' end. Before he had collected all the herbs, he had not paid much attention to the refining method, but now that he was about to start, he dared not proceed.

The herbs he had risked his life to collect on Wufeng Mountain were very limited. If he tried to refine them without understanding the method, he would only waste the materials and gain nothing.

Even if he managed to refine the powder successfully, he would not dare to take it.

If the pills he refined were toxic and he took them, it would be like a long-lived star hanging himself, wishing for a shorter life.

A master leads you to the door, but cultivation is up to the individual.

Li Wenjun had never before understood the profound meaning of this saying. Without a master's guidance, most things in the world seemed easy but were difficult to accomplish. One would have to spend a lot of time and energy to explore and summarize before finding the right path. More often than not, one would waste time, effort, and money and still achieve nothing.

For the first time in his life, Li Wenjun had the idea of finding a master, but where could he go to find one? Who could he ask? He did not even know where cultivators lived. The two times he had been close to cultivators, whether it was the old Taoist or the so-called "Sixth Senior Brother" and "Old Seventh," none of them were good people. If he were to become their disciple, they would likely devour him whole.

For several days, Li Wenjun was at a loss with the "Changchun Gong." Apart from his daily cultivation and martial arts training, he no longer went to the teahouse. After training, he would return home and study the "Changchun Gong." Using the dictionary to understand each character and word, he sought out any clues that could help him research and deduce the method for refining the Qi-Gathering Powder.

Reading a book a hundred times, its meaning will become clear.

After several days of effort, Li Wenjun finally had some gains. He had some understanding of the method for refining the Qi-Gathering Powder, but he was far from fully grasping it, understanding only a small fraction.

Li Wenjun realized that even if he understood the entire process, he might still not be able to refine the powder. The reason was simple: the method mentioned a tool he did not have—a pill-refining furnace. He had never even seen what a pill-refining furnace looked like.

Sometimes, Li Wenjun wished he could go to the courtyard, scoop up some soil to make a furnace, and use grass as incense to pray to passing deities, hoping that one of them would take pity on him and give him a pill-refining furnace.

He did not even hope that the deity would give him the furnace; just seeing what it looked like would make him grateful.

Of course, such prayers were impossible. Not only would no cultivator know of Li Wenjun's wish, but even if someone did, they would not take it seriously. They would see him as an insignificant ant, not even pausing to look at him.

Sometimes, when Li Wenjun was so anxious that he wanted to throw the herbs he had collected into the fire, his rationality held him back from such foolish actions.

Li Wenjun believed that the difficulties were only temporary and that he would find a way to solve them. He just needed time and opportunity.

Knowing that he could not achieve his goal immediately, Li Wenjun carefully stored all the herbs and resumed his usual routine. Apart from his daily cultivation and martial arts training, he also developed a new habit of wandering the streets of the city, hoping to one day encounter an opportunity that would help him break through.

A month passed, and Li Wenjun had nothing to show for his efforts. His cultivation progress was as slow as a snail, if not even slower. Fortunately, Li Wenjun had calmed down and did not find it bitter, living each day contentedly.

By now, it was winter, and the cold weather was bone-chilling. A heavy snowfall a few days ago had turned the world into a snowy white, adding a crystalline beauty to the landscape.

The search for Wang Yonggui had been fruitless, and the people of the city had gradually forgotten about him. Life had to go on. However, at the county office, from County Magistrate Wu Tao to the ordinary constables, no one had slept well. Wu Tao had sought reinforcements from the prefecture and requested assistance from the local garrison, launching several searches for Wang Yonggui. There were even a few close encounters, but no one was caught, and several constables were killed.

Dai Zenghong, who had once fought Li Wenjun, also died during one of the searches for Wang Yonggui.

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