Chapter 3

Just past midnight, Li Yuan opened his eyes. The paper windows faintly showed a hint of light.

On the large communal bed for eight people, there were now only seven.

"Is Niu Gui up so early?"

It was already chilly in late autumn, and Li Yuan was used to sleeping with his clothes on. He now put on his straw shoes and went to the door.

The sky was almost bright, the four large moons had all set, and under the thin light, Niu Gui was standing in the White Ape Stance. Despite the chill of late autumn, he was drenched in sweat.

"This kid is really pushing himself!"

Li Yuan rubbed his wrists, feeling soreness in his shoulders, arms, wrists, waist, and legs.

He had exercised much more than usual yesterday, and he remembered that Niu Gui was still practicing when he went to sleep last night.

And now he's up so early?

Isn't he afraid of overtraining himself?

Li Yuan was amazed but said nothing. After informing the fat Sun that he was leaving, he stepped out of the middle courtyard.

...

The armory in the outer city occupied a considerable area. Beyond the middle courtyard were several warehouses storing iron and charcoal.

Further ahead was a square of compacted yellow clay, where the blacksmiths and guards usually trained.

Beyond this square was a series of forging rooms, where the furnaces burned day and night, smoke never dissipating.

Li Yuan glanced around but saw nothing but the clanging of hammers. He was still quite curious about blacksmithing,

but even after being an apprentice for over a month, his impression of it was still based on the 'Sword Forging Competition' from his previous life.

The utility room was nearby.

Li Yuan waited a moment before approaching the slow-moving Lin Manager to collect his monthly pay and a day off.

The ritual described in the half-scroll of the Daoist book was simple, but it wasn't without requirements.

"Be back before sunset. If you stay out overnight, it counts as two days off!"

The Lin Manager, with his mustache, called out from behind.

"..."

Darkening his face, Li Yuan tucked thirty copper coins into his pocket. More than a month after arriving in this world, he left the armory for the first time.

"This is the 'Ancient City.'"

The street, paved with large blue stones, stretched in both directions, separating various shops, taverns, and inns.

Gaoliu County had an inner and outer city, divided into sixteen districts by eight main streets. The 'Rongsheng District,' where the armory was located, was the most bustling area in the outer city.

Looking around, he saw neatly arranged houses and vendors shouting their wares, with people in various attire seemingly endless.

The real ancient city had no endless stream of young masters and misses, only commoners toiling for their daily bread.

Ding ding~

City guards were patrolling, striking a copper gong, and the crowd parted as they passed.

A tall guard with a mole by his eye held up a portrait and shouted:

"This is the lone bandit Nian Jiu. Anyone who spots him will receive five taels of silver, and anyone who captures him will receive fifty taels. Those who conceal information will be punished as accomplices!"

"Fifty taels?!"

Many in the crowd gasped and craned their necks to look.

As the guards passed, Li Yuan glanced at the portrait of the fierce bandit but paid no attention, focusing instead on his own plans.

"The 'Receiving Talisman Ritual' in the half-scroll requires the five sacrificial animals. In my previous life, I used the meat of the five animals, but now..."

At a meat shop, the butcher, knife in hand, quoted a price before Li Yuan could ask:

"One pound of pork is twenty-eight copper coins..."

Glancing at the wooden sign inside the shop, Li Yuan's eyes twitched.

He had long expected that he could only afford one pound of pork a month, as apprentices in other places didn't even see a single copper coin in three years.

"Little brother, do you have pig's blood?"

"Pig's blood? If you want it, it's eight copper coins per pound..."

"Pig's blood is that expensive?"

Li Yuan felt a pang of pain, as he only had thirty copper coins in total.

"Only a few pounds of blood from a whole pig? Eight copper coins is expensive? Go away, don't cause trouble if you can't afford it!"

"A bit cheaper..."

After some haggling, Li Yuan bought half a pound of pork, half a pound each of pig's blood, sheep's blood, chicken's blood, and dog's blood, leaving him with only four copper coins.

"Five sacrificial meats should be fine, and five sacrificial bloods should work too, after all, in ancient times, many sacrifices used blood..."

Wandering through the crowd, Li Yuan felt a heavy heart.

He was worried whether the blood would work and whether the ritual would be effective.

...

"Still need a cow... The government stipulates that slaughtering a cow results in a hundred strokes and a year and a half in prison, followed by exile for a thousand miles..."

After more than an hour, Li Yuan, having walked the entire Rongsheng Street, found no trace of a cow and had to give up reluctantly.

"I remember that deer, elk, and wolves are also considered the five sacrificial animals in another interpretation?"

It wasn't until mid-morning that Li Yuan found a place selling wild rabbits. After waiting for over an hour, he managed to buy less than two ounces of blood for his last four copper coins when someone was slaughtering a rabbit.

"Now, I'm bankrupt!"

Holding several bottles and half a pound of pork, Li Yuan left Rongsheng Street, barely containing his excitement.

But he couldn't perform the ritual on the street, so he suppressed his excitement, walked through several alleys, and arrived in a more remote district.

The Chaiyu Workshop, named for its trade in firewood and fish, was far from the bustling Rongsheng District. From a distance, Li Yuan heard someone exclaim:

"Li Shan's son caught a spirit fish, the 'Ox Horn Carp,' in the 'Clear Water Lake'!"

"Li Ashui? This kid has such skills? Didn't Liu Lai take his boat?"

"A spirit fish! It's been at least a year or two since anyone caught a spirit fish, right?"

The exclamation drew a crowd around the young man holding a fish basket.

"Spirit fish?"

Li Yuan was slightly stunned and learned from the nearby chatter what it was.

Gaoliu County was nestled between mountains and water, with the mountains being Fajiu Mountain and the water being Clear Water Lake. The city's firewood and fishing guilds were established because of these resources.

The so-called spirit fish was said to be a great tonic, and catching one could sustain an ordinary family for two or three years.

"Everyone!"

The young man was robust, with a slightly dark complexion and a sharp gaze, staring at the crowd:

"This 'Ox Horn Carp' weighs twelve pounds. Don't come near if you can't afford it!"

"A twelve-pound Ox Horn Carp?!"

The crowd was even more agitated, but most stopped, with only a few, seemingly not ordinary, approaching.

"Those seem to be people from the firewood and fishing guilds?"

Li Yuan glanced a few times, curious about the spirit fish but not interested in the spectacle.

As he was about to leave, he heard someone offer twelve taels of silver...

"Thirty copper coins a month, one tael of silver for three years of apprenticeship, a fish for twelve taels..."

Li Yuan was amazed but didn't stop, quickly walking through several streets to a small alley.

The alley had about ten households, and the better-maintained two-story courtyard at the entrance was his home in this life.

Of course, the courtyard housed three families, and his family, or rather his second brother's family, was one of them.

"Third brother? You, you're back?"

Before Li Yuan could knock, the courtyard gate opened, and a man, slightly shorter than seven feet, with a weathered face, excitedly and guiltily greeted him, gripping his hand.

"Second brother..."

Li Yuan opened his mouth but didn't know what to say, allowing the man to pull him into the house.

Memories of his previous life flooded his mind.

The Li family, once a middle-class household in the Chaiyu Workshop, had worked hard for generations, saving some wealth. They had land and a boat, and life was relatively good.

But three generations of prosperity can be undone in a moment. His father somehow got into gambling and lost everything in half a year, dying of illness after his grandfather passed away from anger.

Only the three brothers were left to support each other. A few years later, the eldest brother, Li Yue, disappeared, and it was his second brother, Li Lin, who raised him...

"Haven't eaten yet? Rest a bit, I'll cook for you. Your sister-in-law is at work..."

Li Lin rubbed his eyes and quickly left the house. In the small room, Li Yuan sighed softly.

Joining the armory was his own idea. His second brother, nearly thirty, couldn't live with his brothers after getting married.

Since then, Li Lin had felt guilty, always feeling he had let down his brothers and parents.

But for a poor family, joining the armory was already a very good path...

"Phew!"

Suppressing the emotions surging in his heart, Li Yuan walked out, turned a few steps, and entered the back courtyard where miscellaneous items and firewood were stored.

"Four directions, five sacrificial animals..."

Li Yuan muttered, having practiced the 'Receiving Talisman Ritual' countless times in his dreams last night. He was familiar with it but still incredibly nervous.

It was like a drowning person clutching the last straw...

With himself at the center, Li Yuan sprinkled the blood of the five sacrificial animals in the ritual directions, until the air was filled with the smell of blood.

He took a deep breath, bowed, and recited in his heart and mouth:

"Disciple Li Yuan, having read a hundred classics and gained wisdom, adhering to all precepts and enlightening the mind, with the heart to save the world, wishes to spread the teachings of the sages..."

"..."

"Disciple Li Yuan, I pray to the heavens for the talisman!"