That night, everyone in Xuantian Temple gathered in Mingxin Pavilion.
Although Song He and his wife had no plans to go to Jiuxuan Sect, they would wait until this matter was settled before leaving.
In the main hall of Mingxin Pavilion, in addition to Ji Yuan and others, even Wu Shan and his junior brother and sister Feng Xiaoxiao, and the old alchemist Cui Long, had stopped refining pills and gathered here, waiting for dawn to return to the county town together.
As for the disaster relief in Qianyu City, Liu Ruyan and several shopkeepers from the Qian family would continue to carry it out until it was completely finished.
Qian Nishang also did not need to stay here any longer. After the disaster relief was completely over, as long as she was in this world, she would receive the merits she deserved.
On the contrary, after tonight, no matter what the outcome in the county yamen, she urgently needed to return to the county town to take charge and continue to arrange a series of subsequent plans.
"You plan to travel the world alone?"
While everyone was waiting for dawn, Ji Yuan couldn't control his voice and exclaimed.
In front of him, Huixin lowered his head and nodded with a complicated expression.
Since the night he killed Shen Lang, this thought had been in his mind.
It was just that firstly, Ji Yuan was still recovering from his serious injuries, and secondly, there were many places in the city where resentment and dead energy accumulated, and the common people had suffered unexpected changes, so it was indeed not the time to leave.
Now that everything had settled, his desire to wander around alone had resurfaced.
However, after hearing this, Ji Yuan was still worried. With Huixin's personality, the risk of traveling alone was much greater than that of ordinary cultivators.
"Rest assured, besides, I still have a magic artifact to protect me, so I won't encounter much danger."
Huixin smiled and pointed to the string of prayer beads hanging around his neck.
These 108 prayer beads were of excellent quality, and after being infused with Buddhist incense for over a hundred years, they naturally contained Buddha's light, making them extremely powerful on their own.
Coupled with Huixin's current cultivation at the middle stage of the Enlightenment realm, as long as he didn't go to remote places, he would be relatively safe within the Dayu Dynasty.
Of course, this was on the premise of not provoking local forces. If someone really made a move, the laws of the court would not be of much use.
"Alright, since you've decided, what else can I say?"
Ji Yuan shook his head. As he said, he had done everything he could and everything he shouldn't have. Everyone had their own destiny, and he couldn't worry too much.
It was just that the familiar things of more than a decade had changed frequently in a short period of time, which still made him feel a little emotional.
"The reason we seek immortality is not just for longevity, but also to stay away from worldly disturbances."
Zhao Yuansong suddenly sighed.
In his opinion, only by achieving longevity and cultivating immense divine power could one be free from worldly disturbances, roam freely between heaven and earth, and go wherever one pleased.
At that level, even if one was millions of miles away from a friend, it would only take a few days of meditation to arrive by the wind.
Hearing this, Ji Yuan nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly, and felt even more anticipation for his future cultivation path.
After that, the night passed uneventfully.
When dawn arrived, before any news came from the county yamen, Elder Chen, who had gone to the county town, returned first, bringing exciting good news.
The fragment of the pill that had been presented had already had an excellent effect. In just one night, the son of the county governor, who had lost all his cultivation, had recovered to the middle stage of the Enlightenment realm.
Once this fragment of the pill was completely refined, it was possible to restore all his former cultivation, and even to take a step further, which was not impossible.
Therefore, the county governor, in his great joy, directly announced that Qian Nishang would henceforth be a distinguished guest of the County Governor's mansion and a great benefactor to his youngest son.
And being a benefactor to the son of the county governor was equivalent to owing the county governor a great favor. If used well, it would undoubtedly bring infinite benefits.
Even if this favor was not used, as long as the county governor held power for one more day, anyone in the county town who wanted to make trouble for Qian Nishang would have to think carefully whether they could withstand the wrath of the county governor!
"Good! Good! Good!"
Qian Nishang smiled broadly, her eyes filled with excitement.
With these words from the county governor, the current crisis of the Qian family was temporarily resolved. After this disaster relief was over and she accumulated enough merit to break through, the Qian family would have thirty to forty years of breathing room.
As long as they operated well during these years, it was not impossible to completely resolve the crisis facing the family.
"Pack up, and we'll return to the county town immediately!"
She looked around and said loudly.
Before this, many people only knew that something important was about to happen, but they did not know that they were going to return to the county town.
While everyone was preparing, Ji Yuan also obtained the various spiritual materials purchased with more than a million taels of silver and divided them into three portions.
Zhao Yuansong and the Song He couple each received one portion, and the remaining portion naturally belonged to Ji Yuan.
In less than fifteen minutes, as there was not much to prepare, everyone boarded the carriages one after another and set off in a grand procession towards the city gate.
Although Qianyu City was still under lockdown, it only targeted ordinary people and some mountain and marsh hermits. For a force like Mingxin Pavilion, there were naturally no restrictions.
And this time, to avoid any potential encounters with people from the Shenxuan Sect, the convoy chose to take a detour.
However, when passing by the county yamen, they happened to encounter Li Wenqing's carriage. The two sides exchanged a glance and tacitly traveled together.
After leaving the city gate, the convoy suddenly stopped, and then the Song He couple walked out of a carriage. Before leaving, they deliberately released their aura and cast a meaningful glance at Li Wenqing.
After the two left, the convoy resumed its journey towards the county town.
There was a small interlude: while resting by a main road, Ji Yuan gave Li Wenqing the pill refined from the Scarlet Heart Vermilion Fruit, which he had promised earlier.
This item was naturally not made by him, but was prepared by the Qian family earlier. It was originally intended for the patriarch whose lifespan was nearing its end, but it was not used and was finally carried by Qian Nishang.
"This young Daoist priest is not ordinary. After we get to the county town, let our people keep a closer eye on him."
After resting for half an hour and then resuming their journey, Li Wenqing instructed an old man in front of him in the carriage.
Hearing this, the old man, who was from the Li family but secretly loyal to Li Wenqing, nodded without the slightest hesitation.
Although Ji Yuan looked young, the courage and strategy he displayed last night were enough to warrant their attention.
Even the Song He couple could see it, so how could Li Wenqing, who was much wiser, not see that the plan last night might have come from Ji Yuan?
If everything was Qian Nishang's strategy, she would not have been so restricted and would not have been in a passive position for nearly a month in Qianyu City.
And there would naturally not have been the desperate situation last night.
"He gave me the item in public, was he trying to tell others that we have some connection?"
Li Wenqing slightly turned his head, his gaze seeming to pierce through objects and see the young Daoist priest in another carriage.
The more he thought about it, the more he found this person interesting. He couldn't understand how such a person could appear in a mere third-rate county town.
"Is it really okay to kill the people from the other nine forces in public?"
The old man pondered for a long time and still asked with some concern.
However, Li Wenqing seemed indifferent to this, with not even a trace of worry in his eyes.
It was as if to him, he was not killing the representatives of the famous local forces, but a few insignificant mountain and marsh hermits.
"What trouble could there be? As long as the benefits are there, believe it or not, the sect leaders of those sects will even hint that I can kill more?"
He suddenly sneered, and he could even imagine what expressions the sect leaders of those various forces would have in the end.
In fact, those who were appointed as representatives by their respective forces in the county town, although seemingly glorious, were in reality people with no backing, or people who were pushed out to take the blame in certain disputes.
How could the true direct disciples of various sects and other forces be pushed out to do such arduous work?
These people might indeed hold considerable power, but in the face of sufficient benefits, they would all become less important pawns.
Just like this time, the death of one representative, plus a few second- and first-level cultivators outside the direct disciples, could be exchanged for the opportunity to share the property of Mingxin Pavilion's Li family.
All parties would focus on how to strike, and would not really care about the people who died.
"After waiting for decades, I finally found an opportunity!"
A fierce look flashed in Li Wenqing's eyes, and a killing intent emanated from him.
He couldn't help but recall a series of strategies targeting the Li family, each of which was enough to cause an ordinary force to suffer heavy losses without their knowledge.
"This young Daoist priest is not only Qian Nishang's lucky star, but also mine!"
He chuckled, not knowing whether he was joking or speaking from the heart.
The group did not travel fast, stopping and starting, and it took seven or eight days to reach a dozen miles outside the county town.
This was Ji Yuan's first time traveling over a thousand miles at one go. If he hadn't had important business to attend to, he would have liked to travel around and see. From afar, many towns on the way made him itch with curiosity.
Especially when traveling at night, looking at the lights along the river, especially the towering boats on the river, made Ji Yuan very curious for a long time.
"I didn't expect to be back in this county town so soon."
Inside the carriage, Zhao Yuansong said with a faint smile.
They had traveled from Feiyun County to Luoxia County, passing through several counties. Naturally, they would visit the county town of each place.
However, the few of them did not expect to return here so soon after leaving the county town just over a month ago.
"What is the scene like in the county town?"
Ji Yuan asked curiously.
In another two or three months, he would be fifteen years old, but he had only traveled a little over two hundred miles at most, which was to the towns around the county town.
As for this county town, he had never had the chance to visit it, and he didn't know how it was different from Qianyu City.
Hearing this, before Zhao Yuansong could speak, Jiang He next to him eagerly recounted everything he knew.
This city was called Guanxia. On the first and fifteenth day of each month, one could see the sky filled with colorful clouds in broad daylight, as if immortals had descended to the mortal world. It was also because of this that Luoxia County got its name.
Emperor Tianwu had once personally visited this city when he was conquering the world. He stayed for three months and saw the phenomenon of daylight clouds several times, each time praising it without end.
"There are many scenic spots in the city, and scholars and poets like to gather in these places."
Jiang He said excitedly, "There are also many lively markets, where food from all over the world is available. It would take many days to eat through them all."
In addition to the places where ordinary people gathered, there were also some market districts covered by formations, which only cultivators and warriors could enter.
It was said that in these market districts, all kinds of rare beasts and even magic treasures were sold. Even a large merchant like Mingxin Pavilion would not dare to claim that its goods were the best in the city.
At the same time, in these market districts, one market was particularly famous, and cultivators from several surrounding counties would also gather here from time to time.