144 A Happy Reunion and a Farewell (2)
“Now that I think about it, I understand. From the moment I joined the Flying Cloud Castle, I was simply someone else’s pawn. Now, even though it looks like I’ve ascended to a high position, the truth is that I have no power.”
Fang Lie took another big gulp of wine.
“That’s why it’s hard to live according to ideals. Simply enjoying life is enough for me!” Jiang Ming smiled.
“That’s right. Wei Yan has been trying to find out about you.” The night wind blew, and Fang Lie seemed to have sobered up a little.
At the mention of Wei Yan, Fang Lie’s gaze turned cold. It was obvious that the relationship between the two was not as pleasant as the outside world thought.
Back then, when Ningzhou City was surrounded, Fang Lie almost killed Wei Yan.
“Asking about me?” Jiang Ming was slightly stunned.
He was sure he had covered all his tracks, but to be honest, he was not a god. Even if he could disguise himself, he could not completely hide his traces. If someone paid attention, they would be able to find some clues.
The most obvious thing was that Zhang Shan had rushed to Ningzhou City to save Guan Feng from a desperate situation and had even reached broken through to the Grandmaster realm in that battle. It was obvious that he had a close relationship with Guan Feng.
Naturally, the Flying Cloud Castle had heard of Zhang Shan’s name. After investigating the area where Zhang Shan was active, they found that he was most active in Great Cloud City and Peace County.
Back then, there were only a few martial artists who had come out of Peace County. Jiang Ming was one of them. He had even gone to the Tiger Hunting Village to learn martial arts. It was reasonable for him to save Guan Feng.
“However, he must have something up his sleeve for him to be able to deduce it was me. I don’t know why he’s looking for me. Is it simply to rope in a Grandmaster, or does he have other motives?”
But it did not matter anymore. He was too strong for him to be afraid of Wei Yan
Thinking of this, Jiang Ming smiled. “You don’t have to worry about this matter. If he can find me, I’ll be glad to welcome him.”
Fang Lie frowned and hesitated for a long time before he asked nervously, “Does Zhang Shan have anything to do with you?”
Jiang Ming laughed. “It seems you already know the answer. Do you still need to ask?”
As soon as he said that, even though Fang Lie had already guessed it, he still looked at Jiang Ming in shock.
“I’m nothing compared to you…” Fang Lie shook his head and sighed.
Jiang Ming smiled and looked at him. “What’s wrong? Don’t you have any dreams anymore?”
Fang Lie looked up at the sky. “Of course I do. Unfortunately, I’m completely trapped now and can’t pursue those dreams.”
His eyes twinkled under the starlight. From afar, a sweet little girl ran over and shouted for her grandfather to drink less, causing everyone to burst into laughter.
Fang Lie lowered his head. The twinkle in his eyes disappeared, and a kind smile appeared on his face. He picked up the little girl.
“This is my granddaughter—”
Fang Lie turned around and realized that his old friend who was drinking beside him had disappeared.
Fang Lie looked up subconsciously and saw a figure nodding at him from a pavilion in the distance. The figure turned and disappeared into the night.
Fang Lie waved his hand at the invisible figure.
* * *
Three days later, Jiang Ming and Zhou Wenxiu returned to Peace County to meet with Ah Fei, Li Qingqing, and the others, who were getting older and older.
His old friends in Peace County were not martial artists. They aged far faster than Zhou Wenxiu and Fang Lie. Now, Ah Fei even looked a little like Old Jiang from back then.
“Things may have remained the same, but people always change.”
In the early morning light, Jiang Ming took one last look at Zhou Wenxiu’s medicine shop, smiled, and turned to leave.
* * *
Half a month later, a caravan was slowly moving forward on a trade route. This was a newly opened trade route between the Cloud Empire and the country of Jing in the south. It had been very busy over the past few years.
Jiang Ming had disguised himself as a slightly chubby old man, who looked like a rich merchant. He was calmly seated in the caravan with many books beside him, all of which contained information about the dead bodies of the immortal cultivators of the country of Jing.
“I was thinking of stealing a part of a corpse to study. However, I have a new target now!”
Jiang Ming stared at the book in his hand. It recorded a strange man who had suddenly appeared in recent years on a riverside pier a few hundred miles away from the small mountain village where the dismembered corpse appeared.
He was thin and looked weak. However, he was surprisingly strong. He could carry several bags of food, and he made money at the dock. However, he kept a low profile and had almost no contact with people.
“His appearance coincides with when the corpse appeared. However, there’s a gap between them by about two weeks.”
Back then, Jiang Ming had suspected that the appearance of the corpse was caused by a battle between immortal cultivators in this world.
The Nameless had investigated the forest, and there were indeed traces of a battle, indicating that in addition to the corpse, another immortal cultivator had escaped.
“I’m almost certain that the strange man is another immortal cultivator.”
Jiang Ming laughed and looked forward to this trip.
After another two weeks, the caravan finally arrived at their destination.
They stopped at Heyuan City.
This was a prosperous prefecture city built near a canal.
“Farewell!”
The caravan driver, a member of the Nameless, waved goodbye to him.
Jiang Ming stood in a tea house in the city, looking at the canal in the distance. The streets were bustling.
There was no need to be in a hurry. He was going to settle down first.
He still did not know the other party’s background. If he rashly exposed his identity as an immortal cultivator, it would inevitably cause some unrest, and it would be difficult to get any useful information thereafter.
“At the very least, I have to master the level of the Spirit Restriction Seal. I have to be able to seal my spiritual aura before I can get in touch with him.”
Jiang Ming’s eyes were calm. There were still a few decades before the appearance of the King of Medicine. He could slowly cultivate and lay out his plans.
Over the next few days, with the help of the Nameless, he created a new identity for himself.