The Eternal Way

The young man with a clean face and dressed in cotton clothing held up the very half of the game console that Li Qi had once discarded!

Then, to his further astonishment, another burly man from the Lizhuang Gang emerged from the crowd, pulling out the other half of the console.

"What the hell! My place was robbed?!" 

These people had gone into his house and stolen his game console. Although it was broken and he only found half of it, it still held sentimental value to him, so he kept it safely stored at home.

Had the Lizhuang Gang taken advantage of the river ceremony to steal the console when no one was around?

What secret did his game console hold? How could they have found both halves—one from his house and the other he had lost?

Were they courting disaster? If caught stealing, especially something as useless as a broken game console, the punishment would be severe.

In this world, constables were not to be trifled with. They possessed extraordinary abilities—flying, divining, tracking—and were highly skilled. Even thieves who dared to challenge them had to be on par with legendary figures like Bai Zhan Tang.

For mere pullers to attempt such theft would surely end in their capture and being made examples of.

Li Qi had always kept his time-traveling a closely guarded secret, but now… something seemed off.

He remained silent, eyes fixed on the young man.

Holding the reassembled game console aloft, the young man addressed the crowd:

"Do you know why I came here and offered a reward, promising to teach you a sorcery technique in exchange for retrieving this strange object?" he said, holding up the game console.

The burly men below shook their heads, including the leader of the Lizhuang Gang standing beside him.

The young man's expression took on a hint of superiority as he saw their confusion.

"Some pursue the Dao of Heaven, mastering natural forces, controlling elements like earth, fire, water, and wind. With a flick of the wrist, they can summon storms or turn soil into steel. Knowing the secrets of the universe, they foresee gains and losses, avoiding calamities and disasters."

"Some pursue the path of Humanism, uniting the will of the masses to shape the destiny of the world. They crush countless armies in their wake, ascend to thrones, and enjoy the offerings of the land. They establish nations and forge divine dynasties, channeling the collective strength of humanity for their own purpose. Among the kingdoms of the world, all are expressions of Humanism."

"And then there are those who follow the Dao of Reason, seeking the principles behind objects and mechanisms, using these principles for warfare, crafting weapons and machinery, building fortresses and high walls. By discerning patterns and uncovering truths, they achieve clarity over all things."

He spoke confidently, but noticing the bewildered looks on the faces of the burly men, his pride quickly deflated.

"Ah, forget it. You lot are as dumb as pigs and dogs; naturally, you wouldn't understand the grand significance of this."

Regaining his composure, he raised the game console again. "But even though you're as mindless as livestock, I won't deceive you. This is an object born of a different path among the various Daos, known as the 'Outer Path'."

"Among the paths, the Dao of Heaven reigns supreme, governing all others. However, there exists a path that refuses to submit to the Dao of Heaven, its origins unknown. The Dao of Reason cannot comprehend its laws, hence it is named the Outer Path."

"Over three years ago, while in the mountains, I divined an anomaly. But the Outer Path is mysterious and unpredictable, making it difficult to trace through divination."

"So, I spent two and a half years conducting a great ritual before finally pinpointing the Lizhuang Gang. The ritual indicated that you could retrieve an object of the Outer Path for me, which is why I descended the mountain and enlisted your help."

"This explains why you've been searching the mountains for months and failed to secure the first shift at the river ceremony. Your efforts were focused on finding this item for me. I didn't tell you earlier to prevent any leaks."

As the young man explained to the Lizhuang members, Li Qi listened in disbelief.

The Lizhuang Gang's failure to secure the first shift was orchestrated by this person?

The Outer Path? Wasn't that essentially referring to time travelers? Had this person divined his existence? Oh no, wasn't he in grave danger?

Wait, calm down. He mentioned that the Outer Path was unpredictable and hard to track via divination. So, he only sensed the presence of an Outer Path object but didn't know exactly what it was.

Even just divining the game console took him two and a half years of rituals to narrow down to the Lizhuang Gang. Whatever this ritual was, it must have been a monumental effort.

So, it seemed his identity as a time traveler hadn't been exposed yet.

Leaving aside that for now, he needed to gather more information. The game console was just a piece of junk, useful only as an Outer Path artifact. Its motherboard was broken; it couldn't do much else. But the sorcery technique promised to the Lizhuang Gang could disrupt the balance between the three puller factions in the city.

This was his first real glimpse into the world beyond the lowest strata of society.

The concept of the Dao was entirely new to him. In the three years since becoming a puller, his understanding of this world had been severely limited, confined to the lowest social echelons where even eating vegetables required careful consideration, let alone meat, which was reserved for rewards.

He didn't want to spend his life as a puller.

However, Li Qi's thoughts were interrupted as the young man continued explaining why he sought out the Lizhuang Gang. With a pleased expression, he put away the game console.

"Cough, cough. We who walk the path of the Dao of Witchcraft must not act against our true hearts. My heart is pure, good, and honest, and thus I have no desire to conceal anything from you. Therefore, I shall openly disclose the reasons for enlisting your aid, and I will not withhold the rightful reward that is due to you."

"The sorcery technique is your reward." The young man waved his hand, and a purple light coalesced within it.

Upon seeing the purple light, Li Qi felt a thunderous roar in his head! It was as if a hammer had struck him, causing stars to flash before his eyes. A wave of nausea hit him, and his legs gave way, sending him crashing to the ground from his hiding spot.

Crap!

Terrified, he struggled to lift his head despite the intense pain.

Looking around, he saw that the burly men were similarly writhing on the ground, clutching their heads and rolling in agony. Meanwhile, the young man turned to leave.

No one noticed him!

Opportunity!

Despite the excruciating pain and dizziness, he forced himself to stand and stagger towards safety.

Before leaving, he glanced back and locked eyes with the Lizhuang Gang leader, who was also on the ground.

"Someone!" the leader roared in agony.

Fear and danger overwhelmed Li Qi, and his only thought was to run.

Staggering and stumbling, he ran wildly, knocking over several people along the way, earning curses from passersby.

One burly man punched him, sending him sprawling, his face swelling up.

But Li Qi barely registered it, crawling on the ground, eyes vacant, muttering, "Run… run…"

Seeing this, the burly man spat in disgust. "Tch, just a madman. Not worth my time," and walked away.

Li Qi barely felt anything anymore.

His brain felt like it was being scraped out by hooks through his ears and nose—an unimaginable pain that obliterated his senses. All he could think about was escaping.

Finally reaching the riverside, he collapsed near where the Paibo Gang members were still working the second shift.

"Brother Li?!" someone exclaimed upon spotting him.

"Brother Li is hurt! Quick, get Uncle Six," a puller shouted.

Relieved to be among his own, Li Qi passed out from exhaustion and pain.

Darkness enveloped him.

His body felt weighed down by a massive stone, unable to move.

Suddenly, streams of data appeared before his eyes.

Having some programming knowledge, he vaguely recognized this as memory loading.

Why was he seeing data streams?

Dazed, his weak consciousness wondered briefly before the data flashed past and vanished.

A series of error messages followed, filling his vision with red until a giant "ERROR" dominated his mind.

"Guh—ah!" he screamed in agony.

Then everything stopped, and he jolted awake, drenched in sweat, as if just emerging from water.

"Brother Li is awake! Water, get some water!" a puller called out.

"Water? Meat soup, bring meat soup!" Uncle Six corrected, hitting the speaker lightly.

"Yes, yes, meat soup! Bring it over!" the puller hurriedly responded.

A bowl of meat soup was passed quickly through eager hands and placed before Li Qi, who was too shaken to hold it steadily.

Uncle Six stepped in, feeding him the soup, which revived his strength somewhat.

Seeing him recover, Uncle Six shooed the others away. "Stop crowding, go guard the second shift. We'll need to take over soon."

They dispersed as instructed, leaving Li Qi and Uncle Six alone in a nearby shelter used by fishermen.

"What happened? Why are you like this?" Uncle Six asked anxiously.

Li Qi looked terrified, his face swollen, covered in dirt, as if he had rolled back.

Though Li Qi was of unknown origin, he was steady and intelligent, possessing strong reasoning skills and remarkable talent. Within two years, he mastered the Paibo Technique, surpassing many older pullers.

Yet, how could someone so capable be reduced to this state?

Li Qi didn't answer immediately. Instead, his gaze fell on the river ceremony site.

Underneath the large ceremonial boat, an oddly designed box appeared, displaying:

"River Ceremony Progress: 46%"

Alongside it was a progress bar indicating the same.

He looked at another puller drinking soup, whose status read:

"Eating Progress: 84%"

The bar filled rapidly to 100%, matching the moment the puller finished the soup. Then it changed to:

"Resting Progress: 1%"

"Little Li? Li Qi?" Uncle Six's concerned face appeared before him.

Above Uncle Six's head, a similar progress bar read:

"Observing Emotions Progress: 21%"

It displayed exactly what Uncle Six was doing!

"Little Li?" Uncle Six called louder.

"Huh!" Li Qi snapped back, suppressing his confusion for now.

"What happened? Did you encounter something dangerous? Are you hurt?" Uncle Six asked urgently.

"No, nothing. I'm fine," Li Qi replied, shaking his head and looking around. "How long was I out? Did anyone follow?"

"You were unconscious for less than a quarter of an hour, and no one followed. Did the Lizhuang Gang find you?"

"Yes, I saw them consorting with a high-level practitioner who promised to teach them a new sorcery technique!" Li Qi explained.

Sorcery!

At this word, Uncle Six's face paled instantly.