The Eternal Way

Li Qi was in high spirits.

Now, even if there were issues with the gold, it wouldn't affect him anymore.

If there were problems, they could be taken up with the Deity of the Li River. Having seen the grandeur of Qinghua Palace, Li Qi felt confident about such a colossal entity dominating a nation.

At the same time, he felt a deep sense of awe.

The sight of an entire grotto-heaven filled with palaces and flowing waters left a profound impact on him.

He had read the book "Wu" previously, where the descriptions of geography made the Great Deer Kingdom seem like a small, insignificant country. He thought that riding his horse for half a month would take him out of its borders.

Yet, even this small kingdom had a river deity possessing such magnificent grotto-heavens and immense power, creating such a breathtaking scene.

There must be thousands of countries like the Great Deer Kingdom within the territory of Wu Deity Mountain.

And there are countless kingdoms larger than the Great Deer Kingdom.

The Deity of the Li River wasn't even significant enough to be recorded in the Water Classics, not considered one of the famous rivers in the world.

Li Qi felt like an ant at the foot of a mountain, a pebble on the road, seeming insignificant compared to the towering peaks.

However, he couldn't see the true heights because even when he lifted his head, he couldn't see beyond.

"One cannot recognize the true face of Mount Lu, only because one is among its peaks."

So, what would Luo Fu Mountain look like?

How spectacular would Wu Deity Mountain be?

Thinking about these things, the thirty pure strands of water qi swirling within him seemed trivial.

It was a long and arduous path ahead.

But Li Qi became increasingly excited.

It reminded him of the first time he saw the humanistic qi of two hundred thousand people in Feng County.

Just twenty thousand people had been so overwhelming.

This made Li Qi even more eager to stand atop a mountain peak and witness the myriad paths below.

How magnificent would that be?

With these thoughts in mind, Li Qi swam out of the river and waved off the temporary laborers he had hired earlier.

Then, he packed up the remaining usable items, like the fish-skin drum, preparing to leave.

It was already afternoon. After buying some food, he planned to leave the city.

Staying overnight in the city was too expensive; besides, he was used to living in the wilderness—it was quite comfortable.

As for the water qi...

He would ask Shen Shuibei first. She knew more and might have better suggestions on how to utilize them.

Having prepared everything, Li Qi headed back to the market to buy provisions and fulfill his promise to Old Horse by purchasing sugar beets and oats.

However, before he could take more than a few steps, he saw the wealthy man from before, drenched in sweat.

Seeing him, Li Qi decisively turned around to avoid him.

He decided to circle around and go to the market later.

But the other man clearly had no intention of letting him go.

The portly rich man rushed over and grabbed Li Qi, "Hey! Young man! Remember me? I bought your beast bones this morning!"

Li Qi frowned and turned around. "Sir, we exchanged goods and money fairly. Neither of us shortchanged the other. Why are you holding me?"

"Oh, oh, young man—no, esteemed Wu, I didn't recognize your greatness and offended you! Please don't hold it against me!" The rich man clung tightly to Li Qi's sleeve, pleading continuously.

But he was just an ordinary person. Using Carp Flow Intent, Li Qi easily slipped free.

This display shocked the rich man further, who hurriedly chased after Li Qi, hugging him and kneeling down, "Great Wu, please save me!"

"You should forgive me, a lowly person. Save my life! I'm willing to offer ten pieces of gold... no, twenty pieces of gold!"

His sudden hug drew the attention of many passersby.

Li Qi hated being the center of attention and quickly pulled the man up, lowering his voice with a hint of anger, "Speak! Do you think you can stop me with your hands? When I turn around and leave, who will save you then?"

The rich man hastily stood up, wiping away tears but still sobbing as if truly heartbroken.

Li Qi found this annoying. This man had schemed against him before and now came to play the victim, which irritated him greatly. He was ready to walk away.

But the man mentioned twenty pieces of gold.

That was a lot.

More than he had ever seen in his life.

Converted into qian, it was two hundred thousand qian.

Enough to host a grand ritual for over a hundred people.

So, Li Qi didn't leave immediately. Instead, he furrowed his brow, suppressing his annoyance, and walked briskly, "Let's go to your house and talk."

Seeing this, the rich man rose joyfully and followed Li Qi, quickly avoiding the crowd's gaze and returning to his mansion.

It was still as gloomy as ever.

The rich man hurriedly opened the door and invited Li Qi inside.

"Great Wu, listen to me..." the rich man began eagerly.

Li Qi interrupted, "I'm not a Great Wu. My name is Li, just an ordinary wandering sorcerer."

He didn't want to claim to be a proper Wu Zhu because it seemed the Great Deer Kingdom had been thoroughly assimilated into Tang Dynasty customs. Though remnants of original Wu practices remained, most systems had aligned with those of the Tang Dynasty.

At such times, being a wandering sorcerer was safer than claiming to be a Wu practitioner.

There were countless Lis in the Great Deer Kingdom.

But Wu Zhu from Wu Deity Mountain were rare.

"Then... I'll call you Master Li. Master Li, you're definitely here to save me, right? You noticed something wrong with the gold?" The rich man smiled obsequiously at Li Qi.

"Stop, sir. Don't rush to ingratiate yourself. From your tone, it seems you knew there was something wrong with the gold. Knowing this and still giving it to me... That's not very good," Li Qi stepped back, maintaining a stern expression.

"Well, I was forced, you see... I didn't know you were such a powerful person." The rich man scratched his head, his face still ingratiating.

"If I were an ordinary person, wouldn't I have been killed by you?" Hearing this, Li Qi grew genuinely annoyed.

Saying such things outright showed a lack of conscience and intelligence.

Li Qi knew that one could deal with unscrupulous people driven by mutual interests and unintelligent people through sincere treatment, making their actions predictable.

But someone lacking both intelligence and conscience was unpredictable.

Thus, he no longer wanted the twenty pieces of gold.

Because complications were bound to arise.

Let this rich man meet his fate; Li Qi needed to continue his journey.

But at this moment, an old voice sounded behind Li Qi.

"My son is indeed foolish. Apologies, Master Zhu. It was this old woman's mistake not recognizing you as a senior apprentice earlier."