Chapter 1 The Rain

Da da da~

Following a low knocking sound, Yan Xiake, suppressing his voice, still called out with full vigor:

"Is the master of the house in? We are travelers passing by, a storm is coming, and we wish to seek shelter for the night!"

Standing outside the door, Yan Xiake felt a bit strange.

Why was there a smell of stewed meat coming from the burial ground in the middle of the night?

Those guarding the burial ground were supposed to be poor families, or half-mad fools. Where would they get the means to eat meat?

He thought of this question.

The group behind him also thought of it. Looking at the coffins arranged under the shed, and smelling the meaty fragrance mixed with the stench of corpses, each of them didn't know what to think, and felt waves of nausea.

Several people immediately gripped their swords.

"Who is it? In the middle of the night!"

An old voice came from the burial ground.

Sa Wuling, draped in clothes, yawned and opened the door. Seeing a group of dusty travelers outside, he was also stunned.

In this day and age, bandits and mountain robbers roamed the wilderness, wild beasts injured people frequently, and evil spirits and monsters came out to harm people from time to time. He rarely saw outsiders.

These people, who were clearly from the martial world, were even rarer to see.

"Old sir!"

Yan Xiake cupped his fist. "A storm is coming. Can you allow us to come in for a cup of water?"

The girl named Qian'er was also very sensible, and directly took out a silver coin to offer.

'Where did these wealthy bumpkins come from? Five taels of silver right off the bat?'

Sa Wuling glanced at the group.

Apart from the dark-faced, ugly man at the front, all of these people were neatly dressed, with fine swords, obviously not ordinary people.

Five taels of silver for one night was well worth it.

However...

After hesitating for a moment, Sa Wuling was about to refuse when he heard a dog bark from the courtyard.

Immediately, his body relaxed, and he took the silver:

"Everyone must be tired from your journey. Please come in and rest, but the burial ground is small, and there aren't many rooms. You'll have to squeeze together..."

"It doesn't matter!"

Yan Xiake laughed. "Being able to find a place to stay is already good enough. How can we ask for more?"

He said this to the people behind him.

He was used to roughing it, and sleeping in a graveyard for a night wasn't a big deal, but these sons of officials were different, so he had to give them a heads-up in advance.

"Don't worry, Brother Yan, we're not pampered people."

Yun Qian'er echoed.

The others all nodded.

Seeing that everyone had no objections, Sa Wuling opened the door, and after everyone had entered, he closed it.

The burial ground was not small.

After all, the nearby villages had to store coffins in the burial ground before choosing an auspicious day for burial. To avoid rain, there weren't many rooms, but the space was not small.

If they were squeezed in, more than a hundred corpses could fit.

Walking into the burial ground, the smell of stewed meat became even stronger.

Yan Xiake looked around. Apart from a yellow dog gnawing on a bone, he didn't see anyone. He cupped his fist towards Sa Wuling and said, "Old sir, we've been traveling all this time, and we're very hungry. Is there anything to eat? We'll pay for it."

Martial artists had big appetites. Yan Xiake had been traveling all this time without any food or water, and smelling the meat, his stomach was rumbling.

He didn't care about the coffins.

Even if he was face to face with a corpse, he would still eat.

"Please forgive me, guests, we really don't have any."

Sa Wuling shook his head.

He was joking. He hadn't eaten meat in days. The livestock in these nearby villages had probably been eaten up, and he couldn't buy any even if he had money.

These were what he had bought from An'nuo County after traveling four hundred *li* back and forth with *jia ma* attached to his legs.

He was almost exhausted on the spot.

Sell them to you?

Dream on!

"This, we can offer."

Yan Xiake took out a silver ingot from his chest, and tossed it, thinking he wanted money.

Sa Wuling's eyelids twitched, and he spread his hands:

"This, we really, really don't have!"

"Alright!"

While the two were talking, a calm voice came from the room: "Travelers are guests, it's just some food. What's there to be stingy about? You can just go buy more in a few days!"

"Yes..."

Sa Wuling's face twitched.

This burial ground was two hundred *li* away from An'nuo County, a round trip of four hundred *li*.

Four hundred *li*, you say it so lightly!

Why don't you try it?

He complained in his heart, but he couldn't say anything, and turned around to prepare.

"You might as well come in and sit for a while."

Inside the room, An Qisheng spoke again as the candlelight flickered.

"In that case, thank you."

Yan Xiake didn't stand on ceremony and walked in.

That Yun Qian'er followed in.

The group behind them wanted to go in as well, but seeing that the room was not very big, they gave up.

Walking into the room, Yan Xiake subconsciously looked around.

It was a very simple room, a wooden table, two long chairs, a cup of tea, and a young man in a simple gray robe.

'What a fine young man!'

Yan Xiake praised in his heart.

The young man was sitting upright, his back straight, his skin glowing, and he exuded a vibrant life force like the morning sun. His martial arts foundation was probably extremely good.

Although there was no trace of magic power on his body, he seemed to have extremely high martial arts skills.

He was not an ordinary person.

Yun Qian'er didn't feel anything.

This young man was dressed simply, and his face wasn't very good-looking. Only his eyes were very bright, as if they could glow, making her feel uneasy.

"Please sit, both of you."

An Qisheng waved slightly.

The two then sat down.

Sa Wuling also came in with the food, put it down grumbling, and turned to leave.

"Brother, are you the owner of this burial ground?"

Yan Xiake probed indirectly, without directly stating his intention.

This young man was not an ordinary person, but he didn't know why he stayed in such a burial ground.

"That's right."

An Qisheng nodded slightly, responding casually, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

Back in the Jiu Fu Realm, he had developed a habit of first observing a person's *qi* and examining their face whenever he met someone. Then, he would use the Da Dao Ji to look at their fortune. If it required a lot of Da Dao power, he would look at their fate depending on the situation.

In his opinion, this big man had a dignified and measured face, a full forehead, a square jaw, and abundant *shen*, *jing*, and *qi*. His *qi* was quite heroic, but his fate was full of setbacks. Although he would turn bad luck into good, he would drag down his companions.

Buzz~

In the depths of his soul, the Da Dao Ji flowed with words:

[Consuming 490 Da Dao power]

[Yan Xiake (29/124)]

[Original trajectory: Born in the human realm of the Huang Tian Realm, a wealthy family in Qingyan Prefecture of the Great Qing Dynasty. He studied martial arts and literature since childhood, and was intelligent and talented. When his family declined at a young age, he passed the civil and military imperial examinations with top honors, but was resented by a villain, who killed his parents. After mourning for three years, the situation changed, and he could only become a constable...]

[After several years as a constable, he saw much suffering among the people and corruption among officials. He abandoned his official position and went into seclusion, but encountered an immortal encounter, obtaining a Dao book...]

[Later, he was hated by the court for some reason, and was hunted down many times, barely escaping death... He roamed the seventy-two prefectures of the Great Qing, specializing in killing evil people, evil ghosts, and evil demons, and was revered by countless people as the Demon Subduing True Man...]

[In the 97,690th year of Huang Tian, on the eve of the You Ming Fu Jun Festival, he was killed by Bai Wuchang, Xie Qi.]

Another You Ming Fu Jun Festival...

A barely noticeable glint flashed in An Qisheng's eyes.

Without anything else, just from the consumption of Da Dao power, it could be seen that this Yan Xiake was much stronger than Bai Gu Zi, almost reaching half of that Zombie King Zhu Shang.

But the cause of death was the same as Bai Gu Zi, both were the You Ming Fu Jun Festival, and both were killed by Bai Wuchang, Xie Qi.

What exactly is this You Ming Fu Jun Festival?

"Brother An, to be honest, I have come here with another important matter. This matter is very dangerous, and I am borrowing your burial ground, but I am afraid that you will be affected..."

After talking for a while, Yan Xiake no longer hid anything and told him all the causes and consequences of his arrival.

Finally, he paused, and after Yun Qian'er took out a silver note, he continued:

"This is fifty taels of silver. After you take it, take that old gentleman and leave quickly..."

Crack!

Before Yan Xiake could finish speaking, a bolt of lightning flashed across the dark night.

Then, rolling thunder spread, and between the whistling of the night wind, the moisture could already be felt between the nose and mouth.

The heavy rain was about to come.

An Qisheng picked up the teacup and took a sip, looking out the window. Lightning danced wildly in the night, and thunder rumbled. Raindrops had already fallen from the sky.

Thunder came from the heavens, and all spirits retreated.

The phosphorescent fire above the ten *li* burial mound disappeared instantly, and the invisible Yin Sha *qi* seemed to be swept away.

"This rain has come at a very opportune time..."

Yan Xiake smiled wryly and stood up.

"There is no reason for a guest to force the host to leave in the rain. Anyway, it is just a fight. I will go and see what is so great about the Great Qing Banner Soldiers!"

"Brother Yan, I will go with you!"

Yun Qian'er also stood up.

"In that case, Brother An, farewell!"

Yan Xiake cupped his fist and was about to leave.

At this time, An Qisheng slowly put down the teacup and said slowly:

"Brother Yan has the demeanor of a chivalrous hero, but sometimes you still have to think twice before acting. Sometimes hearing is believing, and seeing may not be true either..."

Yan Xiake was slightly taken aback:

"Brother An, what do you mean..."

"Is that Lord Yun really incorruptible as an official? Has he really benefited one side during his tenure?"

An Qisheng glanced deeply at Yun Qian'er, whose face had changed slightly:

"This girl is eager to save her father, perhaps there are no lies, but this girl is only sixteen years old, and what she knows may not be the truth..."

"You are not allowed to slander my father!"

Yun Qian'er raised her eyebrows and interjected: "Brother Yan, you, you must not believe him!"

"Three years of a clean magistrate, ten thousand taels of silver. The affairs of the officialdom are the most unpredictable. Since Brother Yan has resigned from office, do not interfere in these matters."

An Qisheng pointed to the silver note on the table.

Fifty taels of silver is not a small amount in this Great Qing. For a family of three, it is enough to eat for a lifetime.

"This..."

Yan Xiake's eyes narrowed.

He had also been in the officialdom, so he naturally knew this principle, but Lord Yun had a very good reputation and was a rare good official.

Could it be that there had been changes later?

Saying three sentences was already on account of Yan Xiake being someone important. Whether he believed it or not, An Qisheng was too lazy to care.

He picked up the teacup to see him off.

Seeing this, Yan Xiake did not say anything more, bid farewell, turned around, and walked into the courtyard.

At this time, heavy rain had already fallen with the rolling thunder, and the Yun family members were all sheltering from the rain under the eaves of the shed.

Seeing Yan Xiake come out, they were about to say hello.

The latter's face suddenly changed:

"Silence!"

Everyone was stunned, and then, a knock on the door sounded.