It was a very sad day when I left home.

Originally, the grievances and anger caused by Yu Xiao'er were slightly diluted by a package from my parents, replaced by guilt and sadness. With the thoughtfulness of my father and elder brother towards the family, they would tolerate my leaving home at this time, which was already a great concession. My mother, with her gentle nature, must have shed countless tears. Given Aunt Gua and Sister Chuyi's personalities, I was bound to receive a beating when I returned home in the future. And Aunt Hong was even gentler. Now that I think about it, she must have known about my departure, but the reason she didn't drag me back was probably because Father intervened.

Although only fourteen or fifteen years old, he had already been on the battlefield and knew what the greatest misfortune a family could encounter was. The world outside the Southwest was not peaceful. If he really couldn't come back, how much suffering would his family have to endure? Just like his younger siblings, if something happened to them on the battlefield one day, he would probably be so heartbroken that he would want to kill everyone.

Staying overnight at a post station that evening, his heart was filled with mixed emotions. Thinking of his family—especially his younger siblings—he couldn't help but want to go back immediately. His mother was probably still crying. He wondered if his father and aunt could comfort her. Wenwen and Ningke were probably crying too, and the thought of it made his heart ache terribly…

With these thoughts, he couldn't sleep that night and climbed onto the roof to sit for a long time. The May night breeze was refreshing and pleasant. The small market that had grown around the post station was still lit with a few lights, and some travelers were on the road. The light of torches and lanterns extended from the market in a crescent shape. In the distant villages, one could also see the lights of villagers' activities, and the barking of dogs could be heard occasionally.

He sat in such a scene until late at night, when most people had fallen asleep. There was a rustling sound from a house not far away. Ning Ji remembered the days of peeping at Little Bitch Dog in Chengdu, but then he shook his head again. Women are all bad seeds. Why think about her? Maybe she was already dead somewhere outside.

He didn't go back to bed until late at night, and tossed and turned for a long time before gradually falling asleep.

When he got up the next day, after practicing a set of punches with vigor in the courtyard of the inn, it was another day of boundless possibilities.

Going back was certainly good, but if he chickened out this time, it would be difficult for him to leave again for the rest of his life. He had been trained by a group of martial arts masters for so many years, and he had also been mixed up in a battlefield environment. He was no longer a child who couldn't think for himself. His martial arts had reached a bottleneck. If he didn't go out, he would only be doing fancy moves for fun.

After all, when it comes to practicing martial arts, the basics learned at home are important, but after the basics are mastered, it is the malicious actual combat that allows one to improve. There were many experts at home in the Southwest. It was one thing to fight openly, but he certainly couldn't beat them. However, under circumstances where he knew everything, it was increasingly rare for them to create a huge sense of pressure on him.

Last year in Chengdu, Uncle Chen Fan took advantage of the opportunity to fight three people at once, deliberately pretending to be unable to hold back, and threw such a punch. He thought he was almost dead. Under the extreme fear of his whole body, he mobilized all possible reactions in his mind. After it was over, he benefited a lot. But such a situation could no longer be created, even by Aunt Hong.

There were also many desperadoes in the army, who were best at life-and-death battles, but if he were to fight them, he might not be able to hold back. It would be a big deal to injure anyone.

In martial arts, the state of experiencing life and death and then improving oneself is called "stealing the secrets of heaven." Walking on high wooden stakes has this principle. Some people choose to practice boxing on the cliffs of deep mountains, where they may fall to their death at any time, which has a better effect. It is the same on the battlefield, where constant mental tension can make people mature quickly. But he had already experienced the situation on the battlefield.

When he first started learning as a child, the way of martial arts was like a boundless sea, and he couldn't see the shore. Aunt Gua, Aunt Hong, and the others could block any move he made with ease, even when he exerted his full strength to resist. Several times, they pretended to miss and "accidentally" cut him with a knife or sword in fierce and rapid places, causing him to break out in a cold sweat from fear. But these were all "traps" that they stopped short of, and he could benefit a lot after those battles.

After experiencing the Southwest battlefield and personally killing many enemies, the sense of fear had quickly diminished. Aunt Hong, Aunt Gua, and Uncle Chen were still powerful, but he could now see clearly the extent of their power in his heart.

Later, on some occasions, he heard his father and Aunt Hong saying that he was progressing too fast and shouldn't have gone to the battlefield. If he hadn't gone to the battlefield, he would have needed a few more years to touch this boundary. After going to the battlefield, his combat mentality had become solid, and the rest was nothing more than the increase in strength brought about by the natural development of his body, which could take him a little further.

His father had rarely engaged in actual combat in recent years, but his knowledge of martial arts was, of course, very high.

The Southwest was too gentle, just like its four seasons. No one would kill him. His father's wings covered everything. If he continued to stay there, even if he practiced constantly, he would always be a distance away from Aunt Hong, Aunt Gua, and the others. If he wanted to cross this distance, he could only go out, go to a place where tigers and wolves surrounded him and the wind and snow howled, to hone himself and truly become the number one Long Aotian… no, Ning Ji in the world.

As for that damned Yu Xiao'er—forget it, he couldn't scold her like that—she was just an excuse.

His young body was strong and vigorous. After eating half a table of breakfast at the inn, he had also completed his mental construction. He had even let go of some of his hatred, which was truly positive and healthy, except for a slight pause when he paid the bill later. Martial arts practitioners eat too much, and if he left the Southwest, he probably wouldn't be able to eat so freely. This was the first major test.

Leaving the inn, the warm morning sun had already risen, and there were many pedestrians on the road leading out of town.

Ning Ji had traveled the roads from Zhang Village to Chengdu many times, but leaving home this time had a particularly different state of mind. He walked along the main road for a while, and then left the main road, running along various small paths.

The Chengdu Plain was mostly flat. The young man ran and shouted across the fields, through the forests, across the ridges, and through the villages. The sunlight flickered through the shadows of the trees. The yellow dogs that guarded the villages rushed out to pounce on him. He dodged with bursts of laughter, but no dog could get close to him.

He spent the night camping in the wilderness on the fifth day, and in the afternoon of the sixth day, he entered the suburbs of Chengdu.

With the ancient city as the center, a busy commercial system had been established from the southwest to the northeast. Large and small new factories and workshops had been built inside and outside the villages on the outskirts of the city. Makeshift sheds and newly built courtyards encroached on the original houses and farmland. Workers from outside flocked to live in simple dormitories. As the number of people increased, some of the small roads on the outskirts, which originally had few pedestrians, were now full of mud and water. When the sun was shining, they turned into pitted black mud.

White lime was everywhere, scattered on the sides of the roads and around the houses. Although it was only the suburbs, one could often see staff members wearing red armbands—Ning Ji felt a sense of familiarity when he saw this image—they passed through the villages, inspecting hygiene in the factories and workshops. Although they also managed some trivial security incidents, their main task was to check hygiene.

His father and elder brother's first requirement after people gathered was to improve everyone's personal hygiene. Workers transported in from outside had to undergo centralized training upon arrival, and were repeatedly ordered not to defecate indiscriminately around the factory. The first thing every factory needed to prepare before opening was a unified public toilet and a supply of disinfecting lime—Ning Ji had heard his father say these things several times, and now that he had returned, he saw the changes around Chengdu in the past year.

The roads leading to the city had now been widened a bit, but they still seemed lively and crowded. Because villages on the outskirts of the city had begun to build factories, there were several bustling markets outside the city. Some of the snacks that could only be found in the city could now be bought here, and they were cheaper than last year, which made little Ning Ji linger here for a while.

For the Southwest Chinese Army, the greatest victory was still the great victory against the Jin in the past two years. This victory drove the commercial orders of various warlords, including Liu Guangshi. As the huge number of official orders poured in, various private merchants also flocked in. The prices of goods in the Southwest soared, and the original production capacity was far from meeting the demand, so large and small factories were rapidly launched. For at least a year or two, Chengdu would be in a state where it could sell as much material as it could produce. This was not an illusion, but a reality that everyone could clearly see.

The west and south sides of the city have now been designated as formal production areas. Some villages and populations are still being relocated. Some factories are under construction, and many have already started production. There are two huge trade areas in the east and north of the city, where the raw materials needed by the factories and the finished products are mostly physically delivered. This is the pattern that has gradually formed around Chengdu since last year. Remember the website address in one second: 『』为您提供精彩\小说阅读.

Due to the rapid development, the scenery around here seems busy and chaotic, but to the people of this era, all of this is probably unparalleled prosperity and splendor.

As for the interior of the old city wall of Chengdu, it is naturally still the political, economic, and cultural center of the entire Chinese Army's power.

Wealthy merchants would enter the city to discuss huge business deals, perhaps only leaving the city once when they needed to conduct on-site inspections.

Well-read Confucian scholars engaged in heated debates with people here. The newsprint here had the most well-informed news sources in the world, as well as the freest atmosphere for debate. They could sit in the inn and enrich their knowledge of the world day by day without even having to go out.

Knights from all over the world would not miss this novel and prosperous city. Even if they were just peddlers and hawkers who came from afar, they would not just stay outside the city and leave…

Ning Ji, who had not been here for nearly a year, entered the city of Chengdu after dark on the sixth day. He could still remember many familiar places: Little Bitch Dog's small courtyard, the bustling Yingbin Road, the small courtyard he lived in on Pingrong Road—unfortunately, it was blown up, the hot pot at Squirrel Pavilion, the venue for the World's Number One Martial Arts Tournament, Aunt Gu's small clinic…

He wanted to walk around Chengdu again, and also see Aunt Gu, who was still in the city—maybe Little Bitch Dog had suffered outside and ran back to Chengdu crying. After all, she wasn't a bad person, just silly, slow, foolish, weak, and unlucky. It wasn't her fault either, and she didn't deserve to die—but after thinking about it, he gave up.

Dad hurriedly returned to Zhang Village to deal with his affairs, and now that he had finished, he would probably return to Chengdu as well. With his personality, if he caught him in Chengdu, he would probably put his hands on his hips and laugh: "You little rascal, I gave you a chance." Even aside from Dad, his elder brother and sister-in-law were likely to do the same. Especially his sister-in-law, if she caught up with him, he would probably be beaten up.

This place was no different from the base of thieves.

He had to leave this place of trouble quickly.

According to his experience here last year, many merchants who came to Chengdu would gather in the market on the northeast side of the city. Because the outside world was not peaceful in this era, long-distance merchant teams would often take some passengers along the way, charging some fares on the one hand, and on the other hand, there was strength in numbers, and they could take care of each other on the road. Of course, in rare cases, if a thief's scout mixed into the team, it would probably be very miserable, so they were often selective about the passengers they traveled with.

In the past year, Ning Ji had received a lot of training in the army that would be useful for going out, and it would not be a big problem for him to go to Sichuan alone. But considering that there would still be gaps between training and practice on the one hand, and on the other hand, it would be more likely for a fifteen-year-old young man walking alone with a bag to be targeted if he became separated from the group, so he decided to travel with others for the first leg of his journey out of Sichuan.

That night, he bought a medicine box and added some medicines. The next morning, with an attitude of being afraid of being targeted by bad guys, he went to a merchant team that was leaving today and temporarily signed up. In the morning, he followed this team of thirty-two pack horses and more than one hundred and thirty people and fled Chengdu as if he was escaping…

…

"This brother, my name is Lu Wenke, from Hongzhou in Jiangnan Road. May I know your honorable name and where you come from, little brother…"

The merchant team of more than a hundred people mixed on the road extending northeast out of Sichuan. The flow of people was mighty. Before they had gone far, a thin, tall scholar who loved to make friends next to him cupped his hands and greeted him, exchanging names.

Ning Ji was cheerful and lively, and also loved to make friends. He cupped his hands and said, "My name is Long Aotian."

"…What…Tian?"

"Long! Ao! Tian!" Ning Ji said each word clearly.

The thin, tall Lu Wenke closed his mouth and took a breath, staring at him for a long time before cupping his fists in admiration, "Little brother's name is truly magnificent."

"That's what everyone says."

"Where are you from, little brother? Where are you going?"

"Jiangning," Ning Ji said, "My hometown is in Jiangning. I've never been there, so I'm going to take a look this time."

"Jiangning…" Lu Wenke's tone became low, "It used to be a good place, but now…it's a bit bad. After the new emperor ascended the throne there, the Jurchens slaughtered and burned the city of Jiangning. It hasn't recovered its vitality, and recently there have been disturbances from the Fairness Party. I'm afraid there aren't many people left…"

"It's okay. The road is long. By the time we get there, Jiangning might be rebuilt." Long Aotian smiled casually.

Lu Wenke's body trembled, and he clasped his fists in admiration, "Little brother Long is truly open-minded."

The road leading out of Sichuan from Chengdu stretched forward. Various pedestrians, carts, and horses intertwined on the road. In front of them was a family of four, a couple with their not-so-old father and their son, leading a mule, not knowing where they were going. Behind them, a Jianghu person with a rogue face was talking to the镖师 of the merchant team, both letting out a sly, wretched laugh. Yao Shubin, who told obscene jokes on the battlefield, would also make this kind of laugh, which made Ning Ji feel familiar.

The thin, tall scholar named Lu Wenke next to him was quite talkative. After communicating a few sentences, he began to point out the mountains and rivers, discussing his gains in Chengdu.

"…Although the land of the Southwest has various unorthodox aspects, what I have seen and heard in a few months is truly magical and difficult to describe. In Hongzhou, I prided myself on being well-read, but seeing the Jurchen rampant and the world in turmoil, I felt that there was no way to think of a solution. But after coming to this Southwest, I saw that this study of things and this method of management were so simple and so thorough. After understanding these methods, I will be able to do great things when I return to Hongzhou. Brother Long, the sky is vast and the sea is wide, the sky is vast and the sea is wide, Brother Long!"

"Admirable, admirable, reasonable, reasonable…" Long Aotian clasped his hands in admiration.

Ning Ji was familiar with many places on the road ahead. It would lead all the way to Zizhou, then out of Zizhou, over the Wangyuan Bridge, and into the large and small mountains in front of Jianmen Pass. He and the others in the Chinese Army had fought bloody battles with the Jurchens at various points in those mountains. It was the burial place of countless heroes—although it was also the burial place of many Jurchen invaders, even if there were ghosts and gods, the victors were not afraid of them at all.

Further on, they would pass through Jianmen Pass. Ning Ji no longer knew about the world outside there. A fog rolled over there, or it might be a vast sky and sea. At this time, he was full of expectations for everything.

…

At the same time, the great demon Ning Yi, who was being avoided by the young hero Long Aotian, was in Leshan, concerned about Lin Jingwei's injuries.

Although this old man was not very outstanding in his research ability, he was also the most outstanding affairs official who had been under Ning Yi since the Xiaocang River period, arranging the research work in an organized manner. At this time, due to the explosion of the prototype steam engine boiler, he suffered extensive injuries and was fighting a difficult battle with the god of death.

Thousands of miles away, a certain little emperor who would probably be extremely envious of Lin Jingwei's position if he were in the Chinese Army had also received gifts from the Southwest and had begun to build a more functional research institute. On the southeast coast, the new emperor's reforms were generous and radical, but of course, he was also facing his own problems, which were gradually emerging from the shadows…