3: My Lord, please take care of yourself! (Please add this to your collection and give me a monthly ticket)

Qingshan County, early morning mist permeated the air.

There were only sparse figures on the street, moving in a hurry.

At the end of an alley, in a tavern, there was curling smoke from cooking, and a steaming warmth.

Under the shed, several stoves burned with glowing red flames, warming the potent wine, its aroma wafting through the air.

As the rising sun cast its first rays, a figure gradually approached through the hazy mist.

He took off his straw hat, placed it on the table, and called out to the old man bustling by the stove.

“Three liang of wine, two jin of meat.”

“Alright, please wait a moment.”

The old man was about to respond nimbly, but his work stopped.

He turned his head to look, and when he saw who had arrived,

the wine ladle in his hand dropped, and he quickly lifted the hem of his clothes.

“Sir!”

With that, he was about to kneel.

Chen Yuan waved his hand and smiled, “There’s no need for these formalities.”

“I’m hungry, quickly bring the food and wine.”

“Aye, aye, alright.” Old Man Wu quickly brought the food and wine to the table.

Then he poured wine for Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan drained a cup of wine, setting the cup down with a “thud.”

The potent wine rolled down his throat, transforming into a warm current that circulated, making his pores open.

“Good wine!”

As he spoke, he looked at Old Man Wu, who was standing by, smiling.

“Old Wu, your wine-making skills are getting better and better. Sit down!”

The old man bowed and said “Aye,” then sat down.

“Sir, have you just returned from handling matters?”

“Yes, there was a beast eating human hearts and livers; I chased it in the mountains for two days.” Chen Yuan poured another cup of wine and drained it.

Then he ate the meat in large bites.

He was truly starving.

The old man watched Chen Yuan devour his food, and a strange emotion flickered in his cloudy eyes.

He said nothing, only silently poured wine for Chen Yuan.

“Is there any news about what I asked you to inquire about?” Chen Yuan asked.

“To answer you, not long ago, a demonic calamity indeed occurred in the neighboring Yunlu County, and many people died, so recently, many displaced people have emerged in the county. However…” The old man said in a low, serious voice.

“However, what?”

“However, it seems a Divine Cult appeared there, suppressing the demonic calamity, and they also widely distributed porridge. Many people heard the news and rushed back.”

“Divine Cult?” Chen Yuan put down his chopsticks, his eyebrows twitching.

A very familiar feeling.

A demonic calamity in the neighboring county leading to displaced people indicated that the situation was out of control.

Now, a Divine Cult was appearing and gaining widespread influence.

This indicated one problem.

The Patrolling Mountain Commandant of the neighboring county had already lost control.

More likely, he was gone!

This was very bad news for Chen Yuan.

He was already fighting alone, and now the neighboring county was also having problems.

His situation was precarious!

He felt a sense of urgency.

The state of mind he had just achieved a Breakthrough in was now clouded by a shadow.

It was still far from enough.

He had to accelerate the main quest as much as possible before trouble found him.

“Alright, I understand. What about the others?”

“This old man has already prepared them.” With that, the old man pulled several papers from his Pregnant.

The handwriting on them was strong and forceful.

Clearly inconsistent with the identity of a wine-selling old man.

But in chaotic times, who could say for sure?

“These are the things this old man has recently inquired about.”

“Good, thank you for your hard work!”

Chen Yuan put these papers into his sleeve, then stood up.

“Give me another five jin of meat, I’ll take it with me!”

The old man quickly got busy.

Finally, he handed the heavy meat to Chen Yuan with both hands.

“Sir, please take care of yourself!”

Chen Yuan waved his hand, his figure gradually disappearing into the mist.

Behind him, the old man stretched his neck, looking out.

After a long while, he sighed and returned to the stove.

East of Qingshan County, Jiazi Ward.

As Chen Yuan entered Jiazi Ward, the quiet county town suddenly came alive.

Those going to work, setting up stalls, night watchmen, and those emptying night pots were all busy.

Chen Yuan stepped over the damp bluestone path.

He turned a few corners and arrived in front of a small courtyard with green bricks and green tiles.

Just as he was about to open the door,

he heard a “thud” from next door.

The door opened.

A small child with hair tied up ran out, wailing strangely.

Immediately following was a sharp scolding.

“Still running? This little bastard, I’ll beat you to death.”

“Look at what you usually learn.”

The owner of the scolding quickly appeared.

A woman dressed in a coarse cloth skirt and with a blue floral scarf tied on her head, brandishing a bamboo stick, rushed out the door, chasing and hitting the boy.

The boy dodged and hid behind Chen Yuan.

It was then that the woman looked up and saw Chen Yuan.

Her sharp eyes instantly softened.

“Yuan Ge’er, have you just returned?”

“Yes.” Chen Yuan responded, turning to look at the boy hiding behind him, then at the woman, finding it amusing:

“Sister Hua, what’s wrong this time?”

At this, Sister Hua became furious.

“Speaking of this, I almost died of anger.”

“I just checked this little bastard’s homework, testing the words the teacher taught him.”

“I asked him, what is ‘da ( ) gan ( )’?”

“This old woman even gave him a hint, saying two people were very angry and started fighting because of it.”

“Guess what this little bastard said?”

“He stammered for a long time, and then he said, ‘Da Bian Gan Zao’ (constipation).”

“Don’t you think that’s infuriating?”

Sister Hua raised her stick, about to strike again.

But the boy stiffened his neck, still full of defiance,

“I clearly said nothing wrong. If two people are angry and can’t go to the toilet, don’t they have to pick it out? I’ve done that.”

“Also, I don’t want to study, I want to learn martial arts and act on behalf of the Dao.”

Chen Yuan couldn’t help but burst into laughter upon hearing such “enlightening” words from the child.

His mother, hearing her son’s utter nonsense, was so embarrassed that she finally couldn’t hold back.

“Thwack!”

“I’ll give you constipation, I’ll give you picking it out with your hand.”

Immediately, there was another commotion along the street.

Chen Yuan watched the mother and son leave, shaking his head with a smile.

His mood lightened considerably.

The warmth of human life is what soothes the Mortal heart the most.

Humans are social animals. Unlike the previous Patrolling Mountain Commandant who stayed deep in the mountains, he preferred to stay here.

This allowed him to experience some human warmth while living in this terrifying world of demons and monsters.

Then he pushed open his own door.

A single-entry courtyard.

With blue tiles and white walls, two rows of green bamboo were planted on either side of the entrance, connected by an archway.

In the center of the courtyard, a small fish pond was also dug out.

It complemented the scene well.

He entered the house.

Chen Yuan ate all the meat he had brought, until his stomach was distended.

He let out a satisfied burp.

Then he began to sit cross-legged, activating the “Food Consumption” Divine Ability.

The word “Divine Ability” implies infinite creation; one must Cultivate martial arts and achieve a Breakthrough to the Body Profound realm to even touch its threshold.

Yet, he was only at Qi Refining, and he already possessed two Divine Abilities.

No other reason, he had a cheat!

Therefore, advancing the main quest was his top priority at the moment.

His thoughts returned. At this moment, his stomach rumbled, like the croaking of a frog, contracting and expanding.

Gradually, a warm current, flowing through his Qi and blood, circulated through his limbs and hundreds of bones, then surged into his Dantian, transforming into a wisp of true Qi, flowing back into the sea.

He had been Transmigrated for several months, progressing from Body Forging to Qi Refining, breaking through several stages. Besides adding points, this Divine Ability also played a huge role.

It could be called an alternative “Cultivate accelerator”!

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