Chapter 154 - 131: Martial Arts Realm
"Li, do you have a guest today?"
Fang Yue was just about to leave when the door opened. A tall, bearded, middle-aged man walked in, dressed in a special, deep-blue, star-patterned robe.
The man glanced at Fang Yue, his look casual and indifferent at first, but his eyes quickly narrowed.
At the same time, a flash of azure light seemed to flicker in his eyes before vanishing.
He looked at Fang Yue, first nodding, then shaking his head, before pulling over a small stool and sitting down.
The display left Fang Yue baffled. He looked himself up and down but couldn’t find anything amiss. He had no idea why the man was acting this way.
However, this wasn’t the right time or place, so it wouldn’t be appropriate to press the matter.
"Uncle, what brings you here? Wait here, I’ll get you a bowl of soup." Bai Li started to feel her way to her feet as she spoke.
"Hold on, hold on. I can get it myself."
Hui Hengli waved his hands dismissively. Then, moving with practiced ease, he quickly ladled himself a bowl of vegetable and tofu soup.
SLURP SLURP~
Without holding back, Hui Hengli quickly drained the bowl of vegetable and tofu soup.
Still seeming unsated, he even used a piece of flatbread to mop up the last of the broth, eating the soaked bread afterward.
"I’ll be taking my leave, Miss Bai."
Only then did Fang Yue look away and bid Bai Li farewell.
Fang Yue had been ready to leave earlier, but the man’s arrival had delayed him a few moments longer.
The pot was now empty, and he had eaten his fill. It was truly time to go.
As for who had robbed Bai’s Clinic or who had injured the child, Fang Yue didn’t care. They were strangers who had met by chance; he would help if he could, but only within his limits.
He wouldn’t rashly get involved in something that would so obviously lead to trouble.
It was obvious. According to the usual novel tropes, if he were to step in and righteously beat up some thugs, he’d only provoke the mastermind behind them to make a move.
This would naturally lead to a cycle of grinding monsters to level up. Who knows, he might even win Bai Li’s affection and kick off a whole new story arc.
But that was a novel. This was reality.
Fang Yue only had one life; he couldn’t afford to go around meddling in other people’s business.
If he died here, he would be well and truly dead.
~~~~~~
After leaving Bai’s Clinic, Fang Yue couldn’t stop thinking about the runic diagram he had seen earlier.
He wasn’t sure if it was just wishful thinking, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something mysterious about that Rune.
"Hey, kid. Over here."
He had only taken a few steps, not yet having left the alley, when he heard a vaguely familiar voice call out from ahead. Looking up, he saw the middle-aged man from Bai’s Clinic standing at the mouth of the alley.
Only now did Fang Yue get a good look at the man. He looked to be in his forties, with a full, bushy beard and a tall, powerful build. Yet, he was dressed in a somewhat somber and formal deep-blue robe adorned with star patterns.
He looked somewhat like a Daoist priest, but not quite, creating an incongruous sight.
"Do you have some instruction for me, Senior?"
Fang Yue stopped cautiously. He simply looked at the man, making no move to approach. In fact, he even took two steps back to maintain a careful distance.
It was the perfect distance from which to either attack or turn and flee.
"Ah, forget it. How dull. Martial arts, martial arts... you’re already on the wrong path. Didn’t your master ever tell you that?"
Hearing this, Fang Yue naturally let a hint of confusion show on his face. ’Why is this man telling me this?’ he wondered.
But as fleeting as it was, Hui Hengli caught the expression. He let out a cold chuckle.
"Judging by your reaction, you must be self-taught. You probably got your hands on a Qi Sensing Secret Manual somewhere and just started cultivating. Don’t you know that you can’t just practice with a manual like that whenever you please? It requires the right time, the right place, and specific Secret Medicine."
"You’re forcing your cultivation. You may have crossed the threshold, but your Qi has already scattered throughout your body. You’ve stumbled onto the old path of the ancient Qi Cultivators, a path that none but those with the most supreme Talent can tread. You should cripple your cultivation and start over as soon as possible."
Hui Hengli let out a soft sigh, then turned and walked away without another word, his departure as crisp and decisive as his arrival.
Huh.
Staring at the man’s retreating back, Fang Yue was momentarily stunned.
His first thought was that the man was trying to swindle him.
Frighten him with some dire warning, then claim to have the solution, all as a ploy to scam him.
It was a simple, yet effective, type of scam.
Most street fortune-tellers used the same method.
’But was any of what that man said true?’
Fang Yue’s brow furrowed. This was the disadvantage of being a Martial Artist like him, someone who was practically a Loose Cultivator.
He had little understanding of Qi Sensing, let alone the realms beyond it.
Without the guidance of a renowned master, it was difficult to even realize if you’d gone down the wrong path during your training. In fact, you might never realize it at all.
By the time a problem finally surfaced, it would be far too late for regrets.
Still, he couldn’t just blindly believe the man, either.
What if the man was harboring ill intentions and just setting a trap for him? If he fell for it, he’d be the one to suffer.
’Looks like I’ll have to find a way to learn more about this.’
Fang Yue decided then and there. Tomorrow, he would find Chubby. He would definitely have a way to find out more about this.
~~~~~~
Early the next morning, Fang Yue found Chubby.
The guy was practically living at the tea house these days.
Business had been booming lately. Many Noble Families had come forward, all wanting to buy large quantities of tea. The Shopkeeper and the clerks alone couldn’t handle the rush.