Chapter 324: Preparations

Yan Liqiang didn’t turn his head. Despite feeling the intense gaze on his back after leaving Xu Lang and his group, he pretended not to notice and continued walking away.

Thanks to the superior spiritual perception bestowed upon him by Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing as well as the experience he gained through his archery cultivation, Yan Liqiang could tell even without turning his head around that the person boring a hole on his back was definitely a great archer.

In fact, Yan Liqiang had already noticed the two people who seemed to be different than the rest of the group next to Xu Lang when he was talking to him just now. One of them was a young man in his twenties, dressed in a blue silk gown with a mole at the corner of his mouth. He exuded a dark aura and his eyes were filled with arrogance. Yan Liqiang could subtly feel Xu Lang and his group fawning over him. It would seem like he was a man of unusual social status.

The other person beside him was an extremely ordinary-looking man who would hardly be noticed among the group. Yan Liqiang only noticed him because he had a very sharp gaze, slender arms, and broad shoulders. With just a single glance, he had a hunch that this man was also an expert in archery.

His piercing gaze was akin to a flying arrow. It roamed around Yan Liqiang’s back and neck. Just from his gaze alone, Yan Liqiang could feel a strong murderous intent that chilled him to his core.

Yan Liqiang wasn’t sure why, but when he sensed the gaze behind him, the arrow he saw flying from a distance during Xu Lang and Liang Yijie’s fight on the Arena of Life and Death appeared in his mind. Although there was no solid evidence or even a reason, Yan Liqiang’s mind was telling him that the arrow was shot by that ordinary-looking person on that day.

Since they were on a busy street, both parties had to walk away from each other without doing anything as they had their own concerns.

After crossing two streets and buying some fine wine from a wine shop, Yan Liqiang left the Imperial Capital. Carrying two jars of wine, he strode back to Deer Villa under the moonlight. On his way back, he once again sensed danger. It seemed like Xu Lang wasn’t going to let him go so easily after their meeting today. Based on his moral integrity, Xu Lang was a man who could bring himself to do anything. As a newcomer in the Imperial Capital without a strong backing, that alone was enough for Xu Lang and the rest to act unscrupulously against him. Therefore, he must make necessary preparations.

Yan Liqiang deeply recognized the value of life after experiencing ‘death once.’ Hence, he’d definitely never allow himself to get caught up in such a desperate situation, let alone wait for someone to corner him.

Even so, he’d still have to ponder on how to make such preparations…

…..

“Ah! You’re back, Commandant Yan…!” A group of guards at Deer Villa’s entrance greeted Yan Liqiang warmly.

“I brought two jars of wine for everyone! Have some if you’re not assigned to be on night duty to keep yourselves warm…” Yan Liqiang passed the two jars of wine to the commandant who greeted him.

“Wow, these are fine wines from the Jade Tree Winery in the capital city! On behalf of our brothers, thank you, Commandant Yan!” The commandant very politely accepted the wine from Yan Liqiang with a smile.

“Hahaha, no need to be so polite. We have different duties to perform. I guard the archery range while you brothers guard this area. Although we don’t usually spend a lot of time together, I still have to thank everyone for looking out for me!”

“You’re most welcome…”

Watching Yan Liqiang’s silhouette disappearing into Deer Villa, a few alcoholic guards at the entrance were already secretly salivating at the sight of the fine wine Yan Liqiang had brought for them.

“These are some finely-aged wine from the Jade Tree Winery! One jar costs nearly more than two taels of silver! How generous of Commandant Yan…!”

“Goddammit, stop staring at them like you all have never tasted fine wine in your previous lives! We’re on duty right now…!” The commandant beckoned forth another guard and had him take the two jars of wine away. “Wait till we’re off duty at night. I’ll have the kitchen whip up some side dishes to go with the wine…”

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The group of guards smiled gleefully as soon as they heard the commandant’s words.

…..

When Yan Liqiang was only halfway to his courtyard, Goldie, whom he hadn’t seen for quite a long time, came rushing toward him. It licked Yan Liqiang’s hand while wagging its tail, then circled around him excitedly.

“Did you have enough fun outside over these few days?” Yan Liqiang patted Goldie’s head.

“Woof…! Woof…!”

“Seems like you did. Well then, follow me home…!”

Goldie nodded, then trotted in front of Yan Liqiang, leading him home.

Yan Liqiang was struck by a thought when he looked at Goldie. Just when he was still thinking on how to deal with the threats that Xu Lang and his group posed, he was suddenly reminded of the most powerful creation ability in the Heavenly Shrine. It had been ages since he last wielded the power. According to Fu Guang, the Heavenly Stone in the Heavenly Realm could also create all kinds of living things — anything he could imagine or even something beyond his imagination…

Perhaps he could give it another go at the toy capsule machine in the Heavenly Shrine…

Yan Liqiang didn’t rush into the Heavenly Shrine when he returned to his courtyard. He washed his hands and face, then went into his study room. He lit a lamp on the study desk and laid out the Four Treasures of Study [1] that he had someone deliver to him on the table. He prepared the ink, picked up a brush, and closed his eyes. After focusing his thoughts for a moment, he opened his eyes again and dipped the tip of his brush into the ink. Then he wrote the first line of words on a sheet of blank paper —

Chapter 1 – The Divine Root Conceives and the Spring Breaks Forth, As the Heart’s Nature Is Cultivated, the Great Way Arises.

Looking at the beautiful handwriting on the paper, Yan Liqiang took a deep breath. He then moved onto the next line and allowed his brush to continue dancing…

All was a shapeless blur, and no men had appeared.

Once Pan Gu destroyed the Enormous Vagueness, the separation of clear and impure began.

Living things have always tended towards humanity; from their creation all beings improve.

If you want to know about Creation and Time, read Difficulties Resolved on the Journey to the West.

……

Yan Liqiang didn’t stop writing for even a moment. As lines of text appeared on the paper, the pages of one of the four great masterpieces, the ‘Journey to the West’, emerged in his sea of consciousness too. Rather than saying Yan Liqiang was writing, it was more like he was copying. Just like Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Manual he had read before, Yan Liqiang could clearly recall the ‘Journey to the West’ novel down to every punctuation mark.

He wasn’t sure if this was a side-effect from the Heavenly Stone. In any case, every book or information he had seen in his previous life was stored in his brain. By recalling them, he could retrieve every detail as though they had been imprinted in his mind…

“Sir Wu Cheng’en, please forgive me. I am borrowing your masterpiece. This time it’s not for the sake of pirating it but to save people…”

Yan Liqiang mumbled to himself while writing…