Chapter 108 – Homeland Far Away From Home (1/2)

Li Qingshan said, “Are you here to send off Li Long?”

Caretaker Liu said, “F- for you as well. Er- Qingshan. You really have achieved success. I hope you can forget about what happened in the past.” The current Li Qingshan was an indomitable figure of importance in his eyes. Even when caretaker Liu spoke, he struggled to string words together.

The other villagers came up to congratulate him. They even carried their own produce, which all of them shoved into Li Qingshan’s hands.

Looking at these familiar faces, Li Qingshan became filled with emotions, actually momentarily forgetting how to respond. Ever since he was born, he had been constantly longing to leave the Crouching Ox village, but all of a sudden, every single house and every single strand of grass from the village seemed to flash past his eyes vividly.

At that moment, the deep well that had trapped him for over a decade that he had constantly wanted to leave, the mud and lichen that he found disgusting, all seemed so familiar. Village head Li hugged Li Long as tears streamed down his face. The surroundings were in a noisy clamour, but everything suddenly fell silent when it reached Li Qingshan’s ears.

Li Qingshan even discovered his big brother and his sister-in-law among the crowd. They were both jittery, cowering from the wealthy people of the city. They looked at Li Qingshan, wanting to come up to say something, yet too afraid to approach him. At that moment, they were filled with regret. If they had not fallen out with Li Qingshan, who knows how much glory they would have received because of him. They saw Li Qingshan look at them, and rays of hope erupted in their eyes.

However, Li Qingshan immediately shifted his gaze. What should be severed had already been severed. They could not cry over spilt milk. It was not that he could not forgive them, but because they were already worlds apart now. Moreover, they failed to understand that there was an even higher chance for them to be targeted and subsequently killed compared to wealthy people simply by being his relatives.

Yan Song passed an order, and everyone parted to the two sides. A large, horse-drawn carriage rushed over. Both horses were extremely well-groomed.

Li Qingshan, protector Yan, Li Long, and the four children boarded the carriage together. The carriage moved slowly, stopping in front of the government office. Ye Dachuan and the advisor boarded the carriage in delight. With the protection of these masters, it would be impossible for them to come across any danger along the way.

In a pavilion five kilometers from the city, Li Qingshan saw the master of the Stone Splitter bow once again.

Huang Binghu said, “Congratulations, Qingshan, on making progress with your strength yet again.” He discovered that he could no longer see through this teenager anymore. However, he was very well-informed as well. The only person who could defeat an innate master in an open confrontation was another innate master. He had achieved the goal he stated in the past, and he only used a few months.

Li Qingshan smiled. “Hunting chief, you haven’t wasted any time either.” He could tell that Huang Binghu was extremely close to the level of first-rate masters now. After a few toasts of farewell, he set off again. Finally, Qingyang city completely vanished behind him. It was no longer visible.

Li Qingshan said to himself inside, Farewell, my homeland!

He had already thought it through; whether it be dying and becoming part of the dirt or soaring through the sky, he would never return again. From today onwards, wherever he was would be his hometown.

They travelled during the day and rested at night. After travelling through the mountains for three days, the surroundings suddenly opened up. Vast plains laid ahead of Li Qingshan.

The golden fields of wheat spanned as far as the eye could see, and the summer breeze kicked up ripples among them. Various villages and towns were interspersed among the fields, with smoke rising up into the sky. It differed from the Crouching Ox village very much.

Yan Song said, “We’ve left the boundaries of Qingyang city. If we travel for another three or five days, we’ll reach Downstream port. We’ll be able to switch to ferries and directly ride down to Jiaping city, or even the prefectural city of Clear River.”

Li Qingshan took out the map that Gu Yanying gave him. With a thought, a speck of light lit up. Downstream port was only a few dozen kilometers from their present location.

Yan Song said in surprise, “A mental map, and a mental map of the Green province at that; this is worth quite a lot. Qingshan, where did you obtain it?”

Usually, the greater the region a map covered, the less detailed it would be, while the smaller the region, the greater the detail. However, mental maps could cover thousands of kilometers and remain extremely detailed, condensing thousands of kilometers into a single square inch. Although it was only a low grade spiritual artifact, it was very valuable, let alone a mental map that spanned the entire Green province.

Li Qingshan said suddenly, “Protector Yan, sir Ye, I’ll be parting with you here!” He had already gained a rough understanding of the jianghu and this world from the two of them over the past few days. At the very least, it was information they knew, so when he travelled alone, he would no longer be completely clueless.

Ye Dachuan said, “What? Didn’t we agree on going together?”