My Journey to Immortality Begins with Hunting

In a flash, absolute stillness replaced violent motion. Li Yuan had displayed a mastery of Spring Awakening at about the Intermediate level. He didn’t reveal anything more, but even so, Senior Li’s eyes gleamed.

The old man, broad-shouldered and clearly aging, abruptly clapped his hands. “Come on out!” he shouted.

At once, a man in plain gray clothing came running from a distance. He was tall and solidly built, his appearance unremarkable, and he looked only a few years older than Li Yuan. Yet streaks of silver were already visible in his hair, and his scruffy chin gave him a rough, disheveled look.

He darted a quick, excited glance at Li Yuan but said nothing.

Li Yuan noticed that the man’s combat power floated at 80~90, with it being at 210~220 in peak condition. Strange, he would definitely remember an expert at this level. But he’d never seen him before, which meant this man usually hid himself well.

“Fetch the Horse Butcher!” Senior Li ordered.

The gray-clad man gave a respectful nod, then hurried off.

Watching him go, Li Yuan wondered who he was; obviously not someone from the inner ranks of the Blood Blade Sect he’d seen before.

Senior Li spoke again. “He had his tongue cut out. He’s mute. And…he’s my junior brother, Zhou Shuangrui. He once practiced the Spirit-Release Technique and progressed extremely quickly. He was already at peak eighth rank by the age of 12, far more gifted than I ever was.

“12 years old, and already at peak eighth rank? But unable to reach the seventh…” Li Yuan couldn’t help smiling wryly. Clearly, even Senior Li didn’t realize this junior brother had actually been at the seventh rank before being injured and forced to drop back down.

He mulled over that for a moment, then asked, “Master, who attacked you both?”

Senior Li shook his head. “No need to ask. It won’t do you any good to know.”

Li Yuan sighed. “Either way, Uncle Master Zhou is clearly a man of deep loyalty.”

After all, someone at eighth rank, even if crippled, would have no trouble making a living anywhere. Yet Zhou Shuangrui insisted on remaining here, content to serve as a humble servant.

Senior Li paused, then said quietly, “He’s my master’s son. He has a deep attachment to the Fallen Moon School.”

Li Yuan fell silent, finally piecing together the relationships. Likely Senior Li had been around since before Zhou Shuangrui was even born, then watched him grow up, learn martial arts, and eventually suffer decline.

Before long, the gray-clad man returned, carrying a seven-foot horse butchering blade. Li Yuan also noticed that at some point, the man himself had strapped a slender, slightly curved long blade to his own waist.

The Horse Butcher lay in a dusty gray scabbard, as though still in deep slumber.

Senior Li glanced at the thin blade that had appeared at the gray-clad man’s waist. A flicker of mixed emotions crossed his eyes—both melancholy and relief. Then he took the Horse Butcher and drew it three inches, revealing a blade glinting so brightly it seemed to radiate cold light, dazzling against the snow.

“Catch,” he said, tossing the blade.

Li Yuan took it.

Senior Li remarked, “Use this for now. It’s top-tier for an eighth rank weapon, and even in the seventh rank, it’s about on par with mine. A blade of this caliber is almost impossible to find on the black market here.”

Li Yuan gripped the blade and glanced at his combat power, which remained at 255~370.

“Thank you, Master.”

“Keep it up.” Senior Li gave him an encouraging nod, then added, “Pick a good day, an auspicious one. Let me know which day it is.”

“Yes, Master!”

“And one more thing…” Senior Li paused, then continued, “Take the blade-servant with you. He’s at the eighth rank, so he should be of some use right now.”

Li Yuan looked at the gray-clad man, who seemed overcome by excitement. Bowing respectfully, Li Yuan said, “Uncle Master Zhou, I look forward to learning from you.”

The man froze for a moment. Then he turned on Senior Li with an angry expression, mumbling some unintelligible sounds as if furious.

“Ahh! Ahh! Ahhh!”

Senior Li smacked the arm of his chair. “Damn it! You wanted to be a blade-servant, so I’m letting you. But I had to explain to my disciple who you really are. How else would he dare take you in? Use your head!”

The gray-clad man glowered. Senior Li burst into loud laughter. “What’re you so mad about? Get out of here! You’ve been hanging around this old man for so long. Time to be on your way!”

Hearing the insult, the man no longer looked angry but took a deep breath, bowed to Senior Li with hands clasped, and said nothing.

Waving his hand dismissively, Senior Li said, “Stop dawdling and go. I’ve had enough of you.”

But then his voice softened. “Li Yuan…”

“Yes, Master?”

“Don’t call him Uncle Master. He doesn’t like it, and he told me not to tell you who he was. But I couldn’t help myself. From now on, treat him as your blade-servant. If that feels awkward to say, give him a new name.”

“Well…”

“Think of something.”

“How about Sir Zhou?”

“Might as well just call him Uncle Master. Won’t work.”

“All right, then Zhou Cang?”

“Zhou Cang? Hmm…” Senior Li seemed uncertain.

Li Yuan quickly added, “Let me come up with another one.”

Zhou Shuangrui seemed hardly as even-tempered as the legendary Second Lord, so that didn’t feel right, either.

“Maybe Zhou Yi, or Zhou Jia?” Li Yuan offered.

Senior Li glanced at the blade-servant, who said nothing. “Let’s go with Zhou Jia,” he decided.

The man nodded in agreement.

Li Yuan slung the Horse Butcher across his back; its tip hovered just above his calf. Then, with Zhou Jia in tow, he left the black market.

They walked on, farther and farther away.

Behind them, the rocking of Senior Li’s chair went on, echoing with a vague sense of loneliness yet also relief. Snow fell in a hazy veil, blanketing the land.

By the lakeside in the south market, the roof of Li Yuan’s little boat had already acquired a thin layer of white.

Zhou Jia followed a few steps behind him, respectfully bent forward, his salt-and-pepper hair blowing wildly in the winter wind, as though nothing in the world mattered except the young man walking ahead.

“Old Zhou?” Li Yuan suddenly called out.

Zhou Jia stopped and lifted his gaze.

“All these years, have you been living in the black market?” Li Yuan asked.

Zhou Jia nodded.

“So why are you following me now?” Li Yuan pressed.

Zhou Jia paused, then placed a hand on the blade at his hip. He gripped the scabbard and scrawled in the snow. “Raise horses. Serve. Fight by your side. Guard your home.”

Li Yuan smiled. “The proprietress of the Ginger Tavern is my wife, but no one’s really taking care of the place. I’d like you to go there. What do you think?”

He had a clear plan. If he wanted to build his power, he would have to expand the Ginger Tavern. And growing profits would inevitably attract danger. Without sufficient protection, greater gains could become a curse.

The tavern needed someone to guard it. Zhou Jia had once been a seventh rank prodigy, nearly on par with Tie Sha. Even though his injuries had set him back, his upper range still hit 90, which was stronger than Zhao Chunxin. That would be enough to watch over the tavern.

“So how about it, Old Zhou? Ginger Tavern is vital to me. I have some plans for it,” Li Yuan added.

Zhou Jia bowed and nodded, then wrote, “I’ll watch the stables.”

Li Yuan thought it over. The stables lay behind the tavern, the first spot someone would hit if they launched an attack at night. He nodded. “Then I’ll leave it in your hands, Old Zhou.”

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

“Hey, did you hear? Young Master Li brought someone back, says he’ll be feeding the horses and managing the stable?”

“Who’s that?”

“Some young guy, but his hair’s gone practically white. And I think he’s mute!”

“What?!”

JL's Thoughts

“Fetch the horse butcher!” Senior Li ordered.

Yeah, the name is pretty self-explanatory. It's basically a long warglaive that can take out a horse in a single stroke, honestly a pretty bad ass weapon but really unwieldy!