"Where can one find peace?"
Li Qingxian returned to Room A9, dispirited. He didn’t look at his storybooks, nor did he read. His mind was consumed by this one question.
Han Anbo and the other two asked what was wrong, but he just said it was nothing.
He just stared blankly out the window.
Li Qingxian realized once again that in this world, there truly seemed to be no safe haven.
If there wasn’t even a single safe place, wouldn’t his entire life be shrouded by the likes of Demon Poison, war, the Demon Sect, Evil Sects, and the Demon Race?
Would he have to live forever under the shadow of fear?
Li Qingxian suddenly found himself missing his old world. Though it wasn’t entirely peaceful either, there were at least some places and times where one could find safety.
But in the lands of the Qii Country, he couldn’t find a single inch of peaceful land, nor a single day of peace.
’What’s the point of living like this?’
Li Qingxian spent the day in a daze before falling into a muddled sleep.
After waking, he sat for a long while. ’I can’t just keep staring into space like this,’ Li Qingxian thought. He forced himself to get up, forced himself to eat breakfast, and forced himself to study his Fate and Daoist Skills.
But his body felt heavy, and his mind was clouded.
Around noon, his three roommates returned with lunch, placing a portion for Li Qingxian on the table as well.
"Qingxian, it’s time to eat."
Li Qingxian nodded and listlessly walked to the table and sat down.
The three ate slowly. Li Qingxian picked up his chopsticks, then set them down again.
After a moment of silence, Li Qingxian asked, "What have the times been like in the Qii Country these past few years? Brother Han, you’re the oldest. Tell me."
Han Anbo froze for a second. He put down his chopsticks, lowered his head slightly, then looked back up.
"The Daqi Country was doing well in the early years," he began. "But then the last generation of princes fought for the throne, throwing the nation into chaos and allowing the Demon Race to breach our borders. After that, everything went downhill. During the Tiankang Year, things at least looked decent on the surface. But by the Taining Period, all the traps laid during the Tiankang Year had sprung. As for the state of the world... there’s no state left to speak of."
Li Qingxian nodded.
Han Anbo continued, "Ask any of the old-timers now, and they’ll all say they miss the Tiankang Year. But which of them doesn’t know what that prosperity was built on? Daqi was sustaining itself by drinking the blood of the surrounding smaller nations. The chaos in the late Tiankang Year, with the Demon Race, was just the effect, not the cause. The cause was that Daqi had sucked the surrounding nations dry. The Daqi Country grew accustomed to drinking blood and forgot how to make its own. That’s when the real problems began."
Li Qingxian said, "Then why didn’t Daqi learn from Dongding Country? Be self-sufficient, make its own blood."
Han Anbo chuckled. "Those lords and masters are used to throwing their weight around. Drinking someone else’s blood is so easy, why would they ever choose the hard, tiring work of making their own? When they couldn’t drink the blood of outsiders, they started drinking the blood of those beneath them. That, right there, is the true root of Daqi’s turmoil in the Late Tiankang period."
Yur Ping sighed. "You can count yourself lucky, Brother Han. I was born in the Late Tiankang period and never saw any of the good times. It was just miserable. For me, it makes no difference if the world is in chaos or not—it’s all the same. I just want to survive, eat good food, and not feel like this life was a total waste."
"Don’t say such unlucky things!" Han Anbo shot Yur Ping a glare.
Yur Ping chuckled and began slurping his food.
Han Anbo let out a long sigh. "I’ve been thinking all this time, how can this world get better? I could never figure it out. Then I realized something. On the surface, this world has many kinds of suffering. Men suffer, women suffer, children suffer, the elderly suffer, citizens of small nations suffer, the poor suffer, even the slightly wealthy suffer... But in reality, all this suffering is the same. It’s all the same."
Li Qingxian mulled this over. "All the same?"
"It’s the suffering of the downtrodden. As long as there are people who stand above others, there will be people who are beneath them. And as long as there are people beneath, there will be the suffering of the downtrodden. All suffering is the suffering of the downtrodden. It doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman, old or young. It doesn’t matter if you’re from the east or west, north or south. It doesn’t matter if you work for the state or for yourself."
"Brother Han, that’s a profound insight," Li Qingxian said with feeling.
"I heard even the great and noble families have their own suffering," said Zheng Gaojue.
"You’re still young, you don’t understand. Those people who stand above others, it might seem like they suffer too, but they have the option of sweetness. The downtrodden can never choose sweetness. Anyone who can choose sweetness doesn’t truly suffer. For the elites, their suffering is long gone; they only have ’sweet’ and ’not sweet enough.’ For the downtrodden, there is only ’very bitter’ and ’not so bitter.’"
Li Qingxian’s heart jolted. He slowly said, "Brother Han is right. All suffering is the suffering of the lower class. Everything else is superficial, it’s all fake."
"That’s the truth of it," Han Anbo said.
"Then, what do you think we should do, Brother Han?"
Han Anbo was taken aback, then shook his head with a wry smile. "What can we do? We live one day at a time. The first step is to survive. Only by surviving do we have a future to hope for. What have you been thinking about these past few days?"
"I was thinking... is there any safe place in this world? A place where I can live in peace, without being constantly afraid. Do you know of any?"
Han Anbo shook his head. "I’ve thought about it too, and I couldn’t come up with anything. But... as long as we keep living, and as long as we keep thinking about it... we’re bound to figure something out eventually, right?"
Li Qingxian nodded. "Yes. As long as we keep thinking, it’s possible we’ll find an answer."
The four of them ate in silence.
After the meal, Li Qingxian asked about the recent situation in the Night Guard Department, then resumed his Cultivation, consolidating his Eighth-Grade Cultivation and his new Life Land.
Life went on as usual, with one Qi Fortune Fish per day.
"Huuuu..."
Li Qingxian slowly exhaled and opened his eyes, a faint hint of joy shimmering within them.
The Youth Life Land had fully formed, now indistinguishable from a normal Life Land.
His Eighth-Grade realm was completely stable. The Qi Meridians within his body were vast and surging, like a great river rushing forth.
Thanks to the Divine Sky Thunder Seed and the Thunder Dragon Fire Seal, his Magical Power was already several times that of an ordinary Cultivator. Now, having obtained the Qi Meridians from the Qi Fortune’s River of the World, his Magical Power was so abundant that it was more than ten times that of a Cultivator of the same grade.
The four Children in his Spirit Platform were quite extraordinary, practicing his Cultivation day and night without rest, allowing his progress to be incredibly fast.
He was highly compatible with the Power of Qi Fortune, absorbing the Qi Fortune bestowed by Emperor Taining far more effectively than others, and with no side effects.
All the signs indicated that he could advance to the Seventh Grade right now, fusing his Qi Meridians with his bloodline to achieve Seventh-Grade True Blood.
’Cultivation cannot be rushed. I should stabilize myself a little more. This Divine Sky Thunder Seed is truly powerful. No wonder only someone with great Qi Fortune like Ye Han was meant to obtain it. I wonder if Ye Han has advanced to the Seventh Grade yet.’
He glanced around the room. It was already afternoon, and no one was there.
Li Qingxian got up, and just as he was about to go out and stretch his legs, he heard the sound of frantic footsteps outside. The sound slowed and softened as it approached the door.
"Li Ke is probably in the middle of his Cultivation. Keep it down," Han Anbo said in a hushed voice.
"I’ve finished cultivating. What’s wrong?" Li Qingxian called out.
"Hex Lei—Room Leader Hex—has been arrested by the Ministry of Justice," Han Anbo said, rushing into the room.
Li Qingxian’s expression darkened. Ever since he had joined the Night Guard, Hex Lei had always looked out for him. If not for Hex Lei’s help on several occasions, he would have definitely suffered losses.
These past few days, with him as the Deputy Room Leader and Hex Lei as the Room Leader, their cooperation had been very pleasant.
"What happened exactly?" Li Qingxian asked.
"Room Leader Hex went home yesterday but didn’t return today. His attendant went to his house to check, only to find the entire family gone. After asking the neighbors, he learned that people from the Ministry of Justice had come in the early morning. Now, everyone in the Patrol Bureau is in a panic. No one expected the Ministry of Justice to start going after a Room Leader. This is like they’re trying to rip out the Patrol Bureau’s roots," Han Anbo said, his voice laced with worry.
"What does Lord Zhou say?"
"The higher-ups just finished their meeting. I heard the Military Supervisors from the Internal Factory are furious, but some want to wait and see how the situation develops," Han Anbo said.