Quickly, he arrived at a fork in the road. Just as he was considering which way to go, a giant boulder suddenly rolled down from the left side’s narrow path, blocking the way with a boom.
Further ahead, there were more rumblings, clearly encountering falling rocks.
Huo Boxin had no choice but to take the mountain road to the right.
He was unaware that a divine sense was following him from afar, helping him discern the path until he avoided the lurking enemies in the mountains and stepped onto a path leading to a "paradisiacal small mountain village."
After a long time, Song Yan withdrew his divine sense, standing in the snow, filled with emotion.
Huo Boxin met him through kindness, befriended him, and now, because of him, he escaped death, changing his original fate.
Every drink and peck has its consequences; good and evil are repaid, although not always, they do exist.
Song Yan only felt the waves of kindness growing stronger, as the seed of kindness he had received from An Li had now taken root and sprouted.
...
...
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, another half a year passed.
During this half year, Cold Smoke Town experienced ups and downs.
The once-renowned Master Huang ran away.
At nightfall, every household would tightly shut their doors.
The clashing of arms and the fighting in the Jianghu could be felt even if not at the "meat grinder center."
Sometimes, waking up and opening the door, corpses could be seen lying on the ground not far away.
The better ones remained whole, the worse... either lacked a head, had their heads shriveled, or the corpses were brutally dismembered, all kinds of mangled appearances that could haunt one’s nightmares.
This terrified the townspeople, but no one dared to run around recklessly because... they heard that surrounding towns were the same.
The struggle between the Commandery Princess Chiyan and Xiao Bawang had entered a white-hot stage, with battlefields almost everywhere.
Cold Smoke Town was considered rather fortunate in this regard.
Song Yan carried on with the butcher business, focused on skin making, aided those with nowhere to go, gave a hearty meal to the hungry, and a little resettlement money to refugees.
The name "Cold Smoke Town’s timely rain Li the Charitable" had spread around, somewhat becoming a protective talisman, allowing him to avoid calamities amid the chaos.
That late autumn, fallen leaves drifted lightly from the sky.
A galloping horse approached from a distance, with the rider beating drums and loudly proclaiming: "The war is over! The rebel Xiao Yizhi has been executed!!"
"The war is over! The rebel Xiao Yizhi has been executed!!"
Xiao Yizhi was Xiao Bawang.
He was dead, and the seat of power would now belong to Commandery Princess Chiyan and her brother.
Immediately, households opened their doors, watching the rider, listening to the beating of the drums and the calls.
The current government official then lit small firecrackers at the entrance of the town, crackling them into life.
The atmosphere of celebration and peace spread instantly, giving people a sense that suffering had ended.
But beneath it all, everyone felt anxious, for no one knew what kind of person this "Commandery Princess Chiyan" was.
King Xixiang was nominally king.
But when hearing of King Xixiang, people would only think of a little boy or a young lad. Yet when Commandery Princess Chiyan was mentioned, chills spread, and a massive dark demon shadow appeared in people’s minds, for the Commandery Princess was surrounded by so many myths.
She... had already been either deified or demonized, leaving people in awe and fear.
Some said she made a pact with the devil, others claimed she had the aid of an Immortal, some even said she inherited some terrifying magic...
Song Yan felt the festive atmosphere, looked up at the withered old tree, standing at the front of the abode, continuing his business.
Suddenly, the distant clamor quieted down instantly as if a mighty power forced everyone to shut their mouths.
This power... was called authority.
Song Yan raised his head and saw the source of the authority.
A girl riding a tall horse, draped in a crimson cloak and wearing a fearsome ghost face, where she passed, all knelt, and following her horse was the newly appointed Cold Smoke Town official.
The official, respectful and humble, was so bent double it seemed that the ghost-faced girl was truly a demon climbing out of hell, despite it being chilly autumn, he was drenched in sweat like rain.
The girl rode up to the butcher shop.
Song Yan, following local customs, was about to pay respects.
The girl dismounted first, bowing before him, greeted, "Godfather."
Song Yan looked at her in astonishment, pointing at her, saying, "You... you..."
The girl lifted the ghost face, revealing her lovely face underneath, her eyes, like ice thawing, looked warmly at the butcher, she said, "Tie Niu is back."
Then, she stood up, waved her hand, and someone immediately stepped forward with a box.
She respectfully offered the box to Song Yan, saying, "This is a great mansion opposite the Prince Mansion of King Xixiang in Qingyang City, complete with maidservants and guards, please, godfather, leave with me, Tie Niu will take care of you in your old age."
And at that moment, someone in the crowd seemed to recognize her, uttering in a trembling voice.
"Commandery... Commandery Princess Chiyan."
"She... she is Commandery Princess Chiyan!"
The official scolded, "How dare you!"
The girl glanced sideways nonchalantly, and everyone fell silent again.
The girl turned back to look at Song Yan, respectfully saying, "Godfather, my name is Xiao Mingrong, back then, life and death were uncertain, the future was unpredictable, I truly did not wish to implicate you, so..."
Her voice barely faded away when Song Yan interrupted her, pushing the box containing the land deed back.
Even though the value of that land deed far exceeded a hundred times ten taels of gold, he still pushed it back, merely smiling and saying, "When you have time, just come and visit your godfather often."