In the spirit dimension, Song Kingdom's Hunan Road, Tanzhou Prefecture, had been experiencing heavy rainfall for fifteen days straight. The torrential rain washed the air, cleaned the dust, and purified the streets. Flowers and trees were full of vitality, and the air was fresh.
There were no pedestrians on the streets, and shopkeepers sighed as they watched the heavy rain, only able to chat idly with their neighbors and the shop owner across the street.
"What in the world happened to our Tanzhou Prefecture? Fifteen days ago, dark clouds suddenly pressed down, followed by lightning intertwined, and it's still raining heavily now."
"It must be some major injustice that angered the heavens."
"I heard that the Prefect and his wife disappeared overnight, is that the reason?"
"Hush. You can't just blurt out such things. They are Qi Condensation stage cultivators, top-tier even in our Song Kingdom. How could they disappear without a trace? Who could make them disappear?"
"Alas, that's true. Such high-level cultivators are too far removed from us, but I still hope the Prefect is alright. Because of him, our Tanzhou Prefecture has been peaceful and prosperous... But no matter how I think about it, I feel like it's related to their disappearance, the timing really matches up."
"The Prefect is indeed good, but right now I just want the rain to stop, even if it just lessens a bit. No one comes out, so no one comes into the shop, no income... Oh, whoa, this person is really something, walking on this street in the pouring rain."
Everyone turned their heads to look, only to see a figure emerge from the misty rain at the end of the street, slowly walking towards them. As he drew closer, they realized it was a young man. His hair was tied in a bun on top of his head, secured with a small stick; his clothes were torn and tattered, clinging to his body, and rainwater streamed down him like a waterfall; he carried something on his back, like a staff. With every step, the water reached his ankles, and each step was taken at the same steady, unhurried pace.
The young man's appearance was simple and honest, but his eyes were incredibly deep, giving people a profound and unfathomable feeling, which seemed very incongruous. They only saw him from the side, as the young man looked straight ahead, his eyes fixed on the front.
As the young man passed in front of the shops, they dared not discuss him. Only after he had left did the discussion resume.
"He's not even wearing a straw hat or a coir raincoat, is he trying to drown himself?"
"One step, one puddle, carrying a short staff on his back, enduring the wind and rain. All I can say is, that young man is really cool."
"That's not a short staff, it's a sword."
"It's clearly a jian (blunt sword). A jian has an edge, a blunt sword only has ridges."
"It's clearly a sword. A jian has four ridges, and is square in shape; a sword is long and has a point. This young man's sword looks like that, it should be an unsharpened blade, commonly called a sword blank. But the quality of this sword blank is terrible, the color is wrong."
"Not at all. How can you say that? How can you understand so much about weapons? If it's a sword, then it's a sword. Don't praise him, he's just walking casually in the pouring rain like that. He's only about fifteen, so young. How can he be praised?"
"Too much praise. You only praise him. Who wants to go after him? This young man walks very slowly, every step is at the same pace. He's not in a hurry at all. From the time he appeared here until now, he hasn't sped up at all. He's walking in a leisurely manner."
The shopkeeper next to him looked at the young man's departing figure and said: "This young man is in no hurry to go anywhere, not even the rain stopping can make him pause."
"Thank you, I just need a place to rest for a while."
The young man continued walking, not stopping. The shopkeeper looked at the young man's back and said to the surrounding people, "Look, the young man's steps are still the same, neither fast nor slow. He hasn't changed at all. He's still walking like that, calm and unhurried."
"Yes, he looks very calm. His eyes are very pure."
"That's right, I also feel that way. He doesn't seem to be panicking."
"I don't have that feeling. He's just like a normal person."
There were some people who wanted to discuss, but they were afraid of him, so they didn't dare to speak loudly, only in low voices.
"This person is so skinny, it's like he's just bones. He's probably injured, like his bones are all broken and shattered."
"No, I don't think he's injured. He's just skinny. He's probably a waste of a person, his whole body is just bones, not much flesh."
The shopkeeper of a nearby shop suddenly thought of something, and cried out in surprise: "Could it be that shorty Wang who lives down the street?"
"Wang shorty? The one who was struck by lightning?"
"That's right, the one who was struck by lightning and became an idiot."
"You mean the fat kid who was struck by lightning and was nearly dead?"
"Yes, that's him. He didn't die, he became an idiot. He had a big lump on his head. I wonder if he's recovered. He looked so crazy."
"He was struck by lightning and went crazy. He ran away from home and disappeared. Did he come back?"
The shop owner stared wide-eyed, then rubbed his eyes again. "It looks like him. He's like an idiot, his face is pale and his eyes are green. He's still like that, completely struck by lightning, and now he's come back. This is very unusual."
Another shopkeeper said, "He's probably gone completely crazy. He's probably going to die. I hope he doesn't bring trouble to us."
The young man walked on, ignoring the whispers behind him. The heavy rain washed away the dust and cleansed the air, but it couldn't wash away the strange atmosphere in the small alley.
"Young man, are you going to the Wang family's house?" A rough man from a shop beside the street suddenly shouted. "You caused trouble for the Wang family's old lady, now you're running back? You should have been smacked across the face by the Wang family's big daughter-in-law."
The woman next to him quickly covered his mouth and glared at him. "Don't attract trouble for the family! This time, everyone should be careful and not discuss it."
"She's right," a shopkeeper with a black beard muttered, "You can't just talk about people like that, it's disrespectful. Those people are not to be trifled with."
The young man continued walking, ignoring the shouts behind him. He then turned into a small, narrow alley. This alley was very small, only wide enough for two people to walk side by side. It couldn't accommodate carriages or horse-drawn carts. The shops on both sides were small and few, and at the end of the alley, there was a large gate. Above the gate hung a small, gold-plated plaque with two large characters: "Qin Mansion."
Standing at the entrance of the alley, the young man seemed to be like a piece of abandoned wood in the rain, a withered tree in the wind and rain. The alley was dilapidated and desolate.
He looked at the "Qin Mansion" plaque for a long time, then raised his head and said, "This Qin Mansion, I will help you avenge your grudges, and then I will find my own." He looked up at the sky, his expression cold.
He then took three steps up the stairs and knocked on the door. It opened quickly, and a head peeked out from the gap in the door.
"Who is it?" a voice asked.
Then, a person emerged from the gap. "Young Master Qin Yu, how did you become like this?"
"Qin An, what are you doing here?"