Essence Chapter 13 of 'The Revised Code' - Raising a Tiger as a Threat?

Long Qian didn't know what to say; he was actually quite afraid of this suddenly appearing white-haired youth. Long Qian knew this boy was the same one who had appeared on the grass earlier. Thinking back to his skills at the time, taking his life would have been a piece of cake. Moreover, he was now completely weak, and his internal energy had only been recovered to a little. It was impossible for him to move normally anytime soon. No wonder the young man complained so little about testing Long Qian's mysterious energy earlier. How could he know Long Qian had used up all his energy before going to sleep? "Alright, I should leave now. Don't tell your parents you've seen me, or if they find out, hehe......" The boy sneered coldly, his eyes glinting like ghosts, as if he thought this would have a scare effect. At this moment, Long Qian asked, "Will you come again?" "No, but you should be able to see me once or twice." After saying this, the white-haired boy's figure quickly disappeared, as if he had never appeared at all. After a long while, Long Qian finally breathed a sigh of relief and asked in confusion, "Grandpa?" Grandpa? He doesn't look like it. He probably isn't that young, right? He looks at least eighteen or nineteen years old, right?" After thinking it over, Long Qian couldn't figure it out. Xuan practitioners live much longer than ordinary people, and the stronger their strength, the longer their lifespan. Once they reach a certain level, they can use their profound energy to rejuvenate them. So it's possible that the young man is two or three hundred years old. Trying to guess his identity based on age is completely futile. However, judging from the words the white-haired youth said before leaving, Long Qian believed that one day she would meet him again. Presumably, only then would she be able to uncover the true identity of the white-haired youth. So, Long Qian drifted off to sleep. The appearance of the white-haired youth was just a small episode in Long Qian's life. He didn't pay much attention to it. Long Qian knew very well that the boy had no ill intentions toward him. Although he looked a bit strange, smiled a bit lewdly, and deliberately put on a terrifying look, he was actually just a mischievous boy. In his previous life, he had seen plenty of such youths.The day when the Xuan Zong Hall would send people to Qitan Town to test the Xuan energy of children aged six to seven and distribute the Forbidden Scriptures was gradually approaching. During this period, a shocking incident occurred in Qitan Town, which was a tragedy for many townspeople.

Between the years 3602 and 3612 of the Xuan Yue calendar, within ten years, all the gifted children selected and taken away in the name of Xuan Zong Hall seemed to have died.

It is not known exactly how they died. The six major Xuan Zong Halls did not provide any explanation but only issued a substantial amount of compensation to all families whose children were selected, seemingly giving each family one hundred gold coins.

For ordinary people, one hundred gold coins was indeed a large sum, equivalent to ten thousand silver coins. This could allow an ordinary household to live without worrying about food or clothing for a hundred years — basically a lifetime and a half without concerns.

No one delved deeply into how those gifted children had died. It was not something ordinary people could investigate. All they could do was, amid their grief, be grateful for receiving such a large sum of money; after all, it was better than nothing.

After hearing this news from Qin Shou, Long Qian couldn't help but feel somewhat fortunate for consistently behaving as a normal child. Otherwise, his end might have been the same as those gifted children. Yet, he was also puzzled — weren't those gifted children selected for intensive training? How could they all mysteriously die?

What a person should concern themselves with depends on their own abilities. Long Qian didn't believe that he currently had the ability to investigate these matters. Since the parents of the unfortunate children had not delved into it, he wouldn't idle away at it either, at most just speculating silently in his heart.

Day after day, he became familiar with switching between the controlled state and the normal state; night after night, he practiced to his limits. Long Qian did not find this life dull or monotonous. On the contrary, he quite enjoyed it, though he still felt that time passed too slowly.

Finally, as he counted the days one by one with his shadow-following companion Shou Zi, the day when Xuan Zong Hall would send people to Qitan Town was drawing ever closer. In just two more nights, Long Qian would own a copy of the Forbidden Scriptures, and the world of the Xuan practitioners was about to open its gates to him.

***

Late at night, in Qingtian City.\As a small town near the western border of the Southern Luo Kingdom, Qingtian City's geographical location is not very favorable. The road leading to the heartland of the Southern Luo Kingdom is full of rugged mountains; it's not only bumpy but also rife with bandits. Traders from the Yue Kingdom seldom take this route. Although the climate within its jurisdiction is suitable for farming, its remote location means the population is rather sparse. The size of its population and the amount of tax revenue directly affect Qingtian City's status in the Southern Luo Kingdom.
Especially since the war fifty years ago, when the Dayu Kingdom retreated five hundred li of land, Qingtian City could originally rely on the stationed border troops to become a semi-militarized city and was thus quite valued.
But nowadays, the entire western border army of the Southern Luo Kingdom has been relocated hundreds of li away to the west bank of the Qingrong River. Traders from the Yue Kingdom, who already seldom pass through Qingtian City, now prefer to disembark at other locations along the Qingrong River. Qingtian City gradually became a place without purpose or distinction.
Fortunately, Qingtian City produces apples within its jurisdiction. Although it's not the largest apple-producing area in the Southern Luo Kingdom, it still has some renown. Every year, many merchants come for bulk purchases, which prevents Qingtian City from being completely forgotten on the map of the Southern Luo Kingdom. Since previous city lords could not find other solutions, they could only encourage the people of Qingtian to grow apples. After several cycles, Qingtian City earned the nickname 'Little Apple City' in the Southern Luo Kingdom.
Qingtian City is not considered important within the Southern Luo Kingdom, but it is not small in scale. After all, it has the background of being a former border stronghold. The moat is wide and deep, the surrounding walls are tall and thick, and all sorts of defensive instruments such as turrets, ballistae, and catapults are well-equipped. Three thousand armored cavalry are stationed in the city, and the city lord's private army consists of several thousand soldiers. Without the involvement of Mystics, it would be nearly impossible to seize this city by force without tens of thousands of troops.
Today is the fifty-second birthday of Qingtian City's lord, Gou Chen. The entire city is brightly decorated with lanterns, filled with joy, and remains brilliantly lit deep into the night, as if celebrating the New Year. This city lord has held office in Qingtian City for ten years, but that does not mean he is diligent or highly respected. On the contrary, he has an extremely poor reputation and is privately known as the 'Dog City Lord.'Every year, Lord Gou would host a grand birthday banquet, which was also the time when merchants of all sizes in Qingtian City paid their annual tribute. If it were only that, it would be bearable. But in just a few months, it was the birthday of Lord Gou's father, then his mother's birthday, and then the birthdays of several of his wives and concubines. It was almost as if even his sons and daughters needed separate birthday banquets. The annual birthday gifts alone were enough to shave off nearly 40% of the merchants' profits in Qingtian City.

At the gate of the lord's mansion, a pair of huge stone lions lay on either side. Two armored guards, exuding an imposing aura without showing anger, stood upright beside the lions, holding iron spears, their eyes coldly fixed ahead, intimidating the merchants coming in and out of the gate, their faces covered in smiles while their hearts cursed Lord Gou's ancestors for eighteen generations. They dared to be angry but not speak up—perhaps that was the kind of people who suited this situation.

Ordinary merchants would come and go quickly. Those who were truly qualified to stay inside the mansion for the banquet were the representatives of prominent families who had operated businesses in Qingtian City for several generations, even dozens of generations. Only these people could sit and drink with Gou Cha, trying to recover a tiny part of their losses, although not even a thousandth or ten-thousandth of what had been given away.

It wasn't until midnight that the heads of the participating families began to walk out of the mansion in pairs or threes. After exchanging greetings, they bid farewell, their faces showing fatigue and the smell of alcohol lingering on them, entering the carriages parked along the avenue and heading back to their own residences.

When most of the carriages outside the mansion had left, loud laughter and shouting came from inside the gate. A middle-aged man, dressed in luxurious splendid clothing and exuding an imposing aura, walked alongside the slightly plump Gou Chen, who was wearing a vermilion official robe. Behind them followed several accountants and aides, walking steadily out of the main gate.

In Qingtian City, aside from the head of the Long family, there was no one who could stand on equal footing with Gou Chen. Even the Chu family, which was similar in status to the Longs, had to yield half a step when walking alongside Gou Chen, showing how extraordinarily exalted the Long family's position was in the city today.

The group stopped next to the stone lions outside the gate. Gou Cha, drunk, patted Long Zongzheng on the shoulder, shook his head, and sighed:

"I tell you, Brother Zongzheng, you've been far too polite this time. Considering our relationship, there was no need to give such grand gifts. I feel unworthy of accepting them. If one day you host a birthday banquet, I wouldn't even know what to give in return.""Long Zongzheng smiled faintly, showing a guilty expression as he replied: \"It's nothing particularly remarkable. Moreover, it just so happened to come into my hands. It didn't cost much. I'm not very good at appreciating such things, and letting them sit idle would be a waste. Naturally, I want to give them to someone who knows how to appreciate them. In the whole of Qingtian City, only Brother Gou can truly appreciate them. I've long wanted to give them to you, but I've been busy with matters lately and haven't had the chance. Since it's your birthday, I was worried I wouldn't find something suitable, so I might as well shamelessly give it to you as a birthday gift.\" \n\nGou Chen laughed heartily, speaking very happily: \"Look at you, still saying these fancy things. Isn't that being too formal? You just aren't good at this kind of thing. Between us, there's no need for such pretenses. Alright, alright, I don't expect this flaw of yours to change. Go back and rest soon; it's getting late. You're far busier than I am.\" \n\nJust as Long Zongzheng was about to take his leave, Gou Chen seemed to recall something and pulled him aside, whispering: \"Brother Zongzheng, are you just going to let your nephew live so well? And your third son, Long Shang—after you caused his mother's death, he must still resent you! Brother, you may be kind-hearted and care about family, but that doesn't mean you won't be raising a hidden trouble for yourself...\" \n\n-- Chapter Thirteen End.