Chapter Thirty-Seven: Settling In

The stronger the power of Shimen Commandery, the greater his control over the city’s affairs. As a force representing the authorities, he certainly wouldn’t want all sorts of miscellaneous factions causing trouble in his territory.

Now, Li Ju could only hope that the might of Shimen Commandery would be enough to suppress the organization behind that inner disciple, so they wouldn’t dare stir up trouble in the city. That way, he would have a stable place to settle down, where he could quietly develop his strength through time and repeated forays into dungeons. When he was strong enough, he would naturally take the initiative to settle his grievances with that organization.

The sunlight slanted westward.

Near dusk, Li Ju and his companions finally passed the inspection of the city guards and, after paying the entrance fee, entered the long-missed Shimen Commandery.

“Brother, where are we going now?”

Li Yan gazed at the throngs of people on the roads and the various shops lining the streets, her eyes dazzled by the unfamiliar sights. Compared to Yangyuan County, which was constantly bled dry by powerful clans, the prosperity of Shimen Commandery—commanding the resources of an entire region—was on a whole different level.

Neat stone-paved roads, rows of grand buildings, goods she had never seen before...

Such urban grandeur held a deadly allure for people from small towns. Except for Li Ju, who was immune to the spectacle thanks to memories of towering skyscrapers from his previous life, the others—Li Yan and old Li the carpenter among them—looked around with unrestrained curiosity.

“Next, we need to find a place to stay,” Li Ju thought to himself, then looked a bit troubled as his gaze landed on a girl curled up in a corner of the carriage, trembling with terror. This was Luo Hao’s daughter, Luo Yun.

At this moment, Li Ju regretted his impulse in bringing Luo Hao’s daughter along. He had no qualms about being ruthless to the members of the merchant caravan, but to harm a clueless girl for no reason would go against his conscience. After all, it was Luo Yun’s father who had targeted him, but Luo Yun herself was innocent.

As for his earlier thought of simply abandoning Luo Yun somewhere in Shimen Commandery—well, it was obvious what fate awaited a teenage girl, helpless and inexperienced, in a world like this. This was no civilized society; there were no police to help her find her way home. If he really did that, the best she could hope for was to be sold into a brothel by human traffickers.

“Forget it. I’ll keep her with me for now. Once I find a suitable place for her, I’ll make arrangements.”

In a city where everything was unfamiliar, Li Ju needed time to get his bearings. After finding an inn at random, he settled his group for the night.

Over the next few days, Li Ju ventured out daily to get a sense of the layout and particulars of Shimen Commandery. Once he had a general understanding, he spent money to purchase a residence in the southern part of the city.

“Son, how much did this house cost?” Old Li the carpenter, beaming with delight, wandered through the newly bought courtyard, touching everything as he went. He had toiled and struggled all his life, and his greatest hope was that Li Ju would marry and carry on the family line. He never imagined his son would one day become a martial artist, not only strong but wealthy enough to buy a mansion in the commandery city. That was beyond even his wildest dreams.

“It cost a thousand taels of silver in all,” Li Ju answered casually.

“A thousand taels? In Yangyuan County, this place would be worth maybe two or three hundred at most!” Old Li was shocked; he’d never even seen a hundred taels of silver, let alone a thousand.

“This is the commandery city, so of course it’s more expensive,” Li Ju said, unconcerned. He had acquired two or three thousand taels’ worth of loot from Willow Village, and after “relieving” Luo Hao of his possessions, his assets totaled some six thousand taels upon entering Shimen Commandery. And that’s not even counting the two martial arts manuals he had taken from Willow Village. Since he wasn’t sure of their market value, he decided to scope out the situation before selling them off. After all, they were useless to him, and he could always copy and sell multiple copies.

“By the way, Father, Yan, you won’t need to do any work from now on. I’ve already bought a staff of servants; all you have to do is learn how to enjoy life.” With that, Li Ju walked out to the entrance, hands clasped behind his back, gazing at the plaque above the door: “Li Residence.”

This would be a new beginning.

In the days that followed, Li Ju relied on a martial arts manual called the “Pay-to-Win Technique” and managed, after some effort, to secure a position as a warehouse clerk in the Shimen Commandery government office. Although it cost him three thousand taels—nearly half his fortune—he didn’t mind, as his real goal was to gain a foothold inside the government.

After all, if he ever ran out of money, he could always wander the Great Wilderness, rob a few bands of horse thieves, and refill his purse. At this moment, Li Ju was deeply grateful that the commandery’s soldiers hadn’t wiped out the bandits in the wilderness. Otherwise, he might have struggled to find ways to earn silver, whereas now, whenever he needed money, he could just make a round through the wilderness and “harvest” a new batch of bandits.

Once he had entered Shimen Commandery, the mysterious force from Yangyuan County ceased their attacks. Whether they had truly given up on him, or merely paused because he was now within the city walls, he could not tell.

Late one night, Li Ju sat upright in his study.

“Dungeon cooldown finished. You may now re-enter the dungeon.”

“Chronicles of the Flying Sword: (Difficulty: Easy) (Open World Dungeon)”

“Description: The number one sect of the Lingnan martial world, the Flying Sword Sect, was wiped out by the Demonic Sect. The inner disciple Wang Lu narrowly survived the massacre. To avenge the destruction of his sect, Wang Lu embarks on the path to become the supreme martial artist...”

“Completion Objective: ??? (Viewable upon entering)”

“Note: Once entered, regardless of success or failure, this open world dungeon will be sealed and inaccessible henceforth.”

“At last, I can enter again...”

Li Ju gazed at the dungeon panel before him and drew a deep breath.

This time, he would fully clear the Flying Sword Chronicles dungeon!

“Entering dungeon...”