After a while, Cheng Qi walked out of the room with a blushing face. Seeing Li Tianyan still a little bewildered, he raised the bamboo basket in his hand and said, “Young master, I will return the bowls and chopsticks to Auntie Gui.”

Li Tianyan glanced at it and saw that it was sent by the peasant woman last night, and nodded, “You can go.”

Li Tianyan kept observing the scene of Qiluan Mountain behind the village, while Cheng Qi was dragged by a group of thirteen-year-old children from the village. Together, they went to a nearby mountain to pick wild fruits and mushrooms and didn’t return until around noon.

Li Tianyan saw Cheng Qi returning with a bamboo basket on his back filled with mountain products he had picked. He couldn’t help but shake his head in amusement. It had only been half a day, but Cheng Qi seemed very familiar with the villagers already. This bamboo basket must have been borrowed from someone else.

In the afternoon, Cheng Qi returned the bamboo basket again, and then he and Li Tianyan prepared the things they needed to go into the mountain.

“Young master, do you want to arrange a formation?” Cheng Qi couldn’t help but be curious when he saw that the things Li Tianyan had sorted out were all materials for the formation.

“If there is a problem with the formation on the mountain, maybe it can be solved by repairing it,” Li Tianyan integrated the things collected from the Qiankun Realm and the Underground Palace, and picked out all the magic formation equipment.

Although they were all Huang-level and Xuan-level formations, they should be enough for repairs, but Li Tianyan was afraid that the sealed objects were not in the formation, which would be a bit troublesome.

.

Just when Li Tianyan decided to go to Qiluan Mountain to explore the road tomorrow, a group of warriors came to Hejia Village to stay overnight. The two of them hid in the house and listened to what was going on outside.

“Young master, there are really warriors here,” Cheng Qi said with surprise when he heard that those warriors were also going to Qiluan Mountain. Although there were more than twenty warriors in this group, none of them were stronger than the third level. Could they really do it?

Not long after this group of people arrived at the back of the village, Village Chief He said cautiously, “There is only one house here, but it is already occupied.”

After hearing this, Han Wei said cheerfully, “There are so many people anyway. One house is not enough to live in. We can just set up a place outside to rest for one night.”

Li Tianyan discovered that the man who spoke was a peak third level acquired warrior, and he was the strongest among these people, likely the leader of the group of warriors.

The village chief breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this. Only two of the people in this group had been here before, and the others were all strangers. He had feared encountering those with unreasonable tempers and seeing that the doctor was not a warrior, they would be driven away.

After negotiating with these warriors, the village chief knocked on Li Tianyan’s door again and said to the two people inside, “They were warriors who wanted to enter the mountain. They will stay here tonight and leave early tomorrow morning. I just want to inform you so you don’t be afraid.”

“Thank you, the village chief, for telling me.” Li Tianyan glanced at the group of people and nodded to the village chief.

After the village chief left, Cheng Qi laid behind the door and secretly observed the group of warriors outside. They numbered twenty-two in total, with only one of them being a female warrior. However, this woman was also a third-level acquired warrior, just slightly inferior to the leader.

“Young master, what should we do now?” Cheng Qi said nervously. “They won’t really enter the mountain tomorrow, right? We can’t just watch these people die.”

“Sleep,” Li Tianyan tucked Cheng Qi into bed and laid down himself.

“Huh? Are we really sleeping?” Cheng Qi glanced at the sky. “It’s not dark yet. Do you want to go to bed so early? What about the group of people outside?”

.

“Little sister, I don’t think you should join us; this journey may be very perilous. I think you should stay in the village,” Han Wei said, looking at the only woman in the team, trying to persuade her.

Hu Xin shook her head, “Only Hanye Spiritual Grass can cure father’s injury. If I can’t come with you, I will venture into the mountain one my own.”

Han Wei ceased trying to persuade Hu Xin after hearing her resolve. Despite being a woman, she was formidable, and her presence would provide an added advantage.

A rugged-looking warrior in the team remarked, “What does the court think? The Northern Qi invaders have not retreated but instead he imprisoned General Mu.”

“Do you still expect anything from the court? What kind of emperor is that dog now? He listened to that woman and enforced a ban on martial arts. Wasn’t it because he feared someone would threaten his throne?”

“General Mu was imprisoned for opposing the ban on martial arts. It seems the court’s stance is already evident.”

“One day, once I reach the fifth level, I’ll storm into the palace and slay the Dog Emperor and that woman.”

“What benefits do you think we’ll gain if we truly kill the monster in the mountain?”

“Didn’t that girl say something. Big brother, what did the real girl from Dixuan Sect say?”

“The one who vanquishes the evil in Qiluan Mountain will undoubtedly receive great opportunities and rewards, and simultaneously, the turmoil in the world will lessen, thereby saving the common people.”

“Yes, that’s it.”

“Why are you so excited? Do you even understand what that means?”

.

Li Tianyan hadn’t expected a mortal was capable of such calculations. He had heard about the Dixuan Sect from the Qi Warrior Sect, but what this woman said might hold some truth.

At this time, Zidong Kingdom had enforced a ban on martial arts. Did it intend to suppress the practice of martial arts among the populace? The so-called prevention was worse than cure. The government had never regulated warriors, but now it suddenly sought to suppress them all. It wouldn’t be surprising if civil strife ensued. Moreover, with the Northern Qi invasion and internal troubles, it seemed that evil energy had overshadowed the dragon veins, already influencing the country’s fate.

As Li Tianyan pondered, he suddenly felt a warm body snuggling into his arms. Looking down, he couldn’t help but laugh and sigh. Cheng Qi had indeed fallen asleep on the bed. He was so worried a moment ago, but now he was fast asleep.