So when Han Li saw the brand new satin robes and the round face that belonged to his Third Uncle, Han Li was overjoyed.
Setting down the firewood in a corner outside of the house, he went to the front of the house to greet his Third Uncle. “Third Uncle, Han Li greets you.” After doing so, he obediently stood to the side and listened to his Third Uncle chat with his parents.
Third Uncle beamed at Han Li as he opened his mouth, praising his nephew. “What a sensible child!” After complimenting Han Li, he turned his attention back to Han Li’s parents and explained the reason for his visit.
Although Han Li wasn’t able to fully understand the words his Third Uncle was saying as he was too young, he still roughly understood what was said.
It turned out his Third Uncle’s restaurant had the backing of the Seven Mysteries Sect. This sect was divided into the inner and outer divisions. Not too long ago, Third Uncle had been officially recognized as an outer disciple. That meant that he could bring a child between the ages of 7 and 12 to take the Inner Disciple Examinations.
Once every 5 years, the Seven Mysteries Sect would formally issue invitations for youngsters to take the test to become Inner Disciples. The test would officially begin the following month. Third Uncle was a smart and astute man who was childless, so he naturally thought of Han Li who met the age requirement.
The moment the usually docile Father Han heard the words “Jiang Hu” and “Sect”, along with many other phrases he had never heard before, he felt very hesitant. Bringing his smoking pipe to his lips and giving it a puff, he sat down without saying a word. [2]
According to Third Uncle, the Seven Mysteries Sect could be considered one of the best sects within several hundred miles.
If one were to become an Inner Disciple, not only would one be able to practice martial arts for free, one would also receive a monthly allowance and have his needs taken care of. Not only that, those who didn’t pass the Inner Disciple Examinations could still enter the sect’s outer division and become an outer disciple like Third Uncle. They would still have the opportunity to help the Seven Mysteries Sect handle its external affairs.
Upon hearing the possibility that his son could receive a monthly allowance and even become as successful as his Third Uncle, Han Li’s father finally decided to give his approval.
After getting the approval from Han Li’s father, Third Uncle felt elated. Leaving behind two silver coins, he said that he would return in a month to escort Han Li to the testing area. During this period of time, Han Li’s father had to ensure that Han Li was clothed and well fed to improve his constitution so that it would be easier for him to pass the test. After giving these instructions, Third Uncle bid farewell to Han Li and his father, patted Han Li on his head and left for the city.
While Han Li didn’t fully comprehend his Third Uncle’s words, he could understand that he would be able to earn money in the big city. It seemed that his dream from before was finally going to come true, making him so excited that he could not sleep for the first few nights.
After one month had passed, Third Uncle returned to the village, wanting to escort Han Li to the testing site. Before he left, Han Li’s father repeatedly instructed Han Li on the ways of proper behavior.
One must be honest, have the capacity to endure, and avoid unnecessary conflicts with others. Meanwhile, Han Li’s mother urged him to take care of his health and to eat and sleep well.
On the carriage, Han Li had to bite down on his lips to prevent himself from crying, as he watched his parents gradually disappear from sight.
Although he had always been more mature than other children of the same age, he was still just a ten year-old child. This was the first time he had left home, so he naturally felt depressed. A homesickness developed in his heart, and he was determined to rush home after he struck rich, never to be separated from his parents again.
Han Li would never have thought that from this moment on, money would lose any meaning to him. He was unexpectedly going to walk a path different from ordinary mortals. Instead, he was going to walk down his own path towards immortality!
1. (TL: “Second Fool” [er leng zi ] in Mandarin has a pleasing sound despite its meaning)
2. (TL: “Father Han” is the title of Han Li’s father)
Chapter 2: Green Ox Village
Green Ox City was said to be a small city, but it was actually just a large village called Green Ox Village. Only those who lived in the mountainous region and the natives with no knowledge of the outside world called the village Green Ox City. The only reason Han Li knew about this was because he had been informed by his Uncle Zhang, who had been working as a gatekeeper for more than ten years.
Green Ox Village wasn’t very large. It only had one main road, known as Green Ox Street, which spanned from the eastern to the western borders of the village. There was also only one tavern in village, located on its western border. For any traveling merchant that didn’t want to sleep outdoors, this tavern was the only option.
There was only one road for carriages in the western part of Green Ox Village. It ran from the gates of the village and the Green Ox Tavern all the way to the Spring Fragrance Restaurant, the only other place anyone would visit besides the tavern.
Spring Fragrance Restaurant wasn’t big by any means and was actually quite old-fashioned. However, this establishment had a certain charm that was appealing to many travelers. Every day at noon, there would always be a crowd of people, making the place constantly swamped.
A bearded man with a round face emerged from a carriage along with a dark skinned, rotund little boy who looked to be around ten years old, and they both walked into the restaurant with a swagger. All of the regular customers knew who this man was. He was the manager of this restaurant, “Fatty Han.” The boy, however, was not someone they were familiar with.
“Elder Han, this tanned little boy resembles you a lot. Could it be a child from a prostitute you spent the night with?” someone joked.
The moment the joke was uttered, the entire restaurant roared with laughter.
“Peh! This is the son of my blood brother, my own nephew! Of course he’ll look like me,” Fatty Han said proudly instead of being angered.
This duo had traveled for three whole days without rest before arriving at the village. They were Han Li and his Third Uncle, who was known as “Fatty Han” by the village people.
Fatty Han greeted a few regulars before bringing Han Li to the back of the restaurant, and entered a remote courtyard.
“Xiao Li, you should rest here for a while. When the time comes for the Inner Disciple Examinations, I’ll call you. For now, I must leave in order to attend to a few regulars.” Fatty Han pointed at a side room in the courtyard and kindly motioned for Han Li to enter it. [1]
After saying that, Han Li’s Third Uncle turned around and hurried back inside the restaurant to tend to his customers.
As he reached the door, he felt a sudden unease in his heart and reminded Han Li, “Don’t run about. You might get lost in the village if you wander around. So it’s best if you don’t leave this courtyard.”
“En!”
Hearing Han Li’s honest response, he nodded in relief and walked out the door.
After his Third Uncle left the courtyard, Han Li suddenly felt exhausted. The moment his head landed on his pillow, he fell into a deep sleep and began snoring, surprisingly without the fear of a normal kid staying alone in unfamiliar surroundings.
When the night came, a servant came by with some food. Although it wasn’t a lavish meal, it was still delicious. After Han Li ate the food, the servant was clearing away the remaining dishes when his Third Uncle leisurely walked in.
“How was it? Was the meal suitable to your taste? Do you miss your home?”
“Yes, I miss home…” Han Li replied in his childish voice.
Third Uncle seemed satisfied with Han Li’s response. He began to talk to him about his daily life and bragged about many of his experi
ences. Gradually, Han Li became less shy and started to laugh and talk with his Third Uncle.
In this manner, two days passed by quickly.
On the third day, after Han Li finished his dinner, he was waiting for his uncle’s stories of Jiang Hu when a carriage stopped in front of the restaurant door. [2]
This carriage was painted a shiny black color and even the horse was a rarely seen golden steed. But what attracted the most attention was that on the frame of the carriage was the word “Mystery” written in silver characters in the middle of a red triangle emblazing a black banner. The image on the banner also emitted an unfathomable air.
Seeing this banner, every martial arts expert in the area knew that this carriage belonged to one of the two local overlords in the area, the Seven Mysteries Sect. It seemed that an esteemed guest had arrived in Green Ox Village.
The Seven Mysteries Sect was previously known as the Seven Supreme Sect, and the sect was established two hundred years ago by an extremely famous martial master named “Sovereign Seven Supreme”. Having once swept across and dominated the Jing Province and the nearby Shu Province for a few decades, the Sovereign Seven Supreme was resoundingly famous. But after he was afflicted with illness, the power of the Seven Mysteries Sect took a devastating hit and its influence dropped drastically. In the end, the Seven Mysteries Sect was forced out of the main city of the Jing Province by the combined efforts of its rival sects. Thus, a hundred years ago, the sect was forced to relocate to an extremely remote area called the Celestial Rainbow Mountain. From then on, they rebuilt their roots in that third rate region and became a local powerhouse.
As the old saying goes: "a starved camel is still bigger than a horse". The Seven Mysteries Sect had once been a major sect, so it still possessed substantial potential. Once it arrived at Celestial Rainbow Mountain, it immediately gained control over around a dozen towns and villages, including Green Ox Village, and it had around 4,000 disciples, making it one of the two undisputed supreme powers in the area.
Locally, the only other power that could rival the Seven Mysteries Sect was the Feral Wolf Gang.
The Feral Wolf Gang was originally a gang of horse-mounted bandits from the Jing Province that had no qualms about burning, killing, looting and pillaging. After a while, an army dispatched by the imperial court encircled and fiercely suppressed the bandits. Some of the bandits accepted the amnesty granted to them by the imperial court while the remaining bandits reformed themselves into the Feral Wolf Gang. The Feral Wolf Gang was exceedingly cruel and bloodthirsty, retaining their former characteristics of having no qualms about committing atrocities. Thus, whenever they clashed, the Seven Mysteries Sect was always at a disadvantage.
Even though the Feral Wolf Gang controlled more villages than the Seven Mysteries Sect, the gang didn’t know how to manage the villages effectively to run businesses and generate income. In comparison, the wealth of the villages controlled by the Seven Mysteries Sect vastly outstripped the villages under Feral Wolf Gang’s control. Jealous of the Seven Mysteries Sect’s prosperity, the Feral Wolf Gang made plans to take over the Sect’s territory, resulting in the longstanding conflict between the two major powers. The conflict gave the current Sect Leader of the Seven Mysteries Sect endless headaches. Because of the Feral Wolf Gang, the Seven Mysteries Sect has been accepting an increasing number of disciples in recent years.
After the carriage stopped, a skinny forty year-old man jumped down. His movements were extremely nimble, indicating that he was a powerful expert. He seemed to be very familiar with Fatty Han’s restaurant and walked pompously towards the room Han Li was residing in.
Upon seeing the forty year-old man, Fatty Han immediately greeted him respectfully.
“Protector Wang, why has an esteemed person such as yourself personally made the trip?”
“Humph!” Protector Wang coldly snorted.
“The roads here haven’t been peaceful lately. Because of this, there’s a need to strengthen the defenses. Thus, the elders ordered that I personally come. Don’t speak any more rubbish. Is this the child you wanted to nominate?”
“Yes, yes, this is my nephew. I hope that Protector Wang will take care of him.”
Looking at the impatient look on Protector Wang face, Third Uncle immediately retrieved a heavy-looking pouch and secretly passed it over to Protector Wang.
After he assessed the weight of the pouch, Protector Wang’s impatient demeanor visibly relaxed.
“Fatty Han, you truly know how to conduct yourself! On the way back, I will make sure that all of your nephew’s needs are well cared for. Anyways, it is getting pretty late now. We had best hurry on our way.”
1. (TL: “Xiao” in this context means “little”)
2. (TL: Jiang Hu – World of Martial Artists)
Chapter 3: Seven Mysteries Sect
The smell inside the carriage was unpleasant, but this could hardly be surprising. The optimal capacity for this carriage was only ten people, but currently there were about thirty young children squeezed into the carriage. Even if young children had smaller bodies than adults, the space inside the carriage was intolerably cramped.
The clever Han Li had chosen a seat near the sides when he had first entered the carriage and was now stealthily observing the other children.
The children who had registered or been nominated to take the test at the Seven Mysteries Sect could be segregated into three different groups based on their clothing and bearing.
In the first group, there was a youth wearing silk clothing seated in the center of the carriage, surrounded by the majority of the children.
This youth’s name was Wu Yan. He was 13 years old, one of the oldest children to be seated inside the carriage. Normally, he would not be even here since his age had already exceeded the age limit, but one of his older female cousins was married to someone of authority inside the Seven Mysteries Sect. Therefore, Wu Yan’s age was purposely overlooked and he was allowed to join the selection. Wu Yan’s family ran a martial arts dojo, so he had access to a considerable amount of wealth. From a young age, he had practiced external martial arts. Even though his talent could not be considered excellent, when facing against Han Li’s type- children who had never practiced martial arts before- it was more than enough for Wu Yan to trample them underfoot.
It was very clear that children like Wu Yan, who came from powerful wealthy families and had previously practiced martial arts, could be considered the elite within the groups of children inside the carriage.
The second group of children were from different backgrounds: some came from the families of shopkeepers, some came from the families of workers, or families of craftsmen, and so on. However, they all had one special thing in common; they grew up in the city. Thus, from an early age, they had learned from the elders of their families on how to observe people and know what was beneficial for them. Because of this, these children surrounded Wu Yan and repeatedly called out “Young Master Wu” and “Big Brother Wu” to curry favor. Wu Yan seemed to be used to being fawned over.
The third group of children were people like Han Li; this group came from remote and poor villages. They usually made do with what they had, were poor, and had suffered a life of hardship and strife. Only several children belonged to this third group, creating a minority inside the carriage. They usually kept to themselves, and had a quiet demeanor, not even daring to speak or laugh loudly. They were a refreshing change when compared to those loud children.
After the horse carriage exited Green Ox Village, it sped westward and made a few detours to visit other locations and collect even more children. On the fifth day, they managed to arrive at the Celestial Rainbow Mountain, the home of the Seven Mysteries Sect, near sundown.
The first thing the children saw after exiting the carriage was the beautiful, captivating sunset. It was only when Protector Wang started to rally the children that they woke up from their daze and continued proceeding forward.
Celestial Rainbow Mounta
in was originally called Falling Phoenix Mountain. Legend has it that during ancient times, a five-coloured phoenix fell on this location, then gradually transformed into the mountain. After this place was discovered by humans, they realized how beautiful the sunset looked behind the mountain and rosy pink clouds. Inspired by the majestic image, the humans decided to rename this place Celestial Rainbow Mountain.
The Celestial Rainbow Mountain was the second largest mountain in the Jing Province after the Bai Mang Mountain. It was extremely spacious, spanning a radius of ten Li. The Celestial Rainbow Mountain was actually a mountain range consisting of ten mountain peaks, each of them being incredibly dangerous, and under the control of the various divisions of the Seven Mysteries Sect.
The main mountain peak of the Celestial Rainbow Mountain was named the “Setting Sun Summit”; it was treacherous and dangerous beyond comparison. Not only was it extremely steep, there was only a single path between the peak and base of the mountain. After the Seven Mysteries Sect rebuilt their roots in this area, they set up a total of thirteen checkpoints on the path up the mountain. Some of these checkpoints were hidden while others were out in the open. They were prepared for every single route that the Feral Wolf Gang might use to invade the mountain.
As Han Li followed the escorts in front of the group, he surveyed his nearby surroundings. Suddenly, the escorts stopped as waves of friendly and amicable voices rang out.
“Little Brother Wang, why did you arrive so late? You’re two days behind schedule.”
“Division Head Yue, we were delayed by the journey here, sorry for making you to worry.” Standing in front of all the children, Protector Wang replied respectfully as he bowed to a red-faced old man. Protector Wang’s stern facade was instantly replaced by a look of fawning.
“Which batch of children is this?”
“This is the batch number seventeen.”
“En!” This Division Head Yue pompously looked towards Han Li and the other children.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 7