Hearing this, Fourth Prince Zhao Yan's brow furrowed slightly.
Thirty-five years had passed. He had assumed Su Yueli had long since ended up in the belly of some demon beast within the Cangyun ruins, and he had even prepared himself for the possibility that she would spend her entire life in death seclusion inside.
Who could have expected that not only did this woman emerge alive, but the moment she appeared, she completely turned the entire Pang family upside down?
With the help of resources bestowed by the imperial family, Pang Jinbiao had finally managed to break through his shackles and enter the Ninth Realm of the martial path a few years ago, becoming one of the top mortal experts in the Imperial City.
Yet this time, when he led three Seventh Realm elders to corner and kill her, they were actually wiped out entirely?
A Ninth Realm martial artist was an existence that could practically walk unchallenged in the mortal world. There was no reason for him and his men to be utterly wiped out by a young girl with absolutely no background.
“Could it be... that the ancient ruins, which the Great Li iron cavalry failed to completely plunder a thousand years ago, truly contain some incredible, earth-shattering opportunity?” Zhao Yan murmured in a low voice, a trace of burning greed flashing in his eyes.
He looked up, staring at the guard. “Are you certain you didn't see wrong? Was the person who did it really Su Yueli?”
Cold sweat poured down the kneeling guard's face as he kowtowed. “Your Highness, this subordinate would never dare to look wrong! That woman's face is exactly the same as when she won the championship at the Martial Arts Tournament thirty-five years ago!”
“Exactly the same?” Zhao Yan's pupils dilated. “You mean her appearance hasn't changed at all, without even the slightest sign of aging?”
“Yes, this subordinate saw it clearly. She still looks like a young girl of about twenty.”
Zhao Yan could no longer sit still. Hands clasped behind his back, he paced around the secret room, the doubts in his heart growing heavier.
Su Yueli was indeed a mortal martial artist, without even a shred of immortal Bone Talent, let alone the spiritual energy fluctuations of a cultivator.
How could a mortal remain eternally young after thirty-five years had passed?
This completely defied the common sense of the mortal martial path—or rather, the natural laws of the world.
However, Zhao Yan quickly suppressed the urge to have Su Yueli brought to him.
Right now, the struggle for the succession in the Great Li Dynasty had reached its most critical juncture. The princes were fighting openly and covertly, a conflict that even involved the scheming of the immortal sects backing them.
Compared to the grand ambition of seizing the throne and ruling the empire, the secret of a mortal Martial God, though enticing, was not enough to distract him from his current priorities.
“Pass down the order to have the shadow guards monitor her movements. Remember, do not startle the snake. Without my direct order, no one is permitted to take action against her,” Zhao Yan commanded in a deep voice.
“This subordinate obeys.” The guard bowed, then turned into a dark shadow and retreated from the secret room.
Standing where he was, Zhao Yan stared at the empty secret room, a playful curve tugging at the corner of his lips. “A mortal Martial God who hasn't aged in thirty-five years... Interesting. Truly interesting.”
...
Meanwhile, Su Yueli was rushing back to Qingzhou City at full speed, following the route in her memory.
Along the way, the landscape had transformed, and the world had changed.
Thirty-five years of time had brought earth-shattering changes to the official roads and wilderness she had traversed when she first came.
Many of the barren mountains of the past were now densely packed with villages and towns. The familiar courier stations and tea stalls from back then had long since vanished, replaced by wider roads and bustling merchant inns.
In many places, she could barely even recognize her surroundings.
As she passed through a lively market, watching the peddlers carrying shoulder poles and calling out their wares, the children playing along the streets, and the curls of cooking smoke rising from the houses on both sides, Su Yueli couldn't help but slow her pace.
This long-lost atmosphere of the mortal world finally brought a touch of warmth to her heart, which had been frozen for thirty-five years in the silent, lifeless tomb.
“After being cooped up in that dark, godforsaken place for so many years, walking on the streets and basking in the sun really feels nice...”
Su Yueli curled her lips, letting out a self-deprecating chuckle.
Two days later, Su Yueli returned to Qingzhou City.
Standing at the city gate that felt both familiar and foreign, she relied on the memories deep in her mind to head straight in the direction of the former Tie Family Dojo.
Turning past two streets, Su Yueli saw the courtyard from her memory in the distance.
But as she drew closer, her steps came to a halt.
The imposing, black-lacquered plaque of the Iron Bone Dojo that once hung above the main gate was long gone. In its place was a brand-new sign draped with red silk, bearing the words “Tie Family Brewery.”
What wafted from inside was no longer the shouts of martial arts practice, but the scent of fermented grains.
The martial arts dojo of the past had now become a bustling brewing workshop.
Standing outside the door, Su Yueli's heart sank slightly as an ominous premonition welled up inside her.
Thirty-five years had passed. Back then, Tie Tu was already past sixty. Counting the years, he would be at least over a hundred years old by now.
If a mortal martial artist could not break through to a higher realm, their blood qi would decay, and reaching this age would mean they were in their twilight years.
Could it be that Old Man Tie had already...
And Tie Ling'er had possessed no talent for martial arts since childhood, nor did she like fighting and killing.
Was it because she couldn't support the dojo on her own after the old man passed away, and had to switch to the wine business to make a living?
Though, by the time Su Yueli had left, Tie Ling'er had already run the wine business quite successfully.
Thinking of this, Su Yueli hesitated no longer. Taking a deep breath, she stepped through the brewery's main gate.
Inside the brewery, several young workers who were turning over the fermented grains instinctively looked back upon hearing footsteps.
With that single glance, they instantly froze on the spot.
They saw a young girl in a green linen dress walking in through the entrance. She looked to be only in her early twenties, her skin so fair and delicate that it seemed untouched by the dust of the mortal world.
Yet her pitch-black eyes were deep and cold, and her entire being exuded a serene, noble aura that made people look away in awe.
In this crude workshop filled with the smell of sweat and fermented grains, she looked like a fairy who had accidentally wandered into the mortal realm, completely out of place with her surroundings.
The few brewers were utterly dazed, completely unaware when their wooden shovels clattered to the ground.
Su Yueli walked straight to the counter. Looking at an accountant who was balancing the books, she asked, “Excuse me, are Tie Tu and Tie Ling'er here?”
The accountant behind the counter shuddered. Snapping out of his daze, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and stammered, “This... young lady, you've come at an unfortunate time. Old Man Tie lived to the ripe old age of ninety-eight, which is considered very long-lived. Unfortunately, he passed away peacefully four years ago and has been laid to rest.”
“Now, this brewery is managed by Shopkeeper Ling'er. She should be busy in the inner courtyard right now.”
Hearing the news of Tie Tu's passing, though Su Yueli had long expected it, she still couldn't help but feel a faint, bitter ache in her heart.
Mortals had short lifespans. Even though she was now a Tenth Realm Martial God, she ultimately could not preserve the lifespan of her old friend.
“Thank you.”
Su Yueli nodded dejectedly and walked toward the inner courtyard of the brewery.
The moment she stepped into the inner courtyard, the clamor of the workshop faded significantly.
Sunlight spilled over the clean bluestone ground. In the center of the courtyard, several giant steamers were set up, emitting plumes of white steam.
Among the massive wine jars, a slightly hunched figure had her back turned to the entrance, struggling to carry a heavy bucket of fermented grains to pour into an empty jar.
Looking at that back, Su Yueli's eyes welled with warmth.
Thirty-five years ago, the bright young girl with twin ponytails who used to follow her around all day, chirping “Sister Yueli,” was long gone.
Most of the woman's hair before her was already gray, and her once upright posture had become slightly hunched from years of hard labor.
Thirty-five years of hardships had carved dense wrinkles into her face.
Time, that ruthless carving knife, had completely reshaped the mortal's physical form.
As if sensing the footsteps behind her, the busy woman stopped what she was doing.
Wiping the sweat from her forehead with her apron, she rubbed her lower back tiredly and turned around.
The moment her gaze fell upon the young girl in green, she instantly froze.
She saw that the woman standing in the sunlight still retained her devastatingly beautiful twenty-year-old appearance, and even the look in her eyes was exactly the same as when they parted.
It was as if time had completely stood still for her.
Crash!
The old woman's hands trembled, and the small porcelain jar filled with new wine she was holding crashed to the ground. The fragrance of wine and shards of porcelain splattered in all directions across the courtyard.
Staring at the young girl before her, tears instantly blurred the old woman's eyes as she murmured:
“Sister... Yueli? Is it you?”
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