Hu Yaren

“Are we not going home anymore?” Wen Liyun leaned against the carriage window and turned to look at Wen Xiangzhi.

“From now on, Xiushui City will be our home.” Through the curtain that had been pulled aside, Wen Xiangzhi gazed into the distance at the city walls. Towering and imposing, they looked solid, sturdy, and reassuring.

At those words, eight-year-old Wen Liyun turned back toward the window. Her young eyes were filled with bewilderment at the unknown.

By the time the people at the very front of the seemingly endless procession reached the gates of Xiushui City, it was noon.

The winter sun was dazzling, but offered little warmth.

There had been no snow in recent days. The ground was dry, and the carriages that had traveled the road bore no traces of mud—only the dust kicked up along the way.

Guards stood watch at the city gates. They had been dispatched by the government to help maintain order and deal with minor disputes among the crowds.

The City Lord’s Estate had also sent municipal clerks to question those entering the city for the first time.

The Wen family’s carriage was near the front of the line, so it was their turn soon enough.

“What is the purpose of your visit? Do you have household registration documents?” The clerk at the gate merely glanced up at the Wen family and the line of carriages behind them before lowering his head and rapidly writing in the large register in his hands.

“This old man is Wen Xiangzhi, from Fang Town in Zhonghu County, Qunan Prefecture, Suiyan Province. I have brought my family here with the intention of settling in Xiushui City. These are our household registration documents, along with the travel permits issued by Qunan Prefecture.”

Wen Xiangzhi answered the clerk’s questions respectfully and in detail. As he spoke, he took out the household registration documents he had prepared in advance and handed them over.

The clerk carefully examined them, then returned them to Wen Xiangzhi and continued registering them in his book. Several breaths later, he finally raised his head and pointed behind him.

“All right. Enter through the gate on the far left. Whether you wish to buy a house or rent one, there are brokers inside who can help you. Once you are settled, the head of the household must bring the property deed and household registration documents to the ward master for registration. Remember to obey the law while you are in the city. Do not cause trouble or commit any wrongdoing.”

Following the clerk’s gesture, Wen Xiangzhi looked behind him and only then noticed that beyond the enormous city gate stood three smaller gates. They were smaller only in comparison to the main gate; in their own right, they were still extremely tall and imposing.

The clerk then raised his head and called out to those behind them, “Next!” At the same time, he waved for Wen Xiangzhi and the others to leave quickly so they would not obstruct the people behind them.

Wen Xiangzhi immediately raised a hand and signaled to his family and the carriages behind him to follow as he led them toward the gate on the left, clearing the space they had occupied for the next arrivals.

As soon as they crossed through the far-left gate, they saw two long, orderly rows of tables and chairs on either side beyond it. Each table and chair bore a number. People were seated at many of the tables with higher numbers, while the tables with the lowest numbers were mostly empty.

These were the brokers Lin Yun had recruited over the past few days. Their task was to receive commoners who wished to settle in Xiushui City and help them find suitable housing, as well as purchase the various necessities required to get settled.

Seeing so many members of the Wen family enter, a broker seated at a table marked “Twenty-Two” rose and came forward to greet them.

“Are you here to settle in Xiushui City? You must be tired after such a long journey. Come over here and have a bowl of hot tea while you rest.”

The Wen family followed him to a nearby tea stall and sat down at an empty table. A moment later, a waiter came over with a large teapot and poured them tea.

The tea stall was not at all fancy. It was simply a very large thatched shelter with numerous tables beneath it. At the far end stood a crude earthen stove, upon which two large pots of water were boiling.

The stall was deserted, with not a single customer drinking tea. Only one young waiter moved from table to table, setting out bowls and pouring tea.

“My name is Hu Defu. I live in Xiushui Residential District. May I ask your surname, old sir? Do you intend to buy a house or rent one? What sort of house would you like?”

The broker sat beside Wen Xiangzhi, who was clearly the head of the family, and asked with a beaming smile.

“My surname is Wen. I am seventy-three this year, so I hope you will permit me to address you as Nephew Hu. We have only just arrived and know nothing about the prices of houses in this fine city. If we can afford to buy, that would be ideal. If not, we will rent a place for the time being and make further plans later. There are quite a few people in my household, so the house should preferably be large enough to provide fifteen or sixteen rooms. That should just about suffice. I would be grateful if you could give the matter some thought, Nephew Hu.”

Wen Xiangzhi had spent many years as a wealthy local landowner and had long been accustomed to dealing with minor officials and brokers. He knew all too well how troublesome such small-time functionaries could be. Since they were strangers in an unfamiliar place, he did not dare slight Hu the broker in the least.

After spending many years among ordinary people, he had long since discarded the pride that almost all sect cultivators possessed. He regarded himself as an ordinary person now. To him, cultivation was merely a means of prolonging his life.

At Wen Xiangzhi’s words, Hu Defu pondered briefly. Then, from a plain and unremarkable little pouch tied around his waist, he pulled out a book larger than his own face.

Everyone in the Wen family froze. Then they stared at the storage pouch in disbelief.

Wen Xiangzhi nearly cried out. Pointing at the book in Hu Defu’s hands, he asked in a trembling voice, “Is that—is that a storage pouch?”

Hu Defu patted the storage pouch at his waist with considerable pride.

“This was specially distributed by the City Lord’s Estate for the brokers of Xiushui City to use. It’s a treasure given to us by an immortal. It can hold a great many things!”

“Even cultivators don’t all possess treasures like that. Aren’t you afraid it will be lost if you give them to ordinary people like you?” Wen Xiangzhi asked.

What he really wanted to say was: Isn’t this absurd? A treasure like a storage pouch being handed to ordinary people—wouldn’t cultivators discover it and snatch it away by tomorrow? Someone might even lose their life over it.

“Hahaha! The storage pouches distributed by the City Lord’s Estate were specially made by immortals. Only their intended users can use them. Even if someone stole or seized one, they couldn’t take it out of Xiushui City. Master Wen, you needn’t worry about us.”

Laughing heartily, Hu Defu began seriously flipping through the book in his hands. “Now, let me see what houses we have available for you.”

After hearing this, Wen Xiangzhi glanced at the storage pouch several more times. His heart was filled with both excitement and melancholy.

He was excited because Xiushui City treated ordinary people far too generously. Even a broker working for the City Lord’s Estate could receive a treasure like a storage pouch. If he or one of his family members could secure a position with the City Lord’s Estate in the future, perhaps they too might gain such an opportunity.

Yet he was melancholy because he could not help lamenting that he had never heard of the Lingxian Sect before. Why had he not come here sooner? If he had, perhaps he would not have wasted so many years of his life...