Chapter 286: Mountains and Fate

Sima Qiudao’s unwavering determination and flexibility left Shi Feizhe speechless.

He probably understood Sima Qiudao. It was like dedicating your entire life to one thing, and then someone suddenly tells you it’s wrong.

Your first reaction is disbelief, followed by a refusal to accept it.

Even if it’s wrong, you still want to try!

Otherwise, you’ll never be reconciled.

After a few more casual exchanges, Shi Feizhe bid farewell and left the Ascension Path.

He would return in a few days, closer to the ninth day of the ninth month.

For now, he would go to Liang Province for a visit, to see what it was like.

Liang Province was located in the west of the Nine Provinces; you could say that the entire southwest of the Nine Provinces was considered Liang Province.

The terrain of Liang Province was complex, mountains upon mountains, ranges connected to ranges, as if the world was enveloped by them.

In his previous life, Shi Feizhe had been to the Yunnan-Guizhou region and had conversations with local friends.

People there had never left their hometowns in their entire lives, unable to imagine what a boundless plain looked like, unable to fathom a world without mountains.

Mountains had become an integral part of their lives.

In the Jianghu, mountains further obstructed the flow of information, isolating ordinary people from each other, confining them to their mountain lives.

Each mountain city stood as an eternal and unchanging entity on the earth.

The City Lord within each mountain city was the perpetual ruler, generation after generation.

As Shi Feizhe strolled through Liangcheng in Liang Province, he casually intervened to stop a few people from being extorted by two rogues.

The victims were carrying baskets, hampers, bamboo mats, and the like; they seemed to be bamboo craftsmen.

There were three of them, an elderly man leading the way, followed by two younger men.

Compared to them, the two rogues were skinny, short, and dark, with no martial arts skills; they were the lowest-level thugs in the Jianghu.

In terms of physical strength alone, the three bamboo craftsmen shouldn’t have feared the two rogues.

But the old craftsman bowed and pleaded, only to be kicked and punched by the two rogues. The two men behind him dared not show anger or speak up, shrinking back like quails.

The two rogues were about to extort some drinking money when Shi Feizhe stopped them.

Seeing Shi Feizhe’s neat clothes and extraordinary demeanor, they knew he was someone they couldn’t afford to offend in the Jianghu. They didn’t dare to speak harshly to Shi Feizhe but glared fiercely at the three bamboo craftsmen.

The message was clear: You wait.

“Thank you, Martial Artist Lord!” The old craftsman, looking to be in his fifties or sixties, appeared even more distressed after Shi Feizhe intervened, but he still bowed and said, “Thank you.”

Shi Feizhe looked into his eyes and said, “I’m no Lord, just a passerby. You don’t seem to appreciate my help?”

The old craftsman initially wanted to say, “No, no, we are grateful,” but gazing into Shi Feizhe’s eyes, he involuntarily blurted out, “That’s right. You, Lord, can just leave, but we still have to make a living in Liangcheng.”

After speaking, he was startled. He didn’t know why he suddenly voiced his inner thoughts.

Could you just blurt out your true feelings like that?

Wouldn’t that offend people?

“I don’t know how I ended up telling the truth, please don’t be angry, Lord!” The old craftsman bowed again and apologized.

Hearing the old craftsman’s slip-up, the two young men behind him showed fear on their faces.

They had witnessed firsthand the severe consequences of saying the wrong thing.

“It’s alright, I’m not one to hold grudges.” Shi Feizhe continued, “The three of you shouldn’t be afraid of those two, right?”

“You’re wrong, Lord,” the old craftsman said. “Of course, we’re afraid of them.”

“They are rogues with backing, they have nothing to lose. We have old and young to care for, of course, we’re afraid of them.”

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“They just wanted some drinking money, we could’ve just given it to them. But now that you’ve intervened, Lord, who knows how they’ll make things difficult for us next time we encounter them.”

“It won’t be just a little drinking money that can appease them then.” The old craftsman said honestly.

“It won’t happen again. In a few days, people from Jingzhou will arrive. They are different, they will stand up for you.” Shi Feizhe naturally understood what the old craftsman meant.

For most honest people, enduring bullying passively was the way to minimize harm.

“What difference does it make if they come? I’ve heard about Jingzhou, but I think it’s all lies.” The old craftsman continued to speak his mind.

On the one hand, he was under the influence of Shi Feizhe’s “Truthful Eye,” and on the other hand, he truly had words bottled up inside him for a long time, with no one to listen.

“Those rumors about Jingzhou, about land distribution, about overthrowing the City Lord, I think they’re all fake.”

“I’ve been to Bacheng, Shucheng, and Pingcheng. They may be different places, but we’re all the same.”

Bacheng, Shucheng, and Pingcheng were all cities in Liang Province.

“No matter where we go, we’re bullied. No matter where we go, we’re extorted.”

“No matter where we go, we can’t resist. If we do, the consequences are even worse, losing an arm or a leg is considered light. Some people just disappear while walking.”

“We can only endure it passively. This is the fate of us poor people, we can’t defy it.”

“Look at those born into wealth and privilege, into Martial Artist Lord families. We, from the moment we’re born, are among the poor and destined to be bullied for a lifetime.”

“It’s fate!” The old craftsman finished his long speech, pouring out all the bitterness in his heart.

He felt a sense of relief.

“Uncle, what nonsense are you talking about!” One of the two young men behind him tugged at the old craftsman’s sleeve and said.

“I’m not talking nonsense, I’m telling the truth. Lord, I’m telling the truth.” The old craftsman looked into Shi Feizhe’s eyes and said.

In all his decades, he had never spoken his mind so freely as he did today.

Where in the Jianghu could a humble bamboo craftsman express his true feelings? Where did a bamboo craftsman have the right to speak?

“You’re right, it’s good that you spoke your mind.” Shi Feizhe smiled and said, “Let me treat you to a meal! I hear the mutton noodles in Liangcheng are quite good.”

Mutton noodles were a specialty of Liangcheng, very famous.

Hearing Shi Feizhe mention mutton noodles, the two young men’s eyes lit up. The old craftsman said, “Wouldn’t that be troubling you, Lord?”

“Not at all, I happen to be craving them myself.” Shi Feizhe said.

The group arrived at a mutton noodle stall, and the old craftsman ordered a few bowls of lamb offal noodles. Lamb offal noodles were much cheaper than mutton noodles.

After the meal, the old craftsman insisted on paying, but was told that Shi Feizhe had already settled the bill.

Shi Feizhe bought a few baskets from them and said, “You should head back now. Come back in half a month, Liangcheng will be different then.”

“Really?” The old craftsman had never met anyone like Shi Feizhe before, he was skeptical.

“I guarantee it! Liangcheng will definitely be different from before. And, don’t believe in fate. Because fate can be changed!” Shi Feizhe looked at the old craftsman and said.

The old craftsman, true to his nature, said, “I don’t believe it.”

Shi Feizhe naturally knew that killing someone or beheading them was easy, but changing a person’s mindset was extremely difficult.