Li Shun had yet to cultivate any flight techniques, so he could only rely on Fang Xun to carry him along.
The puppet could only exert half of its original strength in the real world. Moreover, Fang Xun no longer had the augmentation of his county magistrate position.
Thus, even with the support of the Great Qian official road’s qi veins, they could not sustain uninterrupted flight.
“Now I finally understand the benefits of having proper transportation. Not to mention the sedan chair of the Marquis Changle, even the Black Armored Army’s Moonlit White steed would be excellent.”
Even though he wasn’t exerting any effort himself and was merely being carried along, after half a day of long-distance travel, Li Shun still felt a trace of fatigue.
They advanced in intervals of movement and rest. Two days later, they finally arrived at the borders of Lengshan County.
At the junction between the two counties, there was a checkpoint inspection.
The flow of passage was extremely slow, and the waiting line stretched into a long queue. From within the crowd came faint sounds of complaints and discussion.
“Have you heard? A few days ago, an earthquake struck Lengshan County. The entire county was buried.”
“Hiss? Seriously? That terrifying? Not a single survivor in the whole place?”
“Absolutely true. I was far away that day, and I could still hear the massive rumbling from Lengshan.”
“I heard the magistrate Fang Xun survived.”
“Bah! That corrupt official. The whole city’s dead, and he still has the nerve to live?”
“Sigh, why is life getting more and more unstable lately? Lengshan had an earthquake, and the Southern River is suffering a severe drought. People can barely survive.”
“Shh, keep your voice down. Are you trying to get killed?”
…
Li Shun and Fang Xun listened to the conversations without any change in expression.
They did not line up with the crowd. Instead, they moved past the queue and directly arrived at the front checkpoint.
They presented their official documents.
The guarding soldiers carefully examined the documents, then glanced at Fang Xun.
Though their expressions did not change, a faint flicker of emotion appeared in their eyes.
“You may pass.”
Fang Xun cupped his hands in acknowledgment.
“If one still held the position of county magistrate, with the official seal’s blessing, there would be no need to undergo inspection at checkpoints. One could travel freely through flight without triggering any alerts.”
“Of course, that is under normal circumstances. In times of military urgency or other emergencies, inspections are tightened. Even officials at the magistrate level must undergo checks. Higher ranks may be exempt.”
“In short, Great Qian is built upon strict hierarchy.”
These thoughts flashed through Li Shun’s mind as the two continued onward.
Strangely enough, once they left Lengshan County, the cold, oppressive sensation that had lingered in his heart vanished instantly.
Li Shun’s thoughts stirred. He suddenly turned back to look, a vague intuition rising within him.
“Perhaps… the Lengshan Soul has not truly disappeared. It may still lie dormant deep within Lengshan.”
The thought passed in an instant as his steps did not falter.
One month later, on the sixth day of the second month.
“Up ahead is Imperial Mausoleum Commandery. We’ve finally arrived.”
Li Shun let out a long breath, unable to hide the fatigue on his face.
“Next time I travel, no matter what, I must get myself a proper mount.”
“This is torture.”
More than a month of nonstop travel, day and night, had nearly drained away the ambition he had only just reignited.
Now that they were finally close to their destination, a sense of relief surged within him.
“Once we arrive, I’m not thinking about anything. I’m going to lie down for three days straight.”
Li Shun glanced at Fang Xun.
“At times like this, I almost envy puppets. Neither alive nor dead, and never tired.”
The boundary of Imperial Mausoleum Commandery was entirely different from the other county borders Li Shun had seen along the way.
A pitch-black line stretched across heaven and earth, as though it could devour all things.
It severed all lines of sight.
Looking at it, it resembled an unfathomable abyss.
The inspection point was no longer a crude checkpoint, but a towering fortress nearly a hundred zhang high.
From the outside, there appeared to be no gates for passage.
Fang Xun stepped forward. Before he could even approach, a squad of heavily armored soldiers suddenly appeared, blocking his path.
Unlike the black armor of the Black Armored Army, the soldiers here wore dark red armor, like dried blood.
After carefully inspecting the documents, the tomb-guarding soldiers nodded.
They stepped closer, forming pairs. Like escorts under guard, they each placed a hand on one shoulder.
Li Shun’s vision blurred.
In the next instant, the massive fortress vanished from sight.
In its place appeared a dark, eerie forest.
Even more unsettling—
Before entering Mausoleum Commandery, it had clearly been daytime.
But now…
Li Shun raised his head and looked up. A bright moon hung high in the sky. It was already night.
“Mausoleum Commandery exists as a world of its own.”
“Even the rotation of the sun and moon, as well as the flow of time, differ greatly from the outside world.”
Fortunately, Li Shun had long been mentally prepared, so he was not overly surprised.
“Using a single Commandery as its foundation, Mausoleum Commandery mirrors the thirteen provinces of the realm.”
“This is not merely a superficial imitation, but an almost true replication at a ratio of ten to one. Every mountain, river, and lake within the Great Qian can be found here in miniature.”
“It is said that the original plan was even more outrageous. A one-to-one recreation of the entire Great Qian world within the tomb. However, after careful evaluation, it was discovered that even with the empire’s full strength, the cost of constructing such a mausoleum would be unbearable. In the end, they had no choice but to scale it down.”
“The spatial ratio is ten to one.”
“As for time…”
“In the outside world, a single day passes. Yet within Mausoleum Commandery, the sun and moon cycle seven times.”
“In other words, time flows nearly seven times faster here.”
“Because of this, one’s lifespan is consumed at an accelerated rate. Aside from the families who guard the tomb for generations, and the craftsmen responsible for its construction, almost no one would willingly step foot into this place.”
A glint flickered in Li Shun’s eyes.
“I wonder… if I activate Threefold Self-Reflection here, to what point in time will I return?”
“Will it still be one day ago… or…”
“Seven days prior?”
“I can use this opportunity to test it and uncover the truth.”
As Li Shun pondered, he suddenly heard a voice of relief coming from the road ahead.
“Finally, you’ve come! I’ve been waiting for you!”
The speaker was a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his thirties. He wore a gray long robe, and the anxious expression on his face had yet to fade.
He addressed Fang Xun,
“Lord Garrison Commander, please come with me at once. I truly cannot hold things down any longer.”
Fang Xun’s expression remained calm as he spoke in a low voice, “What exactly has happened? Could it be that intruders have once again broken into the mausoleum?”
“That’s not it.” The middle-aged man revealed an awkward expression.
After a brief pause, he lowered his voice and said,
“It’s those unruly commoners from Dongshan Town again. They’ve gathered together, demanding that their former garrison commander be reinstated.”
“Hm?” Li Shun was somewhat surprised.
“Lord Garrison Commander, you may not be aware. That former commander guarded this place diligently for over five hundred years and earned great prestige. Now that he has been dismissed due to his crimes, the townspeople are extremely dissatisfied. They frequently gather like this, causing disturbances and protests.”
Li Shun’s brows furrowed slightly as he said coldly, “This is sheer nonsense. They dare disregard the laws of the imperial court. Why not arrest them all?”
The middle-aged man gave a bitter smile.
“My lord, you have only just arrived, so you may not know. The laws within Mausoleum Commandery differ somewhat from those outside. Everything here is centered around protecting the mausoleum. Since you had not yet arrived, they used the excuse that no one was overseeing the mausoleum’s protection, and demanded the former commander’s return. With righteousness on their side, it is not easy to arrest them by force…”
“Take me there.”
The middle-aged man led the way. Before long, they arrived at Dongshan Town.
In the distance, a large crowd could be seen gathered in the streets, shouting loudly in agitation.
At the front stood a lean young man.
“My lord, his name is Li Qing. He’s the most troublesome one here. His strength is at the upper tier of Spirit Resonance, and ordinary constables are no match for him,” the middle-aged man whispered as a reminder.
The moment Li Qing saw Fang Xun approach, his gaze flickered. Then, raising his voice deliberately, he shouted, “That newly appointed garrison commander still hasn’t shown up. Looks to me like he doesn’t intend to come at all! Lately, those tomb raiders have started appearing again. If they really break into the mausoleum, we’ll all be dead!”
“Either bring back the old garrison commander, or appoint a new one right now!”
As soon as Li Qing finished speaking, dozens of people behind him echoed in agreement.
Fang Xun remained expressionless. Step by step, he walked forward and came face to face with the crowd.
Li Qing narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint flashing within them.
His fists clenched tightly, as if he might strike at any moment.
At that very instant…
Li Shun, who had been standing behind Fang Xun, suddenly stepped forward, crossing between the two of them.
He raised his hand and slapped Li Qing across the face.
Smack!
The crisp sound rang clearly through the street.
Li Qing’s expression changed drastically. “You dare hit me?”
Before he could even finish speaking, Li Shun struck him with another slap.
Li Qing was completely stunned.
He couldn’t understand why, despite the man before him having no cultivation whatsoever, he was utterly unable to dodge those slaps.
Yet in front of all his followers, he had been struck twice in succession.
The humiliation made it impossible for him to suppress his fury.
Just as he was about to retaliate, a cold voice reached his ears.
“Little Tuanzi[1]. After all these years, you’ve certainly grown capable.”
“Hm?” Li Qing froze on the spot.
Little Tuanzi was his childhood nickname.
Only a handful of people in this world knew it.
And…
Ever since his elder brother left and his younger sister passed away, no one had called him that for many years.
In that instant, Li Qing seemed to realize something. His eyes widened as he stared at the young man before him.
That face faintly overlapped with a distant memory. His voice trembled as he spoke, filled with disbelief.
“Brother?”
[1]:- 小糰子 (Xiǎo Tuánzi) Literally translates to “Little Dumpling”.