Chương 29: Let’s Go To The Capital City

After Ren Qingquan fell asleep, I busy myself with studying alchemy books while constantly monitoring Ren Shiluo and Ren Xuan. Usually, I focus more on Ren Xuan. However, Ren Qingquan has just returned from hunting, and Xiao Cai should be reporting to Ren Shiluo soon. That's why I keep an eye on Ren Shiluo even as I test my [Transfer] and chat with Ren Qingquan. But even after so long, Xiao Cai hasn't arrived at Ren Shiluo's office at all.

As I read, time passes, and I finally see Xiao Cai arrive at Ren Shiluo's office. Before Ren Shiluo can speak, Xiao Cai immediately opens her mouth and gets straight to the point, "Ren Qingquan has started cultivating. Furthermore, he has reached the peak of Qi Refining realm."

"Huh?" Ren Shiluo looked at Xiao Cai with a stunned expression.

"Your son, Ren Qingquan, has reached the peak of the Qi Refining realm." Xiao Cai repeated slowly.

"I heard you the first time. I am not deaf yet." Ren Shiluo rolled his eyes.

"I'm just surprised. How long has he been cultivating?"

"Slightly more than six months." Ren Shiluo's eyes twitched.

"I know my wife has divined that Ren Qingquan's future will be mostly smooth sailing once he survives his death tribulation. But isn't reaching Peak Qi Refining within six months a bit of an exaggeration? Did you secretly give him some cultivation pills? Or did he eat some kind of miraculous heavenly herbs?"

"No. I think Ren Qingquan used an auxiliary cultivation technique to achieve that speed. It should be a method related to killing ferocious beasts. From my observations over the past six months, he usually broke through after killing a strong beast or after a group of ferocious beasts was slain." When I heard Xiao Cai's guess, my heart skipped a beat. Is she some kind of detective? Or am I just missing some cultivation-related common sense?

How can she figure that out just from observing the time when Ren Qingquan leveled up? While I am surprised, Ren Shiluo wore a thoughtful expression.

"Do you know the specific technique he practiced or where he found it?" Xiao Cai shook her head. Ren Shiluo tapped his finger on his desk a few times. Finally, he let out a sigh.

"I'll leave everything to fate." I kept listening in on both of them. But they stopped talking about Ren Qingquan and began discussing other topics, such as how Ren Shiluo found many suspicious people in the city, some of whom had even sneaked into the Ren Family's residence. They also talked about how the prices of some materials have fluctuated, which made him uneasy. He also nagged Xiao Cai to step up her protection of Ren Qingquan.

I was too lazy to listen further, especially since Ren Shiluo loves to talk for a long time, just like an author trying to fill their word count. That's why I chose to focus on reading while occasionally spying on Ren Xuan. When morning arrived, Ren Qingquan woke up while I continued reading alchemy books and using [Calculate] to simulate some alchemy processes. The morning passes peacefully, with Ren Qingquan eating breakfast and lounging in his courtyard like a salted fish.

As the afternoon nears, I hear Ren Qingquan's monologue: 'Urgghh, the sun is getting hotter. I guess I'll go back to my room to read some novels. I'll take a break today. The past months have been mentally taxing for me.' Ren Qingquan entered his room and opened the System Library. During his calm reading session, an explosive sound echoed from the gate of his courtyard. That noise not only startled Ren Qingquan but also made me feel as if my heart would stop beating - if only I still had a heart.

He angrily left his room and saw a sweaty Fatty Zhang smashing his courtyard gate open.

"What's it this time?" Ren Qingquan asked, rubbing his eyes that had been blinded by the bright afternoon sun. Fatty took a few deep breaths, then gasped and muttered nonsensical things.

"He's still here!"

"Who's still where?"

"The messenger!" Seeing Fatty, who had almost fainted from exhaustion, Ren Qingquan helped him to sit at the stone chair in his courtyard. While fatty Zhang took several deep breaths to calm down, Xiao Cai silently arrived at the courtyard carrying a tray of food. I noticed her slightly frowning when she saw the damaged courtyard gate. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Ignorant of Xiao Cai's entry, Fatty Zhang explained, "When I returned home this morning, I found the messenger from the main house was still there! Now I am forced to go to the capital and return to the main house. Furthermore, I have definitely angered the patriarch by delaying things for so long!"

"I am a goner! I don't want to die yet! Young Master Ren, please accompany me to the capital with some guards to protect me. I'll definitely return this favor!" Fatty said his last few sentences while half sobbing. If it's a cute or sexy girl begging while crying, Ren Qingquan will probably help them in a heartbeat. But when it's a fatty who does the crying, I only saw Ren Qingquan roll his eyes in response.

'I've just finished farming mobs for six months straight. I want to rest for a few more weeks! Furthermore, if Fatty didn't exaggerate, then that means he will meet some assassins along the road. I am still exhausted from the hunt, and I don't want to get involved in any troublesome thing. But before Ren Qingquan could deny Fatty Zhang's request, Xiao Cai spoke from the side.

"Young master, actually going to the capital might be a good choice for now. Your father has just said there are suspicious people roaming the city. Some has even infiltrated the residence."

"Going into the capital will also be a good chance for you to broaden your horizons. After all, you rarely left the city since you were young." After giving her opinion, Xiao Cai waited for Ren Qingquan's decision. Actually, I kind of wanted Ren Qingquan to go to the capital because it's where most of the world's precious items are kept. I may be able to check out some valuable books there. Plus, Xiao Cai seems willing to go with him, which guarantees his safety to some extent.

At the same time, Fatty Zhang will owe Ren Qingquan a favor, which he can use in the capital. That's why I also sent a message. [Host, System also thinks going to the capital now is a good choice.]"?" [In exchange for accompanying him, you can ask Fatty Zhang to let us visit his family's library and other important libraries, like the top families' or even the royal library. Even if we only access the most basic area, we can bypass the restrictions with [Scan].] To ensure Ren Qingquan goes, I unleashed my killing move. Just like the Ren Family's library, those libraries will also contain novels. Imagine the number of novels stored inside the royal library, which will definitely be larger than the Ren Family's. My killing move is absolutely effective because Ren Qingquan immediately agreed.

"Sigh, then let's go to the capital." Ren Qingquan said while stretching his body.

"Is three days later alright? I still want to rest for a few days."

"Thank you so much, Young Master Ren!" Fatty Zhang jumped toward Ren Qingquan in an attempt to hug him. When Ren Qingquan saw Fatty Zhang jumping toward him, he immediately sidestepped. Having missed Ren Qingquan, Fatty fell to the floor and hit his head. The collision shattered the floor tile in Ren Qingquan's courtyard into pieces. Luckily, Fatty Zhang had trained in defensive martial arts, so the broken tile pieces didn't injure him much. Even so, the collision still made Fatty Zhang dizzy.

Xiao Cai placed the food she was holding on the table while staring at Fatty Zhang lying on the floor, saying, "Young master, I shall take my leave first. I'll bring him to the infirmary on the way." With Fatty Zhang and Xiao Cai leaving, Ren Qingquan slumped to the ground.

"I don't have much time. I only have three days to rest. I vow to rest so hard that no one can rest harder than me!' I can hear Ren Qingquan's strong resolution in his monologue. If only his resolution weren't for something stupid. Then, I'll be pleased.

Three days quickly passed as I spent most of my time studying or eavesdropping on Ren Shiluo and Ren Xuan. From Ren Xuan's [Scan], I haven't learned anything particularly important. But from Ren Shiluo's [Scan], I've seen Xiao Cai reporting on Ren Qingquan's decision to travel to the capital. In response, Ren Shiluo said he would lend some of his men. Of course, he didn't forget to repeatedly nag Xiao Cai to protect Ren Qingquan. On the other hand, Ren Qingquan has been lounging in his room for the past three days.

I must say I am impressed by how dedicated he is to laziness. During these three days, aside from reading novels, eating, sleeping, bathing, excreting, and walking to his courtyard to bask in the sun, Ren Qingquan did nothing else. He has fully embodied the spirit of a social recluse, like those cultivators in xianxia novels who often stay in their caves for months or even years. If he hadn't been breathing and reading novels from the System Library, I might have thought he had already died.

Not long after Ren Qingquan bathed and ate his breakfast, Fatty Zhang burst open his door.

"Young Master Ren, it's time. Please come with me to the capital!" Ren Qingquan nodded lazily while calling over a passing servant outside his courtyard.

"Help me bring Xiao Cai here and ask if the guards and carriage are ready." The servant quickly bowed and left. Soon after, Xiao Cai arrived at Ren Qingquan's courtyard. Ren Qingquan lazily asked, "Have you prepared the carriage and guards?"

"Yes." Ren Qingquan nodded before entering his house to retrieve the hidden money. I can hear him planning to use it to buy things in the capital.

"Then, let's go to the capital!" Ren Qingquan said with fake excitement. Inside his mind, he's screaming, 'I still want to rest for a few days!' On the side, Fatty Zhang keeps thanking him. The three of them leave Ren Qingquan's courtyard. After passing through several gardens, corridors, an artificial lake, and more landscapes, they arrive in front of the carriage Ren Qingquan usually uses. Besides his usual carriage, there are several other carriages surrounded by guards with the Ren Family's emblem.

Most of them are familiar faces from the time Ren Qingquan hunted in Endless Mountain, with a few new faces of varying strength. I got a bit curious and used [Scan] on the guards and the carriage. The guards were mostly Martial Masters, with five Martial Grandmaster-level experts. The new Martial Master and Martial Grandmaster should be the men Ren Shiluo lent to guard Ren Qingquan. As for the extra carriages, I found plenty of rations and a few extra weapons stored inside.

They're packed to the brim with water, smoked beef, and other long-lasting foods. Ren Qingquan got curious when he saw the extra carriages, "What're those used for?"

"There are rations stored inside. The trip to the capital city will take a few days, and we won't be able to hunt enough beasts to meet our consumption needs until we reach the next city. That's why we must bring extra rations." Ren Qingquan nodded while entering his carriage. Once Ren Qingquan, Xiao Cai, and Fatty Zhang had entered the carriage, the coachman ordered the horses to move. The guards and carriages surrounding the group also followed, forming a ring around Ren Qingquan's carriage in the center.