I am dying of old age, and I have awakened to the character of longevity.

Blackbridge Town was about fifty li away from Greenwater County.

Leaving Blackbridge Town, after walking ten li on a rugged path, one could reach the main road leading directly to the county seat. Generally speaking, the road was easy to travel, and one wouldn't encounter bandits during the day.

But at night, that was another story.

Especially during the late autumn season, when it was freezing cold and food was scarce, it was the most active time for bandits.

Chen He was obviously well aware of this, and he sped up his horse carriage along the way, arriving at the county gate before the shen hour in the afternoon.

Looking at the towering city walls, one could vaguely see soldiers patrolling back and forth. At the city gate, there was even a squad of soldiers in armor standing guard, making people afraid to act recklessly.

Merchants and commoners entering and leaving the city gate were in a constant stream, all holding road permits and queuing up to enter and exit.

Greenwater County belonged to the border of the Great Qian Dynasty, and a thousand-household garrison was established there, with strict inspections for entering and leaving the city. Even locals needed a road permit with the official seal to enter or exit.

Xie An didn't have a household registration, so naturally he couldn't get a road permit. Usually, when he came to the county seat, he used the Li family's road permit, stating that he was on official business for the pawnshop, in order to enter.

Now, following Chen He, it was much more convenient, as he could just say he was Chen He's assistant.

"Officer, this is the road permit."

Chen He presented the road permit with both hands. After the guard looked at it, he glanced at Xie An behind Chen He, his eyes darkening, "Where's his?"

Chen He inconspicuously slipped some loose silver to the guard, smiling apologetically, "This is my groom, he's with me to carry things. Please, officer, be lenient."

The guard accepted the silver, and his stern expression softened a lot, nodding, "Go in. The curfew starts from the xu hour and ends at the mao hour the next day. Don't miss the time to leave the city."

"Thank you for the reminder, officer."

Chen He bowed and thanked him, then hurriedly pulled the horse carriage into the city.

The cities of the Great Qian Dynasty generally implemented a curfew. Only during important festivals, such as the New Year, would it be lifted for seven days, under the guise of celebrating with the people and universal rejoicing.

Once inside the county seat, the blue stone main street was visible everywhere, with shops on both sides bustling with people and horse carriages coming and going. The surrounding buildings were grand and imposing, showing a sense of greatness.

Although Xie An had been to the county seat many times, it had been several years since his last visit. Now, being here again, he still had a sense of a country bumpkin entering the city.

Living in this kind of place is interesting.

In the future, when I have the ability and earn money, I'll buy a large courtyard house in the city, and find a few beautiful maids, and be a master for once.

Although I'm a bit old, one must still have dreams.

Xie An thought to himself.

"Brother Xie, the newly opened antique market is at the end of Willow Lane in the east of the city. I have to go exchange some medicinal materials first, how about we meet in Willow Lane in an hour?"

"Alright."

The two separated on Central Avenue. Chen He went to the medicinal materials market, while Xie An easily found a few large pawnshops and took the chamber pot to pawn it outright.

The pawnshops in the county seat were indeed much more impressive, and the appraisers were sharp-eyed and skilled, recognizing the chamber pot as a good item at a glance.

After comparing three shops, Xie An was still not satisfied, so he went directly to the largest Yongan Pawnshop in the county seat to inquire about the price.

Sure enough, the larger the pawnshop, the more it valued its reputation, and there were fewer instances of lowballing and cheating.

An old appraiser with a white beard offered the highest price in one go, "It is indeed a royal item from a hundred years ago. If it's a redeemable pawn, it's two hundred and twenty taels, with three percent interest. If it's an outright pawn, it's two hundred and fifty taels."

Xie An felt that this old appraiser was knowledgeable and spoke with great courage, so he said, "Outright pawn."

An outright pawn was like a one-time deal, not redeemable.

Xie An never thought about redeeming a divine chamber pot…

The old man with the white beard took out five large silver ingots and handed them to Xie An, "If you have such items in the future, you can come to me at any time. My surname is Liu, and my given name is Ji."

Xie An indicated that he understood, then wrapped the silver ingots in a cloth bag he brought with him and turned to leave the pawnshop.

With two hundred and fifty taels of huge sum of money in his arms, he walked on the street with his back straightened a lot.

It is said that a person's confidence comes from strength.

Money is also a kind of strength.

With his wallet bulging, he naturally had to have a good meal.

Xie An found an affordable eatery, ordered a bowl of braised beef, and a spicy sheep's head, paired with white rice to enjoy a delicious meal.

The hunger of the day subsided for the most part, and the five internal organs were also greatly satisfied.

During the meal, he heard the discussions of the diners next door.

"Have you heard? Old Mr. Tang of Tang Family Fort is dying. He wants to find a talented disciple to inherit his unique skill 'Six Elephant Strength'. It's a pity that he hasn't found a suitable candidate."

"That's a pity. Old Mr. Tang is one of the few people in our Greenwater County who has cultivated a martial master through health cultivation techniques. Unexpectedly, when he is dying, he can't find anyone to inherit his unique skills."

"That can't be blamed on others. The world is chaotic now, and those with talent go to practice martial arts. Who would practice health cultivation techniques?"

"That's right, martial arts can have great effects in three to five years, while health cultivation techniques have no progress even after thirty to fifty years of accumulation. Only a fool would practice health cultivation techniques."

"…"

Only a fool would practice health cultivation techniques…

Xie An's heart was shocked when he heard this, and he suddenly remembered… Tang Qingfeng, who introduced him to health cultivation techniques, was from Tang Family Fort.

Could this fortune be Old Mr. Tang's unique skill… Six Elephant Strength?

Although Xie An knew very little about Tang Family Fort, he learned from the diners' stories that Old Mr. Tang had reached the title of martial master through health cultivation techniques. This alone was enough to glimpse the extraordinariness of Old Mr. Tang.

Moreover… could one become a martial master by practicing health cultivation techniques?

This was something Xie An had never thought of before.

All along, Xie An wanted to practice martial arts, thinking that this was the right path. The reason for delaying until now was simply that he couldn't afford martial arts manuals.

If practicing health cultivation techniques could also make one a martial master proficient in killing techniques, wouldn't that mean that he was already on the right path?

However, these fancy health cultivation techniques, besides strengthening the body and strength, do not involve killing techniques.

How did this Old Mr. Tang do it?

Xie An vaguely felt that he had touched a brand new door, but he was still missing a lot of things.

"It's a pity that I haven't cultivated a sense of qi, so I can't go to Tang Family Fort. Even if I go, I won't be valued…"

Xie An felt slightly disappointed. Seeing that it was almost time for his appointment with Chen He, he settled the bill and left, hurrying to meet Chen He.

Just as he arrived at the end of Willow Lane, he saw Chen He pulling the horse carriage and waiting anxiously by the roadside.

"Brother Xie, you scared me to death. If it's any later, the antique market will be closed. Let's go, let's go find some bargains."

The newly opened antique market was not small in scale, with all kinds of items available, more than a hundred stalls, and constant shouts.

Chen He dragged Xie An all the way, wandering around the stalls.

"Take a look, is there anything good?"

"Don't worry. I'm looking."

After browsing for a while, Xie An shook his head.

Chen He felt very disappointed, "Not even one bargain?"

Xie An explained with a wry smile, "Finding bargains is not that simple. Antiques are not clearly priced, and the fluctuations are very large. If there is no several times the price difference as a guarantee, it is easy to get stuck with it after buying it, or to work for nothing. The items here have all been handled, there is no profit to be made. If you really want to find bargains, you have to go to tomb raiders to buy first-hand goods, that's where the profit is."

Chen He suddenly understood. After a little delay, it was almost time for the curfew. The two had no choice but to hurry out of the city.

If they missed the curfew, they would have to stay overnight in the city. Both of them were making a living, one managing a pawnshop and the other managing a medicine shop. If they didn't go back for a day, their masters would be angry.

It was dusk when they left the county seat.

After traveling halfway, it was already night. There were no figures on both sides of the main road, only the shadows of trees and the cawing of crows.

"We've delayed too long, traveling at night is not safe, we have to go back quickly." Chen He whipped the horse's butt hard with a bamboo whip, urging the horse to hurry.

As they passed a corner, three masked men with large broadswords suddenly appeared ahead.

"Hiss, lulu!"

Chen He quickly reined in the horse, his face full of horror, "Three sirs, what are you doing?"

A tall man standing in the middle of the three revealed a sinister look, "Old man, you took two hundred and fifty taels of silver from Yongan Pawnshop, you're very rich. I'm short of money recently, and I like big fat sheep like you the most."