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

Xie An didn't have much silver left.

It was all from the five taels given by Madam Li before her departure.

He spent fifty Wen on a meal earlier, leaving him with just over four taels, not enough to buy any good gifts.

So, he found a specialty shop and bought some smoked meat and Tianqi ginseng, local to Black Bridge Town.

Then, he wrapped them nicely in mulberry paper.

It cost a total of two taels of silver.

While not particularly valuable, it was still presentable.

This trip to visit Tang Qingfeng was partly motivated by the desire to learn about the Tang Family Fortress's unique skills.

On the other hand, he also genuinely appreciated Tang Qingfeng's teachings back then.

After asking passersby for directions to the Tang Family Fortress, Xie An led his horse there.

Ordinary people were generally forbidden from riding horses within the city.

Although Qingwu County didn't explicitly prohibit it, everyone acknowledged this unspoken rule.

Only wealthy families or government officials typically rode horses in the city.

After passing through the crisscrossing bluestone streets, he finally arrived at the entrance of the Tang Family Fortress.

Xie An was genuinely shocked by the sight before him.

The architecture of the Tang Family Fortress was comparable to the Qiao Family Compound from his previous life, with high walls, sturdy as a mountain.

Outside the gate was a wide square, now filled with people, mostly young men who had come to participate in the recruitment, along with some middle-aged men who had come to admire the name.

A long table was placed at the entrance, with an examiner sitting beside it, and several guards with swords, all of considerable strength.

People lined up to register at the table, then practiced their health cultivation exercises, or had their pulse taken and bones examined by the examiner to test their talent and aptitude; it was quite lively.

Xie An tied his horse to a camphor tree trunk by the roadside, then picked up his gift and joined the queue, moving forward step by step.

After more than half an hour, it was finally Xie An's turn.

The examiner glanced at Xie An's full head of white hair and slightly aged face, and frowned.

Most of those who came to participate in the recruitment were young men under the age of eighteen, and the oldest was no more than thirty.

How did a half-centenarian come?

In fact, Xie An's appearance wasn't much different from that of a forty-year-old man, but his full head of white hair was too conspicuous.

However, the examiner still spoke politely, "Old sir, our Tang Family Fortress's recruitment is limited to those under thirty years old. You should… go home early."

These words immediately drew jeers from the surrounding crowd.

Xie An didn't pay much attention to it.

He presented the gift wrapped in mulberry paper to the examiner and explained his purpose, which was to express his gratitude for Tang Qingfeng's teachings back then.

Upon hearing Xie An's sincere words, the surrounding jeering crowd quieted down.

They all thought Xie An was a grateful and sensible old man.

The examiner also looked at Xie An with admiration.

He knew that the Tang family traveled around to promote their health cultivation techniques, but no one had ever come to thank them like this old man.

If he told Tang Qingfeng, Tang Qingfeng would surely be gratified and would think that he, the examiner, was capable, and might even gain a good impression.

With this in mind, the examiner's attitude improved a lot.

"Old sir, please wait a moment, I will report to Brother Tang."

Xie An nodded in agreement and stood there waiting.

Xie An could see that this Lu Changshui probably felt that he had some connection with Tang Qingfeng, so he took the initiative to show goodwill to himself, so he posed and acted.

It was just a matter of giving face.

Everyone else didn't make an exception, but you, Xie An, made an exception because you gave a gift. What would everyone think?

If Xie An really did that, it would make it difficult for Lu Changshui. It would also make it difficult for Tang Qingfeng and leave a bad impression on Tang Qingfeng.

Besides, Xie An said that he came to express his gratitude to Tang Qingfeng, so he should naturally show it purely.

Bringing personal agendas would have a very poor effect.

With this in mind, Xie An quickly returned the greeting, cupping his fist and bowing, "Thank you, Brother Lu, but Brother Lu misunderstood. I am just here to express my gratitude to Master Tang Qingfeng for his teachings back then. I hope the Tang Family Patriarch recovers soon. I will take my leave."

Lu Changshui realized that Xie An was sincere, so he looked at this old man with admiration in his heart and bowed, "Old sir, walk slowly."

Xie An left.

Xie An felt a bit disappointed that Tang Qingfeng didn't see him. But he could understand, after all, Tang Qingfeng was the adopted son of the Tang Family Patriarch, and now that the Tang Family Patriarch was critically ill, he naturally had no time to care about himself.

After all, he was just an insignificant outsider who couldn't even be considered a friend of Tang Qingfeng.

It was enough that the gift was delivered and the intention was conveyed.

To avoid encountering danger when leaving the city at night, Xie An did not stay in the city, left early, and rode his horse along the official road towards Black Bridge Town.

Although Xie An now possessed the strength to crush early Copper Skin Realm martial artists, he was not enough in Qingwu County.

The last time he encountered the Giant Whale Gang's robbery still made Xie An feel a lingering fear.

Fortunately, no one followed him this time.

In addition, Xie An had learned to ride a horse from his previous trips to Qingwu County with Chen He. Although his horsemanship was not superb, it was not a problem for traveling.

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Arriving at the place where he was attacked last time, Xie An found no one around, so he stopped. He went to the roadside to check the dirt pit where he had buried the corpse last time.

The dirt pit was hidden and showed no signs of being dug open.

It seemed that the Giant Whale Gang had not found Li Wei's body.

To ensure nothing went wrong, Xie An also deliberately ran a few miles away to see the gully where he had thrown Wang Wu's body. He saw that the corpses had been eaten by wild animals, leaving only bones.

Only then did Xie An feel relieved, returned to the roadside, and rode his horse on his way.

It was dusk when he returned to Black Bridge Town.

Xie An first went to find Chen He to return the horse, and then returned to the small house in the backyard of the pawnshop.

As soon as he entered the door, he saw Han Li and He Chunli standing respectfully on both sides, looking at Xie An with joy and awe, and a bit of unfamiliarity, as well as a faint sense of loss and alienation.

Xie An sat down in the chief's position, opened the teacup, poured a cup of tea, and drank it all in one gulp, "What's wrong?"

He Chunli hesitated and couldn't say anything, but Han Li said, "Shopkeeper Chen came earlier and told us about Master's redemption…"

Xie An understood in his heart.

Han Li and He Chunli were both eighteen or nineteen years old, not young.

Before, like himself, they were all servants of the Li Mansion, and they felt that they were in the same class as Xie An, so they spontaneously became close.

Now that they knew that Xie An had been redeemed and became a commoner, the gap between them widened at once, and they became beings of a higher class.

Inevitably, they felt estranged in their hearts, and even had a strong sense of loss.

After all, redemption… was the biggest dream of every servant. It's just that they suffered from insufficient ability.

Xie An saw it in his eyes, but didn't comfort them.

After all, everyone's life is different, even if they are brothers from the same family and the same starting point, some will end up doing well and some will not.

These things, even parents can't help.

Not to mention master and apprentice?

Xie An encouraged, "Master has been a appraiser for thirty years, and it's time to go out and take a look. Moreover, if I leave, you will have your day."

Hearing this, the two were finally much happier, looking at Xie An with great anticipation.

They knew that the appraiser was a technical job. If Xie An left, the Li Mansion would definitely ask Xie An's opinion on the next appraiser.

And Xie An's recommendation could basically determine who would be the next appraiser.