My Journey to Immortality Begins with Hunting-Chapter 554 - Li Yuans Response - Part 3

Autumn arrived in the Central Plains.

Clip-clop. Clip-clop... A white horse’s hooves echoed in the wind.

A stunning woman in flowing green silk rode with confidence and pride, her posture straight-backed, her gaze sharp.

Ying Zhuoyao could feel herself growing stronger by the day. This was the tide lifting her boat. Someone like her would never be captured easily. And yet...she was troubled. She needed to find that mysterious senior.

She had once believed he’d died at the hands of the Human Emperor, but no. He had reappeared in the Western Extremes.

But the Western Extremes were off-limits. That land had been completely sealed away. If she dared show her face there, the Nine Flames Tribe would likely tear her apart.

Still, she didn’t believe that senior would remain in the west forever.

And so, she searched.

She had her own methods. If she got close enough, she’d be able to sense him. But it had been more than three years now, and she hadn’t found a trace. There was nothing else to do but keep searching.

Maybe this time, she thought, it was time to move closer to the new central hub of the continent.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

That winter.

No snow fell on the Central Capital.

The sprawling meat fields that powered the city ensured it stayed warm year-round.

There were no traditional farmlands anymore. Every grain of food was shipped in from afar.

Powerful cultivators gathered here in droves, too many to count.

You could walk down any street, grab someone at random, and they might be fifth or sixth rank. Get into an argument at a tavern, and the man cursing at you might be backed by a fourth rank powerhouse.

Here, even dragons had to coil up. Tigers had to lie low. Those who strutted around like gods elsewhere learned quickly to bow their heads.

But that day, in the bustling heart of the city, a sudden clamor broke out, drums and gongs pounded through the streets.

“Make way!”

“Clear the road!”

Locals and visitors alike hurried to the sides, parting the crowd to let the extravagant caravan roll through the marketplace.

Lining both sides of the procession were blade-wielding warriors, each radiating a sharp, dangerous aura. These were not the kind of people you picked a fight with.

A curious outsider leaned over to a local and whispered, “Who’s the big shot?”

The local didn’t even hesitate. “That’s the Princess of the Central Capital. If there’s one person you never want to cross in the capital, it’s her.”

“The Princess?” the outsider blinked. “Whose daughter is she?”

“Personally titled by the Human Emperor,” the local said. “Niece of the Empress Dowager. Jewel of the Myriad Lineages Academy. Little princess of both the Martial and Military Ministries. Even the Black-Clad Guard treats her like a sacred relic.

“If she says you’re good, your future’s limitless. If she says you’re trash...you could flee to the ends of the earth and you’d still die.”

The outsider stared, stunned.

Just then, a warm gust blew open the curtain of a carriage at the rear of the procession.

Curiosity getting the better of him, the outsider craned his neck, daring to take a look, and saw...absolutely nothing.

For someone to even enter the Central Capital, they had to at least be a newly advanced fifth rank cultivator. If he wanted to see inside the carriage, all it would’ve taken was a sidelong glance. He could’ve spotted a speck of dust on the floorboard, let alone the person inside.

So why hadn’t he seen the Princess?

The outsider didn’t question the man on the street further. Instead, he visited an old friend who lived in the city. Only after a full meal and a few drinks did he finally voice his confusion.

His friend chuckled. “The Princess is only eight years old. She hasn’t hit her growth spurt yet. Her head probably doesn’t even reach the window. She must’ve been sitting on the same side you looked in from. Naturally, you didn’t see her.”

The outsider let out a long sigh. “The most powerful eight-year-old in history, surely.”

His friend lowered his voice and added, “She can’t cultivate.”

The outsider froze.

His friend continued, “Don’t go around talking about that. If the wrong person hears, you might catch a beating. There are too many powerful people in this city who adore her.”

“Oh, and definitely don’t joke about her height in public either. That’ll get you punched even faster.”

The outsider couldn’t help but ask, “Who’s her father?”

His friend slowly shook his head.

The outsider was stunned. “You don’t know, or you can’t say?”

“No one knows,” the friend replied. “But it’s safe to assume he’s some high-ranking, silk-robed figure living the good life.”

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

By the side of a tavern, a ceramic bowl filled with hot rice and vegetables was set down on the brick pavement with a clink.

It was placed in front of a shaggy-haired vagrant.

The vagrant looked up at the girl who had brought the food.

She was clearly a maid from the tavern.

Any tavern in the Central Capital was bound to be luxurious, and naturally, that meant it was also home to dancers and maids. Despite their low status, these women had fought tooth and nail to earn a spot in the capital.

This maid was one of them.

She nudged the bowl forward with a smile. “Go on, eat. I know it’s tough coming to the Central Capital. I went through the same thing when I first arrived. But you look sturdy. If you’re willing to work, you’ll definitely find something. Enough to keep your belly full, at least.”

The vagrant smiled faintly, offered no protest, and picked up the bowl. He began to eat with quiet focus.

The maid watched him, something about him striking her as...different. She edged a little closer and asked, “Where are you from?”

The vagrant replied, “Been to a lot of places. Not sure I belong to any one of them.”

“You must be something special,” the maid said. “Not many people can just wander around like that these days.”

The vagrant smiled again. “Just lucky, I suppose.”

“You’ve got a good attitude,” she said, watching his grin. “Not like me, I’m always worrying about this and that.”

The vagrant said, “If you’ve got something to worry about, that means there’s still something to hope for.”

She didn’t respond to that. Instead, she asked, “Do you have any family?”

Just then, the sound of drums and gongs echoed again through the streets. A flamboyant procession of guards and banners escorted a grand carriage through the thoroughfare.

The maid whispered in a reverent tone, “It’s the Princess.”

And with that, she fell silent.

It was as if the carriage itself radiated a pressure so immense that it stole the breath from everyone nearby. No one dared to make a sound.

Because the power inside that carriage... was simply too overwhelming.

Once the carriage had gone far down the road, the maid finally let out a long breath, patting her chest to steady herself. She was just about to speak when she noticed the vagrant still staring in the direction of the retreating procession.

There was a softness in his eyes as he murmured, “Yes.”

“Huh? Yes to what?” The maid blinked in confusion, then quickly remembered the question she’d asked earlier.

Her eyes lit up mischievously. “So, are you married?”

The vagrant looked surprised for a moment, then chuckled. Suddenly, it dawned on him. This maid might have taken a liking to him. Maybe she was thinking about whether they could scrape together a life as a couple.

He was about to say something when the rhythmic clatter of hooves came from down the road once more.

A beauty in a long green robe, her face hidden beneath a veiled hat, rode toward them at a gallop. But the moment she spotted the vagrant slumped against the wall, her eyes flashed with a shock so fierce it bordered on disbelief.

She swung off her horse in one smooth motion, took a deep breath, and walked slowly toward him.

The vagrant shoveled the last few mouthfuls of rice into his mouth. Only after he finished eating did he get to his feet and call out to her with a grin, “Did you bring money?”

Money?

The green robed woman reached into her robes and pulled out a silver banknote worth 10,000 taels.

“Too much,” the vagrant said.

She tried again, 5,000 taels.

“Don’t want paper.”

The woman let out a helpless smile and dug around some more before finally producing a gold ingot. It was the smallest denomination she had, something she carried around for food and lodging.

The vagrant stepped forward, took the gold casually, then tossed it over his shoulder without looking.

It landed neatly in the maid’s hands.

Then he turned to the woman and said, “Let’s go.”

The maid stood there with her mouth agape, watching the pair walk off. Her jaw hung open so wide you could’ve stuffed several goose eggs in there.

It took her a long while to come back to her senses. She trudged off, mumbling to herself, “The Central Capital really is full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers...”

As the green robed beauty and vagrant walked off together, and the crowds thinned around them, she finally spoke with respect.

“Never thought you'd be enjoying life like this, Senior.”

She was, of course, Ying Zhuoyao.

And the vagrant was Li Yuan.

After bidding farewell to the Khagan, a host of old friends returning to Beam Dragon Mountain, and finally Jen’gal Snow, Li Yuan felt hollow, like his heart had gone cold.

So he wandered into the Central Capital alone and became a beggar.

For ordinary people, luxury was happiness. With a lifespan barely a century long, it made sense to crave fine food and soft beds.

But for someone like him, it was variety that brought meaning.

That said, he didn’t become a beggar for fun. He simply wanted quiet, wanted to wait until that withered heart of his sparked back to life.

Li Yuan didn’t respond to her remark. Instead, he said, “Speak. What is it?”

Ying Zhuoyao replied, “I’ve come to fulfill the promise I made you, Senior. The Arcane Supreme Sect of the Eastern Sea’s Immortal Domain and Five Spirits Institute are both willing to accept you. You can name any condition, anything at all. Even treatment as a hall master is on the table.”

“Oh, I see,” Li Yuan replied nonchalantly. Then he added, “I have many, many friends I’d like to bring along. That okay?”

Ying Zhuoyao was stunned for a long moment, then finally nodded. “If the promise is any condition, then yes. Of course.”