Zombie Bodyguard-Chapter 1420 - 1417: Qinglan Garden

"The Ancient Martial Families are like this; it sounds cool, but in reality, cultivating is a very bitter thing. Many who can’t endure loneliness and hardship choose to give up," Wang Wanxi said earnestly.

A word flashed in Lin Tian’s mind, perfectly fitting Wang Wanxi’s words: loneliness like snow—brief in life, yet treading a never-ending path of cultivation, just like snowflakes are fleeting, yet they strive to bloom in the most perfect form.

In fact, there is another kind of Ancient Martial Artist that is even more secluded than the Ancient Martial Families, and those are the hidden masters that Wang Wanxi mentioned. Not only do ordinary people not know their identities, but even people in the Ancient Martial World are unaware of them.

"The reason I’m telling you all this is to remind you not to reveal Ancient Martial arts in front of ordinary people. Even if you have to take action, don’t use powers beyond ordinary people’s comprehension," Wang Wanxi finally advised.

Lin Tian said calmly, "Aunt Wang, you’re actually overthinking it. Nowadays, making people believe in the existence of Ancient Martial arts is really not an easy task. Even if a video is taken and uploaded online, others will just think it’s fake."

"There is another, more important reason: when we search online for Ancient Martial, the information we can find is very limited and only superficial. No core information at all, just like what Aunt Wang said, this is to dilute the Ancient Martial," Lin Tian stated.

Wang Wanxi smiled and said, "Alright, no matter what you do, just remember my words. Also, Ghost, this is the map. Follow this route to reach Tang City. Once there, I’ll tell you the next step."

With that, Wang Wanxi took out a phone from her bag, tapped a few times, and the display screen in the car immediately showed a connection with the phone, then a roadmap was uploaded to the car’s navigation.

With the map navigation, Ghost could follow the route. Wang Wanxi resumed her reading journey, while Lin Tian, feeling bored, took the opportunity to study pill refining techniques. Yun Xiaotian, on the other hand, took out his phone and recorded the scenery along the way, sometimes lingering the camera on Lin Tian.

They left the national highway and started on a highway, only that, along the way, tunnels and mountains became more frequent, along with suspension bridges between the gorges.

Although Lin Tian did not open his eyes to look, his sharp spiritual sense could detect that the ups and downs of the road segments increased the further they went.

After several hours on the road, Ghost exited the highway. Lin Tian glanced at the time in the car, noting it was almost eleven, and also noticed that the road sign at the highway exit was not for Tang City, indicating there was still some distance to go after exiting the highway. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

As expected, after leaving the highway and passing through two county towns, they got onto a very straight national road. By noon, Lin Tian again saw tall buildings appear far off the road.

Upon seeing those tall buildings, Lin Tian didn’t need to see the navigation map to know that he finally reached Tang City.

Because the foundations of those distant buildings and the road surface were much higher than this national road, with a clear slope, it was obviously a mountain city. More conspicuous, at the outermost area of the mountain city, was a cyan city wall, and around the city, there were also mountains.

"We’re about to reach Tang City," Wang Wanxi’s words confirmed Lin Tian’s guess.

As the car got closer, Lin Tian discovered that there was a large river outside the city, with only one suspension bridge connecting inside and outside of the city, and the cyan city wall stood on the other side.

Crossing the suspension bridge, they finally arrived under the city wall. The entrance to the city wall had obviously been rebuilt because the suspension bridge was four lanes wide, and the city gate matching the suspension bridge was also four lanes wide. Ancient city gates obviously did not reach this width.

This city wall had actually lost its significance because the surrounding buildings drastically outnumbered it in height. Its only purpose was to let people remember those ancient times upon seeing it.

"This city wall is actually made of cyan stone slabs. Each slab weighs over a hundred pounds, doesn’t it? This city wall used thousands upon thousands of cyan stone slabs. This engineering feat would have been enormous even in modern times. How did ancient people accomplish it?" Yun Xiaotian exclaimed in amazement.

Lin Tian patted his shoulder and laughed, "Did you give all your history knowledge back to the teacher? Huaxia produced two experts in engineering machinery manufacture, Mozi and Lu Ban. The tools they and their disciples made, in some sense, advanced the development of productivity. In today’s terms, they were among the representatives of cutting-edge technology at the time."

"Also, take a look at ’Heavenly Creations,’ ancient Huaxia’s technology was still highly advanced. Building city walls didn’t stump ancient laborers," Lin Tian said.

While speaking, they had already passed through the city gate and entered Tang City. Although it was a mountain city, it had the same skyscrapers it should have had, with bustling cars and people on the roads. The only difference was that the road’s slope was a bit steep and there were many cars, which would be a nightmare for novice drivers.

"Aunt Wang, the navigation route has ended; what is the next step?" Ghost slowed the car and asked for instructions.

"First, go to Qinglan Garden, drive forward, then turn right, and go straight to the end. That’s where Qinglan Garden is," Wang Wanxi said simply.

A few minutes later, the car stopped in front of a building, precisely a traditional-style architectural complex with a plaque reading "Qinglan Garden" at the entrance archway. Inside the enclosing wall, glimpses of pavilions could be seen, and not just one.

Qinglan Garden, like the Xiao Family’s Heavenly Mansion Restaurant, was of traditional style architecture, or more accurately, like Ziwei Garden, but Qinglan Garden was even more ancient and simple.

This simplicity was not revealed through decoration but was conveyed through the archway, plaque, enclosing wall, glazed tiles, and even the surrounding large trees, all exuding a sense of historical atmosphere.

Seemingly seeing through Lin Tian and the others’ confusion, Wang Wanxi explained, "Qinglan Garden is almost as ancient as Tang City’s history. Although it has been renovated in between, it has basically retained its original appearance. Do you know why?"

Without waiting for Lin Tian and the others to respond, Wang Wanxi continued, "Because Qinglan Garden is an estate of Qingshuang Pavilion."

"An estate of Qingshuang Pavilion?" The group was simultaneously surprised; could it be that Ancient Martial sects engage in business too?

"I know what you’re thinking; Ancient Martial Artists are also people who need to eat, wear clothes, live, and travel. Without some industry, where would Tang Ziqing get the sports car she drives out? Without money, how do they maintain the operation of families or sects? Of course, their wealth accumulation could never match that of the Li Family or the Yun Family, after all, Ancient Martial Artists don’t focus on commerce but on cultivation."

Wang Wanxi said this as a matter of course. In fact, she still had something unspoken; whether Ancient Martial Families or sects, their heritages are very long-standing. Even if Ancient Martial Artists aren’t good at doing business or focusing on commerce, accumulating for hundreds or thousands of years, their wealth wouldn’t be scant.

While they were talking, a young woman came out from the archway entrance and approached Lin Tian and the others.