Lord of the Desert

Chapter 512 Will
The towering camphor tree at the entrance is the symbol of the village, and the water in the small river outside the village is crystal clear.

When the world was very small, mountains and rivers were just called mountains and rivers, with no need for more specific names.

Ahong and Ayou were big kids of about twelve or thirteen years old. Although I was upset, I was still too young and could only follow behind them.

What did they call me?

After all, my name was not Hong Fan at that time.

The water is very cool. When you are thirsty, just drink it. After drinking it, you will feel as if you have become one with the river.

Everyone's laughter was clear and crisp, scratching the glass of the blue sky.

The younger children huddled on the shore.

I have always been competitive, so I followed the older kids and swam far away, trying different swimming styles.

Some people reached the other side, but I was still left in the middle of the river.

A pure black bird flew overhead and calls came from the shore.

The voice sounded like that of a man, a woman, or many people, and it was sometimes close and sometimes far away. It was definitely not my parents.

And it was Hong Fan it called, not me.

I hid in the splendor of the waves, and when the sound stopped, I realized that there was no one else and only the sound of splashing water.

The river widened?

Or is it an illusion?
I felt uneasy and tried to reach the shore, but my feet were entangled - I have swam across this river hundreds of times, why are you bothering me?

Hold your breath and enter the water.

I saw endless purple water plants crawling on the bottom of the water and swaying with the current, so I wrestled with them and tore them apart. After several blows, I even made the branches bleed.

The water is muddy.

People who can't see clearly are easily afraid, and when they are afraid, the river will become deeper.

I doggy-paddled my way to shore on the gravel and then ran home alone.

"mom?"

A pale arm stretched out from the half-open kitchen door and threw a handful of hairy and bloody meat into the pot with a sizzling sound.

I breathed a sigh of relief and scratched my itchy thigh, but it felt bumpy to the touch.

When I lowered my head, I saw that the skin of the two legs was covered with purple herpes...

The nightmare ends here.

The world is dark and my heart is beating like a pounding rock.

Hong Fan took several deep breaths, opened his eyes, and confirmed that he was lying in the bedroom of his Shenjing residence.

One night has passed since the eighth day of March, so it should be the ninth day of March.

The window is open.

It was daybreak outside and drizzling.

Raindrops occasionally hit the window frames, and the moisture that splashed in was chilly and eerie.

Hong Fan lifted the thin blanket and took a look at her legs with determination. Seeing that her skin was as white as before, he felt relieved.

Breakfast includes steamed pork ribs, sesame cakes, and tofu pudding made in the house.

Aunt Liu sat aside, watching her young master finish his meal in silence, full of worry but silent.

Hong Fan changed into casual clothes and went out, and after searching and asking, he found Hu Lumen's residence.

There is a small courtyard hidden at the end of the alley. There is no stove or toilet. Even when the owner left for many days, the door was still closed but not locked.

As Hu Lumen said, there was small change and silver bills in the compartment of the bedside table in the bedroom, totaling 311 taels and 4 coins.

Considering the strength of a Yuanci warrior, this amount of money is insignificant.

Minghua Tower is also located in Dongcheng District and is not ranked among the high-end brothels in the capital.

The morning was not the time for brothels to open, and the girls were sleeping after receiving customers all night and did not want to see anyone.

Of course, these obstacles were swept away with silver paving the way.

The building was extremely quiet, with only the occasional clanging sound of wooden clogs hitting the floor coming from the second floor.

Hong Fan sat in the private room and waited for a quarter of an hour.

"Master, someone is coming."

The madam pushed the door open in a flattering manner.

The woman who came in was half-made up and looked quite tired. Judging from the skin on the back of her hands and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, she was in her early thirties. It would not be an exaggeration to say that she was a middle-aged woman. Fortunately, she took good care of herself and her appearance was still outstanding.

"Why do you have to come here at this time, my dear? I just took off my makeup and went to bed not long ago."

There was a hint of complaint in Miss Xingmeng's sweet voice.

But as she saw the guest's figure and appearance, these complaints immediately turned into courtesy.

"I am not here to take care of the business, but to return Brother Hu's belongings to you according to his will."

Hong Fan tried to speak as gently as possible, but his tone was still stiff.

"I don't recognize this Mr. Hu Lumen."

Xing Meng's smile cooled down and she sat down next to Hong Fan at the table.

This situation was unexpected.

"He is a senior official of the Supervisory Council, about forty years old, with a purple birthmark on his left cheek."

He could only describe it as best he could.

"Oh, you mean Mr. Hu."

Xing Meng suddenly realized.

"Hero Hu?"

Hong Fan frowned.

The term "hero" usually refers only to civilian martial artists and has nothing to do with high-ranking military officers in the Supervisory Council.

"I don't know if he is a real hero. He doesn't look like one, but he doesn't want to tell me his real name and insists that I call him that."

Xingmeng smiled frivolously.

"He has been a patron to my family many times, and he has been generous with his gifts, but the most recent time was half a year ago."

When Hong Fan heard this, he felt mixed emotions and was speechless for a long time.

"Brother Hu has passed away. According to his will, I will transfer this money to you."

He had no choice but to take out the three hundred taels of silver and put them on the table. "How can I do this?"

Xing Meng was surprised at first, then happy. She tried hard to squeeze out some sadness from her confusion and quickly put the money away.

Seeing this, Hong Fan knew there was no reason to stay any longer, so he got up and left.

First there were footsteps, then the sound of a door closing, and finally a conversation between the madam and the girl.

"Why did you let him go? I wonder how long it will take for such a handsome guest to come back."

"They are not here for fun, they are here to give us their inheritance."

"To whom?"

"Give it to me. It's three hundred taels from my old lover. You are not allowed to take a cut of this money!"

"If you don't want to smoke, then don't smoke. This is really funny. How can someone give money to a brothel after his death? Doesn't this person have anyone closer to him?"

Then there was mixed laughter.

Hong Fan felt a pang of pain in his heart and pressed his stomach with his hands. He had no choice but to quicken his pace to escape from those teasing words.

The rain has stopped outside Minghua Tower, and thousands and thousands of nameless drops of water are dripping down from the eaves, flowing along the streets and ditches to moisten the entire capital.

Hong Fan stood still and looked up.

Above the long street, silky clouds are flowing across the sky of the capital.

······
The tenth day of March.

Shenjing, the supervisor of instrument making.

The identification room is more than 200 square meters in size, with a pure white marble slab in the center. On the wooden shelf in the corner are placed a full set of supplies including precision balances, microscopes, emergency antidotes and medicines.

Art master Han Anlan uses mechanical linkages to adjust the complex mirror on the roof, focusing natural light onto the slate table.

On the table, a handful of colorless crystals were sparkling.

"The Wuxiang Spirit comes from Zi Wuchang. It is extremely rare and has two characteristics that cannot be replicated by ordinary creatures."

He picked up half a handful of crystals with two fingers, and immediately saw the remaining half of the crystals on the table jumping like boiling water, and they actually floated up as the distance increased.

"That's the first feature; come closer and we'll try the second one."

Han Anlan said.

Hong Fan took a step closer and smelled a slightly spicy smell coming from the old man, probably the stimulant commonly used by the supervisors of the equipment workshop.

Under the strong light, the magic saint's fingers exerted force suddenly to crush the grains, making a "pop" sound of dripping water.

Hong Fan looked intently and saw that the scattered transparent crystal powder quickly and spontaneously aggregated and returned to its original state.

"What the mountain master said is correct. This is the Wuxiang Spirit."

Han Anlan asserted, explaining further.

"They are the product of reality and illusion. Or let me put it more bluntly. They are the pure remnants left behind after the death of the Thousand-Eyed Demon God."

Hong Fan was shocked when he heard this.

Since it is the devil's idea, it goes without saying that it is precious and rare.

“Is this thing useful?”

he asked.

"It's very useful for warriors."

Han Anlan nodded heavily.

"The Wuxiang spirit can be forged into a weapon through a special method, so that the weapon owner can obtain a limited amount of true essence and spiritual effects."

Hong Fan was horrified and moved.

"True Essence with Spirit" is one of the three realms of heaven and man. According to the explanation of Duan Tiannan and Tian Huai, its key point is to strengthen the spirit so that thoughts can be differentiated and independent, enough to be imprinted in the true essence outside the body - warriors who reach this realm are able to complete extremely complex and sophisticated killing methods, and can even leave automatically activated protective true essence for others.

"Can it be done in prison?"

he asked immediately.

"Of course! As long as the materials are in place, it can be done in ten days."

Han Anlan stroked his long beard and answered confidently.

"If the Wuxiang Spirit is to be ranked, it is somewhere between the first and second rank divine weapons. Seven divine weapons have been forged so far in this dynasty, five of which were completed by the Shenjing Weaponry Supervisor, including the Chaos Realm you have seen. However, the materials required are expensive and rare, and the cost of the Wuxiang Spirit itself is more than 100,000 strings of cash, and some of them can only be supplied by the Zhangwu Academy."

"Cost is not a problem. I will take care of the materials from the Zhangwu Academy."

Hong Fan gave a guarantee.

During his two years in Shenjing, he had developed good personal relationships with many third- and fourth-rank officials in charge of the Martial Academy under Tian Huai, so the allocation of some supplies was just a small matter.

"There is one more thing I need to inform you of in advance: Wuxiang Ling is different from ordinary weapons. After it merges into the human body, it will become the thoughts of the weapon's master. Not only can it not change hands, but it will also dissipate after death and cannot be passed on."

Han Anlan warned.

For aristocratic families, a great value of magic weapons lies in their inheritability - Wuxiangling is expensive and can only be passed on to one person, so the cost-effectiveness is further discounted.

But Hong Fan didn't care about that.

"I heard that you have fulfilled all the promises you made to the headmaster?"

Han Anlan asked tentatively.

"Yes, after I hand over the military code, I will no longer be a Tiqi."

Hong Fan nodded, feeling both relieved and empty when he mentioned this.

"That's a good thing! Without those trivial matters, I can spend more time on research."

Han Anlan was quite excited.

"No matter how good you are at practicing martial arts, it's only for a short period of time. It's better to delve into the great principles of heaven and earth so that you can leave something behind that will last long after you die!"

Hong Fan said nothing when he heard this.

Although he had been away from Zi Wuchang for many days, his heart seemed to have not returned. Besides anger and anxiety, he often felt broken and empty.

"After surviving a disaster, I just want to have a good rest for a while."

Hong Fan declined with a forced smile.

Han Anlan was old and had seen countless people. He could sense that although the young man in front of him had escaped danger, he was still feeling scared, so he temporarily gave up the idea of ​​admonishing him.

PS: I apologize to everyone, I really couldn’t write in the past half month.

I got paronychia at the end of May. The thumb on my right hand was swollen like a pig's hoof and the pain woke me up in my sleep. The swelling started to go down on the 7th. I have been in a bad mood these past few days, with some symptoms of depression, and my mind is foggy and blank.

Hope it gets better soon.

(End of this chapter)