Dream of the Red Chamber: Starting from Immortal Martial Arts

May 7th is an auspicious day for travel, praying for blessings, hanging plaques, and planting.

At 1:15 AM, just as dawn was breaking, the masters of the East and West mansions gathered in front of the Ning mansion. Jia Kang, with his ordinary appearance and round eyes, led a squad of Fire Tiger Guards left inside the mansion to protect him.

On Ningrong Street, Jia He, Jia Ping, and Jia An each led their troops and stood before their warhorses. All of them wore cold iron helmets, tiger-carved armor, strong bows on their backs, black swords in their hands, arrows in their quivers, and solemn expressions.

Grandmother Jia stepped forward, leaning on her sandalwood cane. After scanning the room, she said in a deep voice, "You are all descendants of the Tiger Guards of the Ning and Rong Mansions, fierce, valiant, loyal and brave men."

"Your ancestors protected the Ning and Rong families for three generations in their battles, serving as their strongest shield."

"Now that the fourth generation general of the Jia family, the Duke of Ningguo, is about to go to the battlefield, I shamelessly urge everyone to do their best to protect the sons and daughters of the Jia family."

"Your wives, children, and parents, I, the Jia family, will certainly care for and support you as blood relatives."

Upon hearing this, Jia He and the others bowed and said, "Please rest assured, Lord Feng, we will follow you to the death."

Seeing this, Jia Tang slowly walked to Jia Mu's side. The old lady looked at him carefully with her slightly cloudy eyes, her eyes filled with relief, encouragement, and even more so, reluctance.

Grandmother Jia took a deep breath, shook her cane, and said loudly, "Grandson, today you are going to the army to guard the border. Your elders should wear the armor, and your brothers should hold the saddle."

"Eldest brother, second brother, Zhen'er, help your nephew and younger brother put on their armor and helmet."

"Baoyu held the saddle, Rong'er led the horse, and Huan'er and Cong'er presented a knife and a bow."

At the old lady's command, the Lai brothers brought up the Ningguo Duke's Hundred-Refined Mountain-Patterned Golden Tiger Armor.

Jia She and the other three men stepped forward in an orderly fashion to help Jia Tang put on his armor. After a short while, he was fully dressed, wearing a helmet, armor, a breastplate, a back brace, a sword, and a bow. He looked truly majestic and awe-inspiring.

Jia Tang looked around and bowed slightly, preparing to bid farewell to everyone.

Grandmother Jia waved her hand to interrupt: "Yu Yin, since you're wearing armor, you're engaged in military affairs and can't pay respects to us women of the inner quarters."

Jia Tang nodded silently, cupped his hands, and said, "The Jia family's actions are as fierce as tigers, their power is awe-inspiring."

As soon as he finished speaking, the blood energy of the generals and tiger guards behind him burst forth, connecting their formations and condensing into a giant tiger head in mid-air, roaring towards the sky.

"Mount up!"

"Click click"

The clanging of armor was synchronized. Jia Tang and the others mounted their horses, and the tiger's head descended, enveloping their bodies to form a giant blood tiger that stood upright on the ground.

Jia Tang waved his whip, and the sound of horses' hooves thundered. Blood Tiger moved at the sound and disappeared into the street in an instant.

With a slightly protruding belly, Jia She watched Jia Tang lead his troops away with a sigh, muttering to himself, "This time, the Jia family has traveled 30,000 miles north. Once they leave this cage, they will soar like eagles in the sky and roar like tigers in the mountains. We can no longer suppress them. You are all doomed."

···

May 20th, Ningguo Mansion Hall.

Jia Zhen sat at the head of the table, holding a cup in one hand and stroking his beard with the other. A lewd glint flashed in his eyes as he looked at Jia Rong kneeling on the ground and said indifferently, "Now that you are not young anymore, it is time for you to get married. I have arranged a marriage for you. The daughter of Qin Ye, the construction manager of the Ministry of Works, will be married in August."

"I had someone examine your birth charts, and they are perfectly compatible, bringing good fortune to my Jia family. After you marry into the family, you must serve them with utmost devotion and show them no disrespect whatsoever. Do you understand?"

"Ah..." Jia Rong exclaimed in surprise, completely bewildered.

So they're engaged already? What will their names be? What will they look like? And what does it mean to be devoted to each other? They can't just find themselves a mother, can they?

Jia Zhen waited a while but Jia Rong didn't respond. He flew into a rage: "Huh? You wretched beast, how dare you be distracted when the master is asking you a question?"

"Yes, yes, yes, your son will certainly serve you sincerely."

Jia Rong hurriedly responded, then looked up at Jia Zhen, whose anger had subsided somewhat, and hesitated before asking, "Master...Master, does Second Uncle know?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhen instinctively shrank back, feeling guilty, and said, "Does a father have to consult your uncle before arranging a marriage for his son?"

He peeked at the soldiers outside the hall and lowered his voice: "Your second uncle went to the army and returned after many years. Now the master is in charge of the household."

Jia Rong nodded timidly in agreement, his face ashen.

···

On the other side, Gaoling Post Station outside Shanhaiguan Pass was built against the mountains and by the water, and was the westernmost point of the Liaoxi Post Road.

Outside the post station, Liaodong cavalry would occasionally roar past, while inside, soldiers, merchants, security escort agencies, and exploration teams from powerful families would come and go, creating a lively and bustling scene.

In the northeast corner of the post station, Jia Tang, leading his three generals, sat imposingly on a long bench, bracing himself for the watchful eyes of those inside and outside the station, and led the group to rest and eat.

"My lord, I'll take some men and deal with it. I refuse to believe we can't kill them all."

Jia Tang ate his soup noodles slowly, while Jia Ping, on his right, spoke up menacingly, his scar on his face twitching with each bite of noodles, his eyes blazing with fury and exceptionally ruthless.

Upon hearing this, Jia He said helplessly, "We've been away from the manor for over ten days, traveling 20,000 li. Didn't you notice that the bandits and brigands along the way were getting stronger with each wave, and they were all coming in waves with the intention of exchanging money? Don't forget that you two also need to conceal your inner energy."

Jia An's expression was cold and stern as he succinctly stated, "Only the first wave is from the Fragrance Cult."

"How hateful! I'm so angry!"

Jia Ping looked annoyed, recalling how he had disguised himself as a Blood Refining Martial Artist and fought against the bandits along the way, yet he couldn't kill them all, which made him feel extremely disgusted.

With a piece of green mutton pie in his mouth, Jia Tang mumbled, "We're out of the pass now, no need to hide anymore."

Before Jia Ping could react, Jia He, who had just looked helpless, and Jia An, who had been silent, vanished in an instant. In the nearby mountains and forests, wood and stones flew everywhere, dust splattered, and golden light and fire raged and swept across the area, with the sound of metal striking metal ringing out.

"?"

Belatedly realizing what was happening, Jia Ping suddenly unleashed his inner energy, creating a series of metallic clanging sounds as he floated into the air towards the mountains and forests, roaring, "Damn it, eldest and third brother, leave me some!"

The Tiger Guard on one side had just stood up when Jia Tang reached out and pressed him back down: "Eat."

"only!"

The commotion startled the various diners resting nearby, who frequently glanced at the diners and whispered among themselves.

Someone recognized their origins: "Judging from the tiger-patterned armor, it belongs to the Golden Fire Tiger Guard of the Jia family of Xianjing."

"Were those three all at the first level of inner strength?"

"Damn it, two more family generals have popped up, both high-level experts with advanced skills and inner strength. Hasn't the Jia family fallen into decline?"

"Hey, how could we possibly comprehend the profound knowledge and resources of such top-tier clans?"

"Shut up, eat quickly and leave."

Under the reprimand of a burly man with a bushy beard who seemed to be the leader, the restaurant gradually fell silent.

Before long, Jia He and the other two returned. Jia Ping looked at his two brothers with a resentful expression, muttering something under his breath. After being punched by Jia He, he quieted down.

Jia He stepped forward and reported: "General, this time the formation is quite large. Four Inner Strength cultivators are leading two teams of Fifth Realm Blood Refining cultivators. They don't seem to be from the same group. Because it took some effort to kill four First-Rank cultivators, a few small fry escaped."

Jia Tang nodded slightly, wiped his mouth, got up and left the post station. Jia He, seeing this, threw out a silver ingot and led his team out.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they no longer concealed their strength and ran at full speed for three days, covering nearly 10,000 li a day, before arriving at the Liaodong camp.

In the following days, as various forces returned to the interior, news that the three generals of the Jia family in Xianjing were all internally strong and possessed the Golden Body spread far and wide, causing many people with ulterior motives to be alarmed and uncertain.

You always bring three with you when you go out, how many more are you hiding at home?