Longevity Martial Arts: Obtain Golden Affixes at the Start

At dusk, a west wind blows along the ancient road.

A chestnut-red horse, carrying two heavy bundles, slowly walked along the official road.

A man sat atop a horse, carrying a long halberd on his back, his wide purple robe fluttering in the wind.

It is precisely the floodwaters and the red dates.

We arrived at a spacious valley, flanked by two mountains, where echoes reverberated.

Hong Lang slapped the horse's back, using the force to leap into the air, his purple robe unfurling like a twilight cloud.

He landed steadily on a large rock by the roadside, sat cross-legged, and took a deep breath.

The breath was drawn in extremely long and deep breaths, as if trying to swallow all the air in the valley into one's lungs.

His chest bulged high, his purple robe stretched taut, and then...

Roar!

A deep whistling sound burst forth from his throat.

The sound bounced back and forth in the valley, folding once, twice, three times, amplifying and overlapping layer by layer, growing bigger and heavier like a snowball rolling downhill.

Pine needles rustled down the mountainside.

The red date snorted, seemingly expressing its dissatisfaction.

"The Lion's Roar has finally come to a perfect end!"

Hong Lang leaped up and mounted his horse.

After traveling for about half an hour, it became completely dark, and the distant mountains were just blurry black shadows.

As the official road rounded a bend in the mountain, several clusters of torches suddenly appeared ahead.

Seven or eight people were lying across the road, all dressed in black armor.

The leader, riding a black horse, looked up when he heard the sound of hooves.

"stop!"

The leader raised his hand, and the people on either side immediately dispersed, subtly blocking the way in front and behind.

Honglang pulled on the reins, and Hongzao snorted impatiently.

He calmly took out a document from his pocket: "Hong Lang, County Lieutenant of Hengjiang County, Chong'an Road, is here on official business."

The man on the black horse took two steps forward, took the document and examined it carefully. He then used the torchlight to see Hong Lang's face before bowing slightly, but his tone remained firm:

"So it's County Lieutenant Hong. I am Lin Shen, the local County Lieutenant. Greetings. It's not that we're making things difficult for you, but a major case has recently occurred, and the higher authorities have issued a strict order to thoroughly investigate all passersby, regardless of whether they are officials or civilians."

Hong Lang said calmly, "County Commandant Lin, please investigate."

Lin Shen handed the document back: "County Lieutenant Hong may not know this, but a few days ago a notorious bandit robbed the Prefect's father. The bandit not only stole his valuables, but also killed the old man and dumped his body in a mountain stream."

The prefect was furious and issued a proclamation to all counties, ordering the case to be solved within ten days. We have been searching for days and are exhausted.

The two exchanged pleasantries by the roadside.

Having verified the documents, Lin Shen did not obstruct the journey any further. He turned his horse aside to clear the way and bowed, saying, "County Magistrate Hong, please take care. We will meet again."

Hong Lang also cupped his hands in greeting: "If County Magistrate Lin ever passes through Hengjiang County in the future, I, Hong, will certainly give him a warm welcome."

After another day of travel, Hong Lang finally arrived at Yingtian City.

The city wall, like a giant gray dragon, winds and coils across the plain.

The city gates were wide open, and a throng of people flowed in from all directions, converging and then flowing out in all directions.

Hong Lang rode his horse slowly closer, his ears gradually filled with noise.

The sounds of hawking, bargaining, and the low growls of unknown beasts mingled with various odors, filling the air.

At the city gate, a soldier was picking his teeth against a stone block. His third eye on his forehead was half-open and half-closed, with a vertical pupil, scrutinizing the passersby.

Once inside the city gate, the scene became even more bizarre.

At a street stall, a woman with two curved horns was deftly slicing braised pork.

She called out from the street, "Come and have a taste! Freshly cooked braised pork!"

After taking a few more steps, Hong Lang's gaze suddenly stopped.

A burly man with a tiger's head and a human body sat at a roadside stall, eating noodles from a bowl.

With its vibrant tiger stripes, slightly twitching ears, and a flick of its thick tongue, it devoured half a bowl of noodles.

He wore a yellow robe with a short knife at his waist, and he looked somewhat similar to Zhu Dachang, both having the head of an animal and the body of a human.

The tiger-headed man noticed Hong Lang's gaze, looked up, and grinned: "Brother, what are you looking at?"

Hong Lang clasped his hands in a fist and smiled, "Look how much you're enjoying your noodles."

The tiger-headed man laughed loudly, his voice like muffled thunder: "This noodle shop has the best noodles in Yingtian City! You should have a bowl!"

A city with hundreds of thousands of inhabitants is indeed quite peculiar.

Hong Lang shook his head and continued walking. His destination was the branch of the Chengping Chamber of Commerce in Jinzhou.

Although the Chengping Chamber of Commerce is called a chamber of commerce, it actually holds the economic lifeline of the Great Chu Kingdom. It is directly managed by the Heavenly Strategy Martial Saint and is a royal merchant.

The chamber of commerce openly traded salt, iron, tea, and horses, using official roads and paying taxes to the emperor.

Secretly, they were also running another big business: rare treasures from all over the world, exotic items from all corners of the globe—as long as you could afford the price, there was nothing they couldn't find.

Soft armor woven from the sinews of dragons, pearls formed from the tears of mermaids from the South China Sea, fragments of ancient elixir recipes... everything imaginable is there.

The Chamber of Commerce extended its reach into the martial arts world, recruiting a large number of talented and extraordinary individuals.

Some say that the guardians and worshippers of the Chengping Chamber of Commerce are hiding more than one martial saint.

Some say that the shopkeepers and clerks of the Chamber of Commerce, spread throughout various states and prefectures, not only keep an eye on business but also on the latest developments.

Every little detail—which mountain peak had a newly established stronghold, which waterway had seen the arrival of bandits—would be reported in secret and sent through the gate.

Hong Lang dismounted, casually tied the reins around his neck, and carried two large bags of goods into the Chamber of Commerce gate.

As soon as he entered, a waiter came to greet him.

The shop assistant was lean and wiry, but his eyes were remarkably bright. Seeing Hong Lang's distinguished bearing, he immediately put on a smile, cupped his hands, and said, "Sir, are you here to purchase goods or to ship some?"

Hong Lang slammed the package on the ground: "Ship out."

The waiter dared not delay and hurriedly said, "Please wait a moment, sir, I will go and fetch the manager of our branch."

A short while later, a man in his thirties came out from the back room.

This person had a thin face and a pair of narrow eyes that were half-closed.

He walked up to Hong Lang, cupped his hands in a respectful greeting, and said, "My name is Su Xing, the manager of the Chong'an Road branch. May I ask your honorable name, sir?"

"Hong Lang".

Su Xing smiled slightly: "Young Master Hong, our shop has a rule that large transactions are not discussed in the main hall. Please follow me to the private room in the back courtyard for a chat."

Hong Lang nodded, picked up the package, and followed Su Xing into a secluded side room.

Su Xing invited Hong Lang to sit down, then ordered someone to serve him fragrant tea, and said with a smile, "Young Master Hong, may I take a look at the items now?"

Hong Lang placed the two packages on the table and untied the cloth bundles.

In an instant, the room was filled with light.

His gaze sharpened slightly upon waking.

He didn't rush to start, but first tucked his hands into his sleeves as if he were washing them, and then picked up each item one by one to examine them carefully.

It took a full half hour to count them.

Su Xing gently placed the last item back on the table, her smile deepening even more than before.

"Young Master Hong, these items are not simple to come by."

Hong Lang remained calm: "What, the Chengping Chamber of Commerce is asking about our origins?"

Su Xing laughed heartily: "Young master is joking. When the Chengping Merchant Guild does business, we only ask whether the goods are good or not, not where they come from."

He rearranged the items on the table, took out a notebook, dipped his brush in ink, and wrote as he wrote: "Four superior-grade weapons, eight medium-grade weapons, ten inferior-grade weapons..."