The establishment of the Celestial Dynasty began with the bestowal of the title upon the River God.

Old Mud Village, in the southern part of Manxing County.

A biting wind swept from north to south, as if blowing across a desolate canvas.

The village was deserted, and the uneven lines on the road had remained unchanged since winter began, with even the withered branches stiffening their necks and remaining frozen in place.

Suddenly, someone opened the door of a house on the west side of the village, and walked out of the courtyard wearing a fox fur coat, followed by a soldier from the Great Zhou garrison. This finally added a bit of life to this desolate scene.

"Is the military intelligence accurate?"

Huo An subconsciously reached his right hand behind his back, then realized that he had already left the army and his equipment was still in the military, so he put his hand back down.

The soldiers behind him looked solemn. "It's true. This morning, the garrison received reliable information that Luopan Mountain has been captured by our army. The leader and the demon king are dead, but a group of lesser demons managed to scatter and escape."

Laoni Village isn't far from Luopan Mountain, so Commander Feng specially sent a soldier to inform them and deliver a visiting card to Brother Huo.

Huo An was unwilling to switch allegiance to the Great Zhou Dynasty, nor did he wish to establish the Immortal Clan. Therefore, it was not surprising that the Great Zhou Dynasty would still station troops in this Old Mud Village.

He accepted the visiting card. "Commander Feng?"

"That's right." The soldier replied respectfully, "Commander Feng is highly skilled and is a soldier under Commander Gongsun. He was specially transferred by Commander Gongsun for this expedition and is highly valued by his superior."

Huo An suddenly remembered the bold and unrestrained commander of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and couldn't help but grin.

"I owe Commander Gongsun a favor. Please tell Commander Feng that I, Huo An, welcome him to station in Laoni Village at any time. As for the little demons of Luopan Mountain, I can keep an eye on them to prevent them from causing trouble in the village."

The soldier bowed his head and clasped his hands in thanks.

Before he could even look up, he suddenly felt a gust of wind sweep past him. He turned around and saw Huo An rushing far away and disappearing from sight.

While the soldier was stunned, Huo Anfu returned, carrying a rat the size of a dog.

The sound of hooves came from the north. A soldier dismounted, looked Huo An up and down, glanced at the rat demon in his hand, and laughed:

"Fellow Daoist, are you Lord Huodubo?"

"I'm just a country bumpkin right now." Huo An threw the dead rat demon on the ground and returned the greeting, "You must be Commander Feng? As expected of a soldier of the Great Zhou, your demeanor is far superior to that of people from our small country."

Feng Dachuan knew he was being modest, but he couldn't help feeling smug.

"You flatter me. I have been ordered to garrison Laoni Village for about one or two years. I need to measure the fields and take stock of the households. If I offend anyone in the future, I hope you will forgive me."

Huo An slowly shook his head and walked home.

"The safety of the village is in the hands of you soldiers."

Feng Dachuan lowered his arms, looked at the other person's back, and narrowed his eyes.

This person, a mid-stage body cultivator of the Metal Element Qi Refining Realm, is of comparable strength to him, yet he chooses to reside in Old Mud Village for an extended period.

If this native cultivator of the Great Yan stays here, he will become a natural support for many villagers. If things don't go well in the future, who knows how many complaints they will file against him? If this continues, how can the government's orders be implemented?

Feng Dachuan was lost in thought when he suddenly heard shouts from ahead, followed by the sound of horses' hooves.

"Oh!" The voice seemed quite surprised. "I was just about to ask around at a few houses, but I didn't expect to run into you on the road."

Li Yi jumped off Jueying and walked towards Huo An with a smile, but the latter was unappreciative and looked hostile.

"I heard from Commander Gongsun that your surname is Huo?"

On his way to Lao Nizi in the morning, Li Yi kept thinking about the group of little demons who had escaped from Luopan Mountain. So he simply returned to the mountain and searched for them. Sure enough, he found about ten "local resident demons". He had already handed them over to his colleagues along the way, which is why he was a little late.

Unlike Feng Dachuan, Li Yi had personally captured Huo An's enemy scouts and even severed his tendons, so naturally he didn't give them a friendly look.

"What brings you here?"

Li Yi caught a glimpse of Feng Dachuan not far behind Huo An out of the corner of his eye, but decided not to pay him any attention, and chuckled:

"I've heard that you no longer wish to join the army? Actually, there's nothing wrong with the Great Zhou. You should be able to feel Xu Gong's benevolence."

Seeing that Huo An was unwilling to talk, Li Yi didn't want to stop him on the freezing road in the dead of winter, so he asked instead:

"Have you ever heard of a woman named 'Liu'e' from Old Mud Village fifteen years ago?"

Huo An's expression changed drastically. "She's just an ordinary village woman. Why are you asking her, sir?"

When Li Yi arrived, he had already scanned the area but did not find any ghosts.

"It's freezing cold. Would you mind coming to Brother Huo's house for a cup of hot water? Let me explain in detail."

Huo An hesitated slightly, but eventually nodded in agreement.

Feng Dachuan listened from behind the whole time, and seeing that the two of them ignored him, he couldn't help but feel angry.

If his son, Feng Jun, hadn't repeatedly and earnestly advised him not to provoke Li Yi, he would have insisted on confronting him now.

I heard that he also won first place in the competition of the four skills of the scouts.

It's probably because of their proficiency in reading, writing, drawing, and surveying.

Feng Dachuan silently harbored resentment and slander, but forced a smile and stepped forward, saying:

"It's Li Xiaoqi, long time no see..."

"Commander Feng, we keep to ourselves and don't interfere with each other's business, so there's no need for formalities."

Li Yi interrupted Feng Dachuan and gestured to Huo An to invite him to join in.

Huo An frowned and walked straight home.

The soldiers cautiously approached Feng Dachuan from behind and saw that his face was ashen.

"grown ups……"

"Return to the city and allocate manpower to immediately measure the fields here, and gather the villagers to count them one by one!"

Feng Dachuan flicked his sleeves, mounted his horse, and rode along the road toward the village head's house.

……

Huo An's family consists of five people: his parents, wife, and children.

Huo invited Li Yi into the house, served him tea, and then quietly left the main room.

"It seems there are also frictions within the Great Zhou army?"

"Please excuse my poor performance."

Li Yi raised his glass in a toast, not wanting to dwell on the Feng family, and proceeded to explain the purpose of his trip in detail:

"...The Earth God hid in Old Mud Village, in Liu E's house. The woman was startled by his pitiful appearance, so she took him in and cared for him carefully for a while. Later..."

"Later, the great demon of Luopan Mountain found us and ate us." Huo An continued, his tone calm. "I smelled blood later, climbed over the wall, and saw a pile of white bones with some rotten flesh still clinging to them."

Li Yi paused for a moment, "It seems Brother Huo also knows something about this."

Huo An remained noncommittal. "Are you here to pay homage to our ancestors, entrusted by the local earth god?"

Li Yi shook his head, recalling Zhu Xing's distraught face from the previous night.

"From what you've said, Liu'e's residence is nearby? Are your two families neighbors?"

Huo An's gaze was somewhat detached, and his voice seemed to drift back from fifteen years ago.

"She is my aunt. My uncle died on the way to fight the monster. My cousin also enlisted in the army and died last year. There are no blood relatives left."

The events that had been buried for fifteen years were nothing more than stories that people today had heard and then forgotten. Even Huo An simply told them as stories, without feeling much emotion.

Li Yi was speechless for a moment, and after a long pause, he finally said:

"The Liu family had great potential for cultivation, what a pity."

Huo An looked at Li Yi with an ambiguous expression, his tone remaining calm:

"My uncle and cousin are both ordinary people."