The Long Journey to Immortality

Upon learning Han Lu's identity, she walked along and, without any preamble, asked Han Lu why she had come.

If it weren't for Han Lu's identity as a Zhengyi Sect cultivator, she would have already impatiently kicked Han Lu out to avoid disturbing her daily work.

"Heroine Wen," Han Lu addressed Wen Xiaonan, "I have heard that Heroine Wen is proficient in swordsmanship and has a deep understanding of the way of the sword, so I came to Dongyang City hoping to learn and exchange ideas with Heroine Wen."

Upon hearing Han Lu's purpose, Wen Xiaonan retorted irritably, "I'm just a mortal. What do you, a cultivator, have to ask me for advice?"

"Besides, I'm incredibly busy every day, I wish I had fourteen hours a day to use, where would I find the time to spare..."

Halfway through the conversation, Wen Xiaonan suddenly remembered something, interrupting his complaints and rants, and looked at Han Lu to ask, "How should I address you, Fairy, and what is your cultivation level?"

"Han Lu, I just advanced to the late stage of Foundation Establishment ten days ago," Han Lu replied subconsciously.

Upon hearing this, Wen Xiaonan beamed with joy, no longer bothering to ask Han Lu, a high-level cultivator in the late Foundation Establishment stage, why she wanted to learn swordsmanship from her.

Wen Xiaonan stopped in front of his office and said, "Great, this matter is negotiable. However, Fairy Han, you need to help me solve some minor problems in exchange, how about it?"

Chapter 572 Constable Han Lu

Making a fair trade was one of the solutions Han Lu was already willing to accept. Naturally, before Wen Xiaonan, this ordinary but heroic man, could even explain the specifics, Han Lu hurriedly agreed, fearing that he might change his mind.

"Okay, tell me what you need my help with, what you need to do."

Wen Xiaonan pushed open the door, pointed to an empty chair in the office for Han Lu to sit down, and then sat down behind a desk filled with case files.

As she reviewed the case files and worked, she said unhurriedly, "The Zhengyi Sect is the largest sect in the Southern Dynasty and has a good relationship with the government. Since you, a senior disciple of the Zhengyi Sect, have asked for my help, I am naturally willing to assist you."

"However, the root of the problem is that I have my own job and need to handle all kinds of affairs in and around Dongyang City, so I can't spare the time to help you."

Han Lu nodded slowly, waiting for Wen Xiaonan to continue.

Wen Xiaonan looked up, glanced at Han Lu, observed her expression, then looked back at the table and continued.

"Therefore, I hope Fairy Han can help me handle some cases that are difficult for me to solve as a mortal."

"If you solve these cases that take up a lot of my working time, I will be able to free up my time and get more rest."

"Then it won't be a problem for us to discuss swordsmanship during the rest period."

"So, are you willing to accept these conditions?"

Hearing this, Han Lu, who had little experience of real life in the mortal world, was full of questions and asked Wen Xiaonan in return, "Heroine Wen, the Zhengyi Sect has an outer branch stationed in Dongyang City, and the two leaders there are also at the sixth level of Qi Refining."

"I suppose you are quite familiar with them. Since you are busy with matters concerning the safety of cultivators, why not seek their help?"

In Wen Xiaonan's view, Han Lu's question was somewhat ridiculous, but it also confirmed to Wen Xiaonan that Han Lu was probably the kind of cultivator who had been practicing in the Zhengyi Sect for many years, making her an extremely suitable partner.

So she spoke intermittently, explaining the reason to Han Lu while working.

It is an unspoken rule in the cultivation world of the Central Plains that cultivators do not participate in secular politics.

Low-level rogue cultivators may disregard the rules and break them without consequence, but large and small sects, especially major sects like the Zhengyi Sect, dare not violate them at will, lest they be labeled as "disrupting order."

This rule is one of the reasons for the harmony in the Central Plains cultivation world, and it is also why many outer sect cultivators of the Zhengyi Sect, despite being in Dongyang City, were unable to help Wen Xiaonan.

This explanation only made Han Lu more confused.

“Miss Wen, I am also a cultivator of the Zhengyi Sect, and I have some reputation within the sect. If I were to help you solve cases in the mortal government, how would that be any different from my fellow disciples from the outer sect helping you?”

Wen Xiaonan continued, "There is a difference."

"Those two Qi Refining Level 6 stronghold managers you mentioned are quite famous in Dongyang City, but we absolutely cannot let them become targets and leave any evidence against them."

"But in reality, every now and then, a few outer disciples of the Zhengyi Sect would still be secretly arranged to come and help me."

"However, their cultivation level is low, and they dare not act ostentatiously. For Qingyang City, this is just a drop in the ocean."

"And since you have profound cultivation and came alone, concealing your identity to help me solve a few minor problems, no one will notice."

After writing a few words on a piece of paper with a brush, Wen Xiaonan quickly blew the ink dry and looked at Han Lu again, waiting for her reply.

Han Lu had no reservations. Her reason for asking the question was simply to know how much her efforts in the transaction would help Wen Xiaonan, and at the same time, to understand how Wen Xiaonan, the garrison commander, handled the issues of cultivators within the government system, so as to reduce unnecessary trouble when providing assistance later.

In addition, she noted this matter down, planning to report it to the higher-ups after returning to the sect, pointing out the current situation of some rogue cultivators in the mortal world acting recklessly, hoping that the Zhengyi Sect could take the lead in slightly adjusting the rules, so that the lives of mortals could be more stable without attracting criticism or interfering with their lives.

"Didn't the imperial court arrange any supporting cultivators here?" Han Lu deliberately mentioned Wen Erya's name. "The Thirteenth Princess is a good friend of mine. As far as I know, the Southern Dynasty royal family in the capital supports nearly thirty cultivators, at least two of whom have the cultivation level of Foundation Establishment."

“They are the exceptions,” Wen Xiaonan said, arranging several stacks of files neatly and stuffing them into a dark cabinet. “Only half of the thirty people are sent to various parts of the Southern Dynasty for a period of time each year to help me and my colleagues with some matters that are difficult for ordinary people to handle.”

"It's just a formality. They come in swaggering and they leave swaggering too."

“Any slightly smarter river bandits and pirates would lay low at this time.”

"It doesn't solve many problems at all."

Han Lu nodded slightly upon hearing this and asked, "Then, in the case that is currently troubling Lady Wen, what is the cultivation level of the most powerful cultivator?"

“Far below your level,” Wen Xiaonan laughed. “Fairy Han, there would never be a Foundation Establishment cultivator doing such petty theft in the mortal realm. In fact, according to the information I have, the highest cultivation level among the pirates and river bandits is currently Qi Refining Level 6.”

"This monk was worshipped by several groups of pirates on a small island by the sea, and was even given the nickname of Pirate King."

Speaking of this, Wen Xiaonan found it both funny and somewhat helpless.

The island was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and with the help of cultivators, even if she knew which island the pirate king lived on, she had no way to wipe him out and kill him to prevent future troubles.

Upon hearing this, Han Lu realized that it was indeed true.

Cultivation requires a great deal of resources, which cannot be satisfied by simply robbing a few mortal caravans.

It's extremely rare for a pirate king with only a sixth-level Qi Refining cultivation to do such despicable things.

Noticing the change in Han Lu's expression, Wen Xiaonan dropped another bombshell: "According to the existing intelligence, that pirate king is likely a heretic who practices evil magic. If Fairy Han were to eliminate him, it would be like ridding the cultivation world of a great scourge."

Han Lu, who had already agreed to the matter in her heart, readily gave her promise upon hearing this, "Alright, then let's do as Lady Wen says, but the specifics still need to be discussed."

Wen Xiaonan exclaimed, "That's wonderful! With Fairy Han's help, Dongyang City will surely be restored to peace."

The two discussed the details further and came to a conclusion after a short while.

Han Lu needs to stay in Dongyang City for half a month to help Wen Xiaonan deal with the five rogue cultivators, including the Pirate King, who are causing trouble in the mortal world.

In addition to providing as much information as possible to help Han Lu with her work, Wen Xiaonan also needs to help Han Lu clean up the mess to prevent her from violating the unspoken rules and causing trouble for the Zhengyi Sect.

After Han Lu fulfilled her promise, Wen Xiaonan was required to dedicate half an hour each day to instructing her in swordsmanship and sharing her insights on swordsmanship, at Han Lu's request.

Serving as an official in the commercially developed city of Dongyang, Wen Xiaonan naturally possessed a strong sense of contractual responsibility.

Only after all the terms are listed and both parties sign them can the agreement be considered complete.

After signing the document, Han Lu temporarily became a "constable".

After completing her job change, Han Lu couldn't wait to ask Wen Xiaonan, "Heroine Wen, please tell me quickly which island on the coast of the East China Sea is that pirate king? I'll go and take him down tonight."

Chapter 573 Night Raid on the Pirate King

Wen Xiaonan was very satisfied with Han Lu's positive work attitude.

She smiled and said, "Alright, I'll show you the way right away."

As he spoke, Wen Xiaonan led Han Lu to a blank wall.

Wen Xiaonan tapped a specific spot on the wall twice with his middle finger knuckle, triggering a mechanism or restriction on the wall.

The secrecy barrier set up by the cultivator for Wen Xiaonan, the garrison commander, was broken by a mortal, revealing the true face of the white wall to Han Lu.

A detailed hand-drawn map appeared on the white wall.

The area shown on the map is naturally Dongyang City and its surrounding sea area and county town.

At each location, Wen Xiaonan wrote down information about the river pirates and other pirates who were mainly active in that area on paper and pasted it on the paper.

The hideouts of important figures like the Pirate King were specially marked, and all the information obtained from the government's investigation was noted so that they could be consulted at any time or used to explain things to outsiders.

“These men,” Wen Xiaonan gestured on the map, “are the notorious bandits whose locations we have accurately identified and who are well-known near Dongyang City.”

"If Fairy Han doesn't know which bandits to target, she might as well choose from these."

“And the pirate king you’re looking to cause trouble for tonight is right here,” Wen Xiaonan pointed to an island in the East China Sea, “about 150 nautical miles from the coastline of Dongyang City.”

"The island is not large, but it is not small either; it can easily accommodate three or four hundred people."

"Seventy percent of the island's perimeter is mountainous, which makes this small island easy to defend and difficult to attack."

"Even without the Pirate King, a cultivator at the sixth level of Qi Refining, present."

"Even with three hundred government troops, it would be difficult to wipe out all the pirates on this island in a short period of time."

Wen Xiaonan explained his difficulties, probably to show Han Lu that there were many bandits outside Dongyang City, and that people like the Pirate King were living freely. It was not that he had no intention of fighting the bandits, but that the objective conditions were too harsh.

"However, what is a huge problem for me is definitely not a problem for Fairy Han."

"Tonight, I'll stay here and handle some trivial matters while waiting for Fairy Han to return in triumph with the Pirate King's corpse."

Han Lu was slightly surprised. "Don't you need to capture him alive? All I see here is a simple sketch of the Pirate King's face. How can you be sure I didn't just kill someone randomly and bring his corpse to hand over?"

Wen Xiaonan waved his hand and laughed, "It's alright. You can capture her alive if you want, or bring back a corpse. I trust Han Xianzi's ability to handle affairs and her moral character as a top disciple of the Zhengyi Sect."

Wen Xiaonan's long-standing cooperation with the Zhengyi Sect cultivators gave him sufficient trust in Han Lu, who came from the Zhengyi Sect.

Han Lu said, "Okay, I understand."

After saying that, she moved closer to some maps, secretly planning which bandit kings she should capture and kill, and memorizing their general information and hiding places.

Although she came to help, Wen Xiaonan only made quantity requirements for her, not quality requirements.

However, as a friend of Wen Erya and a cultivator from the Southern Dynasty, Han Lu still hoped to help as much as possible to improve the security situation in Dongyang City.

Wen Xiaonan witnessed Han Lu's actions.

She was secretly surprised; it was the first time she had ever seen a Foundation Establishment cultivator so concerned with worldly affairs.

During her more than ten years in Dongyang City, she had met many Foundation Establishment cultivators, most of whom looked down on ordinary people.

This contrasts sharply with Han Lu's performance.

If it weren't for the vast difference in their status, Wen Xiaonan would have really wanted to take this opportunity to develop Han Lu into a force of cultivators within the Dongyang City government, occasionally asking for her help to clean up the bandits outside Dongyang City.

After studying the map for about five minutes, Han Lu used her amazing memory as a cultivator to memorize all the details.

Out of respect, Han Lu explained to Wen Xiaonan the names of the bandits she wanted to "visit" in the next few days.

Although he was prepared, Wen Xiaonan couldn't help but smile from the bottom of his heart when he heard that so many ruthless criminals had been added to Han Lu's "death list".

It was as if once Han Lu finished her journey, Dongyang City would be able to maintain peace for three months.