Master of Strange Dao
Chapter 71 - 58 A Letter from the Feng Family
"I was just passing by and took a glance, just a glance really, it doesn't count as peeping!" The Posthouse Official appeared somewhat embarrassed and quickly tried to defend himself.
"Young Master, this should be a Posthouse from Dali, a prestigious Posthouse Envoy known for being a famous spirit monster, and judging by the attire, he is likely an official with rank."
Yu Ziqing examined the Posthouse Official from head to toe, this was his first time seeing a spirit monster, let alone one with an official position and rank.
The customs of a great nation were indeed quite different from those in smaller places.
"I had heard about a famous Posthouse Envoy from Dali, comparable to Daqian's Kun You, I never thought I'd see one in person today."
As soon as Yu Ziqing finished speaking, he saw the somewhat embarrassed Posthouse Official jump in frustration.
"Who are you insulting? Who's like those fools? We're much better than those big fools, haven't you heard? The south is foolish, the north is smart, we're completely different."
"I've never seen Kun You before, how would I know if what you say is true? I only heard it from others, I was praising you for being formidable, right?"
"This..." The Posthouse Official thought for a moment, wanting to rebut but uncertain how to, for refuting would imply he was not formidable.
Yu Ziqing looked at the round-faced little man before him, feeling quite amused, it seemed like teasing a kitten.
"Let's ignore that for now, tell me, why did you sneak into my room? Are the Posthouse Officials of Dali all sneak thieves?"
"I didn't sneak in, I saw your window open, so I just walked in. I waved at you, but you didn't see it, you can't blame me for that!" The Posthouse Official continued to argue.
"Oh, then I suppose I should ask Uncle Fu. Since not all Posthouse Officials are sneak thieves, you certainly are, entering without announcement is called theft."
"Alright, alright, please don't tell him..." The Posthouse Official sighed and sat on the table.
"I'll be honest, the last time I passed by your door, I smelled sweet rain. Then that drop given to me by Old Afu, I intended to trade it for something else, but accidentally consumed it. After delivering the letter, with nothing to do, I thought I'd come by to see if we could trade a little."
Saying this, the Posthouse Official rummaged for a long time in his wide sleeve, pulling out a heap of assorted items.
There were Spiritual Medicine, pastries, and Spirit Fruits, all of them edible…
After taking them out, he piled them up there, eagerly looking at Yu Ziqing.
"This is all I have, these things are very expensive, can I trade them with you for three drops... no, two drops? If not, even one drop would do!"
Yu Ziqing didn't pay attention to those obviously precious Spiritual Medicine and Spirit Fruits, instead he asked.
"Do you normally have so much free time when you have no tasks?"
"Indeed, quite leisurely, unless there's an urgent letter requiring a speed of eight thousand miles per day, we aren't needed to deliver it, and normally we can do as we like, as long as we don't break the Law Code, the dog noses of the Shadow Department won't even glance at us."
"Oh, I see..." Yu Ziqing stroked his chin, smiling as he stared at the Posthouse Official.
"You want to trade? Alright, can you help me deliver a letter? A round trip, one drop of sweet rain, I can pay in advance, and you deliver the letter afterwards, how about it?"
"This..." The Posthouse Official, sitting on the table with both hands supporting his big head, looked troubled.
"Helping me deliver a letter surely wouldn't break the Law Code, right?"
"It's not that..." The Posthouse Official looked conflicted. "The thing is, we have official positions, drawing salaries, we can't just help deliver letters carelessly, if discovered it would be very troublesome."
"It's not within Dali's borders, it's to the Wilderness, besides, who do you think gave Uncle Fu the sweet rain? I am a very good partner with them, if you help me deliver a family letter, they surely wouldn't refuse, right?"
"A family letter?" The Posthouse Official's little head finally caught onto the keyword and immediately nodded, agreeing. "A family letter is fine, but the Wilderness is cold, so I'll need extra pay."
"Deliver two round trips, I'll give you three drops of sweet rain."
"Deal."
With the deal just struck, Yu Ziqing already prepared one drop, handing it to the Posthouse Official.
"Here's one drop in advance, consider it prepaid."
"Okay."
Not having done anything yet, and already receiving a drop of sweet rain, the Posthouse Official was all smiles, happily agreeing.
Cece chuckled while covering her mouth at the side, her own Young Master was truly mischievous, two trips for three drops implied there would be a next time, and with a next time, there was naturally a long-term partnership.
Yu Ziqing picked up a pen to write a letter, using his uniquely unattractive and hard-to-imitate handwriting, any calligrapher of great skill would find it difficult to replicate its spirit.
Having been away so long, it was necessary to let the family know he was safe, mention recent events, and send regards to the villagers, all out of obligation.
Previously, he didn't have the means, Cece's Communication Flying Sword was for one-way communication only, even a carrier pigeon needed to know the way beforehand.
Writing several pages in a carefree manner, Cece folded them, placed them in an envelope, sealed, and handed it to the Posthouse Official.
"It doesn't matter if you know the way or not, once you reach the Wilderness, just look for a large locust forest, toss the letter into it, and say it's from Cece, you'll be safe. Of course, it's best not to storm into the locust forest directly, that would be very dangerous."
The Posthouse Official tucked the letter into his wide sleeve, patting his chest in assurance.
"Rest assured, I promise it'll be delivered!"
"I believe it, the reputation and capacity of the Posthouse Official are unparalleled."
The phrase "unparalleled" left the Posthouse Official so pleased that he stood up patting his bottom.
"I'll head there right now."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Posthouse Official vanished from sight.
His short legs moved incredibly fast, with each step the ground seemed to compress beneath his feet, spanning hundreds of yards with a single step, in just a few breaths, he had already left the city.
A day later, he was traversing the snowy expanse of the Wilderness. At the very moment a snowflake was about to touch the ground, the Posthouse stepped on it, his figure instantaneously disappearing, the snowflake yet to land.
Half a day later, he saw ahead a locust forest stretching across the land.
Reaching the edge of the forest, the Posthouse Official pulled out the letter, tossed it into the forest, and shouted loudly.
"This is a family letter sent by Miss Cece."
As the letter fell into the locust forest, an emaciated hand stretched from one of the locust trees, upon contact with the letter it immediately sensed Cece's aura on it.
The envelope dropped onto the thick layer of fallen leaves on the ground, which then acted like quicksand, devouring the letter.
The letter swiftly traveled beneath the layer of leaves, crossing the hundred-mile-wide locust forest in the time it took for two incense sticks to burn.
On the other side, Er Han, getting beaten in the snow, was suddenly hurled to the edge of the locust forest, creating a huge pit with a ten-yard radius all around where he landed, clutching his stomach and howling in pain.
Suddenly, a letter flew out from the locust forest, landing on him.
Er Han was stunned, stopped howling, checked the letter, and immediately bounced up from the pit like a carp.
"Grandpa, stop hitting me, my brother sent a letter."
The village chief, with his body full of muscles, his Qi-Blood so intense it transformed into a fiery yang energy, melting any snowflake before it got within a hundred yards of him.
Seeing the village chief walking briskly over, Er Han couldn't help but shiver.
He probably would never reach a day in his life when he could surpass the village chief.
Yang had been conducting research here, with hundreds of people as references, and had already concluded that eating Jinlan Mushroom as staple food for a long time and practicing the Nourishing Body Fist Skill for longer periods, the invisible accumulation becomes terrifying. After commencing Body Refinement, like Dao Cultivators Entering Dao, the progression becomes astonishing.
Even though the village chief started Body Refining later in life, he was the longest living in the village, having eaten Jinlan Mushrooms all his life, drawing power from the Jade Tomb for free charge, nourishing his body his entire life.
The fearsome accumulation resulting from a lifetime of hardship, trapped here all his life, was now, with a suitable Dharma Method for Body Refinement, and as his aging Qi-Blood slowly rejuvenated, beginning to manifest in astonishing ways.
Any so-called Body Refinement genius wouldn't even count as a younger sibling, at best, a son-level.
At first, Er Han was advancing fastest, but now, the village chief's advancement was the most outrageous, with only Yang, practicing Demon Transformation Body Refining, and the robust Er Han able to challenge the chief.
The elderly and frail villagers who had experienced the most hardship and had lived here the longest accumulated the most dreadful hidden accumulation.
Having suffered, having experienced challenges, knowing all too well the humiliation of dying without self-defense, and not knowing in whose hands they died.
Not a lazy person was in the village now, unprecedentedly united, no one shirked the tasks assigned by the village chief.
Because the lazy ones were long dead.
Receiving the letter, the village chief didn't continue sparring with Er Han, he moved one foot and his figure broke through the air, wrapped in a sonic boom, vanishing from the spot.
Er Han picked up the walking stick from the ground, blankly staring at the already vanished village chief, feeling somewhat desperate, he could see that the village chief had shown mercy during the beating, even more so than last time...
"Grandpa, you left your cane behind..."
It's been so long, without knowing Yu Ziqing's situation outside, finally getting news, the village chief didn't even bother maintaining his usual persona.
Returning to the village, the letter was opened together with Yang.
Once seeing the uniquely styled handwriting, Yang immediately nodded.
"Indeed, it's Ziqing's handwriting."
Continuing to read the contents.
"Village Chief, Yang, long time no see.
How have the both of you been, and how is the village?
I'm doing well outside, the cultivation progress is going smoothly, and I haven't been injured.
Things are going relatively well too, I've made contact with people from Dali, and so far it's going smoothly. Plus, Dali seems ready to contribute, so it might not be long before everything's done.
Do you two need anything from the village? When I finish up here, I can bring it back, or I can have someone send it back.
Do you have enough to eat? If not, I can send some more, better safe than sorry.
Oh, this time I'm having a Posthouse Official deliver the letter. If you have a reply, you can directly hand it to him, I've already paid for the delivery.
By the way, I have some questions I'd like to ask Yang.
The first thing is, I have a friend from the Shadow Department, who used the Blood Escape Technique and now lacks an arm, and he's quite poor, unable to afford Discontinuation Pills or similar medication. Is there any cheaper method for recovery?
The second thing is, I'd like to inquire about some methods and traits concerning Possession..."