I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 1053 Another Thirty Years Have Passed By
The bond between them had already been severed the moment Jiang Nan rejected him and refused to marry him.

Why should Zhang Chen listen to the other party and show them any leniency when they look down on him?
Especially since the other party has already started a family and married, the last bit of their "close friendship" has long since vanished!

Jiang Nan's death did not stir up the slightest ripple in his heart; her death was like a speck of dust, insignificant compared to the vast world.

Time seemed to have calmed down. Apart from having people search for information about the spiritual world every day, Zhang Chen stayed in his backyard, refusing to see guests and focusing on nurturing Zhang Guan.

In the blink of an eye, ten years have passed. Zhang Guan, with an indisputable and absolute advantage, ascended to the position of King of the Han Dynasty, and a new chapter began in the North.

Zhang Chen's small courtyard
Zhang Chen sat in the courtyard, which was very quiet and secluded. There were no maids, only Zhang Chen and the King of Pingbian playing chess in the courtyard.

On this day, Zhang Xiang came to the courtyard and saw Zhang Chen and King Pingbian playing chess. He bowed respectfully to Zhang Chen and said, "Father, I have finished explaining to the family and everything is ready."

Upon hearing Zhang Xiang's words, Zhang Chen stopped playing chess, tilted his head, and glanced at Zhang Xiang: "Were those people behaving themselves?"

“With you here, who wouldn’t behave?” Zhang Xiang replied.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen nodded, and then a golden light flashed between his brows, and Zhang Xiang's figure disappeared from the spot.

When Zhang wanted to enter the inner world, an avatar of Zhang Chen naturally greeted him.

Since Zhang Xiang was sealed away, Zhang Chen has become even more reclusive, spending all his time in the courtyard and refusing to see any outside guests. All his food and daily necessities are delivered to the gate by palace maids and brought in by the Prince of Pingbian to serve Zhang Chen.

Apart from Zhang Guan occasionally visiting to ask for advice on governing the country, no one else could see Zhang Chen.

Under Zhang Guan's leadership, the northern region once again began reforms. Zhang Guan's reforms were very extensive, mainly targeting the continuous and drastic reduction of the privileges of the powerful and wealthy, and even abolishing all the vassal states within the state.

With Zhang Chen in charge, no one dared to voice any objections; even those who harbored discontent had to suppress it.

Time flies, and thirty years have passed in the blink of an eye. One day, Zhang Chen was taking a nap in the courtyard when he was awakened by birdsong: "What noisy birds."

Zhang Chen looked up and saw a pure white bird standing in the bushes, chirping loudly. The bird was no bigger than a fist, but its calls were very loud, even louder than cicadas, keeping Zhang Chen awake.

Upon hearing this, King Pingbian emerged from the shadows and cautiously approached the bird. In the next instant, he leaped up, using the elasticity of the bamboo to bounce, and with lightning speed, snatched the bird in his hand.

Seeing that the King of Pingbian was about to strangle the bird, Zhang Chen quickly shouted, "Spare its life! Find a cage to keep it in. It's too deserted here. A bird would liven things up."

Upon hearing this, the King of Pingbian nodded, then turned and walked out of the bamboo forest. A short while later, he returned with a cage, put the bird inside, and hung it under the eaves.
"Sir, your courtyard is rather deserted. Why not find some people to keep you company?"

Zhang Chen shook his head upon hearing this. The reason he hid in the backyard and endured this desolate life was simply to avoid showing his face in the outside world, so that when he actually left one day, those people would not be able to figure out the details of the Han Dynasty.

Zhang Chen picked up a handful of white rice and went to the birdcage. He scattered the rice into the cage, and the bird, unafraid, began to peck at it.

"It looks like a bird kept by a wealthy family," Zhang Chen remarked, noticing that the bird wasn't afraid of people.

However, Zhang Chen had no intention of returning it to the other party.

Outside Zhang Chen's residence, a boy and a girl, about five or six years old, looked at the courtyard surrounded by bamboo grove with wrinkled little faces.

"Brother, you've really messed up this time! Baiyu is the Empress Dowager's favorite bird. Not only did you accidentally release it, but you also let it fly into the forbidden area. If the Empress Dowager asks about it later, you'll be in big trouble." The little girl stared at the little boy with wide eyes.

Upon hearing the little girl's words, the little boy's face scrunched up even more: "How was I supposed to know that Bai Yu would fly away? Usually, when the Empress Dowager lets Bai Yu go, it flies back on its own. How come it flew away as soon as it got into our hands?"

"The Empress Dowager is usually very fierce towards Father. Now that we've lost her bird, Father will probably get a scolding." The little girl stared at the courtyard where Zhang Chen was.

"I'll go to the yard and bring Bai Yu back. You wait for me outside." The little boy looked at the yard, gritted his teeth, and said.

"Are you crazy? This is a forbidden area! I heard from the palace eunuchs and maids that a legendary monster is sealed in this courtyard, and it loves to eat human flesh and blood..." The little girl shuddered upon hearing this.

"Even if I'm eaten, I would never want to face the Empress Dowager's wrath." The little boy said to the girl, "Wait here for me for an hour. If I don't come out after an hour, go and report to Father King immediately."

The Empress Dowager was Zhang Xiang's empress. Zhang Yu had been deposed, and Zhang Guan had taken Zhang Yu's place. It was no wonder that she would treat Zhang Yu with a good attitude.

After the little boy finished speaking, he suppressed his fear and walked towards the gate. Just then, two burly men dressed in black with their faces covered jumped out of the bamboo forest in front of the gate. They had long black swords at their waists and blocked the little boy's way: "Third Prince, this is a forbidden area. No one is allowed to approach. Go play somewhere else."

The third prince, driven away by the guards, didn't argue. Instead, he glanced around, turned, and ran off, eventually arriving at a wall. After looking around, he began to dart his eyes. Zhang Chen's residence only had guards at the main gate; there were no guards at the walls. Anyone who tried to climb over the wall was doomed at Zhang Chen's hands. Zhang Chen was the number one martial arts master in the world; anyone who dared to trespass into his courtyard was practically courting death.

In the courtyard

Zhang Chen fed the birds, then returned to his recliner and slowly rocked back and forth. At that moment, the King of Pingbian brought in lunch: "It's time to eat."

Lunch was simple: a paste made by blending Ganoderma lucidum and ginseng, which looked like thin porridge. Its strange black color made it look rather unappetizing.

However, Zhang Chen discovered that only by eating a simple diet could he live longer. He had not yet found his spiritual world, and he could not die until his spiritual world collapsed!
He picked up the herbal paste and was about to put it in his mouth when he was startled by a sound of footsteps. He was a little surprised. This place was a forbidden area in the entire palace. Who would dare to come here to disturb him?
Just as Zhang Chen was feeling puzzled, he saw a sneaky little child peeking into the yard and calling softly, "Bai Yu! Bai Yu!"

Zhang Chen looked at the little child and saw that the child was only four or five years old. The child looked timid, but was still trying to be brave and calling out something in a low voice.

The little child darted furtively back and forth in the bamboo forest, glancing around every now and then, and repeatedly calling out in a low voice, "Bai Yu."

Upon hearing the other person's call, and then glancing at the snow-white birds in the cage under the eaves not far away, Zhang Chen's face showed a look of sudden realization: "What are you looking for?"

Zhang Chen's words traveled through the bamboo forest and reached the child's ears, startling him so much that he stumbled and fell to the ground, his mouth full of mud: "A ghost!"

The child scrambled to his feet and tried to run out of the bamboo forest, but was blocked by the King of Pingbian, who grabbed him by the collar.

"Don't eat me! Don't eat me!" The third prince was so frightened that tears streamed down his face. He kept crying and begging for mercy, keeping his eyes closed and not daring to open them.

“Who wants to eat you? I have no interest in eating human flesh.” Zhang Chen looked at the child that the King of Pingbian had thrown in front of him with annoyance and retorted irritably.

The third prince was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground. After hearing Zhang Chen's words, he realized something was wrong. He slowly opened his eyes, his vision blurred with tears, and looked at Zhang Chen: "Are you human?"

"If I'm not human, what am I?" Zhang Chen asked.

The child didn't answer Zhang Chen's question. Instead, he wiped his eyes, stood up tremblingly, and said, "As long as you're a person! You scared me to death! Did you see my Baiyu in the yard?"

Fearing that Zhang Chen might not know what a white feather was, the other party added, "It is a bird that is entirely white."

Zhang Chen nodded to the King of Pingbian, who then turned and went to the eaves to take down the birdcage: "Is this your bird?"

"White Feather~" Upon hearing this, the Third Prince was overjoyed and rushed over to hug the birdcage to his arms.

"This is a forbidden area of ​​the royal palace. No one is allowed to trespass. How did you get in? Aren't you afraid of being beheaded?" Zhang Chen asked.

The third prince, without even looking up, said, "There are many things in this world that are more terrifying than death."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen looked at the child with curiosity, wondering what the child had experienced at such a young age.

"Thank you for catching the bird for me. I will repay you properly." The young man thanked Zhang Chen, glanced at the herbal paste on Zhang Chen's table, and then hurriedly ran away into the distance.

Zhang Chen kept his eyes on the other person until they disappeared, a hint of curiosity in his eyes, but he didn't meddle in their business.

Information about Zhang Chen has gradually disappeared from historical records due to his deliberate efforts.

Zhang Chen never expected that the child would come again the next day, covered in dust and dirt, crawling through the wall, carrying a food box, and tiptoeing along the path.

"Why are you tiptoeing around like a thief?" Zhang Chen appeared behind the Third Prince and asked, startling the Third Prince so much that he almost dropped the food box in his hand. Fortunately, Zhang Chen was quick-witted and caught the food box in his hand.

"Keep your voice down, there are legendary man-eating monsters in here." The boy nervously made a 'shh' gesture to Zhang Chen.

"A man-eating monster?" Zhang Chen was taken aback upon hearing this.

"These are pastries I specially found for you as a way of thanking you." The third prince handed over the food box: "Your life has been too miserable. How can you drink wild vegetable porridge? I have some pastries in the palace, so I brought them to you. Please eat them."

The young man opened the box, and Zhang Chen looked at the exquisite pastries. Thinking back to yesterday when the young man left and saw the wild vegetable porridge in his bowl, he couldn't help but smile: "This young man isn't a bad person at heart. Even though he's afraid of the monsters here, he still came to deliver pastries. He's really kind-hearted!"

(End of this chapter)