Patrol Captain

In the early morning, Qingshan County was shrouded in a light blue mist, and through the mist, the morning sun in the sky looked like dazzling spots of light.

Birds from Langdang Mountain emerge from the forest in search of food, descending in flocks and soaring over Qingshan County. The county town is still bathed in a cool breeze, the bluestone pavement is damp, and the white steam rising from the breakfast stalls of early morning vendors mixes with the morning mist, while the cries of vendors along the street rise and fall.

A sparrow, drawn by the fragrance from the foot of the mountain, fell behind its flock and circled into a narrow alley, chirping away. As it flew, it suddenly crashed into something above a courtyard, making it dizzy and causing it to fall a few feet. It quickly flapped its wings a few times, only to be hit by thin air again.

After chirping rapidly for a few moments, the bird quickly began to flutter about as if it were drunk, struggling for a few seconds before finally falling into the yard next door.

In the neighboring yard, a young boy was practicing boxing and stance training, his movements powerful and impressive.

“jiji”

Tiger Cub saw a bird fall to his side and struggle to fly a few times but couldn't take off. Feeling sorry for it, he quickly withdrew his fist, took small steps forward, squatted down, picked up the bird from the ground, and held it in his arms.

"Little sparrow, what's wrong?" He innocently thought the little bird was injured, so he ran his hands through its feathers to check its injuries.

However, his fiddling startled the frightened bird, causing it to break free from his hand, flap its wings, fly briefly, fall to the ground, fly up again, fall again, and then stagger out of the yard.

Tiger Cub saw this and quickly followed after her. Zhi Ya opened the gate to the courtyard and ran out of the yard.

After leaving the yard, they discovered a person standing in the mist in front of Uncle Chen's house next door.

She was dressed in red, tall and slender, with her hair tied in a high ponytail, and carrying a sword on her back. The little sparrow was in her hand.

"Captain Sister".

Tiger Cub was a little stunned when he saw the visitor, but then he quickly became obedient and performed the junior's greeting in his childish manner.

He remembered Lian Ni Chang, who had visited their home, so they weren't strangers. His mother said that the Captain Sister was succeeding Uncle Chen, and that was his understanding.

Lian Ni Chang was not surprised to see Hu Wa. The frightened little sparrow was now quiet and obedient in her palm.

With her other hand, she stroked the little bird's feathers, then shook it upwards, and with a flutter, the bird's wings took flight, soaring into the sky.

After doing all this, Lian Ni Chang lowered her head, smiled faintly, and said softly to Hu Wa, "I heard you went into the mountains to learn some skills, and you've certainly made something of yourself."

Thinking back, I almost became this little guy's teacher. My older brother originally wanted me to teach him, and although it didn't happen in the end, it would naturally be different from before.

Tiger Cub, upon hearing the praise, didn't know how to respond. He could only chuckle sheepishly and scratch his head. Then, thinking that it would be impolite not to answer his elder, he looked towards Uncle Chen's yard next door.

"Is Captain Sister waiting for Uncle Chen?"

"Uncle Chen isn't home?"

Ever since Chen Yuan told Huwa to call him "uncle," after a while, Huwa got the hang of it more and more.

Lian Ni Chang nodded with a smile, not putting on airs with a little kid.

Seeing this, Huwa, acting like a little adult, invited Lian Nishang to his home.

"Sister Captain, why don't you come to my house to wait? My mother said before that she would definitely invite you to stay as a guest when she sees you."

As he spoke, the boy turned and shouted inside.

"mother!"

"mother"

Soon, Sister Hua responded from the courtyard, rubbing her apron as she came out to see what was going on. Upon seeing Lian Ni Chang, her expression immediately brightened, feeling a surge of warmth and welcoming her enthusiastically, her face beaming with joy.

"It's Lord Lian!"

"Hurry, hurry, come in."

"When I returned, I saw you, sir, but I didn't see you. I was quite surprised."

"You've come here today?"

"Wait for my brother, he's not home," Lian Ni Chang said.

"The master isn't here?" Sister Hua's voice lowered slightly upon hearing this, but she quickly cheered up. "Perfect! Come to my house and wait. You'll know when the master returns."

Seeing the warmth of the mother and son, and knowing that her brother had often visited the old house when he was not in Qingshan County, Lian Ni Chang had thus had quite a few interactions with the mother and son next door and had a good impression of them, so she did not refuse them.

"That's annoying."

"Not at all, I'm overjoyed."

Hua Jie and her son happily welcomed Lian Ni Chang into their home, preparing tea and snacks. Lian Ni Chang sat down at the stone table under the banyan tree in the courtyard.

Under the warm greeting of the mother and son, Lian Nishang inquired about their recent situation.

Not long after, the gate to Sister Hua's courtyard was suddenly opened.

A figure strode in from outside, accompanied by a slightly excited voice.

"Sister Cai, Junior Brother, I bought a courtyard house in the next alley and am moving in today. Can you help me?"

As they spoke, the person lowered their voice and then stopped.

Then, Huwa's third senior brother, Chu Yu, strode into the courtyard from outside, his face beaming. But when he saw that there were other people in the courtyard, his voice involuntarily stopped.

His gaze fell upon Lian Ni Chang, who sat gracefully under the banyan tree, dressed in red and carrying a sword, exuding a heroic air. His eyes couldn't help but light up, but he subconsciously looked away, slowing his pace and unconsciously smoothing out the wrinkles left by his quick steps.

"So there were other guests!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Chu Yu smiled apologetically, clasped her hands in a fist salute, and spoke in a clearer tone than before, seemingly deliberately slowing her pace. She then looked at Cai Hua, her gaze shifting...
"Sister Cai, who is this young lady?"

Sister Hua was surprised by her son's senior brother's sudden visit. Looking back, she saw that Tiger Cub's fifth senior sister had also come along.

Hearing Chu Yu's question, and fearing that Captain Lian might be being presumptuous, Sister Hua hesitated and looked at Lian Ni Chang.
"Master Lian, I'm sorry, these are my son's senior brothers and sisters."

"Thank you for escorting them back this time."

When Chu Yu heard Sister Cai address the woman in red as "Sir," she felt a strange unease. She stepped forward confidently and clasped her hands in a fist salute to Lian Ni Chang.
"I, Chu, come from Dongxuan Mountain."

"This is my junior sister, Qiong Le," he said, introducing his fifth junior sister who had followed behind him.

Following behind, Qiong Le, dressed in a blue silk dress, saw Lian Ni Chang sitting there in a red dress, and a look of amazement rose in her eyes.

The woman's appearance was secondary; it was her aura that was truly outstanding. Just like her red dress, it was passionate and unconventional, like a sword yet to be drawn!

Even as a woman, she had to admit that she was a little envious.

She held a sword in her hand and then clasped her hands in a fist salute.

Lian Ni Chang glanced over them. She knew these two people. As a local patrol captain, how could she not know that two experts from the Heavenly Gate had appeared in the county?

I also know the relationship between them.

She stood up and returned the greeting, saying, "You two are too polite."

"You two have been in Qingshan County for many days. I imagine you're not comfortable staying at the inn. Buying a courtyard house would be more convenient. It seems you plan to stay here for a while."

She raised an eyebrow slightly, said these words, and then turned her gaze to Sister Hua and her son.
"If you have things to do, go ahead and do them. I won't get involved."

After saying that, he nodded to Chu Yu and Qiong Le, the two senior and junior siblings, and then his figure transformed into a red streak, soaring high and high, leaving the courtyard.

"Brother!"

"They've all left!" A voice tinged with inexplicable sourness rang out.

Qiong Le noticed that her senior brother was still looking up at the sky, and said something strangely with his arms crossed.

Chu Le lowered her head, then turned to look at Sister Hua, somewhat puzzled.
"Sister Cai, this young lady seems to know where we come from, and she also knows that we stayed at the inn for a while. Who is this young lady?"

He realized what was happening and was somewhat surprised.

Sister Hua felt it was a pity, as it was rare for Captain Lian to come all this way, but she couldn't blame Chu Yu and the others. She said with a serious expression.

"This is our local patrol captain, Lord Lian."

"They addressed each other as brother and sister to Lord Chen."

"He has helped Qingshan County a lot; he is a good person."

Upon hearing this, Chu Yu and Qiong Le were startled. No wonder this woman had such an extraordinary air about her; the local patrol captain was able to address the martial arts master and his sister next door.

Just by listening to him, you can tell he's no ordinary person!

Chu Yu's eyes dimmed slightly, almost imperceptibly, but quickly returned to normal. What was she thinking? She changed the subject and started talking about the purpose of her visit that day.

I asked a local real estate agent to inquire about housing these past few days, and yesterday I bought a one-courtyard house in the next alley.

Staying in a guesthouse isn't ideal, so it's better to just buy a courtyard house for convenience.

Just as Lian Ni Chang said, he planned to stay here for a while.

There's no other reason than that Qingshan County is a place of beautiful mountains and clear waters, and a land of outstanding people. Here, there is my junior brother and his uncle. He can make progress here. Wherever you cultivate, it doesn't matter, right?
So I came early in the morning, intending to ask my junior brother's mother to help me buy some things.

Hua Jie naturally wouldn't refuse, because that way her son wouldn't have to rush back to the mountain. So after a brief discussion, she took her people and went out.

About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, after the group left.

In the neighboring bamboo courtyard, a gentle breeze rustled through the bamboo grove, and the lotus leaves in the pond swayed lightly. The next second, Chen Yuan's figure appeared under the pavilion.

He had just returned from outside the mountains, but his expression was not as good as it had been in the cave.

His cultivation progress slightly increased after the seal of that finger bone relic was broken, which made him think that he could use this Buddhist sacred object to continuously improve his progress.

Later, when I tried it again, I realized that I had taken it too lightly.

When he tried again, he found that he could no longer replicate the previous spiritual impact, and the Buddha relic remained unmoved.

I can't get it moving on my own.

Therefore, this reversal of the two extremes is truly disappointing, and it's no wonder that Naga Yaksha said that it was useless for him to have this thing.

However, Chen Yuan would not give up so easily.

Trying a few more times won't hurt you.

The visit, which had been planned to be cancelled, was put back on the agenda, and Chen Yuan decided to take a trip to the south.

By the way, why hasn't Lao Dong's wine been delivered yet?
Chen Yuan was thinking to himself, then his eyebrows twitched as he looked towards the courtyard gate, flicked his wrist, and spoke at the same time.
"come in!"

The gate to the courtyard opened with a click, revealing an empty space outside.

But soon, a figure in red seemed to appear out of thin air and stepped into the courtyard.

After taking the next step, the void around him blurred, and in the blink of an eye, he appeared under the pavilion.

The entire courtyard has been renovated, and Chen Yuan now has complete control over every inch of it.

"Brother!" Lian Ni Chang bowed.

Chen Yuan's expression returned to normal, and he looked at Lian Ni Chang with a smile, saying kindly, "What brings you here today, you busy person?"

Lian Ni Chang stopped what she was doing; her usually aloof and unstern expression now seemed much more lively.

"Brother, please stop teasing me. Ni Chang is focused on cultivation right now, so as not to fall too far behind you."

"I came to see my brother today because the Dragon Maiden who was staying at my place suddenly bestowed some treasures upon me."

As she spoke, Lian Ni Chang flipped her hand, and three precious lights appeared.

A jade bottle about a foot in size;
A shimmering silver scale;

A small box made of silver metal, about the size of a palm;

Chen Yuan gave an "oh," his golden eyes flashing as they focused on the three items.

Inside the first jade bottle, there was a wisp of silver dragon energy. Sometimes the energy condensed into a small dragon, and sometimes it dissipated.

The second scale is a dragon scale, and it has the aura of the North Sea Dragon Maiden, so it should be from the Dragon Maiden's body.

Inside the third box, Chen Yuan sensed a sword intent.
With just a glance, Chen Yuan understood.

"You have now reached the Dao Soldier Realm, and the next step is the Heavenly Gate Dao Fruit. The three treasures that the Dragon Girl gave you are exactly what you need now."

"This bottle contains a breath of dragon energy that can help you open your divine apertures."

"These dragon scales are meant to be forged into your Dao weapon, so that they can help you overcome the three obstacles."

"And this box contains a Dragon-Tiger Sword Intent. You can use it to comprehend and hone your own sword intent in ordinary times. In critical moments, when you encounter a deadly threat, you can open this box and release the sword intent within to help you kill your enemy. Don't worry about the latter one. With me here, just refine it directly."

Chen Yuan said casually.

"However, these treasures were made with care, so you should thank this person properly."

Lian Ni Chang listened to Chen Yuan's description, but her expression remained serious instead of being moved.

"That's why Ni Chang felt this treasure was too precious to accept without merit, and she had politely declined. But this senior dragon maiden gave it to her directly, so she came here to ask her brother for advice!"

Chen Yuan laughed heartily.
"Just keep it without any worries."

"I will make up for what the Dragon Girl has done in the future."

He wanted to say that he might have just sent a great demon to be dealt with by the other party, and the North Sea Dragon Girl loved him because of him?
He discovered that this dragon girl was a remarkable person; although she rarely spoke, she was very tactful in her dealings with others.

She had helped him many times along the way, but never asked for credit. On the day his daughter was born, she even gave him a dragon scale to keep safe and sound. The same was true for the True Dragon Armor.

He didn't compete or fight for anything, but Chen Yuan always remembered the other person's kindness.

There is wisdom in this that is unrelated to cultivation level.

Chen Yuan smiled knowingly. Lian Ni Chang didn't say anything more after hearing this, and put away the three treasures.

Around that time, a howling voice came from outside.

"You brat Chen, you've tricked this old man."

"Your wine jug can't even hold a drop; I've almost lost all my possessions."

Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow and smiled. Well, his wine had arrived.

Looking towards the main gate, Old Man Dong stormed in, fuming. (End of Chapter)