Douluo: Law of Heaven and Earth

Chapter 973 Lu Qibin's Past - Extra Chapter 34: Beginning to Think

"Am I going to stay in this village forever?"

After returning from the village chief's place once again, Li Zhao lay on his own bed, his heart filled with unease.

She wanted to leave the village.

However, if they go to a nearby town, they will have to give up a large portion of the money they have accumulated and start all over again.

It wasn't that she regretted the money, but rather that as an ordinary person, how was she supposed to find a place to stay in the town?

Even if she can find what the Soul Masters need through her interactions with them, Soul Masters are always warlike. What if they impulsively attack her?
In this cruel world—

To earn enough money to free myself from anxiety, I must possess power! At the very least, I must ensure that those with power are completely devoted to me!

But how difficult it is to do that!
Which Soul Master would be willing to have patience with ordinary people?
It's said that if a Soul Master accidentally kills someone in the city, as long as they pay some money, the people from the Martial Soul Branch Hall and the City Lord's Mansion mostly prefer to resolve the matter by minimizing the damage and making it disappear altogether...
"Forget it, I won't think about it too much. Apart from seeing a few Soul Masters confront each other when I was a child, I haven't had any contact with Soul Masters since. Thinking about it too much is useless. I should think of a way to persuade the old village chief." Li Zhao sighed, jumped out of bed, and prepared to grab a bite to eat.

But as soon as she opened the door, she saw Edward standing there and was so startled that she took a step back.

Once she saw who it was, she said irritably, "Hey, Uncle, when did you become a pervert? Although we're not related by blood, I have no interest in you in that way."

Edward was about to speak when Li Zhao cut him off, yelling, "What are you thinking? I've been supporting you for the past ten years, and that's already exhausting enough. You want me to support you for the rest of your life? Dream on! On the contrary, you're old enough to find someone to marry!"

Immediately, Li Zhao became suspicious and said warily, "Although you are an elder, I will not agree to sell me for a large dowry."

If that were the case, Li Zhao decided to gather the gold soul coins under his bed that very night, then run away from Rotten Axe Village and head to other villages—

Thinking about it carefully, there's no need to get hung up on the village chief of Lanke Village; the village chiefs of other villages might be more open-minded.

"How could that be? I'm your uncle! How could I do something so heinous?"

Edward spoke with certainty, then coughed twice and began to explain his purpose: "I was frightened when I was young and developed a chronic illness. I may not live for more than a few years. After much thought, I decided to take you to a place while I am still able to move around, a place that might change your fate."

"If you quit drinking, you might live for decades longer."

Li Zhao believed this explanation. Ever since his parents disappeared, Uncle Edward would go to the nearby town to buy alcohol whenever he had money.

It's no wonder that someone who drinks heavily for years would have health problems.

but.

That night, Li Zhao still quietly left Lanke Village with Edward and headed towards a nearby mountain peak.

Under the brilliant starry sky, Li Zhao arrived at two grave mounds. There were no tombstones, but she seemed to realize that these were the graves of two people.

"Is this my father's and mother's grave?"

Li Zhao's eyes trembled slightly as he looked up. A full moon hung in the night sky—it happened to be a full moon today.

While there is no Mid-Autumn Festival in the Douluo Continent, the full moon is indeed associated with feelings of homesickness and family reunion in folk culture.

Li Zhao never imagined that their reunion would take this form!
And does this kind of thing always have to happen at night?

“Yes, your parents are buried here. By the way, wait here for a moment, I'll be right back.” Then, Edward made an excuse and disappeared into the woods. “Wait.”

Li Zhao wanted to catch up and get to the bottom of it, but Edward was much faster than her. Helpless, she could only return to her parents' graves and fall into deep thought.

Reunited with his parents who had passed away ten years ago, Li Zhao was not happy. He was even wondering why Uncle Edward would choose to call him here in the dead of night.

Could it be that the parents left them other assets that they couldn't let others discover?
Even his uncle had to avoid suspicion.
Thinking of this, Li Zhao lay down on the ground and carefully observed. He found that the soil at the junction of the two mounds was harder, as if it had not been tended to for many years, so he began to dig.

A short while later, an iron box was revealed.

Li Zhao quickly sped up his work, dug it out, opened it, and revealed a notebook.

Upon closer inspection, I discovered it described the extraordinary life of an ordinary person: from knowing nothing, to secretly learning to read, to understanding the earth's movement, and then, dying for it…
"What the hell?"

Unlike ordinary books, the language in this book is too straightforward. Even though books nowadays seem to be trending towards being more accessible, the content described in this book is just like the everyday conversations of ordinary people, with all sorts of vulgar words and rural slang used to describe it.

It was difficult for it to catch the eye of scholars and literati.

but--

For a literate commoner like him, it was as if he were listening to another commoner recount his life story.

Extremely friendly!

Why did my parents leave me this book?

Li Zhao began to think...

···
As Zhou Qing listened to the story, he asked, "Who buried Huo Xing's account between those two graves?"

"This relates to why I ended up in the mountains near Lanke Village at that time."

It turns out that after Huo Xing was discovered and executed by the Xingguan Sect, his books had already been printed and hidden away in advance.

The Star Crown Sect's leadership believed there might be information about the Star Meditation Method, and they searched extensively for it for ten years without interruption.

Lu Qibin received the news and went to the vicinity of Lankecun.

As for why Huo Xing hid it between the two mounds, perhaps before his arrest, he learned that Li Yang was ultimately captured near Lankecun Village. So, he searched the area, found the perfect spot for stargazing, and discovered the two mounds there. He then conceived the idea of ​​hiding a document between the mounds...

···
“Soul Masters and nobles will not read this book, they will not even bother to glance at it, but commoners may be of great interest to it.”

Li Zhao could sense that commoners revered Soul Masters and feared nobles, but they distrusted them. Therefore, all commoners, whether poor or rich, were filled with unease, just like her!

Whether it's the village chief of Lanke Village, other villagers, or people from other villages or even towns, as long as they are commoners, they all worry that their wealth and lives will be taken away by Soul Masters or nobles.

But life goes on.

To alleviate their anxiety, what do ordinary people need when they cannot obtain power?

Distract yourself!
(End of this chapter)