A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

"Fu'er, is it really just you who came back alone?"

Chen Jinyao, sitting in the main seat, asked with a serious expression, but his voice sounded somewhat forlorn.

"Father, only your son is returning..."

Chen Dafu is still extremely obese. After several years of development, apart from his appearance no longer being as youthful, his entire body seems to have been enlarged, almost exactly the same as it was a few years ago.

Inside the Tongyuan Hall, after hearing his answer, the atmosphere fell silent again. Everyone's face was filled with deep sorrow, which made Chen Dafu feel uneasy.

Everyone here is a powerful figure in Chen's Trading Company, and they are all his uncles or grandfathers. Now that he is the only junior present, he feels a little awkward.

Chen Jinyao broke the somber atmosphere first. He gently raised his hand, gesturing for his son to sit in the last seat. His gaze swept over the faces of everyone in the hall, and he said helplessly,

"Everyone, it seems we really can't count on the Green Bamboo Sect. Let's all share our thoughts on how the Chen family should respond to the summit in half a month."

At this moment, an elderly man with white hair, sitting at the head of the left-hand seat, slammed his hand on the armrest of his chair and spoke angrily.

"My Chen family provides the Green Bamboo Sect with so many precious resources every year, including countless herbs alone. Yet, when it comes to this crucial moment, they can't even bear to send out a single close disciple. What an ingrate!"

This man was named Chen Hongyun, a great-uncle of Chen Dafu, and the most senior person present.

Now that he has spoken, everyone seems to be infected by his words and has begun to criticize the Green Bamboo Sect.

Although Chen Jinyao was equally dissatisfied with him, his son was still inside the gate, so he could only raise his hand to signal everyone to be quiet.

"Fifth Uncle, there's no point in saying all this now. Let's think about how to deal with it."

After hearing this, Chen Hongyun could only sigh deeply, turn to look at Chen Dafu, who was sitting upright at the very end, and asked, seemingly unwilling to give up,

"Little Fu, let me ask you, is the Green Bamboo Sect really in such a sorry state? Since you were able to come down the mountain, why didn't you send a disciple to accompany you?"

"Fifth Grandfather, the sect has indeed suffered a great change. Even the sect leader of the Green Bamboo Sect has disappeared. Furthermore, the Jin Clan, which is in actual power, seems to have been severely weakened and no longer cares about any trivial matters outside."

"My grandson was able to go down the mountain and return to his clan only because the other party remembered our past relationship. Given the current state of our sect, we would never dare to antagonize any other forces, let alone ask them to stand up for our Chen clan and fight for victory."

Chen Dafu stood up, bowed respectfully to Chen Hongyun, and said in a solemn tone.

"Alas... without the Green Bamboo Sect, there's only half a month left. Where can the Chen family go to seek help now?"

Chen Hongyun slapped his thigh with one hand and waved to Chen Dafu with the other, gesturing for him to sit down, his brows furrowed tightly.

At this moment, a thin man in the hall stood up. He was located on the left rear and looked relatively young. He was Chen Dafu's uncle, Chen Jinguang.

"Brother, Fifth Uncle, Jin Guang has an idea, but I'm not sure if I should say it?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Jinyao and Chen Hongyun immediately turned their attention to Chen Jinguang and said in unison,

"Speak quickly!"

Chen Jinguang raised his hand in a slight bow, glanced at his eldest brother in the center and the uncles and brothers seated on both sides of the hall, gritted his teeth, and said in a slightly trembling voice,

"May I, Chen, go to that place to pay a visit and see if I can get any help from them?"

"Which place? Specify!"

Chen Hongyun was an impatient man, and seeing Chen Jinguang's hesitant and ambiguous words, he immediately became anxious.

After hearing this, Chen Jinyao took a deep breath, exhaled heavily, and replied with a serious expression.

"Guiyuan Pavilion...?"

.........

When Zhou Ping woke up, he stretched and felt refreshed. His previous fatigue was gone, and he was full of energy again.

He got up and made himself some simple food in the lobby. After that, he went to the main street of Tianyan Town and wandered around aimlessly.

On the main street of Tianyan Town, one can see caravans of merchants coming and going everywhere, with an endless stream of people traveling from the south to the north.

The main street was paved with smooth bluestone slabs and was about eight or nine zhang wide. Zhou Ping roughly estimated that it could accommodate seven or eight carriages side by side without any problem, which greatly facilitated the traffic in the area.

This was the first time he had ever seen such wide streets. It seemed that Tianyan Town truly lived up to its reputation as the commercial center of Tianyan Prefecture.

Zhou Ping strolled leisurely to the entrance of a weapons shop, and curiously walked in, gazing at the dazzling array of weapons inside.

"Young hero, please come in. My shop has the most complete selection of weapons in the entire Tianyan Town. You'll definitely find your trip worthwhile!"

As soon as he arrived at the door, a shop manager came running over, bent down, and gestured for Zhou Ping to come inside.

Zhou Ping was taken aback by the other party's actions. He was dressed in tattered burlap clothes, and anyone with eyes could tell that he was a poor boy from the countryside who probably didn't have much purchasing power.

In other places, while he might not be turned away, he certainly wouldn't be this attentive. For someone dressed like him, snobs are everywhere.

Once inside, Zhou Ping found the place spacious and bright. Besides various gleaming weapons, there were also several guests dressed in different clothes, carefully selecting weapons.

Without exception, each person was accompanied by a shopkeeper dressed as a manager, who was smiling obsequiously as he introduced something.

"Those in charge, are you all this considerate to everyone?"

He turned to look at the shop manager and couldn't help but ask curiously.

The arms shop manager seemed to pause for a moment, then nodded with a look of realization, and said proudly,

"Is this your first time visiting Tianyan Town, young hero?"

Seeing Zhou Ping nod with a slight frown, he continued,

"Young hero, you may not know this, but Tianyan Town is the commercial hub of the entire Tianyan Prefecture. There are at least eight or nine hundred shops of all sizes, if not a thousand."

"With so many businesses gathered here, the competition is so fierce that outsiders can hardly imagine. In order to survive, all the shopkeepers have long since realized a great principle of doing business."

"That's right, sirs are our esteemed guests. Only by serving you all well can this business last."

"Even if you don't buy weapons from my shop today, if you find my service satisfactory, you'll definitely think of my shop when you need weapons in the future!"

Seeing that the man was speaking eloquently, Zhou Ping couldn't help but nod. The man's business insights were truly insightful and profound. Tianyan Town really lived up to its reputation as a gathering place for merchants.

"Isn't it a bit too unrealistic to treat our guests like gods? It's like burning incense and praying to Buddha."

After listening, Zhou Ping couldn't help but tease him.

"Young hero, be careful what you say! Such words are extremely disrespectful!"

Upon hearing this, the shop manager was startled and quickly raised his hand to stop him.

"Oh? This is my first time in your esteemed place. Is there anything I should be aware of? Please enlighten me, sir."

Seeing his nervous expression, Zhou Ping's heart stirred slightly, but on the surface he pretended to be humble and eager to learn, and sincerely asked for advice.