Immortality: Starting with a grave, I'm invincible when burying corpses.

On his way back to the porridge distribution point, Zhuang Sheng encountered many people holding bowls.

Holding their bowls, their eyes shone as if they regarded Zhuangzi as a great philanthropist, a hero, and the future.

Every now and then, he would hear a sentence.

"Lord Zhuang is such a good person! The new law is great! We all support Lord Zhuang!"

There were also groups of two or three people who had some education walking along the road, discussing how good the new law was.

One of the most excited was a down-on-his-luck scholar who had failed the imperial examinations for many years. He danced with joy, knelt down on the spot, and said that he wanted to become a disciple of Zhuangzi and contribute to the implementation of the new laws.

Zhuangzi did not grant the scholar's request; the scholar was not someone he could rely on.

Although he was filled with resentment, he still greeted everyone who greeted him with a smile. When people asked him about the new law, he was not impatient at all and explained everything carefully.

He spoke at length to the scholar, answering a series of his questions.

Zhuang Sheng walked and laughed all the way until he returned to the greenhouse and saw the young people with bitter faces.

Most of these people came from humble backgrounds, with a very few from families of high-ranking officials, but most were servants at their beck and call.

"Thank you for your hard work. We'll continue tomorrow. Was anyone thinking of giving up today?"

The group exchanged glances, and after a short while, four young men and women stepped out of the group. They stopped and bowed to Zhuang Sheng.

"Lord Zhuang, I'm so sorry, we can't hold on any longer."

Zhuang Sheng nodded to them, neither stopping them nor saying any high-sounding words, and simply let them leave.

As he walked out of the tent, a young nobleman who had been preaching the new law for two hours that day suddenly turned around, looked at Zhuang Sheng, clenched his fist, and finally blurted out a sentence filled with righteous indignation.

"Lord Zhuang, everyone is just after the free porridge. Nobody cares about what you want to do. Nobody really cares about you. It's not worth it for you to risk your life for them like this."

"Thank you, Mr. Han. You must be tired. Go back and get some rest tonight, and don't let this cause you any health problems."

The young man, Zhuang Sheng, blushed with excitement, nodded and then offered a few words of concern.

The young man opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, the words of advice from his elders flashed through his mind.

After hesitating for a long time, Han Sheng could only sigh deeply, bow to Zhuang Sheng again, and turn to get into the carriage not far away.

After the carriage had gone far away, Zhuang Sheng looked at the group of people whose faces were somewhat unpleasant and gave them a sincere smile.

"Everyone must be tired after a long day. I'd like to treat you all to dinner at Qingyue Restaurant. Please don't be shy, just tell me what you'd like."

……

As night deepened, Zhuang Sheng led a group of nominal students out of the Qingyue Restaurant located in the Fifth Ring Road.

On the official road of the Seventh Ring Road, two groups of martial arts practitioners simultaneously stepped onto the street.

As luck would have it, the caravan that was preparing to leave the city was blocked in the middle of the official road.

The caravan suddenly stopped, and He Qingmu poked half his head out from inside the carriage. "What's going on? Have we run into some trouble?"

The head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) Chen Guang rode his horse in front of him, his tall back blocking He Qingmu's view.

"Don't be afraid, Brother He. It's just a conflict between two groups of martial arts practitioners. It's nothing serious. Stay in the carriage and I'll be right back."

Perhaps it was because Chen Guang was too tall, or perhaps it was because Chen Guang's tone was full of confidence, He Qingmu did not think much of it and just assumed that it was a sudden little accident.

He retreated into the carriage and continued to peruse the books Zhuang Sheng had chosen for him by candlelight.

Contrary to his confident words, Chen Guang's expression outside the carriage was not good.

He made a gesture, and the entire caravan began to move closer to the center.

He squinted at the two teams blocking both sides of the road.

One is the Cangshan Sword Sect, and the other is the Kuanglan Blade Sect. Both are renowned sects in the martial arts world, and they are even the dominant forces in Cangzhou.

More importantly, everyone in the martial arts world knows that these two sects are sworn enemies, and their disciples are hot-tempered and prone to violence in the streets, showing no regard for ordinary people when they fight.

Suppressing his panic, Chen Guang rode forward and cupped his hands in greeting to the Cangshan Sword Sect disciples blocking their way.

"Heroes, we are a caravan from the Four Seas Merchant Guild. We have no intention of getting involved in the conflict between your sect and the Raging Waves Blade Sect. Would you be so kind as to make way for us to leave first?"

As Chen Guang spoke, he pulled out a silver note from his pocket, his face full of sincerity.

The leader of the Cangshan Sword Sect was a woman. After thinking it over, she decided to agree for the sake of the silver notes.

With her usual confidence in her own strength, the senior sister leading the Cangshan Sword Sect stepped forward, intending to put the silver notes into her pocket.

She had already decided that the other junior brothers and sisters would take 70% of the silver notes, while she would take 30% herself, aiming for everyone to get a share.

Ten meters, five meters, three meters...

"Buzz—"

The sound of arrows piercing the air shattered the tranquility of the night, and gushing blood stained Chen Guang's astonished face.

"A hidden weapon! Those beasts from the Canglan Blade Sect hid in the caravan and used a hidden weapon to murder Second Senior Sister!"

"Disciples of the Cangshan Sword Sect, heed my command! Draw your swords! Avenge our Second Senior Sister!"

The sound also rang out from the other side of the street.

"Third Senior Brother! What's wrong with you?!"

"Those vile people from the Cangshan Sword Sect are so vicious! They used a merchant caravan as a cover to murder our third senior brother!"

"Disciples of the Blade Sect! Charge! Avenge our Third Senior Brother! Kill these bastards!"

……

At midnight, at the Hanlin Academy.

Exhausted from a long day, Zhuang Sheng slumped over his desk, rubbed his temples, and habitually picked up a teacup to drink.

I held my hand up for a long time, but no familiar hot tea could soothe my throat.

He was momentarily dazed before suddenly realizing what was happening.

His students had already left the city, and once again he was left alone in the empty house.

Looking at the empty teacup, Zhuang Sheng smiled helplessly.

He stood up, pushed open the door, and gave a few instructions to the palace maids serving outside.

As he sat back down at the table, he looked at the familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar room and let out a sigh.

"At your age, why are you still relying on your students? You've been working for two days and two nights straight; you should take a break."

After making a remark, Zhuang Sheng yawned and began tidying up the papers on the table.

After tidying up briefly, Zhuang Sheng suddenly felt a bit irritable. It had been so long since he had tidied up his own things, and doing so was really quite a hassle.

He thought of his students and murmured to himself.

"Judging by the time, Aoki should be able to leave the territory of Kai'an City by the day after tomorrow at the latest. It's good that he's gone. This capital city is really not a good place. It's good that he can survive. It's good that the lineage hasn't been broken."