A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality (Chapter 1-Chapter 200)

Upon hearing the possibility that his son could receive a monthly allowance and even become as successful as his Third Uncle, Han Li’s father finally decided to give his approval.

After getting the approval from Han Li’s father, Third Uncle felt elated. Leaving behind two silver coins, he said that he would return in a month to escort Han Li to the testing area. During this period of time, Han Li’s father had to ensure that Han Li was clothed and well fed to improve his constitution so that it would be easier for him to pass the test. After giving these instructions, Third Uncle bid farewell to Han Li and his father, patted Han Li on his head and left for the city.

While Han Li didn’t fully comprehend his Third Uncle’s words, he could understand that he would be able to earn money in the big city. It seemed that his dream from before was finally going to come true, making him so excited that he could not sleep for the first few nights.

After one month had passed, Third Uncle returned to the village, wanting to escort Han Li to the testing site. Before he left, Han Li’s father repeatedly instructed Han Li on the ways of proper behavior.

One must be honest, have the capacity to endure, and avoid unnecessary conflicts with others. Meanwhile, Han Li’s mother urged him to take care of his health and to eat and sleep well.

On the carriage, Han Li had to bite down on his lips to prevent himself from crying, as he watched his parents gradually disappear from sight.

Although he had always been more mature than other children of the same age, he was still just a ten year-old child. This was the first time he had left home, so he naturally felt depressed. A homesickness developed in his heart, and he was determined to rush home after he struck rich, never to be separated from his parents again.

Han Li would never have thought that from this moment on, money would lose any meaning to him. He was unexpectedly going to walk a path different from ordinary mortals. Instead, he was going to walk down his own path towards immortality!

1. (TL: “Second Fool” [er leng zi ] in Mandarin has a pleasing sound despite its meaning)



2. (TL: “Father Han” is the title of Han Li’s father)





Chapter 2: Green Ox Village


Green Ox City was said to be a small city, but it was actually just a large village called Green Ox Village. Only those who lived in the mountainous region and the natives with no knowledge of the outside world called the village Green Ox City. The only reason Han Li knew about this was because he had been informed by his Uncle Zhang, who had been working as a gatekeeper for more than ten years.

Green Ox Village wasn’t very large. It only had one main road, known as Green Ox Street, which spanned from the eastern to the western borders of the village. There was also only one tavern in village, located on its western border. For any traveling merchant that didn’t want to sleep outdoors, this tavern was the only option.

There was only one road for carriages in the western part of Green Ox Village. It ran from the gates of the village and the Green Ox Tavern all the way to the Spring Fragrance Restaurant, the only other place anyone would visit besides the tavern.

Spring Fragrance Restaurant wasn’t big by any means and was actually quite old-fashioned. However, this establishment had a certain charm that was appealing to many travelers. Every day at noon, there would always be a crowd of people, making the place constantly swamped.

A bearded man with a round face emerged from a carriage along with a dark skinned, rotund little boy who looked to be around ten years old, and they both walked into the restaurant with a swagger. All of the regular customers knew who this man was. He was the manager of this restaurant, “Fatty Han.” The boy, however, was not someone they were familiar with.

“Elder Han, this tanned little boy resembles you a lot. Could it be a child from a prostitute you spent the night with?” someone joked.

The moment the joke was uttered, the entire restaurant roared with laughter.

“Peh! This is the son of my blood brother, my own nephew! Of course he’ll look like me,” Fatty Han said proudly instead of being angered.

This duo had traveled for three whole days without rest before arriving at the village. They were Han Li and his Third Uncle, who was known as “Fatty Han” by the village people.

Fatty Han greeted a few regulars before bringing Han Li to the back of the restaurant, and entered a remote courtyard.

“Xiao Li, you should rest here for a while. When the time comes for the Inner Disciple Examinations, I’ll call you. For now, I must leave in order to attend to a few regulars.” Fatty Han pointed at a side room in the courtyard and kindly motioned for Han Li to enter it. [1]

After saying that, Han Li’s Third Uncle turned around and hurried back inside the restaurant to tend to his customers.

As he reached the door, he felt a sudden unease in his heart and reminded Han Li, “Don’t run about. You might get lost in the village if you wander around. So it’s best if you don’t leave this courtyard.”

“En!”

Hearing Han Li’s honest response, he nodded in relief and walked out the door.

After his Third Uncle left the courtyard, Han Li suddenly felt exhausted. The moment his head landed on his pillow, he fell into a deep sleep and began snoring, surprisingly without the fear of a normal kid staying alone in unfamiliar surroundings.

When the night came, a servant came by with some food. Although it wasn’t a lavish meal, it was still delicious. After Han Li ate the food, the servant was clearing away the remaining dishes when his Third Uncle leisurely walked in.

“How was it? Was the meal suitable to your taste? Do you miss your home?”

“Yes, I miss home…” Han Li replied in his childish voice.

Third Uncle seemed satisfied with Han Li’s response. He began to talk to him about his daily life and bragged about many of his experiences. Gradually, Han Li became less shy and started to laugh and talk with his Third Uncle.

In this manner, two days passed by quickly.

On the third day, after Han Li finished his dinner, he was waiting for his uncle’s stories of Jiang Hu when a carriage stopped in front of the restaurant door. [2]

This carriage was painted a shiny black color and even the horse was a rarely seen golden steed. But what attracted the most attention was that on the frame of the carriage was the word “Mystery” written in silver characters in the middle of a red triangle emblazing a black banner. The image on the banner also emitted an unfathomable air.

Seeing this banner, every martial arts expert in the area knew that this carriage belonged to one of the two local overlords in the area, the Seven Mysteries Sect. It seemed that an esteemed guest had arrived in Green Ox Village.

The Seven Mysteries Sect was previously known as the Seven Supreme Sect, and the sect was established two hundred years ago by an extremely famous martial master named “Sovereign Seven Supreme”. Having once swept across and dominated the Jing Province and the nearby Shu Province for a few decades, the Sovereign Seven Supreme was resoundingly famous. But after he was afflicted with illness, the power of the Seven Mysteries Sect took a devastating hit and its influence dropped drastically. In the end, the Seven Mysteries Sect was forced out of the main city of the Jing Province by the combined efforts of its rival sects. Thus, a hundred years ago, the sect was forced to relocate to an extremely remote area called the Celestial Rainbow Mountain. From then on, they rebuilt their roots in that third rate region and became a local powerhouse.

As the old saying goes: "a starved camel is still bigger than a horse". The Seven Mysteries Sect had once been a major sect, so it still possessed substantial potential. Once it arrived at Celestial Rainbow Mountain, it immediately gained control over around a dozen towns and villages, including Green Ox Village, and it had around 4,000 disciples, making it one of the two undisputed supreme powers in the area.