IDWBE -Chapter 523 When One Man Attains the Way

It was hard enough for Lin Yi to take a sip of porridge with so many people staring at him. Feeling extremely uncomfortable, he gulped it down in a few mouthfuls, slipped past the crowd, and went to the hollow behind the hill. While relieving himself, he watched the rosy glow of dawn slowly rising from the sea horizon.

Vulgar beyond belief.

Afterward, refreshed, he stood on the hillside and looked at the dense crowd gathered by the beach. Sighing, he said, “Aren’t they a bit too eager? It’s not even fully daylight yet.”

Luo Han laughed awkwardly. “Your Highness, there’s really nothing we can do. We can’t drive them away, and we certainly can’t beat or kill them. So we can only let them stand there and line up. Miss Du had no choice. She hurriedly ate a few flatbreads the villagers brought and started seeing patients.”

Squinting, Lin Yi noticed long queues in front of Song Cheng and Pan Duo as well. Feeling something was off, he frowned. “What are those two doing there? Don’t tell me they can treat illnesses too?”

Luo Han said, “Your Highness, they’re both ninth-rank martial artists who have traveled the martial world for years. Treating bruises and fractures is easy for them. And since they’re ninth rank, if someone’s bones are broken and nothing else works, they can channel true qi into the body—reducing swelling, relieving pain, improving circulation, setting bones, reconnecting tendons, loosening muscles and meridians. After that, the patient’s back stops aching and legs stop hurting immediately. It’s more effective than miracle medicine.”

Lin Yi said in surprise, “You can even do that?”

Luo Han nodded vigorously. “Fishermen spend all year drifting at sea. Many suffer from rheumatism. On rainy days the pain becomes unbearable. I’ve seen it myself—once Song Cheng or Pan Duo take action, a patient who was just howling in pain suddenly recovers and even jumps up a couple of times on the spot.”

He was even a bit envious of those fishermen.

Pan Duo was a Grandmaster. Being infused with a Grandmaster’s qi was an incredible blessing!

He stayed around Pan Duo every day but had never gotten such an opportunity.

He wondered if he should shamelessly ask Pan Duo later. Even if it wasn’t marrow cleansing or meridian transformation, just clearing some blocked meridians might help him break through his martial bottleneck.

Otherwise his progress had been stagnant for years.

“That’s actually pretty good,” Lin Yi nodded approvingly. “In the future, when we send medical services to the countryside, we should bring along a few martial arts experts too. There are plenty of people in rural areas with joint problems.”

Luo Han echoed, “Your Highness speaks wisely.”

Lin Yi glanced at him. “Don’t just stand there. Go help.”

Luo Han smiled awkwardly. “Your Highness, my martial arts are too poor. I really can’t handle it.”

He wasn’t a ninth rank, nor a grandmaster. The little true qi he had wouldn’t even be enough to divide among a dozen patients.

Better not embarrass himself.

“Hmph.” Lin Yi snorted. “If you’re useless, then call the others out. Many hands make light work.”

“Who?” Luo Han asked in confusion.

“Who else could it be?” Lin Yi glared at him. “Do you really think I’m stupid? We’ve been traveling for a month. Every day there are brand-new quilts, clean clothes, my teapot appears every day, and there’s always excellent grape wine. Out here in the wilderness—where do you think all that comes from?”

They had only carried a few supplies on horseback when they left—enough for at most three to five days.

Maintaining his current lifestyle required a powerful logistics team.

“Uh… Your Highness…”

Luo Han was still wondering how to answer when a figure suddenly appeared in front of them.

The newcomer grinned obsequiously. “Your Highness, long live Your Highness! I’ve missed you terribly!”

Lin Yi recognized the shameless voice immediately. It belonged to Hong Ying—the chief steward of the Prince’s residence and the number-one sycophant by the prince’s side.

“Damn it. Hiding in the shadows every day—is that fun?” Lin Yi rolled his eyes.

“Your Highness’s eyes are like torches. Naturally nothing can escape you,” Xiao Ying said with a playful grin.

Lin Yi scoffed. “Look at you, using idioms now. If my eyes really shot fire, the first thing I’d burn would be you bastards.”

Xiao Ying said shamelessly, “As long as Your Highness is happy, I wouldn’t fear being crushed to pieces.”

Luo Han listened, stunned.

As expected of Chief Steward Hong.

If his own skin were even half as thick, he wouldn’t still be just a commander.

Xiao Xi was right—flattery is an art.

“So you’ve been watching secretly this whole time?” Lin Yi asked.

Hong Ying replied honestly, “Not the whole time. I even snuck back to my hometown in Qinghe once.”

“You’ve got the nerve to say that?” Lin Yi said.

Hong Ying laughed sheepishly. “I always remember Your Highness’s teaching—never postpone revenge overnight. I taught those gambling-den thugs a proper lesson and made them write a confession of submission. Otherwise they’d think I, Hong Ying, am easy to bully.”

“Well, at least you didn’t disgrace my name,” Lin Yi said with feeling. “A ruined family always has gambling and drugs. A poor family always has laziness and decadence. A destroyed family always has violence and cruelty. In short, when family values are crooked, disasters follow. Since your nephew has gotten into gambling, he won’t quit easily. You must watch him carefully.”

Gamblers all dreamed of striking it rich overnight.

Once they tasted the thrill of winning, they rarely wanted to do anything else.

No money comes faster than gambling.

It creates the illusion: I’m a gambling saint.

Even if they lose everything—home, family, children—they may reflect one night and swear never to gamble again.

Then the next day they return to the same path.

“Your Highness is right,” Hong Ying hurriedly said. “I’ll discipline him strictly.”

Luo Han didn’t know Hong Ying’s nephew’s name.

But judging by Hong Ying’s expression, he silently mourned for the poor fellow.

Chief Steward Hong always meant what he said.

Especially when it came from the prince’s instructions.

If the nephew gambled again, it would be the same as ignoring the prince’s words.

“Enough chatter,” Lin Yi pointed at the ever-growing crowd at the foot of the hill. “Go help. Don’t let Du Yinniang handle everything alone. Once they’re done, we’ll go home.”

Hong Ying took a freshly brewed cup of tea from a guard and respectfully handed it to Lin Yi.

“Your Highness… you’re not continuing north?”

Blowing the floating tea leaves aside, Lin Yi sighed.

“No more sightseeing. The more I see, the worse I feel. And besides, with you people dragging along as baggage, what real ‘inspection of the people’s conditions’ can I do? Let’s go home and lie down. As long as I lie flat enough, I won’t see the people’s suffering.”

Originally he had wanted to imitate ancient emperors traveling incognito—pretending to be weak, then revealing his power at the critical moment, punishing villains, saving beauties, and astonishing the masses.

But along the way he hadn’t even encountered a single thug.

In Liang, where martial arts flourished, the common people were more honest than Gotham City—and even more trustworthy than the Penguin.

Clearly someone had been manipulating things behind the scenes.

But Lin Yi didn’t care to investigate.

The main problem in Liang wasn’t public security.

It was poverty.

All problems ultimately stemmed from the economy.

What mattered most was developing the economy, promoting trade, and increasing employment.

Hong Ying tactfully said, “It was my fault for ruining Your Highness’s enjoyment.”

Lin Yi waved impatiently. “Go. And remember—when you do good deeds, leave your name behind. Hang up a banner for the Liang Ministry of Health. Paint some slogans too. Teach them hygiene and that illness comes from the mouth.”

Hong Ying replied immediately, “Yes. Some of our people know farming and raising livestock. I’ll have them give the fishermen some training classes.”

Luo Han was even more impressed.

Chief Steward Hong could infer three things from one example.

Why couldn’t he ever do that?

Rolling his eyes, he boldly added, “I know how to care for flowers and plants. It’s similar to farming—I can teach that too!”

He had originally been a cook.

But because Prince He disliked his cooking, he had been forced to become a gardener under Guo Zhao.

Thinking of this, he unconsciously touched the small gong in his robe.

What he loved most was actually night watch drumming.

But he didn’t want to make a living doing that.

Being an official was far more glorious.

“Stop dawdling,” Lin Yi urged. “Go already.”

“Yes!”

The group bowed and left.

Jiang Chou brought Lin Yi’s carriage over. Lin Yi lay comfortably inside and took a satisfying nap.

When he woke up, the sun was already high.

After rinsing his mouth with tea, he sat on the carriage shaft holding a purple clay teapot, legs crossed, looking at the lively village.

“So many people came with me,” he sighed. “Eating and drinking on public funds—you guys sure are generous.”

Anyone with neat clothes was clearly from Ankang City. He counted roughly fifty or sixty people.

Jiang Chou didn’t know how to respond.

This wasn’t a decision a mere guard could make.

Forced to answer under the prince’s gaze, he said helplessly, “These days we’ve been sleeping outdoors too. Hardly any rest.”

The most comfortable ones were the imperial security agents—they had bases everywhere and ate lavishly wherever they went.

Only the guards and city garrison soldiers truly suffered.

Chief Steward Hong lived simply like a monk.

Who would dare complain in front of him?

Besides, he wasn’t known for being sympathetic to subordinates.

“You go help too,” Lin Yi said casually while sipping tea. “You’re not needed here.”

“I’d like to help,” Jiang Chou said bitterly, “but with this face of mine, nobody dares come near.”

Lin Yi looked at the long scar on his face and sighed.

“Yeah… it could stop a crying child at night.”

“I tried helping repair someone’s roof,” Jiang Chou sighed. “But the homeowner saw my face, thought I was a bandit, and ran away.”

Lin Yi asked casually, “You married?”

“Yes, Your Highness. Married twenty years now. Three daughters and a son. I’ve brought them from Yuzhou to Ankang City. My eldest son got married this spring.”

“Whose daughter did he marry?”

“The daughter of Tang Jiyu.”

Lin Yi raised an eyebrow. “The one known as Liang’s greatest lawyer?”

Jiang Chou nodded. “Yes.”

Lin Yi looked him up and down. “Tang Jiyu may be a lawyer, but he’s also a jinshi graduate and one of the richest men in Ankang.”

If not for wanting to make Tang Jiyu a model legal pioneer in Liang…

Lin Yi might have borrowed money from him.

Jiang Chou understood the implication and nearly laughed bitterly.

Did the prince think Tang would look down on him?

He was a first-rank guard of the Prince’s residence.

Standing beside the regent himself.

If the prince ever took the throne, Jiang Chou would easily become a third-rank military officer.

Who would dare look down on him?

Moreover, he was one of Liang’s few ninth-rank martial artists.

In earlier times he could have founded his own martial sect.

Even local officials would have begged to become his disciples.

“It’s all thanks to Your Highness,” Jiang Chou said respectfully. “Because I serve by your side, people outside give me some respect.”

Insulting him would mean insulting the prince.

“I see,” Lin Yi nodded. “Then it’s a well-matched marriage.”

“The children liked each other,” Jiang Chou said, confused. “I didn’t interfere.”

He wondered if the prince was praising him or mocking him.

He almost wanted to cry.

Why did he come chat with the prince in the first place?

Lin Yi suddenly asked, “Isn’t it lunchtime? Where’s that fat guy Su Yin?”

“Your Highness! I’m here!”

A huge head suddenly popped out from behind the carriage.

“Damn it—you scared me!” Lin Yi patted his chest. “Can I order dishes?”

Su Yin puffed his chest proudly. “Anything that flies in the sky or swims in the sea—Your Highness can order whatever you like. Even if the conditions aren’t there, I’ll create them!”

Lin Yi cleared his throat. “Then I won’t be polite.”

“Please!”

“Steamed preserved meats?”

“Of course!”

“Osmanthus shark fin?”

“Easy!”

“Crab-roe lion’s head meatballs?”

“Your Highness’s favorite—I remember!”

“Rouge goose breast?”

“Already arranged!”

“Isn’t that a bit extravagant?” Lin Yi asked after rubbing his sore wrist.

Su Yin hurriedly said, “Your Highness is always frugal. Today you finally have an appetite. I’m honored to show my cooking skills.”

Lin Yi chuckled. “You fat guy are getting better at talking. I like it.”

“Thank you for Your Highness’s praise!”

“Alright, that’s enough dishes. Get them ready.”

Watching Su Yin leave, Jiang Chou couldn’t help feeling a bit envious.

Just then Lin Yi asked again, “So whose family did Su Yin marry into?”

Jiang Chou quickly replied, “Your Highness, Su Yin’s son Su Wenchang joined the army after finishing elementary school. Later he was appreciated by Lord He Hong and replaced Wang Xu as the chief constable of Xunyang City. He married the youngest daughter of Huang Daoji.”

Lin Yi said, “The iron supplier?”

“Yes.”

Lin Yi sighed.

“They’re all talents.”

Suddenly he thought of Lai Da from the Rongguo Mansion.