The Great Tang's King of Provisions

Chapter 13: Carrying a Hammer, Coming Through the Ten-Thousand-Li Clouds

“I’m—I’m sorry. Hanxue was just startled for a moment. Mr. Li… what’s your name? You’re Li Xuanba?!” As soon as Li Xuanba spoke, Mei Hanxue snapped back to her senses. She gave him an apologetic smile and bowed slightly. But after just two sentences, her eyes widened in astonishment as she stared at Li Xuanba. “That’s right! A true man never changes his name when walking nor alters his surname when sitting. I am Li Xuanba! Li Xuanba, the number one under heaven!” Li Xuanba knew exactly what had startled Mei Hanxue, yet he made no attempt to hide anything from her. He replied proudly, his words brimming with boundless arrogance. He, Li Xuanba, was renowned throughout the Sui and Tang dynasties—not because he was a son of the Tang imperial family. But because his name was Li Xuanba! “Li Xuanba—you’re actually named Li Xuanba! You… you aren’t…” Hearing Li Xuanba’s defiant words, the look of shock faded from Mei Hanxue’s face, replaced by a blush as she gazed at him with sparkling eyes. At this time, the Tang Dynasty had been established for only nine years. Although Li Xuanba had been “dead” for twelve years, his legendary reputation had resounded throughout the Nine Provinces thanks to several major battles fought during the Sui and Tang eras. Although Mei Hanxue was already nineteen years old, she was still at that age when young girls idolize heroes. Seeing the legendary Li Xuanba actually standing before her, her heart pounded so hard it felt as if it were about to leap out of her chest. Hehe! Looks like big brother’s got some charm after all! Seeing Mei Hanxue’s starry-eyed, young-girl expression, Li Xuanba smugly raised an eyebrow, but didn’t dare make a move, afraid of scaring off this young girl who idolized him. “Ahem… Miss Mei, I took a little trip to the Immortal Realm just for fun and only recently returned. Let me—let Li—walk you home!” After offering a half-truth, half-lie explanation, Li Xuanba had intended to say “this young master,” but changed his tone at the last moment, adopting a more refined and scholarly manner. “Alright! Thank you so much, Young Master Li!” Mei Hanxue nodded obediently and replied, her cheeks flushed as she followed Li Xuanba back toward the Plum Blossom Inn. Along the way, though Li Xuanba wasn’t exactly a master of witty banter, he didn’t let the atmosphere grow cold. With every remark, he subtly complimented Mei Hanxue, making her cover her mouth and giggle. From time to time, she would exchange flirtatious glances with him, quietly deepening the bond between them. Upon arriving, Li Xuanba gave a slight bow and said with a gentle smile, “Miss Mei, I must take my leave. I need to return to look after Xingxuan and the others.” “All right! Thank you, Young Master Li, for escorting me all the way.” Upon hearing that Li Xuanba was returning to look after them, Mei Hanxue withdrew her invitation for him to come in and sit for a while. She interlaced her jade-like fingers and placed her hands at her right hip, then bowed slightly to Li Xuanba. Afterward, she watched with her large, luminous eyes as he strode briskly toward the dilapidated temple. Li Xuanba was unaware of what had transpired behind him. Having just purchased several pieces of women’s clothing, he was hurrying toward the dilapidated temple where Du Xingxuan and the other girl were staying. With Du Hongzhuang now dead and night falling, leaving the two young girls alone in the temple felt rather eerie—he’d better get back as soon as possible. As he walked, Li Xuanba leafed through the remaining 850 taels of silver bills in his arms. The silver notes were a jumble of small, scattered pieces of varying denominations, looking rather disorganized. But that wasn’t what concerned him most. What really caught his attention was that the Hongyun Gambling House—merely a small gambling den—actually held a deposit of one thousand taels of silver! Even though Lantian County was a neighboring county of Chang’an, this was still impossible. After all, the Tang Dynasty’s annual treasury revenue at present might not even reach one million guan of copper coins—which is less than one million taels of silver. How could a tiny gambling house like the Hongyun Casino possibly possess one-thousandth of the national treasury’s annual revenue? There must be something going on here. “Thud, thud, thud, thud!” As Li Xuanba was pondering this while walking toward the dilapidated temple, he felt the ground tremble slightly beneath his feet. At the same time, a rapid, thunderous clatter of hooves reached his ears. Glancing to his right, he saw an exceptionally magnificent horse galloping toward him. The horse was entirely black, as glossy as blue satin. From head to tail it measured one zhang four, and from hoof to withers nine chi seven. It had large hooves seven cun in width, a mantis-like neck, and a drooping belly. The saddle, bridle, stirrups, and bit were all in place. It wore a majestic bell, a pair of purple-gold stirrups on its flanks, and two golden hammers the size of millstones hanging from the saddle—none other than Li Xuanba’s weapons: the Drum-Beating Golden Hammers. Even while carrying this pair of “Drum-Beating Golden Hammers,” each weighing eight hundred jin, the horse remained unfazed, galloping like thunder. Its eyes sparkled with delight as it gazed at Li Xuanba—it was none other than Li Xuanba’s mount, “Chasing Wind Ten Thousand Li Cloud.” “Chasing Wind Ten Thousand Li Cloud! Drum-Beating Golden Hammers!” As he watched the horse gallop toward him, Li Xuanba blurted out those ten words, his eyes flashing with delight. Name: Wind-Chasing Ten-Thousand-Mile Cloud (Host’s Mount) Gender: Male Level: 50 Breed: Dragon Foal Quality: Purple Precious Steed Divine Beast Age: 15 years Status: Travels 10,000 li by day and 8,000 li by night (excited) Item Name: Drum-Beating Golden Hammer Item Category: Host’s Weapon Item Tier: Level 50 Item Quality: Purple Divine Artifact “Boom!” Li Xuanba stomped hard on the ground, leaving a deep crack in his wake. Using the ground’s recoil to propel himself, he shot toward the Wind-Chasing Ten Thousand Li like a bolt of lightning. “Boom!” “Hahahaha! What a fine steed!” “Neigh! As man and horse collided, a deafening roar echoed through the heavens. Yet the two—as if nothing had happened—clung to one another. Li Xuanba laughed heartily as he embraced Zhui Feng Wanli Yun’s neck, while Zhui Feng Wanli Yun nuzzled Li Xuanba’s broad shoulders with its head, its eyes—proud as any in the world—brimming with tears of excitement. After the man and horse had embraced, Li Xuanba held Wanliyun’s head, his flushed eyes gazing directly into the horse’s crimson eyes, and asked earnestly, “Wanliyun! Do you really think I’m Li Xuanba? The Li Xuanba who’s number one under heaven?” “Neigh!” Though Wanliyun didn’t know why Li Xuanba was asking this, the horse—who understood human nature quite well—nodded its head and let out a whinny directed at Li Xuanba. “Just as I thought!” With Wanliyun’s confirmation, Li Xuanba understood: he and the original Li Xuanba were truly one and the same—the soul from the future, the body from this life. Now that soul and body were united, he was the true Li Xuanba. As for how it was confirmed, Wanli Yun was a divinely handsome horse—one capable of sensing unusual auras. Since even he had confirmed that Li Xuanba was indeed himself, what was there left to doubt? “Ding! Host has obtained a mount. The Ranch System has been activated.” “Current Ranch Level: Level 1” “Ranch Area: 60 mu” “Ranch Function: Accelerates the growth of mounts and other animals, granting 1 experience point per hour” Hearing the system notification, Li Xuanba paid it no mind. Instead, he cheerfully patted Wanli Yun’s head and effortlessly lifted his weapon—the Drum-Beating Golden Hammer—with both hands. “Haha! Wanli Yun, you even carried my weapon here for me. Thanks for your hard work.” “Clang! Li Xuanba tapped his weapon against itself, producing two crisp, metallic clangs. He then actually looked up at the sky—but didn’t foolishly curse the heavens. He certainly didn’t want to be struck by lightning and sent back to his modern life; that wouldn’t be any fun at all. “Clang, clang!” After tapping the “Drum-Beating Golden Hammer” twice more, Li Xuanba muttered to the hammer with a dazed look: “Good hammer. Even though you’re still light as a feather, carrying you around like this is too conspicuous. Could you please shrink a bit so I can carry you?” “Buzz!” No sooner had Li Xuanba finished speaking than the Golden Drum-Beating Hammer suddenly trembled twice. Amid the humming sound, it instantly shrank, transforming into two miniature decorative golden hammers, each about the size of a baby’s palm. “Haha! Just as I thought—what a great hammer!” Seeing that his “Drum-Beating Golden Hammers” had truly shrunk, Li Xuanba laughed heartily. He tied the red cords at the ends of the handles together and hung the two miniature hammers directly around his neck, then led Zhui Feng Wanli Yun toward the dilapidated temple. In Li Xuanba’s memory, these two “Drum-Beating Vase” golden hammers were just like the Ruyi Golden Staff—capable of growing larger or shrinking smaller at will. Otherwise, would it really look good for him to run around every day with two golden hammers the size of millstones just for the sake of it?