A southbound ferry belonging to the Evergreen Palace was scheduled to make a stop at Ox Horn Crossing within the territory of Dragon Prefecture.

Cao Qinglang arrived outside of Pei Qian’s room. Standing in the corridor, he gently knocked on the door and said, “It is I.”

Pei Qian opened the door and continued her Six Step Stance practice within the room, casually asking, “Do you need something?”

During this round trip between Fallen Mountain and the capital, Pei Qian had been wearing a facial disguise of a young girl to avoid unnecessary medicinal expenses.

The Six Step Stance was the only “martial art” that Chen Ping’an had not concealed from Pei Qian during her childhood.

However, the little charcoal girl back then had looked down on it, finding it silly. She had been constantly thinking about Old Wei and Little Bai, dreaming of a century’s worth of cultivation gifted to her, a peerless martial art falling from the sky without effort.

Cao Qinglang stood at the doorway. “Shall I wait until you finish your practice?”

Pei Qian’s expression turned strange. “Besides sleeping, I’m always practicing.”

Cao Qinglang felt somewhat awkward.

Pei Qian said, “Talking won’t interrupt my practice.”

Only then did Cao Qinglang step over the threshold, gently close the door, sit at the table, and pour himself a cup of water.

Apart from the Great Li military ferries, almost every immortal ferry was particular about the spring water it provided, often sourced from famous springs. It was said that some enthusiast had once categorized the best waters of each continent into seven grades.

For example, the Pearl Spring of the White Water Temple in the Azure Luan Kingdom, a pool of water on the Dragon Coiling Peak of the Cloud Glow Mountain, was said to rise above the brim of a cup without spilling, and even float copper coins. There was also the Green Plum Temple of the former South Pond Lake. The water in the pot on the table was the Evergreen Palace’s unique Spirit Spring, said to greatly benefit a woman’s complexion and effectively eliminate crow’s feet…

Back when Zheng Dafeng was still guarding the gate of Fallen Mountain, Cao Qinglang was heading to the capital to take the Imperial Examination. Zheng Dafeng had already started urging Cao Qinglang to make a detour to the Evergreen Palace. If possible, buying some would be best, but even if money couldn’t buy it, he had to steal a few pots of Spirit Spring water to bring home, and his brother Dafeng would definitely reward him handsomely!

Cao Qinglang explained the purpose of his visit. “Besides the northern journey you took with Master when leaving Lotus Flower Blessed Land, you also went south to Tongye Continent on your own. I would like to learn more about the local customs and conditions along the way, in as much detail as possible, so it might take up half a day of your practice time.”

Pei Qian’s memory was even more divine than Xun Qu’s photographic memory.

Cao Qinglang’s memory wasn’t bad, and he could compete with Xun Qu, but comparing himself to Pei Qian would be a self-inflicted humiliation.

According to Master and Little Senior Brother’s plan, Fallen Mountain would choose a location in the northern part of Tongye Continent, at the end of this year or at the latest by the beginning of next spring, to officially establish its Lower Sect.

Establishing an Upper Sect and then a Lower Sect within a single year had only happened twice in the history of the Great Azure World.

The two cultivators who accomplished this feat were Yu Xuan of the Central Earth Divine Continent, who specialized in talismans, and Wan Yan Lao Jing, the old Ascendant Realm cultivator from Golden Armor Continent who chose to betray during the war.

Pei Qian said, “How about I write a booklet for you?”

Cao Qinglang smiled, cupped his fist, and gently shook his head. “That would be even better. Thank you, Senior Apprentice-Sister.”

His original intention had been for Pei Qian to narrate while Cao Qinglang took out his brush and ink to record the “travelogue.”

Now, both he and Pei Qian possessed a “small grotto-heaven” gifted by Senior Candlelight, which was of a higher grade than the inch-sized objects, making traveling much more convenient.

Pei Qian continued her stance practice, tugged at the corner of her mouth, and said, “I need to charge you, settled by the word. One character, one copper coin, how’s that?”

Cao Qinglang nodded. “No problem.”

He had known that he wouldn’t avoid paying her.

During a break in her Six Step Stance, Pei Qian pulled out a large “ledger” from her sleeve and tossed it to Cao Qinglang.

It contained two hundred thousand words, all written in tiny characters.

She was clearly prepared, just waiting for Cao Qinglang to ask for it.

Judging by the ink, it was likely a “travelogue” hastily written in the inn in the Great Li capital.

Cao Qinglang flipped through a few pages and was quite surprised. Besides describing the various countries, territories, mountains, rivers, local customs, strange occurrences, and Buddhist and Taoist temples along the way, Pei Qian had even included local products such as salt and iron, and even copied content from local gazetteers, interspersed with many official maps.

Pei Qian stopped her stance practice and sat at the table.

Her hair was tied in a bun, revealing a high forehead.

Her entire person appeared neat, tidy, and extremely valiant.

She quietly gazed out the window.

She wasn’t an especially beautiful woman, but the current Pei Qian was certainly a woman whom people would remember after seeing her.

Outside the window, the clouds were high and low, and Pei Qian seemed lost in thought.

Master had once said that writings in books were the landscapes on the desk, and the landscapes of the world were the writings on the ground, both of which could please the eye and cultivate the mind, especially the latter, which was free!

The Great White Goose had also said that failing to learn from the masters of the past was better than carving a swan and ending up with a duck, failing to learn from the wise teachers and famous experts was worse than drawing a tiger and ending up with a dog. Our luck is as good as it gets. Where could you find someone like my Master, your Master?

Regaining her composure, Pei Qian turned to look at Cao Qinglang.

Cao Qinglang noticed Pei Qian’s strange gaze and asked, puzzled, “What’s wrong?”

Pei Qian asked, “Little Senior Brother snatched away the position of Sect Master. Didn’t you have any emotional fluctuations?”

Cao Qinglang laughed freely. “Of course, I felt a little disappointed, but mostly I felt relieved.”

Cao Qinglang raised his hand and gently patted his shoulder. “My abilities are still not good enough to shoulder such a heavy burden.”

“When Master was your age, he was already about to become the Hidden Official of the Sword Qi Great Wall.”

Pei Qian tugged at the corner of her mouth. “The sage taught that disciples need not be inferior to their masters. I think you’re doomed.”

Cao Qinglang suppressed a smile. “The reason the sage taught that is precisely because disciples are more often inferior to their masters. Besides, the Ancestral Master clearly wrote ‘the student surpasses the master,’ but the reason why principles are principles is that the words are easy to understand, but the deeds are difficult to accomplish.”

Pei Qian didn’t say anything more.

She was skilled at twisting logic.

Forget it, she couldn’t win against this Cao wooden-head when it came to reasoning.

Hmph, Second Place Scholar.

Cao Qinglang prepared to get up and take his leave. With this booklet, he would be able to follow the routes in the book when he arrived in Tongye Continent, and he would have a much better understanding of the area.

Pei Qian suddenly asked, “When do you plan to form your Core? Will you ask Cultivator Zhong to help protect you during the breakthrough?”
Cao Qinglang could only sit back down, saying, “On our own mountain, there’s really no need for anyone to protect the pass. Once the location is finalized and the sect ceremony is held, I’ll go into secluded cultivation over at the lower sect to form my Golden Core. As Senior Brother would say, as soon as I emerge, the mountain will immediately have another Golden Core cultivator, which can help the lower sect get off to a good start.”

Pei Qian chuckled, “No wonder you’re not in a hurry at all.”

Cao Qinglang smiled without replying.

Forming a Golden Core between the ages of thirty and forty, cultivating a Nascent Soul between sixty and seventy, and reaching Jade Purity between one hundred and two hundred years.

This was a “mountain examination paper” given by Mr. Lu back in Lotus Root Blessed Land.

Cao Qinglang had begun cultivating step by step back in his hometown.

With the guidance of Master Zhong, his path of ascent was not fast, but it was steady.

Three Natal Treasures were considered rare in the old Lotus Root Blessed Land, but compared to the direct disciples of sects in the vast world, their quality was not high enough, not impressive at all.

It wasn’t that Cao Qinglang couldn’t break through faster, but there was no need to, and as Pei Qian said, he wasn’t in a rush.

Therefore, compared to Pei Qian, who was breaking through realms with unstoppable momentum, not talking about scholarship, Cao Qinglang’s cultivation path seemed quite lackluster.

Pei Qian added, “Cultivation is similar to martial arts. As long as you have perseverance, you’ll have staying power. With staying power, you’ll have the opportunity to make a comeback.”

Just like the boxing principle that Grandpa Cui used to say, practicing boxing is the simplest thing in the world, you just need to throw one more punch than your opponent.

Back in the Sword Qi Great Wall, the Great White Goose had once secretly taken the two of them to the city wall to find their Left Senior Uncle.

During the ascent to the wall, Junior Brother had made a comparison.

The drunkards of the vast world had never been sober. Drinking alcohol was like drinking water.

The drunkards of the Sword Qi Great Wall had never been drunk. Drinking water was like drinking alcohol.

Pei Qian could tell that Left Senior Uncle liked Cao Qinglang, this junior nephew. He had pulled Cao Qinglang aside on the city wall and asked him many questions.

Some of Cao Qinglang’s answers made Left Senior Uncle frown, while others made him nod and smile. In the end, Cao Qinglang said something that surprised Left Senior Uncle very much, and he laughed heartily.

At that time, Pei Qian and the Great White Goose were sitting a little further away, so she couldn’t hear the specific content of the questions and answers clearly.

So she asked the Great White Goose what Cao Qinglang had said in the end. The Great White Goose repeated a sentence that made Pei Qian’s hair stand on end.

“To kill someone, one must strike at the throat.”

It scared Pei Qian half to death.

How could Cao Qinglang, who looked so honest and simple, actually be harboring bad intentions every day, preparing to settle old scores with her sooner or later?

Fortunately, the Great White Goose explained that Left Senior Uncle was asking Cao Qinglang about his studies.

At that time, Pei Qian was half-believing, half-doubting, always feeling that Cao Qinglang was secretly wicked. Later, at Shiniang’s house, several people helped Shifu engrave seals to earn money. When Shifu happened to give Cao Qinglang a treasured carving knife, Little Black Charcoal was actually stunned at the time.

Cao Qinglang said, “I thought you would take the opportunity to say a few sarcastic remarks.”

Pei Qian rubbed her cheeks, turned her head to look out the window, and stretched lazily, “I’m not a child anymore, there’s nothing interesting about that.”

Cao Qinglang tentatively asked, “You wouldn’t be keeping a record of this kind of casual chat, would you?”

Pei Qian chuckled, “How is that possible?”

She didn’t say what was possible or impossible.

Pei Qian inexplicably thought of the “Junior Sister” in the Sword Qi Great Wall.

Guo Zhujiu, nicknamed Luduan.

At that time, Guo Zhujiu was taller than Pei Qian, and Pei Qian always got the short end of the stick when they were competing. When speaking, Guo Zhujiu always liked to bend her knees to look at Pei Qian at eye level.

She once raised her arm and seriously asked Pei Qian, “I don’t know if the fairy sisters in your vast world have armpit hair, and if they do, how often do they shave it, and what do they use…”

The most unbearable thing for Pei Qian was not how outrageous these words were. Pei Qian was actually very good at talking tough, cursing, and saying those hurtful things when she was a child, but she stopped after she grew up. She didn’t know when she stopped saying these things. Pei Qian could remember everything, but this thing seemed like she had never thought about it, and she couldn’t remember it.

And that Junior Sister Guo Zhujiu was always very sincere when she spoke and asked Pei Qian questions. So Pei Qian was really helpless with her back then.

Even now, when she thought about it, Pei Qian still had a headache.

In the Sword Qi Great Wall, Pei Qian was driven mad by Guo Zhujiu many times, and the key was that they were all silent losses. So she had once secretly looked at Guo Zhujiu’s state of mind.

It was a large group of colorful birds. They were either all silent and still, or all flying in unison. So how could Guo Zhujiu not overthink?

Cao Qinglang softly asked, “Are you still worried about Shifu?”

Pei Qian shook her head and said, “With Shiniang here, and Shifu also has Senior Xizhu by his side, there’s nothing to worry about.”

Besides, the most reassuring person in the world is her own Shifu.

Cao Qinglang hesitated.

Shifu was too considerate, he had thought of many things early on.

For example, in the Sword Qi Great Wall, he had privately told Cao Qinglang that if the two of them were ever standing together, he would act like he favored Pei Qian more.

Actually, that wasn’t a big deal.

What made Cao Qinglang laugh and cry was that Shifu quickly added, “It seems like Shifu does favor her more, doesn’t he? Maybe I don’t even need to pretend?”

Finally, he patted the young man’s shoulder and said, suppressing a smile, “Don’t blame Shifu, it’s just that she’s a girl, and you’re a boy.”

Pei Qian came back to her senses, keenly noticing the strangeness in Cao Qinglang’s mood, and replied with a “What’s wrong?”

Cao Qinglang smiled, “Nothing.”

On the ferry, someone used the martial artist’s technique of sound transmission.

“May I ask, is that Grandmaster Zheng?”

Pei Qian frowned slightly and turned her head to look in one direction.

Seeing Cao Qinglang looking at her questioningly, Pei Qian explained, “It’s that Yu Hong. I don’t know how he found me.”

Cao Qinglang asked, “Is he intentionally tailing us?”

Pei Qian shook her head, “It should be a coincidence that we’re on the same boat heading south.”

Actually, Pei Qian had noticed Yu Hong when he boarded the boat. This famous figure from the old Scarlet Florescence Dynasty had deliberately restrained his Grandmaster aura and suppressed his realm to the Far Traveler realm.
Pei Qian explained, “I heard that a direct disciple of Yu Hong from long ago seemed to have a clandestine affair with the Water Goddess of our Jade Liquid River. There’s even a more outlandish rumor that this favored disciple of Yu Hong had a close female confidante, practically a Dao Companion without the marital title. This woman was a Golden Core Earth Immortal skilled in water arts. Because a certain immortal cave near the Jade Liquid River’s water mansion was a geomantic treasure perfect for cultivating water techniques, somehow, in the end, the martial artist, the Earth Immortal, and the Water Goddess became estranged, never to reconcile. But all this nonsense is just hearsay from the Jianghu, not to be taken as fact. So, it’s perfectly logical for Yu Hong to be on this ferry, not at all out of the ordinary.”

Cao Qinglang nodded, “The latter possibility is more likely.”

Red Candle Town is the confluence of three rivers, and now one of the most important waterways of Great Li, famed as a place where gold flows and silver runs. However, the natures of the three rivers differ greatly. The Embroidered Flower River has a gentle and yielding water nature, abundant with stable spiritual energy. Then there’s the nominally named Rushing Fade River, which is actually fierce and surging, with a boisterous and turbid water nature. It has been prone to floods and torrential rains since ancient times, often experiencing daytime lightning storms, making it the most difficult to govern. Moreover, according to the Great Li local gazettes and county chronicles, as well as several ancient official and unofficial histories of water deity kingdoms that Cao Qinglang has gathered, the books contain the wondrous description of “this water connects to the Qi of the sea”. The position of deity of this river has been vacant for many years, and the bookshop keeper, Li Jin, as the new Water Deity of the Rushing Fade River, is considered to have the closest relationship with Fallen Phoenix Mountain.

The Jade Liquid River has the most winding riverbed, hence its capricious water nature. The richness of the river’s water transport varies greatly between different sections. So, there are stretches of river with scarce spiritual energy, like a “land beyond the law,” as well as scenic spots with abundant spiritual energy. The Water Goddess, Ye Qingzhu, has opened several cultivation residences in these areas, which also generate a significant income for the Jade Liquid River.

Pei Qian glanced at Cao Qinglang.

*You, a gentleman, know more about Jianghu gossip than I do?*

Cao Qinglang had no choice but to explain, “I heard it from Uncle Zheng. When two women who were originally close become enemies, it’s often because of a man.”

Regarding the address to Zheng Dafeng, according to Zheng Dafeng’s words, he and Cao Qinglang were about the same age, and their appearances were similar. Standing together, they could easily be mistaken for long-lost brothers. So, he should be called Brother Zheng. Calling him Uncle Zheng would make him sound old, and nobody would believe it.

One must know that back then, Cao Qinglang had just left Lotus Root Blessed Land and was still a teenager.

Anyway, Cao Qinglang was determined to call him Uncle Zheng when they met.

Chen Lingjun, on the other hand, called him Brother Dafeng with great familiarity, putting his arm around him. They often exchanged glances after a few words, then the two, one big and one small, laughed heartily with their hands on their hips.

Pei Qian said, “Uncle Zheng definitely won’t be lonely working as a shopkeeper at the Flying Ascension City wine shop.”

Pei Qian frowned again, communicating with her heart sound, “They’ve come looking for us. Besides Yu Hong, there are four others, all martial artists, but their realms aren’t high. Two of them, judging by their breathing and footsteps, should be martial artists of the same lineage as Yu Hong. As for whether they are Yu Hong’s direct disciples or grand-disciples, it’s hard to say for now.”

After pondering for a moment and carefully searching her memories, Pei Qian seemed a little surprised. She hesitated for a moment, then removed her mask, revealing her true face.

The group went from the top floor of the ferry to the first-floor deck.

The leader was an old man with white hair, a burly figure, and a robust aura. The old man was half a head taller than men from the Northern Lands, it was Yu Hong, one of the four Grand Masters of the martial arts rankings of Treasure Bottle Continent.

In the famous arena competition at the Fire God Temple in the capital, Yu Hong defeated Zhou Haijing.

This catapulted the old Grand Master’s Jianghu reputation to its peak.

It is said that no less than ten mountain sects extended warm invitations to Yu Hong to serve as a protector or guest elder.

Yu Hong, at the age of one hundred and fifty, had been famous in the former Vermilion Fluorescence Dynasty for a long time. Both the court and the common people knew his name, and his fame was no less than that of those Nascent Soul Realm sword immortals.

He had a large number of disciples and grand-disciples, but he still didn’t have a so-called close disciple. Generally speaking, an elderly person who does not accept a close disciple has only two possible reasons: either he believes he can live for many more years, or he has never found a suitable candidate, someone worthy to inherit his mantle. Whether on the mountains or down below, whether in ordinary families or among the nobility, the youngest child is always the most favored, almost without exception.

The reason why Yu Hong didn’t return directly to his sect in the central part of Treasure Bottle Continent from the Great Li capital this time was that he intended to make a trip to Cloud-Veiling Mountain and the Jade Liquid River, and then go to the Western Mountain region. Yu Hong had long admired the unseen Northern Mountain Lord, Wei Bo. As for the love-hate entanglement between himself and one of his disciples with the Water Goddess Ye Qingzhu, Yu Hong did not intend to resolve it. This visit to the Water Goddess’ mansion was for the purpose of discussing a business deal. Several mountain friends in the south intended to cultivate together at the Jade Liquid River for sixty years, which was equivalent to leasing those immortal caves of the Jade Liquid River. If an ordinary person were to mediate, Ye Qingzhu might not be willing to give them face. His own appearance, while not guaranteeing success, would at least offer a good chance of success.

During this time, he could also pay a visit to the young sword immortal of Fallen Phoenix Mountain.

A glamorous figure who is now famous on Treasure Bottle Continent, riding on the rising tides.

A Daoist who can exchange blows with the Mountain Moving Old Ape must be a Martial Artist of Peak Realm, otherwise he would not be able to withstand the fierce punches of the Yang Mountain Protector.

After all, that young Mountain Lord is still the master of “Zheng Qingming”.

However, if he was the legendary Stoppage Realm Martial Artist, Yu Hong had his doubts for the time being.

*Sword immortal and Stoppage Realm? Good things in the world can’t all be taken by one person.*

More likely, Chen Ping’an had great fortune and found a disciple in “Zheng Spends Money” who would surpass his master.

So, if possible, Yu Hong intends to exchange pointers with that young Mountain Lord.

Of course, that’s on the premise that the other party nods in agreement. If not, Yu Hong can only give up. Even if he is arrogant, Yu Hong doesn’t think that he, a Great Li First-Class Protector, could make a young Sect Master of the vast world think highly of an old Ninth-Realm Martial Artist.

Moreover, the other party seems to have a bad temper. There are already widespread rumors on the mountains that this person has even gone so far as to personally kill Yuan Zhenye in public.

It was fortunate that the Righteous Sun Mountain closed the Mirror Flower Water Moon in time, otherwise, the Righteous Sun Mountain cultivators would be even more unable to hold their heads high.
Fish Rainbow’s two direct disciples, one male and one female, were both young, in their thirties.

Beside them were two martial artists from the pugilistic world. Even though they were hoary elders with heads full of frost, they were still considered juniors to Fish Rainbow, no different from the various heroes present. Now, they had been recruited to become members of Fish Rainbow’s own sect.

Fish Rainbow and his group arrived at a corridor and saw a young woman standing outside a door, waiting.

Fish Rainbow quickened his pace slightly, cupped his fist in greeting, and said with a smile, “This is an uninvited and presumptuous visit. I hope Grandmaster Zheng will forgive me.”

Pei Qian swiftly scanned the other four pure martial artists without revealing any change in expression. She returned the greeting with a cupped fist, “It is my honor to meet Senior Fish.”

Fish Rainbow mistakenly assumed that she had heard about his duel with Zhou Haichao, and had disguised herself to secretly enter the capital and watch the fight.

He knew that youth had the advantage in martial arts, and Fish Rainbow had to admit that he was getting old.

Putting aside the fact that the Pei Qian before him was hiding her divine aura, even if he had won against Zhou Haijing, Fish Rainbow knew in his heart that he would definitely not be Zhou Haijing’s opponent in ten years.

Therefore, while his old bones still had some strength and spirit, he wanted to pave the way for his direct disciples as much as possible, in the martial world, in the officialdom, and on the mountains.

Fish Rainbow smiled and gestured, “Let me introduce you. These are Yu Cangmang of the Dragon Mountain Sect and Zhu Fengxian of the Great Marsh Gang. They have been my friends in the martial world for a long time, and I recently invited them to serve as elders in my sect.”

Both of them were Golden Body Realm martial artists.

In reality, this was Fish Rainbow giving them a leg up. Although Yu Cangmang and Zhu Fengxian were martial artists whose fame and pressure extended across several kingdoms, they weren’t important enough to be personally invited by Fish Rainbow. Unlike the eight martial arts sects created by his dozen or so disciples after they completed their training, the Threshold Hall founded by Fish Rainbow himself had extremely high standards, valuing quality over quantity. Including direct disciples, elders, and various members, there were only fifty or so people. It was more like an ancestral hall in an immortal mountain manor.

Fish Rainbow continued to introduce, “As for these two children, they are my unworthy disciples, Yan Guan and Huang Mei.”

The young man and woman said in unison, “Greetings, Senior Zheng.”

They were both full of curiosity about this woman whose real name was “Pei Qian.”

There was also a sense of awe and admiration.

Pei Qian said, “I don’t deserve to be called ‘Senior.’ You can just call me Pei Qian.”

How could the two young men and women, both sixth-realm martial artists, dare to call the woman before them by her given name?

If a grandmaster was being polite to you, and you took it literally, that wasn’t called being forthright, but being foolish.

The age of this Grandmaster with the nickname “Zheng the Money-Sprinkler” had always been a mystery.

Some said she was in her forties, others said she was around fifty, and some even said that she was actually nearly a hundred years old, similar to the yellow-clad Yun from the Southern Tongye Continent, but that she had maintained her appearance well and possessed the secret of eternal youth.

In any case, she was an overwhelmingly powerful person who had suddenly appeared in the world. Back then, she had appeared on the Central Great River battlefield in a nearly invincible manner, with heavy fists and ruthless methods.

On the Great River battlefield, she seemed to always be alone, deliberately choosing dangerous places where the barbarian army’s formations were extremely thick.

This was because she was afraid of accidentally injuring cultivators in her own camp.

The only exception was when she used her fists to save people, often forcefully creating a bloody path to take them away from the battlefield.

Therefore, Zheng Qian’s reputation in Treasure Bottle Continent was now so good that even three Fish Rainbows combined couldn’t compare to it.

If the person Fish Rainbow was sparring with was Zheng Qian instead of Zhou Haijing, not to mention the crowds of people in the streets and alleys, it was estimated that all the houses near the Fire God Temple would be collapsed by the onlookers.

In particular, the young masters and aristocratic sons of the Great Li capital, along with the descendants of generals who had been to the battlefield, were filled with admiration whenever they mentioned “Zheng Qian.” If anyone dared to say that Zheng Qian was not beautiful, they would argue with them.

Especially Yan Guan, who had once had the honor of witnessing “Zheng Qian” throwing a punch on the battlefield.

In a barbarian formation where a large army had gathered, a slender woman suddenly descended from the sky. In the blink of an eye, the world became clear, and within a hundred feet, all those who had fallen were dead without a complete corpse, and only the female martial artist was standing.

Therefore, in Yan Guan’s mind, the woman before him was like a celestial being.

As a result, when he cupped his fist in greeting earlier, Yan Guan’s arms and voice trembled uncontrollably.