Two Years' Time (Please Bookmark and Follow)

After returning from the Shan Family's New Year visit.

A month and a half passed.

Wei Tu received the wedding invitation Shan Yangong had sent for taking a concubine.

After seeing that the address on the invitation was the Dan Residence in the Prefectural City, Wei Tu could not help but sigh at Madam Shan Min's masterful methods. He had no idea how she had persuaded Shan Yangong's wife to agree to let him take a concubine.

During the several months he had lodged at the Dan Residence last year, he had learned that although Shan Yangong's wife appeared meek and mild, unlike Dan Fang's fiery temperament, she too possessed an unyielding spirit deep in her bones.

Otherwise, Shan Yangong would not have delayed until now before taking a concubine.

"What a coincidence. Just as Eldest Brother Kou Liang sent a letter inviting Wei Fei and me to gather at Xuan He Tower and renew our old bonds..."

Wei Tu glanced at the date on the invitation and mused to himself.

Nearly a year had passed. Just as Fu Zhizhou had said in the Prefectural Yamen, Prefect He's time for reassignment had arrived.

Over the past few days, this bit of unofficial news had spread throughout the County Yamen.

Wei Tu guessed that Kou Liang's letter, gathering the four sworn brothers together, was likely meant to discuss this very matter.

Wei Tu found Wei Fei, and the two agreed on a time to travel together to the Prefectural City.

Several days later.

Xuan He Tower, Heaven Room Number Three.

"Second Brother, Third Brother." Upon hearing Wei Tu and Wei Fei talking outside the door, Kou Liang took the initiative to come out and welcome them.

With a smile on his face, he patted the two men on the shoulders and exchanged a few pleasantries.

"Eldest Brother."

Wei Tu and Wei Fei exchanged a glance, slightly bent at the waist, and cupped their fists in salute to Kou Liang.

More than a year had passed, yet Kou Liang had not changed much. Dressed in a fitted white training outfit, broad-shouldered and tall, he still cut a dashing figure.

Yet Wei Tu and Wei Fei both caught a trace of weary decline that occasionally flickered between Kou Liang's brows, an air of frustrated ambition.

The two immediately understood that Kou Liang, like them, had also suffered suppression from the local authorities of Xiao Yi Prefecture.

However, while the two of them could huddle together for warmth and weather the storm in the same boat, Kou Liang was undoubtedly far more alone.

"Where is Fourth Brother?" Wei Fei entered the private room and swept his gaze around. Seeing no sign of Fu Zhizhou, he could not help but furrow his brow.

Along the way.

Wei Tu and he had practically ridden without pause, arriving at Xuan He Tower ahead of the appointed time.

Since Fu Zhizhou was their fourth sworn brother, there was no reason for him to make his three sworn elder brothers wait while he himself arrived late.

"Fourth Brother has won Governor Wang's favor and is now an Imperial Guard at his side. He is rarely free in ordinary times, so let us wait a little longer."

Kou Liang sat on a low stool, shook his head, and explained.

"Second Brother, have some wine first and wet your throat."

Wei Tu also took a seat. He gave Wei Fei a meaningful look, signaling him not to be impatient and to wait at ease.

He understood why Wei Fei was so irritable.

Ever since receiving the first letter Fu Zhizhou had sent, they had not received a second one from him in the past half year.

Fu Zhizhou... seemed to have forgotten the pact they had made that day, forgotten these two sworn elder brothers.

The three waited patiently.

The waiter of Xuan He Tower brought up jug after jug of wine.

Not until evening—

Did the crisp clatter of scales of armor sound outside the door.

Upon hearing it, the three men in the private room all raised their eyes toward the entrance at once. At last, they saw the long-absent Fu Zhizhou.

Fu Zhizhou wore gleaming silver armor and a helmet crowned with a red tassel. He looked imposing and majestic, with quite the bearing of a great general.

Compared to the three men inside the private room, the gap was obvious at a glance.

The former was triumphant; the latter were downcast.

"Eldest Brother, Second Brother, Third Brother..."

Fu Zhizhou removed his armor, revealing a dark inner garment. He cupped his fists toward Wei Tu and the others and bowed in salute, his attitude respectful and without the slightest arrogance.

Seeing this, Wei Tu and the other two secretly let out a breath. In their hearts, they began to accept this fourth brother who had "flown ahead" once more.

The four exchanged greetings in turn.

At this moment, Kou Liang instructed the Xuan He Tower attendants, who had been waiting for a long time, to serve the dishes and warm the wine.

"My three sworn elder brothers, I have kept you waiting. Because I was assigned a duty, I have remained at the Governor's Mansion these past days..."

"To preserve secrecy, I did not dare send anyone with letters. If I have slighted my three sworn elder brothers in any way, I hope you will be magnanimous."

Fu Zhizhou seemed to have seen through Wei Tu and the others' concerns and took the initiative to explain why he had neglected them over the past half year.

"A duty?" Kou Liang's heart stirred upon hearing those two words, and his gaze toward Fu Zhizhou became probing.

If Fu Zhizhou had merely been an Imperial Guard officer of the Governor's Mansion, there was no way he would have reached the point of "cutting off all contact" with the three of them because of it.

"Since Eldest Brother has asked, this fourth brother will speak plainly."

"I only hope that after my three sworn elder brothers learn of it, you will not spread it outside."

After thinking briefly, Fu Zhizhou gritted his teeth and spoke.

—He understood that if he did not make things clear today, after this banquet, the four of them would surely go their separate ways.

As for brotherhood, Fu Zhizhou felt that he had not yet reached the point of sharing life and death with Wei Tu and the others. But since they had made a pact, mingled blood in an oath, and become brothers...

Then they ought to share life and death!

Feelings... could slowly be cultivated later.

"If Fourth Brother has something difficult to speak of, you may choose to keep it hidden. There is no need to force yourself..."

Seeing this, Wei Tu hurriedly spoke to stop him. He knew that sometimes, knowing too much was not a good thing.

He did not want to suffer an undeserved calamity and bring a deadly disaster upon himself.

"Third Brother is right."

"If Fourth Brother has something difficult to say, there is no need to tell us."

Hearing this, Kou Liang and Wei Fei immediately understood the meaning behind Wei Tu's words and nodded repeatedly.

If secrets leaked, when an Innate Realm Martial Master used a spiritual secret art to eliminate future troubles, it would not be Fu Zhizhou alone who would be punished.

They would also follow the vine to find the melon,

And become implicated as well.

Hearing this, Fu Zhizhou shook his head and explained, "This matter is closely tied to the future prospects of my three sworn elder brothers. If you do not know this intelligence, you may be at a loss when it involves you in the future."

"Moreover, given my current position, so long as my three sworn elder brothers keep it secret and do not speak carelessly, the authorities will not easily trace it back to me."

As his voice fell.

Wei Tu and the other two looked at one another. In the end, they agreed to let Fu Zhizhou reveal the "secret" he knew.

"Last year, because of the Wu Yun Tower matter, the four of us stood against Prefect He. Thus, we formed the Righteous Society, swore an oath with mingled blood, and agreed to support one another from then on, advancing and retreating together."

"The secret matter I wish to speak of is also connected to Wu Yun Tower."

"Governor Wang's agreement last year to let Prefect He send Martial Scholars into Wu Yun Tower as undercover agents was merely an open move. The true hidden move had long since been laid by Governor Wang..."

"Waiting only for the day Wu Yun Tower committed enough crimes for the net to be drawn tight..."

"When that time comes, Shannan Dao should mobilize the local garrison troops to attack Wu Yun Tower together. And my three elder brothers, with your formidable martial arts, will naturally be among those summoned."

"Governor Wang's Imperial Guard will be the elite force in this attack on Wu Yun Tower."

"And the timing could be as soon as three or four months, or as late as one or two years from now."

Fu Zhizhou spoke slowly.

"Attack Wu Yun Tower?"

This intelligence was not unfamiliar to Wei Tu and the other two.

As early as last year, they had expected the authorities to act against Wu Yun Tower. Wu Yun Tower was a ship bound to sink.

But they had not expected Governor Wang to drag in the local garrison troops when attacking Wu Yun Tower.

Wei Tu and the others knew best what the local garrison troops were like. They were almost all peddlers and common laborers; if they encountered a powerful enemy, they would surely collapse at the first touch.

If the local garrison troops were mobilized, then they, as garrison officers, certainly would not escape it either.

"This is our chance to earn merit. If we return to the county town and diligently drill the soldiers, perhaps we can fight for an opportunity to rise in rank and receive noble titles."

Kou Liang and Wei Fei were filled with fighting spirit and highly optimistic.

By comparison.

Wei Tu was somewhat worried.

Unless driven to it, he did not want to rashly set foot on a battlefield. Blades and spears had no eyes, and it would be no good if he died on the battlefield when the time came.

"Now that my three sworn elder brothers know this news, return and secretly train the soldiers, purchase fine armor, and once war begins, you will surely establish merit and build your careers."

Fu Zhizhou said with a smile.

Providing this intelligence could also be considered his keeping last year's promise: whenever he found an opportunity, he would lend Wei Tu and the others a helping hand.

"Thank you, Fourth Brother."

Wei Tu sighed inwardly, composed his feelings, and thanked Fu Zhizhou together with Kou Liang and Wei Fei.

He was a military commander. Though he had several soldiers under his command, they did not form a proper unit, so the matter of training troops had nothing to do with him.

This chance to establish merit and build a career had little to do with him.

"Still, knowing this intelligence in advance is a good thing for me. If I prepare fine armor beforehand, it may save my life at a crucial moment on the battlefield..."

Wei Tu thought to himself.

Half an hour later.

Fu Zhizhou put on his gleaming silver armor, offered an apology, walked out of the private room, left Xuan He Tower, and returned to the Governor's Mansion for duty.

Afterward.

The other three also departed one after another.

After returning to the Dan Residence in the Prefectural City.

Wei Tu stayed for two or three days. Only after Shan Yangong's concubine-taking celebration had concluded did he return with Wei Fei to Qingshan County Town.

After returning to the county town.

This time, Wei Tu no longer clung to concerns over borrowing money and owing favors. For the sake of a suit of fine armor, he sought out Wei Fei and borrowed fifty taels of silver from him.

Next, Wei Tu visited the Huang Family again, wrote an IOU, and borrowed thirty taels of silver from Second Aunt Wei Hong.

Eighty taels of silver in total.

Wei Tu delivered all this money to the garrison troops' armorer shop and asked the blacksmith to forge him a set of finely crafted armor with thorough protection.

Time slowly flowed by.

In the blink of an eye, it was Year 26 of Qing'an.

This year.

It was the fifth year Wei Tu had cultivated the Turtle Breath Qi Cultivation Technique.

In the small courtyard, after Wei Tu completed the stance training of the Health Cultivation Technique for the twelfth time, he suddenly sensed faint wisps of wandering qi within his meridians.

These wandering wisps were utterly different from the warm current that had surged through his body during his usual stance training.

He seemed able to use his mind to control these wandering wisps, guiding them out from his meridians and beyond his body.

At this sight, how could Wei Tu fail to understand?

Using the Health Cultivation Technique, he had finally gone from without to within and cultivated his first strand of inner qi.

Thinking this, Wei Tu immediately immersed his mind in his Late Bloomer destiny and examined the changes to the words upon that Golden Purple Destiny.

Turtle Breath Qi Cultivation Technique (100/100): Cultivate nine times a day, and success will come in five years.

"It worked!"

"Not only did I enter the Qi Sensing Realm before the five years were up, but I also successfully increased my strength by a great margin before the authorities attacked Wu Yun Tower..."

Wei Tu's face lit up with joy.

He clearly remembered that he had begun cultivating the Health Cultivation Technique in late autumn of Year 21 of Qing'an, while he had entered the Qi Sensing Realm now, in the summer of Year 26 of Qing'an.

Several months separated those two points in time. Though not long, it was enough to prove that his efforts had been effective.

The progress on his Late Bloomer destiny could be completed ahead of time; he did not necessarily have to wait until the fixed number of years stated in its prompt.

PS: This chapter is three thousand words. The update was a little late, so please follow.