Night Watch (Part One)

There really were fewer people.

Wei He could tell at a glance that at least a third of the people in the courtyard were gone.

"I haven't been paying much attention lately. What happened?" He took Ouyang Zhuang to a corner and began their regular practice for the day.

Yet even as he prepared their things, he kept glancing around him in confusion.

The people in the courtyard carried an inexplicable air of silence and agitation.

Ouyang Zhuang looked around, made sure no one was nearby, then leaned close and lowered his voice.

"I heard from one of the senior sisters that most of them were senior brothers who'd been stuck for too long and couldn't break through."

"Even so, there was no need for them all to leave at once, was there?" Wei He knew that in this courtyard, anyone unable to break through for a long time had no choice but to seek another way out. After all, tuition had to be paid every month.

For people like them now, the tuition was not much. The problem was that they still had to spend most of their time training and practicing martial arts, leaving little time to earn money.

As they grew older, they could not go on sitting idle and eating away their savings forever.

So many of them took part-time jobs outside, just as Wei He himself worked part-time at the Cheng Family's Yonghe Escort Agency.

"I heard Hong Family Fort outside the city is recruiting soldiers. The treatment and benefits are excellent. Anyone who performs outstandingly can become a Squad Leader or even a Platoon Leader directly." Ouyang Zhuang clicked his tongue in admiration.

"They say every Squad Leader-level officer gets special medicinal meals that greatly nourish the blood and vital energy, as well as personal guidance from stronger experts to help them break through."

Wei He understood.

It was only natural for those old-timers who had been unable to break through for so long to leave. Twenty was the peak period. Once they passed it, their physical strength would slowly begin to decline, and then everything would be too late.

Speaking of which, his eighteenth birthday was coming soon as well.

"How good can medicinal meals be? You still have to gamble with your life for them." Wei He rebuked him. Seeing the envy in Ouyang Zhuang's eyes, he quickly urged him to get back to training.

For the entire day, Ouyang Zhuang was absent-minded and completely unable to settle into practice. Wei He, on the other hand, remained steady as ever, following his routine of practicing moves, Skin Grinding, and resting.

The matter had not disrupted his rhythm in the slightest.

Still, after hearing Ouyang Zhuang speak of it, he too became curious. Just how formidable were the experts in the military?

Near evening, when practice was almost over, Cheng Shaojiu finally arrived late. He had spent the entire day dealing with matters at his family's escort agency.

Wei He wanted to ask about it, but since Cheng Shaojiu had not brought it up, he must have had his reasons for not telling him. Wei He was in no hurry.

His blood and vital energy was about to reach completion. His greatest task now was to gather enough and break through immediately.

When Cheng Shaojiu entered the courtyard and saw that so many people were missing, he was taken aback as well. But someone soon explained what had happened.

He pondered for a moment, then went into the inner room, seemingly to speak with Old Zheng about something.

Not long afterward, he came back out and beckoned Wei He over.

"Little He, finished?"

"More or less." Wei He nodded, hung the towel around his neck on the rack behind him, and walked over.

"Brother Cheng, what is it?"

As their relationship grew closer, the way he and Cheng Shaojiu addressed each other had become more familiar.

"Nothing much. Come with me to the Inner City later and clear our heads." Cheng Shaojiu patted Wei He on the shoulder, then immediately pulled his hand back in disgust.

His palm was covered in Wei He's sweat.

"The Inner City?" Wei He paused. He had never been there.

"You haven't been, have you? It's fine. Your brother here will show you the world!" Cheng Shaojiu revealed a faint smile.

"Alright." Wei He answered concisely. In truth, he had never gone to the Inner City partly because he had always heard it was extremely expensive, and partly because he lacked the time and energy.

After tidying up, Wei He gave Ouyang Zhuang a few instructions about his training, then showered, changed clothes, and climbed into Cheng Shaojiu's family carriage with him.

The carriage headed all the way toward the entrance to the Inner City.

In essence, the Inner City and the Outer City were two separate areas.

The Inner City was enclosed by a ring of high walls. It was a city within a city, completely cut off from the outside.

The two entered through an entrance that was itself a small city gate. Once inside, Cheng Shaojiu did not wander about, but instead took him into a three-story restaurant.

The restaurant was called Hundred Flowers Tower. Its name was common beyond measure, but its style was somewhat different.

As Wei He walked in, he saw a girl of sixteen standing beside every table. Dressed in white gowns that exposed their shoulders and legs, they were a feast for the eyes, serving wine and food to the guests.

"What do you think? Hehehe, today your big brother will open your eyes!" Cheng Shaojiu smugly patted Wei He on the shoulder and led him to a seat by the window.

A server immediately came over.

This server was different as well. She was actually a pretty young woman, though at least twenty-five years old. Her close-fitting red dress emphasized her full, alluring figure, stirring all manner of thoughts.

Cheng Shaojiu swiftly and expertly ordered several dishes, then looked at Wei He.

"What do you want? Shall we have some wine?"

"No. Those of us who train should drink less." Wei He had recently been wholly occupied with building up his blood and vital energy. Afraid that any external factor might affect him, how could he dare drink casually?

"No wine is fine. Bring us a pot of Nine Yun Green Tip." Cheng Shaojiu waved grandly and gave the order.

"Certainly, Young Master. Would you like some familiar girls to come up and attend you?" the woman in red asked with a smile.

"No need. My brother and I will eat by ourselves." Cheng Shaojiu waved her away.

The woman quickly left, disappearing down the stairs from the second floor. Only after she had completely descended did Cheng Shaojiu withdraw his faintly lingering gaze.

He picked up his teacup, intending to moisten his dry throat, only to realize the tea had not arrived yet. He promptly put it down again.

"Ah..." He let out a long sigh.

"Why are you sighing, Brother Cheng?" Wei He asked strangely, looking around. Young girls attended them here, the table would soon be laden with rich food and wine, and there were fine wine, beauties, and delicacies alike. What could possibly be troubling him?

"Little He. You and I have stayed in Feiye City for so long and rarely gone outside. We don't know the current situation." Cheng Shaojiu spoke softly, his brows furrowed.

"I came here deliberately tonight and reserved a table in advance because I wanted to see whether Hong Family Fort's man entering the city—the famed Tiger of Feiye, Hong Daoyuan—really lived up to his name."

"Hong Family Fort? Hong Daoyuan?" Wei He did not understand. Weren't they here to clear their heads? Why had the conversation suddenly turned to the Hong Family?

Cheng Shaojiu saw Wei He's confusion and continued explaining. "Last night, Hong Family Fort's soldiers clashed with the Seven Families Alliance's tax inspection team. Seven members of the inspection team died and one was wounded. The injured one escaped back and lodged a complaint with the Ou Family of the Seven Families Alliance.

"Now the Seven Families Alliance and Hong Family Fort have become tense with each other. No one knows how they negotiated it, but Hong Family Fort is said to be sending the strongest of its younger generation, Tiger of Feiye Hong Daoyuan, into the city to meet Lord Ou Chen, the city governor."

"What does that have to do with us?" Wei He was speechless.

"You don't understand. Hong Family Fort has been raising private soldiers in recent years, and its influence has grown stronger and stronger. Its ambitions have long been laid bare in broad daylight. This open slaughter of a tax inspection team is proof enough.

"But the Seven Families Alliance does not dare tear the mask off completely either. With both sides wary, they have each made concessions. I'd guess Hong Family Fort is sending Hong Daoyuan into the city as a show of force."

Cheng Shaojiu spoke in a low voice.

"A show of force?" Wei He immediately felt that the problem was serious.

If things had risen to the level of a show of force, then if it was true, this Hong Family Fort might harbor treasonous ambitions at any moment.

"Just wait. According to the appointed time, it'll be soon, soon. About a quarter of an hour left." Cheng Shaojiu glanced at the dripping water timer nearby.

The timer was sealed beneath a large piece of glass to keep outsiders from touching it carelessly. Black stone basins formed a stair-like sequence, each holding a stream of water that dripped bit by bit over the edge into the one below.

Wei He had always buried his head in hard training. At these words, curiosity arose in him for the first time.

Outside Feiye City seemed to be an entirely different, chaotic world.

Hong Family Fort was an immensely powerful deterrent that guarded the peace around Feiye City, and among them was Hong Daoyuan, called the strongest of the younger generation.

What kind of level and existence was he?

Wei He could not help feeling curious.

"People from the Three Gangs and Two Sects have arrived too," Cheng Shaojiu suddenly murmured.

Wei He froze, then followed his gaze.

At the stairway on the second floor of the restaurant, around the corner, groups of people were filing one after another toward the third floor.

Wave after wave, these people wore uniform gang attire and were dressed in black, bearing gang insignias.

Every one of the black-clad men was muscular, broad-waisted and thick-shouldered. They looked like people who were not to be trifled with.

Each had a white image of a small mountain on his right arm.

"Those are people from the Shanchuan Gang. The leader is at least a Black Mountain expert," Cheng Shaojiu introduced.

"Shanchuan Gang members generally do not mingle in our area. Their ranks are roughly divided into White Mountain, Black Mountain, and the highest level, Green Mountain. White Mountain is the level of ordinary gang members. You need to watch out for Black Mountain—at the very least, they are experts who have broken through blood and vital energy once."

Wei He's heart tightened, and he nodded repeatedly.

He noticed that among the group's leaders, three alone had the Black Mountain emblem embroidered on their sleeves.

Other than the Shanchuan Gang, the rest were minor gangs. Cheng Shaojiu briefly introduced them, then said no more.

They had come to watch the excitement, just like them.

It was Wei He's first time coming into close contact with other gang forces.

He had always kept his head down and trained hard, refusing to concern himself with affairs beyond the window. This was the closest he had ever been to the Three Gangs and Two Sects.

"No need to worry. The Three Gangs and Two Sects do not dare act recklessly in the Inner City. This is the Seven Families Alliance's territory. Apart from Hong Family Fort, no other force dares make the slightest misstep. Do they think the Ou Family wouldn't dare kill?" Cheng Shaojiu said calmly, as though it were a common sight.

Wei He understood, but at the same time, he grew curious about the true military and lineage powers of this era.

Even people from the Outer City like them could break through blood and vital energy once after consuming just a little blood-nourishing substance.

The descendants of the Seven Families Alliance in the Inner City possessed conditions far beyond theirs. What heights could they reach?

And what sort of level was Hong Family Fort, which even the Seven Families Alliance feared so deeply?

Wei He suddenly found himself greatly expectant and curious as well.

He suddenly understood Cheng Shaojiu's thoughts a little better.

Or rather, it would be difficult for any martial artist to willingly miss this scene.

After all, Hong Family Fort had always kept a low profile and rarely emerged.

"He's here!" someone nearby suddenly cried in a low voice.

"Junior Sister, that is the Tiger of Feiye. He is the strongest among Feiye's younger generation!"

Wei He looked toward the sound and discovered that, at the table in front of them, a young man and woman in green robes with swords at their waists had appeared at some point.

The man was strikingly handsome, with a strong yet lean build.

The woman wore a white veil, and when her beautiful eyes shifted, they seemed to carry rippling waves.

The two had sat there without a word before, with no sense of presence at all. Only when they stood and looked down through the window did Wei He notice where they were seated.

But Wei He had no time to study them closely now. Faintly from below the window came the clash of weapons and the thunderous pounding of warhorses' hooves.