Change of Plans, Part 1

Cheng Shaojiu clenched his fist. But he couldn't say anything.

He was silent for a long time before turning around, leaving the caravan agency, and heading towards the Huishan Fist Academy.

He actually knew everything. He knew about his uncle's situation. Although he pretended not to care, he was actually fully aware of everything.

The caravan agency's business had been affected, but it was still far from being in serious trouble. His uncle had deliberately exaggerated the situation to prevent him from bringing more people to the agency.

His family never met his sworn brothers and sisters for this very reason.

Everyone thought his friends were disreputable and that he was wasting his life, but how many people truly understood his thoughts?

He, Cheng Shaojiu, treated people with sincerity, and he believed they would treat him with sincerity in return.

Only genuine feelings could earn genuine feelings. Although his friends might not seem impressive on the surface now, when it truly mattered, they would be far more reliable in supporting him than the caravan guards under his uncle's command!

But his uncle didn't see it that way.

Following the usual path, Cheng Shaojiu soon arrived at the Huishan Fist Academy again. To avoid arousing suspicion, he had to keep what had just happened hidden in his heart, lest anyone notice anything amiss.

Quite a few fellow disciples were already present in the courtyard, practicing individually.

Cheng Shaojiu immediately spotted his friend Wei He. They exchanged glances and were about to speak.

"This is bad!" Suddenly, a new junior disciple pushed open the courtyard gate and rushed in.

"Senior Brother Xiao Ran was seriously injured in yesterday's sparring match!"

"!?!"

Everyone in the courtyard was stunned at first, then showed expressions of doubt and disbelief.

Who was Xiao Ran? He was the current favorite at the Huishan Fist Academy, Old Zheng's prized disciple, and a master of the Stone Hide level.

Now, someone suddenly appeared saying he was seriously injured!?

"It's true!" Soon, another person entered the gate and said in a deep voice, "The teacher has ordered Senior Brother Third, Xiao Jue, Zhang De, Zheng Niu, and Xu Anshan to come with me. Everyone else is to remain in the courtyard!"

This person was a junior disciple who always followed Zhao Hong closely and often conveyed the teacher's and senior brother's messages.

Hearing him say this, everyone began to believe it.

After all, no matter how bold this guy was, he wouldn't dare to falsely convey orders.

The named individuals immediately stepped forward. Led by Cheng Shaojiu, they hastily followed this person out of the courtyard. Judging by their direction, they were heading towards the district with the most physicians and pharmacists.

Wei He didn't even have a chance to tell Third Senior Brother about his breakthrough.

He watched as nearly half the people were gone in a rush.

He let out a soft sigh.

"How exactly did Senior Brother Xiao get injured? Even with Old Zheng present, he still got hurt?" someone muttered in a low voice.

"Old Zheng is strong, but no one has ever seen him fight. How do you know he isn't stronger than Senior Brother Xiao? After all, as he gets older, his Blood Essence will naturally decline," another person retorted in a low voice.

"Didn't they say he went for a sparring match a few days ago? Could it be!?"

"Who knows about the sparring match? I heard from senior brothers before that sparring matches never resulted in such serious injuries."

"Stop guessing," Jiang Yan said sternly, "Focus on your own practice."

Wei He also withdrew his attention, his heart unmoved, and continued his practice slowly.

The courtyard gradually returned to a quiet state. However, while everyone appeared calm, a sense of curiosity weighed on their minds.

Xiao Ran had never been very popular in the courtyard, so upon hearing that he was injured, and seriously injured at that, some of those present even felt a sense of schadenfreude.

Before long, Ouyang Zhuang also arrived. However, his expression flickered as he feigned calmness and walked over to Wei He.

"Senior Brother Wei, I just went to Taihe Hall. Senior Brother Xiao is being treated there. Do you want to know how he got injured?"

He whispered mysteriously.

"..." Wei He remained silent, continuing his own work. He stoked the fire and began to heat and sterilize the sand and stones used for Skin Grinding.

Ouyang Zhuang blinked. After waiting for a while and finding Wei He unresponsive, he became anxious.

Compared to Cheng Shaojiu and Old Zheng, his patience was even worse. Unable to hold back for long, he immediately began spilling what he called insider information.

"Brother He, you're too composed! I asked the family guards. Yesterday during the sparring match, Xiao Ran was spotted by the Zhao Family of the Seven Families Alliance and also by the Tian Family. Both sides invited him to join them and take on a position."

"As a result... that Xiao Ran guy..."

"Speak properly," Wei He glared at him.

Such casual and disrespectful address, if overheard by others, would not cause trouble for Wei He himself, but Ouyang Zhuang would definitely be branded as disrespectful to his elders, which would be detrimental to his future development.

"Oh, alright, alright. Senior Brother Xiao, is that better?" Ouyang Zhuang pouted dismissively.

He was young and didn't care about such things at all.

"Let me tell you, Xiao Ran refused the Tian Family and chose to join the Zhao Family. As a result... today, news broke that he was ambushed and seriously injured by a masked assailant. Tsk tsk... these Zhao and Tian families have always been rivals. If it weren't for the agreement within the Seven Families Alliance, there would be no alliance at all.

Senior Brother Xiao has truly suffered an undeserved disaster. It's too tragic."

"In my opinion, if he had chosen the Tian Family, the Zhao Family would have surely made a move as well. No one wants to see such a young, elite genius with great potential join their rival."

"Actually, normally, the Zhao family would definitely have been on guard against him being ambushed. But the Tian family acted too quickly. There's no such thing as guarding against thieves for a thousand days, you know?"

He also said some gloating things afterward. It was likely because Xiao Ran always had that arrogant "I'm the best, and everyone else is second" expression, and treated everyone with indifference, which made Ouyang Zhuang quite unhappy.

However, Wei He could no longer hear him.

His mind was filled with the news Ouyang Zhuang had just shared.

Xiao Ran, being too much of a genius, was invited by two families for a sparring match. He agreed to one, but was ambushed by the other and was now severely injured.

Geniuses also carried risks. Wei He had originally thought the risks would be small, but now it seemed... they were quite significant.

Once a great tree grows out of the forest, it must independently endure the wind and rain from all directions.

'Is this the price of being a standout talent?' Wei He thought somberly.

He had originally considered revealing his progress quickly, perhaps even earning the title of a minor genius.

But now...

'It's better to stay hidden for a while. No need to rush.' Wei He felt a sense of unease.

Being a genius wasn't easy.

However, he also understood that his situation would be difficult to hide from his teacher, Old Zheng. This was good, though. With only Old Zheng knowing his progress, he could receive preferential resources.

His safety would also be guaranteed, and he could obtain subsequent cultivation methods at his own pace without being held back.

But for everyone else, he wouldn't reveal anything.

Wei He had made up his mind. It would be better to wait a bit longer before announcing his breakthrough. This way, he wouldn't have to bear the burden of being a genius and could calmly handle more things.

If Old Zheng noticed it himself, he wouldn't need to proactively inform him. But if Old Zheng didn't notice, he would find an opportunity to reveal it privately.

Ouyang Zhuang was still rambling beside him, gloating and saying many things.

Wei He responded intermittently, continuing his own practice.

Gradually, the entire day passed. Old Zheng and the others never arrived.

Senior Brother Zhao Hong, Cheng Shaojiu, and several core disciples were also absent. It was clear they were all guarding at Taihe Hall.

In the courtyard, everyone was unusually interested in gossip, and no one was in the mood to practice properly.

It was Wei He, however, who urged Ouyang Zhuang, and they diligently completed their daily exercises together.

"Senior Brother Wei, you truly have remarkable composure," Ouyang Zhuang said weakly.

"..." Wei He remained silent, slowly placing his sweat-stained towel into hot water, scrubbing it, wringing it out, and then tilting his head back to cover his face with it.

As dusk began to fall, nearing the end of the day's session.

A group of people entered through the courtyard gate.

Senior Brother Zhao Hong was at the very front, followed by Cheng Shaojiu, and then two disciples carrying a stretcher.

Lying on the stretcher was Xiao Ran, his face ashen.

Xiao Ran's lips were completely devoid of color, and he was unconscious, clearly gravely injured.

Old Zheng walked at the very back, holding a cane, his expression quite grim.

His usual lazy, unhurried gait now carried a hint of heaviness and authority.

Contrary to Wei He's expectations, Old Zheng had no intention of checking on the others in the courtyard. Instead, with a cold expression, he followed the group and quickly entered the inner room.

A moment later, shouts could be heard from within the house. A disciple quickly ran out, holding a prescription, seemingly to go buy medicine.

Wei He's expression was calm. He packed his things, playfully pinched the gloating Ouyang Zhuang beside him, and led the unsophisticated young man out of the courtyard.

"Ouch! Brother Wei, why are you pinching me?!"

"What did you call me?" Wei He stopped in his tracks.

"Brother Wei?" As soon as Ouyang Zhuang spoke, his ear was grabbed tightly again.

He immediately cried out in pain.

"Senior Brother Wei! Senior Brother! Oh, my good Senior Brother, I was wrong!"

He quickly begged for mercy.

Only then did Wei He release his hand. "Let's go."

"Oh..." Ouyang Zhuang rubbed his ear, looking confused and helpless.

The two of them tidied up their belongings and left the courtyard.

Wei He had originally planned to inform Old Zheng about his breakthrough, but he decided to postpone it for now.

Seeing Xiao Ran's fate, he understood the great risks involved for geniuses. Therefore, Wei He decided to be a person who wasn't quite so much of a genius.

He would find another opportunity to tell Old Zheng.

After Xiao Ran was severely injured, Old Zheng mobilized his connections and investigated everywhere for the assailant, but unfortunately, he found nothing.

Instead, he wasted a lot of time, energy, and money.

This continued for more than half a month.

Old Zheng returned to the courtyard with a grim expression after another day of fruitless searching.

But this time was different from usual. Normally, he would slowly gnaw on chicken feet after a sip of tea.

Now, however, he had no appetite for chicken feet at all. His eyes seemed to be on the others in the courtyard, but in reality, they darted about, his attention completely elsewhere.

Everyone could see that Xiao Ran's serious injury had hit him hard.

Xiao Ran had been recuperating for over half a month and could barely walk. When he occasionally appeared in the courtyard, he couldn't practice, only staring grimly at the others practicing, his gaze quite unpleasant.

Another half month passed. Wei He continued to diligently save Boundary-Breaking Pearls while waiting for his opportunity.

Fortunately, he had spent a long time with Cheng Shaojiu and knew some simple practice methods for the early stage of Stone Hide. He didn't need to rush at first and wasn't significantly delayed.

The main issue was that he was unclear about the complete practice methods for the Stone Hide level, and it was difficult to ask. This was something he would have to find Old Zheng for.