"Did you see it a while back?"
"Mm, I saw it. I was oiling the carriage then, and I saw them by the roadside. There were over twenty riders in that group, every last one of them looked fierce as demons."
Old Huang replied.
"Earlier, I saw notices at the city gate saying that strange beasts outside the city were ravaging the fields, and the Seven Families Alliance was leading a hunting expedition. All seven families sent experts and gathered them into one team."
Old Huang took out his waterskin and drank a mouthful before continuing, "Looking at things today, I'm afraid it won't come to anything."
Wei He fell silent and asked no more.
The carriage rolled slowly through the night, heading toward the Wei family's small courtyard.
The wheels sent up strings of rainwater as they passed one umbrella-carrying pedestrian after another, and happened to pass a person in blue by the roadside.
The blue-clad person held a white paper umbrella, its canopy embroidered with an exquisite red plum blossom, and strolled along leisurely.
Wei He caught a fleeting glimpse through the crack in the window. On the back of the hand holding the umbrella, beneath the sleeve, he vaguely saw a small, exquisite Hong character embroidered there.
His heart tightened. He quickly opened the carriage window and leaned out to look back, but the blue-clad person had already vanished.
The street was cold and deserted, with only a few people hurrying along beneath umbrellas.
The extinguished lanterns outside the shops swayed and drifted in the wind, making the scene all the more bleak and lonely.
Wei He pulled his head back in and sat properly, a sudden heavy feeling weighing on his heart.
He did not know why he felt this way, but his instincts told him it was as though black clouds were pressing overhead, and a storm could erupt at any moment.
"Perhaps I should ask Old Zheng. He might know something."
Wei He made up his mind to ask Old Zheng the next day.
As a renowned great martial master of Shiqiao Town, Old Zheng's connections and information channels were far beyond Wei He's.
And that blue-clad person from the Hong Family—
Wei He suppressed the stray thoughts in his mind, closed his eyes to empty them, and took a deep breath.
After returning home, Wei Ying heated water for him. Once he had bathed, Wei He quickly fell asleep.
Before dawn the next day, he hurried straight to the inner room where his teacher, Old Zheng, lived.
He knew that Old Zheng generally rose early, though every morning, he would secretly go over the accounts once.
"That cavalry troop last night? The Seven Families Alliance's troop, huh."
Zheng Fugui set down his abacus and stroked the long beard on his chin.
"Do you know, I just learned from an old brother of mine that Hong Daoyuan of Hong Family Fort went out on an excursion yesterday, taking his beautiful wife and young son to Mingde Temple to burn incense.
They also said that Hong Daoyuan's group encountered a sudden attack by fierce beasts, but he personally acted and hunted down more than ten of them without suffering the slightest injury."
"This..." Wei He's heart clenched. Connecting the pieces, he sensed something was wrong.
Zheng Fugui smiled.
"The Seven Families Alliance and Hong Family Fort have fought openly and covertly more times than one could count. They have lost more than they won. Now that Hong Daoyuan's wings have fully grown, he is merely waiting for an auspicious day. What does the Seven Families Alliance have to contend with him?"
He rose, put the abacus into a compartment in the bookcase, then took a thin account book from another spot.
"Do you know what sort of place Mingde Temple is?"
"This disciple does not. Isn't it a place for burning incense and worshipping Buddha?" Wei He shook his head.
"Little He, today your teacher will tell you a principle." Zheng Fugui smiled. "In this world, anything built outside the city, anything that dares to remain outside the city—be it a martial school or a Buddhist temple—will not be a simple character."
"...Could it be that Mingde Temple has another identity as well?!" Wei He's heart jolted. He had once killed someone there to silence them.
"Correct. Mingde Temple is a branch altar of the Incense Gathering Cult. What could be clearer than Hong Family Fort going to Mingde Temple to burn incense?" Zheng Fugui sneered. "The Seven Families Alliance is panicking too."
"Then, Teacher, what should we do if they really start fighting?" Wei He asked worriedly.
"What is there to fear? Even if they do fight, they fight their own fight. What does it have to do with us? The Seven Families Alliance aside, Hong Family Fort has always had a decent reputation. They would not attack common folk for no reason."
Zheng Fugui spoke unhurriedly.
"Besides, there are Huishan Fist members on both sides. Hong Family Fort has Huishan Fist people, and so does the Seven Families Alliance. There is no need to hurry."
Wei He thought for a moment, then asked, "What about the Incense Gathering Cult?"
"The Incense Gathering Cult? A disorganized sect that cannot amount to much. At most, it can stir up the poor." Zheng Fugui did not care in the slightest.
Wei He still wanted to say something, but Zheng Fugui raised a hand to stop him.
"Enough. Since you are worried something might happen, I will make your cultivation public in a while. Then you can choose for yourself which side you want to join. How about it?"
"Teacher, this is...?" Wei He asked in confusion.
"A few days ago, Hong Family Fort already sent people to contact martial masters like us." Zheng Fugui explained. "We teach many disciples and wield considerable influence. We are a threshold they cannot bypass. Whatever they do, they must consider our stance."
"What do you mean?" Wei He's heart lifted slightly.
Clearly, it was time to choose a camp.
"What meaning could I have?" Zheng Fugui grinned, revealing his large yellow teeth. "You have your own fortunes. Your backgrounds differ, so your choices differ. Which road you take depends entirely on yourselves."
"Enough, stop letting your thoughts run wild over this. It is still early. Just train honestly.
In a while, I will call over the core few and spread word of your situation first. Otherwise, do you think you can go further relying only on that little snake meat from Cheng Shaojiu's family? How long would that take?"
Having been called out, Wei He nodded as well.
At his current stage, Silver-Kiss Black Snake Meat truly was no longer enough for him to accumulate qi and blood.
The pace was too slow.
The little snake meat supplied each month was not even enough to support his own qi and blood accumulation, much less let him accumulate Boundary-Breaking Pearls.
"Stone Hide practitioners are elite experts at the Second Stage Qi and Blood. In Hong Family Fort, they can serve as minor leaders; in the Seven Families Alliance, they can gain a middle-ranking post. In an ordinary wealthy household, they would be honored as distinguished guests. Among the Three Gangs and Two Sects, they are also pillars of the middle ranks. So you must choose carefully."
Wei He nodded heavily.
He knew that Teacher Zheng was spelling all this out so that he would suffer fewer losses.
Very soon, Zheng Fugui called over a sturdy woman outside the door and told her to summon several people from the courtyard.
Before long, the sky gradually brightened.
The first to enter was Jiang Su.
The girl wore fitted white clothes that exposed her fair arms. Her full chest strained enticingly against the fabric, making her exceptionally eye-catching.
Who knew how she trained? Her chest seemed even larger than when she had first arrived.
Her face was rosy beneath its pale complexion, carrying the natural apple-red glow brought about by long-term exercise. The moment she entered, she brought with her a rich scent of feminine hormones.
The moment Jiang Su entered and saw Wei He standing to one side, she froze slightly.
This was Teacher Zheng's private inner room—his bedroom. Anyone who was not a close disciple would never be permitted inside.
And yet now—
Confusion flashed through Jiang Su's eyes, but she said nothing. She walked to one side and stood quietly.
Soon, Cheng Shaojiu, Jiang Yan, and Zhao Hong arrived one after another.
Including Wei He, and Xiao Ran, who was absent due to injury, there were six in total. They were the current core disciples of Huishan Fist.
The five stood in a row before Zheng Fugui, quietly awaiting his instructions.
Zheng Fugui coughed a few times, lifted his teacup, and took a sip.
His old eyes, creased like fish tails, swept over the five. After waiting a moment, he finally spoke slowly.
"Today, I called you all here because there is something I need to explain."
He paused, leisurely set down his teacup, and let out a breath.
"Oh, right."
He suddenly looked at Jiang Su, as though recalling something.
"Jiang Su, how old are you this year?"
"Reporting to Teacher, I am nineteen."
"Nineteen... not so young anymore." Zheng Fugui stroked his beard. "How about this? Your junior brother Wei He is eighteen this year too. He is honest and dependable, with good potential and good strength. He is just the right man. Why don't you two get together, so you can support one another? What do you say?"
His words instantly left everyone present stunned.
Jiang Yan had always had designs on Jiang Su. Hearing this, he nearly forgot to hold his fan, and it fell with a smack onto the ground behind him.
Cheng Shaojiu had been swallowing water. At those words, he nearly choked and lowered his head, drawing breath repeatedly.
Zhao Hong was the calmest. He merely froze for a moment, then returned to normal without moving.
Of the two involved, Jiang Su's face rapidly reddened. Not from embarrassment, but anger.
"Teacher, Wei He and I?! This... Junior Brother Wei's personality and temperament are not at all the type I like. And I swore long ago that I would only marry a man stronger than me. He is not good enough!"
Wei He was startled as well and hurriedly spoke.
"Thank you for your good intentions, Teacher, but this disciple truly does not have the slightest romantic feeling toward Senior Sister Jiang. I have only respect for her. Please forgive me, Teacher."
To be honest, a woman like Jiang Su, who held her head high above the clouds, would exhaust him even if she were handed to him.
His ideal partner should at least be like Second Sister: gentle, virtuous, and a good woman suited for building a home and living a life together.
Jiang Su was too calculating and too fiercely competitive. Perhaps some soft, delicate pretty boy would suit her better.
Jiang Su glanced sidelong at him and thought, This boy at least has some self-awareness. He knows to refuse on his own.
Both of them had been frightened by Zheng Fugui's wild maneuver and hurried to refuse.
Zheng Fugui waved his hand.
"Aren't you quite suitable? Wei He broke through to Stone Hide today. He has good potential. Jiang Su is no slouch either, with both looks and family background. Isn't this that... that kind of match?"
"A match made in heaven," Cheng Shaojiu bent down and reminded him softly.
"Oh, a match made in heaven."
"..." Cheng Shaojiu smiled, straightened back up, and continued looking at Wei He.
Suddenly, his expression froze. What had Teacher just said?
Little He had broken through to Stone Hide?
The smile on his face halted. Feeling that he had misheard, he carefully thought back.
"Wait, Teacher, did you just say Wei He broke through? Broke through to the Second Stage Qi and Blood?" Cheng Shaojiu hurriedly asked.
"Didn't I say so?" Zheng Fugui glanced at him. "Correct. He is now at the same level as all of you."
The others had thought they misheard it the first time, but now it was said again.
Jiang Yan and Jiang Su were instantly dumbfounded.
Wei He, the fellow who had always been Cheng Shaojiu's insignificant little follower, had actually reached Stone Hide?
Jiang Yan furrowed his brow and carefully studied the calm and composed Wei He beside him. But soon, his brow relaxed again.
Cheng Shaojiu's formerly unremarkable little follower had suddenly stumbled into good fortune? Not bad.
Wei He came from humble origins and had a burden at home to support. Now that the Cheng Family was weakening, this was the perfect opportunity. With a little effort to win him over, Jiang Yan might gain a loyal servant.
Jiang Yan swiftly formed a plan in his heart.
On the other side, Jiang Su suppressed the emotions in her heart, bit her lip, and said nothing.
So what if he broke through to the Second Stage Qi and Blood? Why should that mean he can be directly matched with me? Judging from Wei He's aptitude before, Stone Hide is probably his limit. He merely got through by luck. Does Teacher really think he is some genius?
She felt indignant. Dissatisfaction with Teacher Zheng also rose in her heart.
If she married Wei He, would that not place her on the same level as Cheng Shaojiu's follower?
She did not think much of Cheng Shaojiu himself, yet now she was being paired with Cheng Shaojiu's follower? Had Teacher Zheng gone senile?!
Before you continue