Waiting for a Fine Wind and Rain

The lanterns glowed red, wine flowed green, cups clinked in staggered succession, and the night banquet came to an end.

Chu Qing tucked several secret manuals and a large quantity of secret medicine into his clothes, then cupped his fist toward Zhao Wuji and the others standing below Immortal Fate Tower.

"Hall Masters, please remain. This junior will return home on his own."

With that, he turned and left.

Below Immortal Fate Tower, the lights blazed brightly.

Zhao Hongxiu watched Chu Qing step into the dark alleyway one pace at a time and let out a soft sigh.

Shi Tiezhu cautiously moved closer. He saw Zhao Hongxiu's hazy drunken eyes, the rosy glow on her cheeks, and her fixed stare at Chu Qing's retreating back.

His heart was in turmoil.

Damn it, I even had him scrape out a living at my family's Blacksmith Shop before.

Now that the Martial Hall was in trouble, they still had to rely on him.

I... sigh!

"Senior Sister..."

Zhao Hongxiu said softly, "I'm fine. I merely drank a few cups with him."

Shi Tiezhu felt as though his heart were being twisted by knives.

He said bitterly, "It seems we'll have to rely on Chu Qing from now on."

Zhao Hongxiu chuckled softly. "Not necessarily."

Shi Tiezhu was puzzled.

"Chu Qing works for Chief Constable Shi, which looks quite glorious. But Chief Constable Shi is cold and indifferent by nature. I heard from some constables that Chu Qing gave him a great deal of silver, yet even now, he cannot remember Chu Qing's name."

Zhao Hongxiu added, "You and I can enter the Martial Academy, but he cannot."

"In the future, our achievements will surpass his."

Shi Tiezhu's eyes lit up. "That's right. He doesn't have three thousand taels of silver, and even if he wanted to sign a contract, he would have no way to do so."

"If he cannot enter the Martial Academy... he will accomplish nothing."

"When he falls on hard times in the future, I'll definitely give him a place at the Blacksmith Shop."

Zhao Hongxiu nodded.

Shi Tiezhu was still someone with a brain.

At that moment, Zhao Wuji and the other Hall Masters, including Iron Hand, departed together.

They found a secluded place and began plotting in secret.

Zhao Wuji spoke first.

"Hall Master Liu is vicious by nature."

"He wants to put us all to death."

"Everyone... what should we do?"

The Iron Fist Hall Master growled, "I want to kill him."

The Red Snake Leg Hall Master sneered. "I suffered an undeserved calamity, and he wants me dead as well. Tell me, what should I do?"

The Iron Hand Hall Master took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "My Martial Hall has quite a few conflicts with his Head-Slicing Hall. He wants to harm me. I refuse to accept that."

Zhao Wuji lightly clapped his hands and said coldly.

"Then let us wait for an opportunity and make Hall Master Liu give up his thoughts of harming others."

The other Hall Masters nodded one after another.

After plotting for a while, they decided to wait for an opportunity.

Zhao Wuji said leisurely, "On a night of high winds and deep darkness, kill in the rain; it leaves the cleanest traces."

They exchanged glances and smiled.

They were all martial artists. Though their levels were somewhat low, each harbored a blade in their heart.

Before parting, Zhao Wuji suddenly said.

"What do you think of Chu Qing?"

The Iron Hand Hall Master said, "A youth in coarse clothes and bare feet, yet on his first visit to Immortal Fate Tower, he remained very calm."

The Red Snake Leg Hall Master said, "He is young, his blood and qi are vigorous, and he admires young women. Yet when two clean and lovely women attended him, he only focused on eating chicken feet and never laid hands on them."

"This child... has a fine temperament."

Zhao Wuji nodded. After parting ways with the others, countless thoughts ran through his mind.

The first time he noticed Chu Qing had been when Chu Qing was doing Frog Jumps and eating frogs.

"Dressed in coarse cloth and barefoot, with no money for meat, he ate frogs instead."

"He could discover the importance of leg strength to Mantis Fist."

"He acknowledged Hall Master Jin's wife as his godmother, then watched a play together with Madam Shi."

"He has perseverance, quick wits, intelligence, and scheming."

"The Martial Academy's gates are wide open to him."

"Sadly, Hongxiu did not choose him."

"Fortunately, I made amends... from now on, how far the Mantis Martial Arts Hall can go will depend on him."

Chu Qing returned home and slowed his steps when he saw someone at the door.

When he approached, he saw that it was a Minor Leader.

Reeking of alcohol, the Minor Leader cupped his fist and said, "Master Qing, Hall Master Liu... cursed you."

Chu Qing raised a brow, thoroughly surprised.

What surprised him was not that Hall Master Liu had cursed him, but that the Minor Leader had come to warn him.

The Minor Leader said swiftly, "Hall Master Liu bears a grudge against you. He will probably make things difficult for you."

"Master Qing, you must be careful."

Chu Qing cupped his fist in thanks and gave him another tael of silver.

The Minor Leader was so delighted his brows danced with joy. "Hall Master Liu is miserly and only knows how to squeeze people dry. Master Qing is generous."

A few minutes later.

Chu Qing saw the Minor Leader off and closed the door.

He lit an oil lamp. Several secret manuals and several corresponding boxes lay on the table.

Yet he did not read them. Instead, he frowned in thought.

After a long while, he said leisurely.

"Hall Master Liu... I hope you do not do anything foolish."

"Wouldn't it be better to live a few more days?"

The moment Hall Master Liu had demanded three thousand taels of silver from him, Chu Qing had developed killing intent.

He had merely endured for a time because he did not know Hall Master Liu's background.

Now... Hall Master Liu had actually cursed him before so many Minor Leaders and declared that he would make things difficult for him.

This angered him even more.

Who are you looking down on?

Did he really think I was still some lackey who could only wave flags and shout?

Moreover, Hall Master Liu's attempt to stop Chief Constable Shi from giving him a blade technique made his killing intent surge even higher.

Now... he needed to wait for an opportunity.

Wait for a rainy day.

"I wonder how long I'll have to wait."

After thinking it over, he flipped through the secret manuals on the table.

There were four in total. Three were thick, while one was thin.

The three thick manuals were.

Iron Hand!

Iron Thread Fist!

Red Snake Leg!

Chu Qing had already reached Perfection in Red Snake Leg.

There was no need to consider it.

He flipped through the remaining two and quickly mastered them.

The final thin one had been given to him by Zhao Wuji. It had no cover, and he did not know its name.

He opened to the first page, where there was only one line of crooked writing.

When using this martial art, be sure to kill every witness!

Chu Qing was puzzled. A martial art that required killing witnesses after using it?

What was that supposed to mean?

When he opened the second page, his expression changed slightly.

On the page was an illustration of a praying mantis with a human face.

The mantis's two arms stretched out and joined together, resembling a... massive longsword.

One page...

Ten pages...

You have obtained a martial art: Dual Mantis Sword!

Rip!

Chu Qing tore out the final page.

As for the rest: he burned it, soaked it, and mixed it into the soil.

Only after finishing everything did he realize that his heart was pounding violently.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

His poor little heart was nearly about to leap from his chest.

"Zhao Wuji actually possesses a weapon martial art, and he was willing to give it to me?"

Although the Imperial Star was wavering and the Great Gan Empire was about to face the Millennial Calamity.

The Empire's control over weapon martial arts remained strict.

Even among nobles and Fortified Village Disciples, only a tiny number of direct descendants could learn weapon martial arts before entering the Martial Academy.

And even after entering the Martial Academy, one had to pass trial after trial before being allowed to study weapon martial arts.

Someone with a weapon martial art fighting bare-handed opponents had killing power as far apart as Heaven and earth.

"How does Zhao Wuji possess a weapon martial art?"

"Why did he give it to me?"

"Isn't he afraid I'll report him?"

"Does he want to win me over?"

Countless thoughts ran through Chu Qing's mind. In the end, he smiled in relief.

"Forget it. I won't think about it so much."

"Since he gave me a weapon martial art, I'll find an opportunity to repay him later."

Having obtained a weapon martial art, he itched to begin cultivating it immediately.

But... bare-handed martial arts were more important.

After all, the Martial Academy Preliminary Exam tested bare-handed combat.

He could not neglect his hand and foot techniques.

As for weapon techniques... whether cultivating or using them, both were troublesome.

He could treat them as a trump card and work on them slowly later.

As he thought, he looked at the final sheet of paper.

It showed diagrams of two Two-handed Greatswords, meant to be used with the Dual Mantis Sword.

If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you will not have trouble finding it next time.