Registration

"Sit, sit. Try this tiger meat. I only boiled it simply, so it doesn't taste as good as restaurant dishes, but it's far more nourishing." Yang Jing served out the tiger meat, then set out some side dishes bought from the restaurant. The steamed rice was piping hot.

Yang Lao San and his son were reserved at first, but Yang Jing put on no airs, and the two gradually relaxed.

They each tried a piece of tiger meat, and its rich, savory freshness shot straight to the crowns of their heads. They took several huge bites in succession.

But tiger meat was Fierce Beast Meat after all. Compared with ordinary livestock meat, it was far too nutritious and replenishing. After only a few bites, sweat beaded on their foreheads and their faces turned bright red. They could no longer swallow another mouthful and could only eat some vegetables to ease the heat.

Yang An was more composed than the two of them. Though it was clear this was also his first time eating tiger meat, he ate steadily. Perhaps because he considered himself family, he was not so restrained.

He picked up several pieces of meat, then shoveled down half a bowl of rice before saying quietly, "It smells much better than the coarse rice at home."

Yang Jing smiled. "Brother An, there'll be plenty for you from now on. First, build up your body so you can practice martial arts."

After the meal, Yang Jing stuffed the remaining braised pork knuckle into Yang Lao San and his son's hands and saw them to the door.

Yang Lao San left amid repeated thanks. Before leaving, he kept telling Yang Jing not to worry—the village was doing quite well now. Although there were some refugees, nothing had gone wrong.

When he returned to the courtyard, Yang Jing saw that Yang An had already begun clearing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen.

Yang Jing stopped him, had him carry his luggage bundle, and led him toward the side room. "Brother An, this room has been cleaned up. The bedding was freshly aired out. Stay here for now. Rest a while this afternoon. When I get back tonight, I'll take you around, then teach you martial arts."

Yang An broke into a simple, honest grin. Looking at the clean bed in the side room, then at the old locust tree in the courtyard, lush with branches and leaves, he nodded hard. "Mm. I'll listen to you."

After putting down his luggage and making the bed, Yang An went back to tidying the kitchen and sweeping the courtyard.

Yang Jing lay down for a brief nap. Afternoon sunlight filtered through the window lattice, casting mottled patches of light across the floor.

The room was quiet. Only the occasional chirp of cicadas outside and the sounds of Yang An tidying things could be heard, carrying a steady, warm peace.

These past few days, Yang Jing had been living much more comfortably.

The many trifling chores around the house had all been handed over to Yang An, saving him a great deal of time.

At night, while practicing martial arts himself, Yang Jing also set aside time to guide Yang An in cultivating the Surging Wave Leg.

The Mountain Collapse Fist was a core martial art of the Sun Clan Martial Arts School. Aside from the school master, Sun Yong, no one was permitted to pass it on to outsiders. That was a great taboo of the school.

However, Yang Jing had already attained considerable mastery in the Surging Wave Leg. Moreover, having trained the Mountain Collapse Fist to the Hidden Strength realm, he could draw inferences from one instance and overlook the whole from a high vantage point. Guiding Yang An, who had only just begun cultivating the Surging Wave Leg, was effortless.

While guiding Yang An's martial arts practice, Yang Jing discovered that this cousin of his not only had the root bone for martial arts, but seemed to possess even better root bone than Yang Jing himself. Though it was also low-grade root bone, he had hope of breaking through to Bright Strength.

This made Yang Jing place some hopes on Yang An as well. He knew he would not remain in Yuhe County forever; sooner or later, the day would come when he left. When that time came, there would be someone to look after the family.

In the blink of an eye, another three days passed.

Early that morning, at the Sun Clan Martial Arts School in Chengping Ward.

Yang Jing had just finished a round of Mountain Collapse Fist. A thin sheen of sweat covered his forehead, and he was about to switch to the Surging Wave Leg when he saw Sun Ningxiang emerge from the inner courtyard.

She wore a moon-white ruqun and held a register along with paper and brush in her hands. Standing before the moon gate, she called out in a crisp voice, "Senior brothers and junior brothers who wish to participate in the Parade Ground Trial, if you don't have time to register at the county yamen, you can come to me and record your information. I'll compile it and submit it to the county yamen all at once."

Naturally, one had to register to participate in the Parade Ground Trial. Only after breaking through to Bright Strength and passing the official inspection of the imperial court could one be considered successfully registered.

However, that was the method for Rogue Cultivator martial artists registering for the Parade Ground Trial.

The major martial arts schools in the city had been established for many years, their ties with the authorities tangled like roots and branches, close and intricate. With a martial arts school vouching for them, they could skip the court's inspection and register directly as a group.

In truth, the mainstream martial artists at the Parade Ground Trial basically all came from the major martial arts schools. Next came the children of great clans, while Rogue Cultivator martial artists came last.

In times like these, without the piling up of background and resources, without the guidance of famous masters, the path of a Rogue Cultivator martial artist was the hardest. Their numbers breaking through to Bright Strength were also the fewest.

Hearing Sun Ningxiang's voice, the Bright Strength disciples in the front courtyard gathered around one after another and began registering.

The few Hidden Strength disciples were in no hurry, still practicing martial arts with their heads down.

The Bright Strength disciples only wanted to perform a little better at the Parade Ground Trial. None of them had thought of making it onto the Parade Ground Trial rankings.

But these Hidden Strength disciples were different. Each of them had a fire burning inside, wanting to make a push for it.

In terms of sheer tenacity, Zhao Wenzheng, Qi Yun, and the others had performed no worse than Yang Jing these past few days.

Lin Yue was also throwing out Mountain Collapse Fist with gusting force, though his gaze occasionally flicked toward Sun Ningxiang before the moon gate.

Sun Ningxiang lowered her head and held her brush, carefully recording the disciples' information.

Sunlight fell over the tips of her black hair, giving them a soft sheen.

Before long, the Bright Strength disciples had finished registering.

Yang Jing saw that the other Hidden Strength disciples had made no move, as though whoever went to register first would somehow be a head weaker than the rest.

Yang Jing did not compete over such things. He walked up to Sun Ningxiang, sat before the small square table that had been temporarily set out, picked up the brush on the table, and wrote down his name, his place of origin—Yang Family Village, Wazi Township—and his age in the register.

"Junior Brother Yang, you ought to practice your handwriting when you have time," Sun Ningxiang said as she accepted the register. When she looked up at him, her brows curved and two shallow dimples appeared. "Do your best at the Parade Ground Trial. Perform well—I believe in you!"

Her smile was clean and bright, like a breeze on a summer day. Yang Jing's heart stirred for no reason, as though something had lightly struck it.

Although he had broken through to Hidden Strength and intended to participate in the Parade Ground Trial, no one thought highly of him. This included Fourth Senior Brother Liu Maolin, with whom he had a good relationship, as well as many of his fellow disciples. Even his master believed it was impossible for him to carve a path through the encirclement at the Parade Ground Trial.

Yet at this moment, someone had suddenly said that she believed in him.

It was probably just a polite remark. Yang Jing froze for a moment before finding his voice again. With a soft laugh, he nodded slightly. "Thank you, Senior Sister."

With that, he turned and returned to the wooden post where he usually practiced his fist techniques. He took a deep breath and suppressed that strange ripple in his heart.

When the wind of his fists rose again, he deliberately gathered his mind and refocused on the coordination between his fist forms and Internal Energy.

The Parade Ground Trial was imminent. He would not allow any distracting thoughts to affect his state.

Sun Ningxiang watched his back as he threw himself once more into his focused fist practice, the smile at the corners of her lips still lingering as she continued registering Xu Hong, who had just come over.

Lin Yue was the last disciple to come over and register.

At this point, no one else came to interrupt them, so he could speak a few more words with Sun Ningxiang.

At noon, the sun blazed overhead. After finishing his practice, Yang Jing wiped the sweat from his neck with a cloth towel, picked up his bundle from the corner by the wall, and left the martial arts hall.

He did not head home right away. An Ge was at home and had likely already prepared the meal, waiting for him to return, but before going back, he needed to pick up some medicinal ingredients.

Yang Jing headed straight for the Liu Family Medical Hall.

Simply supplementing himself with Fierce Beast Meat could no longer meet the demands of his martial training. Unless he had an ample supply of Spirit Fish to eat—but Spirit Fish were far too expensive. Even the Liu Family Medical Hall only gave him five Spirit Fish a month, nowhere near enough.

Under such circumstances, if Yang Jing did not want his martial progress to slow, he could only exhaust every means of supplementation available to him. Medicinal supplements were one very important method.

Yang Jing currently had a piece of Aged Ginseng that was several decades old. However, its nourishing effects were too potent, so each time he only used a few slices, brewing them together with various other tonic herbs.

As he hurried along, a thought stirred in Yang Jing's mind, and the System Panel appeared before his eyes, clearly displaying the progress details for Mountain Collapse Fist and Surging Wave Leg—

[Mountain Collapse Fist, Major Accomplishment (61/1000)]

[Surging Wave Leg, Minor Accomplishment (93/500)]

Compared to Mountain Collapse Fist, Surging Wave Leg had progressed much faster.

There were two reasons for this. One was that Yang Jing had been getting ample nourishment from food and medicine lately. The more important reason was that he had already broken through to Hidden Strength with Mountain Collapse Fist. Now that he had turned back to cultivate Surging Wave Leg, his progress naturally came at an incredible pace.

Yang Jing also considered that if he obtained other martial arts in the future, he could cultivate them the same way.

Lost in thought, Yang Jing soon arrived at the Liu Family Medical Hall.

People came and went through the medical hall, and the air was thick with the fragrance of herbs.

Familiar with the place, he greeted the apothecary clerks and the physicians seeing patients, then continued without pause into the herb storeroom in the rear courtyard.

According to the terms they had previously agreed upon, Yang Jing could select medicinal ingredients at cost each month, with the total not exceeding fifty taels of silver.

He never took more than he needed, nor did he take the full amount in one go. He always collected herbs according to his needs—taking some this time, switching to a few others next time—so that poor storage would not leave the herbs spoiled in his hands. It also allowed him to test which ingredients worked better.

Altogether, the various herbs he took always remained within the fifty-tael limit.

Besides, he was not short on money for the moment. If he encountered valuable medicinal ingredients he wanted, he could pay for them himself, and the medical hall would still give him the cost price.

Shelves stood in neat rows throughout the storeroom, with every kind of medicinal herb sorted and arranged meticulously.

Yang Jing went to the section where tonic herbs were stored and began choosing carefully.

He intended to add several more herbs to use with the ginseng slices, making the nourishing effects richer and more mellow.

He selected angelica and fleeceflower root, then added some Goji Berry and Solomon's seal. Estimating that the combined cost was only a little over ten taels, he had the medical hall's accountant tally it up, then carefully wrapped everything in oil paper and tied it into a bundle.

Yang Jing had just lifted the herbs and was about to leave the storeroom when he heard voices speaking in the courtyard. One of them sounded very familiar—it was unmistakably his Fourth Senior Brother, Liu Maolin.

Yang Jing paused. Thinking he might as well greet him before leaving, he lifted the door curtain and stepped out into the courtyard.

He had only poked half his body out when he saw two people standing in the yard.

Liu Maolin had his back to him and was speaking with the person opposite him in a tone of easy familiarity.

When that person turned around, she was unexpectedly a beautiful woman with delicate features. She wore a simple yet elegant lake-blue dress, her hair arranged flawlessly in a neat bun. Her brows and eyes carried a calm, composed air; though she wore no powder or makeup, she possessed a gentle and graceful charm all her own.

Yang Jing's steps slowed slightly, caught by surprise.

He had come to the Liu Family Medical Hall many times, yet he had never seen this woman before.

Could she be a new concubine Senior Brother took in? I've seen that concubine, and she doesn't look like this, Yang Jing thought to himself.

"Junior Brother? You're here." Hearing the movement, Liu Maolin turned around and spotted Yang Jing. He immediately smiled and beckoned him over. "Come, let me introduce you. This is Miss Jin Lian."

The woman followed Liu Maolin's gaze toward Yang Jing. When her eyes settled on him, they held a polite scrutiny. She gave a slight nod in greeting, her expression tranquil.

Seeing this, Yang Jing had originally thought to slip away quietly, but now that both of them had noticed him, leaving was no longer an option.

He smiled faintly, walked over, looked at the two of them, and cupped his hands politely. "Greetings, Miss Pan."

The woman paused in slight surprise, then said softly, "My surname is Jin, not Pan."

Her voice was gentle, and she did not seem offended in the least.

"Ah, Jin as in golden light, Lian as in lotus flower," Liu Maolin explained from the side, then laughed heartily. "Isn't Miss Jin's name lovely?"

Only then did Yang Jing understand. A trace of apology appeared on his face as he said, "I was presumptuous. Greetings, Miss Jin."

When he had heard Liu Maolin call her "Miss Jin Lian" just now, he had instinctively associated it with that familiar name and had overlooked the matter.

Liu Maolin smiled and patted Yang Jing on the shoulder, then said to Miss Jin Lian with a smile, "This is my fellow disciple and junior brother—a Hidden Strength expert from the martial arts hall. I mentioned him to you before. He's steady and utterly dependable."

Miss Jin Lian's expression cleared in realization. The way she looked at Yang Jing gained several degrees of seriousness, and much of the earlier distance in her gaze faded. A courteous smile appeared on her face as she dipped into a slight curtsy. "So you are Young Hero Yang. Forgive my disrespect."

Yang Jing nodded politely.

Sure enough, when out in the world, one's face was something one earned for oneself.

Only after Liu Maolin mentioned that he was a Hidden Strength martial artist did this woman give him a smile.

After a pause, Miss Jin Lian said with a smile, "If Young Hero Yang is free sometime, you should come visit the Lu Family. I will certainly receive you properly."

Yang Jing was slightly taken aback, a little surprised inwardly.

Since this woman's surname was Jin, why had she invited him to the Lu Family?

Suddenly, he recalled that she had referred to herself as "this concubine." Looking at her married woman's coiffure, he understood somewhat. This Lu Family was likely her husband's family.

Yang Jing had much on his mind, but his hands did not slow. He immediately cupped his fists politely and said, "Thank you for your kind invitation, Miss Jin Lian. If the opportunity arises, I will certainly trouble you."

Miss Jin Lian smiled and nodded. After exchanging a few simple words with Liu Maolin, she gave the two of them a slight curtsy and prepared to take her leave.

"We'll see you off."

Liu Maolin said with a smile.

Yang Jing nodded as well.

Miss Jin Lian smiled and did not refuse.

The three chatted as they left the medical hall's courtyard, passed through the main hall, and arrived outside the front gate.

"Young Master Liu, Young Hero Yang, I'll be staying in Yuhe County for some time. If the two of you are free, come to the Lu residence or the Exotic Beast Pavilion to have tea with me."

After saying that, Miss Jin Lian stepped into the carriage by the roadside. The curtain fell, and her graceful figure vanished from sight.