15 (Thanks to Alliance Leader Chen Feng Cuo Yu)

Great Capital.

Slanting threads of rain fell over countless Yellow Tile Red Wall Pavilions.

The pavilions were like leaves, the roads like silken threads; the entire Great Capital resembled a gigantic silkworm basin carpeted with mulberry leaves.

The moving White Big Carts were countless Thin White Silkworms.

In a corner of the city stood an opulent Five-Story Brown Pavilion.

A Gentle Woman with bright, beautiful eyes, dressed in a Blue Long Skirt, leaned against the window lattice.

Cloud patterns densely covered the hem of her dress. Its cinched waist and narrow shoulders revealed Fair Jade Arms beneath its long sleeves.

The elegant hues of Blue and White Porcelain upon her dress, paired with her intricately piled high hair bun, made her seem limpid yet exquisitely fragile.

"Xiao Yu, it's getting dark. Go back and rest."

There was another person in the lavish room: a Tall Man with a Dark Red Birthmark on his right cheek. He wore an equally Dark Blue Brocade Long Robe and gently urged her.

"Yes, Husband. I'll go back right away." The woman turned and gave a slight curtsy.

"Still thinking about your Younger Brother?" The man stepped forward and gently wrapped an arm around her waist.

"I sent people to look for him, but unfortunately they couldn't find him. However, the Daoist Registry you arranged has taken effect. I found out someone used it, so he should have taken the path you arranged for him.

"Once he enters the Daoist Sect, he'll be much safer than outside. At the very least, he won't have to worry about food, clothing, warmth, or cold. You needn't worry too much either. Don't harm your health."

His hand gently rested upon the woman's lower abdomen, as if feeling for something.

"Even for the sake of our child, you must take care of yourself."

Deep emotion welled in the woman's eyes.

Although her Husband was ugly, his appearance somewhat frightening, her choice back then had truly not been wrong.

He genuinely loved her.

Even though she was from a Barbarian Confucian Household, he had not cared in the slightest and had taken her into his family.

Under Great Ling's established system, a Spirit Race man could marry four wives, and each would be a Main Wife of equal standing, without distinction of rank.

For her sake, her Husband had ignored his family's opposition and given up most of his career and inheritance before finally bringing her into the family.

Though the two of them were now far worse off than before, they still lived well.

It was just that... "Rong Fang has been stubborn since childhood. I'm worried he might do something foolish." The woman was Zhang Rongfang's Elder Sister, Zhang Rongyu.

After leaving Tianyin County, she had followed her Husband all the way to the Great Capital.

She had originally thought her Husband merely wanted to toy with her, but she had never expected that he truly loved her.

Whenever he lost control and struck her, he would afterward weep bitterly in remorse and beg for her forgiveness.

Zhang Rongyu also knew that, if not for this, she would never have had the chance to get close to him.

And apart from the occasional mental instability and violent temper, her Husband was gentle with her most of the time.

That alone was enough to satisfy her. "Master, Madam! Found him, found him!!" Suddenly, a plump little Maidservant burst through the door, waving a letter in her hand.

"Baozi, what did you find?!" Zhang Rongyu's heart leapt as she hurriedly looked up at the Maidservant.

Baozi was the Personal Maidservant her Husband had arranged for her. She had instructed her to keep an eye on Hua Qian and find her Younger Brother.

With her shouting like this now, could it be...? "Master, Madam, it's Madam's Younger Brother! He's been found! A letter came from Tianyin County saying he's been found!!" Baozi cried excitedly.

With a rustle.

Zhang Rongyu abruptly straightened up, her lips trembling uncontrollably as her eyes instantly reddened.

"Is he all right?"

"He's fine, he's fine. Here's the letter. Madam's Younger Brother has even entered Qinghe Dao Palace. Please, take a look—here's the letter!" Baozi hurried forward and handed over the Letter Paper.

Zhang Rongyu and her Husband took the letter and read it carefully together.

It contained information described by the Investigators, all of it rough details about Zhang Rongfang.

Before she had even finished reading, Zhang Rongyu could not help sobbing softly. Not from sorrow—she was simply too happy.

"Tianyin County and Huaxin County are separated by at least two counties. How did he make it there all alone?" Her Husband sighed softly.

"He must have suffered so much." Zhang Rongyu weakly leaned into her Husband's embrace.

"Don't worry. As long as he's been found, everything is fine with me here."

The man gently held his wife, considering how he could help afterward and set her mind at ease.

Given his current position, he could not act openly. Otherwise, it would do his Brother-in-law more harm than good. Some people might even target him and turn him into one of his weaknesses.

The best course would be to secretly send some money, then ask a Trusted Person to look after him a little. That would be ideal. But Huaxin County was not territory under his influence. Sending money would be easy, but finding someone to look after him... that required careful thought.

*** BANG!!! Zhang Rongfang's arms barely brushed past the dagger's blade edge as he struck the Mountain Bandit squarely in the chest.

The man had been caught off guard, his vision disrupted by the Animal Trap. He tried to throw a punch, only for Zhang Rongfang's blow to leave his entire body rigid and send him tumbling backward.

At that moment, Zhang Rongfang's body instinctively followed the subsequent moves of the Yue Type Talisman. Thirty-two moves in succession, like a plunging torrent, like Mercury Spilling on the Ground, all crashed onto the Mountain Bandit's body within ten short seconds.

At that moment, every worry—worrying that he would be wounded and infected, worrying that he would be crippled, worrying that lasting injuries would remain, worrying about this and that—all of it swiftly vanished as the other man began Spitting Blood, his gaze turning vacant.

Fists and palms interwove, forming a Chain Surround.

The final move.

Crane Lifts Fish.

Zhang Rongfang's Palms formed a Bird Claw Shape as they struck together from behind on the Mountain Bandit's neck bone, then pulled outward.

Crack.

As the corpse dropped to the ground with a thud.

Zhang Rongfang stood where he was, panting heavily, blood splattered all over him.

His mind was blank, but his instinct for survival drove him to swiftly search the Mountain Bandit from head to toe before turning and running.

He feared the man had Accomplices.

Only now did he suddenly realize that the level at which this man had fought was, at most, that of an Ordinary Martial Person who had seen blood.

The man's crude blocks, bedraggled dodges, speed, and strength were absolutely below grade. He was about the same as Zhang Rongfang—he had practiced some rudimentary martial arts, but his realm was not high, not even at the Blood Nourishing level.

Most crucially, this man's martial moves were rough. He had probably learned some ordinary Fist Technique from somewhere. His every gesture was full of openings, and he made many needless little motions when striking. Zhang Rongfang had caught a key opening and landed a full-force blow.

Thinking of this, Zhang Rongfang somewhat understood what Senior Brother Zhang Xintai had meant by saying that martial arts mattered most in victory and defeat.

Good martial arts had fewer openings, greater power, and faster strikes.

Poor martial arts had more openings, less power, and slower strikes.

Many times, one opening was one fatal point.

After the fight, Zhang Rongfang ran wildly for over a hundred meters through the woods in one breath before remembering that he still had to find Xiao Qingying.

And hadn't he just released the Message Tube? No, I have to get back! If she encounters the Mountain Bandit's Accomplices alone, that'll be trouble!

At this thought, his heart skipped a beat. He turned and hurried back toward the village.

He walked very carefully, afraid someone would discover his tracks.

The first time he had killed someone, Zhang Rongfang felt an inexplicable sense of Trembling with Fear.

He was afraid—afraid that someone would discover he had killed the Mountain Bandit. A Daoist Priest who had only practiced martial arts for such a short time could never have executed that incredibly practiced string of Yue Type Talisman moves.

He would very likely be suspected.

He feared that after people discovered he had killed someone, they would throw him into prison.

He feared that someone behind that man would emerge and come looking for trouble with him.

What if they assassinate me? What if they sneak attack me while I'm asleep? What if they poison me some other way? All kinds of worries churned through his mind again.

*No, I can't expose myself. I can't let anyone know I killed that man.

*Besides, my background means that even if I display talent and strength, I'll never be able to turn over unless I reach Second Grade.

Rather than that, it would be better to hide my strength for now. Once I reach Second Grade, I can see whether I can take the examination for the Imperial Court's Assembled Sages Institute.

The Assembled Sages Institute was a special religious administrative institution established by Great Ling to govern the Daoist Sect throughout the realm.

As long as one could pass the Second Grade assessment, even a Man People could obtain a graded appointment.

Even if he was merely a Ranger with no actual Official Power, it would be enough for him to leave Xiao Qingying and live on his own.

After walking slowly through the forest for quite some time, Zhang Rongfang gradually calmed down somewhat.

Though he still had many worries and fears, he was far calmer than at the start.

He had already killed the man. Now that things had reached this point, everything was a Foregone Conclusion. All he could do was think carefully about how to deal with what came next.

And then there was... "Xiao Qingying." At the thought of her, Zhang Rongfang felt his head ache.

Who knew where this woman had run off to with Chen Wuyou this time.

As he quietly made his way back near the village, Zhang Rongfang happened to encounter Yang Xuanchao and the others arriving as reinforcements.

He did not conceal anything. He told them every detail, hiding nothing except for the fact that he had killed one man.

Upon hearing that Xiao Qingying and Chen Wuyou were missing, Yang Xuanchao's expression changed slightly. He swiftly dispersed his men to search in all directions.

He had taken money and intended to casually cooperate with them, but what was going on now? The target was still alive and well, while the others...

"Since you're unharmed, search with us." After thinking for a moment, Yang Xuanchao directly ordered.

"Yes." Zhang Rongfang was slightly stunned, and he sensed that something was wrong from those words.

Normally, for someone like him who had narrowly escaped death, the first thing to do should have been to send him somewhere safe to rest.

Yet Yang Xuanchao ignored his condition and had him join the patrol again to search for people.

It seemed Zhang Rongfang somewhat understood.

Someone had truly pulled strings this time to target him.

Was it someone I offended during the spring outing last time?

As he searched everywhere with the group, he pondered.

The only person he had offended who could pull strings with the officers was probably Chen Wuyou.

Before long, the group returned to the place where the two Mountain Bandits had died.

Looking at the inhumanly mangled corpses on the ground, Yang Xuanchao's eye twitched slightly. He turned back to glance at Zhang Rongfang.

One had been killed through a trap, while no one knew how or by whom the other had been beaten to death.

He crouched and examined the edge of the corpse.

"He was beaten to death by fists and palms striking his vital points. His face, eyes, and nose bear wounds from an Animal Trap."

"The rest of you, spread out and search with this place as the center," he stood and ordered.

"Yes!"

A group of Da Ling Soldiers scattered in all directions. These Soldiers were usually lazy and slack, but at a critical moment, their actions were carried out with strict discipline and great speed.

Zhang Rongfang mixed among them, and before long joined up with Captain Na Mushi and the others, who had hurried over.