Reporting Illness

Reporting Illness

Before long, Wen Xiaoqiao returned.

The plump woman was built like a tank. Walking through the wind and snow with four Saber-Wearing Servants behind her, she cut quite an imposing figure.

"Miss Wen, how is it?" Li Yuan asked.

Wen Xiaoqiao paused before saying, "Little Lord Li won't go see for himself, yet he asks me?"

Then she smiled sweetly. "Very normal. This is what a live-goods market ought to look like. Most of the goods are either numb or trembling in fear, while only a few are crying.

But the moment they cry, the merchants beside them punish them, so the noise quickly dies down."

Li Yuan's heart skipped a beat.

This time, he was not lamenting the state of the world. He had recalled scenes from horror films in his previous life.

Where resentment ran deep and dampness lingered, ghosts and evil spirits were easily born.

The Black Market met both conditions.

Wen Xiaoqiao said, "Tonight, I'll lead all the servants in keeping watch here. Does Little Lord Li want to join us?"

"Keeping watch?"

"If we solve this case, it will surely be a tremendous merit. Little Lord Li, you don't know that the Blood Saber Sect allows you to shorten your assessment period through merit, do you?

With such a great achievement, perhaps we can be promoted to Outer Sect Disciples in just a few months." Wen Xiaoqiao spoke eloquently, continuing to urge her partner on.

"This is the Black Market, situated in the middle of the lake with an unobstructed view all around. If outside enemies come, we'll spot them in advance.

And if there's an internal traitor, Lord Li is here to hold the fort. What is there to fear?"

After saying that, she glanced at Li Yuan and asked with a smile, "Little Lord Li, don't tell me you were frightened by some lousy disappearance story?"

"Little Lord Li is a Ranked Martial Warrior. How could he possibly be afraid? If word got out..."

Wen Xiaoqiao pressed him sentence after sentence, trying to force Li Yuan aboard her boat. After all, having one more Ranked Martial Warrior stand watch with her would put her more at ease.

Li Yuan suddenly turned sideways and lowered his head, coughing softly. As his sleeve slipped down, a fingernail-sized pouch slid out.

The pouch contained pig's blood he had prepared in advance.

Of course, besides the pig's blood, he had also prepared Lime Powder, iron nails, and other items in his clothes.

With a flick of his finger, the pouch of pig's blood flew into his mouth.

Li Yuan promptly bit open the pouch, then coughed violently and spat out the blood.

The blood was a shocking sight, blossoming into red plum flowers across his palm. Even the ground was stained red.

Wen Xiaoqiao had not noticed his little movements. Seeing the blood on the ground now, she was momentarily stunned.

The tank-like woman abruptly raised her head and stared at Li Yuan in surprise.

The servants beside her also looked over in shock.

The air fell silent for a moment.

Li Yuan broke into another prolonged fit of "coughing," then gasped heavily.

He was so out of breath that he looked as though he might die at any moment.

Wen Xiaoqiao instinctively asked, "Are you all right?"

It took Li Yuan a long while to settle down. Weakly, he said, "An old wound has flared up. It was left behind in Little Ink Mountain.

Ask anyone in Little Ink Village. Everyone knows about it.

Cough, cough... The doctors at Returning Spring Hall in the county know too..."

Wen Xiaoqiao froze. She had thought Little Lord Li was merely timid, but she had not expected him to truly be injured.

"Then..."

"I'll speak to Lord Li and take a few days off to recuperate." Li Yuan sighed, sounding reluctant. "Ah, such tremendous merit. Miss Wen, how about... cough, cough. Cough, cough, cough... you wait until I've recovered, and then we'll keep watch together."

"You should focus on recovering." Wen Xiaoqiao regained her composure. A shrewd gleam flashed in her small eyes as she thought, This is good too. I thought I'd have to defer to this Little Lord Li here, but it turns out he's useless. Sixty servants, so many people, and Lord Li is here too. Heh, this works perfectly in my favor!

A short while later, Li Yuan clutched his chest and arrived at the Black Market's entrance.

Above the Nameless Pavilion, Lord Li lay in a rocking chair, drowsy and half-asleep.

"Lord Li, my old injury has flared up. I need to request a few days' leave. Cough, cough," Li Yuan said.

He had already made up countless excuses along the way.

But before he could say them, Lord Li's voice came from the pavilion.

"In that case, go back and rest for half a month. Your next shift happens to be in half a month, so make sure you come then."

"Yes... cough, cough... Thank you, Lord Li... cough, cough..."

With that, he clutched his chest, turned, and left while pretending to be weak.

Inside the pavilion, Lord Li continued swaying back and forth in the rocking chair.

The creaking of the wicker chair sounded somewhat harsh amid the heavy snow.

The shantytown.

Li Yuan's home.

Yan Niangzi and Aunt Wang were stewing meat and cooking rice when they suddenly heard a knock at the door.

Aunt Wang hurried over, peered outside through the crack in the door, then quickly opened it. Seeing the young man in black standing outside, she said, "Master."

Yan Niangzi also hurried over and asked with concern, "Husband, why are you back so soon?"

"We'll talk inside. Cough, cough," Li Yuan said.

Yan Niangzi looked at him worriedly but did not ask further for the moment. Instead, she said, "Aunt Wang, set out another bowl and pair of chopsticks."

Aunt Wang respectfully acknowledged and hurried off to fetch a new bowl and chopsticks.

Once the foxtail millet was cooked and the meat was done stewing, she did not sit down at the table. Instead, she took the two children outside to continue working.

Aunt Wang cleaned the house. Someone had lived here before, and since they had moved in hurriedly, there was no way everything could have been attended to.

The two children, their little faces red from the cold, also held rags and wiped things everywhere.

Li Yuan sat down at the table and called outside, "Aunt Wang, come eat with us."

Outside, Aunt Wang replied, "Master, we aren't hungry. You eat first..."

Li Yuan fell silent for a moment. Yan Niangzi said, "Husband, just let her be. Don't make things difficult for her.

Aunt Wang told me that since she came here to be a servant, she had to behave like one. Things couldn't be as they were before.

We brought her to Silver Creek, and she already feels immensely grateful. If we ask her to sit at the same table with us, she definitely won't be able to get past that hurdle in her heart."

Li Yuan looked outside and saw the two little ones working with flushed faces.

He said, "Then set up another table and let the family of three eat as well."

"Really?"

"Really."

Only then did Yan Niangzi get up and pull Aunt Wang aside to speak with her for a long while.

Aunt Wang finally led the two children over to offer their thanks. Then she moved a table into the side room, served food and meat, and ate with the children.

The main room grew quiet.

The young couple sat across from each other, silently eating.

Li Yuan suddenly said, "From today onward, we'll say my old injury has flared up—the injury I suffered in Little Ink Mountain."

Yan Niangzi looked up in astonishment.

Li Yuan said, "I'll stay home for a few days to recover first, then we'll see."

"Husband, did... did something happen?" Yan Niangzi asked nervously.

"It's about the Black Market. I hope I'm overthinking it," Li Yuan said.

He had nothing to hide from his wife, so he told her about the disappearances.

Yan Niangzi grew somewhat frightened as well. "Then stay home for now. Wait until things are clear before going back."

After the meal.

Li Yuan took a nap. Then his gaze suddenly fell upon the saber issued by the Blood Saber Sect.

Previously, he had been busy with one thing after another, without the fixed time or tools to try certain things.

But now that he had reported illness and was staying home, and had this saber in hand...

Perhaps he could try swinging it.

If communicating with tigers had allowed him to comprehend the Beast Taming Art, then could swinging a saber possibly allow him to comprehend Blade Art?

Though the shack was small, it had everything one could need.

There was a main room, a side room, a front yard, and a back yard.

Flakes of snow drifted down, covering the open patch in the back yard that Aunt Wang had swept clean with fresh white.

Li Yuan took the saber to the open ground, drew it, sheathed it, and swung it around at random for a while, but gained nothing.

He sat beneath the eaves to rest for a while, then recalled his experience as a butcher in his previous life and decided to try the "blade techniques" he had developed while slaughtering pigs.