A Wonderful Use

"Thank you for your instruction, Master!"

Only then did Xu Yi understand: the Qi Sea Realm was a threshold. Below the Qi Sea Realm, once a person died, even their soul and spirit couldn't gather into a form.

"No need to thank me. Just remember you owe me two gourds of wine!"

Master Zhou struck the pose of a man reaching out of his coffin—dead set on getting paid.

"I remember, I remember. Please, Master, continue clearing up my doubts!" Xu Yi said eagerly.

Master Zhou nodded. "One last question: what use does a powerful soul have for a martial artist? To be honest, I can't answer that well. At least, I can't give you a definite answer, because I've never heard of a powerful soul or any method for training one. I'm afraid only those mighty experts at the Soul Sensing Stage can answer your question."

"Of course, as I said before, that doesn't stop me from making an educated guess based on my life experience. Take ordinary people, for instance. Those with abundant energy and vitality are strong, full of vigor, and unyielding. If we're talking about a martial artist, then a powerful soul would presumably help ease mental fatigue during martial arts training. Likewise, someone with strong Soul Power would be sharp-minded and clear-eyed, with remarkable comprehension. Put that to use in learning Martial Skills, and they'd surely get twice the result with half the effort. Of course, that's just my personal opinion. As for the wonders a stronger Soul Power might bring, you'll have to wait until you reach the Soul Sensing Stage and discover them for yourself."

Master Zhou's voice was mild, his tone unhurried, without the slightest hint of passion. Yet to Xu Yi, his words confirmed a suspicion he'd held for a long time.

At that moment, the mountains fell silent, flowers bloomed throughout the valleys, and the dark clouds blanketing the sky scattered!

You damn heavens, you've finally opened your eyes!

Xu Yi roared inwardly, but his face remained calm. He bowed respectfully. "I've learned a great deal!" Then he turned and left, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Master Zhou came to his senses and bellowed, his voice ten times raspier than it had been during the lecture, "Don't forget the wine you owe me! Send it to Iron Cat Ear Alley in Guang'an City..."

After saying goodbye to Master Zhou, Xu Yi didn't hurry to the Constabulary Office. Instead, he strode to the town center and entered Furong Town's largest restaurant. Half an incense stick later, he emerged with a huge food hamper and hurried toward the Mu Family home.

When he pushed open the battered door, Qiu Wa was sitting in the yard, eating.

Qiu Wa had turned a square chair with half its backrest broken into a dining table. Two plates sat on top, holding cold steamed buns and salted fish. She sat on a little stool, her small frame hunched over as she ate with relish.

The moment she saw Xu Yi come in, Qiu Wa began to complain. "Where'd you run off to? You were supposed to guard the house. I thought I'd get a hot lunch today. You're so lazy! And after I even saved half a fish for you." As she spoke, she pointed her chopsticks at the more than half a fish left on the plate.

Uncle Mu went fishing and didn't return until evening. Over the past two days, Xu Yi had prepared Qiu Wa's lunch himself. Since he hadn't gone out, he'd simply heated up the Mu Family's stored food: steamed buns and salted fish.

But this time, since he'd gone out, how could he settle for such a meal?

"You eat without waiting for me, and you still have the nerve to complain? Fine, fine. You eat yours, and I'll eat mine."

As he spoke, Xu Yi sat on the stone ledge beside the flower bed, opened the food hamper, and laid the dishes out across the ledge one by one.

Osmanthus-scented duck breast, air-dried meat sausages, scallion-oil chicken with three aromatics, specially prepared suckling pig, braised golden carp...

Dish after dish spread across the ledge, their colors rich and aromas enticing. Bathed in the dappled sunlight, they seemed to glow with a sacred radiance.

Qiu Wa stared, dumbstruck. Her mouth hung wide open, and the half-chewed bun slipped from it without her even noticing.

Xu Yi didn't hold back. He took a pair of finely made peachwood chopsticks from a compartment in the hamper's handle, picked up a piece of duck breast, and popped it into his mouth. He smacked his lips as he chewed, savoring every bite.

"Waaah!"

Xu Yi's action jolted the little wooden statue to life. Qiu Wa leaped high into the air on her short legs and hurled herself at him, shrieking, "You stinky Bearded Uncle! You rotten Bearded Uncle! You've got delicious food and you dare eat it all by yourself? That's so unfair!"

Her cries came out inarticulately, but her chubby little body shot toward him like a cannonball. She nearly plunged headfirst into the flower bed before grabbing the greasy chicken with both hands and burying her little head in it.

It was the most lavish and delicious meal Qiu Wa had ever eaten in her life. In her frantic haste, she wished she'd been born with two extra hands and another mouth.

When Xu Yi saw the little girl polish off half a chicken and a whole pig leg, then reach for more, he finally stepped in to stop her. "Careful, you'll choke!"

Qiu Wa pouted and struggled, then suddenly realized her little belly was tighter than ever before. Her ravenous appetite ebbed away like a receding tide. She quickly shuffled over and collapsed into Uncle Mu's battered recliner, panting with her mouth open as she rubbed her belly with one small, struggling hand.

While the little girl worked hard to digest her food, Xu Yi launched his own attack.

He ate ten times more ferociously than she did, sweeping the food away like a whirlwind. He stuffed an entire carp into his mouth from head to tail as if it were a fried dough stick.

He chewed through most of a suckling pig and half a roast chicken as if they were twists of fried dough, finishing them in moments.

He treated the remaining dishes like peanuts, lifting each plate and shoveling the food straight into his mouth.

Before the little girl could recover from her food coma, Xu Yi had already cleaned out every last bite.

"Ahhh!"

Qiu Wa let out a strange cry and sprang to her feet like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. She glared at Xu Yi, pointing at him with a trembling finger, then at the empty plates. Yet she couldn't get a word out. Her expression was downright comical.

"So you're upset because I ate too much? Hahaha! You little glutton. If you had the guts, you'd grow a belly as big as mine! Hahaha..."

Xu Yi was overjoyed.

Even the clouds on the horizon seemed caught by his laughter. He couldn't remember if he'd ever been this happy in his life.

After their lively meal, Xu Yi headed straight east through town.

Half an incense stick later, he arrived outside the Furong Town Constabulary Office.

The compound bearing the Constabulary Office plaque was large. Beyond its arched stone gate lay a broad courtyard—or, more accurately, an enormous training ground.

Several burly men stood bare-necked beneath the blazing sun, exerting themselves on a set of body-training machines made of Heavy Iron. Sweat drenched their muscles until they gleamed bronze.

The midday sun beat down fiercely. Their torrents of sweat evaporated before they could hit the ground, filling the air with a pungent, sour stench.

Seeing a stranger enter, one of them called out, "Who are you looking for? If you're here to report a case, go outside and beat the drum, then submit a written statement!"

Before Xu Yi could answer, Gu Jianming, who had been leafing through a stack of case files, emerged from the main hall. He spotted Xu Yi from afar and hurried down the steps with a smile. "What took you so long? I've been waiting forever. I thought you weren't coming."

"Something came up at home and held me up. Sorry, Chief Gu!"

Xu Yi replied, then continued looking around at the place that would soon be his workplace.