[Name: Su Mu (14 years old)] [Life span: 62 years] [Skills: Five Animal Frolics (Mastery 93%), Forging (Mastery 75%), Tiger Subduing Fist (Mastery 42%), Rock Shattering Fist (Minor Achievement 1%), Startled Sparrow Steps (Minor Achievement 1%), Alchemy (Entry Level 87%)] [Insight: 10 (Excellent Talent, Raw Jade)]
Su Mu opened his current status panel. As expected, the Insight entry had changed.
This time, after Startled Sparrow Steps and Rock Shattering Fist reached Minor Achievement, Su Mu's Insight finally broke through the ten-point threshold. His life span increased by a full ten years, and his Insight transformed from Modest Potential into Excellent Talent, Raw Jade!
Modest Potential had meant he was a genius among ordinary people, someone who could achieve a measure of success through diligent practice.
Excellent Talent, Raw Jade, however, put him beyond the realm of ordinary people. It marked him as a born genius, like a piece of jade that stood apart from the rocks even before it was carved. A little work could make him impossible for ordinary people to catch up with—a raw jade stone destined to become a fine piece of work.
Su Mu tried performing Startled Sparrow Steps again and immediately felt the difference.
Before, he had needed to concentrate completely to perform Startled Sparrow Steps. Lightness Skill was harder to practice and execute than ordinary fist techniques, and Startled Sparrow Steps demanded an instantaneous burst of speed. It required the muscles in both legs, blood and qi, strength, and breathing to work together.
Now, it was as if Su Mu had suddenly seen the light. His Startled Sparrow Steps still weren't effortless, but performing them was much easier and more relaxed.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Even in the dense forest, Su Mu moved with ease. After performing three consecutive leaps, he still felt he had strength to spare, so he sprang up once more, his body darting like a tree sparrow.
Whoosh!
Su Mu's figure swayed, leaving a blur in its wake. When he landed, he had leaped four or five zhang.
"Is this the difference between a genius and an ordinary person?"
Su Mu looked back in astonishment. Before, he had managed just over three zhang in a single leap. Now he had made it four or five—and broken through the limit of three consecutive leaps, reaching the point where he could perform four in a row.
"Someone with Excellent Talent, Raw Jade, only needs to put in a little effort, while ordinary people have to work twice as hard just to catch up. If he applies himself wholeheartedly, they'll be left choking on his dust!"
After his Insight broke through again, advancing step by step from unremarkable to average, then to Modest Potential, and finally to Excellent Talent, Raw Jade, Su Mu had gained a deeper understanding of Insight.
Hard work was essential. But if one lacked talent and Insight, no amount of effort might even let one reach another person's baseline. In the end, what determined a Martial Artist's ultimate heights and limits...
Was nothing but talent and Insight!
Afterward, Su Mu practiced Five Animal Frolics and Tiger Subduing Fist in the back hills for a while. He soon realized both martial arts had changed as well.
"Perhaps it won't be long before Five Animal Frolics and Tiger Subduing Fist break through to the next realm!"
After putting them to the test, Su Mu was satisfied. Just then, his stomach let out an unseemly growl. Smiling, he turned and headed back to the village.
The sky had yet to brighten. The sunlight spilling through the pale dawn was still dim when Su Mu encountered several villagers from Dongbian Village on his way back.
"Xiaomu, are you just getting back from the mountain?"
"Yeah. It rained last night, so I thought I'd go up and pick some wild vegetables. Unfortunately, luck wasn't on my side."
Su Mu answered with a smile. After exchanging greetings, they passed each other.
Just then, a ray of morning sun fell across Su Mu. The villagers' eyes suddenly widened. Though he wore nothing but coarse hemp clothes, Su Mu seemed to be draped in brocade shimmering with every color of the rainbow.
Unable to believe their eyes, the villagers rubbed them hard, then looked again. Su Mu was still just Su Mu, with no colorful brocade on him.
"Was that an illusion just now... Did I see wrong?"
"It must be that wife of mine, keeping me up all night. I'd better get some proper rest these next few days. I'm seeing things now."
The villager looked away, muttered to himself, and headed toward the fields with his hoe over his shoulder.
Martial Artists had abundant blood and qi and vigorous strength, so they needed more nourishment. Back home, Su Mu cut three jin of streaky pork, fried it in lard to make minced pork topping, and cooked a pot of noodles for breakfast.
After eating, Su Mu put on his bamboo hat and rain cape and headed out.
At Shop No. 13 on Scholar Street, Su Mu saw Shopkeeper Li Tie at the entrance. "Shopkeeper Li."
Su Mu greeted him and entered the Iron Shop. He happened to see Li Xiaohu carrying a three-tier bamboo steamer out of the kitchen, so Su Mu immediately set down his hat and rain cape and went over to lend a hand.
As Su Mu reached out to support it, Li Xiaohu suddenly felt the steamer grow weightless in his hands. He was puzzled, but didn't think much of it. Li Xiaohu set it on the stone table in the courtyard and invited Su Mu to eat some steamed buns.
The shop prepared breakfast each day for the blacksmiths. Although Su Mu had already eaten, he still picked up the two large buns that were his share so as not to draw attention.
Li Xiaohu sidled up to him, looking mysterious. "Su Mu, have you noticed how my dad's always hanging around the entrance lately?"
Su Mu had noticed it long ago, too.
"Listen, a while back my dad apparently asked someone to send something to the county seat. He's probably waiting for news from there these days."
So that was it. Su Mu wasn't particularly curious about it, but as he chewed on his bun, his whole body suddenly shuddered.
Waiting for news?
Wait—something suddenly occurred to him.
In the scorching heat of midsummer, Su Mu felt a chill run through him.
Before leaving, the person in charge of the Gray Wolf Mask had said he would be gone for a while. He had secretly warned Su Mu, then left him two bottles containing six antidote pills.
It had now been more than seven months since that person had left Qingshui Town, and there had been no word from him. Until now, Su Mu had assumed the long journey had delayed him, which was perfectly normal in this era.
Then Su Mu had gotten caught up in the Black Market affair and, this month, had been so absorbed in cultivation that he'd temporarily forgotten about it.
Li Xiaohu's words brought it all rushing back.
The agreed-upon time had now been exceeded by a full month. Under normal circumstances, he should have taken one antidote pill a month. If Su Mu had taken them regularly from the start, he would likely be on the verge of dying from the poison by now.
"The boy's awake... If you don't get the antidote within three months, the itching will worsen and turn into a pain that pierces your heart. Before long, you'll become a puddle of pus while wishing you were dead."
The words of the person who had brought him to this area in the carriage suddenly rang in Su Mu's ears.
Three months was the final deadline before the poison took his life!
Su Mu had taken an antidote pill ten days ago. Only one remained in his possession—the last card he had held back in his attempt to free himself from their control.
After months of trying, Su Mu had extended the interval between doses from one month to around fifty days. That was the longest he could manage.
In the few days before he reached the fifty-day limit, Su Mu would suffer pain as if thousands of insects were gnawing at him from within. His heart beneath his chest felt as if it were being torn apart, and rainy weather made him wish he were dead.
That inhuman pain made it clear to Su Mu that the poison inside him really could kill him. The man in the carriage had not been bluffing.
"Did he get delayed on the road..."
"Or have I become an Abandoned Child?"
A chill crept through Su Mu's heart. Naturally, he hoped it was not the latter, but Su Mu had a habit of assuming the worst whenever he thought things through.
"If it really is the latter..."
Counting the antidote pill he had yet to take, Su Mu didn't have much time left—less than five months.
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