Peeking

"Ha! Black Sand Palm!"

A figure shot forward in the Hidden Valley, thrusting out his right palm. In an instant, a clear palm print appeared on the target.

"The power's improved again? Not bad, not bad!"

Fang Yuan lowered his hand and stood straight, looking at the experience bar, now more than half full. His face was alight with excitement.

Ever since he realized that his proficiency rose with every practice session, he had become completely hooked on the feeling of growing stronger.

"If the Cultivation Technique in my attribute panel doesn't have a bottleneck like the Planting Skill, I'll soon be able to train Black Sand Palm to its peak, the fifth layer!"

"Of course, I'll need enough nourishment, too..."

At noon, Fang Yuan ate Pearl Jade Crystal Rice and sighed.

What ordinary family could have accumulated as much as he had, with Jade Crystal Rice served at every meal without fail?

And without that, how could anyone sustain the exhaustion of practicing Black Sand Palm thousands upon thousands of times? That was why, for poor families, producing a great martial artist was nothing but a pipe dream—unless the child had an extraordinary talent and entered a sect directly to receive its support.

"Besides... physical quality seems to give martial arts training a boost, too..."

A martial artist's physical quality was the foundation. The stronger that foundation, the greater their achievements could be in the future.

Fang Yuan even suspected that the reason he was progressing so quickly in Black Sand Palm might have something to do with his greatly increased Divine Essence.

"It won't be long before the Heart-Questioning Tea Tree grows leaves again, and the Crimson Jade Rice will soon be ready for harvest, too... It's Spirit Rice, after all. Even what a Martial Ancestor needs would be enough to keep me going!"

A feeling of anticipation suddenly welled up inside Fang Yuan.

The poor studied while the rich practiced martial arts. With spirit seeds to support him, his martial cultivation was bound to advance by leaps and bounds.

He was so eager not entirely for the sake of the future, but also because he needed to keep himself safe right now.

"Comprador Song from the Gui Ling Sect—Song Zhigao?!"

Lin Benchu and the Zhou siblings might not have harbored any ill will, but this Outer Sect Steward from the Gui Ling Sect had openly shown hostility. Fang Yuan couldn't help but take him seriously.

Though he was indifferent by nature, he wasn't a fool. Nor would he tolerate a venomous snake lurking in the shadows and watching him.

"But to settle this once and for all, I still need strength!"

After practicing martial arts, Fang Yuan went to the Plantation and began carefully tending the Crimson Jade Rice Field, heavy with grain.

His future and his martial path would largely depend on these spirit seeds.

Night had fallen deep.

Several furtive figures suddenly appeared outside the Hidden Valley.

"Comprador Song said it was here?"

A man in black glanced around and muttered a curse. "Just as expected—deep in the mountains and old forest, with such a miserable environment. Only savages could live here!"

"This is the place. There's no mistake!"

Beside him stood a man dressed as a hunter, holding a steel fork. "I've been here before. I traded animal hides and medicinal ingredients with Master and disciple Heart-Questioning..."

There was a note of nostalgia in his voice.

"What, remembering old times and finding it hard to strike?"

The man in black at the head of the group sneered.

"How could I? Ten Gold Leaves would be enough to buy ten mountain folk's lives. What's one mere boy compared to that?"

The hunter gave a cold laugh, a vicious glint in his eyes. "If you ask me, why sneak around watching him? We should charge right in, butcher the lad, and leave his corpse in the wilderness. I guarantee there wouldn't even be a pile of bones left by tomorrow!"

"That may be true, but Comprador Song wouldn't be pleased. We're supposed to ruin that man's reputation first, make him a target of public scorn, and only then make our move!"

The man in black spoke in a low voice. "That poor kid got in the way of the Noble Person behind Comprador Song!"

"A Noble Person?!"

The others were all local mountain folk—hunters, thieves, and the like. At this, they exchanged baffled looks, but when they saw how tight-lipped their leader was, they didn't dare press him.

"Enough. Our task tonight is only to investigate. We just need to get a clear picture of the Hidden Valley's layout, or find out what tricks that kid has up his sleeve!"

The leader in black spoke in a low voice. "Of course, most importantly, we must leave no evidence behind!"

"Understood!"

The men grinned viciously and slipped into the Hidden Valley together.

The night was pitch-black. Even by moonlight, visibility was poor. Since the group didn't dare carry open flames, they had a miserable time of it.

Fortunately, they knew their target was alone, and the Hidden Valley wasn't heavily guarded, so they were fairly bold.

"Hmm... So this is the Hidden Valley? Those few Spirit Cottages aren't bad..."

"And there's a Flower Garden and a Spring Eye. They look pretty ordinary, too. Let's check behind them..."

The group split up with practiced ease and made their way to the Rear Valley, outside the Plantation.

"There might be something behind those bushes!"

They were all experienced old hunters and thieves, and immediately noticed something was off.

"Oh?"

The leader in black hurried over. When he spotted the path behind the bushes, he was overjoyed. "Quick... go take a look! Be careful. There's something strange about this kid. Last time the Zhou family's hired thugs came here, all of their wrist tendons were crippled. Even the Zhou family couldn't figure out what happened... Ah!"

Halfway through his words, a sharp snapping sound rang out, followed by a scream.

"What happened?"

Several companions nearby immediately looked down and saw a dark beast trap. Its two rows of serrated teeth had clamped shut, swallowing the leader's entire lower leg.

"A trap!"

"Damn it!"

They immediately fell into disarray.

They had kept their voices low while sneaking in, but now that someone had yelled in the dead of night, the sound carried clearly throughout the Hidden Valley. Wouldn't they be discovered at once?

"If there's no other choice..."

The thugs exchanged glances, a bloody glint flashing in their eyes.

Though they had only come to investigate the strange rumors, if they were caught in the act, they might have no choice but to kill.

They didn't believe those rumors in the slightest.

And how could a mere boy possibly take them all on?

Still, the kid was crafty enough to set traps. They'd better watch their step.

"Hiss!"

"Hiss!"

What they hadn't expected was that, instead of the crafty kid, a White Death God had come for them!

A streak of white shot toward them like lightning, then transformed into an enormous white ferret. It was none other than the Flower Fox Ferret, guardian of the valley!

Its fur was bristling, and it radiated menace.

After all, the things inside the Plantation were its lifeblood. How could it tolerate outsiders spying on them?

"What's that?"

"A ferret?"

"It's huge!"

The hunter cried out in alarm. "Careful. It might be some kind of strange beast the kid's raising..."

"Heh... No matter what, it's still just a beast. How's it any different from a vicious dog?"

One of his companions, a habitual chicken thief, chuckled—then his expression suddenly changed.

A streak of white flashed past him.

"Dasheng, what's wrong?"

Seeing the man standing frozen, a companion gave him a push. His upper body tipped off with surprising ease.

At some point, the Flower Fox Ferret had cut him in half at the waist!

"G-Ghost!"

The bloody sight left everyone stunned with terror.

"That ferret isn't an ordinary beast! It's a Spiritual Beast, a monster!"

The hunter's scalp prickled as he suddenly remembered the tales of spirits and monsters.

From what it had just done, it clearly understood human speech! Add its size, its lightning-fast movements, and claws sharp as blades—who would believe it wasn't a monster?

"Run!"

The men exchanged glances, then scattered in every direction, abandoning their leader in black where he lay.

There was nothing else they could do. Their employer, Song Zhigao, was merely an Outer Sect Comprador. How much real power could he wield? Of the men he'd sent this time, only the one in black who'd been caught in the trap worked for him; the rest were opportunists lured in by a hefty reward.

A group like that might get things done when all went smoothly. But the moment they hit a snag, infighting or disbanding was only natural.

Unfortunately, for a bunch of rough men who didn't even know Martial Arts, escaping the Flower Fox Ferret was no more than a pipe dream.

"Giggle!"

The Flower Fox Ferret's eyes spun. Like a mischievous child who'd found a fun toy, it deliberately slowed down and chased the hunter.

"Damn it!"

The hunter watched the Flower Fox Ferret closing in, set his jaw, turned around, and thrust his steel fork with all his strength.

Whoosh!

The fork struck nothing, and his right hand suddenly exploded with pain. Before his eyes appeared a row of snow-white, razor-sharp teeth.

Pfft!

In the next instant, blood sprayed everywhere...

"This is ridiculous! It's the middle of the night—can't a man get a decent night's sleep?"

Screams rose and fell, one after another. Even Fang Yuan could no longer pretend to be dead and sleep through it.

He threw on an outer garment and walked out of the room, yawning. "Thieves? They sure went out of their way to come steal from me in this godforsaken place..."

He said that, but the Plantation was his greatest asset, so he was still concerned. He quickened his pace and headed to the Rear Valley.

"This..."

The sight of blood splattered everywhere was truly shocking. Fang Yuan was dumbstruck for a moment, then flew into a rage. "Flower Fox Ferret! What did you do? Look at this mess! How long is it going to take me to clean up tomorrow?"

"Giggle!"

The Flower Fox Ferret stood before the last man in black, its claws and fangs still stained with blood. At Fang Yuan's words, it turned around, its round black eyes full of innocent bewilderment.

"Don't play dumb with me. You're helping with the Big Cleanup tomorrow!"

Fang Yuan grumbled as he stepped around several corpses and approached the only man still breathing.

The poor fellow had had his leg snapped in the beast trap as soon as he arrived, but that had made him the only one to survive the Flower Fox Ferret's claws. You could say he'd been blessed by misfortune.

"Please... don't eat me!"

By now, the man was completely terrified. When he saw Fang Yuan, he practically burst into tears, as if he'd found his Savior. "Young Master, spare me! It was all Song Zhigao's orders. I... I'll tell you everything!"