Nothing to do today.
Listen to music at Gou Lan.
Unable to withstand the others dragging him along, He An still ended up entering Qingyun Tower.
Night fell.
He An reeked of alcohol.
Seeing him come home, Wang Rou chuckled and asked, "He An, why are you back so late today?"
"I didn't go anywhere."
He An stammered out a reply.
"Nowhere?" Wang Rou teased. "But I heard you went to Qingyun Tower today. So, was it fun there?"
He An's old face instantly turned red.
Covering her mouth as she laughed, Wang Rou said, "What's there to be embarrassed about? Come to think of it, I'm to blame. You're all grown up, and I still haven't thought to find you a wife."
"You're handsome, and you work for the Town Martial Division. If you want to, you can find whatever kind of woman you like."
"So, is there anyone you've taken a fancy to?"
"..." He An.
"All right, stop teasing He An. A man should put his career first. The world is vast, and with He An's talent, why worry that he won't find a wife someday?"
He Ping stepped forward, his expression somewhat grim.
He waved his hand and called, "He An, come with me for a moment. I have something to ask you."
He An looked at Wang Rou. She looked just as bewildered.
This was the first time either of them had seen He Ping act like this.
"Eldest Brother, is something wrong?" Once the two of them were alone, He An asked tentatively.
"Tell me. Did you kill those Martial Arts School disciples?"
He Ping's expression remained cold.
"I did."
"You..." He Ping grew anxious, his voice full of disappointment. "Why? Why would you do that? If you needed Spirit Medicine, you could have just taken it. Why did you have to kill them?"
"Besides, we could have simply bought those few Spirit Medicines again."
"Our family isn't short on Silver Taels anymore!"
He An lowered his head and said nothing, quietly listening to his Eldest Brother's scolding. Only after He Ping had let most of his anger out did he slowly raise his head.
"Eldest Brother, I had my reasons for doing this."
"They were poor kids, too. Even if they became Martial Artists after joining the Martial Arts School and acted a little arrogant and overbearing, they were nowhere near deserving to die."
"I killed them for a reason."
"I gave them a chance. I said I'd let them go if they handed over the Spirit Medicine. I even offered them the original price of the medicine."
"But they refused. Worse, they attacked me first."
"Their moves were vicious, every strike aimed to kill."
"If they treated a stranger like me, whose Spirit Medicine they'd stolen, that way, then anyone else would probably have been swallowed alive and torn to pieces by them."
"If that hadn't been the case, I wouldn't have been willing to strike so ruthlessly."
He Ping fell silent.
"You're not lying to me?"
"I'm not!"
Looking into He An's unwavering eyes, He Ping let out a long sigh, then drained the wine flask beside him in one gulp.
"Remember, don't tell anyone else about this. No one. Not even your Eldest Sister-in-law. I'm worried she wouldn't be able to take it."
Seeing his Eldest Brother like this, He An didn't know what to say. He could only promise, "Don't worry. Heaven, earth, you, and me—we're the only ones who know. No one else will find out."
"Go on!"
He Ping waved his hand.
A moment later.
He An stood motionless where he was.
"Is there something else?"
He An nodded. "Eldest Brother, I have some things to take care of over the next few days, so I won't be staying at home. You have to look after Eldest Sister-in-law and Ru'er."
"As far as I know, that beast Meng Cao has already gone to see Master Li of Great Fortune Martial Arts Hall."
"I'm worried they'll make a move against you over the next few days."
"That bastard again. After all this time, he still hasn't given up coveting your Eldest Sister-in-law. One of these days, I'll risk my life to make him bleed!"
He Ping slammed his fist down on the stone table.
Crack!
The stone table exploded.
His punch was filled with anger and frustration.
He An's throat burned, and the anger he'd been suppressing in his heart was kindled once more.
"Eldest Brother, don't worry. You, Eldest Sister-in-law, and Ru'er are my closest family. Anyone who dares to bully Eldest Sister-in-law is my mortal enemy."
"One year. Just give me one year, and I'll kill him with my own hands."
"And from now on, if anyone covets Eldest Sister-in-law or lays a hand on Ru'er, I'll make sure they understand that the price they'll pay is more than any of them can bear."
He Ping looked up at He An, his eyes growing moist.
"He An!"
The next day.
Qingyun Tower.
He An dressed himself up and set foot inside once more.
"Sir, is this your first time here? What would you like?" A middle-aged woman dressed provocatively came over and tirelessly introduced the women in the establishment.
"This is Xiao Hong, and this is Xiao Lan."
"They're both the stars of our establishment. They've finally got some free time, and they're just waiting to lavish their attention on you!"
"So, which one would you like?"
He An knew he had more important business to attend to. He didn't even glance properly at the women, but said sternly, "I don't want either of them. Get me a room. It has to be absolutely quiet, with no one else disturbing me."
"Here's the rent for the next few days."
Before long.
With the power of money behind him,
He An was led to an extremely secluded room where no one would disturb him.
"Don't bother me for the next few days. No one. Otherwise, you can close down this Qingyun Tower, and you won't get away either."
Before going inside, He An threatened the madam. He was worried she might ruin his plans.
No matter what,
it was always best to warn her beforehand.
Sure enough, when she heard He An's words, the madam was startled. She hurriedly promised that no one—not a single girl—would come to disturb him.
After the madam left, He An closed the door and inspected the room carefully.
Then He An thought to himself, At last, I won't have to worry about attracting anyone's attention while I'm here. Now it's time to improve my strength.
Before coming here,
He An had already sought out Wang Zheng and Sun Wangxian and asked them to look after his Eldest Brother's family. So at this moment, he had nothing to worry about.
His Eldest Brother and Eldest Sister-in-law should be safe over the next few days.
He An stepped into the bathtub. The scalding water and various Spirit Medicines instantly opened the pores on his body. Threads of medicinal energy surged into him like a landslide and a roaring sea.
Sweat poured from He An's forehead.
Then,
he opened his eyes again, picked up the red-green Blood-Connecting Pill beside him, and popped it into his mouth. The pill melted the instant it touched his tongue.
Its power, scalding like lava, tore down his throat and plunged straight into his dantian in moments.
In an instant,
the pill's vast medicinal power surged through his meridians, charging toward every limb and bone like ten thousand galloping horses.
"Ugh!"
He groaned, the veins on his forehead bulging.
He An endured the excruciating pain and circulated the Yi Jin Jing, guiding the medicinal powers of the pill and the Spirit Medicines to repeatedly wash through and temper his meridians.
Second by second,
time raced by.
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