Lu Zhao

An incense stick later, Gu Chang'an walked forward and spoke softly to Madam Wu:

"Sister-in-law, please accept my condolences. Director Wang... took good care of us during his lifetime. If you have any needs, I will do my utmost to help."

The woman's gaze was dazed as she stared blankly at Gu Chang'an, finally nodding, though tears streamed down her face once more.

Li Hongye also stepped forward, offering a solemn bow and saying in a low voice:

"Sister-in-law, when my father learned of this, he said the same. If you need anything, you can come to Sky Wind Martial Hall to find me at any time."

Madam Wu kowtowed heavily, but spoke no further.

After leaving the mourning hall, Gu Chang'an let out a long breath.

On this trip today, they had merely come to pay their respects; many things that should be said and done were inconvenient to bring up right now. Wang Hao's body was not yet cold, and his wife, children, and close relatives were grief-stricken. Any further plans would have to wait a few days until the dust settled.

The two of them walked out of the mourning hall side by side, preparing to leave, when they suddenly saw a familiar figure approaching gracefully ahead.

It was Shen Qingyan.

She wore plain mourning clothes, and a trace of exhaustion and pallor still lingered between her brows, but her eyes were clear, clearly forcing herself to hold on with spirit. The moment she saw Gu Chang'an and Li Hongye, her expression immediately relaxed a bit.

"Sister Qingyan." Li Hongye hurried up to her and called out softly.

Shen Qingyan looked at them, the corners of her mouth twitching as if she wanted to smile but couldn't. "Hongye, Chang'an... it's truly wonderful that you both made it back safely."

Her voice carried lingering fear and relief that had not yet dissipated.

Gu Chang'an stepped forward. "Brother Lin... how is he?"

Shen Qingyan sighed. "He survived. But his injuries are too severe, and even walking is difficult now... He injured his core bones this time, and I'm afraid it will leave lingering ailments."

Her tone was low, a trace of sorrow flashing in her eyes.

Gu Chang'an and Li Hongye exchanged glances, both falling silent before finally letting out a soft sigh.

"What about the others?" Li Hongye asked, her voice low and careful.

Shen Qingyan said slowly, "Jiang Yuan is also heavily injured, though a bit better than Lin Tai, and can still get out of bed now. Cao Xiao... encountered the fleeing Daoist Chai in the back mountains, and his heart meridians were shattered by a single palm strike, dying in battle on the spot."

At this, Shen Qingyan's voice trembled slightly and her eye rims turned red, but she forcibly suppressed her emotions and spoke no further.

The expressions of Gu Chang'an and Li Hongye instantly turned grave.

And after this Blood Pill incident, the entire Nanning County Martial Guard Division was practically devastated—

Director Wang died in battle; among the five chief constables, one died and two were heavily injured, leaving only two who were still relatively sound.

As for the constables and runners beneath them, casualties were countless. Such a massive official bureau was now empty and desolate.

Gu Chang'an muttered, "This Martial Guard Division... I'm afraid it won't hold on."

Shen Qingyan nodded, worry surfacing on her face. "I heard that Guangling Commandery is sending people down. They are going to thoroughly investigate the source of the Blood Pills and also reorganize the Martial Guard Division. The newcomer is a big figure at the seventh-grade realm who is taking over as director."

Gu Chang'an's brows twitched. "New officials bring three fires when they take office; I wonder what this new director will be like."

Standing to the side, Shen Qingyan said softly, "After he arrives in Nanning County, his first matter will likely be to reorganize the Martial Guard Division, dismissing those wounded personnel and re-selecting core members. It's said he will also reinvestigate the whole story of the battle that day."

Li Hongye's expression shifted slightly. "Reinvestigate?"

"Yes," Shen Qingyan said in a low voice. "I heard the forces entangled behind Daoist Chai are not small, and Guangling Commandery is worried that officials in Nanning County accepted bribes and colluded with the enemy, so the newly appointed director has the authority to reinvestigate."

Gu Chang'an listened with slightly furrowed brows.

Although he and Li Hongye had retreated completely unscathed, the experiences of that day—the pill hall, Mad Demon, corpses, Blood Pills, hidden treasures, dead men's wealth...

There were too many secrets among them that were not suitable to be brought out and laid under the sunlight.

"In other words..." He spoke slowly, his tone low, "Even if we are meritorious officials, we might still be questioned because we don't fit the 'report's contents'?"

Shen Qingyan did not answer, merely nodding silently.

"Rest assured, I know my limits.

"Although I don't know what you did after we left.

"But you fought your way out from the mountain, lured away the Mad Demon, and other such matters—we will also testify for you.

"Still, you must be careful—this newly arrived director is named Lu Zhao, and he is the personal disciple of the former martial commander of Guangling Commandery. This man comes from a prominent and powerful family, is fickle in mood, and has always had zero tolerance for flaws."

"Lu Zhao..." Gu Chang'an silently memorized the name in his heart, his voice low and hoarse as he said, "I will be careful."

He was not afraid of enemies, but he feared those superiors who wore the cloak of public justice and lacked all human feeling.

Especially at a time like this when the situation was unsettled and people's hearts were panic-stricken, they—the ones who had 'survived'—were naturally potential targets.

The three of them fell silent for a moment.

In the end, Gu Chang'an looked up toward the mourning hall, his tone softening a fraction:

"For now, let's handle the matters at hand. Director Wang's family still needs our help. As for when Lu Zhao arrives... we'll deal with it when he gets here."

"Mhm." Shen Qingyan nodded. "I will also come here often these few days; if there are any movements, I'll notify you in advance."

After thanking Shen Qingyan, Gu Chang'an and Li Hongye quietly left the Wang Family mourning hall.

As they walked through the streets, they spoke little, simply walking side by side in silence.

The oppressive grief in the mourning hall had not yet dissipated, lingering like a shadow in the hearts of both.

Yet life had to go on, and they still had an important task to do today—purchasing medicinal herbs.

The two of them traversed the main street of Nanning County and arrived at an old-established apothecary in the eastern district—"Hundred Herbs Hall."

Gu Chang'an handed the pharmacist the list of medicinal herbs he had prepared long ago.

Before long, a medicine boy came out carrying bundle after bundle of herbs emanating a medicinal fragrance.

"Meridian Grass, tiger bone, Dragon Beard Ginseng, blood ganoderma, Gold Vein Vine, White Profound Flower, Iron Fire Sand..."

Standing beside him and listening, the more Li Hongye heard, the stranger her expression became.

As Li Tianfeng's only daughter and a practitioner of the Complete Iron Cloth Shirt herself, she naturally knew that these herbs were used for eighth-grade Bone Tempering.

Tallying up the silver, the pharmacist smiled genially and spoke, "That comes to forty-eight taels and three qian in total."

Gu Chang'an nodded, retrieved fractional silver from his sleeve, and paid it off one by one.

The two of them walked out of the apothecary carrying the herbs.

Once outside, having just rounded the street corner, Li Hongye finally couldn't help it. She tilted her head to look at Gu Chang'an, a trace of astonishment in her tone:

"Junior brother, are you preparing to break through to the eighth grade?"

Gu Chang'an nodded, his expression calm. "Yes."

Li Hongye was instantly speechless, as if choked by his casual remark.

"Your talent is simply terrifying..."

She sighed, shaking her head with a wry smile and a complex tone.

How long had it been since Gu Chang'an broke through to the ninth grade?

To this day, all things considered, it was less than a month.

What about herself? A full three years had passed since she broke through to the ninth grade. Over these past three years, she had practiced bitterly day after day, training diligently without pause, and she had never lacked cultivation resources.

Yet right now, she still required a period of cultivation before she could break through.

Even now that she possessed a batch of high-quality Body Tempering Pills, wanting to make the breakthrough would still take three or four months of cultivation.

And yet, Gu Chang'an was actually about to break through?

This talent was simply too frightening.

Gu Chang'an looked at her expression and felt a slight stir in his heart, but merely smiled and said, "Perhaps this is the result of my diligent cultivation."

Li Hongye did not press further, seeming to sense something, and merely smiled softly.

"Then you should break through sooner. You're still young now; if you smoothly break through to the eighth grade, you'll be able to handle dangers calmly in the future."

"Mhm, I will as soon as possible." Gu Chang'an's tone was steady.

He had to grow stronger.

Only by growing stronger could he survive and protect the people he wished to protect.

Otherwise, he would end up like Wang Hao...

Thus he had to be fast, and he had to be strong.

Without a single moment of rest.