The Paths Diverged

Hurling the three howling ruffians, stripped of their outer clothes, out the courtyard gate, Cui Hao casually slid the bolt shut and looked at Su Yun, who was still somewhat shaken.

Doing his best to sound casual, he said, "Sister Yun, get the hog badger ready. We'll have it for dinner."

"We still have meat at home." Su Yun looked at the plump quarry on the ground, her eyes full of reluctance. "If we took this hog badger into the city and sold it, we could get quite a few copper coins..."

Cui Hao crouched down and opened the bulging bundle he had brought back.

He reached inside and rummaged around, then carefully took out a plant.

It had a short, thick stem and oddly dark-red leaves, their veins distinct and their shape spread wide, with edges curled slightly inward. It looked like an outstretched bloody hand and gave off a faint scent of earth mixed with some unusual medicinal fragrance.

"Sister Yun, take a look. What do you think this is?" Cui Hao held it up before Su Yun.

Su Yun leaned closer and examined it carefully, guessing uncertainly, "...A medicinal herb? It looks a little frightening."

"It is. It's called Blood Essence Grass, a rare and valuable herb." Cui Hao carefully wrapped it back up. "I'm going into the city to sell it. Stay home and bolt the door. I'll be back early."

"Be careful on the road." Su Yun quickly agreed, a little more hope in her eyes.

Outside the courtyard gate, the three ruffians, now in nothing but thin underclothes and shivering with cold, had already helped one another away, limping until they disappeared at the end of the village path.

Paying them no more mind, Cui Hao tightened his padded coat and strode toward Qingyuan City.

This was his third time stepping into Xu's Pharmacy.

The shop was filled with the complex smells of various medicinal herbs. Behind the counter, Shopkeeper Xu, a little old man with a goatee and shrewd eyes, was working an abacus.

"Shopkeeper Xu, would you take a look at this?" Cui Hao walked up to the counter, set down the Blood Essence Grass wrapped in oil paper, and carefully opened it.

In the shop's somewhat dim light, the dark-red leaves seemed to glimmer faintly.

Shopkeeper Xu put down his abacus and leaned in to examine the plant. He gently prodded a leaf with his finger, and his nostrils twitched almost imperceptibly. A flash of surprise crossed his eyes, but it was quickly concealed beneath his customary merchant's expression.

He looked up at Cui Hao's young but composed face and held up five withered fingers.

Cui Hao's heart leaped. "Five taels?"

The corner of Shopkeeper Xu's mouth twitched. He spat out five words: "Five copper coins. That's all."

Cui Hao's expression froze. Without saying a word, he snatched up the oil-paper bundle and turned to leave! His movements were brisk and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

"Hey! Wait!"

Shopkeeper Xu hadn't expected the young hunter to be so stubborn, not even haggling over the price. He hurried two steps out from behind the counter. "Young man, a deal's a deal, and there's always room to talk. You can bargain!"

Cui Hao kept walking without looking back. The last time he'd sold Snake Gallbladder, this old shopkeeper had tried the same thing. He was always squeezing newcomers, and Cui Hao wasn't about to indulge him.

"Ah! I... I was wrong!" Seeing that Cui Hao was really about to leave, Shopkeeper Xu hurriedly raised his voice, his face creasing into a bitter smile. "Your Blood Essence Grass is five years old and in good condition!"

"The going price is between one and two taels of silver! I... I'll give you two taels! Two taels! How about it?"

Cui Hao slowed for a moment, but didn't turn around. He sneered inwardly. The old shopkeeper really was crafty—he wouldn't give in until he saw the coffin. Cui Hao ignored him and headed straight for another reputable herbal hall in the city.

Jiren Hall was considerably larger than Xu's Pharmacy. Its workers all wore matching dark blue uniforms, embroidered with a leaf pattern on the chest.

Cui Hao went to the herb-buying counter and opened the oil-paper bundle again.

The worker responsible for appraising herbs picked up the Blood Essence Grass, examined it carefully, then smelled it and offered a fairer price. "Five-year-old Blood Essence Grass, in decent condition. One and a half taels of silver."

Cui Hao thanked him and left. He went to Xuanhu Hall as well, where he was offered the same price: one and a half taels.

Now that he had a clear idea of its value, Cui Hao calmly walked back to Xu's Pharmacy.

Shopkeeper Xu was standing at the entrance, looking around. When he saw Cui Hao return, his expression grew complicated, with both a pang of regret and a trace of relief.

In the end, he bought the Blood Essence Grass for two taels of silver.

As he watched Shopkeeper Xu carefully place the Blood Essence Grass in a small wooden box lined with soft cloth, then stroke his goatee with a smile that suggested he'd gotten a bargain, Cui Hao spoke evenly. "Shopkeeper Xu, your reputation isn't very good. The next time I find anything, I'll still ask Jiren Hall and Xuanhu Hall for their prices first."

Shopkeeper Xu's smile froze. He sighed inwardly.

He realized he'd underestimated this seemingly simple young hunter from the start.

Cui Hao had not only good luck, but brains and a temper, too. If he came across another valuable item, he would compare prices at three shops, and Shopkeeper Xu would have to compete with the others... Ah! He'd miscalculated.

With the newly earned two taels of silver tucked against his chest, added to what he already had left, Cui Hao had a little more money to his name and felt much more at ease.

He hurried to the martial arts school, changed into his training clothes, and as usual made his way to the most inconspicuous corner of the front courtyard. He picked up the heavy stone staff and began slowly swinging it, warming up his somewhat frozen muscles and bones. It was his daily opening ritual at the school.

More than once, Cui Hao had keenly felt a subtle sense of division.

At home, he was the pillar of the household, Su Yun's rock. Every word and action of his affected his family's food, clothing, and safety.

Outside, when dealing with the likes of Zhou Menglong, he was a "spineless weakling."

Where no one could see him, he was an "executioner."

At the martial arts school, once he put on his training clothes, he became a quiet, diligent, mediocre, utterly forgettable "nobody."

Yet there was no helping it.

The school had Xiao Li and Li He, exceptionally talented and surrounded by admirers.

It had Tu Yan, whose family was well-off and who knew how to work every connection.

It had powerful senior disciples who had long since entered Clear Force.

And Cui Hao was nothing more than a background figure in the corner, the one who showed up on time every day.

A trace of disappointment sometimes crossed his mind, but he soon pressed it down, turning it into a more composed gaze and steadier breathing.

He had long since grown used to this state of being "invisible." He was even beginning to like it. It let him observe more closely and hone himself without distraction.

"Brother Hao..." Lin Da was the first to come over, his voice tinged with concern. He lowered it as he asked, "Were you... all right last night? Where did you go? I waited at the village entrance until late."

Cui Hao stopped swinging the stone staff and gave his childhood friend a reassuring smile. "I'm fine. I wandered around Second Mountain for a while and got lost. Thanks for your help yesterday."

Lin Da waved his hand and smiled simply. "What are you thanking me for? We grew up together, and we're fellow disciples. We ought to look out for one another."

As they spoke, their fourth senior brother, Sun Cheng, came over and solemnly advised him, "Junior Brother Cui, entering the Mortal Martial Realm only means you've knocked on the door to the martial path. You mustn't become complacent or slack off, not even a little. Every step ahead will be harder than the one before."

"Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother," Cui Hao replied respectfully. "I'll keep it in mind."

"Good. Starting today, I'll teach you footwork on the posts." Sun Cheng pointed at the plum-blossom posts beside them. "This is the foundation of actual combat, and the key to truly combining stance training with boxing. Get up there."

Cui Hao acknowledged him, drew a deep breath, and placed one hand on the cold wooden post. He engaged his waist and abdomen and leaped lightly onto the top, steadying himself.

Sun Cheng followed close behind, leaping onto an adjacent post and standing firm as a pine.

"You've already mastered the first stage of post work, 'Taking Root in the Earth.' Today I'll teach you the second stage, 'Body Shifting.' Remember: footwork is the mother of body movement and the vessel of force. A good fighter's steps must be nimble, steady, and precise."

"Second stage, first lesson: the eight basic steps." Sun Cheng spoke clearly, demonstrating them on the posts slowly and precisely as he explained. "First step: advance. Take a bow stance, like an arrow loosed from a bow. Your step and body move as one, force driving through you. The aim is to smash through your opponent's momentum."

"Second step: retreat. Withdraw like the tide rolling back, light and swift, without losing your center of gravity. The aim is to avoid strength and strike weakness."

"Third step: glance left..."

"Fourth step: look right..."

Sun Cheng's explanations and demonstrations weren't especially slow, but the eight basic steps and their variations involved many details, directions, and points about how to apply force. There was a lot to take in.

Cui Hao concentrated fully. With the +5 to memory granted by his "Reading" skill, he could just about keep up and remember most of it, but it still felt difficult, and the finer details easily blurred.

A thought stirred in his mind. He no longer hesitated. He had plenty of unspent progress points saved up, and this was exactly the right time to use them. He allocated eighty points directly to the "Reading" skill!

A flash of light crossed his status panel, and it refreshed instantly.

[Reading: Minor Achievement (1/600)]

[Effect: Reading speed +10, memory +10, calligraphy +5]

Compared with the previous "Beginner" level, which gave reading speed +5 and memory +5, those two effects had doubled, and it had gained a new effect: "Calligraphy +5"!

In an instant, Cui Hao felt as if a cool, gentle spring had washed through his mind. His thoughts grew clearer and sharper, and fragments of past memories seemed to fall into better order.

At the same time, a strange sense of "experience" came to his fingers and wrists, as though he had held a brush and written for countless days and nights, gaining a deeper grasp of the structure of characters, the pressure of each stroke, and the rhythm of writing.

As he listened to Sun Cheng's explanation again and watched his demonstrations, every subtle detail—the way his toes curled around the posts, the shifts in his center of gravity, the instant his waist and hips twisted—became crystal clear, imprinting itself in his mind as if in slow motion. He understood it all without the slightest difficulty!

The details that had seemed blurry before now suddenly made perfect sense.

Sun Cheng finished demonstrating the complete set twice and asked, "Have you remembered the essentials?"

Cui Hao cupped his fist from atop the post, full of confidence. "Reporting to you, Senior Brother, I've memorized them."

Sun Cheng gave him a somewhat surprised glance. Ordinary disciples needed to practice repeatedly and receive corrections many times before they could barely remember these complicated footwork patterns. Cui Hao had picked them up... rather faster than he'd expected.

"Practice on your own first. Pay close attention to how the footwork works together with your force and breathing. If anything is unclear, come ask me at any time."

At that, Sun Cheng patted Cui Hao on the shoulder. "If you can... find a way to use Qi and Blood Powder. It's a great help to those in the Mortal Martial Realm when building up their qi and blood and breaking through to the next minor stage."

"Yes, Senior Brother." Cui Hao agreed.

Qi and Blood Powder cost two taels of silver for one packet, or three taels for two. If money weren't an issue, using a packet every three days alongside hard training would produce significant results.

But at least fifteen taels of silver a month was a burden for Cui Hao.

Hunting? Ordinary game didn't sell for much.

Gathering herbs? It was a matter of luck, and it required venturing into dangerous areas.

The quickest way... Cui Hao's eyes turned cold. Search Zhou Menglong's corpse when he returned. That would solve his money problem and let him retrieve his bow.

On the other side of the courtyard.

Sun Cheng returned to the small circle of Clear Force disciples gathered around their eldest senior sister, Xu Liqing.

The group was made up of the martial arts school's current backbone, and the atmosphere was utterly different from that among the ordinary disciples.

"Junior Brother Sun," Xu Liqing said when she saw him return, turning to business. "The Qingyuan Martial Exhibition, jointly hosted by the three great families and the authorities, is about to begin. It will hold arena bouts specifically for disciples in the Mortal Martial Realm."

"Our school has been allotted four places. Do you have anyone suitable to recommend?"

At her question, Sun Cheng's thoughts turned swiftly. This was a great chance for a newcomer to make a name for himself and attract attention and resources from beyond the school! He barely hesitated before blurting out, "Junior Brother Cui Hao would be a good choice."

The moment he finished speaking, the area fell silent.

Their third senior brother, Gao Feng, a lean man with a cold expression, frowned slightly, clearly opposed.

Their second senior brother, Halan Sheng, the largest of them all, broad as an iron pagoda, rumbled, "Cui Hao isn't big enough. Just looking at him, he... Well, he doesn't seem fierce enough."

Tu Yan, whose family was wealthy and who had always had an eye for promising investments, spoke coolly. "Senior Brother Sun, these are matches. They reflect on the school."

Judging from their expressions and words, nearly everyone was against the idea.

Sun Cheng's face warmed slightly. He came from an ordinary background and, though he was the well-liked fourth senior brother, his words carried little weight against fellow disciples with greater influence or strength.

Liu Yan, who had barely spoken until then, saw Sun Cheng's awkwardness and added softly, "I... I think Junior Brother Cui would be a good choice, too..."

Liu Yan was the lowest-ranked among the Clear Force disciples, and her voice carried even less weight. Her opinion was ignored outright.

As Xu Liqing listened to everyone's discussion, her calm gaze swept over to the figure atop the distant plum-blossom posts, diligently practicing the basic steps again and again without a care for anything else. She remained silent.

On the plum-blossom posts, Cui Hao was completely unaware of the discussion.

Even if he had noticed it, he wouldn't have cared.

At that moment, his world was small. It contained only the posts beneath his feet, the fists he threw, and the clear, unyielding road in his heart.

The noise of the outside world, its judgments, its opportunities and traps, were nothing more than dust and wind by the roadside.

The wind blew, and they scattered.