The pond had been still, but now ripples spread across its surface, one ring after another. A limp, grass-like oddity floated up.
It bobbed on the water, seemingly unaware of the three people on the bank. Clumps of grass sprouted from its tangled body, growing larger and spreading farther.
Soon, one corner of the pond was covered.
"Ah! An oddity!"
Meng Sheng and Qian Peng jolted in fright, then turned and ran, without a thought for Shan Renhu or Jiang Yan.
They had developed this habit for a reason: when ordinary people faced an oddity, they couldn't afford any unrealistic ideas. Run. As long as you ran faster than the others, you could stay alive.
Jiang Yan wanted to run too, but he kept his eyes on Shan Renhu. When the grass-like oddity appeared, Shan Renhu remained seated, calm as ever, with no intention of getting up. Only then did Jiang Yan manage to suppress his urge to flee.
Even so, he kept his gaze fixed on the grass-like oddity. If anything seemed wrong, he would bolt at once.
"You're pretty good. You spotted the oddity right away. That's a good habit. When you're on patrol, you have to pay attention to every change around you at all times."
After the grass-like oddity appeared, Shan Renhu had watched the three newcomers closely. So far, this tall, lanky young man had shown a keen eye.
More impressively, when he saw Shan Renhu stay put, he managed to overcome his fear and remain there. That wasn't a matter of bravery; he had a cool head.
With a temperament like that, he wouldn't panic when danger came, and his chances of surviving would be better.
A trace of approval flashed in Shan Renhu's eyes. He cautioned him, "I didn't run because I know this oddity better than you do. I stayed put because I can deal with it, or because I know its habits well enough to keep myself safe."
"But you should have run. Just because I can deal with it doesn't mean you can. I might be able to protect myself, but I may not be able to protect you."
"If it were dangerous, I'd definitely run faster than you. I've already reached the threshold of qi-sensing. Once I cross it, I'll be a Martial Apprentice."
He'd said a lot, and in truth, he'd already revealed quite a bit to someone he barely knew.
Jiang Yan nodded slightly and cupped his fists toward Shan Renhu.
"Thank you, Brother Shan."
Shan Renhu waved a hand and looked toward the pond. The grass-like oddity was slowly shrinking, sinking back beneath the water.
"This oddity is called Submerged Grass. It's a mild form of Baleful Intent. It usually hides in ponds and eats small fish and shrimp. It won't attack people, as long as you don't provoke it."
Jiang Yan watched the pond return to its stillness, then considered the matter. "Brother Shan, are you free tonight? I'd like to treat you to a meal."
Seeing Jiang Yan's nakedly obvious expression of wanting to get closer to him, Shan Renhu froze for a moment.
He'd thought the kid was still a green young man. He hadn't expected him to know a few tricks of the trade.
At that thought, Shan Renhu smiled. "I'm free, but the Patrol Team provides meals."
Jiang Yan: "..."
Just then, Meng Sheng and Fei Shan came back into view. Shan Renhu spoke at an unhurried pace. "Brother Jiang, those two may not be Martial Apprentices, but they've definitely trained before. They might have had their aptitudes tested back in their villages. Every year, the Dahe Gang selects people with martial arts aptitude from among the outsiders and brings them in. But some of those outsiders may have had their aptitude tested in their villages before coming here, and might even have practiced martial arts techniques."
"That kind of thing is pretty common, and the Dahe Gang knows about it. They don't mind, as long as people are willing to work for the gang. But it's not good news for you. If you run into danger, they definitely won't be able to beat an oddity, but they'll also definitely run faster than you..."
He could tell that Jiang Yan, though tall, had a weak lower body. He didn't look like he'd trained before.
Shan Renhu didn't say the rest, but Jiang Yan understood. The slower you ran, the sooner you died.
Jiang Yan watched Meng Sheng and Fei Shan draw closer, his expression grave.
He silently thought, Martial Arts Modifier.
The ability panel appeared at once.
Character: Jiang Yan
Martial Arts: Chopping Iron Four Forms: Upgrade (Available) Deduce (Unavailable)
Weird Value: 5
Jiang Yan broke into a bright smile.
He said softly, "Thank you, Brother Shan. I'll work hard at my training."
Too bad. I'd wanted to reach the Martial Apprentice level through my own hard work, but time waits for no one.
Upgrade Chopping Iron Four Forms, he thought.
The ability panel blurred, then quickly came back into focus.
Character: Jiang Yan
Martial Arts: Chopping Iron Four Forms: First Form, Great Accomplishment
Upgrade (Available) Deduce (Unavailable)
Weird Value: 4
An immense sense of power welled up from deep within him. His heart beat strongly, and the muscle fibers throughout his body coiled together like steel wires, brimming with explosive force.
Even his somewhat thin chest had grown sturdier.
It was as if he'd broken through the limits of his life. Everything before his eyes seemed different: the afternoon sun, the emerald-green water, the fragrant scent of earth.
His right hand, resting on the sword hilt, trembled faintly. Countless basic sword moves and the proper mechanics of a thrust fused together in his mind, as if he'd spent years immersed in sword forms.
At that moment, he was even confident that his straight thrust was more precise than Tang Long's.
What astonished him even more was the faint current of qi circling in his Dantian. Every pore on his body opened, as if his whole body could breathe.
Chopping Iron First Form, Great Accomplishment. Qi-sensing awakened.
Martial Apprentice.
Even if Shan Renhu had racked his brains, he could never have imagined that in the space of a single instant, the young man beside him had been transformed, advanced to Martial Apprentice, and reached the realm he'd yearned for over the past year.
Meng Sheng and Qian Peng came back. Their faces burned with shame. That morning, Captain Tang had told them the Patrol Team must never abandon its comrades and flee alone. By that afternoon, the two of them had already broken the rule.
Neither of them was stupid. Seeing that Shan Renhu hadn't even moved, they realized the grass-like oddity must not have been dangerous.
But when they'd seen it, fear had seized their minds, and fleeing had been a purely instinctive reaction.
"Brother Shan, we've made fools of ourselves."
Meng Sheng bowed deeply in apology.
Shan Renhu's face darkened. He said coldly, "There's nothing wrong with running, and I won't blame you for it. But Captain Tang said you have to listen to me. Do you think there are no oddities anywhere else? If the two of you run around like a pair of blockheads, you're more likely to run into danger."
"On the Patrol Team, awareness and a cool head are sometimes more important than physical strength."
The two lowered their heads and thought carefully about Shan Renhu's words.
After a while, the two of them said all sorts of things to placate him. Only then did Shan Renhu's expression soften.
The four of them walked from one end of the pond to the other. They saw another small team not far away. The two teams were close by, so Shan Renhu called out a greeting from a distance, but made no move to go over.
Time passed quickly. Crimson clouds filled the horizon, and Shan Renhu led the three of them back.
"This is what a typical day on the Patrol Team looks like. Each team patrols a stretch. If anything goes wrong, we send a signal, and everyone works together to deal with it."
"The Patrol Team offers good pay, but the danger is high. If you run into an oddity, you might lose your life."
"Some villagers from Yuyang Village join the Patrol Team because they envy the high pay. Few others are willing to sign up."
"Only people like us, poor souls who fled here from other places, who aren't content to spend their lives as commoners and are lucky enough to have martial arts aptitude, choose to join the Dahe Gang and train in martial arts. We join the Patrol Team hoping that one day we'll become true martial artists and make something of ourselves."
Shan Renhu wasn't just talking. He was genuinely earnest and thorough in teaching the three of them.
It took Jiang Yan a long time to realize, by comparison, that Old Shan really was the benefactor he'd met in his starting village.
The setting sun stretched the four of their shadows long. At last, Shan Renhu summed up, "Everything we have now was bought with the risk of losing our lives to oddities."
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