Night of Eavesdropping!

Dusk deepened...

Chu Fan was silent for a moment before turning his head and asking the Short Fat Youth, "Have all the Minor Leaders of the Three Major Gangs in Qingyang Ancient City reached the Tempering Tendons Realm?"

The Short Fat Youth's eyes shifted as he lowered his voice. "Seven or eight out of ten probably have, but not all."

"For instance, that Zhou Ye just now. His uncle is an incense master of Qingmu Hall. Though he has only just entered the Tempering Blood Realm, he has already taken the position of Minor Leader."

"Fatty, you certainly know quite a lot." Chu Fan patted the Short Fat Youth on the shoulder, turned around, and walked away without looking back.

The Short Fat Youth watched him leave through the branch hall's main gate, the corner of his mouth twitching. He muttered, "Calling me Fatty every other word—how ill-mannered!"

"I chopped wood for him for more than twenty days, and he still doesn't know my name..."

But Chu Fan could no longer hear him.

The Short Fat Youth turned and left in a huff.

Chu Fan bought a plump roast chicken at the market and returned to his lodgings, only to find that the battered old door that had been smashed apart had been replaced with a new one. It was not luxurious, but it was clean and neatly fitted.

He pushed open the door and saw Zhao Hu and his wife sitting in the courtyard, weaving bamboo baskets, while their young son Doubao helped beside them.

"Xiao Fan is back!" Zhao Hu and his wife hurriedly rose to their feet.

Chu Fan handed over the roast chicken wrapped in lotus leaves. "Uncle Zhao, this is for you."

Zhao Hu froze and hurriedly declined. "How could we accept this..."

A roast chicken this large cost at least 200 Wen Coins.

Even during New Year's or other festivals, ordinary families could not bear to buy a whole one.

Chu Fan did not let him refuse. He directly stuffed the roast chicken into Zhao Hu's hands, then asked, "Has the house been sold to the Huang Family?"

Zhao Hu sighed. "Sold, yes, but the Huang Family seems not to have given up on your ancestral home."

"The Huang Family's steward came again yesterday to pass on a message. They were still willing to buy it at the original price. This morning, several ruffians were loitering at the alley entrance, shouting at us and sounding us out."

Chu Fan's gaze sharpened. "Do you recognize those ruffians?"

"...No." Zhao Hu's heart jumped. "According to the neighbors, they're street thugs from around Xingning Street. They specialize in extorting merchants."

Chu Fan narrowed his eyes. "Do you know what the Huang Family intends to do with all these houses?"

"I don't know..." Zhao Hu shook his head. "Two men are living in my old house now. During the day, they wander around nearby, knocking on every door to ask whether anyone has old objects. They say they'll buy them at a high price."

"That's strange..."

"If they're doing this business, why do they need to buy so many houses?"

"Buying old objects?" Chu Fan's heart stirred, but he showed nothing on his face.

After chatting a little longer, Chu Fan returned to his parents' former residence.

Since returning from the cave that day, he had not heard that eerie calling in the room again, which put his mind considerably at ease.

If "Come, come, come" kept ringing in his mind every waking moment, he feared a person would be driven mad.

Chu Fan set the cloth-wrapped saber down beside the bed and concentrated on recalling the contents of the Twelve Forms Boxing Fist Manual.

The Twelve Forms Boxing was a profound method for breaking through the five stages of Martial Dao Foundation Establishment. It was not merely used for Blood Nourishment.

The latter portion of the fist manual was divided into five sections, corresponding respectively to Blood Nourishment, Blood Refining, Tendon Tempering, Bone Tempering, and Entering Force.

Yet the profundity within it could never be fully understood just by reading the fist manual.

That renowned genius, Ling Feng, still often returned to the branch hall to attend lessons after breaking through Blood Nourishment. He did so to learn the Twelve Forms Boxing and attack the stages that followed.

Previously, Chu Fan had only memorized the entire contents of the fist manual and had not studied the portions after Blood Nourishment.

Now that he was about to begin Blood Refining, he naturally had to thoroughly grasp this section.

The simplest method would be to ask Cao Shi for guidance.

But asking about Blood Refining would easily expose the fact that he had already reached the Blood Nourishment Realm.

After thinking it over again and again, Chu Fan decided to wait a few days. Once Zhao Tianxing broke through and Cao Shi taught him Blood Refining, Chu Fan could simply attend as a listener.

For the next few days, he would devote his energy to pushing the Twelve Forms Boxing to Perfection and cultivating the Ninefold Thunderclap Saber.

Chu Fan assumed his stance inside the house and focused his mind as he practiced his boxing...

[Twelve Forms Boxing Experience +1]

[Twelve Forms Boxing Experience +1]

Only when the night was deep and still...

did he stop and walk to the window.

The Blood Moon was crimson.

The wind rustled mournfully.

Chu Fan pushed open the Wooden Table—no, the wooden window, slipped out as lightly as a civet cat, then vaulted over the courtyard wall and silently melted into the night.

He passed through several familiar alleys and soon arrived outside the window of Zhao Hu's former residence.

Through the window paper shone the dim yellow glow of candlelight. Two people were seated inside, facing each other over drinks.

Chu Fan held his breath and focused his mind. Dipping a finger in saliva, he silently poked a small hole through the window paper.

Through the hole, he saw a battered wooden table in the room. On it were two small dishes—one of pickled radishes and one of gnawed-clean bones—as well as a jug of cheap wine with more than half already gone.

Two men sat beside the table, one slightly plump and the other short and thin. They held their wine bowls and drank deeply.

"Say, Old Zhang, do you think Young Master has lost his mind?"

The slightly plump man set down his chopsticks, picked up the wine jug, and poured himself another drink. He complained unhappily, "It's the dead of winter, and he's sent us to this place to collect old objects without even telling us what we're looking for! Isn't he just making life difficult for us?"

"Who says he isn't?" The short, thin man set down his wine bowl, wiped the wine from the corner of his mouth, and sighed. "These past few days, we've gone street by street and asked every nearby household. We've spent plenty of money, only to bring back piles of scrap metal!"

"And who knows when it'll end!"

The two men were not sect members of the Blood Saber Sect, but household servants of the Huang Family.

Chu Fan pulled out the black cloth he had used before, covered his face with it, and continued listening intently.

"What do you think Young Master is really looking for?"

The slightly plump man spoke again. "Our Young Master is a leader of the Blood Saber Sect. Why would he be interested in these worthless old objects?"

The short, thin man shook his head, his face blank. "Who knows? How could servants like us see through Young Master's thoughts?"

"But I heard it seems to be related to a treasure passed down from several hundred years ago. I don't know the specifics either. I only know that this treasure is extremely important to Young Master, which is why he's making us search so hard."

"A treasure from several hundred years ago?" The slightly plump man's eyes widened in astonishment. "If such a thing truly existed, its owner would naturally hide it away and keep it secret. How could they casually show it to others, much less sell it to people like us?"

"Sell it?" The short, thin man snickered, baring a row of yellow teeth as he lowered his voice. "Young Master ordered us to scour the area for old objects, but when has he ever truly intended to buy them?"

"If we actually find that thing..." His voice dropped even lower, and a sly glint passed through his eyes. "With Young Master's temperament, would he follow the merchants' ways and exchange silver money for it?"

"Heh heh heh!" At those words, the slightly plump man exchanged a glance with him. The two understood each other perfectly and began to chuckle under their breath.

Just then, a strange ringing of bells suddenly came from the distance.

The two men inside changed color at once when they heard it and hurriedly rose to go outside.

Chu Fan's figure flashed as he concealed himself in the shadows.

The two men quietly hid behind the door and stared fixedly toward the source of the ringing, their expressions tense.

Chu Fan's heart turned cold. Could they be keeping watch on the Moon Worshipping Sect?

How did Huang Yu's matter become entangled with the Moon Worshipping Sect as well?

The ringing grew closer and closer...

Chu Fan remembered how the White-robed person from the Moon Worshipping Sect had discovered him that day. He immediately began retreating in silence.