Chen Mo immediately searched the two men and seized some silver and medicine. He didn't count it all, only binding his injured arm with a strip of cloth before leaving at once.
"I can't stay in this house anymore."
He was glad he had sent Chen Lan to the Wu Family early. Otherwise, he would have had to protect her tonight and surely wouldn't have escaped.
"Bang, bang, bang..."
Chen Mo arrived at the Wu Family's home and knocked. A moment later, an elderly gatekeeper with white hair and beard opened the door.
"You are... Oh, you're the new guard, Chen. Come in, come in."
Chen Mo thanked him. He already had a basic understanding of the Wu Family's layout, so he headed straight to the Martial Arts Hall, where there was some basic medicine powder for external injuries and clean cloth for bandaging.
It was late at night, and no one was in the Martial Arts Hall. He applied the medicine powder and bandaged his arm, then sat in meditation to rest without disturbing anyone.
There was one important matter he had to attend to now: he needed to combine the insights gained through Mountain and Water Cultivation with the experience of tonight's fierce battle, and fuse them into the true principles of martial arts.
He understood that the Comprehension gained from Mountain and Water Cultivation had to settle into him. Otherwise, it would be a castle in the air, insubstantial and impossible to control.
There were two ways to let it settle: practicing the stance routine and fighting in real combat. The latter was more effective.
"Phew—"
He slowly steadied his ragged breathing, then began practicing the Dragon-Subduing Stake Technique.
Once.
Twice.
After completing the eleventh round, a glint flashed in Chen Mo's eyes. He had fully digested the night's battle, and some of the subtle movements and clever applications of force in his stance had changed almost imperceptibly.
He took out the loose silver and medicine he had seized from the two assassins and counted it. There were eight taels of silver, three packets of Qi-Boosting Powder, and two bottles of Zengjin Pills.
"Eight taels of silver should last a month or so."
Martial arts training was an expensive pursuit.
The food and medicine an ordinary martial artist needed each month cost far more than a poor family's expenses for an entire year, not to mention tuition, weapons, and other expenses.
That was why many martial artists began with their eyes full of hope, only to give up halfway. It wasn't just a matter of limited bone structure—cost was another problem.
Chen Mo rose and began pacing around the courtyard beside the Martial Arts Hall.
The spring night was chilly.
His thoughts drifted as he recalled the black-clad man's final answers.
First was the Hansha Gang's reason for trying to kill him.
Revenge?
Unlikely. If they wanted revenge for the thwarted attempt to rob the caravan, there was no need to assassinate him in the middle of the night.
Were they after a treasure?
Chen Mo leaned more toward that explanation. The Hansha Gang's deputy leader suspected he possessed a secret manual, so he had snuck into Chen Mo's home in the dead of night to kill him. Once he had searched for the "secret manual," he set the place ablaze, making the truth difficult to uncover.
At the thought, a chill crept through Chen Mo.
Though no one else could detect his Mountain and Water Cultivation, it would still attract covetous eyes.
"My bone structure is too poor. Otherwise, they wouldn't have suspected me..."
He murmured to himself.
The second thing was the black-clad man's claim that he had never seen the Hansha Gang's leader. Chen Mo had an uneasy feeling about it. It simply didn't make sense, especially given the close ties between the Hansha Gang and the Zhao Family, and the fact that the deputy leader took orders from the Zhao Family...
"Could the Hansha Gang's leader actually be in the Zhao Family?"
He shook his head, setting aside those distant concerns.
For now, the priority was still to grow stronger as quickly as possible.
After circling the Martial Arts Hall twice, Chen Mo returned inside and found a spot diagonally across from the entrance to rest.
Before long, the eastern sky grew faintly pale, and roosters crowed several times in the streets outside.
Chen Mo rubbed his sleepy eyes and sat up.
Ever since he entered Ming Jin, his build had grown sturdier. He wasn't exactly rippling with muscle, but from a distance he looked like a trained martial artist.
Now, even if he slept all night on a hard stone slab, he wouldn't feel the cold seeping into his body. That was one of the benefits of martial arts training.
Thud, thud...
Just then, a series of heavy footsteps came from outside the Martial Arts Hall.
Chen Mo remained calm as he walked to the entrance. He saw a man struggling to carry a jar of wine into the hall.
The man was short and bookish-looking, clearly unaccustomed to hard labor.
Chen Mo passed him, then thought better of it and turned back. With one hand, he lifted the wine jar above his head. The man gaped at the sight.
"Where should I put it?" Chen Mo asked.
The man froze. "Put... put it in the corner on the east side."
After setting down the wine jar, Chen Mo turned to leave. The other man suddenly called out, "You're... you're Guard Chen! Guard Chen, who saved everyone that day?!"
Chen Mo paused.
It seemed the man had been part of that caravan. Chen Mo had had no dealings with them, so he hadn't remembered him.
The man immediately took thirty copper coins from his pocket and tried to press them into Chen Mo's hand. Chen Mo quickly pulled his hand back, looking confused. "What's this for?"
The man smiled. "Guard Chen, you might not know this, but when the guards escort caravans between Anyang County and Black River Town, they put in a lot of effort. Sometimes they even take shortcuts through the mountains. So we give the guards a token of our gratitude."
"A token of gratitude?" Chen Mo had never heard of such a thing. "Our wages from the Wu Family already include escort duty. Why should you have to give us anything extra? Is this a Wu Family tradition?"
The man shook his head. "When Third Miss first took charge of the caravan, there were no such rules. But after the head of the family and the second master got involved, these rules were added. I already gave Guard Li Tu his token of gratitude. This jar of wine was for him, too, but you weren't often at the Wu Family, so I only got around to bringing it today."
Chen Mo understood more or less. "I'll take what I'm owed, but I won't take a single coin I'm not owed. Take it back."
Seeing that Chen Mo genuinely didn't want it, the man didn't insist. He said earnestly, "Guard Chen, I truly admire you. If you ever need my help, Wang Jing won't turn you down!"
Chen Mo paused, then replied, "All right."
He wasn't good at making conversation, so he didn't say anything more. He and Wang Jing left the Martial Arts Hall together, walking in silence.
When they reached the guest rooms, Chen Lan happened to step outside.
"Xiao Mo!"
"Big sister!"
She saw Chen Mo and hurried over, but when she noticed the bloodstained bandage wrapped around his arm, her expression froze.
"Your hand... What happened?!"
Chen Lan's voice trembled slightly.
Chen Mo smiled. "Big sister, it's nothing. I fell while practicing. It'll be fine in a couple of days."
Chen Lan wasn't entirely convinced, but her eyes remained fixed on Chen Mo's injured arm.
Just then, Wang Jing suddenly said, "You're... Chen Mei's cousin, Chen Lan?"
Only then did Chen Lan notice Wang Jing standing beside them. Surprise appeared on her face. "Are you Chen Mei's husband?"
Wang Jing nodded, then suddenly looked at Chen Mo. "Then Guard Chen is..."
"My name is Chen Mo. I'm Chen Mei's cousin."
Wang Jing was struck as if by lightning.
On the day Wang Jing and Chen Mei were married, only Chen Lan had attended. Chen Mo had been laboring in the Iron Furnace Room that day, and Wang Jing had only heard that the new Wu Family guard had the surname Chen. He hadn't known the man's name.
At home, Chen Mei had more than once whispered in his ear that she had a cousin named Chen Mo, a good-for-nothing. But now, it seemed...
Before you continue