Returning to the Wu Family

Fuhu Fist, First Form: Stone-Crushing Strike!

As Chen Mo shot forward, he suddenly threw a punch.

His opponent took several quick steps and darted toward Chen Mo, striking out with a palm as well.

Fist and palm collided in midair.

BANG!

The tremendous noise echoed through the night, startling a flock of birds from the trees.

Chen Mo felt a mighty force strike his chest and pass straight through his back, almost piercing his entire torso.

"Cough..."

He clutched his chest and coughed harshly, staggering back four or five steps before stopping. His feet twisted against the grass, then he sprang forward again.

After Dragon-Capturing Jin was layered into Snake Coiling Hand, his hand moved like a swimming dragon, slipping past his opponent's second palm by a hair.

In a flash, a palm struck his left shoulder.

At the same time, the force of his Snake Coiling Hand, shaped like a "dragon's claw," hooked onto his opponent's arm. The two men strained against each other.

"Hm? Trading your life for mine?"

His opponent seemed to have figured out Chen Mo's fighting style and abruptly tried to withdraw his palm, but it was too late.

The palm strike left Chen Mo's mouth tingling with the taste of blood, while Chen Mo followed Dragon-Capturing Jin with Sand-Raising Style, shaking the force within his opponent's body.

Watching Chen Mo battle the enemy from nearby, Li Xuan let out a rueful sigh.

The two of them should have been fairly evenly matched, but after just a few days of the Martial Examination, Chen Mo seemed to have left him far behind.

Now Chen Mo was fighting the enemy in a pool of blood, while he himself hadn't been able to take part at all.

The overwhelming pressure of a Dark Jin peak expert left those of them at Ming Jin unable even to catch their breath.

Just then, several black-clad figures darted out of the bushes. Judging by their auras, they were Ming Jin martial artists—the ones who had fired the cold arrows earlier.

Li Xuan and the others' eyes lit up at once. They moved to intercept them, and the two sides fell into a melee.

Bam, bam, bam!

Several more bursts of clashing force rang out from the battles between Yin Tianqing and Chen Mo.

Relying on Dragon-Capturing Jin's unique properties, Chen Mo had barely held out for more than ten exchanges. But after that, he was clearly beginning to lose ground.

His opponent struck with evident fury. It wasn't just because of the assassination mission that night; he was also enraged that he couldn't take down a Dark Jin early-stage fighter after more than ten exchanges.

Stone-Crushing Strike, Sixth Form: Swallow Return Strike!

Chen Mo's unexpected backfist struck his opponent in the chest. At last, the man stopped holding back, drew a refined-iron dagger from his waist, and stabbed toward Chen Mo's heart.

A full-force charge from a Dark Jin peak expert was so fast that he became little more than a shadow. Under cover of night, dodging was even harder.

At the instant the dagger lunged toward him, Yin Tianqing suddenly moved between them and thrust out a powerful palm.

Just as his palm was about to touch the dagger, his fingers suddenly curled, snatching the blade directly into his hand.

At the sight, his opponent's expression froze.

Catching a blade barehanded—though both men were Dark Jin peak experts, Yin Tianqing was still the stronger of the two.

The man turned and saw that his companion had already been wounded. The injury wasn't serious, but they were now at a disadvantage against Yin Tianqing and Chen Mo.

"Retreat!"

He made the decision at once and shouted for the Ming Jin assassins to break off their fight. The men darted away, leaping several times before disappearing into the vast forest.

Chen Mo looked around. Shadows flickered through the woods on both sides of the official road, pressing down on him until it was hard to breathe.

Yin Tianqing casually tossed aside the refined-iron dagger and said gravely, "That distinctive dagger leaves no doubt they're from the Hansha Gang. But..."

He changed tack. "The man I fought was most likely from Black Tiger Hall."

A Dark Jin peak expert was an exceptionally rare asset to any faction in the Anyang region.

"They sent two Dark Jin peak experts and several Ming Jin fighters. That means they've been keeping us under surveillance for a while—and they mean to kill us."

Chen Mo spoke up.

Yin Tianqing nodded. "The carriage is wrecked. We'll walk back to Black River Town at once."

He reckoned that although they would face the threat of Black Tiger Hall directly in Black River Town, the crowds and many eyes there would stop the gang from acting with the same abandon as they had in the wilderness.

Chen Mo considered it briefly. He thought much the same as Yin Tianqing; besides, Chen Lan was still at the Wu Family, and he had to go back.

The others were trembling, unsure what had happened.

After a quick cleanup, they immediately hurried back.

For martial artists, a dozen or so li took roughly half an hour to cover.

The horizon slowly turned pale as a fish's belly.

A thread of dawn broke through the clouds, and the outline of Black River Town came into view in the distance.

Chen Mo bade the others farewell and went straight to the Wu Family, while Ji Chang simply decided to stay at Tianqing Martial Hall.

Chen Mo knocked on the Wu Family's gate. When the elderly gatekeeper saw that he had returned from the Martial Examination, his sleepy old face immediately broke into a smile. "So it's Master Chen back from the examination! Please, come in."

The gate opened. Chen Mo stepped into the Blacksmith Room, dragged over a wooden stool, and sat down, lost in thought.

"I should speak plainly with Wu Zhiai first. With my likely status as a Martial Scholar, the Wu Family may well keep me. If they don't, I'll go to Tianqing Martial Hall. After all, Master and I are in the same boat now."

"If the Wu Family keeps me, I'll continue honing Dragon-Capturing Jin in the Blacksmith Room."

"Once the Martial Examination Red List is announced, my monthly income will be far greater than this paltry amount. I should buy a place in Anyang County as soon as possible. Then Black Tiger Hall will have to think twice before making a move."

"For the next few days, as long as Zhao Huayuan and Liu Zongsheng don't act in person, I have nothing to fear."

With that, Chen Mo put his thoughts aside for the moment and returned to the Wu Family's guest room to rest.

After staying up all night and fighting a fierce battle, he slept until noon.

When he woke, Chen Mo felt refreshed and clear-headed. But remembering he still had to speak with Wu Zhiai, he hurried to the door and pushed it open.

Creak—

As the door swung open, he saw a maid standing straight outside, her head slightly bowed.

"What are you..."

Chen Mo looked puzzled.

The maid didn't dare look him in the eye. Instead, she bowed and said, "Master Chen, this servant was told to wait here until you woke. Once you did, I was to have someone prepare breakfast."

Chen Mo was briefly at a loss for words.

The title "Master" caught him so off guard that he didn't know how to react.

Wu Zhiai had always treated him well, but he couldn't imagine her being this deferential or having someone wait specially at his door.

So he asked, "Whose order was this?"

"Master Chen, it was Second Master's order."

Just as he'd thought...

Though Wu Laoer usually neglected his duties, he was well informed. He had heard early on of Chen Mo's impressive performance in the Martial Examination and reckoned he was bound to make the list.

So Wu Laoer wanted to use this chance to mend his relationship with Chen Mo and bury the hatchet.

A Martial Scholar might not be rare in a clan like the Zhao Family, but to the declining Wu Family, one was as precious as a treasure.

Besides, Chen Mo was no ordinary Martial Scholar. Judging by his performance on the training ground a few days ago, his potential was tremendous.

That was why Wu Laoer had made this gesture.

"All right. Thanks for the trouble."

Chen Mo considered it briefly. He held no grudge over Wu Laoer's previous attitude toward him; right now, getting along with the Wu Family was what mattered.

To survive in the whirlpool that was Black River Town, he had to know when to act—and when not to.

Letting go of small grudges and raising his own bargaining power was the right thing to do.