Red Trait! Mystic Ice Body!

Inside the house, Jiang Minghai's two eyebrows twisted into a tight knot.

His already pale face flushed an unnatural red with anger.

"All right. I'll go see the county magistrate tomorrow. There'll be a way."

"But didn't you say the county magistrate was seriously injured and still hadn't woken up?" Bai Zhiruo's voice was thick with barely suppressed anxiety.

"He woke up tonight." Jiang Minghai gently patted the back of her hand. "I just saw that his injuries were rather serious, so I didn't bring it up. I'll talk to him tomorrow."

"Okay."

Bai Zhiruo nodded reluctantly and buried her face against her husband's chest.

Jiang Minghai pulled his wife into his arms, holding her tight.

His gaze flickered again and again, as though he had made up his mind about something.

He planned to find his fellow officer Liu Zhuang tomorrow—the man who had faced life and death alongside him—and ask him to take his wife, children, and younger brother out of the city in disguise while Jiang Minghai attended the banquet that night,

making a desperate break for it.

The Bai Family?

A letter sent from Blackwater to Prefecture City and back would take at least a day. There was no time to wait.

At worst... they'd fight to the death and take each other down.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking.

Jiang Minghai was getting ready to go find his fellow officer Liu Zhuang. But who would have thought that before he could even step out of the courtyard, Liu Zhuang would come looking for him himself?

"Minghai! Minghai!"

"Something terrible's happened!"

Liu Zhuang rushed into the courtyard, panting. One hand was on his waist, the other braced against the doorframe. Sweat streamed down his face and dripped from his chin.

For a Manifest Energy martial artist to be this exhausted, he must have run all the way there at full speed...

Something terrible!

Jiang Minghai's heart tightened. He lowered his voice and asked, "What happened?"

Had the Poison Wolf Gang broken in?

That couldn't be.

The Poison Wolf Gang was powerful, but how could they possibly cross the troops outside the city and reach Blackwater County so easily?

Besides, if they really had broken in, there was no way it would have happened without a sound.

"Someone's dead!" Liu Zhuang wiped the sweat from his head, his voice carrying an excitement and shock he could hardly explain. "Li Kun is dead!"

At those words, Jiang Minghai froze.

"Who... who did you say was dead?"

"Li Kun!" Liu Zhuang repeated loudly, his voice so big it could have carried down the whole street.

"That Li Family young master, that big idiot!"

"Damn, you should've seen the state of him! His neck was practically beaten to pulp! I reckon a Transformation Energy martial artist did it..."

Jiang Minghai didn't hear a word of what came after.

He knew only one thing: Li Kun, the man who had driven him to the brink, was dead.

The enemy who had made him prepare to die and take everyone down with him was just... dead.

Jiang Minghai stood where he was, his lips trembling slightly. For a long time, he couldn't utter a word.

Meanwhile, at the Five Animals Martial Hall.

Jiang Tian had arrived at the Martial Hall early that morning. These days, he was usually the first to show up.

Ever since Zhou Mu had been frightened by him that day, he'd lost his usual diligence. He practiced his forms halfheartedly and often didn't show up until the sun was high.

Jiang Tian finished a set of punches, picked up a bowl of boiled water, and gulped it down. His Adam's apple bobbed.

His gaze flickered as he scanned the courtyard.

Sure enough, Li Batian hadn't come today.

He was probably at home mourning his elder brother.

Thinking of that, Jiang Tian's lips curled slightly. It struck him as rather amusing. Young Master Li Batian probably never would have dreamed that he'd spent so long giving Blood Vitality Pills to the man who had killed his own brother.

As he was pondering this, a soft, sweet voice drifted into his ear.

"Senior Brother Jiang, I spent several days making this sachet for you, working at it for hours every day."

Jiang Tian cast a sidelong glance.

Tan Hongyu held a sachet in both hands, raised before her chest as if she were presenting a priceless treasure.

The sachet was embroidered with exquisite flowers, its stitches tight and its colors carefully chosen. In the upper-left corner, a small, neat character read "Jiang."

"No need."

Jiang Tian was at a loss for words.

Why wouldn't this girl leave him alone?

He'd thought Tan Hongyu hadn't come to bother him these past few days because she'd finally given up. He hadn't expected her to be saving up for a grand gesture.

Sigh, it was hard to know what to say.

Was this how girls in his previous life felt when faced with a lovesick fool?

Annoyed, yet with a helplessness they couldn't quite put into words.

The moment Jiang Tian said it, Tan Hongyu's eyes turned red, tears welling up as if she'd suffered some enormous injustice.

"Senior Brother Jiang... I spent so long embroidering this. You..."

Before she could finish, Jiang Tian cut her off coldly. "Don't get in the way of my training."

Tan Hongyu still wouldn't give up. She actually reached out and tried to stuff the sachet into Jiang Tian's arms, moving so urgently it was as if she feared he might reject it.

Jiang Tian laughed in exasperation.

He smacked the sachet out of her hand. It hit the flagstones with a sharp crack, bounced once, and rolled half a foot away.

Then he turned and walked off without looking back.

Tan Hongyu froze on the spot, hands twisting together in front of her. Her shoulders bobbed as low sobs came from her throat.

At last, tears fell, one by one, striking the flagstones.

The other disciples at the Martial Hall saw what had happened and immediately began whispering among themselves.

"She was only trying to show him how she felt. Wasn't Senior Brother Jiang a little too harsh?"

"A little, yeah."

"What are you two babbling about? Don't you know what kind of person Tan Hongyu is by now, after being here all this time?"

Whispers rose and fell. Some shook their heads, some curled their lips, and others watched with a hint of schadenfreude.

Some saw Tan Hongyu looking so heartbroken and felt a pang of sympathy, wanting to go over and comfort her.

Zhou Mu stood at the edge of the crowd, his eyes flickering.

He'd completely given up on trying to compare himself to Jiang Tian.

A person like that wasn't even on the same level as him. He might never catch up in this lifetime.

Still, seeing Tan Hongyu's tear-streaked face made something stir in his heart.

If Jiang Tian didn't want her, why not go comfort her himself? Then he could win the beauty's heart while he was at it.

So Zhou Mu stepped forward, bent down, and picked up the sachet. He gently brushed the dust off it.

When he saw the character "Jiang" embroidered on it, he froze for a moment, then quickly composed himself.

He moved beside Tan Hongyu and spoke softly, his tone gentle. "Senior Sister Tan, if Senior Brother Jiang doesn't want you, why keep clinging to him?"

He paused, then softened his voice even more, as though coaxing a child. "Why not give me the sachet? I'll treasure it and keep it with me everywhere..."

Before he could finish, someone snatched the sachet away.

Tan Hongyu glared at him. There wasn't the slightest trace of weakness in those tearful eyes now; they were filled with disgust and malice.

Her voice rang out sharply:

"Get lost!"

"I'd give it to a dog before I'd give it to you!"

With that, she turned and left, striding off fast and urgently, as if something filthy were chasing her.

Zhou Mu froze, mouth half open, unable to say a word.

Laughter rippled in from every direction, like countless ants crawling into his ears.

His face flushed bright red in an instant, turning almost purple. His neck and ears burned too.

He hadn't expected Tan Hongyu to refuse—and then humiliate him like that!

Tan Hongyu!!!

Zhou Mu clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms as his teeth ground together.

Not far away, Jiang Tian had seen the whole thing. The corner of his mouth twitched; he could barely keep from laughing.

Back in his previous life, when he was in school, he'd hated two kinds of people most.

One kind was the fake sweethearts.

That was why he couldn't be bothered to give Tan Hongyu the time of day.

And the other kind...

Of course, it was lovesick fools.

He shook his head and was about to resume his training when the corner of his eye caught someone coming out of the inner courtyard.

Yuan Manzhi hadn't come out of her room all morning. He had no idea what she'd been doing.

At last, she opened the door and stepped outside. She wore the Martial Hall's simple uniform, its belt cinched around her slender waist. Her long hair was casually tied behind her head, with a few stray strands hanging by her ears.

Sunlight fell across her.

Jiang Tian's vision flashed for an instant.

Not because she was beautiful.

Although she certainly was.

But because a translucent system panel had appeared above her head, its color... a dazzling red!

A red trait!

Jiang Tian's pupils contracted sharply.

In all the days since he'd awakened his system, the highest trait he'd seen had been purple.

This was his first red one!

[Name: Yuan Manzhi]

[Realm: Manifest Energy]

[Trait: Mystic Ice Body (Red)]

Jiang Tian's heart skipped a beat.

Without the slightest hesitation, he silently intoned in his mind:

"Extract!"