Leaving

Night.

The cold wind howled.

The weather was growing colder and colder.

In the blink of an eye, several more days passed.

In the courtyard, Lin Zheyu and Han Mo stood bare-chested, steam rising from their bodies.

They had just finished sparring, their blood still surging.

"On a freezing day like this, by tomorrow morning, there'll be dozens more corpses outside the city."

Han Mo sighed. Every time he had to deal with corpses, he felt deeply uncomfortable.

"The city hasn't been peaceful lately, either. If this keeps up, the city will descend into chaos before the rebel army even gets here."

"Prices keep going up. It feels like ordinary people can barely make ends meet anymore," Lin Zheyu said.

He had heard that many people who could no longer scrape by had started arming themselves and heading into the mountains to become bandits.

Many hunters no longer dared to go into the mountains to hunt. The bandits in the mountains were more likely to hunt them.

"Winter is here. The rebel army should hold off for a while, rest and rebuild its strength, then launch another attack when spring comes," Han Mo said.

Liang Song watched the two of them chatting and smiled faintly. He gazed at the moon, lost in thought.

He had always been a quiet man, the sort who could sit alone and stare into space all day.

After resting for a while, the two returned to the courtyard.

Han Mo held a blunt saber, his expression serious.

Lin Zheyu moved like a shadow beneath the moonlight, darting about as he waited for a chance to attack.

He didn't use his Organ Refining strength. Instead, he concealed his true abilities and honed his combat skills against Senior Brother Han Mo.

After facing opponents armed with weapons, Lin Zheyu had worked out how to deal with them.

He was exceptionally agile, darting around until he spotted an opening, then shooting forward like lightning and whipping a kick toward Han Mo's back.

The wind roared around his leg, its force astonishing.

Han Mo spun around and slashed with the saber in his right hand. Lin Zheyu didn't dare meet its edge head-on. He abruptly pulled back his attack, swayed, and struck from the other side.

The Golden Goose Technique focused on training the legs. Once mastered, it made the practitioner nimble and swift as the wind.

Han Mo's saber technique was exceptionally formidable, simple and crisp. Every move carried tremendous force, and his saber followed his body as he shifted, changing direction at will and sealing off every opening around him.

No matter how fiercely Lin Zheyu attacked, Han Mo's sharp saber strokes drove him back.

But Han Mo couldn't do anything to him, either.

Although Han Mo's strength had reached the peak of Organ Refining, his legwork fell far short of Lin Zheyu's. He lacked speed and agility.

One attacked while the other defended. In moments, they had exchanged more than a dozen moves.

The blunt saber's edge passed perilously close to Lin Zheyu, but he always managed to evade it with exquisite precision.

More than an hour later, Han Mo stopped, panting.

"Enough, enough. I'm done."

Han Mo waved his hand.

Against a speed-based martial artist like Lin Zheyu, he felt utterly stifled.

"Let's call it a night. If I get home too late, your sister-in-law will start nagging me again."

Han Mo smiled and said, "It's about time you found yourself a wife, too. Living alone is no fun."

"How is it no fun?"

"Are the girls at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion not sweet enough, or is practicing martial arts not enjoyable anymore?"

"The world is so colorful. Why take a wife and have a few kids just to tie myself down?" Lin Zheyu said with a cheeky grin.

"You brat. When you're older, you'll understand what it feels like to come home late at night and see a lamp burning there, waiting for you," Han Mo said with a smile.

"That feeling?"

Muttering to himself, Lin Zheyu thought of the men from his previous life who came home, hid in the underground parking garage, and didn't want to go upstairs.

Hmm, better not.

What's so great about getting married...

"Master, was there anything I should have done better in that fight?"

Lin Zheyu walked over to Liang Song and asked.

"No. You did very well."

"You've only been practicing the Golden Goose Technique for less than a month, and you've already reached this level. You're much better than I was at your age," Liang Song said with a smile.

Before leaving Songyi City, he had taken on a disciple as extraordinarily talented as Lin Zheyu. It filled him with satisfaction.

Liang Song looked around at the flowers and plants in the courtyard. "Zheyu..."

"Yes, Master? Is something the matter?"

Lin Zheyu answered, sensing something unusual in Master Liang's tone.

"Han Mo has a home of his own in Songyi City. You're renting this courtyard, right?"

"I'm giving it to you from now on. Remember to take good care of the flowers and plants." Liang Song gazed at them, an indescribable emotion flickering in his eyes.

"Master, are you leaving?"

Lin Zheyu was startled. He felt deeply reluctant to see him go.

Liang Song had treated him extremely well, holding nothing back and teaching him as much as he could.

Lin Zheyu felt that Liang Song was like family to him.

"Master, you're leaving so soon?" Han Mo asked, equally reluctant. "Can't you stay a little longer?"

"It's time for me to leave."

"You've learned the Golden Goose Technique. A master can lead you to the door, but the rest is up to you. From now on, you'll have to practice hard on your own."

"And you: though the Six Harmonies Saber Technique is only a third-rate art, if you train it to its peak, you can still break through to the Blood Energy Realm."

"Once you reach the Blood Energy Realm and can advance no further, start practicing the Golden Goose Technique. If there's anything you don't understand, ask Lin Zheyu."

Liang Song took a sip of tea, then continued, "It's been more than ten years since I came to Songyi City. It's time to go back. I wonder if any of my old friends are still around."

"Why don't I leave with you?"

"There's nothing in Songyi City worth keeping me here. It's all the same wherever I go," Lin Zheyu suggested.

"You can forget that."

"Just stay in the city, earn an honest living telling stories, and focus on your martial arts."

"Remember, until you reach the Blood Energy Realm, don't go wandering into the mountains, forests, or other desolate places," Liang Song warned.

"Uh?"

Lin Zheyu asked in confusion, "Is it because bandits are running rampant out there?"

Liang Song shook his head. "This world isn't as peaceful as it looks."

"Whenever chaos descends, monsters are sure to appear."

"In the past, demons and monsters stayed hidden, and no one saw them. That was because the Great Wei Dynasty's fortune held them down, and they didn't dare come out and cause trouble."

"Now the rebel armies are rising everywhere, the people are suffering, and the dynasty's fortune is waning. It can no longer hold them back."

"You're safe enough inside a city, but once you leave, it becomes extremely dangerous," Liang Song said slowly, his expression grave.

"Master, what are demons and monsters like?" Lin Zheyu couldn't help asking.

All sorts of tales about demons and ghosts circulated among the common people, but most were exaggerated and bore little resemblance to the truth.

"I've only seen demons and monsters a few times myself."

"Just like in the stories you tell, some used to be people, and some were mountain spirits or strange beasts. They're all incredibly bizarre."

"Demons and monsters are very powerful, and they're bursting with vitality. They're hard to kill."

"An ordinary martial artist who runs into one is almost certainly doomed. Only after reaching the Blood Energy Realm do you stand a chance of fighting one."

Liang Song continued slowly, "If you encounter anything strange in the future, keep your distance as soon as you can. Whatever you do, don't go running over to see what's happening."

"All right, Master."

Lin Zheyu nodded, then asked curiously, "Master, you said people can turn into demons and monsters, too?"

"That's right."

"Since ancient times, countless emperors and powerful people have pursued immortality and sought the path to becoming an immortal."

"Some people kept cultivating until they became demons—neither human nor ghost," Liang Song explained.

"Master, are there really immortals in this world?"

"Perhaps there are, perhaps there aren't."

"I'm just an ordinary man. My strength has only reached the Blood Energy Realm. I haven't reached that level, so I can't get access to such secret information."

Liang Song shook his head, his expression calm.

"Oh..."

Lin Zheyu didn't ask any more questions. He sat down beside the stone table and joined Master Liang for tea.