Play a Trick on Him

Unexpected.

The young man who had barely spoken all this time now furrowed his brow and spoke bluntly, causing the elderly martial arts instructor beside him to twitch his eyelids wildly and curse inwardly.

"You're right."

Qin Jiu nodded in satisfaction.

This man hadn't been brushing him off after all.

Thinking this, he turned his head to glance at the young man and said, "Which martial art from the estate do you practice?"

"Reporting to the family head, this subordinate studies the Mountain-Opening Fist."

"In that case, for the time being, you will teach me the stance drills and combat applications of the Mountain-Opening Fist."

Qin Jiu stated directly.

Since the Dragon-Tiger Health-Nurturing Stake's combat applications were missing, he had no choice but to cultivate another martial art.

Although he still couldn't practice the Tyrant Blade Technique, cultivating a lower-grade martial art was no problem.

As for the Dragon-Tiger Health-Nurturing Stake, it could only be used to temper his blood and qi now.

"This..."

The young man was dumbfounded.

Meanwhile, the elderly martial arts instructor shot him a gloating look.

Seeing this, Qin Jiu said to him calmly, "Old Huang, Qin Xudong is still young. If he misses anything while teaching me the martial art, you'll have to offer some guidance."

The old instructor's name was Huang Jing, and he came from a street gang background.

He had joined the Qin Family with his skills already in hand.

As for Qin Xudong, he was a legitimate collateral member of the Qin Family. Since starting his martial training, he had traveled far and wide with the guard squad. His martial skill was half a notch above the old instructor's, but his experience still fell short in comparison.

Instructor Xu's earlier words flashed through his mind.

At that moment, Qin Xudong said in a muffled voice, "Family head, please watch closely. The Mountain-Opening Fist's stance drills total thirty-six forms. Each form has different breathing guidance and breath exchange. This is the first form, Asking the Way..."

Time passed.

In the blink of an eye, the sun had set behind the western mountains.

Inside the small courtyard, Qin Jiu had barely managed to memorize the practice method of the Mountain-Opening Fist, but he hadn't fully grasped the breathing technique.

He wanted to ask the other man to demonstrate a few more times, but before he could speak, he was interrupted.

"Young master, there's news about the Cold Jade Marrow."

Wang Yue had returned.

He strode quickly into the courtyard, but when he saw the two other figures, he tactfully said nothing more.

"Steward Wang."

Qin Xudong and Huang Jing were both startled, then simultaneously bowed to Wang Yue, their eyes carrying a hint of reverence.

Seeing this, Qin Jiu dismissed the two men first.

Then he turned to look at Wang Yue.

"What did you mean just now about news of the Cold Jade Marrow?"

"Today, this old servant learned at the Four Seasons Pharmacy that their deputy hall master indeed possesses a five-jin piece of Cold Jade Marrow. However, he is unwilling to sell it, and refuses to trade even for other goods." Wang Yue's brow carried a trace of helplessness as he said, "As for the Weapon-Forging Shops in the city, and even the Treasure Pavilion, none of them stock this material."

"The deputy hall master of the Four Seasons Pharmacy..."

Qin Jiu's brow furrowed deeply.

Within Songshan County, there were two major mysterious forces: one was the Weapon-Forging Shop, and the other was the Four Seasons Pharmacy.

It was said that both shops had deep backgrounds.

They usually disliked contention and kept a low profile. Even the Six Gates didn't want to provoke either of them.

Yet the Cold Jade Marrow he needed happened to be in the hands of the Four Seasons Pharmacy's deputy hall master.

"There's one more thing."

At this point, Wang Yue added, "All the third-refinement martial artists in the estate have now returned. How would you like to arrange them?"

"Also, regarding Qin Xiong..."

"Your informants reported earlier that Qin Xiong ordered the Fisher Gang and Chai Gang to gather men during the day, preparing to strike at the Qin Mansion."

"Have you found out who's behind those two gangs?"

Qin Jiu's brow furrowed even deeper.

The Fisher Gang and Chai Gang—their leaders were merely Third-Tempered martial artists, nothing for the Qin Family to worry about.

What truly concerned him was the people behind them.

Every power in Songshan County, big or small, had tangled connections behind the scenes. Even a tiny Beggar Gang couldn't survive in the city without backing. As for the so-called major gangs in outsiders' eyes, how could they monopolize the profits of mountains, forests, and fisheries without a patron?

But back then, the reason he let Qin Xiong go fishing—

Qin Jiu wasn't after anything in particular. He wanted to follow this thread and investigate whether Qin Guihong's death was an accident or murder.

The prime suspect in all this?

The forces that had been eager to move against the Qin Family right after Qin Guihong died.

"The Chai Gang stands behind the Han Family."

Wang Yue spoke, a flicker of hesitation crossing his face. "As for the Fisher Gang, this old servant traced it to two parties—one is the Zhao Family, and the other is the County Office."

"Which one?"

"Can't be confirmed."

He stated bluntly that pressing the investigation further might bring them into conflict with the County Magistrate.

Qin Jiu's eyelid twitched.

"How did this get tangled up with that person?"

"This old servant believes the Fisher Gang's backer is likely the Zhao Family. If it were that Sha from the County Office, the Qin Mansion wouldn't have had such peace lately."

"Let's hope so."

Qin Jiu rubbed his brow. "Right now, I'd rather the Zhao Family be that invisible hand."

"As for Qin Xiong..."

"In this situation, keeping him around is useless."

Night.

Early Hai hour.

Songshan County's outer city, the Fisher Gang's shrine hall.

The hall blazed with light. Two imposing figures were deep in conversation.

One of them paced back and forth as he spoke.

He seemed quite agitated.

If any Fisher Gang members were present, they'd have noticed that their leader's guest was none other than the old chief of the Chai Gang.

"What exactly does the master want?"

"With the situation so favorable, yet he won't let us make a move—it's a complete waste of opportunity."

"Calm down."

The Fisher Gang leader sat serenely in the host seat, watching the pacing figure. "The master thinks far ahead. You and I just need to wait patiently. There will always be a time for us to act."

"Calm down, my ass."

"I told you long ago, tonight is the perfect time to strike. If we coordinate with Qin Xiong from inside and out—"

"Fool."

The Fisher Gang leader snorted coldly. "That sick tiger Wang Yue is at the Qin Mansion. The two of us combined couldn't withstand a single slash from him. And you actually believe that idiot Qin Xiong can pull one over on him?"

The pacing figure stopped dead at those words.

He was silent for a long moment before speaking.

"I already promised Qin Xiong. If we don't act tonight, won't that make me a man without honor?"

"Old Ghost Feng, drop the act."

The Fisher Gang leader shot him a glance, tone flat. "You're not getting a share of the Qin Family's secret beast-taming formula. The four great families are just a pebble. If you screw up the master's plan because of this, even dying won't be easy."

"You—"

The man's pupils shrank slightly.

In the end, he didn't dare continue.

Meanwhile.

The Qin Mansion's reception hall.

Five sharp-eyed figures gathered together. Qin Xiong was among them, sitting expressionless in his chair, his gaze sweeping toward the hall entrance from time to time, as if waiting for someone's arrival.

The others also wore grave expressions.

No one whispered or discussed anything among themselves.

The hall was so quiet that the sound of candle flames burning could be heard clearly.

"Tap, tap."

Suddenly.

The sound of several footsteps rang out, growing closer from afar.

A flicker of peculiar color immediately flashed through everyone's eyes.

"My apologies for keeping you all waiting."