The Wu Family

"Huh?"

Shi Mu looked down in surprise.

The thing on the ground was a black iron token. Its surface was engraved with clusters of exquisite patterns that looked like writing, though he couldn't recognize a single character.

"Miss Zhong, do you recognize this?" Shi Mu asked curiously as he picked up the iron token. After turning it over several times, he couldn't help asking Zhong Xiu.

"I've never seen it before either. It probably belonged to this zombie. That wouldn't be unusual. Zombies were originally people who had died and been transformed, so it was only natural for one to have some accessories on it." The girl walked over, forcing herself to endure the pungent stench. After glancing at the iron token, she shook her head and replied.

Shi Mu nodded. After hesitating for a moment, he slipped the iron token into his pocket, then carried the corpse, wrapped in leaves, out through the gate with his other hand.

Before long, the two of them were walking along the mountain road back to the city.

On the way, Shi Mu couldn't help asking Zhong Xiu about how her earlier scream had caused the zombie such pain.

But the girl looked completely bewildered. Clearly, she had no idea either.

Seeing that, Shi Mu naturally didn't press her further. By then, however, it was already late, and Feng City's west gate had closed, so he simply took the girl to his estate on the outskirts of the city.

That evening, Shi Mu sat in his bedroom, turning the iron token over in his hands.

At first glance, it seemed to be made of ordinary black iron, but in truth it was quite heavy and cold. Examined closely, the clusters of exquisite patterns on its surface also held an ancient, mysterious quality.

Although Shi Mu didn't know where the iron token had come from, it was clearly no ordinary object. After inspecting it for a while and finding nothing else, he put it away again. Then he took out the wooden box that Zhong Ming had forced into his hands before the middle-aged man died.

The Zhong father and daughter seemed to have some background. Since the man had called this a family heirloom, it was probably quite valuable.

When he opened the box, he found a thick, yellowed book inside. Four red characters were written on its cover: "Zhong Craft Secret Manual."

Shi Mu was taken aback. He pulled the book out and began turning its pages one by one.

The manual was more than three hundred pages long, all written in tiny, ant-sized black characters. Many of the pages also featured lifelike illustrations.

After looking through just the first few pages, Shi Mu's face filled with astonishment.

A quarter of an hour later, he hurriedly flipped through the entire manual. He sucked in a sharp breath and stared blankly at the book in his hands.

The Zhong Craft Secret Manual was roughly divided into two parts. The first half recorded the methods for crafting many unusual weapons, while the second described how to make ingenious tools and mechanisms, along with recipes for over a hundred kinds of poison. Whether the weapons or the other creations, the strange and astonishing things recorded in it far surpassed anything Shi Mu had ever imagined.

For example, one weapon called the Black Stone Poison Heart Sword looked like an ordinary black iron longsword. In reality, its blade was hollow and had been filled with a large quantity of poison. If a martial artist used it to fight someone, the sword would shatter after just three or five exchanges, sending poison splashing everywhere and killing the opponent.

There was also a small crossbow called the Bow Crossbow, which was even more vicious. It was a specially made crossbow worn on the back in advance. When the wearer bowed to someone, they could tug a hidden cord in their sleeve, firing three bolts straight from their back to wound their opponent. It left people completely unable to defend themselves.

As for the poisons listed in the recipes, there was no shortage of them, ranging from those that knocked someone unconscious on the spot to those that took several days to kill.

"What exactly does the Zhong Family do, to have something like this? Judging by how worn this manual is, it was probably left behind by one of their ancestors." Shi Mu thought with a wry grimace.

Still, the contents had truly opened his eyes. If he could commit them to memory, then the next time someone tried to use the same methods against him, he wouldn't be completely unprepared.

A few of the things recorded in the manual also greatly interested him.

Shi Mu quickly flipped through the pages again, soon returning to an illustration showing two weapons, one large and one small.

The two weapons were arranged one above the other. The larger one on top was a slightly curved saber with a long handle, almost long enough to be gripped in both hands. A black cord seemed to be attached to a ring at the end of the handle. The smaller weapon looked like a short blade—sharp, yet tiny.

The young man studied the illustration and the notes beside it intently, sinking completely into thought.

Early the next morning.

Shi Mu, dressed in blue, appeared on a street in Feng City with Zhong Xiu, whose eyes were still a little swollen and red. On one side of the street stood an enormous, eye-catching estate covering nearly a hundred acres.

Shi Mu looked at the green gate before him and the large golden character "Wu" on the plaque above it. Then he stepped forward and knocked several times on the gate's thick copper ring.

"Who's that, banging on the gate so early in the morning? Who are you looking for?" At last, the gate opened, and a man dressed as a servant came out. After glancing at the two of them, he asked impatiently.

"This young lady is a relative of your household. Please announce our arrival." Shi Mu took a jade pendant from the girl beside him and handed it over.

"A relative? Wait here." The man was taken aback. He accepted the pendant with some doubt, then closed the gate again.

It wasn't long before the gate opened once more, and two people came out.

The man in front had a pale face and a long beard. Behind him was a youth about Shi Mu's age, whose face bore some resemblance to the older man's, but whose expression was full of arrogance.

"So my niece has arrived! Wonderful. Ever since I received your letter, I've been waiting for you for days. Hmm? Where's Brother Zhong? And who is this...?" The pale-faced man greeted the girl with a beaming smile, but when his gaze fell on Shi Mu, a trace of surprise crossed his face.

"This is Young Master Shi. My father was attacked on the road. Thanks to Young Master Shi escorting me, I was able to make it here." Zhong Xiu gave the pale-faced man a graceful curtsy, her eyes shimmering with tears.

When the youth across from her saw the blue birthmark on the girl's forehead, a look of disgust flashed in his eyes.

"What? Brother Zhong was attacked? What happened? Hmm, this isn't the place to talk. Niece, come inside with me first, and tell me everything there." The pale-faced man was shocked, and immediately said this.

The girl naturally nodded in agreement.

"Oh, young man, it's thanks to you that my niece made it here. Take this silver as a token of gratitude." The pale-faced man glanced at Shi Mu again, frowned, and took a piece of silver from his sleeve to hand over.

"I don't need the silver. I brought Miss Xiu'er here, and my task is done." Shi Mu looked at the silver, shook his head, and turned to leave.

"Hmph, how ungrateful! Father, I've seen plenty of people like him. They refuse the money to your face, but they're probably planning to squeeze us for a hefty sum later." The youth beside them snorted.

"Big Brother Shi isn't that kind of person," Zhong Xiu said softly.

The pale-faced man merely smiled, then led the two of them back through the gate.

Shi Mu didn't leave Feng City. Instead, after turning down several streets, he suddenly stepped into a building with a sign reading "Flowing Wind Martial Hall."

He walked through the gate, and before him lay a training ground paved with blue stone bricks. More than a dozen boys and girls were practicing with swords and spears.

"Brother Shi Mu, you're here." As soon as Shi Mu appeared, two young men came over. One looked about twenty-one or twenty-two, while the other seemed only sixteen or seventeen.

"Brother Feng, Brother Gao, you're here too." Shi Mu was somewhat surprised to see them and cupped his hands in greeting.

"I heard the hall got hold of a batch of cheap body-tempering medicine, so we came to see if we could buy some. But you didn't need to come running over for it, Brother Shi. You've already mastered body tempering, so you shouldn't need any of this medicine." The older young man, who looked polite and refined, said with a smile.

"I heard Instructor Li say that your Body Tempering Technique is about to break through to the tenth layer. Is that true?" The other young man, who was younger and had a deep scar across his brow, stared at Shi Mu and asked skeptically.

Shi Mu had met them both after joining the martial hall. The older one was Feng Li, and the younger one was Gao Yuan.

"I'm indeed close to breaking through to the tenth layer of body tempering. I didn't come for the medicine, though. I ran into some problems in my training and need to ask Instructor Li for guidance," Shi Mu replied with a smile.

"So the rumors are true! At such a young age, Brother Shi has a great chance of grasping qi sense. Tsk, no wonder Instructor Li calls you a genius. By the way, let's get together at your family's restaurant sometime." Feng Li clicked his tongue in admiration and sighed.

Gao Yuan, standing beside him, looked envious as well.

"Sure. I'll have a few drinks with you both when the time comes." Shi Mu readily agreed. After exchanging a couple of seemingly casual remarks with the two men, he took his leave.

But just as Shi Mu passed Feng Li, the other man suddenly gave him a meaningful look.

Shi Mu's expression shifted slightly, but he immediately walked away as if nothing had happened.

A moment later, Shi Mu appeared in a separate courtyard behind the training ground. Li Canghai was reclining in a grand armchair in the middle of the courtyard, his eyes narrowed as if deep in thought. When he saw Shi Mu enter, he smiled slightly, said, "You're here," and stood up from his chair.

"Master Li, do we still need to ask those senior brothers to help this time?" Shi Mu asked after respectfully saluting him.

"No need. You're at a critical point in breaking through to the 11th Layer of Body Tempering. I have to handle it personally. By the way, you haven't told anyone that you're about to break through to the eleventh layer, have you?" Li Canghai asked unhurriedly.

"Rest assured, Master Li. I've followed your instructions, and everyone else in the martial hall still thinks I've only mastered body tempering and am at the ninth layer," Shi Mu replied with a smile.

"Good. That way, when you compete in the Four Great Martial Halls tournament half a month from now, you'll take plenty of people by surprise and raise the profile of the Romantic Wind Martial Hall even further." Li Canghai's smile deepened at his words.