The Desire to Leave

"Feng Li was thoughtful."

Shi Mu murmured as he ran his hand over the purple bow, his face filled with undisguised delight.

He lowered his head for a look.

Inside the bundle, there was also a leather quiver containing a sheaf of pale yellow arrows. Their arrowheads were made of black iron, and neat black feathers adorned their tails.

Shi Mu drew an arrow from the quiver and set it to the bow. After aiming it out the window a couple of times, he couldn't resist taking the bow and quiver out of the house.

Shi Mu spent the entire day in the manor practicing with his newly acquired Purple Steel Bow.

He had learned archery at a martial arts school before, so it didn't take long for him to get the hang of the Purple Steel Bow. Even in the eyes of the passing servants, he was astonishingly skilled: despite drawing the bow only halfway, he could already hit a target more than fifty paces away three or four times out of ten.

That evening.

In the manor's main hall.

"Big Brother Shi, you're going to the Three Frontier Provinces to join the Military Martial Hall?" Zhong Xiu asked in surprise, her eyes wide.

"That's right. I plan to leave in a few days," Shi Mu said calmly.

"If Big Brother Shi leaves, what will become of me? And this manor?" the young woman asked blankly.

"I already had Zhang Suo sell the nearby fields and the tavern in the city a couple of days ago. As for you, Miss Zhong, you have two choices. I can send you to Aunt Zhen. I doubt the Wu Family would dare offend the Jin Family, even if they still have designs on you. Or you can travel with me for now. You once told me that although your Zhong Family has no one left, your mother has a distant cousin in Clear-water City, Lulong Prefecture. That city isn't far from the frontier, so I can take you there to stay with your relatives." Shi Mu spoke with confidence.

"Big Brother Shi, could I stay by your side? You'll be on your own in a new place, and you'll need someone to cook and pour tea for you." Zhong Xiu lowered her head slightly. Only after a long pause did she reply in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Miss Zhong, the Three Frontier Provinces lie right next to the Barbarian Wasteland. Large groups of the Barbarian Tribe often invade. I may not have agreed to Uncle Zhong's dying wish back then, but how could I bring you to such a dangerous place? Besides, I'm going there mainly to join the Frontier Army's Military Martial Hall and focus on cultivating my martial arts. I probably won't rent a place of my own outside the hall." Shi Mu seemed not to hear the affection in the young woman's words and shook his head in refusal.

At his answer, the young woman's face paled. After a long while, she raised her head again and bit her lip as she said:

"If it would really be inconvenient for me to stay by your side, then I'll go stay with my relatives."

"Good. Since you've made your decision, get ready over the next few days. We'll set off together." Shi Mu smiled.

Just as Shi Mu was making preparations to leave Feng City in a few days, an unexpected incident early the next morning completely derailed his plans.

"What did you say? Someone's riding horses through our fields? Who would dare do such a thing?" Shi Mu asked, frowning as he looked at Zhang Suo, who had hurried over to report.

"I don't recognize the others, but the one leading them is Young Master Tian, from Fifth Master Jin's household. I saw him once before, so I can't be mistaken. Young Master Shi, what should we do? We've sold the fields to someone else, but the transfer hasn't been finalized yet. If they trample them to pieces, the buyers might refuse to go through with the deal." Zhang Suo was frantic.

"Young Master Tian—that must be Jin Tian. Fine, I'll go take a look." Shi Mu only needed a moment to work out who this so-called Young Master Tian was. His gaze immediately turned cold.

If that Fifth Master of the Jin Family hadn't persuaded the Jin Family Patriarch to take the Spirit Qi Pill that had originally been meant for him and give it to Jin Tian, Shi Mu might not have felt compelled to leave Feng City.

Although Shi Mu was usually composed, hearing that the troublemaker was Jin Tian sent anger surging through him.

Shi Mu immediately left the manor and headed for the large fields nearby.

Before long, he reached one of the fields. At its center, he spotted several richly dressed young men riding tall horses and chasing a mottled fox.

The fox was small but extremely nimble, leaping back and forth through the fields. Even with so many people on horseback shouting and laughing as they chased it, they still couldn't catch it.

Seeing the green shoots trampled into ruin by the fox and horses, Shi Mu's face turned ashen.

"Young Master Shi, is that Jin Tian?"

Zhang Suo caught up, panting, and pointed at a blue-robed youth with a flat nose among the crowd.

At this, Shi Mu glanced coldly at the youth, then strode straight into the field.

Just then, the fox made a sharp turn and led the young men straight toward Shi Mu. The blue-robed youth was at their head.

Jin Tian and the others had obviously seen Shi Mu. The other young men hesitated, and their horses slowed down a little. Jin Tian, however, paid them no mind. He whipped his horse several more times and charged straight at Shi Mu.

"Jin Tian, stop!"

"What are you doing?"

The other young men were alarmed and shouted at their companion to stop, but Jin Tian acted as though he hadn't heard them.

Seeing this, Shi Mu narrowed his eyes. He suddenly lifted a leg and kicked the fox that ran past him, sending it tumbling. Then he twisted his shoulder to dodge the oncoming horse's head and drove a punch hard into its body.

A thunderous crash rang out.

The blue-robed youth and his horse flew sideways several yards before crashing heavily to the ground, man and horse together.

"Ah!"

The other young men behind them cried out in shock and hurried over.

"You worthless bastard! You're looking to die!"

At that moment, the blue-robed youth shoved the horse off himself and leaped up in a fury. He seemed unhurt, but a faint golden glimmer showed through the tear in his shirt over his chest.

"That scared me! Jin Tian's actually fine!"

"So this is Shi Mu, the son of Seventh Aunt in name? He's strong!"

"I heard he used to be hailed as the best Martial Disciple in Feng City, but he looks pretty ordinary."

"Huh? Why is Jin Tian wearing Golden Silk Armor?"

"Exactly. Fifth Uncle treasures that thing like his own life. Usually, he won't even let us touch it."

The other young men, who were clearly members of the Jin Family, were relieved to see Jin Tian was unharmed. They reined in their horses and whispered among themselves.

"You actually dared attack me? I'll kill you!"

Jin Tian ignored his companions. Like a madman, he ripped off the rest of his clothes, revealing gleaming golden armor beneath. With a metallic clang, he yanked the sword from his waist.

Shi Mu remembered Jin Tian's earlier words and looked at the bright, cold light reflected from the sword across from him. His eyes narrowed sharply.