Su Wan

You know full well the influence of the Lin Family, and he is a direct descendant at that.

If he were actually interested in me, my family would have been begging the heavens to send me over to him; there would be no need for all this fuss."

Hearing this, Huang Wei rolled her eyes. That four or five-hundred-pound frame was what they called "plump"—if he turned over in the middle of the night, he could crush her to death.

That sounds nice, but if you were really made to go, you wouldn't be happy about it either.

"Sister, with a family background like ours, we cannot always follow our whims.

Marriage is a major life event, and in the end, it requires a match in status. That hunter boy—setting aside his origins, his behavior today shows a complete lack of etiquette. It just goes to show how boorish these outer-city people are; they don't understand the rules at all."

Listening to her two sisters, Huang Wei's expression darkened.

She had specifically chosen this location today, thinking that if things truly didn't work out with Li Yuan, she would introduce him to Chen Yun, Zhang Wan, or one of her other eligible young friends, which would have fulfilled her obligation regarding her acquaintance with Zhao Qin.

Now, it seemed her intentions were nothing more than a joke.

"Miss, quite some time has passed..." the maid whispered as a reminder.

"No need to wait any longer."

Huang Wei's expression was calm, but her personal maid, who knew her well, could feel the aura radiating from her.

Huang Wei stood up, her tone indifferent, revealing neither joy nor anger: "Prepare the carriage. We are returning to the manor."

"Yes."

Seeing this, the other two shook their heads and sighed, their impression of Li Yuan dropping to the lowest point.

Sitting in the carriage on the way back, Huang Wei looked at the street scene outside the window, the irritation in her heart growing.

As a merchant, she valued efficiency and integrity above all else; punctuality was the bare minimum.

A boy from an outer-city hunter background—even if he had some talent for martial arts, by what right did he dare to slight her like this? He couldn't even manage the basic courtesy of being on time?

"So what if his potential is decent? To be so reckless and cast an appointment aside—what kind of achievements could he possibly have in the future?"

Huang Wei sneered inwardly, "Fine. He probably doesn't even realize the gap between us, or what he will have to face in the future.

Let him grind away in the Stone Skin Realm for a few years. Once he hits a wall and tastes some bitterness, he will naturally regret his actions today."

Thinking of this, the curiosity and anticipation Huang Wei had felt due to Li Yuan's talent gradually faded away.

Some people, once missed, are missed forever.

When Li Yuan finally arrived at the restaurant, he found only a maid waiting to the side with a cold expression.

"May I ask..." Li Yuan began.

The maid bowed: "You must be Li Yuan? My Miss waited for a long time, but seeing that you were late, she has already returned to the manor."

Li Yuan sighed inwardly, knowing he was in the wrong, and cupped his hands: "Please convey my apologies to Miss Huang Wei; I was indeed delayed by an urgent matter."

The maid did not respond; she simply bowed again and turned to leave.

Li Yuan stood where he was and shook his head.

Regardless of the reason, the fault was ultimately his.

Returning to the Martial Arts Hall courtyard, Li Yuan told Zhao Qin about the incident and the reason for his tardiness.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Qin said: "Junior Brother, you... sigh, forget it, it's fine. Huang Wei isn't the type to be petty, but I'm afraid this matchmaking attempt is a bust."

"It's fine." Li Yuan hadn't been particularly invested in the outcome anyway.

"It seems you two aren't meant to be. Make sure you're on time for the Su Family girl tomorrow."

"Don't worry, Senior Brother, I'll keep that in mind." Li Yuan nodded in agreement.

He then immediately threw himself back into his daily training.

That night, back in his room, Li Yuan finally had the time to inventory the spoils he had taken from Qin Ming.

There were two two-hundred-tael silver notes and a secret manual for the Iron Arm Technique—the very skill Qin Ming had been so proud of.

Opening the booklet, he found not only the complete training method for the Iron Arm Technique but also the accompanying medicinal bath formula and several pages of training insights. It was clearly Qin Ming's prized possession.

"I really hit the jackpot..." Li Yuan whispered.

Although the Iron Arm Technique was merely an external hard-body skill, once mastered, it would make his arms as hard as iron and stone, greatly enhancing both his defense and attack power.

Qin Ming had been quite a troublesome opponent in the Stone Skin Realm relying on this skill alone; if not for some of his own tricks, Li Yuan might not have taken him down so easily.

Li Yuan began to attempt the training according to the manual.

However, the Iron Arm Technique was not so easy to master.

After more than an hour, aside from his arms feeling more sore and numb, he felt no signs of the "qi flowing through the arms" mentioned in the manual.

Since he hadn't entered the threshold, it naturally did not appear on his system panel's skill progress.

Li Yuan did not feel discouraged; cultivation was not a task for a single day.

Entering the threshold was only a matter of time; once he entered, it would naturally manifest on his skill panel.

Seeing this, Li Yuan put away the secret manual, washed his face, and went to bed to rest.

At the same time, at the Transport Gang headquarters.

A gang member hurried into the meeting hall and reported to a short man sitting in the main seat:

"Second Gang Leader, the Fourth Gang Leader took Liu San and the others to that new street in the north of the city today, saying they were going to handle some trivial matters regarding the Grey Rat Gang. They should have been back long ago, but there has been no sign of them, and we cannot get in touch."

The Second Gang Leader, Tong Qi, who sat in the main seat, was as short as a child—a dwarf.

"Old Four has always been measured in his actions and never late for a meeting.

With no news for this long, I fear something has gone wrong...

I want to see the person if they are alive, or the corpse if they are dead. Send more men to investigate immediately! Focus on Old Four's whereabouts today, and also, see if anything unusual happened!"

"Yes!" The subordinate acknowledged the order and quickly retreated.

In the Inner City, in a rather secluded courtyard of the Zhou Family.

Zhou Deshun, the father of Zhou Wu, sat in his study with a grim expression, holding a jade pendant his son had often worn while alive.

It had been over two months. The men he sent out had searched almost every inch of the area where Zhou Wu went missing, yet there was not a single clue.

With so much time having passed, Zhou Deshun understood in his heart that his son had likely met a foul end, and his body might have already been picked clean by wild beasts in the mountains.

Thinking of his only son—though he was good-for-nothing, fond of wine and women, and occasionally killed a maidservant when drunk, for which he had already punished him—how could he have died so inexplicably?

If he did not find the murderer and turn them into a human pig, he, Zhou Deshun, would never have peace of mind!

Zhou Deshun closed his eyes, suddenly recalling having heard of a fortune-teller in a county town dozens of miles away who was skilled in the art of divination, though his fees were extremely high.

He took a deep breath: "Someone, prepare the carriage for Yunhe County tomorrow, and go fetch ten taels of gold to bring along."

The next morning, Li Yuan arrived at Hundred Herb Hall in the north of the city on time.

The pharmacy was filled with the faint scent of medicinal herbs, and there were already a few customers in the shop.

Su Wan was standing behind the counter, skillfully weighing out medicine.

She wore a light green dress, her appearance delicate and her temperament gentle.

The man did not seem to be there to see a doctor or get medicine; he tried to strike up a conversation with Su Wan, his tone carrying a hint of fawning: "Miss Su, your hands are truly nimble at weighing medicine, and you are so kind-hearted..."

Su Wan merely smiled slightly, not taking the bait, and continued to count the herbs.

There were two other men nearby who appeared to be with him, their eyes also fixed on Su Wan with intense heat.

At this moment, Li Yuan walked in. His figure was upright and he wore plain clothes, but after entering the Stone Skin Realm, he carried an inherent air of composure.

The men were clearly thugs from the Outer City; someone recognized Li Yuan, and their expression changed instantly as they whispered: "Stop talking, it's Master Li!"

The group immediately fell silent. As low-level gang members, they knew best the weight of a Stone Skin martial artist.

The man hurriedly took the medicine Su Wan had wrapped up, paid, cupped his hands toward Li Yuan, and left quickly.

Seeing this, Su Wan stepped out from behind the counter and said to Li Yuan: "Young Master Li is here, please follow me to the back room to talk."

Li Yuan cupped his hands and followed Su Wan into the back room.

After the two sat down, Su Wan poured Li Yuan a cup of barley tea.