Ink-Dyed Floating Life

The Inner City, Qingya Pavilion.

Su Yuan sought out Gao Mian's residence.

Since Yun Xu had been moved out of the Inner City, Gao Mian had found the Shan Estate dull. And since she also needed to instruct Su Yuan regularly, she had simply bought a small courtyard elsewhere.

Today, Gao Mian was still dressed in a red silk martial outfit, lazily reclining in a rocking chair as she read.

Su Yuan had designed the chair especially to suit her figure.

She lounged with her body stretched out, curves at her waist rising and falling gently with the chair's sway. Her long legs were crossed, outlining a smooth, full silhouette.

"Sister Mian!" Su Yuan leaped into the courtyard with a food box in hand.

Inside were pastries he had just bought: soft white cloud-slice cakes, amber-colored osmanthus lotus root, and delicate lotus pastries.

Sensing Su Yuan approach, Gao Mian abruptly rose and swept a leg toward the food box in his hand!

Su Yuan reacted swiftly, bending his knee and bracing sideways to block her.

Bang!

Their legs collided, and a burst of force shook the food box's lid.

Gao Mian spun with the momentum, then lay back down again.

Su Yuan hurriedly opened the food box and held out a piece of pastry to her lips.

Gao Mian patted the armrest and took the pastry herself.

Su Yuan understood. He climbed onto her firm, springy calf and carefully massaged it, working along the tendons.

Gao Mian couldn't help letting out a soft "Mm," and relaxed more deeply into the chair.

Since Su Yuan had started massaging her, the Blood Qi in Gao Mian's body had flowed much more smoothly.

The hidden injuries left by her breakthrough years ago, together with Shan Xiongqing's vile deeds, had left her distressed and unsettled. Even her monthly cycle had become irregular.

Yet under Su Yuan's hands, all of it seemed to be getting better. Even her cultivation, stagnant for a long time, showed signs of loosening.

She assumed Su Yuan's massage technique truly held some mysterious profundity. She didn't know why, and it wasn't something she could easily bring up, but she was happy to enjoy it. From then on, she had him massage her every day.

As she savored the pastry's sweetness, she lowered her eyes to watch Su Yuan's hands press and knead her leg, his knuckles distinct and his movements steady.

Su Yuan suddenly spoke. "Sister Mian, I've become a Martial Warrior."

"Pfft—"

Caught completely off guard, Gao Mian spat a mouthful of crumbs straight at Su Yuan's face.

Su Yuan quickly leaned back to dodge.

Gao Mian had already reached out, seized his wrist like lightning, and pulled him back in front of her.

Su Yuan had no choice but to circulate the Cloud-Veiling Art, quietly gathering and dispersing some of his Blood Qi.

"You really did become one..." Gao Mian sent her strength into his body and examined him carefully.

"Sister Mian, I'm impressive, right? I didn't let you down. When the Wolf God Festival—" Su Yuan began to boast, but Gao Mian cut him off.

"Did you take a large number of Blood Origin Pills? I warned you long ago that this medicine boosts Blood Qi but damages your foundation, making future breakthroughs even harder! Why didn't you listen?!" Gao Mian's voice darkened, with anger lurking beneath it.

The Chai Family's Blood Origin Pills were sold not only to its own Martial Academy but also to academies across the city.

Their drawbacks had gradually begun to emerge.

"Sister Mian, I'm fine." Su Yuan couldn't tell her about his fate, how he could ignore bottlenecks, or how his Traits could help repair his foundation, so he could only argue softly.

"Why are you in such a hurry? What if you don't take part in this year's Wolf God Festival? You got lucky this time, but what about the next?" Gao Mian was frustrated that he wouldn't listen. In the end, this little brother of hers had followed in her footsteps.

She raised a hand as if to smack his head. Su Yuan ducked, but her hand only landed on his crown, gently ruffling his hair. "Sigh, what's done is done. You and Tie Niu should compete for first place at the Wolf God Festival and win that rare medicinal treasure. Use it to lay the foundation for a future breakthrough. If you can reach Savage Strength, that'll be good enough. It's not bad..."

She, too, had been mocked by her clan since childhood for having inferior bone quality. She hoped someone with inferior bone quality could go farther.

But bone quality wasn't a person's household registration. Improving it was harder than ascending to heaven, and those rare medicinal treasures would never be hers.

She stood and took a thick book from the shelf nearby.

"I'll teach you about the Beast Hunting Illustrated Guide now. In a few days, I'll see if I can find a chance to take you outside the city and broaden your horizons," she said.

Since the incident at the Cloud-Striding Martial Hall, the city gates had been guarded much more strictly. Even someone of her status faced considerable inconvenience going in and out.

Su Yuan stood beside her without moving, obediently nodding. He showed none of the swagger he'd had at the Martial Academy.

Just as Gao Mian was teaching Su Yuan at Qingya Pavilion,

inside the Shan Estate, Shan Xiongqing held a petite woman in his left arm while flipping through the latest reports on the Cloud-Striding Martial Hall and the Jiguang Society with his right hand.

Han Gui hurried in. "Young Master, urgent news!"

"Where has the Cloud-Striding Martial Hall shown up this time?" Shan Xiongqing asked without lifting his eyes.

"Young Master, it's bad! Su Yuan really has become a Martial Warrior!" Han Gui said urgently.

"What are you panicking for? So he became one. What's the big deal about one more Blood Condensing Martial Warrior? Now that there are Blood Origin Pills, even cats and dogs can become Martial Warriors. He'll show his true colors at the Wolf God Festival." A trace of coldness flickered in Shan Xiongqing's eyes, but his tone was full of disdain.

Han Gui found it strange. Ever since Young Master had separated from his wife, he seemed to have stopped caring about Su Yuan.

And yet he still ordered Han Gui to keep a constant eye on him.

"Leave," Shan Xiongqing said with a wave of his hand. For now, the remnants of the Cloud-Striding Martial Hall mattered more.

Let Su Yuan bounce around for a few more days. Since he had become a Martial Warrior, Shan Xiongqing could kill him openly at the Wolf God Festival.

"Yes." Han Gui bowed and withdrew, feeling dejected.

He had fallen out of favor.

Du Hengfeng had joined two months ago as a disciple with superior bone quality. It was only natural that Young Master valued him.

But the Xu brothers were clearly just cats and dogs who had become Martial Warriors by taking medicine, and now they had become Young Master's new favorites too.

Xu Tian and Xu Di looked extremely alike. They were the two who had passed the Martial Assessment alongside Su Yuan back then.

Du Hengfeng, meanwhile, was a diminutive man with a child's face, but his eyes were sinister.

The three entered. "Greetings, Young Master."

Shan Xiongqing instructed them, "Take your men and block Xingtai Street, Shangning Street..."

"Your subordinates obey!"

Shan Xiongqing picked up his brush and pressed it hard onto the paper. The ink spread into a dense black blot. "This time, we should get something."

On the high wall of the Inner City.

The cold wind howled, making the banners snap and crack.

Su Yuan lifted his brush from the paper, dipped it in the inkstone, and continued sketching.

"Why did you suddenly decide to paint this?" Gao Mian stood beside him in a snow-white fox-fur cloak.

The long sheet of paper faced the streets of the Inner City at one end and stretched toward West City at the other.

Su Yuan was just beginning his sketch.

"It's my first time on the Inner City wall. I want to remember it." Su Yuan focused on his work, ink flowing freely.

The wind was strong that day, whipping Gao Mian's cloak and making the paper flap violently.

She raised a hand to hold down a corner of the paper. Seeing Su Yuan's knuckles reddened with cold, she took off her cloak and draped it over his shoulders.

Below the tower, the Inner City was decked out in lights and decorations, the festive cheer of the New Year everywhere.

Red silk hung along the long streets. Passersby wore smiles, children chased one another in play, and steam billowed from pastry shops. The place was alive with bustling prosperity.

On the other side of the wall, West City lay like a sleeping giant, shrouded in deep dusk.

The houses were low and dilapidated, the streets and alleys deserted. Only a few strands of gray-black smoke drifted up from the direction of Void Cloud Horse Ranch, spreading into the leaden sky.

Though he wasn't at the execution ground now, the horrors he had witnessed were already Engraved in the Bones. As his brush followed his heart, the brutal scene seemed to bleed through the paper.

One wall separated "heavenly palaces" from "hell."

He painted for hours, until night had fully fallen.

Gao Mian stood quietly beside him, watching the scene in the painting, her brows slightly furrowed.

When the wind gusted, she drew the cloak tighter around him.

[Painting: 2000/2000 (Perfect)]

[Ink-Dyed Floating Life: Behold the world through splashed ink, steady the mind and strengthen the foundation]

[Deeply versed in the principles of painting a scene with every brushstroke, capturing form and conveying meaning; in the midst of prosperity, the mind remains undistracted, and in the face of desolation, one's resolve does not waver; a calm and reserved will makes it difficult for all manner of chaos to invade the heart]

Su Yuan had been standing in the bitter wind for so long that his mind was depleted and he felt faintly dazed. In an instant, his mind cleared.

The agitation, alarm, and uncertainty that had built up over the past few days from witnessing such horrors, being branded with infamy, and navigating between various factions all settled away.

His mind was steady, clear, and lucid.

He raised his eyes and looked west. Several streaks of fire shot into the sky, lighting up half the night!

Su Yuan looked slightly startled.

Had the Cloud-Striding Martial Hall made its move now?

They were acting so urgently that even he hadn't heard a thing.

Were they trying to catch the Liang People off guard?

After a brief moment of surprise, his thoughts had already settled again.

"Tonight may be unsettled. Come back with me and spend the night at my place." Gao Mian looked toward the fires outside the city, moved closer, and clasped Su Yuan's wrist.

Feeling the softness and warmth of Gao Mian's body, Su Yuan gently pulled away. "Sister Mian, I'm sorry, but my family is still out there. I have to go check on them."

With that, he turned and hurried down from the wall, vanishing into the shadows of the streets and alleys.

Gao Mian's gaze darkened, and she lowered her head to look at the painting, its ink still wet.

Warm lamplight on one side, blood-red haze on the other.

"Family. Going home."

Her gaze stayed fixed on Su Yuan's retreating figure. She had wanted to follow, but in the end, she could only sigh softly and look toward the distant north.

She carefully rolled up the painting and walked toward the brightly lit streets deep within the Inner City.