Mud

At the sight of Han Gui, Su Yuan immediately went up to him with a beaming smile. "Lord Han, I have finished carving one. Please inspect it."

Since he had already made himself the nail that stuck out, he might as well flatter him to the end.

Han Gui strolled over and picked up the wooden carving for inspection. "Good! You finished it in such a short time? The others have not even completed half of theirs."

"My woodcarving craft ranks among the very best even in Ji City." Su Yuan took the opportunity to display his value.

The woman in the carving had a graceful figure, her curves rising and falling in lifelike posture.

The most exquisite part was her face. Sorrow lingered between her brows, the corners of her eyes drooped, her crimson lips were slightly parted. She seemed to weep without voicing a grievance, pitiful and delicate.

Han Gui became engrossed in the sight, his fingertips repeatedly stroking the raised parts of the carving. Then he looked up at the woman hanging there, his Adam's apple bobbing as he licked his lips.

He lowered his voice. "Tsk, tsk. Fine craftsmanship. That expression is even more alluring than a True Person's."

Watching his work be defiled like this, Su Yuan felt disgusted.

Han Gui reluctantly put it down and cleared his throat. "As for the Martial Registry, I have already asked about it for you. There are many people in line. You will need to wait at least seven days."

Su Yuan's heart sank.

Han Gui rubbed his fingers together and smiled. "However, if you want it expedited, it is not impossible to move you further up the line..."

He wants money again. At this rate, even if I emptied my entire family fortune, I might not get to start practicing martial arts.

Su Yuan cursed inwardly, yet took out another tael. "My lord, this is all I have left. If it is not enough, I will gather more after I return and certainly offer it to you."

Han Gui accepted it with a satisfied nod, then picked up the carving again to toy with it. "Your craftsmanship truly is excellent. Young Master Shan still has more than ten wives, and they adore rare trinkets like these. If you can carve a few pieces for them as well, you will not lack benefits."

Su Yuan understood that Han Gui wanted to offer such carvings to those wives for mockery and amusement.

He replied, "You honor me, my lord. I will naturally do my utmost. It is only that I did not bring much wood today, so I fear..."

"What kind of wood do you need?" Han Gui asked.

"Does the manor have a woodshed? I would like to pick through it and see whether there is any suitable material," Su Yuan said, following the opening.

"Fine. Wang Er, take little brother Su to the woodshed for a look," Han Gui said.

He is quite cautious.

Su Yuan glanced at Han Gui, then looked toward Wang Er.

Standing shoulder to shoulder, the differences in their builds and frames were obvious.

Han Gui had broad shoulders and a thick back, with a lean, capable waist.

Wang Er, however, was slackly built, narrow-shouldered and soft-waisted. His gaze kept drifting toward Yun Xu, while his footing was unsteady.

Su Yuan also glanced at Yun Xu, who hung suspended there.

Though bound by iron chains, her figure remained slender yet well-proportioned. Her waist and back were drawn taut, her shoulder blades slightly tucked in. Compared to Han Gui, she appeared far lighter.

Martial Warriors truly differ from ordinary people even in physique. Su Yuan silently noted it down, lowered his head, and followed Wang Er out of the side hall.

The woodshed was more spacious than he had expected, its timber stacked neatly. With one sweep of his gaze, Su Yuan spotted several pieces of red sandalwood and yellow rosewood mixed among them—all premium materials.

Their current market price was several hundred coins per jin. He did not know whether these people simply failed to recognize the wood or were genuinely this extravagant.

Su Yuan picked out the wood, weighed it in his hands, then grabbed an axe from the corner and began cleaving.

Crack!

[Cleaving: 1890/2000 (Complete)]

"What are you doing?" Wang Er stepped forward in confusion.

"You cannot tell whether wood is good or bad merely from its appearance. You need to split it open and inspect the grain. If there are cracks or wormholes inside, it will still be useless even after carving," Su Yuan explained.

Watching a man chop firewood was boring to Wang Er. He had been enjoying the sight of a beautiful woman, but this brat just had to make trouble.

Leaning against the doorframe, he suddenly said, "Kid, you spend freely. You did not even blink at eight taels of silver. I have followed Lord Han for two years and only saved this much. I want to practice martial arts too, but I am still a little short. Lend me some, will you?"

Another one here for money. As expected, wealth must not be displayed.

Su Yuan turned around with an apologetic smile. "Brother Wang, you jest. I saved that money for years, and my hands are already empty now. I gave it all to Lord Han."

"Then I will come visit your home sometime. You would not mind, would you?" Wang Er added.

"Of course you are welcome." Su Yuan's mouth twitched slightly. He first humored the man, then continued cleaving wood.

As he scanned the pile of firewood, he suddenly sensed that the "skeleton" of one piece was wrong.

He selected a thick pine log and tapped it. It sounded hollow, and there were cracks in its body.

With the insight granted by Engraved in the Bones, Su Yuan had every movement Wang Er made in full view. Taking advantage of Wang Er's inattention, he brought his axe down.

Crack.

The pine split apart at once, revealing a small box at the break.

Without changing expression, Su Yuan bent to pick up the wood. With an easy movement of his fingers, he slipped the box into his sleeve and muttered, "What a pity. The core of this one is cracked."

[Cleaving: 1908/2000 (Complete)]

He casually tossed the two halves aside, selected several proper pieces of wood, and rose. "These pieces will do. They are enough."

Wang Er had long since grown impatient. Eager to return sooner, he cursed and urged Su Yuan to hurry.

Back in the side hall, Su Yuan buried himself in work. Empowered by his trait, he worked even faster and carved another three pieces.

Han Gui was quite satisfied after looking them over. He tucked one into his robes and waved Su Yuan away.

The sky had already darkened. Lanterns hung high on both sides of the Inner City streets, presenting a scene of prosperity. Patrol guards marched past in orderly ranks, their armor clattering.

Su Yuan arrived at the city gate and showed his travel permit.

The gate guard gave him a disdainful look. "A Grey Person? You heaps of rotten mud, get lost already."

Su Yuan did not hesitate and quickly passed through the gate.

The Inner City was home to Liang People and powerful figures who had surrendered in the early years. Grey People like Su Yuan could not enter at all without registered permission.

Su Yuan hurried through the gate and left the Inner City.

The outer city was pitch-black, its roads pitted and uneven. Yet under the enhancement of Slippery Escape, he moved as if walking on level ground and swiftly found his way back home.

After lighting an oil lamp and securing the doors and windows, he finally took out the black box.

The box had no lock and opened with a light flip.

Inside lay a thin booklet and a letter.

"Is this the writing of Great Liang?" Su Yuan barely recognized the words on the cover: "Golden Horse-Head Technique."

When he opened it, apart from several diagrams of the human body, it was entirely copied in Great Liang script.

After Great Liang occupied Cloud Province, it had continued promoting Liang Script. But Su Yuan had not fully mastered it and could only understand bits and pieces. It seemed he would have to buy a dictionary tomorrow.

Su Yuan opened the envelope as well. Inside was a jade token the size of a copper coin. "Xingyun" was carved on the front, while a cloud pattern decorated the back.

It was presumably the token of Xingyun Martial Hall.

The letter contained Ji City's military deployments, as well as detailed intelligence on several Great Liang families. It even included information about some of their martial arts.

There was no need to think about how much Yun Xu had paid to obtain this intelligence.

Su Yuan memorized the contents, hid them close to his body, then carried a pile of wood in from the back courtyard and began chopping.

The axe fell, and wood chips flew.

[Cleaving: 1909/2000]

He needed strength.

What had happened tonight made him even more clear-headed. Han Gui was greedy and extorted bribes, Wang Er eyed him like a tiger eyeing prey, and there were the hidden dangers behind these objects.

The only person he could rely on was himself.

Although Engraved in the Bones granted him powerful insight and memory, it could not put out a fire burning at his eyebrows.

He still could not practice martial arts. He needed more traits to strengthen himself, and Cleaving was currently the closest to completion.

[Cleaving: 1922/2000]

[Cleaving: 1957/2000]

[Cleaving: 1976/2000]

Even when his arms ached unbearably, his fingers froze white, and several cracks split open across his knuckles, seeping threads of blood, he continued chopping axe after axe.

Wood chips drifted down in soft flurries. Some were stained with blood, congealing into dark red, hardened scabs.

Before he knew it, dawn had come the next day.

Dark circles hung beneath Su Yuan's eyes, but he still persisted.

Just as he continued chopping, someone suddenly knocked on the courtyard gate.

"Who is it?!" Alarm bells instantly rang in Su Yuan's mind. Gripping his axe, he went to the gate.

"Boss Su, it's us!" Children's voices came from outside.

Su Yuan peered through the gap in the gate. Sure enough, several ragged children stood there in thin clothes, their reddened cheeks coated with dust.

The girl at the back had even smeared a layer of rotten mud over her face, shivering in the cold wind.

They held several crooked pieces of wood in their arms.

Su Yuan relaxed, feeling that he had been overly tense. He could not keep draining his body like this; he would rest shortly.

He opened the gate. Seeing the axe in his hand, the children all backed away several steps.

The older child shielded his companions behind him and said timidly, "Boss Su, we picked up some more wood. Can we trade it for a few coins?"

Su Yuan swept his eyes over it. Normally, they occasionally found decent wood to bring him, but today it was all scraps from the edges, worm-eaten and cracked. Only a few pieces were usable.

Still, he took out several dozen coins and handed them over. "Take them. Buy some hot flatbread to fill your stomachs."

The children's eyes lit up, and they thanked him repeatedly.

Su Yuan merely kept a stern face. "Do not thank me. I am afraid you will freeze to death outside my shop and affect my business."

The children giggled and ran off.

Watching their retreating backs, Su Yuan seemed to see himself wandering the streets years ago.

Back inside, his emotions settled somewhat. No longer in a rush to chop wood, he picked up his carving knife and began working on the scraps.

With the enhancement of Engraved in the Bones, even inferior wood was entirely under his control.

That crooked edge scrap became an Old Plum tree along its grain. Its twisted branches grew from a base of rotten mud, revealing the craggy bearing of unyielding pride.

Looking at the finished piece, Su Yuan could not help smiling.

Scraps were still material, and even cracks and wormholes could be carved into something.

In this world, who had not crawled out of rotten mud?

Only some crawled slowly, and some crawled quickly.

Those people in the Inner City were not still rotten mud in the eyes of the Liang People? Perhaps they might fall halfway up the climb.

Su Yuan did not want to fall back down, and he believed he never would.

He looked through the window toward the towering Inner City. "One day, I too will climb step by step, step by step, step by step, until I reach the very top."

"I will trample those Liang People and their lackeys who oppress me beneath my feet."