Deep within the Zhang family estate, a room sat with its doors and windows tightly shut.
The thick medicinal stench, almost too strong to disperse, mingled with a faint trace of blood and lingered in the stuffy air.
On the bed, Zhang Xu's face was as pale as gold paper, his eyes tightly closed. Thick white bandages wrapped around his chest, with faint bloodstains still seeping through. His lower body was carefully covered, concealing the grievous wounds beneath.
His breathing was faint. If not for the extremely slow rise and fall of his chest, he would have been little different from a corpse.
Beside the bed, a thin, white-haired old man slowly straightened up. He drew the last needle, fine as a cow's hair, from an acupoint atop Zhang Xu's head.
His movements were steady, his fingertips not trembling in the slightest, though the weariness of a night spent treating the patient was hard to hide between his brows.
He was Wang Qingshui, a renowned physician in Anxi County, famed for his miraculous hands.
In the middle of the night, the Zhang family steward had hurriedly summoned him. Offered a handsome fee and faced with Zhang Xu's horrifying injuries, he had no choice but to give it his all and focus every ounce of his attention.
Wang Qingshui wiped the sweat from his brow with a clean white cloth and carefully washed his hands before turning around.
Zhang He had been standing in the shadows at the foot of the bed. His face was dark as water, and his eyes were fixed on Wang Qingshui's face, as though he meant to wring from every tiny change in expression the news that would decide whether his son lived or died.
Beside Zhang He stood a young man in a pale blue brocade robe.
He was taller and more upright than Zhang Xu, with a face bearing five parts resemblance. But his features were broader, his nose more pronounced, and he lacked Zhang Xu's frivolous arrogance, possessing instead a steady, capable air. He was Zhang Tao, the Zhang family's eldest son.
At that moment, Zhang Tao's brow was furrowed too. His eyes moved back and forth between his unconscious younger brother and his father.
"Doctor Wang..." Zhang He's voice rang out in the silent room, suppressed and somewhat hoarse. "My son... how serious are his injuries?"
Meeting Zhang He's grave gaze, so heavy it seemed ready to drip, Wang Qingshui sighed inwardly.
Wang Qingshui hesitated for a moment, carefully weighing his words before cautiously speaking.
"Patriarch Zhang, your son's injuries... are indeed extremely severe. He suffered a heavy blow to the chest, fracturing his ribs and shaking his internal organs until they bled. He was also in danger of drowning and suffocating."
He paused to observe Zhang He's expression, then continued.
"Fortunately, treatment began in time. I used golden needles to stabilize his heart meridians and drain the water from his lungs, supplemented by a secret medicine applied both internally and externally. His pulse is weak, but it has stabilized."
"With the Zhang family's wealth, you surely won't lack tonics. After a period of rest, his life should be out of danger."
"Only..." Wang Qingshui's gaze involuntarily swept over Zhang Xu's lower body, hidden beneath the thick quilt. He continued, "Your son's lower body was injured too severely. I'm afraid that, in the future, he won't be able to..."
Though he had put it delicately, anyone who understood would know what he meant.
Zhang Xu was ruined. He would never be a man again.
"Damn it!!!"
Before Wang Qingshui could finish, a suppressed roar suddenly exploded through the room.
Zhang Tao's face blazed with fury, veins bulging on his forehead. He stepped forward, fists clenched until they cracked, as if he meant to smash all his rage to pieces in the air. He looked every bit the devoted brother.
"Liu Qingshi and Su Chen are truly despicable! They let their daughters act like this and maim my little brother!"
"They've completely ignored our Zhang family!"
"I'll never spare them!"
His voice blazed with anger, though how much of it was genuine was anyone's guess.
Zhang He did not immediately respond to his eldest son's outburst.
He remained where he stood, his frame as rigid as forged iron, his face shrouded in a gloom that would not lift.
The room held only Zhang Tao's heavy breathing and Zhang Xu's barely audible breaths.
The suffocating silence dragged on for a long time.
Zhang He sighed deeply and patted Zhang Tao on the shoulder. "From now on, the Zhang family will depend on you."
After saying that, he seemed thoroughly vexed and unwilling to stay in the room another moment. He turned and walked out.
The next day, before dawn.
Jiang Ye was already up in the Martial Academy's gatehouse.
He stood by the window, his old eyes fixed on the pale light spreading across the horizon.
Thinking back to the absurd events of the previous night, he still felt as if he were in a dream.
Especially when Liu Yiyi's face—usually cold as snow, but last night flushed crimson—unconsciously flashed through his mind, or Su Yan's eyes, always gentle and smiling, and her soft lips...
"Ahem..."
Jiang Ye coughed awkwardly twice.
Without thinking, he pressed his stiff legs together.
His old face couldn't help growing warm.
People were like that. Before he'd ever experienced it, he could live alone for seventy years, his heart as clear and desireless as an ancient well, and never feel that it was hard to bear.
But after last night's "battle," he'd had a taste of the marrow and wanted more. He found that he could barely control this aging body.
"This is going to be the death of me."
He muttered silently, then hurriedly shook his head, forcibly chasing away those untimely flights of fancy.
The crisp morning air filled his lungs, clearing his mind.
Daring not to think any further, he immediately took up a stance in the open space before the door, steadied his breathing, and began practicing the Five Animal Fist, the routine already carved into his bones.
The tiger crouched, the deer darted, the bear leaned, the ape climbed, the bird soared.
Each movement flowed in a smooth, unbroken circle. His thoughts sank into the principles of the fist, and his qi and blood surged along with them.
Only through pure control of his body and the circulation of his strength could he temporarily forget his jumbled thoughts and restless instincts.
"Five Animal Fist proficiency +5."
"Five Animal Fist proficiency +5."
"Five Animal Fist proficiency..."
About half an hour later.
Jiang Ye slowly finished his routine and stood upright. His aura was full and flowing, and the sense of abundant strength and fine control that had come after breaking through to Dark Strength last night was clearer than ever.
Host: Jiang Ye
Lifespan: 85
Strength: Dark Strength (Early Stage)
Fate: Ascension Stairway [Effect 1: Extraordinary Comprehension]
Martial Arts Mastered: Five Animal Fist [Great Mastery, 86/1000]
True Meanings Mastered: Tiger Walk Like Sickness, Spirit Ape Thousand Changes
He glanced at the system panel, satisfaction flashing in his eyes.
Breaking through to Dark Strength last night and reaching great mastery in his fist had also added five years to his lifespan.
"My strength still needs consolidating. I can't slack off on nourishing my qi and blood."
Feeling the qi and blood in his body gradually settle, Jiang Ye mused, "I'll buy them after the academy closes today."
He had already finished the four Blood Replenishing Pills he'd seized from Xu Tao of the Wild Wolf Gang. If he wanted his cultivation progress to keep pace, it was time to use those five thousand taels of silver to buy a big batch.
Once daylight broke, Jiang Ye went to open the Martial Academy's gates and took up his post as the old gatekeeper.
To his surprise, the first person to arrive at the Martial Academy today wasn't Shi Lei, but Lin Xiaohe.
The girl seemed to have just finished a hurried jog. Her bangs were damp, and her cheeks were flushed.
She clutched an oiled-paper parcel in her hands. A little warmth seeped through the paper, and the fragrant, toasted scent of flour and sesame hinted at freshly baked flatbread.
"Good morning, Old Man Jiang."
When she reached the gate, Lin Xiaohe greeted Jiang Ye again, which was unusual for her.
Instead of rushing into the Martial Academy as she usually did, she stood awkwardly outside. Her gaze kept flicking toward the street, and she unconsciously squeezed the oiled-paper parcel in her hands.
Jiang Ye shook his head slightly.
As a man who'd seen enough of the world to know everything, he could tell at a glance what Lin Xiaohe was up to.
She was waiting for Shi Lei.
All he could say was, the girl really had some nerve.
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