The Madam's Soft Snort

"Hardly anyone came this morning who genuinely wanted to learn martial arts."

After sending away a sallow, emaciated refugee, Jiang Ye leaned against the door panel and let out a soft sigh.

However, that trace of frustration was quickly washed away by another, more tangible anticipation.

Blood Strengthening Soup.

At the thought of those three words, a faint stirring seemed to rise once more from the depths of Jiang Ye's long-silent dantian.

It was his body's instinctive craving for nourishing substances.

Time slipped quietly by, and the sun climbed higher.

Within the Martial Academy, a rich fragrance gradually drifted through the air, a blend of medicinal herbs and flesh and bones simmered for a long time.

"The Blood Strengthening Soup is ready."

Catching that faint medicinal scent, Jiang Ye's spirits lifted.

But he did not go to collect it immediately. Instead, he silently calculated the timing.

About half an incense stick later, the medicinal fragrance seemed to reach its peak before gradually beginning to fade.

"The time's about right."

Jiang Ye judged that the Inner Courtyard disciples had likely finished drinking theirs by now.

Only then did he slowly rise and head toward the Inner Courtyard's small kitchen.

The Inner Courtyard was far quieter than the Outer Courtyard, and its grounds were more spacious and refined as well.

More than a dozen Inner Courtyard disciples stood in little groups around the field or beneath the corridors. Some quietly discussed insights from their recent training, while others stretched their limbs.

The most eye-catching figures in the courtyard were naturally those few core disciples.

Dressed in a black training outfit, Liu Yiyi stood alone beneath an old plum tree on the eastern side of the Martial Practice Field, slowly drawing in her stance.

Her figure was straight and graceful, her brows and eyes cool and aloof. An invisible chill seemed to linger around her, sealing off all clamor and prying gazes. Like an ice lotus blooming alone atop a snowy mountain, she was proud, solitary, and dazzling.

The area around the two wealthy young disciples, Su Yan and Zhang Xu, was much livelier.

Su Yan had changed into a goose-yellow martial outfit today, making her snowy skin appear even fairer. She laughed and chatted with two female disciples beside her, her eyes curved into crescents and her every glance radiant, drawing furtive looks from several nearby male disciples.

Zhang Xu wore an extravagant brocade martial uniform. With his arms folded and chin slightly raised, he listened to several disciples who looked like his lackeys speaking beside him, occasionally giving an indifferent nod, his posture arrogant.

Yet his covert gaze swept toward Liu Yiyi in the distance from time to time.

There was another person standing in the open space at the center of the Martial Practice Field. Broad and solidly built, with an honest-looking face, he was Zhao Gang, one of the Inner Courtyard's longest-serving disciples.

Generally speaking, once an Inner Courtyard disciple broke through to Dark Strength, they could consider leaving the academy to establish themselves or venture out into the world.

Yet Zhao Gang had remained at the Martial Academy, seeking an opportunity to break through to Transformation Strength.

He was kindhearted and eager to guide juniors. Whenever Bright Strength disciples encountered difficulties in cultivation, they would usually seek his advice. He was the universally acknowledged good old man of the Martial Academy.

At that moment, he was patiently explaining a certain technique for exerting force to a disciple who had only recently entered the Inner Courtyard.

"Eh? Old Man Jiang."

A clear voice tinged with surprise rang out. It was Su Yan.

Almost at the same time, Zhao Gang, who had been instructing the disciple, turned his head as well. Seeing Jiang Ye, a smile appeared on his honest face as he nodded in greeting. "Old Jiang, it's rare to see you enter the Inner Courtyard during the day."

The other disciples merely glanced up casually. Seeing it was the old gatekeeper, they indifferently withdrew their gazes.

Jiang Ye stopped and gave a slight nod toward Su Yan and Zhao Gang. "The academy master asked me to come collect a bowl of medicinal soup to nurse my body."

Su Yan came to a realization, a bright curve lifting at the corner of her lips. "So that's it. Then hurry along, Old Man Jiang."

Zhao Gang also nodded gently. "Indeed. With the weather so bitterly cold, at your age, you should properly nourish your vital energy."

Both of them knew that the academy master, Liu Qingshi, took considerable care of this old gatekeeper. Seeing Jiang Ye come here now, they merely assumed it was an ordinary gesture of consideration and gave it no further thought.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Jiang Ye did not linger. He quickly entered the small kitchen specially used for brewing medicine.

The moment he pushed open the door, an even stronger medicinal aroma mixed with steam rushed into his face.

A mature woman with a plump, shapely figure stood facing the doorway. Dressed in a black cotton dress, she bent slightly at the waist and held a large palm-leaf fan, unhurriedly fanning the mouth of the stove to control the heat.

The room was somewhat stuffy, and several beads of fragrant sweat had formed on the woman's forehead.

This woman was Huang Xiyu, Liu Qingshi's wife.

Hearing the door open, Huang Xiyu's rhythm of fanning the fire paused almost imperceptibly, but she did not turn around at once.

Jiang Ye softened his footsteps, walked to the side of the stove, and gave a slight bow toward the woman's back. "Madam."

Only then did Huang Xiyu seem to notice that someone had entered. She slowly straightened and turned around.

She was around forty, with lovely features and fair skin. Yet the fine lines at the corners of her eyes and the slightly pursed corners of her lips revealed the shrewdness and severity of someone who had spent years managing every detail and calculating every expense.

Her gaze fell on Jiang Ye. After looking him over from head to toe, she showed a faint smile that seemed somewhat puzzled.

"Old Jiang, what brings you here?"

Her voice was gentle, yet there was little warmth in it.

Hearing this, Jiang Ye inwardly sighed.

He knew perfectly well that since Liu Qingshi had told him yesterday to come collect Blood Strengthening Soup, there was no way he would have forgotten to inform Huang Xiyu.

Her act right now was nothing more than reluctance to bear this "extra" expense.

This madam...

Put kindly, she was thrifty and diligent, meticulous with every calculation, and kept the Martial Academy running in perfect order from top to bottom.

Put bluntly, she was simply too stingy. She valued every scrap of expenditure, especially money spent on people or matters she considered "unworthy."

In Huang Xiyu's eyes, Jiang Ye was merely an old man with one foot in the grave who contributed little to the Martial Academy. Using a precious bowl of Blood Strengthening Soup on him was no different from pouring it onto the ground.

Though the other party clearly did not want to give it to him, Jiang Ye understood that if he wished to continue practicing his fists and force his way through the gate to Bright Strength, he had to drink this Blood Strengthening Soup.

Just as he was about to speak, carefully considering how to deal with this shrewd madam—

"Madam, last night the academy master..."

He had barely begun when steady footsteps interrupted him.

"Sigh, I knew you'd be like this."

Liu Qingshi walked in. Casting Huang Xiyu a somewhat helpless glance, he said, "I promised this Blood Strengthening Soup to Old Jiang. You 'forgot' again, didn't you?"

"Hmph."

Seeing Liu Qingshi enter, Huang Xiyu gave a soft snort and reluctantly handed a bowl of Blood Strengthening Soup to Jiang Ye.

"Academy Master..."

Jiang Ye accepted the bowl and looked at Liu Qingshi with some gratitude.

"Old Jiang, drink it while it's hot."

Liu Qingshi gave a slight wave of his hand, signaling that there was no need to say more.

"Thank you, Academy Master. Thank you, Madam."

After thanking them both, Jiang Ye drank the entire bowl of Blood Strengthening Soup at an unhurried pace.

The warm liquid, carrying a trace of bitterness and a bloody tang, slid down his throat. A distinct current of warmth then spread through his chest and abdomen.

The depletion caused by overtraining last night was gradually replenished by that warm current.

"Now I can continue practicing my fists."

A moment later, a sharp gleam flashed through Jiang Ye's eyes.

The effects of this Blood Strengthening Soup were even better than he had imagined.

"Not bad, Old Jiang. I was worried you might be too weak to handle such nourishment, so I came over specifically to take a look."

Liu Qingshi had been observing Jiang Ye's reaction the whole time. Seeing that his complexion remained normal and his breathing steady, with no sign that his body could not handle the nourishment, he nodded slightly and continued,

"From now on, one bowl a day. Just come collect it at the proper time. If Xiyu refuses to give it to you, come straight to me."

"Thank you for your concern, Academy Master."

Warmth filled Jiang Ye's heart.

Liu Qingshi's protection was especially precious in an age where people's hearts ran cold.

When he caught sight of Huang Xiyu's increasingly displeased expression, he wisely thanked them both once more and hurriedly withdrew from the small kitchen.

"Hmph. We've supported him for decades, and now you're even giving him such costly medicinal soup. You really are generous."

Once Jiang Ye had left, Huang Xiyu stopped pretending. She snorted coldly and looked at her husband with open displeasure.

"When there is an elder in the household, it is like having a treasure."

Liu Qingshi walked to his wife's side and spoke softly.

"Xiyu, don't forget. If not for Old Jiang's life-saving grace back then, I, Liu Qingshi, would have long since become a pile of dry bones. How would I have had the fortune to meet you, establish this Martial Academy, and have what I have today?"

"Compared to that debt of gratitude, what does a little medicinal soup amount to?"

Hearing her husband's gentle persuasion, Huang Xiyu still wore a trace of annoyance on her face, but her anger had clearly subsided considerably. Curling her lips, she said,

"Hmph. You get to play the good man again."

"While the medicinal power is still being absorbed, I'll practice a little."

After returning to the entrance, Jiang Ye felt the warm current inside his body and immediately assumed a "Tiger Form" stance.