Dodging Debt

In the blink of an eye, most of the Guardians had left Emerald Cloud Valley, forming teams to head for Cloud Dragon County.

The Origin Mulberry Fruit had been secretly picked, and there was a good chance the culprits were people from the county who had come to Emerald Cloud Valley in a group. By investigating in the county, they might find someone selling the fruit, follow the clues, and track down the thieves.

Shen Mu remained completely unfazed. He returned to the Origin Mulberry Field he guarded and continued practicing the Army-Breaking Saber Technique to build his blood qi.

Luo Tao felt conflicted. First, he went home, only to get chewed out by Luo Zhen.

"Investigate the thieves who secretly picked the Origin Mulberry Fruit?"

"You're only at First Stage Boiling Blood. What makes you think you're capable of that?"

"What you need to do now is follow Shen Mu's example and try to reach the next rank as soon as possible!"

"Don't think about anything else!"

"How many times have I told you? When something comes up, look at what Shen Mu does. Whatever he does, you follow and learn. Understand?"

"Don't think that just because you've reached Boiling Blood, your old man won't dare hit you. How did I end up with a fool like you for a son?"

"..."

After getting a thorough scolding, Luo Tao slunk back to Emerald Cloud Valley and focused on tempering his body and building his blood qi.

Shen Mu had no idea that Luo Tao had sneaked home.

Of course, even if he had known, Shen Mu wouldn't have felt the slightest resentment.

Everyone acted according to their own understanding of the world. Just managing yourself was already no small feat.

As the saying went, you could teach someone a hundred times and it still wouldn't sink in, but one lesson from experience was enough.

Shen Mu had ample provisions, and for restoring his strength, he had Origin Mulberry Wine that he'd brewed himself. Every day, aside from sleeping, he devoted nearly all his attention to tempering his body.

"In about half a month, the Scarlet Mist on the Martial Dao Tree's branch should be able to spread to its second leaf."

The sun dipped toward the horizon. After practicing the Army-Breaking Saber Technique once more, Shen Mu let his consciousness sink into his mind to observe the Martial Dao Tree's changes.

At that moment, the Scarlet Mist on the Martial Dao Tree's branch was only a short stretch away from the second leaf.

Shen Mu couldn't help remembering the night Zhou Xuan had ambushed him. If he hadn't mastered the Army-Breaking Saber Technique, killing Zhou Xuan would have been nearly impossible.

That had also made Shen Mu understand that on the martial path, cultivation was the foundation, but mastering martial techniques was just as important.

When both sides were at the same level, what determined who came out on top—or even who lived and died—was how skillfully they wielded their martial techniques.

That was why Shen Mu never slacked off when practicing the Army-Breaking Saber Technique. Every time he rehearsed it, he gave it his undivided attention.

He knew all too well that at a critical moment, a martial technique could decide whether he or his enemy lived.

"Brother Shen, practicing again?"

"I have to say, Brother Shen, you're truly diligent. Everyone else has gone out to search for clues, and only you and Brother Luo can still focus on practicing your martial techniques."

A light chuckle came from nearby.

Shen Mu gathered his thoughts and looked toward the voice.

"Brother Guo."

Shen Mu greeted him with a smile.

The visitor was Guo Jinchuan, another Guardian under Hong Jingcheng.

Apart from Shen Mu and Luo Tao, he was the only one left in Emerald Cloud Valley.

Before this, Shen Mu hadn't had much to do with him. They were little more than acquaintances who exchanged greetings.

But once most of the Guardians had left Emerald Cloud Valley, Shen Mu, who stayed behind to cultivate, became the only person Guo Jinchuan could chat with after tempering his body.

Guo Jinchuan was the sort who couldn't keep quiet. He came by at nearly the same time every day.

There was no point in coming earlier, anyway. Until the sun went down, Shen Mu wouldn't stop practicing just because he'd shown up.

From their conversations over the past few days, Shen Mu had gradually realized that Guo Jinchuan didn't actually want to stay in Emerald Cloud Valley.

It seemed he had some unspoken difficulty, though, and had no choice but to remain there.

Shen Mu wasn't one to pry into other people's secrets, so he didn't ask why.

"I heard that you advanced to Second Stage Boiling Blood after only two months in Emerald Cloud Valley. At the time, I wondered if you might be some kind of martial arts prodigy."

"Now I see that you owe your achievements to your own hard work."

It wasn't all thanks to hard work alone... Shen Mu smiled and said, "My family is poor. Aside from training hard, I have no other choice."

Hearing this, Guo Jinchuan asked curiously, "Brother Shen, why aren't you taking part in the investigation into the people who secretly picked the Origin Mulberry Fruit? Just one clue will earn you a hundred taels of silver—enough to cover your cultivation expenses for months..."

Shen Mu laughed. "Five days have already passed. Has any Guardian found a useful clue?"

"Rather than waste a month on that, I'd be better off using the time to improve my blood qi."

"If I can advance one more stage, my monthly salary will increase quite a bit. Isn't that much easier than investigating a case?"

Guo Jinchuan shook his head. "Brother Shen, a lot of the Guardians are using the investigation as an excuse. In reality, they're just eating, drinking, visiting brothels, and gambling in the county. Do you really think they want to look for clues?"

"They're just taking the opportunity to give themselves a break. After all, aside from this vast stretch of Origin Mulberry Fields, there isn't much to do in Emerald Cloud Valley."

Shen Mu was silent for a moment, then smiled. "Everyone has their own aspirations."

Without the Martial Dao Tree, Shen Mu might have ended up sinking into the same indulgence as those men.

But he had a chance to reach the pinnacle of the martial path and attain immortality. He wasn't willing to waste an opportunity that had come so hard-won.

Hearing this, Guo Jinchuan looked at Shen Mu with a complicated expression and sighed. "Yes, everyone has their own aspirations."

Some rose with the rooster to practice, some lost themselves in the tender embrace of a lover, and some hurried through the night to take the imperial examinations.

There was no need to say who was right or wrong. In this short life, it was enough to live it to the fullest.

Shen Mu looked at Guo Jinchuan and asked with a smile, "What about you, Brother Guo? Why are you staying behind in Emerald Cloud Valley?"

"Me?"

Guo Jinchuan froze, then shook his head with a bitter smile. "Let's not talk about it."

Just then, two figures approached the Bamboo Shed where Shen Mu was.

"Guo Jinchuan, you're a hard man to find."

Both of them wore the uniforms of the Firewood Gang. Seeing Guo Jinchuan on the roof of the Bamboo Shed, one of them gave a sinister laugh.

"Tu Chuan, Cao Xingyang, how did you get in here?"

Recognizing their faces, Guo Jinchuan's expression changed abruptly, and he blurted out the question.

Seeing how flustered Guo Jinchuan was, Shen Mu furrowed his brow and looked the two men up and down.

They were both around twenty-five or twenty-six. Though they wore Firewood Gang uniforms, they looked unfamiliar. Shen Mu had never seen them before, and they didn't seem to be Guardians from Emerald Cloud Valley.

"How did we get in?"

Tu Chuan gave a mocking laugh. "With money, of course. You didn't think hiding in Emerald Cloud Valley meant there was nothing we could do about you, did you?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Cao Xingyang beside him said coldly, "Guo Jinchuan, you're fifteen days past the agreed deadline. According to our agreement, for each day you're late, you owe interest of one percent of the principal."

"You borrowed two hundred taels of silver. Now you owe two hundred and thirty taels. Pay up."

Hearing this, Shen Mu wore a peculiar expression.

So Guo Jinchuan had been staying in Emerald Cloud Valley to dodge his creditors?