Blood kept flowing.
Scarface's body stiffened. His eyes brimmed with unwillingness as he toppled straight to the ground, lifeless.
Lin Qing panted heavily and watched warily for a moment.
Only after confirming that his opponent was truly dead did he step forward to search the body.
From Scarface's clothes, he pulled out a thin, yellowed booklet with four scrawled characters on the cover: Wave-Breaking Blade Technique.
Then he picked up the reasonably well-made saber.
Yet after searching the man from head to toe, Lin Qing found only a few hundred copper coins—not even a single piece of silver.
"What a loss!"
Lin Qing couldn't help muttering a curse.
The man must have been so broke that he'd resorted to this no-capital-needed business, only to end up dead at Lin Qing's hands.
Scarface had been no weakling. He was at least a late-stage Skin Refining martial artist; otherwise, he could never have held out for so long.
Lin Qing wrapped the manual and saber in cloth and put them together with the medicinal herbs he'd bought.
He glanced at the body on the ground, then laboriously dragged it into a secluded thicket and covered it with a few dry branches and fallen leaves.
After finishing, he didn't dare linger. He oriented himself and hurried toward Qingping County.
Night fell. Lin Qing took a somewhat longer route before finally making it back to the rear courtyard of Benevolent World Hall on Yongning Street, safe and sound.
He knocked softly on the door, and his older sister Lin Wan's hushed voice immediately came from inside.
"Ah Qing?"
"It's me, Sis."
Once Lin Wan confirmed it was him, she quickly unlatched the door, pulled him inside, and shut it again.
"Ah Qing, you're finally back. Where have you been?"
By the oil lamp's glow, Lin Wan looked her younger brother up and down. Seeing that his clothes had been slashed, she couldn't help crying out in alarm.
"Mm, I went into the mountains and found quite a few rare medicinal herbs," Lin Qing replied.
"Why did you have to go somewhere so dangerous, little brother? What would I do if something happened to you?"
As Lin Wan spoke, her eyes suddenly reddened.
"Sis, I'm fine. My clothes just got caught on some branches."
Lin Qing hurried to comfort his older sister.
Only after he'd reassured her several times did Lin Wan finally calm down.
"I... I'm not blaming you."
"I just feel that with Father gone, you have to worry about everything at home and take risks, while I can't help at all."
Lin Wan wiped away her tears and spoke earnestly.
"Sis, what are you saying? Could I have opened the medicine shop by myself?" Lin Qing said with a bitter smile.
"Mm. I just finished sewing you a winter coat. See if it fits." Lin Wan brought a padded jacket from the inner room.
Lin Qing took the tightly stitched jacket and put it on. It fit him quite well.
"Thank you, Sis."
Lin Qing felt a little moved.
No matter when, home was always the final shelter from the storm.
"Silly little brother, what are you thanking me for?"
Lin Wan smiled.
"I'll go wash up first."
Lin Qing put away the clothes and headed to the kitchen.
"Go on. The water's hot."
That evening, Lin Qing lit the oil lamp in his room and took the Wave-Breaking Blade Technique manual and saber out of his bundle.
The manual was very thin, and the handwriting rather messy, but its contents made Lin Qing's eyes light up.
The Wave-Breaking Blade Technique followed a fierce, fast style.
It relied on overwhelming the opponent with momentum, its moves surging like a raging tide, one wave rising before the last had settled.
It aimed to crush the opponent with an unbroken barrage of attacks in the shortest time possible.
The three killing moves recorded in it were especially powerful.
Still, it fell well short of the Iron Wire Fist.
The Iron Wire Fist was a low-grade martial art that cultivated both the inner and outer body. Though its moves were fierce, it placed greater emphasis on building a solid foundation and circulating force. Its techniques were relatively orderly and easy to read.
The Wave-Breaking Blade Technique, on the other hand, was purely an external martial art for killing. It focused solely on offense and did not cultivate the inner body. Practicing it over time could easily lead to hidden injuries.
"More skills never hurt. Knowing another blade technique means having one more way to stay alive." Lin Qing understood this well.
The Iron Wire Fist was his foundation, the strength he could rely on openly.
And the Wave-Breaking Blade Technique might become the fangs he kept hidden in the dark.
Gripping the saber, he walked into the courtyard and began practicing slowly, following the diagrams and methods of exerting force in the manual.
At first, his movements were awkward, but he soon found his rhythm.
Information about the Wave-Breaking Blade Technique appeared in the Heavenly Dao Record.
[Wave-Breaking Blade Technique (Not Yet Initiated)]
[Experience: 1/1000]
With his Iron Wire Fist already mastered to perfection, his understanding of force and control over his body far surpassed that of ordinary people. Getting started with this blade technique would not be difficult.
He repeated the basic motions of chopping, hacking, lifting, and slashing, feeling how his waist and legs worked as one and how force flowed through the blade. In his mind, he continually worked through the variations contained in each move.
The moon sank lower, but Lin Qing forgot everything around him, absorbed in practicing the blade technique.
Sweat soaked his clothes, and his whole body was drenched.
He could clearly feel his understanding of the technique improving at a rapid pace.
Beneath the moon, his figure moved like a roaming dragon.
The blade flashed coldly, lighting up the courtyard.
When the eastern sky began to pale, Lin Qing finally lowered his saber and let out a long breath.
Though he hadn't slept all night, his eyes were bright and his spirits high.
[Wave-Breaking Blade Technique (Beginner)]
[Experience: 105/1000]
A night of hard training, and he'd successfully gotten started!
Though he'd only just begun to grasp the technique, he could already manage to use its killing moves. All he lacked was more practice and experience in real combat.
Over the next few days, Lin Qing didn't rush to the Black Market to retrieve the Kirin Spike. Instead, he devoted most of his attention to processing the medicinal herbs he'd bought.
What he planned to prepare was a modified version of Blood Nourishing Powder.
The original recipe for Blood Nourishing Powder that he'd obtained from Manager Zhang was already quite ingenious, with low costs and mild, long-lasting effects.
Now that Lin Qing's knowledge of medicine had reached the pinnacle, his understanding of medicinal properties far surpassed that of an ordinary medicine shopkeeper.
He carefully analyzed the original recipe and adjusted it slightly to suit the blood and qi replenishment needs of his Iron Wire Fist training.
He added niu dali to strengthen the effects of fortifying the bones and increasing strength, complemented it with eucommia to improve the toughness of the bones and sinews, and used several supplementary ingredients with compatible medicinal properties to balance the heat that the new herbs might bring.
This made the medicine milder and easier to absorb, and more suitable for martial artists at the stage of tempering their sinews and membranes to take over a long period.
Preparing the medicinal powder was extremely tedious and required complete concentration.
Different herbs needed different preparations. Some had to be ground into powder, others sliced and dried in the sun, while still others needed to be slowly roasted over a low flame to bring out their medicinal properties.
Controlling the heat during preparation was even more critical.
When to use a fierce flame, when to turn it down for a slow simmer, and when to add each ingredient—
The slightest mistake could affect the medicine's efficacy, or even produce the opposite effect.
Lin Qing shut himself in the kitchen in the rear courtyard of Benevolent World Hall and watched over the medicine pot. Relying on his unparalleled knowledge of medicine and precise instincts, he carefully controlled every step.
Even so, he failed twice. Either the fire was a little too strong, leaving the medicine with a burnt, bitter taste,
or the herbs went in in the wrong order, causing their medicinal effects to clash.
It wasn't until the third attempt, when the pot gave off a faintly sweet, mellow aroma, that Lin Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He lifted the lid. At the bottom of the pot lay a layer of dark-red medicinal powder with a fine, even texture.
He touched a little with his fingertip and tasted it. A gentle warmth spread through him, and even his blood and qi seemed to grow more active.
"It worked!"
A flash of delight crossed Lin Qing's eyes.
Before you continue