Two Months

Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.

Over those seven days, Qin Fang never left the house. Every day, he practiced Flying Darts at home while nursing his wounds and rebuilding his strength.

His master came by several times during that period, bringing him food. Qin Fang also successfully got another four Flying Darts...

When he had asked for the Flying Darts this time, his master's expression had been somewhat complicated, but in the end, he still agreed.

He now had five Flying Darts in hand, but because of the injury to his right leg, moving-shot training could only be put aside for the time being.

Training against different targets, however, was put on the schedule.

Qin Fang trained diligently, and the progress on the Panel was substantial as well. In seven days, his proficiency had reached 207 points.

That was not particularly fast. By his calculations, it would probably take over three months before he could advance to the next stage.

He was looking forward to the enlightenment of the next stage.

"My son!~"

A heart-rending wail suddenly rose from outside, followed by the sounds of wind instruments, strings, drums, and gongs.

Hearing it, Qin Fang's expression froze slightly before turning somber.

He now knew whose funeral was being held...

Scar-Head Li's.

Though he never left the house, the neighbors had been coming and going frequently these days. Occasionally, people passing the entrance to the courtyard discussed the matter, and if they spoke loudly enough, Qin Fang could hear them from inside.

Scar-Head Li's family lived in Ram Horn Alley, and he still had an elderly mother at home.

Scar-Head Li's family had been dealt a bitter hand. There had actually been quite a few children in the family, but only he had lived to adulthood. The rest had died young one after another for various reasons.

...The survival rate of children in ancient times was truly low.

And now, Scar-Head Li was dead too.

His elderly mother had become truly alone in the world.

Many neighbors sighed over it.

They cursed Scar-Head Li for being worthless, for knowing his family's circumstances and still fooling around outside.

Then they cursed the murderer for being cruel and ruthless. Scar-Head Li's death was one thing, but how was his old mother supposed to go on living?

As the murderer, Qin Fang felt an indescribable emotion stir in his heart when he heard those words.

But in the end, he could only let out a soft sigh...

There was no helping it.

He had no choice.

Scar-Head Li was pitiful.

But if Qin Fang had not killed him, the one who might have died would have been himself.

Qin Fang sympathized with him, but he did not regret it.

If he had to do it again, even knowing Scar-Head Li's family circumstances, he thought he would still eliminate Scar-Head Li without the slightest hesitation.

...When Scar-Head Li died, his old mother had been there to grieve and weep for him.

If Qin Fang died, who would care?

He had struggled all the way here as a refugee, not to die here in such a cowardly, wretched fashion.

His resolve was firm, and he no longer paid attention to the commotion outside.

Scar-Head Li's funeral was the only information Qin Fang knew about any of the dead.

Other than that, he knew very little.

...He knew even less about Wang Hu's movements.

When he asked his master, his master did not know either, only warning him not to leave home for the time being.

After worrying for a while, Qin Fang finally set it completely aside...

As long as they did not come looking here.

Time passed swiftly.

In the blink of an eye, more than a month had gone by.

His master's medical skills truly were no empty boast. After more than a month, the injury to his leg had almost healed.

Only his fingers had yet to recover... after all, the bones had been injured.

It would probably take another month or two before they fully healed.

Aside from his leg injury healing, Qin Fang was delighted to discover that he had put on some weight over the past month...

With good food and drink nourishing him every day, his body had begun to gradually recover.

His skin had returned to normal under his master's medicine.

Though it was still a little dark.

The large patches of sunburn had already vanished.

At last, there was some flesh on his body too... He was no longer a skeleton with skin stretched over bone.

As the color returned to Qin Fang's face, a little more of his looks were unsealed... His cheekbones were no longer so prominent, and his sword-like brows and starry eyes gradually took on a touch of handsome elegance.

He was still rather thin, though...

But in his master's words, the "refugee stink" on him had mostly dissipated.

If he went outside now, his height would be what drew attention, but at least he would no longer give people the impression that he was obviously a refugee at first glance.

Even so, Qin Fang still did not leave the house.

After all... he did not know how far Wang Hu's investigation had progressed. If he rashly went out and drew Wang Hu's attention because of it, the trouble would be enormous.

...He could kill Wang Long, but he absolutely could not kill Wang Hu.

He likely could not even get close to him.

Because by now, his master had gradually begun explaining some knowledge about martial arts to him.

Though he had not officially begun cultivating yet.

His master had already started teaching him some common knowledge.

It allowed him to gradually understand just how terrifying Dark Force martial artists were...

"Your body is still too weak. Nourish yourself a while longer before cultivating."

Qin Fang had asked his master several times when he could begin martial arts training, and his master always gave him the same answer.

Qin Fang could only temporarily put aside his impatience and focus on recuperating first.

But in order to condition his body, he added moving-shot practice to his schedule.

He hung targets in every corner of the courtyard, then devised a training routine for himself. From one end to the other, he attacked the targets with Flying Darts at the fastest possible speed, retrieving the darts along the way before attacking the other targets...

Once his body got moving, he felt its condition gradually improving more and more.

The main reason was that food was plentiful now. To help him recover, his master brought enough meat almost every time.

And now, his stomach could finally handle heavily oily food.

Such days passed quickly.

There was no news from Wang Hu's side, and news of the refugees seemed to have stopped spreading as well. It was as if that earlier refugee unrest and rebellion had completely passed.

In the blink of an eye, it had been two months since Wang Long's death.

The fingers of his left hand had recovered somewhat and could move again.

But he still could not use too much force, or they would ache.

His master said he could now slowly try to resume using the fingers of his left hand.

Qin Fang began gritting his teeth and incorporating the use of his left hand into his training.

And when he looked again at the proficiency points on the Panel...

Hidden Weapons (Flying Darts) (Minor Accomplishment Stage): 869/1000

At this rate, in less than another month, he should be able to enter the next stage...

Qin Fang thought expectantly.

Suddenly, something icy landed on his face.

Qin Fang froze for a moment, then instinctively looked up.

From the sky, scattered white specks drifted down.

The white specks grew more numerous. Before long, they fluttered down in profusion, filling the sky...

It was snowing.

A timely snow promised a bountiful harvest.

This year's snow was especially heavy.

After it began falling on the first day, it continued for several days in a row.

There was no heating in the house, and Qin Fang was so cold he hopped from foot to foot.

Fortunately, the moment it began snowing, his master brought over a thick set of cotton clothes.

Otherwise, he would probably have been frozen beyond endurance by now.

Looking up at the snowflakes filling the sky and wondering how long they would last, he breathed onto his hands, red from the cold, exhaling thick white mist.

A thick layer of snow had already piled up in the courtyard. As far as the eye could see, everything was a hazy expanse of white—beautiful, and bitterly cold.

To keep warm, Qin Fang had no choice but to light a fire inside the room... Smoke curled everywhere, and he could only open the doors and windows to let it air out.

So the room was cold one moment, hot the next, and then so choked with thick smoke that he could not open his eyes...

The sensation was simply exhilarating beyond words.

And amid that exhilarating misery...

The New Year arrived.