Wishful Thinking

Mountain Gang, Internal Affairs Hall.

Candlelight flickered, casting mottled shadows from the beams and pillars across the hall.

"Hall Master, He Xiuyong has always been cautious in his dealings. I've investigated his contacts over the past few years, and he hasn't offended anyone influential."

Fan Hao paused, then added:

"But I found that half a year ago, he asked some brothers in the gang to look for someone."

"Who?"

Hall Master Deng Yang sat upright in the seat of honor, his fingertips tapping against the cold sandalwood tabletop.

"Someone from Mountain-Back Village, where he was stationed. A hunter named Li Yun.

Around that time, Li Yun also joined the Subduing Tiger Martial Hall in the Outer City.

Following that lead, I discovered that Li Yun had previously hidden some of his game and taken it to the Outer City to sell.

He Xiuyong reported that he would go deal with him right away.

Clearly, he failed.

Three months ago, Li Yun also successfully opened the channels for qi and blood at the surface of his body and entered the Body Tempering Realm."

"Useless!"

The room fell silent for a moment.

"He Xiuyong has been stationed in Mountain-Back Village for years. His qi and blood should be brimming by now. How could he lose to a mere hunter?"

Fan Hao leaned forward half a step and made a slitting motion across his throat. His voice was low and harsh as he asked for instructions:

"My lord, should I go to the Outer City and take care of that Li Yun...?"

"No. Since Li Yun has already joined the Subduing Tiger Martial Hall, he's part of an Outer City faction now.

The balance between the Inner City and Outer City is already delicate. There's no need to tear up the truce early over some minor character."

Deng Yang paused.

"The Gang Leader and the heads of the Four Great Families have already discussed it. In a few months, at the tournament...

Well, someone will be sent to take part."

Fan Hao's eyes lit up, and he understood at once.

"This subordinate understands."

"Choose someone dependable."

"Rest assured, Hall Master. My brother-in-law, Tang Feng, has abundant qi and blood and has mastered the basics of leg techniques. He certainly won't fail."

The next day.

After getting a taste of Blood Ginseng's benefits, Li Yun couldn't stop thinking about it.

When Yu Qingqing arrived at the martial hall, he went over and asked:

"Senior Sister, I wanted to ask where I can buy Blood Ginseng."

Yu Qingqing stretched her muscles and bones, preparing to practice her punches soon.

Hearing Li Yun's question, she replied:

"Junior Brother, Blood Ginseng is scarce and very hard to buy.

And people who have it generally don't sell it.

Most either use it themselves or trade it for something else.

You ate some yesterday, so you should know how appealing Blood Ginseng is to martial artists who need to build up their qi and blood quickly.

Naturally, people hold tightly to this kind of resource.

In Crow Mountain City, aside from what wealthy outsiders bring with them, most of it is in the hands of the Mountain Gang and the Four Great Families in the Inner City.

Do you think they're short on money, that they'd sell such precious cultivation resources as Blood Ginseng?"

Even with money, he couldn't buy it.

It seemed that using Blood Ginseng to build up his qi and blood quickly and reach Bright Force was a road he couldn't take.

For now.

Li Yun nodded in agreement.

If he had resources like that, he wouldn't sell them either.

"Are there any other ways to get it?

For example, the Bounty Pavilion?"

He understood, but Li Yun still wasn't ready to give up. He wanted to ask, just in case.

After all, Yu Qingqing came from a wealthy family and was also close friends with Miss Huang of the Inner City. She might have better connections and more information.

At his question, Yu Qingqing kept moving. She bent her left knee and leaned forward, stretched her right leg back, and turned her body slightly to the side.

"The Bounty Pavilion is ultimately a faction run by people.

They have their own interests, too.

If someone puts up something this good for sale, they'll buy it themselves right away.

There's no chance of an outsider getting a bargain.

Only whatever they have left over gets sold at a high price."

"Then when will they sell it?"

Spending silver to turn it into strength was the best use of it.

If he really could buy some, Li Yun could accept paying a premium.

"With cultivation resources like this, unless the price goes up too much,

even if any is put up for sale, people waiting for it will snap it all up.

If you really want to buy it, you'll have to go to the prefectural city."

Yu Qingqing lowered her leg, changed positions, and raised her clasped hands overhead, her back straight as a pine.

"Actually, there's an opportunity coming up to get Blood Ginseng, and you have a good chance, Junior Brother."

She glanced at Li Yun, who was listening intently without letting his eyes wander, and felt a little strange. Then she continued:

"Last time Master was giving me pointers, I heard him mention it.

It seemed that at this Year-End Tournament, the first-place winner in each stage would be awarded a stalk of Blood Ginseng of a different age."

Blood Ginseng was only awarded to first place?

Li Yun thought to himself:

He had originally planned to show off a little at the Year-End Tournament and settle for a few resources.

It seemed that plan wouldn't work.

He needed to find a chance to learn about the relationships among the various martial halls in the Outer City.

If everyone got along and minded their own business, that would be fine.

But if there were any deadly grudges, his making such a splash—

Wouldn't that be practically inviting an enemy martial hall to snuff out a "genius" like him?

"If first place gets Blood Ginseng, won't this tournament be exceptionally dangerous?"

"Dangerous?

Fighting in the ring is naturally different from our usual sparring.

Everyone gives it their all, so accidents are inevitable."

Yu Qingqing thought it over.

"But in past tournaments, nothing too serious has ever gone wrong.

When all's said and done, the tournament is just a way to promote the martial halls."

If it was really as Yu Qingqing said, then it wouldn't be a problem for him to show off a little and win some Blood Ginseng.

The Subduing Tiger Martial Hall wasn't the best in the Outer City.

But it wasn't bad either.

Li Yun was confident that if he fought the Body Tempering Realm senior brothers in the Inner Courtyard, none of them would be a match for him.

There were still more than five months before the end of the year. His qi and blood and fist techniques would surely improve by then.

Compared to the others,

if he gave it his all, he had a good chance of taking first place in the Body Tempering Realm.

Still, to be safe, he should ask his second senior brother, Xiao Shun, and learn more.

"Thank you for explaining, Senior Sister. I'm going to practice my stance."

With a plan in mind, Li Yun threw himself into the Tiger-Subduing Stance.

During a break, he wanted to ask Xiao Shun about the tournament.

But he couldn't find him in the Inner Courtyard at all.

Ever since Fu Huaixing took Zhu Daqi as his closed-door disciple, Li Yun had rarely seen Xiao Shun in the Inner Courtyard.

He only showed up every few days.

It seemed that old heartbreaker Fu Huaixing had hurt his second disciple this time.

That afternoon,

Li Yun sparred with his senior brothers a few times, but Xiao Shun still didn't show up.

So he tidied up and left the martial hall.

He headed for the Outer City East District.

He wanted to see whether Zhang Meili had lost any weight.

A hundred taels of silver—and a possible bonus—depended on it.

He knocked on the gate of Zhang Mansion again.

The gatekeeper saw Li Yun and immediately became much more respectful.

His drooping mouth curled into a smile, and his back bent instinctively.

The look in his eyes, so dismissive last time, was now full of respect. He raised a hand and ushered Li Yun inside.

"Mr. Li, you're here! Please, come in! Come right in!"

Li Yun followed him.

"How has your young miss been?"

At that, the gatekeeper cursed himself for judging a book by its cover.

He hadn't expected someone as young as Li Yun to have real skill.

"Mr. Li, you're amazing! In just a few days, my young miss has really lost several pounds.

If she follows your instructions, she'll definitely slim down eventually."

As long as she'd lost weight, that was good.

It seemed that by the end of the month, he'd have those hundred taels of silver in his pocket.