Great Fog Mountain!
Lin Yan's figure darted through the mountain forest. This time, he had been in the mountains for more than an hour.
After his second round of Skin Polishing, his breathing had grown longer and steadier, and the detoxification pills lasted longer, too.
However, Lin Yan wasn't very satisfied with what he'd found on this trip. So far, he had discovered only a few kinds of medicinal herbs, and none of them were particularly old.
The Earth Vein True Interpretation said: In winter, the earth's qi retreats into hiding, like a snake slithering into its burrow or hibernating in the depths. It cannot be found without digging deep, nor perceived without waiting quietly. The earth lies dormant, its qi returning to its roots; thus, the surface loses its splendor and plants conceal their colors. This is not a sign that the earth's qi has waned, but that it is gathering strength for spring.
Put in plain language, the earth's qi hid away in winter, making it difficult to find. The growth of plants was no reliable guide, either.
"Forget it. I'll come back next year."
The year's end was not far off, and he was getting ready to return to the city.
Just as Lin Yan was about to leave, his ears suddenly perked up. He bent low, crouching as he turned his gaze to the left.
A faint sound came from among the trees to his left. If not for his second round of Skin Polishing improving his senses, he might not have noticed it at all.
A few breaths later, the sound grew louder. Four figures appeared several yards away. The mountain mist kept Lin Yan from making out their faces, but they, too, couldn't detect him, hidden several yards off.
"The terrain here is good. We'll lay the bait here."
The four stopped. One of them spoke, and then Lin Yan saw them crouch down for a moment. Before he could make out what they were doing, a strong smell of blood hit his nose.
Blood!
Lin Yan's eyes narrowed. He knew what the four had done.
They had scattered some kind of blood around the area.
It shouldn't have been human blood. The stench was far too strong.
Were they trying to lure wild beasts with blood in the middle of winter?
"All right, the bait's set. Let's leave and come back in an hour. That beast has an extremely sharp nose. It can smell human scent from a long way off. If it catches our scent, it definitely won't show itself."
Anyone who could make it this far was at least a martial artist with years of Skin Polishing behind them. They might even have undergone Skin Polishing twice.
Lin Yan didn't want trouble. He had stayed hidden to avoid any unnecessary misunderstanding, and had planned to wait for the four to leave before slipping away. But as soon as he heard that voice, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
He knew the speaker well: Steward Li of the Wang Mansion, who had come to test him after he killed members of the Clear Water Gang.
Since he'd run into the man, he wasn't going to leave.
A few dozen breaths later, the four figures vanished into the miasma. Lin Yan didn't move. He remained crouched in the bushes and waited a full quarter of an hour, making sure that Li Guiyi and the others hadn't merely pretended to leave and hidden nearby to test him, but had truly gone far away. Only then did he slowly get to his feet.
He didn't go straight to the bait. Instead, he backed away several dozen yards, circled around, and returned from another direction.
Lin Yan stood where Li Guiyi and the others had been. The blood had soaked the dead leaves on the ground, and a small lump of minced meat gave off an intensely foul, fishy stench.
So this minced meat was the so-called bait.
He had no intention of hiding nearby and playing the mantis that stalked the cicada, only to be caught by the oriole.
Steward Li was a martial artist who had undergone Skin Polishing twice, while the other three were of unknown strength. The risk was too great.
Still, since he'd run into them, he wasn't going to let Steward Li and the others see their plans through so easily.
Lin Yan untied his belt without hesitation. First, he aimed at the minced meat, then he urinated in a circle around the area.
Many wild beasts marked their territory with urine and feces. Since that beast had such a sharp nose, it ought to smell his scent and stay away.
Only after he'd finished did Lin Yan leave the mountain from another direction. He didn't return to his lodging in town, but headed straight for the county seat.
An hour later, Li Guiyi and the other three returned to the mountain forest. Seeing the untouched minced meat on the ground, Li Guiyi's face grew terribly dark.
The meat was still there, but the beast was nowhere to be seen.
"Steward Li, could the rumor be wrong? Maybe there isn't a Purple Fur Beast in Great Fog Mountain at all?"
"Shut up!"
Li Guiyi glared coldly at the man who had spoken. "Have you forgotten the rules from before we came?"
"Forgive me, Steward Li."
The man trembled under Li Guiyi's stare and quickly apologized. Inwardly, though, he didn't think much of it. Steward Li was far too cautious, worrying that someone might be hiding in the mountains and forbidding them to say the Purple Fur Beast's name. In this remote wilderness, with miasma everywhere, how could anyone possibly be lying in wait?
Li Guiyi shifted his gaze from the man and moved swiftly, searching the area. He stopped only after confirming that no one was lurking nearby.
"Could it be that I was just imagining things?"
Li Guiyi breathed a sigh of relief. He was naturally suspicious, and the Purple Fur Beast's failure to appear had made him wonder whether someone was hiding nearby.
He couldn't afford to be careless. The Purple Fur Beast was a precious medicinal beast, and there was a good chance it could help a martial artist who had undergone Skin Polishing twice break through and reach the third stage.
If word got out, every force in the county seat would come rushing.
There was no way the information about the Purple Fur Beast was false. The hunter had been too afraid to lie under his interrogation. The only possibility was that the beast wasn't in this area and hadn't smelled the Fragrant Cloud Musk Meat he had prepared for it.
Looking at the Fragrant Cloud Musk Meat on the ground, Li Guiyi felt a pang of regret. A single pound cost a hundred taels, and he had mixed it with secret medicine and processed it. This batch of bait alone was worth two hundred taels.
If they caught the Purple Fur Beast, it would all be worth it. But now the beast was nowhere to be seen, and his heart bled at the thought.
They couldn't possibly put together another batch of bait anytime soon. They would have to wait until spring next year.
On the third day after returning to the county seat, Lin Yan went to a banquet at Tang Mansion.
Four tables had been set up in the banquet hall Tang Mansion reserved for martial artists who held honorary posts with the family. Quite a few guests were already seated.
Lin Yan quickly surveyed the hall but didn't spot anyone he knew. Captain Ji wasn't there, and he didn't recognize anyone else, either.
As Lin Yan looked over the martial artists who had undergone Skin Polishing twice, they were sizing him up as well.
Because of his background, and because he had been practicing martial arts for less than a year, Lin Yan was a nobody in the martial arts circles of Guangping County.
The Tang Family had spared no expense. The wine was first-rate, and so was the food. There was even venison and snake meat, both of which could boost a martial artist's qi and blood, though not in large portions.
This time, Lin Yan didn't overdo it. He only sampled a little.
No matter how thick-skinned a man was, he still had to know the occasion.
With so many people around, he was a disciple of the Yang Family Martial Arts Hall. He had to uphold the hall's reputation.
Halfway through the banquet, Tang Shaoqi, head of the Tang Family, appeared and drank three cups of wine with everyone before leaving. The martial artists who had undergone Skin Polishing twice weren't going to eat and drink their fill, either. Lin Yan exchanged names with a few of the men at his table, then left when it was about time.
Lin Yan had just one impression of the Tang Family's head: refined.
In later generations, people would have called him a lady-killer.
After Lin Yan and the other martial artists who had undergone Skin Polishing twice left, a discussion was taking place in the Tang Family's main hall.
Tang Shaoqi looked at his son and daughter, his face full of helplessness. "Tang Tang, if we do it this way, people in the city will have plenty to say about the Tang Family."
"Father, who would dare gossip? You're only doing this for your own reputation."
Tang Yang replied with a scowl. The Tang Family was known as the foremost family in Guangping County not only because they were indeed powerful, but also because of their father.
Their father offered the best benefits in the county to martial artists who held honorary posts with the family. To outsiders, that naturally made the Tang Family seem like the strongest.
"What do you mean, for my reputation? It's called building connections. Can you name anyone in the city who doesn't speak well of our family?" Tang Shaoqi protested. "Besides, this was a rule your grandfather set."
"Father, Grandfather wanted us to build ties with promising martial artists, not cast such a wide net like you do."
Tang Tang spoke in a quiet, rueful voice, not sparing her father's feelings. "If you keep this up, more and more martial artists will hold honorary posts with our family. When we can't afford to support them anymore and dismiss them, they'll only resent us even more."
Give someone an inch, and they'll take a mile!
These martial artists had grown used to receiving the Tang Family's monthly stipend. Given enough time, they would take it for granted.
"Tang Tang, surely it won't come to that?"
Tang Shaoqi's voice grew softer. Clearly, he knew it was a very real possibility.
"Father, I think something is about to change in the county seat. The Four Seas Gang has mysterious origins. They've taken over the west of the city and are trying to seize the north, yet the Patrol Bureau just sits back and does nothing. Something is wrong. Our family should be especially cautious right now."
At the mention of the Four Seas Gang, Tang Shaoqi furrowed his brow. The Tang Family had opened medicine shops in the west and north of the city, too, though they rarely sold the medicinal ingredients martial artists needed. They mainly dispensed medicine to ordinary folk, and the profits were low. Even so, the gang's activities had affected those shops lately.
"Fine, we'll do as you say, Tang Tang."
In the end, Tang Shaoqi gave in. He cared about his reputation, but he cared more about the future of the family.
"Here's what I think: martial artists holding honorary posts with our family should be limited to three years for those who've undergone Skin Polishing once and seven years for those who've undergone it twice. If they want to continue, they'll have to break through to the next stage."
As he listened to his daughter, the corner of Tang Shaoqi's eye twitched several times. Under her rules, more than half of the martial artists with honorary posts would probably be dismissed.
Tang Tang noticed her father's expression. Over the years, he had cared so much about his reputation that anyone with an honorary post could keep it indefinitely unless they broke the rules.
That might be fine for martial artists with potential, but many had already lost their drive to advance. No matter how wealthy the Tang Family was, it couldn't keep covering the monthly stipends of an ever-growing number of people.
"Tang Tang, wouldn't that leave us short of martial artists?"
"After dismissing those who don't meet the requirements, I'll recruit another batch. But they'll have to be young and promising."
Tang Shaoqi fell silent. His daughter had already thought everything through.
"Fine. You take care of it."