Night fell.
Lin Yan changed into black clothes, covered his face, and quietly climbed over the courtyard wall.
He had already found out where the Flat Mountain Gang's hideout was that afternoon: in a narrow alley in the north of the city.
Lin Yan had never thought much of gang members, especially since they had insulted his aunt.
His footsteps were feather-light as he slipped through the darkness like a ghost.
With the full strength of his second Skin Polishing stage on display, he reached the vicinity of the Flat Mountain Gang's hideout in less than a quarter of an hour.
It was a three-courtyard residence. Two lanterns hung by the entrance, and the faint sound of drinking games drifted from inside.
Lin Yan was about to climb over the wall and sneak in when he suddenly froze.
A muffled thud came from the courtyard, followed by the sound of something heavy hitting the ground.
No, those were sounds of a fight.
Was someone attacking the Flat Mountain Gang?
Was he really this lucky? Had he stumbled upon a gang feud, or was someone out for revenge?
Lin Yan furrowed his brow, pushed off the ground, and floated onto the main building's roof. He crouched on the tiles and peered into the courtyard.
Four or five corpses lay in the courtyard. Their clothes marked them as members of the Flat Mountain Gang.
At the entrance to the main room, a figure dressed in black stepped outside, crossed the eaves, and came into the open courtyard. He carried a bulging bundle in one hand, clearly having finished looting the place.
The man seemed to sense something. He abruptly looked up, his gaze shooting toward the roof of the main building like lightning.
Their eyes met.
In the next instant, the man kicked off the ground and shot toward Lin Yan like an arrow!
What keen senses.
Lin Yan was a little surprised, but he didn't retreat. He leaped straight down from the roof and threw a punch!
His fist came down like a mountain!
A flicker of surprise crossed the black-clad man's eyes, but he met the punch with one of his own.
Their fists collided with a muffled bang.
Lin Yan didn't budge, but the black-clad man staggered back several steps and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Mountain Splitting Fist?
Surprise showed in Lin Yan's eyes. Though the black-clad man had altered his form when throwing the punch, Lin Yan had mastered the fist's momentum and knew the Mountain Splitting Fist inside out. He could tell at a glance that its core techniques were still those of the Mountain Splitting Fist.
Could he be one of the junior brothers from the martial arts school?
Lin Yan's pupils narrowed.
The Mountain Splitting Fist, second-stage Skin Polishing strength, and an attack on the Flat Mountain Gang. He had a vague idea of the other man's identity.
On the other side, once the black-clad man regained his footing, he didn't hesitate. He hurled the bundle in his hand at Lin Yan, then retreated, turned, and vaulted over the wall, disappearing into the night.
Lin Yan stayed where he was. He didn't chase after him.
He looked down at the bundle on the ground. It had come undone when it landed, revealing several silver ingots.
"It must have been Junior Brother Zhuang." Lin Yan looked in the direction the black-clad man had disappeared and murmured softly.
Second-stage Skin Polishing, and judging by the force of his punches, he had only recently reached that stage. Junior Brother Zhuang had happened to run into him during the day; if he'd bothered to ask around, he would have learned what happened in front of the Liu Family's home.
Perhaps Junior Brother Zhuang really had attacked the Flat Mountain Gang to avenge him.
As for the silver in the bundle, he had probably taken it while he was at it.
"Junior Brother Zhuang's handiwork was a little rough, though."
Looking at the punch marks on the corpses, Lin Yan shook his head. Ever since his master told him that an autopsy had exposed a murder he'd committed, he had been more careful. After killing someone, he had to damage the corpse.
As for the money, he'd consider it payment for cleaning up after Junior Brother Zhuang.
After spending the time it took to brew a cup of tea cleaning up, Lin Yan picked up the bundle and left the courtyard.
At the same time, in another courtyard.
The black-clad man removed his face covering, revealing a young face. It was none other than Zhuang Zheng.
His face was pale, and blood still seeped from the corner of his mouth now and then.
"Who is that man? Could he be a third-stage Skin Polishing expert? Or one of the best among second-stage Skin Polishing martial artists?"
Zhuang Zheng looked down at his fist. The other man's punch had felt both familiar and strange, but one thing was certain: he was powerful. Zhuang Zheng doubted he could withstand a second punch.
"The Flat Mountain Gang's strongest fighters are only three first-stage Skin Polishing martial artists. How did they dare offend someone like him?"
Zhuang Zheng couldn't make sense of it. If the Flat Mountain Gang had offended someone that powerful, they would have been wiped out long ago. Why had it taken until tonight?
He had chosen to attack the Flat Mountain Gang tonight for two reasons. First, he wanted to repay Senior Brother Lin's kindness.
If Senior Brother Lin hadn't appeared back then, he would have been taken to the Patrol Bureau. Even as a martial arts school disciple, getting out wouldn't have been easy once he was inside.
The second reason was that he needed money. He had thought to kill the Flat Mountain Gang members and loot a fortune.
He had managed to advance from first-stage to second-stage Skin Polishing in just nine months. His talent was certainly a factor, but more important was the money he had to support his training.
And that money came from the people he had killed.
The first martial artist he killed after taking up the martial path was Ge Hui.
He hadn't gone after Ge Hui because Ge Hui had flaunted his wealth. Zhuang Zheng wasn't the sort of person who would turn on his own senior brothers in cold blood.
The truth was, Ge Hui had gone too far. Zhuang Zheng had sold his family's ancestral home to study martial arts, burning his bridges behind him, and Ge Hui still demanded that he pay his respects with a gift.
He had heard from other senior brothers that Senior Brother Lin had refused to give Ge Hui a gift and had also faced Ge Hui's harassment. But Senior Brother Lin had openly snapped back at him.
In Zhuang Zheng's view, that had been unwise. When facing someone stronger than yourself, it was safest to yield outwardly and strike in secret.
That would make the other person lower their guard, and no one would suspect you.
When dealing with Ge Hui, Zhuang Zheng had pretended to submit and handed over some copper coins. Then he followed Ge Hui for a while, until he finally found an opportunity. While Ge Hui was dead drunk, he ambushed and killed him.
As for the money he found on Ge Hui, he'd only taken it because he didn't want it to go to waste. He hadn't expected Ge Hui to have so much.
But that unexpected windfall had given him an idea for making money.
Robbing people after killing them!
There was no faster way to make money.
So he often lay in wait late at night, targeting members of various gangs. By killing them and taking their money, he had saved enough to reach the second stage of Skin Polishing in nine months.
After so many successes, he hadn't expected to fail this time. He had nearly lost his life, too.
"Fortunately, that mysterious expert didn't chase after me. Looks like I'll have to be even more careful from now on."
Zhuang Zheng gave a bitter smile. The good news was that he had managed to escape. The bad news was that after taking that punch, he would need at least half a month to recover.
At the Lin Family home, Lin Yan was counting his spoils in his room.
"Junior Brother Zhuang didn't even leave behind the small items containing silver."
Besides a few silver ingots, broken silver, and copper coins, the bundle contained some small items made with silver.
He could have taken them to a pawnshop and gotten a few dozen to a hundred copper coins for them, but for Lin Yan, risking exposure to pawn them wasn't worth it.
He sorted the items out. The silver and copper coins together came to a hundred and fifty taels. That was the benefit of wiping out a gang hideout: nearly everything had been swept up.
Too bad the Flat Mountain Gang was so weak.
"I have five hundred taels in total now. That's a hefty sum, but if I use it to cover my martial arts training, it'll only last a year."
The more Lin Yan calculated, the more he clicked his tongue in amazement. Martial artists did enjoy high status, but their expenses were just as high.
Fortunately, he wouldn't fail when trying to break through. For those who did fail, the money required was even more horrifying.
After grumbling about the enormous cost of martial arts training, Lin Yan began considering how to spend his money.
The Tang Family provided one bottle of Muscle-Generating Pills each month, but each bottle only contained five pills. That meant taking one every six days on average. From Zheng Xun, he had learned that second-stage Skin Polishing martial artists could take one Muscle-Generating Pill every day.
He could also buy some venison.
Muscle-Generating Pills helped qi and blood circulate through the sinews, but they did little to increase qi and blood themselves.
Eating Purple Fur Beast meat had taught Lin Yan that there was a reason such rare meat was so expensive.
He didn't dare consider tiger or bear meat; they cost far too much. But venison was five taels a jin, which he could just barely afford.
The next day.
When Lin Yan arrived at the martial arts school, he first went to the Medicine Hall and told them how many jin of secret medicine he needed. While the Medicine Hall prepared his medicine, he headed to the rear courtyard to pay his respects to his master.
When he stepped into the school's rear courtyard, he found it unusually quiet that day. Only Junior Brother Zhao was there.
"Junior Brother Zhao, is Master inside?"
Before Zhao Linyuan could answer, Yang Qingfeng walked out of the room.
"Lin Yan, you're here."
"This disciple pays his respects to Master."
Yang Qingfeng looked at Lin Yan with a smile. "Is something the matter?"
"This disciple came to collect the external secret medicine."
Hearing that Lin Yan had come for the secret medicine, Yang Qingfeng considered it for a moment before saying, "You're now employed by the Tang Family. You only need to pay seventy percent when buying medicinal ingredients from the Tang Family Pharmacy. I'll give you a prescription in a moment. Take it to the Tang Family Pharmacy to buy the ingredients, then prepare the secret medicine yourself from now on."
At this, Zhao Linyuan and Lin Yan both froze.
The external secret medicine for those past the second stage of Skin Polishing was a closely guarded secret of the martial arts school. If the formula got out, it could have a major impact on the school.
Seeing the expressions on both his disciples' faces, Yang Qingfeng smiled faintly. The secret medicine formula was certainly precious, but it only worked for practicing the Mountain Splitting Fist. The reason he had never shared it was that he feared a disciple might master the Mountain Splitting Fist, obtain the secret medicine, then break away and start teaching the fist elsewhere.
But from what he knew of Lin Yan, his disciple was an honest man. He shouldn't do such a thing.
More importantly, Yang Qingfeng felt a sense of guilt.
Lin Yan had great talent for the Mountain Splitting Fist. If he hadn't taken Linyuan as a disciple and made an agreement with the Zhao Family beforehand, he would have accepted Lin Yan as his direct successor and given him more martial arts resources to cultivate.
But now, all the money and martial arts resources he had saved had been spent on Linyuan. He couldn't provide Lin Yan with much. Letting Lin Yan spend less on secret medicine was one way to make it up to him.
"I've given you the prescription, but you must not share it with anyone. Otherwise, I will show you no mercy."
Yang Qingfeng added a warning. Lin Yan cupped his fists, his expression solemn. "Thank you for your kindness, Master. I swear I'll never reveal the prescription."
"The Medicine Hall will need some time to prepare your medicine. Since you're here, the two of you can spar."
Hearing his master ask him to spar with Zhao Linyuan, Lin Yan showed no particular reaction. Zhao Linyuan, however, looked puzzled. Several senior brothers who had been at the second stage of Skin Polishing for a year had already lost to him in sparring. Senior Brother Lin had only reached the second stage a few months ago. Why would Master ask him to spar with Senior Brother Lin?
"Lin Yan's mastery of the Mountain Splitting Fist is profound. You two can spar and learn from each other, while also testing your strength." Yang Qingfeng saw Zhao Linyuan's confusion and offered an explanation.
At that, Zhao Linyuan looked at Lin Yan with some surprise. For Master to call his mastery profound, he must be quite something.
"Senior Brother Lin, please teach me."
Zhao Linyuan put away his disdain and cupped his fists in greeting.
"Junior Brother Zhao, you're too polite."
Lin Yan didn't return the gesture. Instead, he held out his hand to Zhao Linyuan. Zhao Linyuan froze. He remembered hearing some things about Senior Brother Lin around the school.
One of them was that Senior Brother Lin didn't like cupping his fists when sparring. Instead, he preferred to shake hands.
Zhao Linyuan held out his hand. The two shook hands and let go, then each stepped back. Lin Yan's expression didn't change, but surprise stirred in his heart.
No wonder Master thought so highly of him. Junior Brother Zhao's Martial Dao Tree was actually an inch taller than his own, reaching a height of two feet and seven inches.
Junior Brother Zhao had joined later than him, and Lin Yan had even taken a precious medicine, yet Zhao Linyuan had still surpassed him.
Lin Yan admitted that he felt a little sour about it.
No wonder geniuses always made people jealous.
Years of grueling cultivation couldn't compare to a few months of someone else's work. Anyone would curse under their breath.