As autumn faded, the chill deepened. Three months had passed since Master Li Chengyue brought back the hind leg of the Red-Striped Leopard King.
For those three months, Chen Jianghe had barely left the small courtyard or the martial arts hall.
When he had first formed Dark Strength, it had flowed like a stream: long and steady, yet slender, with a constant stiffness in its circulation. Now, after three months, that stream had grown into a river.
[Destiny: Heaven Rewards Diligence] [Current Skill: Three-Body Stance (Mastered)] [Progress: 86%] [Current Skill: Five Elements Fist (Mastered)] [Progress: 48%] [Effect: Strength held within, able to penetrate the body and shatter meridians]
Yet Chen Jianghe felt not the slightest joy.
Though he had shut himself away to train for those three months, he had not turned a deaf ear to the world outside.
Every morning, as he stood in his stance, he heard all sorts of sounds from the streets beyond the courtyard wall: hurried footsteps, muffled sobs, and, now and then, the sudden burst of a fight followed by screams.
At first, such things had been scattered incidents. Later, they became commonplace.
Every day, Lin went out to buy provisions and returned with news more grim than the last.
"Butcher Wang's shop on East Street has closed. They say he can't get any meat in, but the truth is, men from the Black Tiger Gang abducted his younger son the night before last. They're demanding fifty taels in ransom."
"Over in Loach Bay... I heard a family had nothing left to eat, so they sold their daughter in exchange for three sheng of coarse rice."
"The old Sun family on East Street—all four of them died last night... They say they were so hungry they ate Guanyin Clay and died horribly, swollen from it."
But yesterday, when Lin returned, her eyes were red, and she barely spoke the whole day.
Only after Chen Jianghe pressed her again and again did she open her mouth, trembling, her voice so low it was almost inaudible.
"West City Alley... there was a family with two children, skin and bones from hunger... The man of the house secretly... secretly swapped one of the children with the neighbors..."
She couldn't go on. She raised a hand and clamped it over her mouth, her shoulders shaking violently.
They had traded children to eat.
In a lawless age, human life was cheap as grass.
He had always known that, but when such a tragedy happened right on his doorstep, a chill still shot from the soles of his feet straight to his crown.
What made Chen Jianghe feel even more pressed for time was the rapidly dwindling supply of training resources.
They had long since eaten all the Red-Striped Leopard King's hind leg. The meat allocated by the martial arts hall each month had barely been enough in the past, but now that he had formed Dark Strength, it could no longer sustain his intense daily training.
Chen Jianghe recalled the visit Su Derong had paid a few days earlier.
The usually carefree Third Senior Brother had been twirling his fan, but the smile he usually wore was gone, and a deep worry weighed on his brow.
"Jianghe, Zuichun Brothel is rationing Exotic Beast Meat starting today," Su Derong had said, his voice low. "They're serving only three tables a day, and you have to book three days in advance. Most of it's already been reserved by those old masters in the Inner City."
He paused, then gave a bitter smile. "The Green Dragon Gang has taken complete control of Black Wind Ridge. Any hunting party entering the mountains—whether from a martial arts hall, an escort agency, or a family's private guard—has to hand over half its spoils to the Green Dragon Gang as a 'toll.' If they catch you hunting without permission... they'll cripple your cultivation at best, and kill you on the spot at worst."
"Half?" Chen Jianghe had frowned.
"They say half, but in practice they take the most valuable parts first. Say you hunt a Red-Striped Leopard. The rare materials—the leopard's heart, bones, and eyes—go to them in full. Then they take half the meat that's left."
Chen Jianghe's eyes narrowed. "The families in the Inner City and the major martial arts halls are just letting them do this?"
Su Derong shook his head. "The Five Great Families and those few major martial arts halls have their own beast farms, where they raise Exotic Beasts. The Green Dragon Gang's move is just a way to choke off the livelihood of the Outer City and the small and midsized martial arts halls."
Chen Jianghe fell silent.
It was a killing blow, cutting off the path for those at the bottom.
Su Derong looked at Chen Jianghe, his expression complicated. "Jianghe, I know you've formed Dark Strength, and you need a lot of resources to break through to Transformative Strength. But with things as they are... it won't be easy."
Chen Jianghe hadn't replied then. He had only nodded.
After seeing Su Derong off, he had stood in the courtyard for a full hour.
The lawless age had arrived. Without strength, he was just meat on someone else's chopping board.
Chen Jianghe slowly clenched his fists.
"I can't wait any longer."
He muttered under his breath, a glint of resolve flashing in his eyes.
Master Li Chengyue had to remain at the martial arts hall to hold the fort. The Outer City was in turmoil, and though the Xingyi Martial Arts Hall had fallen on hard times, it was still a well-known establishment.
With someone at Transformative Strength holding down the fort, ordinary gangs and petty villains wouldn't dare attack lightly.
There were escort jobs with the Su Family Escort Agency, but the areas beyond the city weren't safe now. The Green Dragon Gang had set up checkpoints to collect tolls, and bandits everywhere were taking advantage of the chaos to rob travelers. Escorting goods was too dangerous.
And a single escort run took at least half a month round trip, sometimes more than a month, wasting too much time he could spend training.
Even if he could get Exotic Beast Meat from Zuichun Brothel, it would be a drop in the bucket.
The only path left was Black Wind Ridge.
There were Exotic Beasts there, rare medicinal herbs, and every resource he needed to break through to Transformative Strength.
The Green Dragon Gang had monopolized the right to hunt, set up checkpoints to collect tolls, and cracked down on unauthorized hunting.
But Black Wind Ridge stretched for hundreds of miles, its mountains high and forests dense, its gullies crisscrossing the land.
No matter how powerful the Green Dragon Gang was, it couldn't surround the whole mountain range like an iron barrel.
There would always be gaps to slip through.
There would always be chances to seize.
"It's decided."
Chen Jianghe drew a deep breath and turned toward Li Chengyue's room.
Some things needed to be reported to his master.
"Knock, knock."
He tapped lightly on the door.
Li Chengyue's slightly hoarse voice came from inside. "Come in."
Chen Jianghe pushed open the door and entered.
The room was dim, the smell of alcohol mingling with that of medicine. Li Chengyue leaned against the head of the bed, a wine gourd in hand. Seeing him, he raised his eyelids. "What is it?"
"Master." Chen Jianghe bowed. "Your disciple wants to enter Black Wind Ridge."
Li Chengyue paused with the wine gourd halfway to his mouth.
He set it down and looked Chen Jianghe over. "Alone?"
"Yes."
"When will you leave?"
"In three days."
Li Chengyue was silent for a moment, then gave a sudden snort of laughter. "What, was the leopard leg I hunted not enough to eat?"
Chen Jianghe shook his head. "I'll never forget your kindness, Master. But with the Outer City in its current state, you need to hold the fort at the martial arts hall. I've formed Dark Strength, too. It's time for me to go out and gain some experience."
Li Chengyue stared at him for a long while before finally speaking. "Black Wind Ridge isn't what it used to be. The Green Dragon Gang has its claws in deep, and the Green Dragon Guards patrolling the mountains have all seen blood. Going alone will be dangerous."
"I understand, Master," Chen Jianghe said calmly. "So I'll stay near the outskirts and focus on scouting. I won't venture deep into the mountains."
"Scouting?" Li Chengyue scoffed. "You think I don't know what's going on in that head of yours? You're after Exotic Beast Meat, aren't you?"
Chen Jianghe didn't deny it.
Li Chengyue chuckled, then felt around beside the bed and pulled out a small cloth bundle. He tossed it to Chen Jianghe. "Here."
Chen Jianghe caught it and opened it. Inside were several yellowed animal-hide maps, with crooked lines and markings drawn in charcoal.
"These are routes I sketched out the last time I went into the mountains," Li Chengyue said, taking a swig of wine. "Stay off the red lines. Those are places where the Green Dragon Gang has set up checkpoints. You can try the blue lines, but be careful. Some paths haven't been maintained in years and may have collapsed. The green lines... are a few hidden trails, known to very few."
He paused, his tone turning serious. "Jianghe, remember this. Once you enter the mountains, keep your eyes peeled and your ears open. Wild beasts aren't frightening. Exotic Beasts aren't frightening, either. The most frightening thing... is people."
Chen Jianghe nodded. "Your disciple will remember. Thank you for your instruction, Master."
Li Chengyue waved a hand, then rolled over to face the wall, leaving Chen Jianghe only his back. "Go on. Come back alive."
Chen Jianghe bowed deeply toward his master's back, then turned and left the room, closing the door softly behind him.
The cold wind in the corridor struck his face.