Half a Month of Peace

After Lu Chengyi had stripped Master Wu down to his very underwear for Lin Yi, he also fell unconscious.

In Lu Chengyi's words, his soul-body was fragile and couldn't bear the strain. He needed to hibernate inside Lin Yi's body and, while he was at it, absorb a small portion of Lin Yi's True Qi to recover.

Lin Yi could feel some of the True Qi in his body flowing to Lu Chengyi. However, the amount was almost negligible, and Lin Yi recovered True Qi faster than Lu Chengyi absorbed it, so he didn't pay it any more mind.

After briefly gathering and organizing the information he had learned that night, Lin Yi resumed his Martial Way training.

There was no one in the Lin Clan's house.

With no need to hold back, Lin Yi began training directly in the courtyard.

[Learned martial skill Elixir Release Scripture, proficiency +1]

[Learned martial skill Elixir Release Scripture, proficiency +1]

"..."

Even with Hu Ma's previous experience of shared sensation to draw on, the Elixir Release Scripture was still much harder to practice.

Lin Yi spent the whole night training, but after around three shichen, his proficiency had only increased by eleven points.

Lin Yi sighed helplessly. "If only my aptitude were a little better."

But Lin Yi was only thinking out loud.

Lin Yi rarely wasted time beating himself up. Focusing on martial arts already kept him busy enough, and he didn't have the time to dwell on much else.

He returned to his room and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

The next day, Lin Yi went out and made his way to the alley. With a saber at his waist, he headed to the breakfast shop where he'd eaten since childhood, ordered a basket of buns, and wolfed them down in a few bites. Then he went to pay.

"Uncle Chen, the bill."

"No need, no need. This one's on me today." Uncle Chen smiled.

Uncle Chen was a middle-aged man of average build with an honest face. He was well-liked around the alley and had three sons.

Lin Yi raised an eyebrow. "Uncle Chen, did something good happen to you recently?"

Uncle Chen was short on money these days.

All three of his sons were old enough to marry, and he was scrambling to gather their betrothal gifts.

Great Yan encouraged early marriage and childbirth. Otherwise, men were given priority for military service.

Once women reached a suitable age for marriage, if they didn't wed, their head tax was calculated at five times the usual rate.

To be honest, Lin Yi was almost old enough himself, and the whole thing annoyed him too.

Damn feudal era.

Before Uncle Chen could reply, the other customers started teasing him. "Xiao Yi, just eat. Today's the last time you'll get to taste your Uncle Chen's cooking here."

"Exactly. Old Chen must be thrilled. The boss who bought your shop yesterday was awfully generous—he paid ten times the price for it..."

Though surprised, Lin Yi still offered his congratulations.

Uncle Chen smiled sheepishly among the crowd.

Just then, Uncle Chen's expression shifted. A few traces of that ingratiating, obsequious look common among street folk appeared on his face as he hurried toward the entrance. "Master Li, what brings you here?"

"I came to take a look at the shop. I'll be doing business here, after all, so I wanted to see it in advance and think about how to arrange things..."

That must have been the man who bought the shop.

Lin Yi was just about to leave when he caught sight of the man from the corner of his eye.

Under his Know Heavenly Fate vision, a faint golden glow clung to the man.

This man had Aura of Fortune.

Lin Yi took another look, but he wasn't surprised.

People who made a fortune and rose to wealth usually carried some Aura of Fortune, more or less.

After leaving the shop, Lin Yi didn't linger and hurried toward the martial arts school.

His expression remained calm along the way. Only when he reached the school did a trace of coldness finally appear on his face.

"I didn't expect him to show up so soon..."

On the way, Lin Yi had seen at least ten passersby carrying Aura of Fortune.

People with Aura of Fortune were exceedingly rare. On an ordinary day, he was lucky to run into one or two.

Today, however, he'd encountered more than ten in a row.

And the strangest part was this.

The Aura of Fortune carried by all those people was bizarrely identical in strength.

Heh. If Lin Yi couldn't see through such a strange and suspicious occurrence, he might as well find a block of tofu and bash his head against it.

Combined with the clues he had gotten from Lu Chengyi the day before, it all made sense.

Master Wu had some kind of technique that let him create doppelgängers.

He also had a way to steal Aura of Fortune.

So the group of people Lin Yi had seen on the road today could almost certainly be identified as Master Wu himself.

Thinking of this, Lin Yi couldn't help but chuckle.

If the other party hadn't already taken Liu Qingnu's Aura of Fortune, Lin Yi might still have had trouble recognizing him.

But now, the other party had exposed himself so clearly and unmistakably.

The whole thing amused Lin Yi.

If the man wanted to keep watch, then let him.

Lin Yi didn't have the strength to stop him anyway.

In for a penny, in for a pound.

Lin Yi ignored him and went about his own training at the martial arts school.

Improving his strength would always come first.

Now that Lin Yi had become a Martial Artist, he trained in the inner courtyard.

His accommodations were more spacious, and he had a room to himself.

The wooden dummies and equipment used for training were all custom-made from Qi-Sensing Wood. They were especially useful when practicing martial skills.

Striking the wooden dummy with True Qi helped greatly with figuring out the True Qi pathways involved in executing a martial skill.

And as long as Master Yuan was at the school, he came to the inner courtyard every day to give a lecture.

After all, Lin Yi had now become a Martial Artist and was one of the school's mainstays.

After finishing his training at noon, Lin Yi returned to his room, made a quick disguise, and avoided Master Wu's spies outside before heading to Yu Qinglian's house.

When Yu Qinglian saw Lin Yi, she couldn't help giving him a reproachful look.

"It's been so long, and you haven't shown your face. The Flower Insertion Seal I left behind was erased, too. I thought you'd forgotten all about me."

"I couldn't even find you at the martial arts school."

"Ahem..." Lin Yi coughed twice. "Some things came up at home recently."

Yu Qinglian raised an eyebrow, and her interrogating expression softened somewhat.

In truth, Yu Qinglian had guessed that something might have happened to Lin Yi lately.

After all, for a martial arts fanatic like him to stay away from the school for so long was strange.

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Lin Yi straightened his expression. "Lian Niang, I hope you won't come looking for me on your own for a while."

"I've been under surveillance lately. I'm worried that person might come after you if he finds out about you."

"But I'll come find you myself."

"Who?" Yu Qinglian's heart gave a lurch.

"Master Wu."

Half a month passed in a flash.

After meeting Yu Qinglian half a month ago and telling her not to come looking for him, she had been just about to break through to eighth rank on the Infatuation Path anyway, so she needed to seclude herself for a while.

Lin Yi took the opportunity to focus on the Martial Way.

During that time, his cultivation techniques and martial skills had improved rapidly.

His cultivation technique was now:

[Elixir Release Scripture (First Layer)]

[Proficiency: 72/100]

At this rate, it wouldn't be long before the Elixir Release Scripture advanced to the second layer and Lin Yi reached the mid-stage of the Houtian realm.

But his martial skills had improved even more.

[Reckless Blade: Perfect]

[Vast Step (Great Accomplishment)]

[Proficiency: 865/1000]

[Mountain Breaking Fist (Minor Accomplishment)]

[Proficiency: 346/500]

[Thread Control Art (Minor Accomplishment)]

[Proficiency: 256/500]

[Wind Forest Fire Mountain (Minor Accomplishment)]

[Proficiency: 134/500]

All his martial skills had now reached at least minor accomplishment.

Meanwhile, several local power brokers and gentry had approached Lin Yi to discuss taking him on in an official capacity.

Quite a few people came, and their offers were reasonable.

But Lin Yi was conflicted and hadn't made a decision.

"How's it going? Have you decided what to do about taking a post?"

Hearing Liu Lie's familiar voice, Lin Yi looked up and shook his head helplessly. "I still haven't decided."

Liu Lie sat down beside Lin Yi and asked, puzzled, "Is there anyone you like?"

Quite a few people had come by lately, but most were looking for full-time Martial Artists. There weren't many offers for someone like him, who would only take a part-time post.

The difference between full-time and part-time was simple.

In modern terms, one was a full-time job and the other a part-time one.

Full-time workers had more duties and earned more, but they also faced more demands.

Part-time work was easier, but there were few restrictions. You could choose not to work whenever you wanted, which meant there weren't many people looking for part-time Martial Artists.

Lin Yi didn't want to sacrifice his training time just to earn a little silver.

He made money to practice martial arts. If he sacrificed training time to earn money, he'd be putting the cart before the horse.

Lin Yi gave a helpless smile and pulled out three contracts, laying them in front of Liu Lie.

"If nothing unexpected happens, I'll probably choose one of these three part-time contracts."

Liu Lie raised an eyebrow and studied them carefully.

[As a Green Wood Gang enforcer, guard Black Water Alley in the south of Chen City. Monthly salary: twenty taels of silver...]

[Ning Manor in the north of the city needs a Martial Artist to help lay a solid foundation in the Martial Way for the younger generation of the household. Monthly salary: thirty taels of silver...]

[The Peace Guard needs a group of Martial Artists as sparring partners. They will assist members of the Peace Guard with their daily training. Monthly salary: twenty-five taels of silver...]

The more he read, the deeper Liu Lie's frown grew.

Guarding a gang's territory.

There were only two gangs in Jiaqing County.

The Black Wind Gang and the Green Wood Gang.

Each gang had a faction in the county's official circles backing it.

Their clashes were fierce.

Even Martial Artists couldn't be sure they'd come out unscathed.

Sparring for the Peace Guard.

Anyone qualified to become a reserve member of the Peace Guard was a rare talent.

They called it sparring, but in practice, you'd be a punching bag.

The only offer that seemed normal was the one to teach at Ning Manor. In reality, it was the least normal of the three.

Years ago, Ning Manor had made its fortune through human trafficking, smuggling, and other shady dealings...

And word was, they were still involved in some pretty illegal business behind the scenes.

Getting mixed up with them wouldn't end well either.

What kind of offers were these?!

Liu Lie's expression turned complicated. For a moment, he was at a loss for words. "This..."

He'd come over to advise Lin Yi.

But all three choices were pits of fire.

What was there to advise about?!

Lin Yi gave a helpless smile. "These three are the best of the bunch. That's why I've been hesitating for so long."

"What will you do, then?" Liu Lie asked.

"I'll definitely rule out the Green Wood Gang first," Lin Yi said. "There's factional infighting within the gangs, and powerful people above them are playing their own games. If I went in, I'd inevitably be used as a pawn."

"Second, I've looked into Ning Manor as well. Since last year, they've recruited quite a few Martial Artists. At first, their contracts said Half-Mounted, but for some reason, later they all changed to Full-Mounted... It's far too strange."

"So that leaves only the Peace Guard."

Liu Lie said irritably, "You want to go to the Peace Guard and be a punching bag?"

Lin Yi smiled.

Liu Lie said, "Why don't you take a post at my family's Escort Agency?"

"Before, I thought you might find something better. My family doesn't pay much, and I was afraid I'd hold you back."

"But now, heh, it looks like everywhere else is a pit of fire. You'd be better off joining my family!"

Lin Yi was touched, but still waved a hand and said, "Thanks, Senior Brother, but I want to try taking a post with the Peace Guard."

"I've spent too long practicing at the martial arts school, and I lack real combat experience. Going to the Peace Guard would also be a good way to hone my Martial Way skills."

Liu Lie still wanted to talk him out of it.

But when he saw how resolute Lin Yi looked, he let it go.

"All right. If you want to try, then give it a try. I'll see if I can say a few words to Eldest Senior Brother on your behalf later. But remember, if you can't stick it out, come take a post with my family right away. The pay isn't high, but it'll be enough to support your Martial Way training!"

Lin Yi nodded firmly.

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