Wind Whistles, Cranes Cry Out

PS: Chapter 14 is still under review, everyone please wait a little~

Guiyan Town was not far from Taixi City, but Shen Xiu was carrying a processed wild boar that still weighed at least two hundred pounds, so his pace was slower.

Taixi City's towering walls stood upon the earth, seemingly unchanged.

Yet when he entered the city, he discovered that something seemed to have changed over the past few days.

As he entered, he was searched several times. Besides the Town Guard soldiers, some of those conducting the inspections seemed to be members of Taixi City's Chen Family.

The Chen Family had been deeply rooted in Taixi City for many years. They controlled most of the city's ironware trade and wielded considerable influence.

But the Taixi County yamen was no pushover either. For the Chen Family to be involved in the inspections, something had clearly happened.

An eerie atmosphere also hung over the city.

Even those local Azure Dragon Gang thugs had set aside their usual business of bullying men and ravishing women, instead urgently combing through streets and alleys in search of something.

Shen Xiu stopped a passerby by the roadside and only then learned that something major had happened in the city these past few days.

It was said that the Chen Family's Eldest Young Master Chen Mo had been abducted by criminals and was still nowhere to be found.

The entire Chen Family had practically turned Taixi City upside down and had put out a hefty reward for clues.

The bounty for Eldest Young Master Chen had now risen to an eye-wateringly tempting five hundred taels.

When Shen Xiu returned to the Golden Rainbow Martial Arts School, he found many disciples gathered on the training ground, all staring eagerly at the raised platform ahead.

At that moment, a gaunt middle-aged man dressed in a fitted black martial robe stood upon the platform with a cold expression.

Shen Xiu recognized the man. He was Yang Jinhong, the rarely seen master of the Golden Rainbow Martial Arts School.

Unexpectedly, Yang Jinhong, who had reached the peak of Third Realm Bone Marrow Cleansing and was preparing to break through into Fourth Realm Return to Hiding, did not have the bulging muscles one might expect. Instead, he looked remarkably thin.

He looked even thinner than before.

Yet there was no doubt that beneath those lean muscles lay a power and presence capable of inspiring dread.

It seemed that the news from the Chen Family had clearly disturbed Yang Jinhong, who had been in seclusion attempting to break through into Fourth Realm Return to Hiding.

"Yesterday, the Chen Family head entrusted me with finding Eldest Young Master Chen Mo's whereabouts, offering one thousand taels of silver. Let me make this clear: if any of you can find Young Master Chen's trail, it will count toward your three monthly missions. The school will take not a single coin of the reward, and you will additionally receive five chances to obtain Qi Cultivation Soup."

Yang Jinhong spoke calmly. His voice was not loud, yet it rolled like rumbling thunder into the ears of every disciple present.

The moment Pavilion Master Yang finished speaking, the entire grounds erupted. Not only the Labor Disciples, but even the Registered Disciples who had paid to study martial arts had eyes that practically turned green.

What did one thousand taels of silver mean?

It was enough to book Chunxiang Tower's reigning courtesan for an entire month—and have her in whatever position one wanted.

Yet Shen Xiu merely watched in silence.

The Chen Family's Eldest Young Master possessed considerable talent. At only twelve or thirteen years old, he had already become a Martial Artist who had entered the realm, with cultivation at the peak of Body Tempering.

Someone capable of slipping through the Chen Family's layers upon layers of security and abducting the Chen Family head's son, who possessed some strength himself—what kind of power did such a criminal have?

How could this possibly be something Formal Disciples like them, who had not even reached Third Realm Bone Marrow Cleansing, could covet?

Reaching for the sky with no regard for reality would only get them killed for nothing.

Not long after Pavilion Master Yang appeared, he vanished from the training ground. The many disciples nearby gradually dispersed as well.

Shen Xiu also happened to overhear disciples whispering that Pavilion Master Yang might have failed his breakthrough. They said they had seen him covering his mouth as he coughed, with blood at the corner of his lips.

But none of that had anything to do with him. It was not as though this was the first or second time Pavilion Master Yang had failed to break through.

Making his way through the crowd, Shen Xiu headed to the External Affairs Hall, turned in his mission, and received three taels of silver.

Seven-tenths of it was gone in a single turn of the hand, but Shen Xiu had nothing to question. After all, the martial arts school had built the platform.

There was a way to avoid such a division of earnings: become Pavilion Master Yang's Personal Disciple.

But Pavilion Master Yang's Personal Disciples had never had much luck. He originally had four Personal Disciples, but two had followed him to wipe out the Crimson Fire Bandits and both had perished.

Another had later vanished after encountering an accident during a mission. Now, only Lin Yuan remained as the sole Personal Disciple.

So being Pavilion Master Yang's Personal Disciple truly was not a good job.

There was another way: graduate from the school. Once one's strength reached the peak of Second Realm Muscle Tendon Training and one returned two hundred taels of silver to the school, one could graduate and gain the school's recognition.

One could still accept missions as a disciple of the martial arts school.

As for those who left midway without meeting the requirements, they would regain only their freedom. They would no longer enjoy the school's resources or its mission-acceptance platform.

But all that was still far too distant for Shen Xiu. His current strength meant he did not need to consider such matters yet.

After returning to his side courtyard to rest, Shen Xiu did not immediately take another mission. Instead, he planned to rest for a few days. His encounter with that wild boar at Li Family Manor had made him realize his shortcomings.

His strength had not yet reached a sufficient level, and he also lacked a movement technique capable of increasing his agility and speed.

But movement techniques were things one could encounter only by chance, never seek by design. There was nothing he could do about that now, so he could only set it aside. The only thing he could do was raise his cultivation.

After such a long period of training, he could vaguely sense that the qi and blood throughout his body had reached a peak. The time until his second body tempering was separated by only the thinnest thread.

Over the following days, Shen Xiu remained at the martial arts school. Without Qi Cultivation Soup to assist him, he drank Monster Beast Tonic Soup every day as a substitute.

Over time, accumulation would always bring about a qualitative change.

With his spare time, he continued guiding Jian Shuhao's training. Jian Shuhao was still practicing the Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming Art, though his progress remained slow.

That day, after finishing his Monster Beast Tonic Soup, Shen Xiu returned to his side courtyard and began his daily training, practicing the thirteen stances of the Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming Art to refine its medicinal effects.

As time passed and the qi and blood within his body churned under refinement, that familiar sensation struck again. Amid a series of crackles and pops, Shen Xiu entered Body Tempering Mid-Stage without surprise.

The flesh beneath his skin underwent another tempering, becoming tighter and firmer, filled with explosive strength. He felt that he could crush a cow to death with a casual squeeze.

Running out of the martial arts school, Shen Xiu looked into the distance and found that the Big Yellow Ox by the river behind it was still there.

At that moment.

The instant the Big Yellow Ox saw him, it turned and fled like a mouse that had seen a cat!

But how could it outrun Shen Xiu, who had already reached Body Tempering Mid-Stage? As expected, it was caught almost immediately.

Very soon.

The Big Yellow Ox experienced the sensation of a roller coaster once more, its body held aloft and bounced up and down through the air, rising and falling as though it were about to fly away.

The Big Yellow Ox foamed at the mouth, its tongue lolling crookedly from its mouth, looking utterly played to ruin.

Only then did Shen Xiu straighten up. He felt that lifting this Big Yellow Ox was now as easy as turning over his hand, and he could even do several squats without exertion.

He set the Big Yellow Ox down and, out of guilt, fed it a handful of tender grass.

"Which damned bastard did this? He wouldn't even spare my cow!"

As Shen Xiu returned to the martial arts school, he suddenly heard the furious shout of the young cowherd outside.