Sincerity

Liu Mo lay motionless on the arena. If not for the occasional faint twitch of his chest, everyone would have thought he was already a corpse.

The small courtyard fell deathly silent. Then someone finally sucked in a sharp breath.

The scene before them was simply too shocking. A Guard Assessment examiner had been beaten down by an apprentice during the assessment. It had never happened before in the history of Benevolent Heart Medicine Hall.

The apprentices who had once ground and cut herbs alongside Jiang Feng in the Pharmacy now looked at the arena with completely different eyes.

"Good heavens, Jiang Feng really does have some skill... How did I never realize he could fight like this?"

"Brothers, if Jiang Feng really becomes a guard, do you think he'll still remember us? Maybe even look out for us a little?"

"Hmph, you sure know how to dream. You should be glad if he doesn't hold a grudge. Have you forgotten how you used to put him down in the Pharmacy?"

In the crowd, Zhao Sen stood silently in a corner. But the envy and complicated emotions in his eyes as he looked at Jiang Feng were impossible to hide.

On the stands, Xue Zhao and Tie Rong were both completely dumbfounded.

Neither of them had expected things to turn out this way.

"Steward Tie, shouldn't you announce the results? There shouldn't be any problem with Jiang Feng becoming a guard, right?"

Xie Shu's voice rang out at just the right moment, forcibly pulling them both back to their senses.

"No! This assessment doesn't count!"

Xue Zhao shot up from his seat, his voice so shrill it nearly broke.

Xie Shu's expression turned cold at once. He slowly rose to his feet, his blood and qi surging around him. The aura of a Skin-Refining Realm martial artist spread silently like a tide, leaving everyone nearby momentarily unable to breathe.

"You were the one who insisted on personally overseeing the assessment. Now that Jiang Feng has far exceeded expectations, you're saying it doesn't count?

"Xue Zhao, do you really hold the Medicine Hall's rules in such little regard?"

He raised a hand and pointed at Xue Zhao, his voice chillingly low.

"Don't think this old man didn't see the tricks you pulled.

"That Liu Mo on the arena wasn't there to conduct an assessment at all. Every move was aimed at maiming or killing Jiang Feng.

"If Jiang Feng hadn't had such solid fundamentals and been quick-witted, your wish would already have come true.

"If you insist on claiming this assessment doesn't count, then come up on the arena with me.

"Survive three moves from me, and I'll accept what you say."

Xue Zhao's face turned deathly white. His lips trembled, but he didn't dare utter another word.

He was only a seventh-level Martial Apprentice in the Blood-Moving Realm, while Xie Shu was a genuine Skin-Refining Realm martial artist. The difference between them wasn't merely three minor levels; a vast chasm of an entire major realm lay between them.

Forget three moves. He had no chance of taking even one.

He could only pin his last hope on Tie Rong.

As long as Tie Rong insisted the assessment was invalid, it wouldn't matter how much Xie Shu demanded.

Tie Rong didn't even look at him. His gaze remained fixed on Jiang Feng on the arena. After a brief silence, he spoke coldly.

"Why should it be voided?

"I think this kid really is a fine martial arts prospect. He seems well suited to the Guard Hall, too.

"Have him come report to me tomorrow. I have nothing else to say. I've got things to do, so I'm leaving."

After dropping those words, he rose and headed straight for the courtyard exit. From beginning to end, he never once looked at Liu Mo, still twitching on the ground, as if he didn't know the man at all.

Xue Zhao was completely dumbfounded.

What was wrong with Tie Rong? He'd taken the money and still wasn't doing the job?

Xue Zhao had paid him with real silver, yet not only had Jiang Feng not been stopped, he'd passed the assessment without a hitch and become a guard.

Seeing Tie Rong stride out of the courtyard, Xue Zhao forgot all about saving face. He hurried after him and, gathering his courage, asked:

"S-Steward Tie, you promised before that you wouldn't let Jiang Feng enter the Guard Hall... Why are you doing the opposite now...?"

Tie Rong stopped abruptly and gave a cold snort. His triangular eyes cut toward Xue Zhao, pinning him with a gaze like a knife. His voice was deep and booming, yet it made Xue Zhao's chest feel stifled.

"You've got the nerve to question me? You didn't even get that kid's background straight, and now my man's been humiliated in front of everyone. I haven't even settled that score with you yet!"

Xue Zhao shuddered under his glare, his mind full of confusion. He stammered:

"W-what do you mean?"

"That kid called Jiang Feng isn't at the seventh level of the Blood-Moving Realm at all. He's at the eighth!"

"What?!"

Xue Zhao's voice shot up several pitches beyond his control, and the color drained from his face in an instant.

"How is that possible? I haven't even touched the edge of the eighth level myself. How could he...?"

Jiang Feng's mastery of projecting his blood and qi outward was something he could still stubbornly chalk up to good luck.

But if Jiang Feng had already broken through to the eighth level of the Blood-Moving Realm, then all his excuses were as pale as paper.

What made it even harder to accept was that he, an apprentice steward, could occasionally take Blood-Qi Pills—and even with that advantage, Jiang Feng had still overtaken him. Wasn't that the same as admitting, from the roots up, that Xue Zhao was inferior to Jiang Feng? Inferior to the good-for-nothing he had once been able to twist and toy with as he pleased?

"Believe it or not, it makes no difference. The fact that he beat Liu Mo so easily proves it."

Xue Zhao gritted his teeth, still unwilling to give up. He steeled himself and spoke bluntly, no longer caring that he might offend Tie Rong.

"Even so, you can't just let him off like this, can you? Y-you took my silver. You can't take the money and not do the job."

Those fifty taels were everything he'd managed to save after doing who knew how many dirty jobs for Wu Han. Losing them for nothing would hurt worse than being killed.

Tie Rong wasn't annoyed. Instead, he slowly curled the corner of his mouth, looking entirely confident as he spoke in an unhurried voice.

"What are you panicking for? When did I ever say I wouldn't help you?

"He passed the assessment and escaped the Slave Registry, but it's not as though he can fly out of this Medicine Hall, is it?

"More importantly, he's under my command now. In the Guard Hall, dealing with him is as easy as saying the word."

He paused, then lowered his voice and continued with a sinister chuckle.

"I hear the Wu Family is about to pull a few guards from our ranks to help deal with some evil spirits.

"If I add Jiang Feng's name to that list, do you think he'll have any chance of surviving?

"There are more than enough ways to kill him. Just put your mind at ease. Your silver won't have gone to waste."

Xue Zhao's expression finally improved a little. Gratitude surfaced in his eyes again, and he bowed and nodded repeatedly.

"Then I'll be counting on you, Steward Tie."

Tie Rong waved a hand dismissively. Then he slowly rubbed two fingers together and glanced meaningfully at Xue Zhao. His intent couldn't have been clearer.

The matter could be handled, but the "sincerity" had to keep flowing.

Xue Zhao saw it and felt another pang of pain in his heart. But he knew he had no way out now, so he could only grit his teeth and smile ingratiatingly.

"Steward Tie, give me a few days... I'll get the next 'token of sincerity' to you as soon as I can."