Task

"Third level of Blood Qi?"

Lin Nan looked thoughtfully at the markings on the Strength-Testing Stone, then at Zhong Jing, who stood in the middle of the crowd with a proud look on his face.

"I'm almost there too."

"Comparing yourself to others really can make you furious." Liu Feng shook his head and laughed at himself.

"I used to think I was a genius, but now I see I was just a frog at the bottom of a well. Before long, the gap between us and him may only grow wider, until we can never catch up again."

"No, Brother Feng. In my heart, you're the strongest."

Beside him, a fair-skinned girl with dimples when she smiled clung to his arm and kept comforting him, greatly consoling Liu Feng.

"No, you... You're the only clown here."

Watching the lovey-dovey pair, Lin Nan grumbled inwardly.

"Zhong Jing isn't even fourteen yet, is he?"

At that moment, someone added that comment.

For a time, all the inner disciples who had entered before Zhong Jing or alongside him fell silent.

Gazes filled with envy and jealousy all turned toward the center of the courtyard.

Only Master Jie let out a hearty laugh.

Many outer disciples, courtyard guards, and stewards of merchants from the eastern part of the city crowded around the narrow entrance, packing it so tightly that not even water could pass through.

Unlike the crowd gathered around the commotion at the martial hall, Lin Nan did not join them in fussing over Zhong Jing. Instead, he returned to the wooden training dummy and familiarized himself with Serpent Flow Force move by move.

Every moment in the martial hall was precious. None of it could be wasted!

After all, martial cultivation level was one thing; actual combat ability against an opponent was another.

Near noon.

The martial hall's temporary lodging period had expired. Lin Nan packed his things and headed toward another courtyard within the martial hall.

"Why aren't you practicing at the training ground, boy? What brings you to this old man's place?"

In the other courtyard, Elder Yu was holding a teacup and taking small sips when he saw Lin Nan arrive. He looked somewhat surprised.

"Everyone at the training ground is crowded around Zhong Jing. I don't like bustle, so I came to see you," Lin Nan said.

"Haha, just like this old man. I dislike all these people who flock to the powerful and fawn on the rich as well."

Elder Yu smiled in satisfaction. He and Uncle Lin had once been friends, and he had also watched Lin Nan grow up.

Over these past days, he had witnessed Lin Nan's diligent training, and it made him happy for his deceased old friend.

"It's just a pity you awakened too late..."

Elder Yu shook his head.

"Go on, boy. You didn't come just to visit me, did you?"

"That's right." Lin Nan spoke honestly, clasping his fists. "Besides coming to see you, I also want to take on some simple tasks and earn some silver."

That was right. The way Lin Nan had thought of to avoid temporarily returning to his residence in the south of the city was to take on martial hall assignments.

"So that's how it is. Come to think of it, it is time for you to start taking on tasks."

Elder Yu understood.

For ordinary disciples, unless they came from wealthy merchant families or had connections like Liu Feng, they had to begin taking on tasks to cover their expenses after only a month in the hall.

After all, White Snake Martial School did not keep idlers. Even disciples from wealthy families would be expelled if they failed to complete a single assignment within a year.

Elder Yu took a sip of tea, then rummaged beneath the table and pulled out several stacks of cloth slips stamped with red seals.

"Hunt down the remnants of bandits fleeing into the mountains, enter the mountains to gather medicinal herbs, escort goods for merchants within the city... The difficulty and payment are marked on the sides. Look through them and choose one yourself."

Lin Nan swept his gaze over them. The slips all bore the red seals of the inner city authorities.

The tasks above had actually been obtained by White Snake Martial School from the officials of the inner city, then distributed among its inner disciples. The martial school took a cut from them to maintain its enormous daily expenses.

"So long as we work hard, Master Jie can live well?"

In Lin Nan's mind, Master Jie's image increasingly resembled that of a slave owner. It really made him both love and hate the man.

One day later.

Two yellow carriages departed from the eastern part of the city and slowly followed a winding goat trail into the dense forest.

Lin Nan sat inside one of the carriages, drawing aside the cloth curtain to look curiously at the scenery outside.

It was his first time heading into the wilderness.

As the carriage gradually left the town behind, the houses on both sides of the road grew fewer. Tiled homes gave way to earthen houses, and farther on, piles of broken walls and ruined structures even appeared along the roadside.

Before long, roughly twenty li from the outer city, the carriages came to a stop.

"This should be the place."

Five men and two women stepped down from the carriages. Leading them was a sharp-featured man in dark brocade constable robes—the leader of this assignment.

Peng Huo, one of the four chief constables of the Black Dragon Outer City authorities, known as the "Iron-Faced Owl Patrol," a martial artist at the peak of the third level of Blood Qi.

Behind him stood two groups. Zhou Yi and Xiong Hui were from Gale Martial Hall, with Zhou Yi looking rather old and carrying himself like an elder brother.

The other two were Xu Long and Xu Qingqing, siblings from Azure Rock Martial Hall. They looked quite young.

What surprised Lin Nan was that one of them was Yu Qianqian, a newly admitted disciple of White Snake Martial School who had entered at the same time as him and came from a pharmacy in the west of the city. She had actually taken on this assignment as well.

Peng Huo swept his gaze over the group. "This task is fairly simple. You are all disciples of the three great martial halls of the outer city, so I trust there will be no difficulty."

"We came here to collect Soul-Congealing Flower Dew. As far as I know, only this Withered Locust Village near Black Dragon City has a place where flower dew forms. We only need to proceed step by step. Once we have gathered enough dew tomorrow morning, we can return."

At this point, Peng Huo looked over everyone again.

"Let me make this clear first. If anyone refuses to follow orders and something goes wrong, don't blame this constable for being impolite."

"Understood." X6

Seeing that everyone knew the score, Peng Huo wasted no more words and led them briskly toward Withered Locust Village.

After crossing a small mountain path, a tiny village appeared before them. There were only a few tiled houses, while most were low homes built of rammed earth bricks. Moss, vines, and weeds were everywhere.

"Let's find somewhere to settle down first."

Peng Huo led the group into the village.

"Strange."

Lin Nan looked around. It was still afternoon, yet there was not a single person to be seen in the village, as though everyone had gone out to work.

Normally, in small settlements like this, people mainly worked the fields. It was rare for everyone to leave together.

"Gentlemen and ladies... what brings you here?"

Just then.

An old, hoarse voice sounded behind the seven of them, startling Xu Qingqing at the rear of the group.

They turned around and discovered that, at some point, a gaunt old man leaning on a cane had appeared behind them. His body was shriveled like a section of dried old locust wood.

"You?"

A flash of something unusual crossed Peng Huo's eyes, but it quickly settled.

"I am the village chief of Withered Locust Village. Are you honored guests from the outer city here to collect Soul-Congealing Flower Dew?"

The old man smiled faintly, his face showing a kind expression.

"Yes, old sir." Peng Huo stepped closer as he spoke.

"Could we trouble you to let us stay the night?"

"Of course. Please follow me."

The village chief led them along the main road to a larger residence not far away. At its entrance stood an ancient black well.

"My honored guests, you may stay here tonight. If you need anything, you may summon this old man at any time. However..."

A trace of gravity appeared on the village chief's face.

"My honored guests, do not go outside casually at night, not even before midnight. This place is not like the city. It is not peaceful."

"If something happens to you, this old man cannot bear the responsibility."

"Don't worry, old sir. I'll see you out." Peng Huo was exceedingly polite as he escorted the elder away.

"Something isn't right."

Lin Nan watched Peng Huo and the old village chief's retreating figures, narrowing his eyes slightly.

From the moment the old man had appeared, he had keenly sensed a fleeting moment of unease from Peng Huo. It vanished quickly, so quickly that Lin Nan had nearly thought it was an illusion.

This task...

Lin Nan lowered his head and pulled the task slip from his sleeve pouch. He had carefully selected this assignment. The reward was generous, and it was purely a gathering task, so there should not have been much difficulty.

Yet he realized he seemed to have overlooked something.

Why would a gathering task require so many martial artists to come together?