Apprenticeship!

After a moment of silence, Mei Shuangfeng slowly said:

"You leave the city first. I'll go with you and take a look. If what you said is true, if it truly is a Silver-backed Treasure Fish... then Mei Martial Hall certainly won't treat you unfairly."

Shen Xiuhan let out a long breath, and the huge boulder hanging over his heart crashed to the ground.

This move had been the right one.

He immediately gave a deep bow and said:

"Hall Master, your righteousness is admirable. I shall lead the way..."

"No need."

Mei Shuangfeng raised a hand and said:

"Just go ahead. There are too many eyes and ears in the inner city. To avoid drawing attention, I have my own means of following behind you. Go on first."

"...Understood."

Shen Xiuhan did not waste words. He cupped his hands in another salute, carried the fish basket on his back, and respectfully withdrew from the side room.

Once the sound of his footsteps had faded away.

The woman in fitted martial attire hurried forward, concern faintly visible in her eyes as she lowered her voice.

"Mother... Can that boy's words really be trusted?"

"Eight or nine times out of ten."

Mei Shuangfeng stood with her hands behind her back, her voice calm.

"But the human heart is treacherous, and one cannot rule out being mistaken. Still... if he dares use such a matter as a pretext to toy with me..."

She paused, and a vicious glint suddenly erupted in her eyes.

"No matter what heaven-shaking hardships he has suffered, I will make him beg for life yet be unable to live, beg for death yet be unable to die."

A brief deathly silence fell over the warm chamber.

The charcoal fire crackled softly, casting shifting light and shadow across half her face.

After a moment, Mei Shuangfeng seemed to recall something else, a curve rising at the corner of her lips.

"Heh... That boy just said I possessed righteous qi?"

"Ha ha ha ha ha!"

Her shrill laughter exploded through the hall, like a blood-weeping night owl's screech, making one's hair stand on end.

"The Mei Family was indeed once an orthodox and distinguished sect. From top to bottom, we practiced nothing but vast and righteous qi!"

Her laughter abruptly stopped.

Mei Shuangfeng's beautiful, dignified face twisted instantly with venomous hatred.

"But ever since..."

"Ever since your younger brother was thrown alive into an iron cauldron of boiling water by that pack of scum worse than pigs and dogs, and cruelly boiled to death..."

Crack!

Her five fingers clenched around the rosewood desk.

The corner of the desk, harder than iron and stone, was crushed in her grip into a handful of powder that sifted down by her feet.

"From that day onward, all that remained was a heart as ruthless as a hand, vengeance repaid for the slightest grievance..."

"The Face-Ripping Demon!"

After leaving the Martial Arts School, Shen Xiuhan headed straight for the city gate.

As he passed the teahouse, he deliberately swept his gaze around.

The two Golden Dragon Gang sentries from before had already vanished without a trace.

Maybe they went to wait for me at the fish market?

Shen Xiuhan pondered inwardly without slowing his pace.

He hurried all the way to the depths of the reed marsh.

He dug the tightly frozen block of ice from the snow and dusted it clean.

Shen Xiuhan sat cross-legged on the spot, held his breath, and quietly waited.

The cold wind passed through the forest, making the withered reeds rustle.

No one knew how much time had passed before he suddenly caught a faint rustling sound by his ear.

She's here!

Shen Xiuhan's heart tightened, and he was just about to rise.

"Where is the fish?"

A cold female voice sounded without warning against the back of his neck.

Every hair on Shen Xiuhan's body stood on end, and cold sweat instantly seeped across his back!

He spun around sharply and discovered in horror that Mei Shuangfeng was already standing three feet behind him with her hands behind her back, like a ghost.

On the remaining snow, there was not merely no footprint—not even half an indentation had been left behind.

So this was a martial artist?

Truly... unfathomable as gods and ghosts!

Shen Xiuhan's heart shook violently, but his movements did not slow in the slightest. He lifted the heavy block of ice with both hands and respectfully said:

"Hall Master, this is the Silver-backed Fish."

Mei Shuangfeng accepted it with one hand. The hundred-pound block of ice was as light as nothing in her palm.

After examining it through the ice for a moment, her brows visibly softened. A gleam of surprise flashed through her eyes as she said softly:

"Not bad..."

"Its qi and blood are abundant, and its silver scales shine brightly. It is indeed a genuine Silver-backed Fish."

"Judging by its growth, it is at least five years old."

Seeing Shen Xiuhan's baffled expression, she glanced at him and explained indifferently:

"For all aquatic treasures, the older they are, the more immense the qi and blood contained within, and the more difficult they are to obtain even with a thousand pieces of gold."

"Ordinary Silver-backed Fish are second-grade Treasure Fish. They are not considered especially rare; several are caught every two or three months in the two counties around Cloudwater Lake."

"A newly matured one can fetch ten taels of patterned silver. As for yours..." Mei Shuangfeng considered it briefly before saying, "It can be valued at twenty taels."

Twenty taels of patterned silver!

Shen Xiuhan's heart lurched.

He suddenly thought of the Silver-backed Fish Shen Sanhuai had caught years ago.

As he recalled, Shen Sanhuai had said that its size had been nearly identical to this one.

Yet a White Family steward had taken it away for a mere tael of silver...

The Bai clan.

Ma Xianyang.

In this man-eating world, those at the bottom were as cheap as grass and mustard!

He had to learn martial arts!

Only by learning martial arts could he find a way out!

Shen Xiuhan gritted his teeth, bent both knees, and knelt in the snow. In a deep voice, he said:

"This boy, Shen Xiuhan, has set his heart upon martial arts! I wish to offer this fish as a gift and kowtow to beg Hall Master Mei to accept me as her disciple!"

Mei Shuangfeng looked down at him but did not agree at once.

"Forget the gift. Mei Martial Hall opens its doors to teach disciples, and we have our own rules."

"I will not shortchange you on however much this Silver-backed Fish is worth."

"As for becoming my disciple..."

She paused and scrutinized him.

"How old are you this year?"

"I just turned seventeen."

"Seventeen... For laying the foundation of martial arts, that is somewhat late."

Before she finished speaking, Mei Shuangfeng extended her right hand. Her fingers, like an eagle's claws, settled on Shen Xiuhan's shoulder blade and squeezed.

A piercing pain struck him, as though his bones were about to be crushed alive!

Cold sweat poured down Shen Xiuhan's face. His teeth ground together with a creak, yet he stubbornly did not make a sound.

"Mm. His bone seams have not fully closed, and his tendons and membranes retain resilience. There is still room for carving and polishing."

Mei Shuangfeng slowly withdrew her hand, but her tone shifted as she solemnly said:

"But let me put the ugly words first."

"To become my disciple, you must pay tuition. How much you pay is how much martial arts you learn. If your purse is empty in the future, do not blame my Martial Arts School for showing no sentiment... Do you understand what I mean?"

Without hesitation, Shen Xiuhan said:

"I understand. Just deduct the required tuition from the money for the Treasure Fish!"

"Very well."

After a brief consideration, Mei Shuangfeng untied the cloud-patterned purse at her waist.

"Outer courtyard disciples pay eight taels of patterned silver for half a year's tuition. Half a year is enough to test whether you are a dragon or a worm on the martial path."

"If you can cultivate some real skill—for instance, break through the Blood Tempering Realm and step into the early Bright Force stage—then you may enter the inner courtyard afterward and continue your studies."

"If you show no improvement at all... then abandon this notion early and seek another livelihood."

Ecstasy surged through Shen Xiuhan's heart. He clasped his fists heavily once more.

"This disciple will hang himself from the beam and stab his thigh with an awl, studying diligently and training bitterly. I will never betray Master's grace in accepting me!"

Looking at the blazing yearning for martial arts in the youth's eyes, a nearly imperceptible trace of daze passed through Mei Shuangfeng's gaze.

As though some memory had been touched, a hint of gentleness appeared upon that face always covered in frost—an unprecedented sight—before vanishing in an instant.

Mei Shuangfeng steadied herself and slowly spoke again.

"Report to the Martial Arts School's outer courtyard before the hour of the Snake tomorrow. Someone will teach you the basic stance exercises. As for how far you can cultivate, that will depend on your own fortune."

Having said that, she reached into her purse and fumbled around for a moment. Embarrassment suddenly appeared on her face.

"Ahem... Your master left in a hurry today and did not bring enough silver."

She pursed her lips and pulled out her hand. Three thumb-sized ingots of snowflake silver lay quietly in her palm.

"I will give you these three taels first. After deducting the eight taels of tuition, the remaining nine taels..."

"When you come to the Martial Arts School tomorrow, your master will make up the rest in full. How does that sound?"

"Of course."

Shen Xiuhan respectfully accepted the silver ingots.

Perhaps feeling that owing him silver made her lose face, Mei Shuangfeng's tone became increasingly gentle.

"Once a Treasure Fish leaves the water, the pure qi and blood within its body quickly dissipates. Fortunately, you were quick-witted enough to know to preserve it with ice, barely protecting its medicinal efficacy."

Shen Xiuhan froze slightly.

How could he have understood such intricacies?

He had frozen it into an ice block solely to avoid attracting attention.

But since Mei Shuangfeng had said so, he could only brazenly lower his head and agree.

"We'll discuss everything tomorrow. I'm leaving!"

With everything settled, Mei Shuangfeng lifted the block containing the Silver-backed Fish in one hand, and her figure suddenly moved!

Her toes lightly touched a reed stalk, and her entire body soared into the air like a nimble swallow piercing clouds and mist.

Her black gauze robes snapped in the cold wind as she glided dozens of yards through the air, leaving no trace upon the snow.

After only two or three rises and falls, her figure dissolved into the distant end of the vast white wind and snow.