Realization

Since entering the inner courtyard, Shen Xiuhan's treatment had been worlds apart from before.

Besides receiving personal martial guidance from Mei Shuangfeng every few days and a bowl of Ebony Origin-Replenishing Soup every seven days, even his daily meals had risen with the tide.

At noon, the outer-courtyard disciples were each given two plain steamed buns as usual.

The inner courtyard, however, was another world entirely.

There were enough steamed buns to go around, with no limit.

Before Shen Xiuhan and Xu Chuan sat a large coarse porcelain bowl. The fish soup inside was thick and milky-white, steaming hot, with a layer of golden oil floating on its surface and an entire plump fish resting beneath.

Longcloud County was crisscrossed by waterways and nestled against the thousand-mile Cloudwater Lake. Since ancient times, it had been a place where people lived off the water.

According to Xu Chuan, every meal served to the inner-courtyard disciples included river delicacies.

The large fish in today's lunch was called a yellow pomfret. Its flesh was tender, fatty, and delicious.

Taken to the fish stalls in West Market, it could fetch six or seven copper coins per pound.

The one in the bowl weighed at least two pounds, making it worth twelve or thirteen coins... enough to buy a pound of streaky pork from a butcher in East Market.

The only flaw was that the Martial Arts School's cooks were truly crude in their technique.

They had taken a perfectly good fish and boiled it into something bland and tasteless!

After finishing lunch,

Shen Xiuhan took out a meat pancake as usual and stuffed it into Xiao Wen's hands.

Xiao Wen accepted it and lowered his head to gnaw at it, the rims of his eyes faintly reddening.

The bitter practice of stance work during this period, along with the meat pancakes Shen Xiuhan occasionally provided, had finally brought some color back to Xiao Wen's face, while his sinews and bones grew sturdier by the day.

According to Xu Chuan, Xiao Wen's progress in stance work was astonishingly fast.

When he had first entered the hall, Xu Chuan had felt his bones and judged the boy's natural aptitude mediocre, thinking he might not sense his qi and blood even after half a year.

Who could have expected that after practicing for these days, his stance work would become increasingly steady and solid?

His progress had been unexpectedly swift, to the point that he even seemed poised to catch up with disciples who had entered the hall several months earlier.

"Not bad. Keep moving forward one steady step at a time."

Shen Xiuhan encouraged him. "Try to open the Blood Tempering Realm as soon as possible and enter the inner courtyard. Then your elder brother won't have to labor in the mine shaft anymore."

"...M-Master, Junior Brother, I understand!"

Xiao Wen's lips twitched. His eyes flickered, as though he had some unspeakable trouble, but when the words reached the tip of his tongue, he ultimately said nothing. He lowered his head deeply and clasped one fist in the other.

Shen Xiuhan patted the boy's shoulder, turned around, and stepped into the inner courtyard.

After briefly regulating his breathing,

he changed into his practice clothes and began exchanging moves with Xu Chuan, feeding him techniques for the skill Heavenly Mystic Eagle Force.

Through-the-Back Martial Hall, inner courtyard.

Wisps of green smoke curled from the bronze beast-headed incense burner, and the scent of sandalwood filled the warm chamber.

Ma Xianyang's face was as dark as still water. He pinched a celadon teacup and spoke in a frigid tone:

"Yu Zhe really is dead..."

"What about Tian Erhu?"

Across from him, Feng Xiaobao sat with the imposing ease of a great sword. At those words, his thick brows shot up.

"I went to Wild Shrine Ward to take a look. He was nowhere to be found. There was blood in the courtyard, along with signs of a fight on the ground..."

Ma Xianyang paused, sinister currents surging in his eyes. "I'm afraid things look grim."

Feng Xiaobao's two coarse brows knotted together.

"Could it be... just as the rumors say, and those thugs from the Turbulent Wave Gang did it? Deliberately killing them and tossing their corpses at the Golden Dragon Gang's headquarters, using it to provoke Gao Fu into an all-out war with them?"

"Absolutely impossible."

Ma Xianyang immediately shook his head, his eyes flashing sharply.

"If Zheng Dadao did it, why is only Yu Zhe's corpse here, while Tian Erhu has neither been seen alive nor found dead?"

"Then what are you saying...?"

"I only sent the two of them to Little Path Bay yesterday to give that peasant surnamed Shen a warning, and that very night both of them lost their lives... How could there be such a coincidence in this world?!"

Ma Xianyang ground his teeth, every word cold as ice.

Feng Xiaobao's tiger eyes widened, and he abruptly sat upright. "You mean... that peasant surnamed Shen did it?"

"No, that's impossible!"

He had only entered the Mei Family's Martial Arts School a few days ago. To eliminate Yu Zhe and Tian Erhu without anyone knowing, the culprit had to be a martial artist who had opened the Blood Gate!

"It naturally wasn't that boy!"

Ma Xianyang's gaze darkened slightly, and he lowered his voice.

"From the looks of it... either that woman Jiang Qinghong did it, or that shrew Mei Shuangfeng came out personally!"

"As for the reason..."

Ma Xianyang let out a cold laugh.

"Eight or nine times out of ten, that boy couldn't withstand our pressure and offered up the secret recipe for luring Treasure Fish as a bargaining chip."

"The Mei Family gained an enormous benefit, so of course they would stand up for him and conveniently eliminate the Golden Dragon Gang, this future trouble."

Feng Xiaobao stroked the stubble on his chin. After pondering for a long while, he slowly nodded.

"If that's the case, it truly does make sense..."

While the two were speculating, a hurried burst of footsteps came from outside the door.

"Senior Brother!"

A steward disciple's voice sounded from outside, carrying a hint of caution.

"In a few days, the major merchant associations and aristocratic families will hold their usual recruitment of guest retainers and guards. Just now, the stewards of the various families sent servants over with calling cards, saying they'll also come to our Martial Arts School and test the senior brothers and junior brothers of the outer courtyard..."

"Come to our Martial Arts School?"

Ma Xianyang looked puzzled.

"Our Through-the-Back Martial Hall hasn't produced a seedling who's opened the Blood Tempering Realm in the past two months. Why would they make the trip?"

"Uh... this disciple also asked a little too much just now."

The steward disciple outside swallowed, his voice growing even more hesitant.

"That servant said the family stewards had to come to the eastern part of the city anyway, so they would drop by all the Martial Arts Schools along the way... He also said that if they happened to overlook another genius, they wouldn't be able to answer for it when they returned to the residence..."

"What do you mean? Stop spouting riddles wrapped in fog!"

Feng Xiaobao had a fiery temper. He immediately shouted impatiently, his voice low and heavy.

"Which Martial Arts School's genius did they overlook? Explain yourself clearly!"

"Yes, yes, it was the Mei Martial Hall..."

The steward disciple shrank his neck in fright. His voice was as low as a mosquito's buzz, yet every word carried clearly into the room.

"They said the Mei Family's Martial Arts School had an outer-courtyard disciple surnamed Shen who opened the Bright Force profound gate just ten-odd days after entering. The hall master took him into the inner courtyard on the spot..."

"Surnamed Shen?!"

Those words were no different from thunder exploding on level ground!

Ma Xianyang and Feng Xiaobao's expressions changed drastically. They suddenly looked at each other, and both saw surging horror in the other's eyes!

"Go investigate immediately!"

Ma Xianyang shot to his feet, his voice even changing pitch. "I want his detailed information!"

"Yes!"

The steward disciple took his order and scurried away.

A deathly silence fell over the warm chamber.

Ma Xianyang stood rooted to the spot, murmuring in disbelief.

"Surnamed Shen... entered more than ten days ago... and also joined the Mei Martial Hall..."

A thunderous crash!

Qi and blood erupted around Feng Xiaobao as he slammed his palm onto the pearwood table!

The sturdy tabletop shattered with a roar. Wood splinters flew everywhere, and it collapsed into a chaotic heap across the floor.

He rose with a boom like a furious savage bear, eyes wide open.

"No need to think about it!"

"Who else could it be besides that little beast?!"

"Yu Zhe and Tian Erhu must have died by his hand as well!"

"Senior Brother! Watch your words!"

Ma Xianyang's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly grabbed Feng Xiaobao by the sleeve.

Feng Xiaobao froze all over, as though he had remembered something. He immediately slipped to the door, held his breath, focused his mind, and carefully sensed the surroundings.