Fragments

Shen Xiuhan closed the door behind him, stepped forward, and cupped his fists in a solemn salute:

"Junior Shen Xiuhan greets Steward Ji."

Ji Zhong smiled amiably and pointed to several rows of shelves on the right. He got straight to the point:

"That's enough. No need for such formalities. Since you're here, let's begin."

"The four shelves to your right hold the techniques and stances the Ji Family has collected over the years for the bright force and hidden force stages. Browse as you please and choose the one that suits you best."

At that, Ji Zhong picked up his teacup and blew away the foam:

"You have... half an hour."

Shen Xiuhan's heart tightened. He immediately bowed, then strode toward the shelves on the right.

He took down books and bamboo scrolls one after another and began reading.

Tiger-Subduing Stance, Crane-Capturing Hand, Iron-Sand Palm, Twelve-Form Buddha-Heart Palm, Zhao's Stone-Shattering Finger, Silk-Winding Force, Grass-Skimming Step...

After searching two shelves, Shen Xiuhan found that most of the manuals contained basic stances and rudimentary martial techniques.

In sophistication, they fell far short of even Plum Academy's Mystic Eagle Stance.

Even when he came across a hidden force manual, a close look at its core principles revealed nothing remarkable—only a fair number of flaws.

Shen Xiuhan understood.

The Ji Family had already sifted through the manuals on these shelves before offering them up to win people over.

The truly superior arts were surely kept somewhere more secret.

But he did not mind much.

With "Deduction" at his disposal, any art could shine brilliantly in his hands.

Pushing aside stray thoughts, Shen Xiuhan moved to the third shelf and continued searching.

This shelf mostly held arts for weapons:

Rock-Shattering Spear, Bandit-Sweeping Staff Technique, Jade-Shattering Sword Technique, Wind-Breaking Saber...

He skimmed ten lines at a glance. In the end, only Willow-Sweeping Sword Technique and Gate-Cleaving Saber seemed worth a closer look.

Those were precisely the two weapon arts his master, Mei Shuangfeng, had mentioned to him.

He also found the other three techniques she had named: River-Torrent Step, Wind-Rending Leg, and Jade-Shattering Returning-Wind Palm.

Bite off too much, and I won't be able to chew it.

Weapons can wait. What I lack most right now is footwork and leg techniques for close combat.

Shen Xiuhan pondered this silently.

If he could find no technique that suited him better, he would choose Wind-Rending Leg to shore up that weakness.

The reason...

Gao Nian's fierce legwork, with its sweeping, forceful strikes, had left a deep impression on him.

Still thinking, he reached the fourth shelf.

Unlike the first three, this one bore a thin layer of dust. Its books and bamboo scrolls gave off an air of age.

Shen Xiuhan pulled out a booklet with yellowed corners and opened it idly.

The next moment, his gaze stopped. Surprise flashed through his eyes.

"Hm?"

Hearing him, Ji Zhong glanced over from where he reclined on a cushioned couch and took a small sip of tea.

"Brother Shen, that shelf holds incomplete texts and rare surviving copies gathered from all over. Quite a few are renowned, profound arts, but they're badly fragmented. One passage barely connects to the next. Forcing yourself to cultivate them could easily send your qi astray."

"Thank you for the warning, Steward Ji."

Shen Xiuhan drew a deep breath. His heart began to pound despite himself.

The booklet he had opened at random described the flow of blood, qi, and the meridians in far greater depth and complexity than the earlier manuals.

Ji Zhong had confirmed it: this shelf really did hold fragments of profound arts!

Which raised a question.

Could "Deduction" work on fragments?

Whether it can or not, I'll know once I try!

Shen Xiuhan pressed his lips together, picked out a worn ancient scroll, and stirred a thought:

[Deductible martial art detected: Remnant of the Flying-Star Chasing-Moon Sword. Begin deduction?]

Yes.

[Insufficient intelligence accumulated. Deduction can begin in fifteen days.]

It worked!

Excitement surged through Shen Xiuhan.

A pity he lacked enough "intelligence." Otherwise, he could have deduced seven or eight arts...

Still, he could choose one. He would not leave a mountain of treasure empty-handed.

His mind made up, Shen Xiuhan flipped through the texts faster, intent on finding the fragment he wanted most.

But the more he read, the harder his heart pounded.

Remnant of the Big Dipper Stance: the foundational stance of the Big Dipper Sect, a great sect of Cang Prefecture a century ago. Cultivate it to transformation force, and one could naturally transition to the sect's supreme art, Heavenly-Gang Big Dipper Force, then break through the barrier to gang force!

Remnant of the Cloud-Dragon Afterimage Step: a supreme movement art from Cloud-Dragon Mountain, a great sect of Yu Prefecture...

Remnant of the Compassionate Deliverance True Scripture: only a scant few pages remained of this art from the Way of Compassion, one of the previous dynasty's two great Buddhist holy sites...

Shen Xiuhan was nearly dazzled by the choices. For a moment, he could not decide.

Then his fingers touched a fragment scroll with an unusual texture. He could not tell what kind of animal hide it had been made from.

Across the beginning of the scroll, several bold, archaic characters were written—

Remnant of the Creekside Old Man's Divine Ability.

Annotation: From the inherited divine ability of Sea-Fishing Tower. Only half of its general principles remain. Before transformation force, one may cultivate Thousand-Lake Fishing; after gang force, the secret art Dragon Gate Attraction; after Divine Descent, the divine ability Creekside Old Man...

Sea-Fishing Tower!!

Shen Xiuhan's hand stilled, and his pupils contracted.

He had actually found word of Sea-Fishing Tower in the Ji Family's library!

Could it be...

Was this sect connected to the Ji Family?

Shen Xiuhan's gaze shifted. Suppressing his shock, he stood and asked:

"Steward Ji... may I ask where this Remnant of the Creekside Old Man's Divine Ability came from?"

"Oh, nowhere special."

Ji Zhong set down his teacup and answered casually:

"Some river bandits once attacked one of our merchant caravans. After our men killed them all, they found it on one of the dead bandits..."

Shen Xiuhan's heart sank.

After finally finding a lead on Sea-Fishing Tower, was that all it amounted to?

Unwilling to give up, he pressed on:

"Then do you know... what kind of sect the 'Sea-Fishing Tower' mentioned in the annotation is?"

"Sea-Fishing Tower..."

Ji Zhong frowned and thought for a moment, then shook his head decisively. "Never heard of it."

Before Shen Xiuhan could ask more, he offered a kindly reminder:

"Time is running short, Brother Shen. Best make your choice!"

Shen Xiuhan took a deep breath, steadied himself, and said:

"I've chosen. I'll take the Remnant of the Creekside Old Man's Divine Ability."

"Are you sure?"

Ji Zhong was plainly surprised. His brow rose.

"Brother Shen, let this old man remind you: disciples of my Ji Family have tried cultivating these fragments before, but none made anything of them. An art missing its methods offers no path forward. Think carefully."

"I'm sure."

Shen Xiuhan deliberately put on an easy smile and shook his head.

"What you don't know, Steward Ji, is that I haven't even fully mastered Plum Academy's arts. If I bite off more than I can chew, I'll get nowhere. I don't plan to cultivate another art for now."

He paused, then added:

"Besides, you know I come from a fishing family. This Creekside Old Man fragment seems to record quite a few ways to catch fish. Perhaps it'll be useful to me..."

"Hahaha!"

Ji Zhong burst out laughing, the last trace of doubt vanishing from his mind.

"So that's it! I'd forgotten you were born a fisherman..."

He stroked his beard and pondered briefly.

"Here's what we'll do. When you report to Cloud Ripple Island at the start of next month, you'll be assigned a covered boat. Ordinarily, you aren't allowed to use it outside patrols... but I'll make an exception. In your free time, you can take it out to fish. Eat your catch or sell it to help support your family—it's up to you!"

Shen Xiuhan's eyes lit up. He cupped his fists in a deep salute. "Thank you, Steward Ji!"

"Hahaha! All right, you've made your choice. Off you go."

Ji Zhong waved a hand and picked up his teacup.

"Someone will notify you a day before your departure next month."