Zhou Qi's Favor

Foundation Establishment Method!

Yang Zhenshan looked at him and spoke slowly.

"The Yang Family exists in name only now."

Zhou Qi raised his head.

Yang Zhenshan walked to the window, his back to him.

"Jin Tie came today. Mingyuan is dead, I was badly injured, the mining rights to Blackstone Mine were revoked, and both the Spirit Medicine Hall and the brokerages were sealed. More than half the servants have run away."

"The family business I built over twenty years in Lin'an City turned to ashes overnight."

His tone was calm, yet Zhou Qi could hear the pain and fury buried beneath that calm.

Yang Zhenshan turned around and looked at him.

"But Yao Qing will protect Yuanshan and me. He is from the Yao Family of Yongjing City. Even the Champion Marquis must give the Yao Family some face."

Zhou Qi fell silent.

Yang Zhenshan continued, "I have already had Yuanshan make arrangements. Everyone from the Yang Family will disperse. Those with connections can seek refuge with relatives; those without can collect some silver and leave for distant lands. Saving one is better than saving none."

He pointed to the two booklets on the table.

"But you are different."

"You killed Jinshi. Once Jin Tie finds out, you will be the first one he wants dead."

Zhou Qi nodded. He knew.

Yang Zhenshan looked at him, his gaze profound.

"The antidote to the Soul-Splitting Pill is to return your freedom. Between you and me, all debts are settled."

Zhou Qi cupped his fists.

Yang Zhenshan pointed again at the Mountains and Rivers Sword Seal.

"This martial skill is a high-grade Profound-rank martial skill passed down through my Yang Family. Consider it thanks for avenging Old Fifth. Take it. It will not have been for nothing that you worked together."

Zhou Qi was silent for a moment before accepting it.

Finally, Yang Zhenshan pointed to Foundation Establishment Method: Part One.

His hand lingered over the booklet for a moment, as if he were hesitating.

Then he raised his head and looked at Zhou Qi.

"This cultivation method was a gift from Yao Qing, originally meant for me to use for Foundation Establishment."

"By rights, I should not give it to you."

He paused, and his tone grew meaningful.

"But I want a favor from you."

Zhou Qi raised his head and looked at him.

Yang Zhenshan spoke each word distinctly.

"Jin Tie killed my son and destroyed my Yang Family. All my life, I, Yang Zhenshan, have never owed anyone anything, nor have I ever spared anyone."

"But now, I cannot defeat him."

"Yao Qing can protect me, but he cannot help me take revenge."

He looked at Zhou Qi, his eyes carrying something complicated—hatred, expectation, or perhaps an indescribable entrustment.

"You are still young, and your talent is astonishing. Three years, five years, ten years—one day, you will surpass him."

"I will give you the Foundation Establishment Method and help you break through. When the day comes that you wield great power..."

He paused.

"Kill Jin Tie for me."

Zhou Qi fell silent.

He looked into Yang Zhenshan's eyes. There was no calculation there, no probing—only naked hatred and expectation.

This ruthless hero had spent his entire life scheming against others.

Yet at this moment, he had staked all his hopes on a servant he had once controlled with poison.

Zhou Qi suddenly smiled.

Then he cupped his fists and bowed deeply.

"I accept Master's cultivation method."

He straightened and looked at Yang Zhenshan.

"Within three years, I will personally present Jin Tie's head to you."

Yang Zhenshan looked at him for a long time.

Then he smiled.

That smile held a measure of relief, a measure of comfort, and several measures of indescribable emotion.

"Good," he said. "Good!"

He returned behind his desk, took a token from a drawer, and tossed it to Zhou Qi.

"This is a token of the Yao Family. Keep it with you. If you truly cannot escape Jin Tie's pursuit, go to Yongjing and seek refuge with the Yao Family. Once you reach the Yao Family, Jin Tie will not dare touch you."

Zhou Qi caught the token and tucked it into his robes.

He glanced at Yang Zhenshan and cupped his fists.

"Thank you, Master."

Yang Zhenshan waved a hand. With his back still to Zhou Qi, he spoke again. "Go to the stables north of the city. There are swift horses from the Yang Family there. Time waits for no one. Leave now."

Zhou Qi bowed, turned, and strode away.

He left the study, crossed the Central Courtyard, crossed the Front Courtyard, and walked out through the ruined main gates.

The night wind swept past, stirring up a flurry of funeral paper.

Zhou Qi stood at the gate and glanced back.

The plaque of the Yang Residence hung crookedly to one side, while the seals on the doors rattled loudly in the wind.

The lights in the Main Hall were still burning. Through the window paper, he could vaguely see a lonely figure standing before a coffin.

Zhou Qi withdrew his gaze and strode away.

The stables north of the city.

When the old man on watch saw that the visitor was an elder of the Yang Residence, he brought out a pitch-black steed without another word.

The horse was tall and magnificent, its muscles sleek and powerful. One glance was enough to tell that it was a fine mount.

Zhou Qi swung onto its back and accepted the dry provisions and water skin the old man handed him.

Zhou Qi looked down at the old man. The old man's eyes were slightly red, his lips trembling as though he had something he wanted to say but could not voice.

Zhou Qi was silent for a moment before saying,

"You should leave quickly too. The Yang Family... is about to scatter."

With that, he squeezed his legs. The horse let out a long neigh and bolted away.

The pounding hooves gradually faded, soon vanishing at the end of the official road.

The old man at the stables remained where he was, staring in that direction for a long time without leaving.

Inside the Main Hall, Yang Zhenshan still stood before the coffin.

He stretched out a hand and gently stroked the coffin, as though caressing his son's face.

"Mingyuan."

He murmured, his voice hoarse.

"Father cannot avenge you with his own hands anymore."

The flame of the eternal lamp flickered faintly, casting dim yellow light across the coffin.

Elsewhere.

Hoofbeats exploded across the official road. Zhou Qi lay low over the horse's back as Lin'an City receded farther and farther behind him, until it was wholly swallowed by the horizon.

This horse was likely one of the finest steeds in the Yang Family. Even after galloping at full speed for two hours, it showed no sign of slowing.

But Zhou Qi knew that even the best horse had its limits.

Yang Zhenshan's words resurfaced in his mind:

"Do not keep traveling in one direction. After Jin Tie arrives, he will certainly investigate which way you fled. In Lin'an City, someone will surely betray you."

A glint flashed through Zhou Qi's eyes as he sharply yanked the reins.

The horse gave a long neigh and reared up, its front hooves carving a deep furrow across the official road.

He turned the horse around, left the official road, and galloped down a narrow path toward the southeast.

This Yang Zhenshan, Zhou Qi thought. His son and fifth brother died, his family business was destroyed, and decades of effort went down the drain—yet his state of mind has not fallen into the slightest chaos. He can still think of such things.

Yang Zhenshan truly was a ruthless hero.

Vicious and merciless, able to endure what ordinary people could not, he had schemed his entire life.

But his strength could not support his ambition.

At the Ninth Layer of Qi Refinement, he could swagger through Lin'an City. But before the Marquis Residence of Blackstone City, he was nothing more than a slightly larger ant.

With one palm strike from Jin Tie, the Yang Family had been scattered.

Zhou Qi put those thoughts aside and continued urging the horse onward.

The path grew narrower and narrower, while the trees on either side became denser and denser. After another hour of travel, the horse finally slowed, breathing heavily and sweating all over.

Zhou Qi dismounted and led it onward.

Ahead, a vast, dark Forest appeared in his field of vision.

The Forest was immense, stretching beyond sight. Its towering, dense trees stood in the night like a host of silent giants.

Zhou Qi did not hesitate. Leading the horse, he entered.

The Forest was even darker inside.

Moonlight was blocked by branches and leaves, leaving only scattered patches of light on the ground. Fallen leaves blanketed the earth; they felt soft beneath his feet and gave off faint rustling sounds.

Zhou Qi led the horse and walked deeper, one step at a time.