Leaving the Manor to Collect Rent, Demons Afoot

Li Xian frowned. "Jiang Yun deliberately made things difficult and had no credibility at all. What exactly did you say when you went to see her?"

Zhao Han sighed softly and said resentfully:

"Jiang Yun really is a piece of work, but... who told us she was strong?"

"That's just how the world is. We have to accept it. There's nothing we can do."

"We went to find Jiang Yun, but she deliberately refused to see us at first. She forced us to kneel and kowtow before she would speak to us."

"You knelt?" Li Xian asked.

"We're only servants. Is kneeling anything rare for us?" Zhuo Yilie suddenly said. "With Jiang Yun forcing us like that, we could only kneel. We begged her to spare us, but she just kept laughing."

Wang Chun said, "We really had no other choice, so we offered to give her the Tiger Blood Pill. She said... as long as we presented the Tiger Blood Pill, everything could be discussed."

"Is that really what she said? Were those truly her words?" Li Xian asked, his eyes filled with scrutiny.

Though he had only met Jiang Yun twice, he knew she was not someone easy to deal with.

"Alas."

Zhao Han sighed and took over, speaking truthfully:

"Jiang Yun's exact words were, 'You three are quite amusing. First, make Li Xian kneel and kowtow, then obediently offer up the Tiger Blood Pill. We can discuss what comes after that.' That was roughly what Second Brother meant."

"She didn't even make a promise, and you believed her?" Li Xian analyzed calmly.

"Her words, 'We can discuss what comes after that,' clearly meant she intended to make excuses later. If you believed her, not only would the Tiger Blood Pill be lost, but you would also be humiliated for nothing."

Zhao Han clenched his teeth and punched the wall, furious yet powerless. "I know that too, but we truly had no choice. We could only pray that Jiang Yun would show mercy and, after taking the Tiger Blood Pill, let us go like we were nothing but a fart."

"Fourth Brother, don't worry. As long as you agree, we'll give you all the wages we save over the next two months. Consider it us buying your Tiger Blood Pill."

"What would I want your saved wages for?" Li Xian shook his head lightly.

He patted the three men on the shoulders, offering them comfort.

In desperation, people tended to grasp at anything and lose their composure.

"If you trust me, just endure a little longer."

"To be honest, I went to see Commander Pang yesterday and asked how to enter the Idle Martial Pavilion. There's no answer yet, but it's still better than placing our hopes on Jiang Yun!"

Li Xian's voice was gentle and steady as he tried his best to calm them.

Yet the three men avoided his gaze.

Then, with a thud, Wang Chun dropped to his knees and pleaded, "Fourth Brother, we're begging you. Please take the Tiger Blood Pill and go see Jiang Yun!"

Li Xian froze for a moment, then quickly gripped Wang Chun's shoulder and secretly circulated his inner energy to help him up. "Second Brother, I'll tell you the truth. I already took the Tiger Blood Pill. There's no point seeing Jiang Yun now."

"What?!"

All three were shocked. Zhuo Yilie said, "Fourth Brother, don't lie to us. In the early hours last night, I saw that the pocket at your chest was bulging. The Tiger Blood Pill was still there."

"I took it this morning," Li Xian admitted.

"This... this..."

Zhao Han and the other two looked at one another, not knowing what to do.

Li Xian knew saying more would be useless, but he still said solemnly, "Trust me."

Zhao Han and the other two forced smiles. They wanted to speak but held back, falling increasingly silent before finally leaving in a daze.

From then on, Zhao Han and the other two began deliberately, or unconsciously, distancing themselves from Li Xian.

Pang Long had already been lenient in allowing the three of them two consecutive days of leave. Starting on the third day, they had to resume their usual routine of morning training and martial practice together.

The bluish-purple palm prints on their faces could no longer be concealed, drawing ridicule and mockery from the other guards. The three were mortified and utterly miserable.

Li Xian saw it all and knew arguing would be useless. He punched with even greater determination, focusing on improving his own strength.

Every so often, he went to Pang Long's residence to ask about the Idle Martial Pavilion.

With Pang Long backing him, Jiang Yun did not come looking for trouble.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. There was still no news, but his strength had improved greatly.

Li Xian's [Running] skill had already reached mastery. He moved as swiftly as the wind, with astonishing speed and exceptional endurance. Even mountain terrain, woodland, and marshland that were difficult to traverse could be crossed with ease.

During daily morning runs, he could leave all the guards far behind, gaining more time to practice his fists.

[Four Directions Fist]

[Proficiency: 715/1500 Minor Mastery]

The inner energy in his dantian had grown to the size of three fists. As it circulated, it could strengthen the mind, invigorate the body, ward off illness, and keep him warm.

Its uses were endless.

"It was said that for those truly skilled in martial arts, inner energy had even more ever-changing applications than could be described."

After morning training that day, Li Xian exhaled a breath of turbid air, having gained much.

"D-rank guard, Number 269, Li Xian."

A voice called from behind him. When he turned, he saw seven people walking toward him.

Among them were two familiar figures: Qiao Dashou and Zhao Dachun.

Zhao Dachun smiled. "Brother Li, your patrol duty has been canceled today. We really are fated—we've run into each other again."

"Oh?" Li Xian asked. "Is there another assignment?"

"We need to leave the manor and help Madam collect rent." Zhao Dachun was clearly very familiar with such matters.

When the guards of One Accord Manor had no other duties, they mainly patrolled. But at the end of every few months, most of the guards would go down to the various villages to collect rent.

"We're in a group of eight, heading to Longevity Village to collect rent. Hurry and get ready. It's a long journey, so let's leave early and return early."

The speaker was Feng Huo, a lean man in his thirties and a C-rank guard. For the time being, he was the leader of their group of eight.

"Alright." Li Xian wiped away his sweat. He had nothing much to prepare.

Before leaving, the group of eight first went to the Dining Hall to collect food for the journey. Everyone took their own share and tried to take as much as possible. If there was not enough food on the road, they would just have to endure hunger.

Li Xian ate as he took food, filling his stomach. Then he flattened steamed buns and dry cakes with his inner energy and hid them in the hidden pockets within his sleeves.

In these times, it was always good to have more food.

The weather was growing colder, and snowflakes had already begun falling beyond the manor. Li Xian thought, The weather may be cold, but I bought Little Brother a new padded coat last time. With Father's hemp clothes as well, they shouldn't freeze.

The guards' uniforms were warm in winter and cool in summer. Furthermore, Li Xian had already cultivated inner energy, giving him far greater resistance to the cold than ordinary people. He was not afraid of snow.

"Damn it, how cursed. It didn't snow early or late—it had to snow when we were heading far from home."

Feng Huo spat, impatiently brushing the snow from his shoulders as he said to the others:

"Longevity Village is a full thirty li of mountain roads from the manor. All of you, be careful on the way."

"It would be best if the snow stopped. But if it doesn't, it may only fall harder. Don't say I didn't warn you—there are all kinds of strange things outside..."

"If we run into fierce beasts like bears, leopards, or tigers, that would be fine. We all know some martial arts, so we wouldn't be completely helpless. What we should fear is... encountering something inexplicable. Nine times out of ten, we wouldn't come out of it well."

"And if some demonic wind blows us off course and we lose our way in the snow, then we'd truly be calling on heaven and earth with no answer."

Feng Huo warned them.

He was mainly speaking for Li Xian's benefit. The others all looked grave at the sight of snow. It was unclear whether they had experienced anything strange before, but they clearly knew snowy mountain roads were difficult to travel.

"The world is unsettled. Demons and monsters are appearing everywhere." Seeing everyone's solemn expressions, Li Xian did not dare lower his guard and took Feng Huo's warning to heart.