Escape from Death, a Blessing in Disguise (Please Keep Reading!)

"Damn it."

Li Xian's blood surged. He drew his blade first. Though his heart was crawling with dread, he had to show some backbone before he died.

But then he heard the footsteps gradually slow.

"What is it afraid of... Afraid of alerting the people in the manor!"

A flash of inspiration struck Li Xian, and he immediately shouted several times.

That thing slowed even further, then suddenly stopped, seemingly hesitating over whether to continue chasing him.

"Madam Wen, you're here!"

Li Xian shouted.

The mistress of One Accord Manor bore the surname Wen. In ordinary times, no one could call her by name; they could only address her as "Madam."

That shout truly worked. The thing began to retreat. In truth, they were still several li away from the manor at that moment.

Seizing the opportunity, Li Xian pushed his speed higher and finally stepped through the manor gates.

He gulped down breaths, turning to look into the darkness.

He saw a pair of scarlet eyes as large as bronze bells. Those eyes stared at him before turning away and leaving.

Li Xian let out a sigh of relief.

"This time, I escaped with my life entirely thanks to Madam's prestige."

Only after coming back to himself did he realize that cold sweat had soaked his entire body, his clothes already drenched through.

Of the eight house guards, only one had returned. It was a truly miserable outcome.

The disturbance here soon reached Pang Long. He brought Li Xian back to his room, gave him hot tea to warm himself, and sent inner force into him to settle his nerves.

"This boy really is clever. He looked a little flustered just now, yet he's completely calm already."

Pang Long silently praised him. When he checked Li Xian's pulse, his blood and qi were racing, but there was no sign of disorder. Clearly, he was fine—he had not been scared out of his wits or frightened into losing his soul.

"This was not the first time."

"That Feng Huo has terrible luck, running into it twice in a row."

Pang Long said, "But once you return to the manor, everything is safe. That thing does not dare come close. It fears Madam will take its life."

"Commander Pang, what exactly was that thing?" Li Xian asked curiously.

"I... do not know either." Pang Long said, "Later, I will take you into the inner courtyard. You can explain the details to Madam yourself."

"Madam...?" Li Xian had always been curious about this "Madam."

"Get yourself cleaned up. Madam has not gone to sleep yet." Pang Long instructed him.

The inner courtyard was a place Madam Wen often visited. Grade-D House Guards did not need to patrol there, but when matters occasionally arose, Grade-D House Guards would also be summoned inside.

After passing through a long corridor.

Li Xian looked around curiously and saw a lake. Lotus flowers grew upon its surface, golden-green in color and exceptionally beautiful.

They were clearly no ordinary lotuses.

Though snow was falling outside, the inner courtyard was lush as spring. In terms of area, it was several times larger than the outer courtyard.

"This place is so large. I wonder whether that Madam can even live in all of it."

"I heard Commander Pang say that Madam has many friends from the martial world. Sometimes they come here to visit."

"The martial world... What exactly is the martial world in this world like?"

Li Xian could not help growing curious. But if he were to say he longed for it... perhaps not. Seeing the small gave one a glimpse of the large; this martial world was surely one that ate people alive.

Yet if he were free, even if the martial world was perilous, he would still be willing to venture into it.

"Madam, the person has been brought."

Outside a pavilion, Pang Long dropped to one knee and spoke respectfully.

"Let him enter."

A gentle voice came from within, yet it carried an air of authority.

He entered the room.

An exotic fragrance rushed into his nose, calming the mind and focusing the spirit. Li Xian saw that the lamps inside were extremely dim. A folding screen stood ahead, behind which was a graceful silhouette.

"Speak."

There was no unnecessary chatter.

Li Xian lowered his head and recounted the course of events. A moment later, Madam Wen said, "I understand."

"After such a great upheaval, this little house guard still speaks clearly."

"Pang Long, take him away and give him one tael as shock money."

He was taken out of the inner courtyard without lingering for even a moment.

Pang Long smiled and patted Li Xian's shoulder. "You brat, this counts as a blessing in disguise. One tael of silver is enough for you to visit a brothel several times."

Li Xian smiled awkwardly. The misunderstanding from last time had yet to be cleared up. Pang Long was thoroughly convinced that he enjoyed visiting such places of flowers and smoke.

"Being able to meet Madam at such close range is the true rare opportunity. If you tell others about this, it can count as something to boast about." Pang Long said.

"Commander Pang." Li Xian asked, "What will Madam do?"

Pang Long said, "Who knows? This is not something we can guess. Whatever Madam does, she has her own reasons."

One tael of reward money was worth several months of savings. It felt heavy in Li Xian's hand, and he could not help feeling overjoyed.

"Money... This stuff is too important!"

After gaining a deeper understanding of "martial artists" and the "martial path," Li Xian discovered that martial artists could not simply abandon work.

The martial path was a bottomless pit. Tossing in hundreds or thousands of taels of silver might not even make a splash. One had to have a way to make money.

Otherwise, why would that "Madam Wen" bother managing this manor? Why maintain the operations of her family estate?

Those wandering heroes from his imagination, floating like immortals and roaming the world with carefree grace, might exist—but the vast majority could not live so freely.

When he returned to the dormitory.

Zhao Han and the others had already put out the lights and gone to sleep. Just as Li Xian raised his foot to step inside, he saw an overturned chair that happened to block his path.

He had noticed it long ago and was not truly tripped. He lightly stepped over it and set the chair upright.

Then he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

The next day.

Word of Li Xian's affair spread, but the morning training remained as immovable as thunder. This was the only time he could practice martial arts, and Li Xian treasured it the most.

Having learned yesterday's lesson.

While running around the manor, Li Xian ran one more lap than usual. His running speed was fast, but unfortunately, there was ultimately a limit.

Because snow had begun to fall.

The house guards were not in high spirits for martial practice. By the hour of the dragon, some guards had practiced their forms a few times before going to rest and prepare for their duty shifts.

Li Xian remained tirelessly diligent.

[Persevering without slackening, diligently practicing fists, proficiency +2]

[Strong-willed, refusing to follow the crowd, bound to become a great talent, proficiency +3]

After more than two hours of hard practice.

The proficiency of Four Directions Fist rose by another [78] points.

[Four Directions Fist]

[Proficiency: 812/1500 Minor Accomplishment]

"I do not seek to reach the heavens in a single step. I only seek to make a little progress every day!"

"What a pity Grade-D House Guards have too little time to practice martial arts. If I became a Grade-C House Guard..."

"Not only would there be less patrol duty, I would gain an extra hour every day to practice martial arts, and I could eat Grade-C Meals! Grade-C Meals have beef, mutton... They are much better than fatty pork!"

At that thought, he could not help swallowing.

When one's stomach was full, lustful thoughts arose. Now that he could eat his fill, he naturally wanted to eat better as well. And while he was at it, he wanted his younger brother to eat better too.

"The house guard competition is held once a month."

"It seems it is almost time. If not for that house guard competition, Jiang Yun would not have failed to advance further, nor would she have set her sights on my Tiger Blood Pill."

Li Xian's patrol duty was canceled again today.

With an ancient-looking "bronze bell" hanging at his waist, Pang Long followed the route Li Xian had taken last night.

"Commander Pang, if that thing appears, can you handle it?" Li Xian asked.

"I do not know, but with this bell, that demon will not dare show itself." Pang Long shook the bell.

A dull peal rang out, yet it carried an extremely long distance.

Pang Long said, "A single village brings in several hundred taels in rent. We cannot just throw it away like this."

"Madam bestowed this bell upon us and told us to walk the route once. If we find the rent money, we are to bring it back. If we see corpses, we are to bury them where they lie."

"At least they will not end up as lonely wandering ghosts."

Li Xian asked, "Commander Pang, do you know what it was now?"

"Sort of..." Pang Long looked at Li Xian. "I heard Madam mention it in passing."