Take Care of Yourself

Fang Han slept like the dead.

He leaned against the wall, head tilted to one side, a glistening thread of drool hanging from the corner of his mouth, his breathing even and deep.

His whole body was slumped crookedly in the corner of the training ground, completely motionless.

He had gone two nights without sleep, grinding fist technique proficiency like mad.

No matter how potent the medicinal power of Solomon's Seal root was, it could not withstand Fang Han pushing himself so relentlessly for proficiency.

Lin Rou emerged from the Inner Court and happened to pass by the corner of the training ground. Hearing Fang Han's steady snoring, she stopped short, her pretty face instantly going blank.

Instead of training, Fang Han was actually hiding here to sleep?

She stood before Fang Han and looked down at him, her brows drawing tighter and tighter.

Then a sharp glint appeared in Lin Rou's eyes as she coldly shouted:

"Fang Han!"

The surrounding apprentices sensed some drama brewing and stopped practicing their fists one after another, turning curious eyes in this direction.

Startled awake by the rebuke, Fang Han jerked and abruptly opened his eyes.

He looked up in confusion and happened to see Lin Rou's frosty face. Instinctively, he wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth.

"Senior Sister Lin?"

"You certainly sleep soundly."

Lin Rou looked down at him, her tone cold enough to freeze water.

"Do you know what time it is? Do you know what everyone else is doing?"

Fang Han followed the direction of her finger. Dozens of apprentices were practicing fist techniques on the training ground, sweating profusely.

He opened his mouth, wanting to explain.

But Lin Rou gave him no chance, saying word by word, "It was already not easy for your family to scrape together the tuition. Your whole family tightened their belts to send you here to learn martial arts.

And this is how you repay them? Sleeping in the martial hall and wasting your time for nothing?"

Lin Rou's words left Fang Han speechless.

Seeing him like this, Lin Rou became even more furious at his failure to live up to expectations and utterly disappointed. After tossing out a "Take care of yourself," she swung her ponytail and turned away.

Fang Han watched her receding back and shook his head, too lazy to explain further.

Senior Sister Lin had misunderstood him, but she meant well.

Still, some things did not need to be explained in detail to outsiders.

He got to his feet and stretched his arms, which had gone stiff from sleeping.

After sleeping for an afternoon, more than half the fatigue in his body had faded.

Just as he was about to wash his face and clear his head, a fat figure hurried toward him.

"Junior Brother Fang!"

Wei Zixiong's fat face was piled with smiles. Seeing that no other apprentices were looking over, he swiftly pulled a porcelain bottle from his robe.

"Three Blood-Qi Pills. They're all inside."

Fang Han took the bottle and pulled out the stopper. A rich medicinal fragrance rushed into his nose.

Looking inside, he saw three brown pills resting at the bottom.

The richness of this medicinal aroma truly marked them as good stuff!

Fang Han silently praised them, then wasted no words and directly took out one tael of silver to hand to Wei Zixiong.

Seeing Fang Han complete the transaction so readily, Wei Zixiong accepted the silver with a beaming smile.

"Junior Brother Fang, you're a straightforward man! If you need Blood-Qi Pills in the future, just come find me. I won't boast about anything else, but when it comes to this business, you can count on me."

"Of course, Senior Brother Wei."

Fang Han put away the porcelain bottle and casually went along with him.

He only needed the nourishment of medicinal materials like Blood-Qi Pills right now, so he could train his fists efficiently at high speed.

Once he passed the martial hall's assessment and became an Inner-Court Direct Disciple, he would naturally get a note from the hall master and purchase medicine himself.

Wouldn't five Blood-Qi Pills for one tael of silver be more worthwhile than Wei Zixiong's three?

Seeing that it was already late, Fang Han did not plan to practice at the martial hall any longer.

After changing clothes, he hid the porcelain bottle close to his body and left the martial hall.

He did not leave with Li Daniu, lest Zhou Dabao's men spot them.

After leaving the martial hall, he headed toward Mud Bay Alley. When he reached its entrance, his steps paused.

A figure stood at the alley entrance—it was one of Zhou Dabao's bald-headed lackeys!

That guy had failed to follow him this morning, yet now he was actually lying in wait for him at the alley entrance!

Fang Han's gaze turned cold.

At that moment, the bald man also spotted Fang Han in the distance. He quickly turned his head aside, pretending not to see him.

But anyone could tell there was something wrong with his furtive behavior.

Fang Han withdrew his gaze and continued forward.

The bald man followed behind him, neither too close nor too far away.

The closer he got to home, the stronger the killing intent quietly rising in Fang Han's heart became.

With someone watching him all day long like this, he could not do anything, much less go to the martial hall.

Every move he made after leaving home was under Zhou Dabao's watchful eye.

If this continued, Zhou Dabao would sooner or later discover that he had money to join the martial hall, causing even more trouble.

Zhou Dabao... had earned himself a death sentence!

He had to deal with him!

Fang Han thought as he walked, never slowing his pace.

Just then, the sky suddenly darkened.

He looked up. At some unknown point, great swaths of dark clouds had rolled in, and faint thunder rumbled from within them.

It was going to rain.

Fang Han quickened his pace, and the bald man tailing him quickened his as well.

Before Fang Han reached his front door, a thunderclap boomed. Raindrops as large as beans suddenly came pelting down.

The rain grew fiercer and denser, quickly forming a curtain of water.

Fang Han rushed into his courtyard, then glanced back. The bald man had vanished.

With the rain suddenly coming down so heavily, the other man had probably found somewhere to take shelter.

Fang Han narrowed his eyes, and a cold gleam flashed through them.

Rain was good!

A rainy night was perfect for ambushing Zhou Dabao.

Just as Fang Han had expected, the rain outside did not weaken even after his family had all gone to sleep.

Inside the room, he rolled over and sat up, pulling a bundle from beneath the bed.

He opened it and checked its contents one by one under the dim yellow light of a fish-oil lamp.

Inside was a set of worn black coarse-cloth shirt and trousers, barely passable as night clothing, which he had bought on the way home yesterday;

A cloth pouch that could hang from his waist, heavy with fine river sand;

Since he could not get lime, he would use fine sand instead;

A woodcutter's knife with a sharpened edge;

And finally, two wooden boards that could be strapped tightly against his front and back, able to block blades and absorb force at critical moments.

"I had originally planned to act only after the Gale-Breaking Fist reached Minor Accomplishment. But now that I have condensed two strands of Blood Qi,

the strength boosted by two strands of Blood Qi is enough to give me the power to ambush Zhou Dabao.

Best of all would be taking out him and his few lackeys in one sweep!"

Fang Han stretched his limbs and thought to himself.

Listening to the faint snores coming from next door, he took off his clothes, firmly strapped the two wooden boards to his chest and back, then put on the black coarse-cloth outfit.

He slung the woodcutter's knife across his back, where he could draw it at any time.

The bag of fine river sand hung at his waist, its knot easy to untie. With a reach of his hand, he could grab a fistful and throw it into someone's eyes.

Once all his preparations were complete.

Fang Han walked out of the room. Rain struck him head-on, instantly soaking his clothes.

Standing in the rain, he looked up at the pitch-black night sky, then turned his gaze toward Four Waters Ward.

By sheer coincidence, he knew where Zhou Dabao's residence was!

"A dark and windy night is the time for murder and arson. A rainy night truly is perfect weather for killing."

Fang Han took a deep breath and stepped into the rain curtain, his figure quickly disappearing into the night.