Joining the Guard

Early the next morning, Zhao Shan led Zhou Yan toward the east side of the city.

The Sun Family estate occupied nearly half a street in the east of the city. Its blue-brick walls stood over ten feet high, topped with black tiles.

The main gate spanned three bays, with two stone lions standing before it. Four guards in dark gray clothes, swords at their waists, stood on the steps.

Zhao Shan did not go through the main gate.

Instead, he circled around to the side gate, greeted the men there, and led Zhou Yan inside.

They passed through a two-courtyard compound.

The courtyard was paved with blue stone slabs. A row of stone locks and weapon racks lined the base of the walls.

Several guards were sweeping the ground. A middle-aged man in a gray shirt was practicing punches before a huge vat, his fist wind thudding dully.

Zhao Shan lowered his voice. "They're only guards. They're short on people right now, so anyone recommended by one of their own can get in just by signing up."

"But joining the guard squad is only the first step. The instructors inside only teach Stake Stance. Only if you make something of your stance work will you have a chance to enter the Sun Family Martial School and formally learn martial arts. If you can't manage it, then you're destined to spend your whole life guarding doors and watching courtyards. Don't get your hopes up too high. I practiced for a year and never got anywhere myself."

Zhou Yan nodded. He had not told anyone that he had entered the Body-Tempering Realm.

For a poor farmer's child to reach the Body-Tempering Realm without anyone's guidance was simply impossible.

The guard squad's management office was in the west wing of the second courtyard.

Zhao Shan stepped forward, said a few words to the leader with a smile, and pointed at Zhou Yan.

Manager Feng was around forty. His eyes were shrewd as he sat at the table leafing through a register, then looked up and swept his gaze over Zhou Yan.

"Name."

"Zhou Yan."

"Age."

"Sixteen."

"Where are you from?"

"Willow Village outside the city."

Manager Feng dipped his brush in ink and wrote a few strokes in the register. Then he asked, "Have you practiced martial arts before?"

"No!" Zhou Yan answered.

"Hm. Go to Squad Seven."

Manager Feng asked no further questions. He closed the register and called an old guard in. "Old Liu, take him to collect his things."

Old Liu was in his fifties, with a slightly hunched back. He answered and led Zhou Yan to the storeroom.

Two sets of dark gray fitted clothes, a pair of cloth boots, and a long saber.

Old Liu shoved the items into Zhou Yan's hands. "Try the clothes on."

His lodgings were arranged on the back street.

Leaving through the Sun Family estate's side gate, they walked for less than half an incense stick before entering a narrow alley, where two rows of single-story houses stood pressed together.

There were seven or eight rooms, all rented by the Sun Family for its guards.

Old Liu pushed open the door to one of them.

Inside was a row of connected sleeping platforms, enough for ten men. Several thin blankets had been tossed across them in every direction.

Four guards were in the room.

One was dozing against the wall, while three were playing cards on the platform.

They gave Old Liu a cold glance, then looked Zhou Yan over without saying a word and continued playing cards.

Old Liu pointed to the empty platform at the very back. "Everyone in Squad Seven lives in this room. No one's using that spot."

Then he left.

Zhou Yan set his cloth bundle on the platform.

Zhao Shan stood in the doorway without entering.

"I'm over at Second Young Master's courtyard. I don't live with you all. Second Young Master has many affairs, so I can't get away." He patted the doorframe.

"Train honestly. Only when you master the Stake Stance will you have a way forward."

Zhao Shan nodded, turned, and left. His heavy footsteps thudded against the stone slabs in the alley.

Training began that very afternoon.

The training ground lay behind the Sun Family estate and was more than three times the size of Willow Village's grain-drying yard.

The ground was paved with blue stone slabs, worn smooth and gleaming.

More than twenty people stood on the field.

Zhou Yan swept his gaze over them. Some were around his age, while others were in their early twenties.

Some stood ramrod straight, while others hunched at the waist. A fat man in the front row had only stood for a short while before wiping sweat with his sleeve.

Instructor Han arrived.

He was around forty, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, carrying a gust of wind with every step.

His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, exposing forearms knotted with muscle.

He stopped before the group and swept his gaze over them one by one.

When his eyes reached Zhou Yan, they paused for a moment.

After coughing a few times, he began speaking. His voice was not loud, yet every word struck their ears like a hammer.

"My surname is Han. From now on, I am your instructor."

"The guard squad does not teach fist techniques or saber techniques. It teaches only one thing: the Mountain-Settling Stance!"

"Stake Stance is the foundation. If your foundation isn't solid, learning anything else is useless. Practice your stance well, and when you learn fist techniques or saber techniques in the future, you'll be a step ahead of everyone else."

He paused. "Those who reach minor mastery in Stake Stance may have hope of breaking through to the Body-Tempering Realm."

"Once you reach the Body-Tempering Realm, the martial halls under the Sun Family will make an exception and take you in. You can formally study martial arts, gain cultivation methods, receive medicinal baths, and have instructors teach you hand in hand."

"If you can't manage it..."

Instructor Han pointed his thumb at the surrounding wall behind him.

"Then you're destined to guard doors and watch courtyards for the rest of your lives. Food and lodging are provided, so you won't be losing out. But don't think about climbing any higher."

The field fell silent in an instant.

Instructor Han wasted no more words. He turned and assumed a stance.

"Watch carefully."

He set his feet shoulder-width apart, bent his knees slightly, and sank his spine downward one vertebra at a time.

The movement was not fast, but every inch of it was as steady as nails driven into the ground.

"There are only eight words to the Mountain-Settling Stance: sink qi into the dantian, nail your feet to the earth."

"As your body lowers, your qi follows it down. Only when qi sinks can your lower body become stable. Only with stability below can you have roots."

"All of you, try it!"

More than twenty people followed him into position.

At once, every sort of posture appeared: knees bent too deeply, waists too stiff, feet spread too far apart.

Instructor Han walked through them one by one, wrenching shoulders, kicking knees, and pressing down on lower backs.

When he reached the fat fellow, the man's legs were shaking like a sieve full of chaff, sweat dripping from his chin.

Instructor Han glanced at him. "Stand straight. What are you shaking for?"

"My... my legs are sore."

"Good. If they weren't sore, it wouldn't be foundation-building Stake Stance."

Then he walked up to a tall, skinny man.

The man stood crookedly, his knees nearly pressed together. Instructor Han kicked him in the shin, and he dropped to his knees with a thud.

"Get up. Start over," Instructor Han said coldly.

When he reached Zhou Yan, he saw him standing as instructed, knees slightly bent and spine sinking.

Instructor Han gave him a look and nodded. "Not bad."

Zhou Yan felt settled.

The Mountain-Settling Stance was largely similar to the Basic Stance Art he had practiced before.

There were a few minor adjustments to the breathing rhythm, and the distribution of weight was more refined. It contained a few more solid techniques than the Basic Stance Art.

But for someone who had already reached the Body-Tempering Realm, the difference was almost nonexistent.

When others' legs shook, his shook along with them.

When others could not last past a quarter of an hour, he endured for one and a half quarters.

One extra cup of tea's time, no more and no less.

Slightly better than ordinary people, but not outstanding.

A line of text surfaced in his vision.

[Mountain-Settling Stance: Beginner 1/100]

Then it shrank back.

After standing for nearly half an hour, half the newcomers had collapsed.

The fat fellow lay flat on the ground, his chest rising and falling rapidly.

Instructor Han did not scold them. Clearly accustomed to the sight, he swept his gaze around. "Continue tomorrow. Dismissed."

Dinner was served in the guard squad's mess hall.

Mixed-grain porridge, pickled vegetables, and one coarse flour bun per person.

Zhou Yan held his bowl and squatted by the wall.

A skinny man came over with a bowl in hand. His skin was dark and yellowish, his cheekbones protruded, and crumbs clung to the corner of his mouth.

"Hey, newcomer?"

Zhou Yan nodded.

"My name's Ma Wu. I got here three days before you." Ma Wu dipped his bun into the porridge. "Where are you from?"

"Willow Village."

"That village outside the city?" Ma Wu nodded. "I'm from Li Family Village, right next to yours."

He took a bite of the bun and said indistinctly, "Did you see that scene today? More than twenty new people. The Sun Family is truly short on hands."

A man squatting nearby and drinking porridge chimed in, "More than a dozen people died fighting Black Tiger Hall last month. How could they not replenish their numbers? I heard the north street has become restless again."

Someone else leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Those bastards from Black Tiger Hall fight dirty. They specifically target Sun Family men who are alone. Last month, several brothers from Squad Three were blocked in an alley and had their legs broken. Good thing reinforcements arrived in time, or they wouldn't even have kept their lives."

"Who did they provoke?"

"They're just unlucky. Walking around in Sun Family guard uniforms got them recognized."

"So do we have to change clothes whenever we go out from now on?"

"You think changing clothes will solve anything? Black Tiger Hall's people aren't blind."

Ma Wu waved his hand. "Enough, enough. Don't scare the newcomer. This part of the west side is Sun Family territory. Black Tiger Hall's people don't dare come here. Besides, when the sky falls, the tall ones hold it up. Small fry like us aren't worth their attention."

He turned to Zhou Yan, wiggling his brows. "Brother, I thought your stance was pretty good. Have you trained before?"

"I've done farm work since I was little. My lower body is steady. I was just lucky."

Ma Wu chuckled and did not press further. He leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Let me tell you something. I heard the Sun Family's Fourth Young Master has recently been collecting a batch of goods. Some people from the guard squad will be chosen to accompany it. It's a lucrative assignment, and the allowance is even higher than the monthly pay. If you've got connections, you should pull some strings."

Zhou Yan gave a soft sound of acknowledgment.

"You have connections?"

"No."

Ma Wu clicked his tongue. "What a pity. Then let's just practice our stances honestly."

During the day, he had seen the new kid arrive with a favorite attendant of Second Young Master.

He had thought there was something special about him. That was why he had deliberately come over to strike up a conversation that night, only to find he was just an ordinary person too.

On the east side of the city lay the Azure Cloud Gang's main headquarters.

It was a three-courtyard compound. An Azure Cloud Gang flag hung above the gate, white with azure patterns and an azure cloud at its center.

The candles in the main hall burned brightly.

Gang Leader Zhao Xiong sat in a grand master's chair.

He was a little over forty, with a square face, a broad mouth, and a pair of gloomy hawk eyes.

He wore an azure satin robe. His knuckles were thick, and his joints were covered in old calluses.

His fingers tapped against the tabletop again and again.

Two people stood before him. One was Vice Gang Leader Qin Kun, not yet forty, fair-faced and with a short beard.

The other was a scout who had just returned from Blackwind Ridge, still carrying the earthy scent of the mountains.

"Still no news?" Zhao Xiong asked.

The scout lowered his head. "Reporting to Gang Leader, we searched Blackwind Ridge twice. Hall Master Lei and the four men he took with him have not been found."

Zhao Xiong's fingers stopped. He looked at Qin Kun. "How long has it been since Lei Bao entered the mountains?"

Qin Kun said, "Nearly a month."

"One month!" Zhao Xiong chewed over those words.

"Four men, one month. Not even a single bone found." He raised his eyes, and there was not a glimmer of light in those hawk eyes.

Qin Kun did not respond. The scout's back tightened.

Zhao Xiong rose and walked to the wall, where a map of Qingyun County hung.

The east side of the city was colored azure, the north side black, and the docks were marked with a red circle.

He paused. "I'm afraid the odds are stacked against them. They've all been wiped out."

Qin Kun hesitated. "Could it have been Black Tiger Hall...?"

The candle flame flickered.

Zhao Xiong did not answer. Instead, he changed the subject. "How is the situation in the city lately?"

Qin Kun drew a deep breath. "At the docks, Black Tiger Hall's men seized two cargo ships in the first half of the month. Six of our brothers were injured, though only lightly. Black Tiger Hall probably does not want to become our enemy. It's just that the goods on those ships belonged to the Sun Family and were worth quite a bit of silver."

"There have been too many coincidences. Half a year ago, Mo'er also disappeared in Blackwind Ridge. A month ago, Lei Bao did too. When coincidences pile up, something is wrong. I had people investigate. When Lei Bao disappeared, people from the White Cloud Martial Hall had also entered the mountains, and they disappeared as well," Zhao Xiong said.

Qin Kun shook his head. "An instructor surnamed Zhou from the White Cloud Martial Hall went into the mountains to search. He said there were no leads."

Zhao Xiong lifted his teacup. "Too much has happened this past year."

"These things crashing together don't feel like a coincidence."

Qin Kun asked, "Then we...?"

"Send a few sharp ones to search Blackwind Ridge again," Zhao Xiong said. "This time, don't search openly. Find some unfamiliar faces, disguise them as hunters, and send them into the mountains. Focus on places where bodies might have been buried. Mo'er and Lei Bao are already dead. Find the corpses first!"

"Steady things in the city for now. As for Black Tiger Hall, send people to keep watch and see what they plan to do next."

Qin Kun nodded. "Yes."

The spy withdrew first.

Qin Kun turned to leave as well, but when he reached the door, Zhao Xiong called after him.

"Qin Kun."

"Tell me, is the person who killed my son still in Blackwind Ridge?"

"I suddenly remembered something. A rumor."

"Several hundred years ago, there was a sect in Blackwind Ridge. Ever since that sect vanished overnight, strange things have happened there without end."

The candle flame jumped again, casting half of Zhao Xiong's face in light and half in shadow.

After Qin Kun left, Zhao Xiong was the only one remaining in the main hall.

The wind blew in, making the candle flame sway. It nearly went out, and Zhao Xiong reached out to shield it.

He stared at that tiny flame.

After a long while, he muttered to himself, "Don't let me find you."

Zhou Yan lay awake on the hard plank bed.

He went over everything that had happened today in his mind.

The Mountain-Settling Stance was stronger than the Basic Stance Art. He had discovered that the system could slowly transfer the Basic Stance Art's progress to the Mountain-Settling Stance.

Based on the time he spent standing each day, he estimated that he would reach minor mastery in a few days.

It would take less than a month to reach major mastery. Perfection was not far off either!

As for the Mountain-Breaking Fist in his hands, Zhou Yan planned to keep it under wraps for now.

He absolutely could not reveal it on Sun Family territory. Lei Bao could recognize it, and so could the Azure Cloud Gang members.

He turned over.

Someone coughed in the alley outside the window, while the distant clapper of the night watch carried over, one strike after another.

Soon.

He just had to endure a while longer.

Once he trained his Stake Stance to major mastery, he could enter the Sun Family Martial School.

He could not use the Mountain-Breaking Fist, but the Sun Family Martial School had no shortage of martial arts he could use.