Undercurrents

He Song's corpse remained at the morgue for two days.

The county yamen's coroner had examined it. He had died from the Mountain-Breaking Fist, his breastbone shattered and his organs severely damaged.

The person the He Family sent was He Yongchang, He Song's second uncle.

In his early fifties, he was the He Family's external affairs steward. He had a short beard and wore a dark gray robe. When he stood at the morgue entrance, his face showed no expression.

Behind him stood He Song's mother. Her eyes were swollen shut, and she had cried herself hoarse long ago.

He Yongchang lifted the white cloth and took a look.

He Song's face was gray, his lips purple. His chest had caved in by the size of a fist. The skin was unbroken, but every bone beneath it had shattered.

He Yongchang covered him with the white cloth again and turned to ask the coroner beside him, "When can we take him home?"

"Still need to wait a few days. The case isn't closed, and the murderer hasn't been found."

He Yongchang's face darkened, and he asked no more.

By the time people from the martial hall arrived, He Yongchang was preparing to leave.

The hall master, Xue Zhenshan, stepped through the morgue doors. His gray-white hair was tied behind his head, and he wore a dark blue robe with his sleeves rolled halfway up.

Behind him followed Ding Yong, Class C's instructor, with a short baton tucked at his waist.

He Yongchang cupped his hands. "Hall Master Xue."

"Steward He." Xue Zhenshan nodded, walked to the wooden board, lifted the white cloth, and looked for several breaths before sighing.

"Mountain-Breaking Fist," Xue Zhenshan said. "The boys from the martial hall told me earlier, but I didn't believe them. It's Zhao Xiong's unique fist art, somewhat similar to my Mountain-Suppressing Fist. When it strikes flesh, the skin remains intact while everything inside shatters. I've exchanged blows with Zhao Xiong before. There's no mistaking it."

He Yongchang stared at Xue Zhenshan. "What insight does Hall Master Xue have?"

Xue Zhenshan did not answer directly. After a moment of silence, he said, "This matter is rather strange. He Song spent two years at the martial hall. He was arrogant, yes, but not enough to make a mortal enemy outside. Why would the Azure Cloud Gang target someone in the Body-Tempering Realm?"

"What does Hall Master mean?"

"I mean nothing." Xue Zhenshan pulled the white cloth back into place. "Something has happened, and the dead man was from my Mountain-Suppressing Martial Hall. The martial hall will cooperate with the authorities and pursue this matter to the end. As for everything else, let's not draw conclusions yet."

He Yongchang understood. There was more beneath the hall master's words, but it was inconvenient to say more in front of the coroner.

He cupped his hands in thanks, then left with He Song's mother.

The morgue fell quiet. Xue Zhenshan stood beside the wooden board and looked twice more before turning to leave.

Ding Yong followed him. Only after they left did he speak. "Hall Master, He Song sparred with that new boy from the Sun Family in class the day before yesterday."

"I know."

"That boy—"

"Ding Yong." Xue Zhenshan stopped and glanced back at him. "You suspect that boy?"

Xue Zhenshan shook his head. "I noticed him. I secretly observed him before. He improves very quickly. When he first came to the martial hall, his Stake Stance was already at Major Accomplishment, and his Body Tempering had reached Major Accomplishment as well. Killing He Song and the other two would not have been difficult for him. But Zhou Yan has only learned our Mountain-Suppressing Fist, while He Song died from the Mountain-Breaking Fist. Judging from the method, it clearly wasn't merely Minor Accomplishment. Do you know how long it takes to train a fist art to Major Accomplishment?"

"Mountain-Suppressing Fist... ordinarily, it takes nearly five years to go from Minor Accomplishment to Major Accomplishment," Ding Yong murmured.

Xue Zhenshan said nothing.

After walking a short distance, he suddenly said, "Only Zhao Xiong can use the Mountain-Breaking Fist. Zhao Xiong wouldn't personally kill someone in the Body-Tempering Realm, so either he personally taught it to someone else, or someone obtained the manual."

Ding Yong's steps faltered.

Neither spoke again.

Blackwind Ridge.

The ruined temple stood halfway up the mountain. Its doors had long since disappeared, and rain had washed the earthen walls into a pitted mess.

The clay Buddha inside was missing half its head. One corner of the incense table had collapsed, and the ground was covered in a thick layer of dead leaves.

The Azure Cloud Gang found the place one afternoon.

Old Song led them. In his forties, he had worked for the gang for over a decade and was one of the few people Zhao Xiong trusted most.

He led his men in turning the ruined temple upside down. In the end, they dug up a pile of white bones beneath the incense table.

The ghastly bones had been scattered and pieced together haphazardly.

The skull lay crooked to one side, the spine was broken, and several ribs had snapped.

A partially decayed leather belt remained around the waist, with a jade pendant hanging from its buckle.

Old Song turned the jade pendant over.

It was fine Hetian jade, engraved with the character "Mo."

He squatted beside the pile of bones for a long time, then ordered his men to continue digging around the ruined temple.

One after another, they unearthed several more sets of bones, scattered beyond recognition.

But judging from the remaining black scraps of cloth, they appeared to be Black Tiger Hall uniforms.

Old Song wiped the jade pendant again and again, tucked it into his robe, had the bones gathered up, and rushed back to Qingyun County overnight.

Azure Cloud Gang main hall.

Zhao Mo's remains lay on the table, lined up neatly, with the jade pendant placed beside them.

Zhao Xiong sat in a grand chair, staring at those bones for nearly the time it took an incense stick to burn. His face showed no expression.

Standing beside him was the Azure Cloud Gang's other deputy leader, Sun Yanping, a tall, thin man with a goatee.

Qin Kun had been sent to inspect the other gangs and was already on his way back.

"The young leader is gone," Sun Yanping said quietly.

Zhao Xiong rose, walked to the table, crouched down, and gently touched the broken rib with one finger.

"Bring Old Gu."

Old Gu arrived quickly. He had once served as a county yamen coroner, but after being driven out, he had made a living taking private jobs among the gangs.

He crouched beside the remains and examined them back and forth for nearly half an hour. When he stood, his knees cracked loudly.

"A sharp weapon." Old Gu rubbed the dirt from his hands. "There are blade marks across the throat, cut through in one stroke. Here on the chest, the blade tip pierced in, leaving notches on the ribs. Counting the front and back, he took at least seven or eight cuts. It wasn't one person's work. The wounds vary in depth. At least three to five people surrounded and hacked at him. It seems the young leader was pursued for quite some time before he died. There are also traces of concealed weapons on the bones."

Zhao Xiong's Adam's apple bobbed, and several words burst from his mouth. "Black Tiger Hall."

"Mo'er encountered Black Tiger Hall people on Blackwind Ridge. They hacked him to death and took the fist manual from him."

Zhao Xiong stood, clasped his hands behind his back, and slowly paced two steps through the hall. "The ones who killed He Song in the alley were also from Black Tiger Hall. They obtained the Mountain-Breaking Fist a year ago and are now using it to frame our Azure Cloud Gang, making everyone think the Azure Cloud Gang is indiscriminately murdering innocents in the city."

The day before yesterday, the He Family had sent people to question them.

Zhao Xiong had actually been puzzled as well. The Mountain-Breaking Fist was his own martial art, and he had not even taught it to his trusted followers. How had it suddenly been used to kill someone from the He Family?

Sun Yanping nodded. "The leader's reasoning makes sense. The only people in the gang who could use the Mountain-Breaking Fist were the leader and the young leader. The young leader is gone, and the fist manual has vanished. Now that Mountain-Breaking Fist marks have appeared in the city, Black Tiger Hall must have taken the manual."

"But I am curious. To train the leader's Mountain-Breaking Fist to near Major Accomplishment in a single year, that person must be a martial arts genius as well."

Sun Yanping continued.

Old Gu stood to the side. His mouth opened, then closed, and he shrank back slightly.

Zhao Xiong stopped in the hall and raised his head to look at the old locust tree in the courtyard.

The wind rustled the leaves. After a long silence, he said, "Yanping, summon them."

Evening.

Seven or eight people sat in the Azure Cloud Gang's main hall.

The leader of the South City docks' boatmen, several shop owners from the West City market, and the chief escort of an escort agency.

These people normally relied on the Azure Cloud Gang for their livelihoods.

"Black Tiger Hall killed my son, stole my fist manual, and is now using the Mountain-Breaking Fist to murder people in the city and frame the Azure Cloud Gang."

Zhao Xiong swept his gaze over the room. "Do any of you have grievances with Black Tiger Hall?"

"I called you here today not to ask you to avenge my son. I am here to tell you one thing: if Black Tiger Hall dares to strike at the Azure Cloud Gang today, they will dare to move against you tomorrow. You know better than I do how great Lei Kun's appetite is. You all know about the Sun Family, don't you?"

The boatmen's leader spoke first. "Gang Leader Zhao, just say the word."

"It won't be enough with just us." Zhao Xiong shook his head. "Black Tiger Hall has Clerk Liu behind them. We can't beat them head-on."

Sun Yanping added from the side, "Leader, actually, the Sun Family..."

Zhao Xiong glanced at him.

"The Sun Family's eldest young master publicly beat Lei Kun's son to death. That feud cannot be resolved. The Sun Family Guard Corps has recruited dozens more men, and they have several in the Qi-Gathering Realm. They are deeply rooted in the county seat. If we can bring the Sun Family in..."

"I have no ties with the Sun Family," Zhao Xiong cut him off. "Send someone to invite them. If they come, all the better. If they don't, we lose nothing."

Not long afterward, someone from the Sun Family arrived.

It was not the family head, but the Sun Family's third master, Sun Wenli.

Sun Wenli was in his early thirties, wearing a plain-colored robe. He had gentle features and spoke at an unhurried pace.

After entering the Azure Cloud Gang's main hall, he exchanged a few polite words first, saying his eldest brother was unwell and unable to leave home, so he had sent him to listen.

Zhao Xiong did not fuss over it and said what needed to be said.

After listening, Sun Wenli pondered for a long while, then picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip.

"Gang Leader Zhao, aside from you and the young leader, is there truly no one else who can use the Mountain-Breaking Fist?"

"No," Zhao Xiong said. "It is the Azure Cloud Gang's exclusive fist art, passed to sons, not sons-in-law."

Sun Wenli nodded, set down his teacup, and dipped his head slightly. "If you intend to deal with that old fox Lei Kun, our Sun Family can contribute some strength. But how we fight, where we fight, and when we make our move—I must return and discuss all of it with my eldest brother."

Zhao Xiong cupped his hands. "I'll trouble Third Master Sun to pass along the message. The Azure Cloud Gang will await word from the Sun Family."

Sun Wenli rose, cupped his hands, and turned to leave.

Class C, Room Twelve.

The door was shut, the window half-covered, and a faint medicinal scent drifted through the room.

Zhou Yan stood in the middle of the room, feet spread apart, lowering his waist and sinking into his stance—the Mountain-Settling Stance.

Over the past few days, he had used four doses of Body-Tempering Decoction, and his Stake Stance had risen rapidly.

[Mountain-Settling Stance: Major Accomplishment 192/300]

It jumped again.

[Mountain-Settling Stance: Major Accomplishment 196/300]

He withdrew his stance and rolled his shoulder blades. His joints cracked twice. He rolled up his sleeves and looked at his arms. The flesh was taut and firm, impossible to pinch. After being tempered again and again by the Body-Tempering Decoction, he was drawing closer and closer to Perfection.

Mountain-Breaking Fist.

With every punch, the qi and blood within his body surged.

The force of the Mountain-Breaking Fist was completely different from the Mountain-Suppressing Fist. The Mountain-Suppressing Fist drove qi downward, while the Mountain-Breaking Fist blasted it outward.

When he threw a punch, the qi and blood throughout his body seemed to ignite, burning from his dantian to every limb and bone.

When he drew back his third punch, words surfaced in his vision, making him beam with joy.

[Mountain-Breaking Fist: Major Accomplishment 1/300]

Major Accomplishment!

Zhou Yan slowly unclenched his fist. He stared at the words on the panel for a breath, then dropped back into the Mountain-Settling Stance.

He opened the final dose of Body-Tempering Decoction, removed his clothes, and soaked in the bath barrel.

Zhou Yan closed his eyes, his forehead drenched in sweat.

A thin sheen of oil floated on the water. Its color was much lighter than before, and the medicinal power was being absorbed quickly.

[Mountain-Settling Stance: Major Accomplishment 199/300]

Once the medicinal power had been fully absorbed, Zhou Yan put his clothes back on and resumed his stance, feet spread apart, lowering his waist and sinking his hips. His qi sank downward before immediately rising again.

Two quarter-hours later.

[Mountain-Settling Stance: Major Accomplishment 200/300]

Body Tempering Perfection!

The sound of the night watchman's clapper came from beyond the window. It was already the third watch.

Zhou Yan withdrew his stance, sat on the edge of the bed, and took a wooden box from his bundle.

Inside the wooden box was the mountain ginseng he had previously found on Blackwind Ridge!