A Long Journey

At noon, Mountain-Suppressing Martial Hall.

Zhao Shan rode back from the estate outside the city, dusty from travel and drenched in sweat.

The bluestone steps outside the martial hall had been baked scorching hot by the sun. He casually tied his horse to a stone post by the entrance, wiped his face, and walked inside.

Seeing a sturdy man approach, the gatekeeper hurriedly stopped him and asked whom he was looking for.

"I'm from the Sun Family. I'm looking for Zhou Yan from Class C," Zhao Shan said. "I'm his brother-in-law."

The gatekeeper sized him up. He was a dark-faced, burly man with a short saber at his waist. He did not look like he was here to cause trouble, so the gatekeeper pointed inside.

Besides, who would dare come to a martial hall looking for trouble?

As Zhao Shan crossed the training ground in the front courtyard, Class C was practicing stances.

A dozen or so disciples stood in a row while Ding Yong walked among them with a bamboo rod in hand.

Zhao Shan spotted Zhou Yan at once. His brother-in-law wore the martial hall's gray short robe and stood firmly in a corner. The childishness had long faded from his face; he was completely different from the farmhand in hemp clothes he had been a few months ago.

He stood at the edge of the training ground without making a sound.

Ding Yong noticed him first and rested the bamboo rod across his knee. "Who are you looking for?"

"Zhou Yan."

Ding Yong glanced back at Zhou Yan and jerked his chin.

Zhou Yan ended his stance and walked over. When he saw Zhao Shan, he froze for a moment.

"Brother-in-law?"

Zhao Shan looked him up and down, then a smile slowly spread across his dark face. He slapped Zhou Yan on the shoulder.

"Good lad! When did you reach Body Tempering? You even joined Mountain-Suppressing Martial Hall!" Zhao Shan beamed. "I trained for two years and still failed to enter Body Tempering, yet you made it in barely half a year after coming here. Martial arts really depend on talent. Comparing people really can drive you mad!"

"A few months ago." Zhou Yan rubbed his shoulder. "Are you still outside the city, Brother-in-law?"

"Damn it, I've been running around the estates with the Second Young Master for nearly three months. I only got back to the city today. I went to the Guard Corps to find you, and Manager Feng said you'd broken through to Body Tempering and transferred to the martial hall months ago. I didn't believe him at first." Zhao Shan gave Zhou Yan another look and shook his head. "You really hid it well, kid. When I brought you into the city last time, you hadn't even touched the threshold of Body Tempering. How long has it been?"

"Just luck, just luck," Zhou Yan said.

In truth, he had already reached Body Tempering before entering the city. He had simply been afraid that revealing it would invite trouble, so he had kept it hidden.

"Bullshit. There's no such thing as luck in martial arts." Zhao Shan grinned, his eyes shining. "If your eldest sister knew, she'd be so happy she'd cry. Come on, let's find somewhere to sit. I came to see you about something important."

The two left the martial hall and found a tea stall at the street corner.

The stall was set beneath a locust tree, with two old tables and several long benches. The proprietress came over with a copper kettle and poured them each a bowl of cold tea.

Zhao Shan lifted his bowl and gulped down half of it, then wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

"Your eldest sister has been talking about you a lot lately." Zhao Shan set down his bowl. "She was afraid you'd suffer in the Guard Corps and afraid others would bully you. She even argued with me last month, insisting I return to the city to see you. I told her I couldn't leave the Second Young Master's side, and she smashed a bowl."

Zhou Yan smiled. "Eldest Sister still has that temper."

"Your eldest sister? Back when I went into the mountains to hunt, she blocked me at the village entrance and insisted I take her along. When I refused, she followed me herself and nearly got gored by a wild boar. Who could possibly handle that temper?" Zhao Shan laughed at his own words, then took another gulp of tea. "But she truly cares about you. She never says anything about the Zhou Family's mess, but she's always kept it bottled up inside. If you can make something of yourself, she'll be happier than anyone."

Zhou Yan did not respond.

He picked up his tea bowl and took a sip. The cold tea went down his throat with a slight bitterness.

His eldest sister, Zhou Xing, was the only person who had ever truly treated him well. He had known that since Willow Village.

"Brother-in-law, you said you had important business?"

At that, Zhao Shan set his tea bowl on the table and lost his smile.

"The Sun Family has a mission." He leaned forward and lowered his voice. "The Third Young Master and Fourth Young Lady of the main family line are heading to Qinghe City. Their maternal family lives there. Qinghe City is at least half a month's journey from Qingyun County, and there's a stretch of Mountain Road in between that hasn't been peaceful these past two years. The Sun Family Guard Corps has already sent a group to escort them, but the Second Young Master is worried there won't be enough hands, so he sent me to the martial hall to find a few more Body Tempering and Qi Gathering martial artists."

"I was worrying over whom to choose." Zhao Shan glanced at Zhou Yan. "I never expected you to have broken through to the Body-Tempering Realm. You're just right for the job."

Zhou Yan did not answer immediately. He slowly turned the tea bowl in his hands twice.

It was true that he needed silver.

Yesterday, he had less than two taels left in his pocket. Before long, he probably would not even be able to keep up his supply of Body-Tempering Decoction.

Besides, he had discovered that actual combat increased his strength through the system much faster than hard training did.

A journey of half a month—if the road really was unsafe, then it would be a ready-made opportunity for real combat.

"When do we leave?" Zhou Yan asked.

"Three days from now." Seeing that he had agreed, Zhao Shan smiled again. "The Third Young Master, Sun Wenyue, is steady-tempered and easy to get along with. The Fourth Young Lady, Sun Wenyao, is a gentle and refined young lady from a good family. She's very clever, not the spoiled sort. You won't lose out traveling with them."

"Will there be anyone besides the Guard Corps and people from the martial hall?"

"There'll also be an old steward and two maids, one for the Third Young Master and one for the Fourth Young Lady." Zhao Shan counted on his fingers. "The Guard Corps is sending eight people. Including you, the martial hall side needs one more Qi-Gathering Realm martial artist. A dozen or so people in total. That's enough."

Zhou Yan nodded.

"Oh, right." Zhao Shan suddenly remembered something. He pulled a small cloth bundle from his chest, placed it on the table, and pushed it over. "Your eldest sister asked me to bring this. She was afraid you weren't eating enough."

Zhou Yan opened the bundle.

Inside were several dried flatbreads and a small packet of pickled vegetables, tightly tied with hemp string.

The flatbreads were already a little hard, and several corners had crumbled. They had clearly been jostled during the journey.

These dried flatbreads had been his favorite food when he was little. Back then, the family had been poor, and he had rarely received any.

His eldest sister had been unwilling to eat hers and secretly saved several for him.

He wrapped the bundle back up and tucked it into his chest.

"Thank Eldest Sister for me."

"What's there to thank? We're family." Zhao Shan stood up and touched the hilt of his saber at his waist. "Three days from now, at dawn. We'll meet at the east gate."

After saying that, Zhao Shan strode away, swung onto his horse, and headed toward the east side of the city to the clatter of hooves.

Zhou Yan remained at the tea stall for a while longer. After finishing the rest of his cold tea, he stood and headed back toward the martial hall.

Three days!

That was enough time to settle what he had on hand. He had one dose of Body-Tempering Decoction left, which he would soak in tonight.

He would continue practicing Mountain-Suppressing Fist and Mountain-Breaking Fist every night. Before departure, he could still gain a few more points.

As he turned past the street corner, he could see the flagpole of Heavenly Peak Martial Arts Hall in the distance. The character "Peak" was embroidered on its banner, snapping loudly in the wind.

Zhou Hong and Zhou Tiezhu were beneath that banner.

However, Zhou Yan did not look in that direction and turned directly into the alley leading to Mountain-Suppressing Martial Hall.

Three days later, at dawn.

The sky had not yet fully brightened, and the clouds in the east had only just been stained gray-white.

A group had already gathered outside the city gate.

Three carriages stood beside the official road. The lead carriage had a broad cabin draped in blue curtains and belonged to the main family.

The two behind it carried luggage and attendants. The drivers sat on the shafts yawning, while the horses flicked their tails at flies.

The eight members of the Guard Corps had already arrived, all dressed in fitted blue outfits with long sabers at their waists. Water skins and bags of dried provisions hung from their saddles.

The old steward stood beside the carriages, checking the supplies while muttering through a list.

When Zhou Yan arrived, Zhao Shan was speaking with a young man.

The man was in his early twenties and not particularly tall. He practiced a hard-body technique, with sharply defined features. Whenever he clenched his fists, his knuckles cracked loudly. His arms were thicker than an ordinary person's thighs, his neck so thick it seemed to merge into his chin, and a wooden token from Mountain-Suppressing Martial Hall's Class B hung at his waist.

When Zhao Shan saw Zhou Yan, he beckoned him over.

Zheng Tong glanced at Zhou Yan and chuckled. "Ha, so it's Brother Zhou. I saw you at the martial hall before. You really kept yourself hidden. I didn't expect you to actually beat He Song. Maybe in a year or two, I'll see you in the Class B Courtyard."

"You flatter me. I still have to thank Senior Brother Zheng for your reminder that day." Zhou Yan nodded as well.

Movement came from the carriages.

The Third Young Master, Sun Wenyue, leaned half his body out of the blue-curtained carriage. He was around twenty-three or twenty-four, dressed in a dark-blue long robe, with a steady face and an unhurried manner of speech. He swept his gaze over the group and said something to the old steward. The steward nodded and wrote it down. Then the Fourth Young Lady, Sun Wenyao, also lifted the curtain and looked outside. She was sixteen or seventeen, dressed in a plain silk skirt, with delicate features. After looking for a moment, she lowered the curtain again.

The lead captain swung onto his horse, pulled the reins tight, and rode a circle in front of the group.

After checking the headcount, the old steward gave the lead captain a signal.

"Move out!"

The whip cracked sharply through the air. Wheels rolled over the gravel on the official road, creaking as they headed east.

The gates of Qingyun County gradually shrank behind them and disappeared into the morning mist.

Zhou Yan rode in the middle of the group and looked toward the end of the official road.