An Unexpected Encounter

When Lu Fan arrived at Blackstone Martial Hall, its gates were tightly shut.

At this hour in the past, the gates would have long been open, and the front courtyard should already have been ringing with the students' shouts as they practiced their punches.

Yet now, the outer courtyard was completely deserted, and not even the faintest sound came from the inner courtyard.

Lu Fan circled around to the back entrance.

The back door was ajar. Someone had clearly already gone inside.

After passing through an empty corridor, he reached Zhang Yao's room deep within the inner courtyard.

The door stood open, and Zhang Yao was seated at his desk, reviewing documents.

Unlike usual, this Dark Force expert, whose back had always been straight as a blade's spine, now had slightly hunched shoulders. The old scar between his brows looked especially deep beneath the lamplight.

"Old Lu?" Hearing the footsteps, Zhang Yao raised his head. The dark circles beneath his eyes were heavy as two bruises.

He put down his brush and stood up. "What brings you here?"

"Hall Master, isn't the hall opening today?"

"Mm, something came up. The martial hall is closed today and tomorrow. Old Lu, take a couple of days off."

Zhang Yao waved a hand, speaking as casually as though it were some insignificant matter.

Lu Fan did not press him.

He nodded and was about to leave when Zhang Yao suddenly called out to him.

"Old Lu."

Lu Fan stopped and turned back.

Zhang Yao looked at him, his lips moving before he finally said, "Nothing. It seems that eating meat and training your body really does work. Your complexion is much better than before."

"It is all thanks to the Hall Master." Lu Fan dipped his head slightly, then turned and left the room.

After taking a few steps, he looked back.

Zhang Yao was still standing before the desk, his gaze fixed in the direction where Lu Fan's back had vanished, unmoving for a long while.

After leaving the martial hall, Lu Fan turned into an empty alley and took the Cracked Mask from his clothes, putting it on.

Since he did not need to work for the next two days, it was the perfect chance to replenish his pills.

He had already used up all his Qi-Replenishing Pills. Meat now had barely any effect on him, and if he wanted to break through to Late Dark Force, he had to replenish his Qi-Replenishing Pills.

Before long, he reached the street.

The atmosphere on the streets was somewhat tense.

Several shops that had originally displayed the Qin Household's signboards were closed, their doors shut tight.

Groups of two and three hurried past, speaking in hushed voices. Snatches of phrases such as "Thunder Martial Hall," "Feng Household," and "Qin Household banquet" drifted faintly through their conversations.

"I heard the Qin Household is holding a banquet tomorrow night. Not only martial artists from Chi City, but even quite a few dignitaries have received invitations."

"That is not all—I heard Thunder Martial Hall and the Feng Household received invitations too. If those two really attend, then that scene..."

The voices soon faded with their footsteps, dispersing around the street corner.

Lu Fan instinctively reached into his clothes and touched the invitation Qin Yaxin had given him.

He had not expected the banquet to be held so soon.

Considering what had happened last night, along with Zhang Yao's words this morning, it appeared that something major would happen at the Qin Household's banquet tomorrow.

If he were still that old kitchen cook with one foot already in the grave, he naturally would not get involved in such matters.

But now, he had stepped into the world of martial artists and had even become a Dark Force martial artist.

If he wanted to obtain greater strength in the future, he had to understand the world of martial artists better.

And tomorrow's banquet was also an excellent opportunity.

Setting those thoughts aside, Lu Fan searched the streets for a while before finally heading straight toward a secluded little shop at the corner.

He remembered that shop sold not only cultivation manuals, but also things like Qi-Replenishing Pills.

The shop was still the same as before.

Its storefront was narrow, and the painted characters on its signboard were so weathered that their strokes could barely be made out.

Lu Fan pushed open the door. Before he could survey the shop's interior, the figure behind the counter made his steps pause almost imperceptibly.

It was not the grinning young clerk from last time.

Standing behind the counter was a beautiful mature woman dressed in dark green silk.

Her black hair was gathered into a high bun, revealing a stretch of snow-white neck.

She was flipping through an account book with her head lowered. At the sound of the door opening, she raised her head and revealed a mature, gorgeous face. Her voluptuous figure also entered Lu Fan's view.

Shen Yuniang.

Behind the mask, Lu Fan's eyes narrowed slightly.

He almost instinctively wanted to lower his voice and alter his gait, but then dismissed the thought.

He had already done those things the moment he put on the mask.

At this moment, he was not an old kitchen cook on the verge of being buried, but a powerful Dark Force expert.

"Sir, what would you like?"

Shen Yuniang set down the account book, a proper smile appearing on her face.

Her attitude held a little more seriousness than it would toward an ordinary customer.

Most people who came to this kind of small shop to buy pills were Bright Force martial artists, and there might even be Dark Force experts among them. The masked old man before her revealed no aura. He was either an ordinary person or an extremely powerful martial artist.

And from her many years of business experience, customers like this were usually the latter.

"Qi-Replenishing Pills." Lu Fan lowered his voice, making it hoarse and curt.

"We have them. How many bottles would you like, sir?"

"Three bottles."

At roughly one thousand taels per bottle, three bottles would cost around three thousand taels. The five-thousand-tael banknote he had taken from Gu De was more than enough.

Shen Yuniang turned to fetch the goods, her movements efficient and without unnecessary small talk.

She soon brought out three porcelain bottles and arranged them neatly atop the counter.

"Sir, they are seven hundred taels per bottle, so three bottles come to two thousand one hundred taels. These are Qi-Replenishing Pills produced by our own shop. Their medicinal effect is slightly inferior to the Qin Household's, so the price is correspondingly lower."

"Since you are buying three bottles at once, sir, I will waive the extra one hundred taels."

"Fine. I'll take them."

Lu Fan nodded slightly.

As expected, the price was cheaper, so the effect would be a little weaker.

But for him, even if the effect was weaker, after the hundredfold amplification of his vitality and blood, it could still replenish a tremendous amount of vitality and blood.

He casually took out the five-thousand-tael banknote and placed it on the counter.

Shen Yuniang accepted the banknote, her gaze lingering briefly on its face. There were not many people in Chi City who could produce a note worth five thousand taels.

She could not help but raise her head and take another look at the person before her.

The mask covered most of his face, revealing only his right eye. His body was somewhat hunched, yet the way he stood there was steadier than that of an ordinary martial artist.

After her gaze rested on Lu Fan for a moment, Shen Yuniang immediately withdrew it.

"Here is your change, sir. Please take care on your way."

Lu Fan tucked the three bottles of pills into his clothes and turned toward the door.

Just as he was about to step over the threshold, Shen Yuniang's voice sounded behind him.

"Sir, please wait."

Lu Fan paused, but did not turn around.

Silence hung behind him for a moment.

Lu Fan heard Shen Yuniang seem to take a deep breath, then let it out softly.

When she spoke again, her tone had returned to its earlier composure. "It is nothing. I have heard the streets have not been very safe lately. Please be careful on your way back, sir."

Lu Fan said nothing more and pushed the door open to leave.

Behind him, Shen Yuniang watched that hunched back disappear into the dusk beyond the doorway, and the smile on her face slowly faded.

A Dark Force martial artist who could casually produce five thousand taels was definitely no ordinary person.

If she could build a connection with such a martial artist, it would benefit her, the Shen Household, and even Blackstone Martial Hall.

However, the masked old man seemed somewhat cold by nature. If she rashly spoke those words, she might provoke his displeasure instead. That would be more loss than gain.