Trouble Stirs

The next day, it was Xia Daoming's turn to be on duty in the martial arts school's outer courtyard.

Early in the morning, Xia Daoming forced himself to pull himself together and headed out.

He had thought about it all night, yet still could not come up with any quick, hugely profitable way to make money.

He had only just arrived at the martial arts school.

When Xia Daoming noticed that today's atmosphere was entirely different.

The apprentices in the outer courtyard's training ground stood about in groups of three or five, whispering among themselves. Not a single one of them was practicing martial arts.

What was more, Instructor Yuchi Xiao was nowhere to be seen supervising them.

"What's going on? Slacking off so early in the morning—do you people even still want to..." Before Xia Daoming could finish, he saw Zhuo Xingji hurry in.

"Senior Brother Zhuo!" Xia Daoming was slightly taken aback.

"Where is Gu Ren? How is he now?" Zhuo Xingji asked.

"What happened to Senior Brother Gu?" Xia Daoming's heart sank slightly, and a sense of foreboding welled up within him.

"Instructor Gu is in the inner courtyard. His injuries look very serious," one apprentice said.

Xia Daoming and Zhuo Xingji's expressions changed drastically upon hearing this. They hurried toward the inner courtyard in long strides.

The moment he entered the inner courtyard, Xia Daoming caught the thick scent of medicinal herbs, along with a faint trace of blood.

Xia Daoming's expression changed again. He quickly crossed the training ground and arrived at the discussion hall opposite it.

Discussion Hall.

Gu Ren lay on a stretcher, his face the color of gold paper. His white clothes had not only been shredded by claw marks but were also stained with blotches of blood, a glaring sight.

A physician with a goatee shook his head and said to the grim-faced Liang Jingtang beside him, "Instructor Gu has suffered not only external injuries, but damage to multiple meridians as well. This old man is truly powerless. Hall Master Liang should seek another skilled physician."

"Thank you, Doctor Wang. Yongbao, see Doctor Wang out on my behalf," Liang Jingtang said.

"No need to see me out." Doctor Wang waved his hand, then shook his head and sighed before quickly leaving.

Bang! The moment Doctor Wang left, Liang Jingtang slapped a nearby table with his palm.

The table shattered into four pieces!

"The Shi Family has gone too far! Master, give the order, and this disciple will gather our men at once and fight them to the death!" Yuchi Xiao said, his eyes blazing wide with fury.

At those words, the veins in Liang Jingtang's arms and forehead bulged one after another. The powerful Hidden Strength that had lain dormant within him surged violently, radiating a terrifying aura.

"Junior Brother Gu!"

"Senior Brother Gu!"

At that moment, Zhuo Xingji and Xia Daoming arrived one after the other. Seeing Gu Ren covered in medicinal plasters on the stretcher, they hurried forward and called out.

Gu Ren gave Xia Daoming and Zhuo Xingji a vacant look, then closed his eyes again. Two tears quietly slid from the corners of his eyes.

"Alas!" Liang Jingtang suddenly let out a long sigh. The surging Hidden Strength once more sank back and withdrew. Without his noticing, his tall, imposing frame had hunched over.

"Send Gu Ren back to his hometown and let him recuperate properly!" Liang Jingtang waved a hand, then hunched his way through the hall doors toward his own room.

"Master!" Yuchi Xiao cried out in grief and indignation at the sight.

"Senior Brother, don't provoke Master any further. Master had placed great hopes on Junior Brother Gu and regarded him as his own son. Seeing Junior Brother Gu like this, no one is more heartbroken than he is, nor does anyone want more to avenge him.

"But the Shi Family is powerful now, and this matter also involves Xu Shisen of the Xu Family. Though Xu Shisen is only from a collateral branch of the Xu Family, he is still not someone our Hidden Dragon Martial Arts School can provoke." Liu Xiaoqiang, her face lightly made up and her hair somewhat disheveled, sighed.

"The moment I heard from people at the escort agency that Junior Brother Gu had been injured, I rushed over. What exactly happened? How did it involve the Shi Family and the Xu Family?" Zhuo Xingji asked.

"Alas!" Liu Xiaoqiang sighed and said, "I only heard it through people I asked to investigate. Junior Brother Gu went to the Hundred Flowers Pavilion and got into a dispute with Shi Yingdeng of the Shi Family over a woman named Dong Yiyi.

"But Dong Yiyi's patron was Xu Shisen, and it enraged him. After that, Shi Yingdeng and Xu Shisen joined forces and beat Junior Brother Gu into a grievous state."

"Hmph, this was clearly a trap laid by the Shi Family! They knew Junior Brother Gu was Master's prized disciple and had hopes of reaching Sixth-Rank Great Martial Master, perhaps even Seventh-Rank Great Martial Master. So they wanted to cripple him in advance and prevent him from growing stronger." Yuchi Xiao said, his face full of Killing Intent.

Seeing his fellow disciple Gu Ren in such a miserable state, Xia Daoming had already been holding a ball of fury in his chest. But upon hearing Yuchi Xiao's words, it was as though a basin of cold water had been poured over his head. His anger instantly extinguished, and he became utterly calm.

"How could Master not know that? But the Shi Family is already powerful, and now this matter has dragged in the Xu Family as well. Besides, a squabble between men and women over jealousy cannot be brought into the open. What can Master do?" Liu Xiaoqiang said.

"Junior Brother Gu was foolish. If he wanted to have some fun, he could have gone to the Jade Flower Pavilion. Why did he have to go to the Hundred Flowers Pavilion?" Once he understood what had happened, Zhuo Xingji sighed.

"Master is strict. He came to my place because, first, he was afraid Master would find out; second, he was afraid of getting me scolded as well. Yet he never considered that if he came to me, at worst he would only have been reprimanded. But now..." Liu Xiaoqiang's voice choked up toward the end.

"Senior Sister, it's too late to say any of this! Send me home. I miss home." A weak voice rang out.

"Junior Brother Gu!" Seeing Gu Ren speak, everyone hurriedly gathered around him.

Gu Ren gave everyone a vacant glance, then slowly closed his eyes again.

Before long, Gu Ren was sent away.

Zhuo Xingji was the one escorting Gu Ren back to his hometown, Chishui City.

He ran an escort agency, so he was familiar with the roads traveled north and south.

After Gu Ren was sent away, Liu Xiaoqiang and Jiao Yongbao each took their leave and returned to the pleasure house and restaurant respectively. Meanwhile, Yuchi Xiao and Xia Daoming forced themselves to stay alert as they supervised the apprentices practicing martial arts in the outer courtyard.

But the apprentices training that day were clearly distracted. One martial arts apprentice even asked halfway through to stop coming to the Hidden Dragon Martial Arts School to learn martial arts.

Yuchi Xiao was rather disheartened. He dismissed everyone early and closed the martial arts school.

After Xia Daoming left the martial arts school, he did not head straight home as usual. Instead, he made for Ji Mansion in Yongqing Ward.

Along the way, Xia Daoming deliberately bought a veiled conical hat and wore it to conceal his face.

The Ji Family had once enjoyed a period of splendor in Li City. It was said that one of their ancestors had produced a Martial Dao Grandmaster. Though they had been declining for the past century or more and had not produced any particularly formidable figures, a starved camel was still bigger than a horse.

The Lineage had quite a few Fourth- and Fifth-Rank Martial Masters. On top of that, the Ji Family was wealthy and powerful, supporting many Martial Masters, including three Sixth-Rank Martial Masters. In Li City, they were absolutely a lineage force not to be underestimated.

Ji Mansion occupied nearly half of Qinghe Street.

Tall white walls concealed the residences and courtyards behind them, preventing outsiders from glimpsing the lavish scenery within.

The vermilion gates were studded with gleaming bronze nails and fitted with bronze rings.

A pair of imposing stone qilin stood on either side of the entrance.

Two well-dressed household guards, their blood and qi surging, stood watch to the left and right of the gate.

"Stop!" One of the household guards shouted robustly at the man in the conical hat walking toward the gate.

"Please deliver this letter to Miss Ji Wenyue personally." Xia Daoming handed over an envelope.

"A letter for Elder Wen Yue? May I ask who you are? Elder Wen Yue's status is extraordinary. If you do not explain clearly, this lowly one would not dare present it to her lightly." When the guard heard Xia Daoming mention Ji Wenyue right away, his expression changed slightly, and his tone became gentler and more courteous.

"Elder? I never expected Ji Wenyue to already be an elder of the Lineage at only seventeen!" Xia Daoming was inwardly startled, but he quickly added, "Don't worry. Give this letter to Miss Wen Yue personally, and she will naturally know who I am. Not only will she not blame you, she will reward you."

As he spoke, Xia Daoming slipped some silver into the guard's hand.

Before the guard could react, he had already turned and left.

The guard watched Xia Daoming's departing back, then looked down at the letter and silver in his hands. In the end, he gritted his teeth, said something to the other guard, and turned to enter through the gates.

That concludes today's update. Thank you to all the readers for your comments and votes, and thanks to readers Nickname Not Repeated, Autumn Divine Light, RPG Defense, Fire Feather White Evening, Little Lotus 005, and others for their tips.