The Power of the Heavenly Eye, a Ghost by the River

The Power of the Heavenly Eye, a Ghost by the River

This day, with the New Year approaching, the not-so-large Weishui County Seat had its streets and alleys hung with bright red lanterns, all for the sake of festivity.

But to the hunters and herb gatherers who made their living from Fanghua Mountain's game and medicinal herbs, no festive lanterns or firecrackers could compare to the two trails of bloody cart tracks stretching from the county gates all the way to the Wang Household's grand residence at Skybridge.

The reason was simple: those two bloody trails meant that the man-eating beast that had harmed countless people had been slain today by the righteous heroes of the Zhengqing Gang!

From now on, the people of Weishui County Seat would no longer have to tremble in fear whenever they went up the mountain!

And atop Hanging Bridge, storytellers who lived by the gift of their tongues scrambled to gather news, spinning the Zhengqing Gang's campaign against the beast into a tale to earn tea money and feed their families.

In short, this was the myriad faces of life.

On Southside Old Street, One-Eye had long since withdrawn the extra hundred taels of silver from the bank, packed it together into the chest, and closed the lid.

By evening, the Zhengqing Gang's martial artists had laid out a grand feast at Spring Breeze Pavilion. Most of the large and small powers in Weishui County Seat had come, and all manner of people from the rivers and lakes drank and laughed amid clinking cups, determined not to return until they were drunk.

But the observant noticed that Xie Qing, the Zhengqing Gang's leader and the man who ought to have been the star of the affair, had not emerged again after returning to Southside Old Street.

When people asked the Zhengqing Gang members about it, they merely laughed it off and said nothing.

Night drew its curtain.

One martial artist after another at Spring Breeze Pavilion got drunk, boasting on the streets over who could tell the fiercer tale, competing in the alleys over who could piss farther, enjoying themselves immensely.

Meanwhile, on the old Zhengqing Gang loft along the comparatively quiet Southside Old Street, Xie Qing stood guard over the chest of silver without moving.

He did not know Yu Chen's identity, and naturally did not know where the silver should be delivered. So he simply sat down and waited in the loft for Yu Chen to come collect it.

As he sat in silence, something suddenly struck him.

When they had subdued the great beast, Yu Chen had said with absolute certainty that the reward belonged to him, while the discount belonged to the Zhengqing Gang.

At the time, Xie Qing had suffered too many shocks to think deeply about it.

But now that he considered it, his spine went cold and his entire body trembled!

After all, Old Master Wang had publicly announced from beginning to end that the reward was only one hundred taels of silver.

That half-price discount had been privately offered by Old Master Wang to Xie Qing and his brothers. From the moment the terms had been settled at the Wang Household residence until Xie Qing led the martial artists up the mountain, this brother had been with him the entire time. Nor was Old Master Wang likely to spread such a matter everywhere.

Then... how had that senior known there was a discount?

At the thought, Xie Qing felt a chill pierce his heart.

Yu Chen's image in his mind became even more mysterious and unfathomable.

His seated posture grew all the more respectful.

By the third watch of the night, the wind had strengthened, and the snow had begun to fall harder.

A bronze gong sounded amid the snow, while lamplight swayed within the old loft.

Beside Xie Qing's shadow cast upon the yellowed wall, another shadow had appeared at some point, abrupt and silent.

The cold wind blew, the candle flame rippled, and two shadows swayed faintly upon the mottled old wall, wavering without rest.

The somewhat dazed Xie Qing abruptly jolted awake!

He turned his head, only to see that familiar pitch-black figure standing at his side, soundless and breathless!

In that instant, the soul of this leader of the rivers and lakes nearly fled his body.

An Innate Grandmaster possessed senses attuned to vital energy. Let alone someone walking to his side—even amid a bustling market, he could easily detect a person several yards away.

Yet now, with all creation silent, Xie Qing had not sensed when Yu Chen had arrived at his side.

Cold sweat streamed down his back!

Ah!

Fortunately, this lord had come for silver. If he had come for Xie Qing's life, then the consequences...

At the thought, Xie Qing felt an icy current shoot from his heels straight to the crown of his head!

He hurriedly cupped his hands and pointed at the chest. "Senior, Old Master Wang's reward is inside this chest. Not a single coin has been touched!"

After saying that, he scarcely dared breathe, staring at Yu Chen's toes without daring to move.

After a long while, Yu Chen still gave no response, making his heart quake even more.

But clearly, Xie Qing had misunderstood.

The reason Yu Chen had entered the old loft without a sound was the Infernal Mask's ability to conceal his aura.

And the reason he had not spoken upon arriving was not because he deliberately meant to frighten Xie Qing, but because he was testing the Heavenly Eye of Minute Insight.

Ever since the Scripture of Deliverance had opened his eyes last night, Yu Chen had not left home all day and had not seen a single living person.

When he came down the mountain tonight, Southside Old Street had also been empty. Xie Qing was the first person he had seen.

And at first sight of Xie Qing, Yu Chen had frozen.

He had not expected that through the Heavenly Eye of Minute Insight, Xie Qing's entire network of meridians and the surging force within him would be laid bare before his eyes without the slightest concealment.

There was also his vital blood, like flames rising in the night—bright and clear, without the slightest blur.

More importantly, Yu Chen could see that the churning vital blood was relatively dim beneath Xie Qing's arms.

With the knowledge of this life, Yu Chen naturally had no idea what that meant and could not make sense of it.

But he had lived more than one life!

Memories of playing countless online games and reading countless wuxia novels in his previous life immediately showed him the true worth of this sight.

If he was not mistaken, the Heavenly Eye of Minute Insight could not only observe a person's vital blood, but also... see through their weaknesses.

In this world's terms, it was called a Weak Point—some people were impervious to blade and spear, but once their weak point was broken, they became fish on a chopping block, at another's mercy.

That was precisely its function.

"Senior?"

Seeing Yu Chen remain silent, Xie Qing could not help beating a drum in his heart. Finally unable to restrain himself, he took the initiative to ask, "Where would you like this reward sent? How about I deliver it to you personally?"

That single sentence pulled Yu Chen back from his tangled thoughts. He looked at the chest, then at Xie Qing, and shook his head. "I'll take it."

"As you command." Xie Qing hurriedly cupped his hands.

Yu Chen picked up the chest and prepared to leave.

But the moment it entered his hand, he immediately felt that its weight was off.

It was not lighter. It was heavier.

With that lift, it became clear that the chest held far more than one hundred taels!

Yu Chen looked at Xie Qing.

The latter nodded. "A small token of gratitude. Please do not disdain it, Senior."

Yu Chen glanced at him. Delight rose in his heart, though his expression remained unchanged. He turned and walked out the door.

As he left, he saw several Zhengqing Gang martial artists staggering back one step for every three, reeking of alcohol and dead drunk.

Those martial artists were the same men who had gone up the mountain with Xie Qing. They had been muddleheaded, but the instant they saw Yu Chen, they shuddered, and all drunkenness vanished!

Out of curiosity, Yu Chen looked at them with his Heavenly Eye, only to find that though their vital blood was likewise abundant, they fell far short of Xie Qing. Nor did they possess that current of "Internal Force" flowing within them.

This was likely the difference between the Postnatal Realm and the Innate Realm.

After making sure no one was following him, Yu Chen rounded several street corners before leaving the south side of town. He followed the bank of the Weishui, preparing to return to Qingfeng Mausoleum.

The Weishui River on a winter night was silent and empty, without a single soul in sight.

Carrying the chest, Yu Chen moved as swiftly as if flying, stepping across the snow without leaving the faintest trace.

He trod upon snow without leaving a mark.

But as he walked, he suddenly stopped and looked toward the riverbank.

Beneath the frozen river, Yu Chen saw through his Heavenly Eye an incomparably faint trace of vital blood, flickering in and out of sight.

Yu Chen was taken aback. What was this?

Winter swimming?

But before he could reach the bank, a gust of cold wind blew, and that wisp of aura went out.

The dark river water held not a trace of light anymore.

Then, a voice filled with unwillingness and resentment rose from the riverbed!

"How tragic... how tragic I am..."

As the voice drifted through the air, a ghostly figure appeared faintly within the rushing river—soaking wet, with disheveled hair and a deathly pale face.