Listen to Xiao He

Early the next morning, after breakfast.

Su Xinghe arrived at White Ape Martial Academy.

Dawn had just broken, and the laborers had yet to arrive.

Pushing open the half-closed gates, he saw Liu Bin, also an Outer Disciple, practicing his fist techniques in the front courtyard.

Hearing the movement, Liu Bin halted his form and turned to look.

"Morning, Junior Brother Su."

"Morning, Senior Brother Liu. I'm here to take over your shift."

It was his first time on duty at the Martial Arts School, so he was fairly enthusiastic.

"Alright, then I'll go eat first. I'll come early tonight to take over again."

Liu Bin wiped his face and hurriedly took his leave.

He lived beside Central River in the west of the city, renting the rear courtyard of Doctor He's old house from Huichun Hall. It was not far from here, so he could still make it back for breakfast.

Unlike when he had come yesterday, the goods inside the Martial Arts School had already been cleared out. Su Xinghe made a rough patrol, then returned to the front courtyard and began practicing his fist techniques.

The reason he did not first raise the proficiency of the "Listening to Tides Art" to Hall-Entering was because the "Golden Ape Fist" was about to break through to Perfect Mastery.

He wanted to complete the breakthrough in his fist technique before those laborers arrived.

Otherwise, he could not practice his fists in front of outsiders.

Very soon.

text
"Diligence Makes Up for Dullness, a hundred practices a day."

"Golden Ape Fist, experience +1"

"...+1"

After three rounds of the fist technique, the Fate Panel in his mind shifted.

Su Xinghe withdrew his stance and let in the laborers who had long been waiting outside the gates.

He found himself a chair and placed it beneath the shade of the large tree by the entrance. While guarding the Martial Arts School gates, he took the opportunity to look at the Fate Panel in his mind.

"Su Xinghe: White Ape Martial Academy (Outer Disciple)"

"Martial Dao: Apprentice Grade (Inner Tempering 3%)"

"Destiny: Diligence Makes Up for Dullness"

"Trait 1: Not a Drop Leaks Through, Unyielding"

"Trait 2: Sand Gathered into a Tower, Water Reaches Its Channel"

"Listening to Tides Art (First Glimpse of the Path) 16/100"

"Golden Ape Fist (Perfect Mastery) 1/10000"

"Ascending Dragon Stance (Hall-Entering) 566/1000"

"Incomplete Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi 0/10000"

...

The experience required for Perfect Mastery had increased tenfold again, reaching a terrifying ten thousand points. At his current rate of sixty practices a day, it would take roughly half a year to reach the realm of Transcendent Mastery.

Once he reached Transcendent Mastery, he would be able to unleash one hundred and fifty percent of its power. Not only would his Martial Dao realm surge forward once more, even the force of his punches would become one and a half times that of ordinary disciples.

By then, though, his Martial Dao realm should have reached Grade-Entering long ago.

At that thought, Su Xinghe could no longer suppress the corners of his mouth.

Perhaps because he had not slept enough last night, a wave of drowsiness struck him.

"I still have to guard the gate. I can't fall asleep..."

"Ah..."

"I guarded gates for the Great River Gang, and now I still have to guard gates at the Martial Arts School!"

"It's fine. I'll practice the Listening to Tides Art for a while..."

Thinking this,

Su Xinghe's eyelids sank as he entered meditation.

...

Two hours later.

"Diligence Makes Up for Dullness, a hundred practices a day."

"Listening to Tides Art, experience +1"

As another visualization succeeded, the Listening to Tides Art smoothly advanced.

Suddenly, the silver fish in his sea of consciousness split into two. Two identical little fish appeared amidst the rolling river waters.

With a buzz, his mind thundered.

His thoughts suddenly spread out of control.

One thought remained within, while the other spread outward around his body.

This was not vision. It was more like the ripples and reflections of sound.

He "saw" the rustling of wind through leaves, insects on the tree chewing at foliage, and ants in the corner carrying grains of rice as they scurried back underground.

More precisely, it was not seeing at all, but his hearing forming a three-dimensional model in his mind based on different sound waves.

Then, relying on what he usually saw, he identified them one by one.

He drew back the Silver Fish thought he had projected outward, returning it to his chest. At the instant his Spirit Sea had changed, Su Xinghe had sensed an inexplicable connection.

It was the reliance and intimacy of blood ties.

Little White Bat was still sleeping soundly.

On its snowy white skin, tiny bumps had unexpectedly appeared.

Those little bumps trembled constantly with every breath it took.

Upon closer inspection, fine fuzz invisible to the naked eye had somehow grown atop them.

It now swayed and quivered gently with its breathing.

"So this is the Listening to Tides Art..."

Su Xinghe seemed to have touched upon the wonder of this cultivation method.

By visualizing the Silver Fish in his mind, he could strengthen his own spiritual power and mobilize more qi and blood to assist his true Martial Dao cultivation. Then there was the powerful perception brought by enhanced spiritual power.

For instance, even with his eyes closed now, he could hear every sound wave within thirty feet.

Those waves would then take on the outlines of objects.

And strange beasts like those of the Red Lotus Branch of the Peaceful Heaven Sect also needed powerful spiritual perception to communicate with one another.

Su Xinghe lowered his head and pulled open the collar at his chest.

Sure enough.

Little White Bat's chubby body had begun to grow fur.

And it was golden.

Could it be because it had eaten the brain marrow of an Outer Demon?

...

Having tasted the benefits, Su Xinghe closed his eyes, focused his mind, and circulated the Listening to Tides Art again.

"Splash, splash..."

The two silver fish began to gather, and a strange thought rose within his heart.

It seemed he could control the Silver Fish. The spiritual thought he had just projected outward was proof enough.

He did not rush to interrupt this visualization, instead trying to sense it carefully for a moment.

After several breaths, one of the two Silver Fish suddenly became lively. It no longer drifted with the current mechanically, but accelerated into a charge.

At times it rode the wind and broke the waves; at times it swam upstream against the current.

"Splash!"

With a flick of its slender tail, it abruptly leaped from the water.

"Buzz~"

At the instant that Silver Fish broke the surface, his entire sea of consciousness suddenly fell silent.

A blazing sun appeared overhead, dispersing the hazy darkness.

At that moment, the Silver Fish was no longer merely a fish.

Su Xinghe felt as if he had regained his hands and legs, as well as his vision and senses. He appeared above a vast azure sea, bathed in warm sunlight.

"This is..."

His entire body jolted.

text "Diligence Makes Up for Dullness, a hundred practices a day."

"Listening to Tides Art, experience +1" ```

The familiar prompt appeared in his mind. He opened his eyes blankly, seeing the warehouse courtyard before him and laborers busily working some distance away.

"I..."

He did not check the Fate Panel in his mind, merely sitting dazedly in the chair.

Because at that moment, a wondrous space had appeared in his mind.

A silver little figure stood inside, giving him a familiar, lively feeling.

Su Xinghe tried to control it.

Sure enough, the silver figure began to move.

Perhaps because it was not yet familiar, it stumbled like a child who had only just learned to walk.

Outside Lin County, at Red Elegance Manor.

More than a dozen black-robed men with disheveled hair and ragged clothes were kneeling in the manor's rear courtyard.

Through their messy hair, one could vaguely make out that these people were the city's big shots who had been drinking and feasting in the hall two days ago.

They had escaped the pursuit of Martial Dao Bureau experts, but they could not escape the sword hanging above their heads from the Lu Family.

None of them even dared return home, obediently coming here to receive punishment.

Qingmei's body had already been buried in the pine woods of the rear courtyard. Hongxiu stood silently before her grave, her face covered in frost.

She should have gone that night, but by an unfortunate coincidence, her monthly bleeding had leaked through.

Qingmei could only enter the city in her stead, secretly directing the ambush and searching for that lost batch of goods.

Who would have thought that after that parting, they would be separated by the boundary between life and death?

"Does the Zhou Family have any Martial Warriors who use spears?"

Hearing her finally speak, the kneeling crowd finally let out a breath.

A few bolder ones secretly raised their heads, their eyes full of questioning and confusion.

Blades, spears, swords, and halberds were nothing unfamiliar to Martial Warriors. There were plenty of people who used spears, but finding someone who exclusively used one was difficult.

Who would want to leave home carrying around a cumbersome thing taller than a person? Besides, Lin County had restrictions as well.

"A pack of useless trash!"

"Cut them down!"

Before her words had even faded, steel rang out.

The manor guards waiting nearby drew their long blades in unison.

"Cough, cough!"

Several soft coughs sounded from beside them.

The guards halted in their tracks and immediately stopped what they were doing.

Recently, they had nearly gone mad.

It was like a person suddenly growing two brains.

"Xiuer, I know you're heartbroken."

"But don't be too heartbroken."

"Taking your anger out on subordinates will only chill everyone's hearts."

Hongxiu gave a cold snort and snatched the long blade from a guard at her side.

"Your words chill my heart!"

"It wasn't someone from your Lu Family who died!"

In just two short sentences, two heads flew into the air.

Seeing the blade flash again, Lu Zhengkun could only dart forward to her side. He raised a hand and knocked the long blade away.

"Hehe..."

"We're all family. Why get so angry?"

Only then did the kneeling Martial Warriors react. They dared not flee, yet could no longer remain kneeling either.

One after another, they cried for their fathers and mothers in terror, afraid that this madwoman might slash them twice more at any moment.

"Madam, spare us..."

"Third Master, save us!"

Hongxiu's ample chest heaved as she turned to look at her husband in name.

"The Lu Family suffered such heavy losses this time. Aren't you angry at all?"

"Hehehe..."

Lu Zhengkun laughed again.

"Losses... we can simply take them back."

He raised his left hand and examined it carefully beneath the sunlight, as though admiring some rare treasure.

"What those Head-Chopping Bandits took from the Lu Family, we'll take back from someone else twice over!"

"Don't they call themselves saviors? I'd like to see whether these people can truly save this world..."

As he spoke, he looked again at the dozen or so subordinates on the ground.

"Go! Gather one million taels of silver for me within three months. For every ten thousand taels short, I'll chop off one of your heads."

Everyone immediately felt as though a burden had been lifted, secretly letting out a breath.

As long as they were not being sent to their deaths, silver was negotiable. Lin County had more than a hundred thousand people; divided among them, it came to less than ten taels per person.

Hongxiu stomped her foot hard, saying furiously:

"I want to enter the city..."

Before she could finish, Lu Zhengkun pulled her into his arms.

A pear tree pressed down upon a begonia.

The begonia twisted her body, her face covered in frost.

The pear tree walked away with a grin...

Some news could not yet be revealed to this woman.

After all, it concerned the Lu Family's reach.

They had just received secret intelligence from the Martial Dao Bureau.

The Qian Family Trading Company in the city turned out to be a hidden pawn of the Beheading Gang in Lin County. That batch of goods had long since been moved elsewhere.

What was the point of entering the city now?

Better to speed things up and get another batch!

Before long, two orders came from the study.

"Send the people caught last night to the Scholar!"

"Also, notify everyone that there's no need to go through so much trouble in the future. Just send them directly over!"

Su Cheng arrived very suddenly.

It was on the evening of the very day the news was received.

He recognized the youth who had delivered the message. The last time, it had also been this young man who came to inform him that someone had proposed marriage to the family.

But this time, the news was even more shocking.

His eldest son had suddenly said he had bought a house.

This... truly stunned him, the jaw-dropping kind.

Night had fallen.

After chatting for a while with Liu Bin, who had come to take over the shift, Su Xinghe left the White Ape Martial Academy.

The moment he entered his little courtyard, he saw his younger brother washing up by the well. Seeing him return, the boy hurried over barefoot.

"Brother, where's our new home?"

"I'll take you there in a moment."

The two brothers had barely exchanged a few words when hurried footsteps sounded from inside the house.

Under the dim oil lamp, a familiar figure appeared in the doorway.

"Father, you came so quickly this time."

He had thought he would have to wait several days like last time.

"For something this important, how could I not come quickly?!"

"Xiao He, is what your friend said true?"

Su Cheng's voice carried disbelief, but the joy on his face could not be suppressed.

Su Xinghe nodded.

"Mm."

"The house is over on neighboring Narcissus Street. It's a two-bay street-facing courtyard with a shopfront."

Seeing how clearly his son spoke, the huge stone hanging over his heart crashed to the ground, leaving only impatience.

"Come on, let's go have a look!"

"Aren't we eating first?"

"We'll eat when we get back!"

"Mother, we'll go take a look and be right back."

Before leaving, he turned and reported to his wife standing in the doorway.

Tongzi Ward was only a little over a li from Narcissus Street.

The three of them lowered their heads and jogged for a while. In less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, they were standing before the shop.

"Brother, is this the place?"

Looking at the two unlit storefronts among the row of shops lining the street, Su Haitao felt as though he were dreaming.

Their home had gone from a thirty-square-meter wooden hut in Tongzi Ward to a spacious, tidy courtyard facing the street.

Su Xinghe nodded and pulled a ring of keys from his chest.

"Click."

The copper lock opened.

That night, the two brothers slept in their new home.

"Brother Cheng, do you think we should listen to Xiao He?"

"I still don't feel at ease."

Up in the old house's attic, the husband and wife lay on the bed whispering to each other.

"How about we put the kitchen and main hall in the back, then open a snack shop on the street-facing first floor? That way, even if we have nowhere to turn in the future, we'll still have something to eat."

"Mm, but what if we don't know how to make buns?"

"Then we can have Haitao's wife come help..."

"Oh, right. What did the Yang Family say?"

"Once things here are sorted out, I'll go have a look."

"Go to sleep. Tomorrow I'll quit my job! It's the end of the month, just in time to collect my wages."

"Pay the taxes first!"

"Wuwuwu..."