Listen to Xiao He

Early the next Heaven One morning, after breakfast.

Su Xinghe arrived at the White Ape Martial Academy.

Dawn had just broken, and the laboring craftsmen had yet to arrive.

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

Hearing the movement, Liu Bin stopped mid-form and turned around.

"Morning, Junior Brother Su."

"Morning, Senior Brother Liu. I'm here to relieve you."

It was his first time standing watch at the Martial Arts School, so he was fairly eager.

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

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 Physician He's old house from Huichun Hall. It was not far from here, so he could still make it back for breakfast.

Unlike yesterday, the goods within the Martial Arts School had already been moved out. Su Xinghe made a rough patrol, then returned to the front courtyard and began practicing his fist forms.

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

Before the craftsmen arrived for work, he wanted to complete the breakthrough in his fist art.

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

Very soon.

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

"Golden Ape Fist, experience +1."

"...+1."

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

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

He found himself a chair and placed it beneath the shade of the great tree by the gate. As he guarded the Martial Arts School entrance, he took the chance to inspect the Fate Panel in his mind.

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

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

"Fate: Diligence Makes Up for Dullness"

"Trait 1: Water-Tight, Unyielding"

"Trait 2: Many Grains Make a Tower, Success Follows Naturally"

"Listening to the 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 per day, it would take roughly half a year to reach the realm of Transcendent Mastery.

Once he reached Transcendent Mastery, he could unleash one hundred and fifty percent of its might. Not only would his Martial Dao realm advance by leaps and bounds once more, even the force of his punches would be one and a half times that of ordinary disciples.

But by then, his Martial Dao realm should have long since entered the grades.

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

Perhaps because he had not slept enough the night before, a wave of drowsiness swept over him.

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

"Ah..."

"I guarded gates when I was with 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 the Tides Art for a while..."

With that thought,

Su Xinghe's eyelids sank as he entered meditation.

Two hours later.

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

"Listening to the Tides Art, experience +1."

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

Suddenly, the silver little fish in his Spirit Sea split into two. Two identical little fish appeared amid the surging river waters.

With a hum, his mind thundered.

His thoughts suddenly spread beyond his control.

One thread of thought remained within, while another spread outward around his body.

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

He "saw" the rustling of leaves stirred by the wind, insects on the tree gnawing at foliage, and ants in the corner carrying grains of rice as they rustled back underground.

To be precise, he was not seeing at all. Rather, his hearing formed a three-dimensional model in his mind based on the different ripples of sound.

Then, based on what he saw in daily life, he identified them one by one.

He recalled the projected Silver Fish thought and let it settle into his chest. At the moment his Spirit Sea changed, Su Xinghe had felt an inexplicable connection.

It was the reliance and intimacy of blood kin.

Little White Bat was still sleeping soundly.

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

These little bumps trembled constantly with every breath it took.

Looking closer, fine down too small for the naked eye had somehow grown upon them.

At this moment, it gently swayed and quivered along with its breathing.

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

Su Xinghe seemed to have grasped a little of this technique's wonder.

By visualizing the Silver Fish in his mind, it strengthened his own spiritual power, allowing him to mobilize more Qi-Blood to assist his true Martial Dao arts. Then there was the powerful perception brought by strengthened spiritual power.

For instance, even with his eyes closed, he could now hear every sound ripple within three zhang.

Those ripples would be rendered into the outlines of objects.

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

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

Sure enough.

Fuzz had begun growing over Little White Bat's chubby little body.

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 the Tides Art once more.

"Splash, splash..."

The two silver little 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 was proof enough.

He did not hurry to end this visualization, instead trying to perceive carefully for a moment.

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

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

"Splash!"

Its slender tail slapped the water, and it suddenly leaped from the surface.

"Hum..."

The instant the Silver Fish leaped out of the water, the entire Spirit Sea abruptly fell silent.

A blazing sun appeared overhead, driving away the hazy darkness.

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

Su Xinghe felt that he had hands and feet again, and that his vision and senses had returned. He appeared atop a vast azure sea, bathed in warm sunlight.

"This is..."

His whole body jolted.

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

"Listening to the Tides Art, experience +1."

The familiar prompt appeared in his mind. He opened his eyes blankly, and before him was the warehouse's front courtyard, with craftsmen busy at work not far away.

"I..."

He did not inspect the Fate Panel in his mind. He merely sat dazedly in the chair.

Because at this moment, a wondrous space had appeared within his mind.

A silver little figure stood inside, giving him a familiar sense of liveliness.

Su Xinghe tried to control it.

Sure enough, the silver figure began to move.

Perhaps because it was unfamiliar with moving, it stumbled like a child just learning to walk.

Outside Lin County, Red Elegance Manor.

More than a dozen burly men in black robes, their hair disheveled and clothes ragged, were kneeling in the manor's rear courtyard.

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

They had evaded the pursuit of the Martial Dao Bureau's experts, but they could not escape the sword of the Lu Family hanging over their heads.

None of them dared return home. They obediently came to accept punishment.

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

That night, Hongxiu should have gone herself, but by an unfortunate coincidence, her monthly flow had come.

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

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

"Does the Zhou Family have any martial artists who use spears?"

Hearing her finally speak, the kneeling crowd finally breathed a sigh of relief.

A few bolder men secretly raised their heads, their eyes filled with questions and confusion.

Sabers, spears, swords, and halberds were nothing unfamiliar to martial artists. If she meant people who used spears, there were countless. But if she meant someone who used only a spear, that was difficult.

Who would want to carry around a burdensome thing taller than a person when going out? Besides, Lin County had prohibitions in place.

"A pack of useless trash!"

"Cut them down!"

Before her words had even faded, a clang rang out.

The manor guards waiting nearby drew their long sabers one after another.

"Cough, cough!"

Several light coughs sounded from the side.

The guards halted, immediately stopping their movements.

Lately, they had nearly gone mad.

It was as though a person had suddenly grown two brains.

"Xiuer, I know you're grieving."

"But don't grieve too much either."

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

Hongxiu snorted coldly and snatched the long saber from a guard beside her.

"Your words chill my heart!"

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

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

Seeing the saber flash once more, Lu Zhengkun could only dart forward to her side. Raising his hand, he flicked the long saber away.

"Hehe..."

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

Only then did those kneeling martial artists react. They did not dare flee, yet they could no longer remain kneeling.

One by one, they cried for their fathers and mothers in terror, afraid that this madwoman would give them another two slashes at any moment.

"Madam, spare us..."

"Third Master, save us!"

Hongxiu's full bosom rose and fell as she turned to look at her husband in name.

"The Lu Family suffered such a great loss this time. Aren't you angry at all?"

"Hehehe..."

Lu Zhengkun laughed again.

"A loss... we just need to take it back."

He raised his left hand and carefully examined it in the sunlight, as though he were admiring some priceless treasure.

"What those Head-Chopping Bandits took from the Lu Family, we'll recover twofold from others!"

"Don't they call themselves saviors? I'd like to see whether this bunch can truly save the 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 you fall short, I'll chop off one of your heads."

Everyone immediately felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted, secretly letting out sighs of relief.

As long as they were not being sent to their deaths, silver was easy enough to discuss. Lin County had over a hundred thousand people; divided among everyone, it was less than ten taels per person.

Hongxiu stomped her foot hard, fury blazing as she said:

"I want to enter the city..."

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

A pear tree pressed down a begonia.

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

The pear tree chuckled and left...

Some news could not yet be allowed to reach this woman.

After all, it concerned the Lu Family's far-reaching tentacles.

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

The Qian Family Trading Company in the city had 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 use was there in entering the city now?

Better to speed things up and secure another batch!

Before long, two orders came from the study.

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

"Also, spread the word that there is no need to go through so much trouble in the future. Just send them over directly!"

Su Cheng came very suddenly.

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

He knew the young man who had delivered the message. Last time, it had also been this young man who came to tell them 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 startled him so badly his jaw nearly dropped.

Night fell.

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 ran over barefoot.

"Brother, where is 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 they would have to wait several days, just like last time.

"How could I not come quickly over something this important?!"

"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.

"Yes."

"The house is on Narcissus Street next door. It's a roadside courtyard with two bays and a shopfront."

Seeing his son speak with such certainty, the great stone hanging over his heart crashed to the ground, leaving behind only impatience.

"Come, let's go take a look!"

"Aren't we eating first?"

"We'll eat when we get back!"

"Dear, we're going to take a look and will be right back."

Before leaving, he turned and reported this 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 all the way. In less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, they were already standing before the shop.

"Brother, is it this one?"

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

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

Su Xinghe nodded and pulled out a key from his robes.

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."

In the attic of the old house, the husband and wife lay in 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 else to turn in the future, we'll still have something to eat."

"Mmm, 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 are settled here, I'll go over and take a look."

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

"Pay the taxes first!"

"Wuwuwu..."