Yang He Reappears

That night, dark clouds covered most of the moon, leaving only a hazy halo, curling about like mist and gauze.

Night settled, wrapping Dingshan County in gloom.

Chen Chong practiced martial arts in the courtyard.

"Awoo—"

A tiger's roar exploded from deep in his throat, its waves echoing between the courtyard walls. It was fuller and more solid than before, faintly carrying some of a true tiger's majesty.

The leaves on the jujube tree rustled down. A dog in the neighboring courtyard barked once, then fell silent, as if something had cowed it.

On the panel—

Tiger Roars Through the Mountains and Forests (Mastery 7621/10000), Five Tigers Severing the Mountain Blade (Mastery 7418/10000).

Both techniques were not far from Grand Mastery. With another stretch of hard training, they could merge once more.

In the still night, distant clamor carried over just like that.

Sounds of killing, weeping, and the orderly footsteps of government soldiers drew nearer from afar. The clanging scrape of iron armor was especially piercing in the night.

Chen Chong stopped moving and listened closely. The sounds came from the eastern part of the city. Though several streets away, they rode the night wind over, clear enough to make him uneasy.

A figure in black suddenly swept across a rooftop beyond the courtyard.

The figure moved with astonishing speed, touching the roof ridge once before darting away like a night owl. Chen Chong looked over, and the figure seemed to sense his gaze, turning back in midair.

A sliver of moonlight leaked through the clouds, illuminating half a face.

Yang He.

Their gazes met for only an instant. Yang He's lips seemed to curl upward, then he sprang away and vanished into the depths of the night.

The soldiers' footsteps followed shortly after, hurrying past beyond the courtyard wall. The collision of armor plates gradually faded into the distance.

Chen Chong stood in the courtyard, staring at the empty rooftop as his fingers slowly tightened.

The next day, Chen Chong came to World-Aiding Hall.

Su Hongyu was once again, by sheer coincidence, directing a group of laborers not far from Chen Chong's room. Every time Chen Chong came, Su Hongyu happened to be nearby, finding some topic to chat with him for a few words.

"Steward Chen." Su Hongyu came up to him, neither loudly nor softly. Yet he always bent slightly at the waist when he spoke, as though making a report. "Yesterday, I heard that several wealthy households were stripped clean by mountain bandits."

As he spoke, he raised his voice slightly, a tremor in his trailing tone. "Most importantly, I heard the blood flowed like a river. They left no survivors."

There was a sense of shared sorrow in Su Hongyu's voice, as though the rabbit had died and the fox grieved. He himself was also wealthy. Over the years as a manager at World-Aiding Hall, he had amassed quite a family fortune, bought a residence in the east of the city, and kept a wife and children.

Seeing that Chen Chong did not immediately leave and seemed to still be listening, Su Hongyu continued, speaking vividly.

He spoke of how useless the government soldiers were now, how rampant the bandits had become, which household had been wiped out, and whose silver had been carried away. At last, he sighed. "In the end, one still needs a high martial cultivation."

A faint sorrow hung between his brows.

Chen Chong roughly understood. When Su Hongyu paused, he greeted him and returned to his room.

There were actually quite a few people like Su Hongyu. Without talent for martial arts, even if they struggled to become wealthy, having gained something only made them more afraid of losing it. They lived every day with their hearts in their throats.

Especially now, as Dingshan County grew increasingly unsettled, they instinctively sought favor with the strong and drew close to them.

At noon, Chen Chong carried some fine tea leaves to Chen Huaixu's courtyard.

He did not know who had given him the tea; Chen Chong had somewhat forgotten. After becoming the deputy chief steward of World-Aiding Hall, more and more people had begun sending him gifts, and they were terrified he might refuse them.

It was as though they could only rest easy once Chen Chong accepted their gifts.

Pushing open the door, Chen Chong found Chen Huaixu unexpectedly reading a medical text. A maid poured tea beside him and stood there respectfully, utterly unlike the unrestrained debauchery of the previous visits.

One look told Chen Chong why: Chen Qian was there as well.

Seeing Chen Chong arrive, Chen Qian rose and greeted him.

Today, she wore a goose-yellow dress, a thin silk sash tied about her waist. Her hair was loosely coiled with only a silver hairpin. Compared to the narrow-sleeved short jacket she wore in the pill-refining room, she looked much more like a young woman, though the heroic air between her brows remained, like an orchid grass just beginning to put forth its ear.

She seemed to realize Chen Chong had something to discuss with her grandfather. After saying a few words, she withdrew.

The moment Chen Qian disappeared from sight, Chen Huaixu tossed aside the medical text he had been holding upside down and raised a hand in signal. Two maids sat on his lap, one on either side. One kneaded his shoulders, while the other lifted the teacup to his lips.

Chen Chong set down the tea leaves he had brought. The packaging was exquisite and radiated luxury.

Chen Huaixu spoke first. "What brings the deputy chief steward of World-Aiding Hall to this retired old pill master's place?"

Chen Chong looked at the dissolute old man and did not argue with him. Instead, he brought up the real purpose of his visit. The city was unsettled now, and he wanted to seize Steward Wang's weakness as soon as possible.

Listening to Chen Chong's rambling, Chen Huaixu said irritably, "If the fish won't bite, just scatter more bait."

Chen Chong suddenly understood. He poured tea for Chen Huaixu, only to realize from the smell that something was off. The teapot actually contained wine. Chen Chong chatted with Chen Huaixu a while longer before leaving the courtyard.

Chen Qian stood at the entrance.

At some point, she had changed outfits.

She wore a pomegranate-red skirt, its hem embroidered with trailing floral patterns that gleamed in fine flecks beneath the afternoon sun. Over it, she wore a moon-white short blouse, its collar neither too high nor too low, revealing a slender stretch of neck.

Her hair had been let down over her shoulders, loosely tied with a red cord. She looked as though she had stepped out of a painting, so dazzlingly beautiful it made one lose focus.

"Steward Chen, now that you have achieved success and fame, have you perhaps forgotten this little woman?" Chen Qian tilted her head at him, a trace of a smile resting on her lips.

The moment Chen Chong heard her tone, he knew Chen Qian had a favor to ask. Still, she truly was dressed beautifully today. Back in the pill-refining room of Jichun Hall, because she needed to practice martial arts in the courtyard, she always wore clothes convenient for training—narrow sleeves, short jackets, and her hair bound tightly, looking like a tomboy.

Only in this outfit did one remember that she was, after all, a young woman.

"Haha, we can simply speak plainly if there is something you need," Chen Chong said.

There was no romantic feeling between him and Chen Qian, but they had spent quite a while together in the pill-refining room, seeing each other whenever they looked up or lowered their heads. They could be considered friends.

Chen Qian stopped teasing him and began speaking of the real matter.

Recently, a black market had opened in the city. It operated at night, and word was that it was large, with every sort of strange and rare thing for sale. She wanted to take a look, but her grandfather refused to accompany her.

"That stinking old man would definitely be willing to go with those maids, but he refuses to go with me. Hmph." Her tone suddenly changed as she blinked at Chen Chong. "Brother Chen Chong, go with me, please?"

Seeing Chen Qian suddenly soften her voice and act coquettishly, Chen Chong agreed.

More importantly, he also wanted to see what this so-called black market truly had.