Courtyard Guard

By the time Chen Chong returned to Jichuntang Hall, dusk had already deepened completely.

The clerk in the front hall was putting up the door panels. Seeing him return with a basket on his back and a sack in hand, he merely took him for a menial who had gone out to gather herbs and did not ask further.

Chen Chong went straight to the accounting room in the rear courtyard, found Steward Liu, who managed the menials, and reported what had happened on Mount Dingjun—the demon beast attack and the deaths of the others.

Steward Liu's face turned deathly pale, and he staggered toward the inner hall.

Before long, a middle-aged man emerged. His face was lean, and he wore an indigo robe tied at the waist with a brown silk sash. His steps were exceptionally steady, and he made no sound as he walked.

"Come with me." He gave Chen Chong a glance, then turned and headed inside.

They passed through two covered corridors before arriving at a room in the deepest part of the medicine shop.

This room was far more refined than the others. Blue bricks paved the floor, antique shelves stood in the corners with several porcelain bottles and a scroll of bamboo slips atop them. The windows were carved latticework covered in fine silk, and the light filtering through was as soft as moonlight.

A rosewood desk stood in the center, and someone sat in the grand chair behind it.

The chief steward, Yuan Zhiwu.

He was around fifty and not especially tall, yet sitting there, he resembled a deep well whose bottom could not be seen.

He wore a black everyday robe, with a white jade pendant at his waist. He held a celadon tea cup in his hand, his knuckles distinct and his movements unhurried. When he looked over, Chen Chong felt as though he had been examined from head to toe.

"Sit." Yuan Zhiwu raised his chin slightly.

Chen Chong sat on the stool before the desk and recounted everything that had happened on Mount Dingjun in detail. When he mentioned the Rat Demon, Yuan Zhiwu's fingers paused on the tea cup.

"The others... are all dead?" Yuan Zhiwu asked, his voice calm.

"Yes."

"Only you survived?"

Chen Chong nodded. "At the brink of life and death, this disciple was fortunate enough to break through to the Skin Tempering Realm and barely managed to kill that Rat Demon."

Yuan Zhiwu's gaze sharpened for a moment. He set down the tea cup, rose to his feet, walked around the desk, and stopped before Chen Chong.

"Your hand."

Chen Chong held out his hand. Yuan Zhiwu placed his fingers on his pulse point, and Chen Chong felt a warm breath enter him, like a little snake making a circuit through his meridians.

After a moment, Yuan Zhiwu withdrew his hand, took a step back, and looked him up and down.

"Your Breathing Method has reached quite a high level." Yuan Zhiwu nodded, a trace of barely perceptible surprise in his tone. "No wonder you held on until your breakthrough. How long have you been training?"

"Several months." Chen Chong did not elaborate.

Yuan Zhiwu did not press him. He simply returned to his seat behind the desk and took a sip of tea.

"Where is the Rat Demon's corpse?"

"It has already been placed in the storeroom." Chen Chong paused. "It was stained with my companions' blood. This disciple thought it could be considered the menials' remains, so I brought it back to hand over publicly."

Yuan Zhiwu's movements stopped. He raised his head and looked at Chen Chong, the corner of his mouth curving slightly. It could not quite be called a smile, but it was much gentler than before.

"Good." He set down the tea cup. "With cultivation in the Skin Tempering Realm, being a menial truly is unsuitable. Starting tomorrow, you will become a courtyard guard. Your monthly pay will be one tael and two mace, and you will have a room to yourself."

He waved a hand and said to the middle-aged man who had been standing at the side all along, "Lu Yun, take him around and familiarize him with the place. Teach him a few moves from the medicine shop's inheritance—its Breathing Method and techniques."

Lu Yun bowed in acknowledgment. He was a little over thirty, with a square face, thick brows, and large-knuckled hands. His shoulders swayed slightly as he walked, and he too had the foundation of the Skin Tempering Realm.

After leaving the room, Lu Yun led Chen Chong toward the eastern corner of the rear courtyard. The moon had already risen, turning the bluestone path pale beneath its light.

"Come find me in a few days. There's a lot going on lately, and I don't have time." Lu Yun's tone was indifferent, and he did not look back.

"Alright," Chen Chong answered.

Lu Yun said nothing more, turning into a side path and leaving.

Chen Chong stood in the courtyard. When the night wind blew over him, he realized that the clothes on his back were already soaked through with cold sweat.

He let out a breath. At last, he was safe and sound. Though he had already entered the Skin Tempering Realm, if that Rat Demon corpse had not been put into storage, the burden of more than a dozen deaths falling upon him would certainly have brought punishment. He might even have been treated as the murderer.

The storeroom—wasn't that the chief steward's money pouch?

The courtyard guards' quarters were in the eastern corner of the rear courtyard, a small room of his own.

It was not large: one bed, one table, one chair, and a wooden chest in the corner.

The window faced south. Moonlight spilled inside, making it far brighter than the communal bunkroom. Chen Chong set down his bamboo basket and burlap sack, sat on the bed, and felt as if even the wooden boards beneath him had softened somewhat.

Several more days passed.

Chen Chong threw punches inside his room. In the cramped space, his fists cut through the air with whooshing force, making the tea cup at the edge of the table tremble faintly. He drew in his fists and stood still, then opened the panel.

[Technique: Green Mountain Five Forms (Great Perfection)]

[Realm: Skin Tempering Realm (5/1000)]

The Green Mountain Five Forms had already reached Great Perfection, but his Skin Tempering Realm had increased by only a few points. From 2 to 5—three points of growth in three days.

The pace was far too slow. After all, he had begun martial cultivation too late. He had only entered the path at seventeen or eighteen, when his muscles and bones had already taken shape. He could not compare to those who had practiced horse stance from childhood.

That evening, Chen Chong went to find Lu Yun.

Lu Yun's room was lit, its door left slightly ajar. Chen Chong knocked.

"Come in."

Lu Yun sat at the table drinking tea. When he saw Chen Chong arrive, he did not even raise his eyelids.

"Senior Brother Lu, when will you have time to teach me the medicine shop's techniques?"

"No time." Lu Yun's voice was cold. "There's a lot going on lately. Ask again later."

Chen Chong stood in the doorway, looking at that icy face, and could not help sneering inwardly. He understood now. Lu Yun was demanding benefits.

Yuan Zhiwu's cultivation was profound; under another man's roof, one had no choice but to bow one's head. But Lu Yun was the same as him, both of them in the Skin Tempering Realm. And Lu Yun was putting on these airs before him?

"Since Senior Brother Lu has no time," Chen Chong said calmly, "then why not give me the techniques? I can study them myself."

Lu Yun raised his head, a flicker of anger flashing through his eyes. He set down his teacup, stood up, took two thin booklets from a cabinet, and walked before Chen Chong. He extended one hand with the booklets, while his other hand suddenly landed on Chen Chong's shoulder. His five fingers closed, and a hidden force pressed down.

Chen Chong did not dodge.

His shoulder sank, and he raised his hand with the motion, gripping the hand Lu Yun had placed on him.

The membrane of his Skin Tempering Realm tightened, his five fingers like an iron hoop. Lu Yun's expression changed. He struggled once, but could not break free.

Chen Chong's hand was like a pair of pincers clamped around Lu Yun's palm bones. Hidden force pressed back, and Lu Yun felt his knuckles ache as his face reddened.

Chen Chong released him, took the booklets, and turned away.

Lu Yun remained where he was, rubbing his fingers. Only after Chen Chong's figure vanished into the night did he curse softly toward the doorway. "Reaching the Skin Tempering Realm at seventeen or eighteen, and with a little talent, he doesn't know how to respect his elders. Train, train, train—go train by yourself! You still won't advance even after four years!"

There was a touch of sourness in his words, but what he said was not unreasonable. Reaching the Skin Tempering Realm at seventeen or eighteen truly was not earthshaking. His talent was only above average.

The medicine shop's inherited techniques were far more profound than the Green Mountain Breathing Method. The more profound the technique, the more crucial points required attention during cultivation. It was indeed more reliable to have an elder guide one's training. That was Lu Yun's confidence.

But Chen Chong returned to his room and opened the panel.

The two booklets lay spread across the table. One was titled "Five Tiger Saber," the other "Fierce Tiger Force." Two notifications appeared on the panel:

"Consume ten taels of silver to simplify Five Tiger Saber?"

"Consume ten taels of silver to simplify Fierce Tiger Force?"

Chen Chong checked the silver he had saved. In total, it came to less than two taels. He was still far from ten taels.

Before he could think further, another line appeared on the panel:

"Compatible Great Perfection technique detected. Integrate Green Mountain Breathing Method into Fierce Tiger Force?"

Chen Chong's thoughts stirred, and he chose "Yes."

Light flowed across the panel, and a new line of text surfaced:

[Technique: Tiger Roars Through the Mountains and Forests (Proficient 97/1000)]

The Breathing Method and Fierce Tiger Force merged, becoming a new technique—Tiger Roars Through the Mountains and Forests. Chen Chong felt his qi and blood surge within him, and every breath seemed to carry the force of a tiger stirring the wind.

He continued experimenting. He merged the Green Mountain Five Forms with the Five Tiger Saber—

[Technique: Five Tigers Severing the Mountain Blade (Proficient 12/1000)]

It worked as well.

Chen Chong began practicing in place inside the room. Tiger Roars Through the Mountains and Forests was inner force, while Five Tigers Severing the Mountain Blade was an external move. One within and one without, they worked together seamlessly. But after practicing several times, he frowned. His proficiency would no longer increase.

No matter how he swung his fists or circulated his force, the numbers on the panel did not budge in the slightest.

"Money, money, money."

Chen Chong sighed.

This panel was good in every way, except that it could not do without silver. It reminded him of that martial arts game from his previous life. It claimed to be a world for grinders, yet by the end, he had discovered that without spending money, one could not take a single step forward.

He touched the less-than-two-taels of loose silver in his clothes, then looked again at the nearly motionless numbers behind "Tiger Roars Through the Mountains and Forests" and "Five Tigers Severing the Mountain Blade" on the panel.

Outside the window, the night wind of Dingshan County swept in carrying the scent of medicine and the barking of distant dogs. Chen Chong sat on the bed, stared at the ceiling, and suddenly laughed.

"Fine. Time to make money."