Yin Mountain Ghost Market, Deriving Martial Arts

"What is this...?"

Under the dim yellow lamplight, Chen Mu's pupils contracted slightly.

Hidden within the book cover's lining was, astonishingly, a geographical waterway map drawn on sheepskin.

Amid the dense web of rivers and waterways, several key routes had been marked with red lines.

It even included the Great Yue border army's water patrol routes and the supply nodes of post stations.

Chen Mu understood almost at once. This was what Zhao Dong had been searching for, and Ma San's most valuable treasure.

The map showed the smuggling routes of the salt smugglers outside the city, several secret trading sites, and even the coded signals and whistle phrases for making contact.

With this map, Ma San had played middleman between Zhao Dong and the Red Whale Gang, squeezing money from both sides until his coffers overflowed.

Now that he was dead, whoever held this map could become the next one to feast at the headwaters.

Zhao Dong and the Red Whale Gang would likely go mad searching for it.

This thing was far too hot to handle. Chen Mu understood the principle that a man could be punished for possessing a jade, so he did not dare delay and swiftly hid it away.

He had just noticed that one location on the map had been circled in vermilion ink. It was called Yin Mountain Ferry, with a note saying that the Ghost Market opened on the new moon and full moon of every month.

Chen Mu nearly guessed at once that Ma San's treasures were probably hidden in the Ghost Market. No wonder nothing had been found no matter how thoroughly Ma San's residence was searched.

But now was not the time to think about that. The Ghost Market would not open for another half month.

And once Zhao Dong and the Red Whale Gang clashed, they would likely realize within two or three days that Chen Mu had used a scheme to divert disaster eastward.

"I have to truly enter the martial academy and become a formal disciple as soon as possible."

Chen Mu immediately found the only path to survival. In the end, he was simply too weak.

There were fewer than ten formal disciples in the Azure Dragon Martial Academy altogether, and its master, Liu Qingcang, was exceedingly harsh when accepting disciples.

If he could win the favor of this Innate Realm expert at Great Completion of Meridian Opening, neither Zhao Dong nor the Red Whale Gang would dare trouble him again.

Having settled on his plan, Chen Mu's tightly drawn heartstrings relaxed somewhat.

He immediately put everything away, lit a lamp, and headed for the inner courtyard.

A-Ning had caught a chill again tonight. He had to get her a good prescription tomorrow, and he could gather some information while he was out.

Chen Mu did not dare go to the docks to join the excitement tonight. Zhao Dong was highly skilled, and the Red Whale Gang was no easy opponent either.

Behind the Red Whale Gang stood the Great Yue Boatmen's Guild. This force stretched across the rivers and lands north and south, bearing the livelihoods of a million boatmen.

Even a branch like the Red Whale Gang was filled with experts. Otherwise, it would not have had the ability to snatch a piece of meat from Zhao Dong's hands.

If Zhao Dong rashly attacked tonight, he would most likely end up with both sides battered. That would give Chen Mu just enough time to grow stronger.

With these thoughts in mind, Chen Mu entered the inner room.

A-Ning was still sleeping fitfully, though the heat in her forehead had subsided somewhat.

Chen Mu felt slightly relieved. He took out a century-old ginseng rootlet, sliced off a small piece, soaked it in warm water, and fed it to A-Ning.

As soon as the precious medicine entered her stomach, some color returned to A-Ning's deathly pale face, and she hazily woke.

"Husband! I thought you weren't coming back..."

"Promise me that next time, wherever you go, you'll take A-Ning with you, all right?"

She immediately sat up with tears misting her eyes and threw herself into Chen Mu's arms.

"Don't cry. I'm here."

Chen Mu wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and softly comforted her for a while. Only then did A-Ning stop sobbing and drift back into a heavy sleep.

Chen Mu sighed at the sight.

How could he not want to give A-Ning a peaceful life?

But in this cannibalistic age of chaos, weakness was the original sin. Poor commoners of lowly status were worth less than pigs and dogs.

"Don't worry. Just wait for me a little longer."

He extinguished the lamp and lay down holding A-Ning, whispering into her ear words that only he could hear.

Then Chen Mu closed his eyes and feigned sleep, circulating his blood and qi in place of resting as he diligently practiced.

The night passed without incident.

The next day dawned bright and clear. The thick gray clouds that had gathered over Everlasting Prosperity Town for days finally dispersed.

Early that morning, after handling the household chores, Chen Mu left alone. Following his usual routine, he first went to West Street to set up his butcher's stall.

He was in no hurry to stay home and practice the newly acquired Black Tiger Baleful Heart Art.

After careful thought, Chen Mu decided to continue practicing Rampaging Bull Force first and make something of this examination technique.

Perhaps this would win Liu Qingcang's favor.

It would also keep Liu Qingcang from discovering that he had cultivated another school's internal art and questioning its origins.

As for the Black Tiger Blade Technique, he could practice it whenever he had spare time to strengthen his killing methods.

But martial arts could not be rushed. What he wanted to know more was the outcome of last night's battle at the docks.

When Chen Mu arrived at West Street, his stall had barely opened when customers came to ask about prices.

They were all respectable folk from the neighboring streets and alleys, along with neighbors of lowly status from Rubble Ward.

Chen Mu did not distinguish between strangers and acquaintances. He removed bones and chopped meat, quickly selling half a sheep.

During this, Chen Mu occasionally joined in idle chatter or secretly listened to passing conversations, learning the beginning and end of last night's conflict.

Zhao Dong had indeed gained nothing.

He had brought nearly a hundred soldiers to surround the docks, only to be met with a closed door.

The Red Whale Gang had several halls within the city and possessed formidable force. They might show Zhao Dong respect on the surface in ordinary times, but when conflict truly came, who would still give him face?

The two sides seemed to have engaged in a brief clash.

Several households living by the docks mentioned it casually when they came to buy meat. They had heard bursts of qi force rolling like thunder from the docks last night.

The moment Chen Mu heard that, he knew it must have been a great Martial Master who had cultivated inner force taking action.

Only after passing the great threshold of Body Tempering Fifth Layer could a martial artist begin refining blood and qi into inner force, transforming it into true qi and sinking it into the dantian.

This was the Qi-Nurturing Realm. One could be called a great Martial Master, ranking among the third-rate in the martial world.

Zhao Dong was most likely an expert of this realm.

The more true qi one nurtured, the greater the power of one's attacks. True qi attached to fists and palms could shatter blades and weapons barehanded.

A punch's wind could even produce the thunderous roars of tigers and leopards, striking fear into the heart. Ordinary evil spirits would be shaken to death on the spot before they could even approach.

Chen Mu was still far from that level. After gathering the information, he packed up his stall.

There was no use thinking too much. Only rapidly improving his strength was the hard truth.

Forcing down the distractions and turmoil of the outside world, Chen Mu went to Benevolent Aid Hall in the east of the city before returning home.

For this trip, he wore a bamboo hat to conceal his face and specifically bought a potent nourishing medicine for A-Ning.

The old physician had initially seen Chen Mu's shabby clothes and furtive appearance and had not wanted to receive him.

But upon seeing how generously he spent, the old man immediately put on a smiling face, respectfully prepared the medicine, and escorted Chen Mu out.

By the time he returned to his little courtyard, it was already afternoon.

The several packets of medicine in Chen Mu's hands had cost nearly fifty taels of silver.

They included twenty-year-old ginseng, specially used to treat cold poison entering the body and depleted blood and qi.

Chen Mu added a century-old ginseng rootlet to the decoction. After feeding it to A-Ning, the color in her face visibly improved.

Seeing that the medicine had taken effect, Chen Mu's worries finally settled.

According to the old physician, after these two potent prescriptions, A-Ning's body should recover in two or three days at most.

Expensive things truly had their reasons for being expensive.

Chen Mu soothed A-Ning to sleep and told her to rest and recuperate properly. Then he returned alone to the courtyard and began practicing martial arts.

He first performed a set of Wild Ox Fist, then practiced stance work for two hours.

Though it was the depths of winter, Chen Mu sweated like rain.

His fist shadows whirled through the courtyard, the muscles throughout his body surging and rippling as they stirred the snow covering the ground.

After this round of training, when dusk drew near, Chen Mu checked the panel and found that his blood and qi had improved again.

Unfortunately, he was still far from the 1,000 points needed to break through to Body Tempering Second Layer.

Chen Mu was not discouraged. He took out the Black Tiger Blade Technique and began practicing it.

This was a fierce art of attack and killing, containing seven saber forms in total, each with several variations.

It imitated the intent of a fierce tiger descending the mountain, placing foremost importance on an indomitable momentum. Its saber strikes emphasized ferocity and sharpness, with tricky angles.

Chen Mu committed the saber manual firmly to memory, then took out a Goosefeather Saber he had brought back after killing someone last night and began to practice.

At first, Chen Mu's movements were exceedingly stiff. But with each slash, chop, lift, and sweep, he gradually danced out a frigid gleam of saber light.

Even his understanding of the Ox-Slicing Saber Technique became more lucid.

Chen Mu barely managed to perform all seven saber forms from the manual once, and dense beads of sweat seeped across his forehead.

"At last... Wait! This is..."

Chen Mu raised a brow. Just as he sheathed his saber and stood still, a panel of crimson seal-script characters appeared before his eyes.

[Detected Yellow Grade Low-Tier martial art "Black Tiger Blade Technique." Proficiency: Beginner (1/100)]

[ Ding! Detected existing martial art "Ox-Slicing Saber Technique." Proficiency: Mastery (100/100)]

[You may consume 10 points of Karmic Slaughter to fuse the two martial arts. Begin derivation immediately?]