Spirit-Grade Sword-Shuanghong

Ye An tucked the Token into his inner pocket. When he passed Ye Ning's room, he paused.

"Second Brother, no matter what happens tonight, don't go outside. Lock the door and tell Father and Eldest Brother."

Ye Ning stopped what he was doing and glanced at him.

He did not ask why or where Ye An was going.

He merely nodded, his voice very soft. "Understood."

Ye Ning sat by the table, listening as footsteps crossed the courtyard, opened the gate, and vanished in the direction of Willow Alley.

He rose, walked to the main room, closed the door, and slid the bolt into place.

It was the hour of the boar. The north wind had stopped, and even the fallen leaves in the alley had gone still.

Ye An crouched in the shadows of the back alley behind the Zhou Family, his back against the wall. The fingertips of his Iron Sand Gloves gleamed a dull gray in the moonlight.

He did not wait long. A neat burst of footsteps came from the mouth of the alley.

Boots struck the bluestone pavement, the sound like raindrops beating on roof tiles.

The man leading them wore black soft armor, a saber hanging at his waist and a Token raised in his hand.

It was identical to Ye An's. The word "Guard" was carved on the front.

He waved toward the people behind him. The dozen or so men split into three teams: one blocked the front gate, one blocked the back gate, and one scaled the wall.

Ye An rose from the shadows.

The leader saw him. His gaze paused for an instant on the Iron Sand Gloves in Ye An's hands, then flicked to the Token hanging at his waist. Without asking anything, he said only two words. "Follow me."

Ye An entered the Zhou Family compound through the side gate with the team scaling the wall.

The courtyard was brightly lit, but not a sound could be heard.

Several guards rushed out after hearing the commotion, but before they could see the intruders' faces, they were pinned to the ground.

One of the leaders, at the Peak First Body Tempering stage, struggled to break free. Ye An tapped him once in the hollow of the shoulder, and the entire arm drooped. Cold sweat poured down his face, but he clenched his teeth and made no sound.

"Bind them." The leader waved his hand. Several officers came forward, tied them up, gagged them, and dragged them to the corner.

Ye An did not linger on the perimeter.

He possessed Third Body Tempering strength and had Gu Changfeng's Token. He did not need to search the outskirts for stragglers like those officers at the First Body Tempering and Second Body Tempering stages.

He greeted the leader and headed straight for the inner courtyard.

The Zhou Family compound was far larger than he had imagined.

Beyond a moon gate lay a bluestone-paved path. Bamboo grew on either side, rustling in the wind.

Another gate stood at the end of the path. It was ajar, and the interior was pitch-black. There was no telling whether anyone was inside.

Ye An did not rush in. He stood at the entrance, closed his eyes, and sent the Internal Energy from the Qi-Nourishing Formula into his ears.

After his Internal Energy had improved, his five senses had become far sharper than they had been at the Second Body Tempering stage, but he still could not hear through walls.

He needed to guide Internal Energy into the meridians of his ears to hear the faint sounds hidden behind the walls.

A steady, sustained breathing came from the second room on the left.

Ye An was certain that the owner of that breathing was a martial artist—and one whose cultivation was far from low!

Ye An opened his eyes and walked toward the room.

He did not move quickly, but every step landed lightly. The fingertips of his Iron Sand Gloves hung at his sides, neither clenched nor spread.

He reached the door and pushed it open. It was unlocked.

Moonlight leaked through a crack in the window and fell across the person inside.

The man sat cross-legged on a meditation mat, both hands resting on his knees, his eyes closed.

He wore black short robes, a gray cloth belt around his waist, and his hair was bound with a wooden hairpin. Moonlight split his face in two—one half bright, the other dark.

Lei Meng.

Ye An's fingers curled slightly.

The master of the Iron Fist Martial Arts Hall, at the Peak Third Body Tempering stage, and successor to the Shattering Iron Fist.

He was not staying at the Iron Fist Martial Arts Hall. What was he doing at the Zhou Family's home? A thought flashed through Ye An's mind, and he immediately supplied the answer.

The Zhou Family's lapdog. When its master was in trouble, of course the dog would protect the house.

Lei Meng opened his eyes and looked at Ye An.

The corners of his mouth slowly rose into a smile. It was an ugly smile, like a gash carved open by a knife.

"Ye An." His voice was not loud, but every word seemed squeezed out from between his teeth. "I was just worried I couldn't find you. You crippled my disciple at the exchange meeting. Tonight, it's time to settle that debt."

Ye An said nothing. His gaze shifted from Lei Meng's face to his hands.

Both fists were clenched. His knuckles were thick, and his fingertips were covered in heavy calluses.

"A nobody from a Martial Hall, relying on Third Body Tempering to barge into the Zhou Family." Lei Meng rose from the mat and brushed off his robes, unhurried. "You think Third Body Tempering makes you impressive? I've been stuck at the Peak Third Body Tempering stage for ten years. What do you have to fight me with?"

Ye An did not answer. His right hand hung at his side, his index and middle fingers pressed together, fingertips pointing down.

Lei Meng looked at his stance and laughed. "Azure Cloud Finger? Su Yuanshan's flashy paper tiger? You actually have the nerve to bring it out and embarrass yourself? Today, I'll show you what a real Shattering Iron Fist is."

Before his voice had even faded—

Lei Meng surged forward with crushing force. He drove off the ground, his whole body like a moving hill, and bore down on Ye An.

Every step landed on the blue bricks, splitting their surfaces with fine cracks.

The force of his fist arrived first. With a whoosh, it blew the door behind Ye An into the wall with a muffled bang.

Ye An had pushed the force-generation method of the Azure Cloud Finger to its limit. Strength rose from the soles of his feet, twisted up through his waist and hips, surged through his shoulder, passed through his elbow and wrist, and finally gathered at his fingertips.

He had compressed the power transmitted through three joints into a single straight line.

Lei Meng's fist smashed toward him, and Ye An met it with the Azure Cloud Finger.

The instant fingertip met fist, Ye An's finger pierced through the edge of Lei Meng's punch and jabbed into the forearm of his right arm.

Struck by Ye An's finger, Lei Meng's entire right arm went numb as if electrified. That momentary paralysis kept him from withdrawing his fist in time.

Ye An's second finger was already moving. It struck the inner side of Lei Meng's elbow, where no muscle protected the tendons beneath the skin. Internal Energy surged from his fingertip like a needle driving inward.

Lei Meng's expression changed.

His right arm drooped, but unlike Shi Yong, he did not lose his ability to fight.

The foundation of the Peak Third Body Tempering stage was there. His resistance to Internal Energy was more than a level stronger than Shi Yong's, who had only just reached Third Body Tempering. Gritting his teeth, he swung his left fist.

Ye An shifted his footing and slid from directly in front of Lei Meng to his side.

Ye An cut through Lei Meng's defense.

Lei Meng lost his balance and pitched forward, but at the final moment, he planted his left hand on the ground and sprang back like a compressed spring.

Ye An had no intention of giving him that chance.

Ye An thrust out his third finger again. It shot straight toward Lei Meng's chest.

The Tanzhong acupoint—the vital point of the human Conception Vessel. If Internal Energy struck it, the flow of qi and blood would reverse, and one's cultivation would be completely crippled. Lei Meng sensed the threat of the finger.

He abruptly pulled back his left fist and raised it before his chest, the surface of his fist meeting Ye An's fingertip.

Crack!

The sound of a finger bone breaking.

The power of the Azure Cloud Finger pierced through Lei Meng's fist, struck into his palm, then burrowed from his palm into his arm. His left arm drooped like a wooden stick hanging from his shoulder.

"You!" Lei Meng's eyes flew open, his pupils shrinking to two black dots. He stared at Ye An, lips trembling as he tried to speak, but no words came out.

Ye An did not stop. He thrust out his fourth finger and struck Lei Meng's Dantian.

Internal Energy surged from his fingertip like an invisible awl, stabbing into Lei Meng's Qi Sea.

Lei Meng's body suddenly stiffened, then collapsed like a punctured ball.

He knelt on the ground, both hands braced against it, gulping for breath.

Sweat dripped from the tip of his nose onto the blue bricks, soaking into one dark mark after another.

His mouth hung open, and "huh, huh" sounds came from his throat, like a bellows smashed to pieces.

Ye An withdrew his hand and stood before him, looking down from above.

Lei Meng raised his head, his eyes filled with unwillingness.

He had practiced fists for more than twenty years and been stuck at the Peak Third Body Tempering stage for a decade. He had believed himself to be the strongest martial artist in Anping County beneath those at the Meridian Opening stage.

Yet he had been felled by four fingers from a teenager and had not even had room to retaliate.

Ye An said nothing.

He crouched down and searched Lei Meng. There was a money pouch containing several dozen taels of broken silver, and a string of iron keys hanging from a Bronze ring. No pills, no techniques—nothing else.

Ye An rose, tucked the keys into his chest, glanced at Lei Meng kneeling on the ground, and turned toward the depths of the room. Since Lei Meng had been guarding this place, there had to be something valuable inside.

The room was small and sparsely furnished.

There was a table, a chair, and a meditation mat. A calligraphy scroll hung on the wall, bearing the four characters "Martial Dao Reaches the Divine." The brushwork was vigorous, but Ye An did not recognize the signature.

He swept his gaze across the room without lingering and fixed it on the door in the corner.

The door was made of iron, with a large lock hanging from it. The keyhole was Bronze and had been polished until it shone. Ye An took out the string of keys and tried them one by one. The third key opened the lock.

Behind the iron door was a narrow staircase leading downward, just wide enough for one person. Ye An took an oil lamp from the wall and carried it down. At the end of the stairs was a Secret Chamber. Several rows of racks stood inside, neatly lined with weapons.

Sabers, spears, swords, halberds, axes, battle-axes, hooks, forks... Lower Mortal Grade, Middle Mortal Grade, Upper Mortal Grade. Dozens of weapons, each polished until it gleamed coldly in the lamplight.

The Zhou Family's armory!

Ye An's gaze swept across the racks without stopping.

An Upper Mortal Grade weapon was already a fine thing in Anping County, but it was not enough for him.

Although his Iron Sand Gloves were not Spirit Grade, they were far handier than an Upper Mortal Grade weapon.

His gaze continued forward. When it reached the last row of racks, it stopped.

That row stood in the deepest part of the Secret Chamber, a head taller than the others.

The racks were not filled with weapons. Only a single sword rested there.

The scabbard was deep brown, inlaid with fine silver threads that formed a phoenix spreading its wings.

The hilt was dark gray, wrapped with dark-silver thread. The thread was somewhat worn, but its former delicacy could still be seen.

The guard was silver, cast in the shape of two outspread wings. Their edges were as sharp as blades.

Ye An reached out, gripped the hilt, and lifted the sword from the rack. It was lighter than he had imagined, but it felt heavy in his hand—not heavy in weight, but heavy in substance.

He drew the sword from its scabbard. In the oil-lamp light, the blade shimmered with a pale-blue radiance, like a pool of clear water.

Two characters were carved along the spine in an ancient, archaic script—"Shuanghong."

Spirit Grade. Middle Grade.

Ye An returned the sword to its scabbard and hung it at his waist. The scabbard tapped against his Iron Sand Gloves with a light ring. He did not spare it another glance and turned to leave the Secret Chamber.

Outside the Secret Chamber, Lei Meng was still kneeling on the ground, but he had already stopped breathing.

His head hung low, both hands braced on the floor, like a collapsed stone statue. Ye An walked past him without a second look.

When he stepped out of the room, the courtyard was already packed with officers.

Some carried boxes, some counted silver, and others escorted prisoners.

The leader saw the extra sword at Ye An's waist. His gaze paused for a moment, but he asked no questions and continued directing his men as they moved the goods.

Ye An was about to head elsewhere when a voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Senior Brother An! Senior Brother An! Save me!"

Ye An turned around.

Zhou Yuanlong was pinned to the ground by two officers. His face was covered in dust, his hair disheveled, and his clothes torn in several places.

His eyes were red, blood ran from his nose, and the corner of his mouth was split. He looked like a rat trampled into the mud.

When he saw Ye An, it was as if he had spotted a lifeline. He struggled desperately, only for the officers to press him down harder.

"Senior Brother An, I was wrong. I didn't mean it before. Please help me plead for mercy, for the sake of our shared school..." His voice was shrill and frantic, as if he feared that speaking too slowly would cost him his only chance. "I may be part of the Zhou Family, but I truly didn't know what they'd done all these years! I don't want to go to prison... Save me..."

Ye An looked at him without speaking.

Whether it was true or false no longer mattered.

Zhou Yuanlong's voice grew softer and hoarser. "Senior Brother An... Senior Brother An..."

Ye An beckoned.

The two officers holding Zhou Yuanlong exchanged a glance, then looked at the Token hanging from Ye An's waist.

The leader walked over. Ye An pointed at Zhou Yuanlong. "Take him away."

The leader understood.

He waved to the two officers. Zhou Yuanlong was hauled up and dragged out of the courtyard gate. His voice came from outside, growing farther and softer until the night wind finally swallowed it.

Ye An turned and entered another room.

Everything on the racks had already been cleared out.

Several sheets of paper lay scattered across the floor, trampled with footprints.

He crouched and picked one up. It recorded that on a certain date, the Zhou Family had sent the Blackwind Stronghold five hundred taels of silver.

He read it twice, crumpled the paper into a ball, tossed it back onto the floor, and turned to leave.

Gu Changfeng did not know how much evidence like this he had collected.

The entire confiscation lasted through the night.