His Sister-in-Law's Shock

Before long, Li Feng arrived at Spring Renewal Hall.

As he entered the sickroom, Lin Yanqiu heard him and opened her eyes slightly, deep exhaustion showing on her pale face.

"You're here." Lin Yanqiu looked at Li Feng, a note of urgency in her voice. "How did you get on with what I told you to do? Did you go to the City Guard Office and resign as a White Runner?"

Li Feng closed the door behind him, approached her sickbed, and calmly shook his head. "No."

"No? Why not?"

Lin Yanqiu immediately sat up in agitation and scolded him:

"What did I tell you that night? Did you let it all blow past your ears?!"

Seeing how worked up his sister-in-law was, Li Feng hurried over and held her shoulders down, soothing her. "Sister-in-law, calm down first. You might pull your wounds. I have my reasons for not resigning as a White Runner. I've already entered the Martial Dao and reached the qi-blood first stage."

"Entered the Martial Dao?" Lin Yanqiu visibly froze, then frowned even more deeply. "At a time like this, you're still talking nonsense? You were an ordinary person just a few days ago. How could you suddenly have crossed the threshold? Besides, you don't even have a Martial Dao cultivation manual. How could you have done it?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Li Feng stopped concealing his strength. With a thought, he released a little of the aura he had kept restrained within his body.

Although Lin Yanqiu was gravely injured, she still possessed the keen senses of a Martial Dao expert. She immediately detected the fluctuations of qi and blood coming from Li Feng. They were unmistakably those of a genuine martial artist.

"The qi-blood first stage?" Feeling that aura, Lin Yanqiu stared in disbelief. "This... how is this possible? When did you reach it?"

"Just yesterday, really," Li Feng explained. "A few days ago, while I was cleaning up, I happened to find a damaged saber manual. I figured the world wasn't exactly peaceful, so I tried practicing it on my own. As I kept practicing, I crossed the threshold."

After hearing this, Lin Yanqiu found herself at a loss for words. She could only stare blankly at Li Feng, who seemed so familiar yet somehow unfamiliar.

Her younger brother-in-law had managed to feel his own way forward and enter the Martial Dao with an incomplete manual he had picked up. Just how much talent and luck did that take?

"Since you've entered the Martial Dao and met the standard of the qi-blood first stage, staying at the City Guard Office as a temporary runner certainly makes sense..." After a long silence, Lin Yanqiu finally let out a deep breath, her tightly strung nerves relaxing a little.

"You used to want nothing but a quiet, peaceful life. Why do you suddenly want to stay at the City Guard Office?" Lin Yanqiu asked with a sigh.

"A sense of danger."

Li Feng said earnestly, "Before, I had you protecting me, and life was decent enough. But seeing you injured so badly made me understand just how cruel this world is. I want to learn more advanced Martial Dao cultivation methods, but joining a martial school is too expensive. After thinking it over, staying at the City Guard Office is my only way to learn them in a short time."

"And the City Guard Office is relatively safe, too. There's also a salary."

At that, Lin Yanqiu fell silent.

He was right. She had protected him too well before, and her grievous injury had instead spurred him on.

"All right. Since you've made up your mind, I won't stop you." Lin Yanqiu drew a deep breath and said solemnly, "But remember, no matter how important arrests and investigations are, they're never more important than your life. You must always stay alert to danger."

"I know." Li Feng nodded.

After what had happened in the alley earlier, he naturally understood how cruel this world was. Had he not entered the Martial Dao the night before, he probably would have been the one who died.

Besides, when it came to lying low and staying alive, surely no one could outdo a transmigrator like him. He would never risk doing anything without a ninety-nine percent chance of success.

Lin Yanqiu continued her warnings. "You've crossed the threshold now, but you're still inexperienced, and you're only a temporary runner. Remember, never be the bird that sticks its head out. Don't touch the lucrative perks at the City Guard Office, such as tribute from the Gambling House or the Brothel. Otherwise, someone might get something to hold over you."

Li Feng nodded.

He would have liked to rake in some money. He was desperately short of it, after all. Wang Meng had said the Black Jade Bone-Molding Paste sold at the White Treasure Pavilion in the inner city could heal his sister-in-law's right hand, but it cost several hundred taels of silver.

But what money could a White Runner like him rake in? Finding a few copper coins while searching corpses was already a good haul. He would need to become a full-fledged runner before he had any chance at real money. His sister-in-law must have grown muddleheaded from spending too long in bed.

"Sister-in-law, if I could scrape together some more silver, that Black Jade Bone-Molding Paste..."

"Don't get carried away," Lin Yanqiu interrupted him outright. "That medicine is too expensive. I've asked. Even the less effective kind costs around two hundred taels, while the best costs five hundred. Even if you could skim money every day, how much could you gather in two months? You'd also be risking your future and your life. There's absolutely no need for that. Do you understand?"

"I was just mentioning it." Li Feng nodded.

He still had the spoils from searching the corpse tucked inside his clothes: over twenty taels of silver and some jewelry. Murderers and arsonists wore belts of gold. As long as his strength improved quickly enough, gathering that sum might not be impossible.

"As long as you understand. You've grown up..." Lin Yanqiu gave him a gratified look.

"That dangerous criminal from the inner city who injured you—how much reward money would there be for taking him down?" Li Feng suddenly asked.

Lin Yanqiu could not help glaring at him. "Are you trying to get yourself killed? That criminal's Martial Dao realm is extremely high. Forget you—even several of the office's head runners together with the Heavy Crossbowmen nearly fell at his hands."

"Didn't you say he was gravely injured too?" Li Feng pressed.

"Even gravely injured, he's not someone a qi-blood first stage martial artist like you can set his sights on. Crushing you to death would be no different from crushing an ant," Lin Yanqiu continued.

"All right, I was only asking. You don't have to crush my confidence like that, though."

Li Feng nodded.

He wondered which stage that man had reached in the Martial Dao. He had survived several heavy crossbow bolts. Wasn't that precisely the kind of power Li Feng longed for?

Unfortunately, he was only at the first stage of the Martial Dao now, not even his sister-in-law's equal. He was still far from such a realm.

After exchanging a few more words with his sister-in-law, Li Feng hurried home.

Once home, he threw together a rather unappetizing dinner, then began practicing the Water-Cutting Saber Art to repay his debt.

After practicing it once, he opened the panel:

[Heavenly Dao Advance Panel]

[Advanced item 1: Archery at major accomplishment (100% repaid)]

[Advanced item 2: "Water-Cutting Saber Art" at perfection (Debt repayment progress: 0%)]

[Current realm: Qi-blood first stage]

What was going on?

Li Feng was puzzled. Had the panel bugged out? Why hadn't the repayment progress increased? It was still at zero percent.

Or had he practiced too casually?

So he practiced it again with complete seriousness, then brought up the panel once more:

[Heavenly Dao Advance Panel]

[Advanced item 1: Archery at major accomplishment (100% repaid)]

[Advanced item 2: "Water-Cutting Saber Art" at perfection (Debt repayment progress: 2%)]

[Current realm: Qi-blood first stage]

So that was it. Although the Heavenly Dao Advance Panel could advance a cultivation method directly to its highest level, repaying it required him to practice every move with complete seriousness. This session had increased his progress by two percent.

At a rate of two percent per session, that meant he would need fifty days to fully repay the saber art he had received in advance.

Nearly two months. That's not slow. For a saber art at perfection, you could even call it very fast... Li Feng calculated inwardly.

Grrrroooowl.

His stomach suddenly let out a rumbling roar.

What's going on?

Looking at his slightly trembling hands, Li Feng could not help frowning. He felt unbearably hungry, as though his body had been hollowed out. He could have eaten an entire ox.

The hunger was so intense that Li Feng had no choice but to stop practicing. He hurried back inside and ate a large bowl of porridge, barely managing to suppress it.

It seemed he could not simply practice as much as he pleased. Training still consumed stamina, qi, and blood. He would have to find a way to get more food or medicinal meals if he wanted to repay his debt faster.

Sure enough, poor men study letters, while rich men practice martial arts. Only wealthy households can afford this...

Li Feng let out a long sigh, feeling rather helpless.

It seemed he would have to find an opportunity to sell the jewelry and the Water-Cutting Saber Art. He wondered how much they would fetch.