Second Master Zhu

The year-end drew near.

The heavy snow showed no sign of stopping. It fell for a full day and night, washing much of the New Year spirit away.

There were few pedestrians on the roads, yet the patrolling constables outnumbered their usual numbers severalfold.

"Divine Weapon Talisman Jiang Linxian... Jiang Linxian. She was actually Jiang Linxian's daughter. Otherwise, how could she possess a Divine Weapon Talisman?"

Inside a long-abandoned courtyard in Qinghe City, Xu Hua no longer possessed his former handsome, dashing appearance. Several bloody gashes marked his face, but most eye-catching of all was his empty left side and the sleeve that flapped in the wind.

He was in a wretched state.

Though the Divine Weapon Talisman had failed to kill him, it had still severed one of his arms.

Had the Ghost Underworld Sect not intervened, he would likely have died beneath Han Qin's Fallen Blossom Sword.

He coldly swept his gaze toward the Zhu Family estate in the distance.

"How dare they touch what is mine!"

Xu Hua had already visited that ruined temple. The secret technique he had brought from Huaqing Sect and hidden in the Buddhist hall had long since vanished without a trace.

He had returned to Qinghe City.

To reclaim what belonged to him.

"Then I'll find them one by one!"

Li Rui's days returned to normal once more.

Training in martial arts, raising horses—nothing more.

Young Master Zhu did not even stay until New Year's Day. That very day, he followed Han Qin and the other two back to Huaqing Sect without the slightest reluctance.

It was said that not long after they left Qinghe, Huaqing Sect experts arrived in Qinghe and met with the county magistrate. Now, patrolling constables could be seen everywhere in the streets.

But none of that had much to do with him anymore.

What could a seventy-year-old old man do?

Without Jiang Yan spying on him, Li Rui felt far more at ease.

Compared to achievements and his life, which mattered more was self-evident.

"Xiao Zhao, if you feel tired, go back and rest first. It's fine."

Li Rui looked at Wang Zhao with concern.

He had only two disciples. Ma Yang was already dead. If Wang Zhao also died of illness, he would surely earn the reputation of a Heavenly Fiend Lone Star.

He had to protect this sole remaining sapling.

Wang Zhao was an honest child, and Li Rui had raised him with his own hands. He had sincerely taught this disciple as though he were a son, so naturally he did not want anything to happen to him.

"Master, I can still do many things."

"..."

Li Rui felt that his disciple's answer missed the point somewhat.

Wang Zhao glanced at the streak of black amid Li Rui's silvery-white hair.

If no one mentioned Li Rui's age, most would surely think he was only in his early fifties. Those who had not spent much time around him might not notice, but Wang Zhao had personally watched Li Rui "grow younger."

Had Master been eaten by a monster? Was the Master standing before me now a monster in disguise?

An absurd thought surfaced in Wang Zhao's mind.

In any case, Master was not normal!

In the end, only when Li Rui spoke in a commanding tone did Wang Zhao finally leave the stable.

Li Rui was left alone.

He skillfully shoveled up dry fodder and poured it into the trough.

"Dayuan Horses still have the bigger appetites."

Whenever he thought of those four Blood-Sweating Horses, this old Groom who had raised horses his whole life could not help but itch with longing.

Just as he scooped up another shovelful of fodder—

A shadow appeared beneath his feet.

"Did you kill Ma Yang?"

The question caught him off guard, yet the shovel in Li Rui's hand paused at precisely the right moment. Then he turned around in alarm. "Second Master, don't joke around. Yang was sick to death. Plenty of people saw it."

"Besides, I treated Yang like my own son. How could I commit such an act as murdering my own kin?"

The man who had appeared in the stable was Second Master Zhu, Zhu Lie, younger brother of the family head, Zhu Ping.

If Zhu Ping was a smiling tiger, then Zhu Lie was a wolf.

Not a single Zhu Family servant was unafraid of him, especially not with the foot-long knife scar on his face. It was terrifying beyond measure.

A saying had always circulated through the Zhu Family.

"Fear not the little devils' cries; fear Second Master's smile."

When Zhu Lie smiled, his scar twitched. He looked more frightening than an evil ghost from hell.

Zhu Lie looked at Li Rui with a smile that did not reach his eyes. "It had better not be."

Li Rui played the cautious, timid old man to perfection, nodding repeatedly. "Second Master, you must believe this old servant."

Life was like a play.

At a time like this, showing the proper amount of panic was the most natural human reaction—not some calm, composed demeanor, neither subservient nor arrogant.

Zhu Lie snorted coldly. "Bring me the horses."

Li Rui wore a troubled expression. "Second Master, you know the stable rules. You must have the master's written token to take horses from the stable."

"You old thing!"

Zhu Lie flew into a rage and was about to lash out, but he held himself back.

For some reason, his elder brother had taken a keen interest in this old Groom lately, frequently checking in on him. Zhu Lie truly could not make a move against him.

Useless trash!

He cursed inwardly.

Naturally, he was cursing Ma Yang for dying at the wrong time. Why had the boy not killed this old Groom before dying?

Of course, Zhu Lie had merely been trying to bluff Li Rui just now, hoping to cow him into handing over the horses. Yet Li Rui would yield neither to threats nor persuasion. As for claiming Li Rui had killed Ma Yang—

Even Zhu Lie himself did not believe it.

This old thing was seventy and already halfway into the grave. Even taking a piss was a struggle for him, much less killing someone.

"I'd like to see how long my big brother can protect you!"

Zhu Lie shot Li Rui a vicious glare, tossed down a threat, and left.

Li Rui shook his head.

Every family had its own sutra too difficult to recite.

The Zhu Family might be flourishing, with its business reaching all the way to Anning Prefecture, but this household had never known peace.

Back when the Zhu Family had not yet grown so large, the Zhu brothers had made their fortune through shady trades. Later, First Master Zhu Ping wanted to wash their hands clean, but Zhu Lie disagreed, and the brothers developed a rift.

Even now, Zhu Lie remained close to those people from the Heng Sect.

In some places, the Heng Sect was also called highwaymen. And highwaymen naturally needed horses.

Zhu Lie wanted horses, naturally, to do things that could not see the light of day.

Over the years, Li Rui had offended Zhu Lie more than once over this matter. But no matter how much he offended him, he absolutely could not lend out the horses. Otherwise, should Zhu Lie get into trouble, Li Rui would inevitably be implicated as well.

He was merely surviving in the cracks.

Ma Yang had dared to make a move against him before not only because his character had never been firm, but also because Zhu Lie's instigation was inseparable from it.

"This debt will be settled sooner or later."

Li Rui's progress in practicing the blade advanced a thousand li a day.

In just ten short days, he had already grasped a trace of the essence of the White Ape Mantle Blade. If the Huaqing Sect master who had created this blade art were still alive, he might even have taken Li Rui as his final disciple.

Provided he did not mind Li Rui's age.

"Refreshing!"

Li Rui's long blade swept up flurries of snow. His Blade Intent poured forth, and the pent-up gloom in his heart was swept away.

After finishing his blade practice,

he did not bring the blade back to his quarters. Instead, he buried it in the snow. It was the twelfth lunar month now, so he did not need to worry about the snow melting.

Keeping the blade in his room might let someone see it, needlessly inviting trouble.

It would also implicate Yang Yong.

Only after burying the blade securely did Li Rui return to his room in the Zhu Family estate.

Yet the moment he reached the door, he saw Yang Yong anxiously pacing in front of the room. The instant Yang Yong saw Li Rui—

"Old Li, something's wrong! Wang Zhao was beaten!"