One Man's Poison, Another's Honey

By the Clear Water River.

Within a grand residence with vermilion gates and blue tiles, a middle-aged man with a hooked nose and a gloomy expression sat in a pavilion watching the water.

From time to time, several bright red koi surfaced.

The middle-aged man toyed with a tiny pebble no larger than a fingernail, curling his fingers slightly.

Whoosh!

The pebble shot out like an arrow, striking a koi in the water with perfect accuracy. Water splashed violently in the pond, and before long, the koi ceased moving.

He had injured someone from afar!

"Fish it out. We'll eat it tonight."

The maid standing nearby was long accustomed to such sights.

"Yes."

Just then, a Heaven and Earth Alliance disciple in black hurried down the path leading through the pavilion, holding a roster in both hands.

"Branch Master, this is this month's recommendation list."

The middle-aged man picked up the list and glanced over it.

"Make those who have entered rank into stewards. Throw the rest into the training grounds for a few years first; we'll discuss it after their assessments."

The black-clad disciple said, "Branch Master, yesterday Steward Wu recommended an Entering Rank Martial Master. His martial skills are good, and he understands the rules of the martial world, but he is somewhat old. His name is Li Rui."

"How old?"

"Seventy."

"..."

The middle-aged man flipped through the list for a while and indeed found Li Rui's name.

"It's a time when we need people. Send him to Heaven One Hall. Perhaps he can still give off a little of his remaining warmth."

"Yes."

Elsewhere.

"The blade follows the body; man and blade become one!"

Li Rui's wooden staff whirled through the air, sweeping down lush green leaves until they carpeted the entire courtyard.

The house he had rented through the broker was small, but it was rare in having a little courtyard. With spring underway, the willow trees on both sides had grown especially well.

After leaving the Zhu Family.

Free of worldly troubles, his blade technique had improved rapidly.

Even the instructors in the city who specialized in teaching blade techniques would likely not dare claim they could best him.

"A man living in this world cannot avoid striving..."

There was no martial artist who did not strive—for Cultivation Methods, for fame, for wealth...

If one did not strive, one would be left behind and eventually become someone else's stepping stone.

Fortunately, Li Rui had a cheat.

With his martial bones and the White Ape Mantle Blade, he had the capital to remain indifferent to fame and profit. As long as he found a decent position, the problem of medicinal herbs would be more than half resolved.

After finishing his blade practice, he had just entered the house.

Then—

Knock, knock, knock!

A knocking sounded outside the courtyard.

He opened the door and saw that it was Yang Yong.

Yang Yong stared at Li Rui with an anxious face. "Old Li, did you once visit that abandoned temple outside the city?"

"Yes."

Li Rui nodded, his heart tightening.

He did not know why Yang Yong had come to speak to him about this.

The moment Yang Yong heard his answer, he cried that things were bad. "Something happened. Captain Liu from the yamen came to the Zhu Family today, and I happened to be there. He said that, recently, nearly all the constables who went to that abandoned temple that time had been killed. They suspect someone is deliberately targeting them, and he told the master to be careful."

"I thought it over and remembered that you went that day too, so I hurried over to warn you."

Li Rui's brows furrowed sharply.

"This is troublesome!"

The murderous fiend from the earlier rumors must have been that Huaqing Sect disciple.

He had taken that Huaqing Sect disciple's secret art. The other party was clearly unwilling to let it go and had specifically come seeking revenge. Unable to identify the target, he had simply begun killing them one by one, intending to kill until he found the secret art.

"I understand, Old Yang."

Yang Yong kindly advised, "Old Li, why don't you hide in another county for a while?"

Li Rui shook his head.

"I can't hide."

He knew better than anyone how precious the White Ape Mantle Blade was. Unless he fled Cloud Province, the other party would never let him go.

"Then what should we do?"

"I plan to join the Heaven and Earth Alliance."

Hearing that Li Rui intended to join the Heaven and Earth Alliance, Yang Yong was immediately stunned. Naturally, he had heard of the Heaven and Earth Alliance's reputation.

"Do you have someone to recommend you?"

"Yes."

Only after seeing Li Rui nod did Yang Yong relax slightly.

The Heaven and Earth Alliance had many experts. As long as Li Rui lived within the Heaven and Earth Alliance's grounds, it would not be easy for that murderous fiend to make a move.

Those constables had all been killed on their way home as well.

Not long after seeing Yang Yong off, a burly, bearded man in a black Heaven and Earth Alliance uniform arrived outside the small courtyard.

Li Rui smiled and stepped forward. "Brother Wu."

Wu Tu entered the courtyard and took a brass token from his robes. The number "28" was inscribed on it.

"Old Brother, this is your token. The number on it corresponds to your status. If you lose it, report it promptly to the people at the Heaven and Earth Alliance's Logistics Hall. Otherwise, if someone uses your token to commit evil deeds, you will be punished as well."

Li Rui nodded and accepted the token from Wu Tu.

He was just about to thank him.

When Wu Tu pulled a sheet of paper covered in densely packed markings and characters from his sleeve.

Li Rui recognized it as a banknote the instant he saw the seal of Ten Thousand Treasures Commerce.

In ancient times, the poor mostly used copper coins, while the wealthy mostly used silver.

Yet sometimes the amount of silver was too great and inconvenient to carry, so it would be deposited with a merchant house and exchanged for banknotes. A thin sheet of paper was not only convenient to carry, but these banknotes had undergone special treatment, making them waterproof and fireproof.

Li Rui did not understand what Wu Tu meant by this.

Wu Tu stared at him for a moment, then suddenly shook his head and sighed. "Old Brother, my younger brother didn't handle this matter well for you. He feels guilty, so I absolutely dare not accept the silver earned from this recommendation."

"What happened, Brother Wu?"

"The number on this token represents one's standing. The smaller the number, the higher the status. The Qinghe Branch of the Heaven and Earth Alliance has a total of twenty-eight Entering Rank martial artists.

"Your brother originally thought that, with Old Brother's experience and skill, you could at least get a number within the top twenty.

"Who would have thought..."

As Wu Tu spoke, he raised two fingers in oath. "Rest assured, Old Brother. In the future, your brother will definitely secure more benefits for you."

Before he finished speaking, he stuffed the banknote for one hundred taels of silver into Li Rui's hand.

The token was made of brass, with the two characters "Heaven and Earth" raised upon its surface, encircled by a ring of crimson patterns. It looked ornate and imposing.

"Old Brother, with this token, you are the Heaven One Hall Master."

"Heaven One Hall is responsible for guarding the branch's Cultivation Methods and other miscellaneous books. We only guard them; the Law Transmission Hall is responsible for distributing Cultivation Methods."

"This position is very leisurely."

Wu Tu held it in for a long while but truly could not find any advantage of Heaven One Hall. In the end, he could only mention one merit that martial artists would not consider a merit.

He had sincerely wanted to find Li Rui a good position.

Though he was ruthless in his dealings, when he encountered someone he approved of and respected, he genuinely considered that person's interests. Otherwise, he could never have become the leader of the Rong Faction.

After their several encounters, he felt that aside from being somewhat old, Li Rui was impeccable in both martial skill and character.

Li Rui understood.

Heaven One Hall Master. Put another way, was he not simply a librarian?

He looked at the one-hundred-tael banknote in his hand.

He got silver and a leisurely position besides.

How could such a wonderful thing exist in this world?!