Death and Pursuit

Practicing martial arts demanded enormous resources. It was not just the apprenticeship fee; the nourishment, medicinal broth, and even any extra instruction he might need all meant one expense after another.

The poor studied letters; the rich practiced martial arts. It had always been so.

But Li Xuan had prepared well in advance.

This medicinal broth is a steady source of points. It seems a little slower than hunting for myself, but who cares? I'm trading silver for them either way!

Still, Shi Lei's words had given him a clearer understanding of the gulf between those inside the martial arts school and those outside.

After lunch and a short rest, the afternoon brought the same immovable routine of stance training and basic boxing forms.

The blazing sun hung overhead, scorching their scalps.

Li Xuan remained focused on his training. Now that his Oxhide Realm had stabilized,

his control over his blood and qi and his understanding of stance training seemed to have deepened another level.

While holding his stance, he could better appreciate the subtle sensations of "taking root in the earth" and "blood and qi circulating of their own accord."

But it seems I can't drink too much medicinal broth in one day. It depends on how quickly my body absorbs it...

Li Xuan put it to the test, drinking another five or six bowls and attracting plenty of envious, jealous looks. In the end, however, he gained only about twenty potential points.

In other words, drinking more did little good. His body could not absorb it.

Forget it. I can't rush this.

If it really were that simple, would drinking a thousand bowls a day not send his points through the roof?

Still, the benefits are obvious. I should be able to break through the first Blood Gate within the next couple of days.

This was his supreme talent!

By evening, the day's training was over.

The disciples dragged their weary bodies out of the martial arts school one after another.

"Brother Li Xuan, you're heading back to Li Family Village, right? We can walk part of the way together!"

Li Xuan had originally intended to find a senior disciple and ask about internal cultivation. He would not have minded paying a little for it.

But after asking around, he discovered that the senior disciples from earlier had never practiced internal cultivation!

So internal cultivation is actually something precious? Ordinary disciples never even get a chance to practice it?!

Now Li Xuan considered the Breath-Hiding Formula even more valuable!

I really stumbled onto a treasure. Wang Kui, I truly owe you my thanks!

Unable to find anyone to consult, he could only set it aside for now and find another way later.

Just then, Shi Lei came over, wiping away his sweat.

Little River Gully Village and Li Family Village lay in roughly the same direction, though their routes branched apart along the way.

"Yeah."

Li Xuan nodded. They walked out through the school gates side by side, joining the slightly noisy evening crowds in town.

Shi Lei kept chattering about the hardships of martial training, complaining that the school charged too much and his progress was too slow.

His family had already tightened their belts to pay for his training, and so on.

Li Xuan mostly listened, occasionally offering a word or two in response.

As they walked, they gradually left the town's busiest streets and turned onto the dirt road leading out of town.

There were far fewer pedestrians, and the sky was beginning to darken.

Just as they passed through a relatively secluded area dotted with a few low houses,

a sudden clamor of voices and cries came from ahead. Quite a few people had gathered at the entrance to a small courtyard, pointing and talking.

"What happened?" Shi Lei's curiosity got the better of him, and he stood on tiptoe to look.

Li Xuan looked over as well.

The courtyard gate stood open.

From inside came the faint sounds of a woman's heartrending wails and a man's stifled, furious curses.

A dozen or so neighbors crowded around the entrance, their faces frightened as they murmured among themselves.

"I heard they were robbed..."

"More than robbed, surely? When I saw them carry Granny Wang out, her neck was..."

"What a sin! Old Man Wang and his family were such honest people..."

"There's no way to live in times like these! You aren't even safe in town!"

"Has anyone reported it to the authorities?"

"What good would that do? Those lordly constables..."

Snatches of their conversation reached his ears.

Li Xuan saw two men dressed as bailiffs hurry over and disperse the crowd, their expressions grim as well.

Through a gap in the crowd, he vaguely glimpsed what seemed to be a body lying on the courtyard ground, covered with a straw mat. Dark red blood seeped out around its edges.

Someone had died.

In broad daylight, in a relatively secluded corner of town, someone had broken into a home and committed murder.

Shi Lei's face went a little pale with fear. He tugged at Li Xuan's sleeve.

"B-Brother Li Xuan, let's... let's go. Stop looking. This is scary..."

Li Xuan looked away and nodded without saying anything.

But his heart sank.

The bandits outside town earlier, and now this murder within it,

laid bare the dangers and chaos of these times all the more vividly.

The authorities' grip was weakening, and more and more people were taking desperate risks.

Could that notorious thief have entered town? Surely not? Would he really be that bold?

Come to think of it, Li Xuan was rather curious about that notorious thief roaming at large!

So many constables had failed to catch him after all this time.

That alone showed how formidable he was.

Someone from another city... he really is in a different league. Maybe he's practiced some peerless martial art!

If Li Xuan were to run into him, would that not mean...

But he was only indulging in a little fantasy. If they really met, he would run as far away as he could and absolutely refuse to court that kind of disaster!

The two parted at the fork in the road.

The dirt road toward Li Family Village grew increasingly deserted. The moonlight was hazy, and the fields and wooded hills on either side lay pitch-black.

Li Xuan paused.

There were footsteps behind him.

They were deliberately light, but still rustled against the dirt road.

At least two people.

Without betraying anything, he turned onto the path toward East Mountain-a narrower, wilder trail flanked by small pine groves.

The footsteps behind him paused, then followed him onto the trail, noticeably quickening.

The corners of Li Xuan's mouth lifted.

His figure flickered, blending into the shadows among the trees.

Within a few breaths, he had disappeared behind a pine.

"Huh? Where'd he go?"

Two men in short work clothes chased him in, carrying wooden clubs and looking utterly bewildered.

"He definitely turned in here just now!"

The one with a scar on his face spat. "Damn it, we lost him! How are we supposed to answer to Young Master Du? He said we had to take an arm or a leg off this brat to teach him a lesson!"

The other man, short and fat, grew anxious. "Brother Scar, there's something weird about this kid. He runs so fast..."

"Split up and search! He must be hiding-ow, fuck!"

Before Scarface could finish, his foot suddenly slipped.

His whole body pitched forward.

There was a muffled squelch.

His right foot landed squarely in a soft, warm heap of something.

A foul stench shot straight to the crown of his head.

"What the fuck is this?!"

He looked down.

Dog shit.

A huge pile.

Fresh and still warm.

The short, fat man was about to laugh when something gave beneath his own foot.

"Fuck-"

Squelch.

Another pile.

The two stared at each other.

Under the moonlight, Scarface's face had turned green.

"Who the fuck took a shit in these woods?!"

In the darkness, Li Xuan crouched on a branch, watching the two fools hop around clutching their feet. His shoulders shook with laughter.

Young Master Du, huh? His lips spread in a silent grin. Take off my arm or leg?

A sharp sound suddenly tore through the woods, laden with overwhelming killing intent...

Whoosh!

Two sharp arrows hurtled toward the men.