Windcloud Manor

Late at night.

After practicing his martial arts, Cao Jinxing lay down to rest. He still had to report for roll call at the government office first thing tomorrow morning. Being a civil servant in the Ming dynasty was no easy job either.

The white cat, Xuan Yuan Fourteen, lay beside his pillow, pressed tightly against his neck.

The position was uncomfortable. Cao Jinxing moved the cat away several times, but the stubborn little creature kept dragging its injured leg back toward him, looking utterly wronged.

Had it been a person, Cao Jinxing would never have indulged such behavior. But he was a closet cat slave, so he could only let the cat have its way.

Fourteen was satisfied.

But before the cat could settle into sleep, a bark rang out. Fourteen's eyes flew wide, its fur bristled, and it clung tightly to Cao Jinxing's neck, trembling all over.

Cao Jinxing sighed deeply.

"I knew it. With my luck below ten, there was no way an extraordinary beast would recognize me as its master for no reason. Even if one did, getting my hands on it wouldn't be easy..."

He sat up.

His expression darkened.

"Gentlemen, I suggest you don't attack just yet. If you wreck my home, I'll make you regret it!"

A terrifying chill flared out, then vanished.

The surroundings fell silent.

Cao Jinxing leisurely put on a white robe, then walked out of his room with the Embroidered Spring Saber in one hand and Fourteen in the other.

Five men stood in the courtyard.

Outside, at least thirty or forty more surrounded the gate, while over a dozen large dogs stared fixedly at Fourteen, growling low in their throats.

Cao Jinxing was in a foul mood. His saber pointed diagonally toward the ground, its edge gleaming as he regarded the men coldly. "Breaking into my home in the middle of the night? Give me a reasonable explanation."

An Embroidered Spring Saber!

The five men's pupils contracted sharply. This was trouble! Of all the places the cat could have fled, it had ended up with an Embroidered Uniform Guard! Judging by the patterns on his saber, he was even a damned company commander!

Anyone who killed an Embroidered Uniform Guard was guilty of treason, punishable by the extermination of three generations of their family!

Unless they intended to abandon the capital entirely, discovery by the Pacification Commission would mean confiscation of their property and extermination of their clan.

Others might take that gamble. Windcloud Manor could not.

It was not merely a matter of losing the manor. Its master, Zhang Dajing, was one of the capital's wealthiest men. If they killed an Embroidered Uniform Guard, his entire fortune would vanish.

"Please forgive our intrusion at this late hour, Commander. The spirit cat in your arms, Snow Glaze, is a spirit beast lost by Windcloud Manor. Our manor master's life depends on it. We earnestly beg you to return it."

The leader adopted a deeply deferential manner.

Cao Jinxing laughed. "Yours? You injured its leg and poisoned it, yet still couldn't catch it. How could it possibly be yours? Judging by how you operate, locking it in a cage and putting a rope around it would be the least of what you'd do if you got your hands on it... Never mind that it isn't yours-even if it were, it isn't anymore. Get out!"

"..."

Cold sweat broke out on the leader. He wanted to lose his temper, but the other man's strength and status held him back. Yet if he slunk away now, he would have no way to answer to the young manor master.

As he struggled with his dilemma-

"Guan Chong, stand down."

Zhang Chengfeng appeared. "Everyone, return to the manor. Your task is complete."

The men were only too eager to get away from this Embroidered Uniform Guard and promptly disappeared.

Cao Jinxing glanced at him. "Not another step. Point those Storm Pear Blossom Needles at me, and I'll leave you without an intact corpse!"

As his words fell, saber light flashed. A stark white slash appeared on a wall thirty meters away!

It was three feet long and five inches deep, with frost flowers spreading all around it!

If a casual swing carried such power, Zhang Chengfeng had no choice but to stop. He gave a bitter smile. "Your martial prowess is extraordinary, sir. I admire you. But do you know that I've spent eight years searching for it? Even if I die today, I must take it back to cure my father!"

"..."

Cao Jinxing frowned. Trouble, just as he had expected. "There are countless spiritual medicines in this world," he said impatiently. "I hear Windcloud Manor is fabulously wealthy. Why must you insist on going after a cat?"

Zhang Chengfeng said, "My father was struck by true qi from the Demon Cult's Sacred Fire Canon. The demonic fire in his heart has nearly burned away all his vitality. Snow Glaze is a naturally extraordinary spirit cat with tremendous life force. Its heart can bring someone back from the brink of death, so..."

Cao Jinxing sneered. "Some son you are. Your father is being tormented by foreign true qi, yet instead of finding a way to extinguish the fire, you keep adding fuel. What damned good will that do?"

"I..."

Zhang Chengfeng said bitterly, "You make it sound so easy, sir! The Sacred Fire Canon is the supreme art of the Bright Sect, one of the Demon Cult's three sects. It ranks at the upper fifth grade! Extinguishing its fiery qi is far easier said than done!"

Cao Jinxing simply sat down. "Then let me hear what makes it so difficult."

Zhang Chengfeng said, "The demonic fire's true qi burns through the internal organs. Any medicinal herb or pill below its grade can only suppress it, never expel it. Prolonged use also builds resistance. Miss even one day's medicine, and the suffering worsens! To extinguish the fire, we can only turn to cold yin true qi. But ice-based cultivation methods are inherently extreme. Arts such as the Great Simplicity Yin Scripture make killing easy, but healing difficult... According to Divine Physician Sai Huatuo, only two known cultivation methods might extinguish the fire without harming the patient: the Nethersea Origin Return Art and the Ice Profound Mirror. The former is a closely guarded secret of the lord of Penglai Island in the Eastern Sea. The latter is in the palace, the signature art of Eunuch Lu, the seal-bearing eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial..."

At this point, Zhang Chengfeng's expression grew even more bitter. "The lord of Penglai Island is elusive. I've repeatedly sent people out to sea, but none have found him. Eunuch Lu serves as the inner chancellor, lives deep within the imperial palace, and attends to countless affairs every day. However wealthy the Zhang family may be, we're nothing in his eyes. How could we possibly invite him to treat my father... If I weren't truly helpless, why would I try to put out a fire by feeding it more wood..."

Zhang Chengfeng's eyes grew wet.

"..."

Cao Jinxing watched the changes in his expression, searching for any sign of deception.

"As his son, I have no choice but to seek the spirit cat! Today, I, Zhang Chengfeng, boldly ask you to relinquish it. I will repay you with lavish gifts! But if you refuse..."

His eyes had gone red, and two Heavenly Thunder Bombs appeared in his hands. Once detonated, they would reduce everything within a hundred meters to dust!

He meant to take them both down!

He certainly was a filial son.

Cao Jinxing sighed helplessly. "I know the Lightning Movement Step. Those things won't kill me. Come on."

He rose and casually tossed his Embroidered Spring Saber back into its scabbard inside the room.

"Go? Go where?"

Zhang Chengfeng was bewildered.

"To your home, of course. I'll save your father, and you'll stay away from my cat. Can you manage that?"

"You..."

Zhang Chengfeng stared dumbly before recovering, astonishment and joy flooding his face. "If you really can save my father, I'd even worship the cat!"

Cao Jinxing said, "That won't be necessary. It was injured because of you, so you'll provide everything it needs to recover."

Zhang Chengfeng nodded repeatedly. "Of course! I'll have precious herbs and treasures delivered immediately as an apology! It can eat as much as it likes! From now on, my family will cover all its food!"

"Remember what you said today."

"If I break my word, may heaven strike me down!"

"Then let's go."

With Xuan Yuan Fourteen in his arms, Cao Jinxing strode out the gate.

Zhang Chengfeng patted his own face to make sure he was not dreaming, then followed in wild delight.

Cao Jinxing trusted the old Taoist's judgment. If the yin qi of the Great Simplicity Yin Scripture was sufficient, then the Cold Toad Art, which was no weaker, should certainly work as well.

He did not know how vicious other ice-based martial arts might be, but the Cold Toad Art could indeed nourish the meridians and heal injuries.

He himself was proof.

Both requirements were met, so Cao Jinxing decided he might as well help the man and spare himself any further relentless pestering.

Late at night.

Windcloud Manor was utterly silent.

Dressed in white, Cao Jinxing entered Zhang Dajing's bedroom. Seeing the withered old man on the bed, even he was startled by the Demon Cult's cruelty.

He had heard that Zhang Dajing had been a fine young gentleman in his earlier years. Though his talent for martial arts was limited, he had been graceful, learned, and fluent in several languages.

He had earned his first fortune by traveling with a caravan along the Silk Road all the way to Persia. After that, his business had grown unstoppably.

Yet this outstanding man had been tortured into a living corpse...

A selection of low-grade natural treasures had already been placed on the table specifically for Fourteen. But the cat clutched Cao Jinxing's clothes, wary and unwilling to leave his side.

"Don't be afraid."

Cao Jinxing stroked the cat's head. "Go ahead and eat. The more you eat, the faster you'll heal."

His voice was so gentle that Zhang Chengfeng and the others could hardly believe their ears. It was far softer than the tone he had used with them.

Fourteen understood. Licking its lips, the cat leaped into the pile of food and gulped it down, never taking its eyes off Cao Jinxing.

Cao Jinxing sat beside the bed.

Zhang Chengfeng handed him a sheet of paper. "This is the qi-circulation method Sai Huatuo found in an ancient book for eliminating the Sacred Fire Canon's fiery qi..."

Cao Jinxing glanced over it and understood.

He drew a deep breath.

In an instant, the temperature in the room plummeted!

Zhang Chengfeng, Guan Chong, and the others were overwhelmed with astonishment and delight.

There really was hope!

Cao Jinxing pressed two fingers against Zhang Dajing's wrist. Following the ancient instructions, he guided the Cold Toad Art's true qi through the meridians in the man's body:

Cloud Gate, Spirit Storehouse, Jade Hall, Dove Tail...

Though the Sacred Fire Canon's true qi had lingered for years, that long passage of time had still taken its toll.

It could still swagger before ordinary true qi, but against the Cold Toad Art, it could only retreat again and again.

Before Cao Jinxing had exerted much effort, the fire was already slowly dissipating.

For years, the fiery qi had made Zhang Dajing's life worse than death. Only now did he feel as though an icy river were washing through his body, bringing incomparable relief.

The redness in his face gradually faded, returning to a normal complexion. His perpetually knitted brows relaxed, and a peaceful, easy expression appeared on his sleeping face.

For the first time in years, he slept soundly.

Tears of excitement filled Zhang Chengfeng's eyes.

Cao Jinxing slowly withdrew his qi. "Done. The fiery qi is gone. All he needs now is quiet rest."

"Thank you, sir!"

Zhang Chengfeng dropped to both knees. "You saved my father. Everyone in the Zhang family is grateful from the bottom of our hearts! If you ever have need of me, I will never refuse!"

With that, he bowed low.

"No need. Just stop threatening to kill my cat."

Cao Jinxing helped him up. "I don't want anyone else learning what happened today. Please keep it confidential, Young Master Zhang."

"Understood."

Zhang Chengfeng was a clever man. He immediately turned to Guan Chong. "Pass the word. If anyone who saw this gentleman tonight dares leak a single word, send his entire family to the underworld!"

"Yes!"

Guan Chong hurried out.

With the instructions given, Zhang Chengfeng smiled again and wiped away his tears. "Please stay a little longer, sir. I've already asked a chef from Yangzhou to prepare food and wine. I hope you'll honor us with your company."

Cao Jinxing had not intended to linger, but he was interested in the Demon Cult and wanted to learn more as a precaution. Besides, Fourteen had only just relaxed and was happily eating.

"Then sorry for the trouble."

"Not at all, sir."

Delighted, Zhang Chengfeng gestured invitingly. "This way, please."