Early the next morning, before the sky had fully brightened, Jiang Fa woke.
The bowl of lamb offal soup he had drunk at the little tavern last night had long since been digested. His stomach was empty, and a trace of rice wine's faint astringency still lingered in his throat.
He washed his face, changed into his gray training clothes, already faded from washing, and pushed the door open.
A few figures were already on the training grounds.
The senior disciples practiced their stances in twos and threes, the sounds of fists and feet cutting through the air rising one after another.
Jiang Fa did not head for the open patch where he usually practiced. Instead, he walked straight across the training grounds toward the depths of the inner courtyard.
Wang Shi's residence stood beside the armory.
It was a detached house of blue brick and roof tiles, with two pomegranate trees planted out front. Their lush branches and leaves obscured most of the courtyard gate.
The gate stood ajar. Dull thuds came from inside-the sound of fists striking sandbags, blow after blow, with a steady, powerful rhythm.
Jiang Fa raised his hand and knocked on the doorframe.
The sounds of blows stopped.
A moment later, footsteps drew closer, and the gate was pulled open from within.
Wang Shi stood bare-chested inside, steam rising from his sweat-soaked body.
"Junior Brother Jiang?" Wang Shi looked somewhat surprised. "What brings you here so early?"
"Sorry to interrupt your training, Senior Brother." Jiang Fa cupped his fist and bowed. "I wanted to ask you about Black Wind Ridge."
Wang Shi's brows lifted slightly. His gaze lingered on Jiang Fa's face for a moment before he stepped aside. "Come in and talk."
The courtyard was small, but neatly kept.
A weapon rack stood against the wall, holding sabers, spears, swords, and halberds. Three sandbags hung in a corner.
Two had already been beaten open, exposing the coarse yellowish-brown sand inside. Several broken blue bricks lay scattered on the ground.
Wang Shi walked over to the water vat, picked up a gourd dipper, and scooped up half a dipper of water. He tipped his head back and gulped down a few mouthfuls, splashed some water over his face, then turned and sat on a stone stool in the courtyard, gesturing for Jiang Fa to sit as well.
"Are you planning to hunt beasts in Black Wind Ridge?"
Wang Shi got straight to the point.
"Yes." Jiang Fa nodded.
"I've trained hard for two months and made some progress in my cultivation. Now that my funds for medicine have run dry, I want to try my luck in Black Wind Ridge."
Wang Shi did not reply immediately, instead looking Jiang Fa up and down.
"A solid foundation, and your strength is contained within. You've certainly improved quite a bit compared to two months ago."
Wang Shi nodded slowly, a trace of approval flashing through his eyes.
"When you first joined, I never thought you would make it this far."
He paused, then added, "Master was right. Among this batch of newcomers, you're the most tenacious after Qin Xuan."
"You flatter me, Eldest Senior Brother," Jiang Fa said.
"It isn't flattery. It's the truth."
Wang Shi waved a hand, his expression turning serious.
"Since you're going to Black Wind Ridge, there are some things I need to make clear first, so you don't blunder in without knowing anything and die there just as blindly."
He rose and went into the house. A moment later, he brought out a rolled sheet of parchment and spread it across the stone table.
It was a hand-drawn terrain map of Black Wind Ridge. It was not particularly detailed, but the lay of the mountains and rivers, the courses of streams, and the areas frequented by different fierce beasts were all clearly marked in charcoal.
Several places had been circled in cinnabar, with tiny, neat characters beside them reading "Fierce beast activity area," "Suspected third-tier fierce beast sightings," "Unexplored area, enter with caution," and the like.
"Your Senior Brother Lin Feng drew this map."
Wang Shi pointed to the part of the map with the most cinnabar circles.
"You should have met Lin Feng. He's a veteran disciple of the inner courtyard and has gone in and out of Black Wind Ridge often over the years. His cultivation is considerable, and when it comes to knowledge of Black Wind Ridge alone, no one in the inner courtyard can match him."
"This map represents the experience he gained from venturing into Black Wind Ridge time after time."
Jiang Fa studied the map carefully.
He committed every annotation to memory.
Wang Shi pointed to the ring of relatively sparse markings around the outskirts of Black Wind Ridge. "The outskirts of Black Wind Ridge are mainly populated by first-tier low grade fierce beasts-Iron-Backed Wolves, Azure-Maned Jackals, Stone-Skinned Wild Boars, and the like. Individually, these beasts are roughly as strong as an early Ming Jin martial artist. Now that you're in the middle stage of Ming Jin, dealing with one shouldn't be much trouble. But wolves and jackals move in packs, ranging from three or five to over a dozen. If you encounter them, you can't fight them head-on. You have to use your head."
His finger shifted a little toward the center of the map. "Farther in lies the middle region of Black Wind Ridge."
"There are more first-tier high grade and second-tier fierce beasts here. Iron-Claw Savage Bears, Crimson-Scaled Pythons, Black-Striped Leopards-any one of them can trade several rounds with an An Jin martial artist. If you encounter any of these, don't try to play the hero. One word: run."
Finally, his finger stopped over the densely clustered cinnabar circles in the deepest reaches of Black Wind Ridge, and his expression grew especially grave.
"This is the core region of Black Wind Ridge, the territory of third-tier fierce beasts."
"Third-tier fierce beasts are comparable in strength to Transforming Force martial artists. With your current cultivation, entering means certain death, with no chance of survival."
Wang Shi's voice sank as he said, stressing every word, "Remember this: no matter how hard prey is to find on the outskirts, no matter how much anyone offers as a bounty for second-tier beast cores, don't take so much as half a step into the core region. There was once a junior brother named Zhou Ping, with early An Jin cultivation. He refused to heed the warning and entered the core region alone. He never came out again."
Jiang Fa nodded solemnly. "I'll remember."
Only after seeing Jiang Fa's serious expression did Wang Shi soften his tone a little. He sat back down on the stone stool, picked up the dipper, and took another gulp.
He fell silent for a moment, his gaze settling on the ruined sandbags in the corner, then suddenly spoke. "Since you're going to hunt beasts in Black Wind Ridge, you'll inevitably have dealings with the other senior and junior brothers of the inner courtyard. I'll take this opportunity to tell you about the situation here."
Jiang Fa immediately sat up straight.
This was the sort of talk he would never hear outside.
"Our Zhao Clan Martial Hall's inner courtyard currently has over forty resident disciples. More than ten are at An Jin, and the remaining few dozen are all at Ming Jin."
He paused, then continued, "As for Transforming Force? That barrier is several times greater than the one for An Jin... you needn't concern yourself with it for now."
"Of course, since the martial hall was established, we've had far more disciples than this. The others either left long ago to make their own living or went elsewhere to seek other prospects. The number of times they return to the hall can now be counted on one's fingers."
Wang Shi set down the dipper. His voice was quiet, but steady and strong.
"Though I carry the title of Eldest Senior Brother, I'm merely a few years older and have trained a few years longer. Hidden dragons and crouching tigers dwell in the inner courtyard. None of them are simple, especially those disciples who have reached An Jin."
"These people either have wealthy families and someone to back them, or possess excellent talent and innate aptitude, and train with diligence and dedication. Not one of them is mediocre."
He turned, rolled up the map of Black Wind Ridge again, and handed it to Jiang Fa. "Everything I've said today boils down to one thing: Black Wind Ridge is dangerous, and the inner courtyard isn't peaceful either. Your cultivation is still shallow. Keep your wits about you when you act. Don't be too rash, and don't trust too readily."
Jiang Fa accepted the map with both hands and bowed solemnly. "I'll keep your teachings firmly in mind, Eldest Senior Brother."
Wang Shi waved a hand and returned to the center of the courtyard. Picking up the pair of iron-sand palm wraps hanging on the weapon rack, he began winding them around his hands and said without looking back, "For practical experience in hunting beasts in Black Wind Ridge, you can ask Lin Feng. His family deals in medicinal herbs. Half the medicinal herbs in Qingshan County pass through the Lin Lineage's hands. He ventures in and out of the ridge year-round and knows it better than I do. At this hour, he should be training in the northwest corner of the training grounds. Go find him yourself."
Jiang Fa cupped his fist once more, took his leave, and left.