After finishing his training, Chen Tie immediately returned home. His newly purchased house was only a street away from the martial hall.
He cooked a meal for his little sister, then coaxed her to sleep after they finished eating.
That evening, Chen Tie went out alone and arrived at the entrance of the Tiger Might Escort Agency.
After he knocked, a young man in hemp clothing opened the door and poked his head out.
"I'm here to see Xu Da. Sorry for the trouble, but please let him know."
"So it's Young Master Chen. Our young master already left instructions to show you straight into the reception room as soon as you arrived."
The young man in hemp clothing led Chen Tie to the reception room in short order.
Before long, Xu Da hurried over from the other side.
He took Chen Tie by the arm, and the two sat facing each other. Soon, servants brought out three dishes and a soup.
The three dishes were steamed fish, dried bamboo shoots with cured meat, and a cold wild mushroom salad.
The soup was black-boned chicken soup.
"Junior Brother Chen, make yourself at home. Let's talk while we eat." Smiling, Xu Da gestured at the dishes on the table.
Chen Tie looked at the three dishes and the soup. He had not eaten food like this since coming to this world, nor could he see anything unusual about these dishes.
Only the unidentified steamed fish gave off a peculiar fragrance that made his appetite surge irresistibly.
"What kind of fish is this?" Chen Tie asked curiously.
"This fish has quite a background. Junior Brother Chen, why not try a bite?" Xu Da said with an air of mystery.
Chen Tie picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks, gently placed it in his mouth, and chewed a few times. All he noticed was its peculiar fragrance.
Once he swallowed the fish, he could feel a warm current slowly spreading through his stomach. His blood and Qi actually increased a little.
"This is actually a treasure fish?"
"Haha, you're quite right, Junior Brother Chen," Xu Da said with a smug laugh. "This is the Silver Treasure Fish unique to my Xu Family. Eating it greatly benefits a martial artist's cultivation."
Xu Da picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks. "There are only about three taels of this fish meat here, but even if you spent a hundred taels, you couldn't buy it elsewhere, because this breed of fish belongs exclusively to my Xu Family."
"I don't need to say much about the benefits of eating treasure fish. Eating it regularly strengthens your blood and Qi. Besides, martial training takes a great toll every day, and eating treasure fish is also very beneficial for physical recovery."
Unable to work out Xu Da's intentions, Chen Tie asked, "Second Senior Brother, is there something you want my help with?"
Xu Da waved his hand. "Junior Brother Chen, don't overthink it. I just feel that we get along well, and I also hope you can advance further in martial arts. I can provide you with two Silver Treasure Fish every month."
"Just focus on your training. In any case, I have high hopes for you."
Chen Tie immediately cupped his hands in thanks, gratitude welling up in his heart.
The two chatted as they finished all the dishes. Only late into the night did Chen Tie cup his hands and take his leave.
Yet just as Xu Da was about to return to his room to sleep, his father blocked his path.
"Was that your Junior Brother Chen just now?"
"Yes, Father. Junior Brother Chen's martial resolve is unbreakable. His progress might be a little slow, but I have faith in his future and am willing to offer him some help."
"You wastrel! How much money have you spent forging goodwill everywhere these past few years? Who remembers your kindness? Which of the martial artists you invested in has achieved fame and success?"
Xu Da's voice immediately weakened a little. "Father, adding flowers to brocade can't compare to delivering charcoal in the snow. With all the goodwill I've built up, even if just one of them succeeds someday, it'll have been worth it."
Looking at his son, the Xu Family Head could barely contain his anger.
"Just this once. No next time!"
"All right, all right, all right." Xu Da replied unconcernedly and casually shut his door.
The next day, after finishing his day's training, Chen Tie did not go straight home. Instead, he returned to his old house in the alley.
Thinking he probably would not return here again, he wanted to see whether there were any old belongings he needed to move and dispose of the old house while he was at it.
But as soon as he reached the alley entrance, he heard faint crying from within. Several people had gathered around a battered handcart.
When Chen Tie approached, he saw Auntie Xie crying bitterly among the crowd. A person lay on the handcart-Uncle Xie San.
Auntie Xie worked in a laundry, specifically washing clothes, while Uncle Xie was a dock laborer. The two usually left early and returned late, so Chen Tie rarely had the chance to see them.
"Oh, Little Tie is here." Grandpa Sun suddenly spoke, pleasure in his voice.
"Grandpa Sun, what happened?" Chen Tie asked.
Grandpa Sun sighed. "Two masked men suddenly kicked down Xie San's door this morning and took him away tied up. When they brought him back this afternoon, he was like this."
Chen Tie frowned. Looking at the wounds on Xie San's body, he had a vague suspicion.
Could the Liu Family have done this? Were they looking for the murderer?
"Did those men in black only take Uncle Xie San?" Chen Tie asked casually.
Auntie Xie had stopped crying by then. She choked out, "Not just him. Li Dazhuang and Meng Si from the next alley were taken by the men in black too. When they were brought back, they were corpses as well, covered in wounds. What evil brought this upon us?"
Hearing this, Chen Tie frowned slightly. These people must have been sent by the Liu Family to find the real killer.
Apart from a sense of danger, Chen Tie did not feel the slightest guilt.
Over the past few days, he had thoroughly investigated the situation. That man was the Liu Family's third young master, named Liu Jingzhao, whose record was riddled with misdeeds.
A year ago, he had frequently abducted common women by force. Later, he ran into someone ruthless and was crippled by a martial artist. Although the Liu Family spent an enormous sum to heal him, his meridians and body were completely ruined, leaving him unable to practice martial arts.
More recently, he had even posed as a member of the Unborn Sect to preach door to door, while actually engaging in even filthier acts.
Had Chen Tie not possessed martial cultivation at the time, his own end would surely have been miserable too.
After learning what had happened, Chen Tie had no desire to stay and hurried back to his new home.
With Liu Family martial artists potentially coming to his door, Chen Tie truly could not rest easy leaving his sister home alone.
After racking his brains, he finally came up with a good idea.
After daybreak, Chen Tie did not leave immediately.
"Brother, why haven't you gone to the martial hall yet today?" Chen Xi asked curiously.
"Little Xi, do you want to play with more children?"
"Of course I do!"
"I'm planning to send you to a private school in a few days. But you can't stay home alone right now, so you'll have to come help out at the martial hall with me first."
"All right, Brother."
Chen Tie picked his sister up and soon arrived at the martial hall.
"Junior Brother Chen, this is your sister, right?" Shen Yan hurried over and asked.
"Yes, Second Senior Brother." Chen Tie immediately asked, "Is Master Mo inside?"
"Master Mo is in the inner courtyard."
Chen Tie led his sister into the inner courtyard. As usual, Mo Hong was feeding the birds.
"Greetings, Master Mo." Chen Tie respectfully cupped his hands.
"You're late today. Did something happen?" Mo Hong asked without betraying anything.
"Master Mo, I'm worried about leaving my sister at home alone. Could I bring her to the martial hall for the next few days?"
Mo Hong turned around, his cloudy eyes looking Chen Tie up and down, seemingly lost in thought.
"You may. Just have her stay with Little Fang."
"Yes, Master Mo."
Chen Tie took Chen Xi to find Mo Fang in the medicine hall and explained why they had come.
"Don't worry, Senior Brother Chen. Leave the little girl to me. I can teach her to identify medicinal herbs."
"Sorry for the trouble, Junior Sister Mo." Chen Tie cupped his hands.
In the inner city, in the Liu Family's basement.
Three men, their flesh mangled beyond recognition, lay on the cold floor. Two had already stopped breathing, while the last had only a faint breath left.
"Have they confessed?" Liu Tianba asked.
"Reporting to the family head, no. They probably aren't the killers either."
Liu Bawang frowned and asked coldly, "Who else is on the list? Bring them all in for interrogation!"
Looking at the list in his hands, Steward Liu hesitated. "There is only one last person who hasn't been brought in."
"Who?"
"His name is Chen Tie. He is a Skin Refining disciple of the Fierce Tiger Martial Hall."
Hearing this, Liu Tianba's brow furrowed into three deep lines. "Mo Laohu's disciple..."