At times, thetragic sight of Li Youcai's entire family lying dead surfaced in his mind; at others, he saw thetragic sight of everyone in Mo Family Village slaughtered...
That night, an atmosphere of overwhelming grief and indignation hung over the entire Mo residence.
So many people had died. Even if the militiamen's families dared not storm into the Mo residence and make a scene, it was inevitable that they would weep and cry out outside.
Quite a few people also gathered outside the gates of the county yamen, demanding that the authorities punish the killers and avenge the dead.
The county magistrate, He Zhixu, ordered the gates shut tight and refused to see anyone.
That night, the people gathered outside the Mo residence suddenly heard heart-rending cries from within.
Early the next morning, word spread-
The Mo Family's old patriarch, who had long been bedridden with illness, had died the previous night.
Although the Mo Family publicly claimed he had died of illness, everyone knew perfectly well that the old patriarch, who had built up such a vast family estate, had been angered to death!
Method of One Person
The Mo Family hung up white lanterns, and the people gathered outside the residence had dispersed.
Joining the militia was much the same as becoming a soldier for pay; life and death were up to fate.
When someone died, their family could only resign themselves to it.
This time, so many people had died at once that their families had gathered outside the Mo residence to demand an explanation.
But the Mo residence had first lost its second master, and now the old patriarch had died as well. No one dared pressure the Mo Family at such a moment.
But while the people inside the city dared not pressure them, those outside had no such scruples.
The second quarter of the hour of the snake, 9:30 in the morning.
A cavalry force arrived outside Bo County's city walls!
There were nearly two hundred riders, every one of them clad in leather armor and carrying a weapon.
The constables guarding the city gate saw the force from afar and fled into the city in fright, without even stopping to close the gate.
Fortunately, the force did not charge straight into the city, instead stopping roughly a hundred zhang outside.
Only after Xu Jing received word did he order the city gates closed and bring all the archers in the city up onto the walls.
Everyone from the constabulary was also summoned to the walls.
Clad in leather armor and carrying his saber, Wu Shuangren stood atop the city wall for the first time.
The city wall was less than two zhang high, and a skilled martial artist could easily scale it.
Thus, the wall beneath their feet did not give them much sense of security.
What Bo County could truly rely on now was the fact that the Wu Dynasty still stood, and the law of the land still held.
"Are you afraid?"
Liao Yu stood beside Wu Shuangren and asked.
Wu Shuangren shook his head. "If they really meant to attack the city, they would have charged straight in. They only came to put on a show of force today."
Liao Yu nodded. "Fucking brazen!"
He couldn't help cursing.
Outside the city, a lone rider suddenly broke away from the ranks and galloped toward the city.
A stir ran through the crowd on the wall.
"No arrows without my order!"
Xu Jing raised a hand, signaling the archers not to act rashly.
Soon, the rider reached a point thirty paces from the city gate.
On horseback sat a burly, dark-faced man with a smile on his face. He showed no concern that he had entered the archers' range.
He looked up and brazenly swept his gaze across the wall before settling on Xu Jing. Grinning to reveal a mouthful of yellow teeth, he called, "Hey, which of you is from the Mo Family?"
Xu Jing did not answer. He circulated his Internal Skill, and his voice rang out deep and powerful. "You have gathered to pick a fight and shown contempt for the law of the land. Do you mean to rebel?!!"
The dark-faced man rubbed his close-cropped hair. "Damn it, all you can do is flap your lips. Do you dare come out and fight your grandpa?"
Xu Jing snatched up the horn bow at his feet, nocked an arrow, drew the bow into a full moon, aimed, and shot. The entire sequence flowed together, completed in the blink of an eye!
Whoosh-
The arrow tore through the air, flying straight at the burly man's face.
The dark-faced man showed no alarm. In a flash, he actually reached out and caught the middle of the arrow shaft firmly in his hand!
The arrowhead stopped a hair's breadth from the tip of his nose.
Oh-
An uproar broke out on the wall, and the cavalry behind the man stirred as well.
"He's an expert... He may have been the one who killed Mo Zhengshang!"
On the wall, Liao Yu spoke in a grave voice.
Wu Shuangren didn't care how formidable this dark-faced show-off was.
He was more concerned with Xu Jing's attitude.
Wasn't Xu Jing the least bit worried that the arrow would anger the people outside the city, or that he would offend them?
Wu Shuangren felt that the county commandant was less like an official and more like a general.
"Hahahahaha-"
The burly man wasn't angry in the least at being shot at. Instead, he burst out laughing.
He snapped the arrow with one hand and gave Xu Jing a thumbs-up. "You've got guts!"
With that, he pulled a cloth bag from his robes, drew his arm back, and hurled it forward.
"Catch!"
The cloth bag hurtled toward Xu Jing at tremendous speed and with tremendous force.
Smack!
Xu Jing extended his right hand and caught the bag firmly.
"There's a letter for the Mo Family in the bag!"
With that, the dark-faced man turned his horse and returned to the ranks.
The cavalry force, bristling with murderous intent, promptly withdrew.
Many people on the wall breathed a sigh of relief, and some even collapsed to the ground.
Xu Jing opened the bag. Inside were a stone and a letter.
The stone had been completely shattered.
Xu Jing took out the letter and ordered, "Don't open the city gates yet. Everyone stay on alert."
With that, he took the letter and descended from the wall.
About an hour later, new orders arrived-
Open the city gates. Everyone was to return to their posts; there was no need to guard the city anymore.
Liao Yu and Wu Shuangren led the constables back to the county yamen.
As usual, Wu Shuangren found Hou Huai to spar with him.
That afternoon, fresh news arrived: a group of monks had entered the city and gone to the Mo residence to perform funeral rites.
Wu Shuangren was stunned by the news.
The monks must have been sent by Mist Hidden Temple.
They had killed Mo Zhengshang and a group of Mo Family descendants, angered the old patriarch to death, and now they had actually sent people to perform funeral rites for the Mo Family?
The Mo Family could stomach even that?!
"Ah, the Mo Family bowed its head in the end."
Liao Yu sighed when he heard the news.
Wu Shuangren looked at him. "How is this bowing their heads? They went straight to their knees..."
Liao Yu patted Wu Shuangren. "That's how the world is. With a blade held to their neck, how many people can keep from kneeling? The Mo Family is so large that even if a few have some backbone, they can't outweigh the majority."
"..."
"All right, don't dwell on it. From now on, whatever Mist Hidden Temple says about the illicit salt goes. We shouldn't oppose them head-on."
Liao Yu gave him that final warning.
The next few days passed without incident, though Bo County held many funerals in succession.
Wu Shuangren returned to his daily routine-
Sun-Observing Meditation at the hour of the rabbit, practicing the Spirit Peak Stance with Xu Nanzhi in the morning, and sparring with Hou Huai in the afternoon.
On the third day after the bloodbath at Mo Family Village.
Wu Shuangren achieved initial mastery of the Spirit Peak Stance. He could now move through the stance while using his Mental Power to enter a state of extreme excitement and simultaneously perform the Mountain-Moving Method.
The Power of Qi and Blood, Mental Power, and the strength of his muscles, sinews, and bones-the "three elements" that made up an Internal Skill-were all in place.
With that, he had taken his first steps into Nine Rivers Suppressing the Mountain.
Thus, the Internal Skill enhanced by Match for One Person finally took its definitive form, becoming a new version of Nine Rivers Suppressing the Mountain with no hidden dangers.
Through his sparring with Hou Huai during this period, Wu Shuangren had long since become familiar with most of the Internal Skill. Now that it had taken its definitive form, he quickly committed its method of applying force to memory as well.
That night, for the first time, he performed the new Nine Rivers Suppressing the Mountain without equipping the Trait!
Although the Internal Skill he performed himself was far inferior to the one he used under Match for One Person, Wu Shuangren was already very satisfied to have gone from nothing to this in just half a month.
This Internal Skill was brought to me by Match for One Person. It was completely tailored to me and has no hidden dangers. I might as well call it... Method of One Person.
Wu Shuangren gave his newly mastered Internal Skill a name.
Xu Nanzhi had said that Nine Rivers Suppressing the Mountain was a superior Internal Skill.
Method of One Person was an enhanced version built on Nine Rivers Suppressing the Mountain, so it was surely a superior Internal Skill as well.
Now that he had taken his first steps into Method of One Person, he no longer needed to learn Internal Skills from Xu Nanzhi, and she could not guide him in practicing Method of One Person either.
Tomorrow I'll ask Mother if she has any new martial arts she can teach me.
That was what Wu Shuangren thought.
Cloud Tide Returning Wave Steps
On the fourth day after the bloodbath at Mo Family Village.
Wu Shuangren practiced Sun-Observing Meditation at the hour of the rabbit as usual.
Now that he had achieved initial mastery of his Internal Skill, he no longer needed to cultivate a "sense of Qi." But this meditation method could still nourish his yang Qi and strengthen his body, so he continued to practice it every day.
After finishing his meditation, he climbed down from the roof and ate breakfast with his parents.
After the meal, Wu Dongrong went to the county yamen, while Wu Shuangren asked Xu Nanzhi, "Mother, I can now use the Internal Skill that expert taught me proficiently. I don't need to practice Nine Rivers Suppressing the Mountain anymore. Are there any other martial arts you can teach me?"
Xu Nanzhi thought for a moment. "That expert taught you saber techniques, and I don't know any. So I'll teach you a set of footwork."
Wu Shuangren's eyes lit up. "All right!"
Xu Nanzhi walked to the middle of the courtyard and stood there.
To make the demonstration easier, she had changed into a moon-white, narrow-sleeved long robe and black trousers. Her right hand rested lightly at her waist, as though holding an invisible sword.