Chapter 34: Chapter 34
The third day after the killings of Yu Zhe and Tian Erhu.
The sky had not yet turned light when Shen Xiuhan finished washing up.
On the bed, Shen Momo lay curled in a tiny ball, fast asleep.
Madam Zheng was a light sleeper. The moment she heard movement, she woke and hastily sat up, throwing on her clothes:
“Dalang, why so early today? Mother will go light the stove and warm something up for you to eat.”
“Ma, no rush.”
Wary of waking his sister, Shen Xiuhan kept his voice low and made up an excuse:
“I passed by Shallow Bay yesterday and saw something stirring under the shoals. Thought I’d try my luck early — see if I can land a couple of big fish.”
A look of understanding crossed Madam Zheng’s face. She murmured a soft warning:
“The water’s edge is slippery. Be careful, and don’t forget to take the new basket.”
“Got it.”
He pushed open the rough wooden door.
Shen Xiuhan stopped by the kitchen, slung the new fish basket over his back, and walked out of the wicker yard.
Of course, he wasn’t going fishing. He was going for the treasure beasts in the Dali Mountains.
Uncle Chen’s words still echoed in his ears. He knew full well how dangerous the mountains were.
But in this world, even the most venomous fang of a beast was no match for the unfathomable malice of human hearts.
Treasure beasts were ferocious, but nowhere near the pressure Ma Xianyang and Tongbei Martial Hall placed on him.
Right now Tongbei was locked in a vicious fight with the Bai family, with no time to bother him.
But that didn’t mean Shen Xiuhan could afford to rest easy.
The martial path was like rowing against the current — to stop advancing was to die.
Only by seizing every drop of qi-blood and growing stronger could he survive in this world and protect his family.
The Dali Mountains — there was no avoiding it.
Of course, even a lion uses its full strength to catch a hare.
To leave nothing to chance, Shen Xiuhan stirred his thoughts:
【Today’s Intelligence has refreshed!】
【Intelligence 1: The Iron Bone Art originates from a side branch of “Dragon-Elephant Penetrating-Light Prison-Suppressing Body Method,” a closely guarded hardening technique of the Longxiang Army, one of Qi’s five great armies. It was passed in secret by Tian Ping’an to his elder brother, Tian Erhu!】
【Tian Ping’an: Centurion of the Longxiang Army’s Right Camp. A seasoned veteran of countless battles. Cultivation: Sinew Tempering.】
“…”
Shen Xiuhan’s steps faltered. His brow furrowed slightly.
When he’d searched Tian Erhu’s home and found the Iron Bone Art the day before, he’d already sensed something was off.
Where would a thug who hadn’t even knocked on Blood’s door come by a hardening art?
Just as he’d suspected.
The art had a pedigree.
“Tian Ping’an…”
“Heh. Lucky he isn’t surnamed Chen, or I’d be packing up the whole family overnight and fleeing Cangzhou Prefecture.”
Shen Xiuhan muttered a self-deprecating remark.
‘But I’ve heard the Longxiang Army is stationed year-round in the east, guarding the border. So in the short term, it should be fine…’
‘Still — a Sinew Tempering martial artist. That puts a lot of pressure on me…’
Shen Xiuhan sighed inwardly and committed the intelligence firmly to memory.
【Intelligence 2: Ma Xianyang and Feng Xiaobao are now convinced that Yu Zhe and Tian Erhu died at your hand! However, the two of them dare not strike rashly, fearing it will only push you to hand over your nonexistent “treasure-fish secret” to Mei Shuangfeng for protection. Therefore, they have decided to bide their time and direct their full attention toward the Bai family.】
【Their restraint is merely a stalling tactic to lull you into complacency. The moment you let your guard down, they will strike with the force of a thunderbolt!】
‘So they figured it out…’
Shen Xiuhan let out a cold laugh in his heart.
He had stepped into Manifest Strength right in front of thirty-odd outer-court disciples — there was no covering that up.
So Shen Xiuhan had never planned to hide it from the start.
When Yu Zhe and Tian Erhu came to his door to threaten him, he’d simply struck — eliminating those two prying eyes first.
That bold move had backfired in his favor, buying him the breathing room he needed.
Because right now, what he lacked most was time.
【Intelligence 3: The Dali Mountains contain many treasure beasts, with demon beasts roaming the deep interior. The “Azure Spike Fowl” was driven to the outer reaches of the Dali Mountains under pressure from a “Verdant-Eyed Wind Wolf.” Furthermore, last night a second Azure Spike Fowl arrived to guard the three unhatched “Treasure Beast Spirit Eggs” inside its nest!】
Shen Xiuhan’s eyes lit up reading this — then his brow knit deeply.
How had a second one appeared out of nowhere?
Last night there’d been only one…
Could it be that, while being chased by the Verdant-Eyed Wind Wolf, the male had stayed back to hold off the wolf, while the female had snatched up the spirit eggs and fled in panic? And after escaping the danger, the two had reunited here in the outer reaches?
Shen Xiuhan’s expression shifted as he ran through the possibilities in his head.
This sudden variable had thrown off his plans.
One Azure Spike Fowl, he could fight.
Two… what if he couldn’t take them?
Shen Xiuhan rapidly weighed the trade-offs.
‘Should I… just turn back to the hall, ask Master, or bring Second Senior Brother Xu Chuan along to hunt them together?’
‘No — no need to rush!’
‘Slip in first, get a clear read on them, then decide!’
If the Azure Spike Fowl could be driven this far out, it couldn’t be all that strong.
Even if he proved no match, with his current strength, slipping away shouldn’t be hard.
Those two beasts had eggs to protect — they wouldn’t dare chase him to the death.
…
The vast, jagged Dali range stretched across the horizon like some primordial beast cloaked in frost and snow.
Shen Xiuhan walked seven or eight li, fishing rod in hand, fish basket slung diagonally across his back, before finally reaching the foot of the mountain.
A short distance away, in a sheltered hollow, sat a fishing settlement called West Hill Village.
The waters here were rich, and it sat right against Yunshui Lake’s most abundant zone.
Looking out, you could see not only bamboo rafts and sampans moored along the shore, but the occasional black-canopied boat as well.
Plainly, life in West Hill Village was far better-off than in Xiaojing Bay.
The sky was just lightening, the morning mist heavy. The countryside lay so still that only the wind could be heard. No early-rising villagers were yet about.
Using the cover of the woods, Shen Xiuhan slipped straight into the Dali Mountains.
About fifteen minutes’ walk in, he crossed two snow-covered hillocks and stopped at a fork in the path overgrown with dead grass and brambles.
He looked left and right, then reached back and pushed aside the chest-high dead grass, stepping onto the rocky path on the right.
He walked another ten or fifteen minutes.
Shen Xiuhan stopped at a rocky, uneven flat strewn with stones.
‘Found them!’
At the end of his line of sight.
Two clusters of pale golden light points — one large, one small — huddled together in a heap of dried grass, perfectly still and silent.
Shen Xiuhan crouched low, casually scooped up a few stones, and crept closer, holding his breath.
But before he could close the distance—
WHOOSH-WHOOSH!
A powerful flapping of wings exploded into the air!
The larger cluster of light points lifted off from the dried grass, shooting straight up into the sky.
Now Shen Xiuhan could finally see the Azure Spike Fowl clearly.
Larger than an ordinary chicken by a margin, its body was covered in azure-colored plumage.
Its crest stood high. As its sharp beak opened and closed, a pair of dark yellow vertical pupils stared down at him from above.
But what drew the eye most was the bundle of utterly transformed plumage at its tail.
Several dozen azure tail feathers, over a foot long, sharp beyond compare, gathered into a tight bundle — like so many azure inverted spikes, glinting with a metallic chill in the morning light.
But Shen Xiuhan’s eyes locked onto the Azure Spike Fowl’s left wing.
Among the azure plumage there was disorder, and a faint shadow of dark red bled through.
“Is that… a wound?”
Shen Xiuhan’s eyes lit up. His heart settled at once!
WHOOSH-WHOOSH-WHOOSH-WHOOSH!
Without giving him time to think, the Azure Spike Fowl struck first.
Four or five spike-like tail feathers cut blue streaks through the air, hurtling at Shen Xiuhan!