Chapter 47: Chapter 47

A cold wind moaned.

It stirred up dry leaves and dust from the ground.

The taut muscles across Shen Xiuhan’s frame slowly relaxed.

Under the cold, clear moonlight, he lowered his head and spread out both hands.

The joints of his ten fingers were livid purple — spot after spot of bright red was slowly seeping from the split tiger’s mouth of each hand.

A grave light settled into his eyes.

Even with Iron Bone Art cultivated to Perfection, his bones far tougher than those of martial artists at the same level, he had not been able to come out of that close-quarters brawl entirely unscathed.

This Gao Nian — though he had not yet knocked open the threshold of Bone Tempering — had been steeped in the Blood Tempering realm for many years; the qi-blood in his body was powerful and overbearing.

Had it not been for Iron Bone Art and Startled Swan, Roaming Dragon to carry him, relying on Heavenly Dark Eagle Force alone, the one lying dead tonight would likely have been him.

“Fortunate no mishap came of it.”

Shen Xiuhan bent down and, with practiced hands, searched Gao Nian’s body and the others that lay around.

A short while later, he had not only recovered the four strings of coin Scarface had snatched from him earlier — he now also held five plump, bulging money-pouches, along with two official silver notes stamped by the Treasury Ministry of the State of Qi.

He tore open a pouch and weighed the contents at a glance: roughly a thousand large coins or so, plus enough loose scattered silver to add up to more than three taels put together.

As for the two official notes, each bore a face value of ten taels, and both had been taken from Gao Nian himself.

Thinking back to that little speech of his…

These scattered silvers and large coins had to have been scraped from various poor households earlier that night.

The aim was to “frame the east with blame.”

To grab one last windfall before running, and at the same time put Raging Waves on the hook.

The feud between Raging Waves and the Golden Dragon Gang — what was it for, if not the fish exchange headquarters and the fat of the territory?

Gao Nian, flying Raging Waves’ banner, had collected the spring-season tribute ahead of schedule.

By the time Raging Waves took over, what they’d be facing was a ruined mess from which not a drop of fat could be squeezed.

And the poor, broken households who couldn’t cough up tribute — what fate awaited them?

Gao Nian couldn’t have cared less. He had deliberately set this scene in motion!

“Acting this viciously — dying is no injustice to him.”

Shen Xiuhan glanced at Gao Nian’s face — dead with eyes that would not close.

Scraping together money so ruinous it would sever a family’s bloodline, and silencing every last man who worked the job alongside him…

Truly, his death was more than deserved.

“Only a pity — I didn’t find his leg art.”

Shen Xiuhan shook his head with regret.

Gao Nian’s qi-blood had been substantial, and the leg art he used was no small thing either, its forms shrewd and savage.

If he could have gotten his hands on it, run it through a round of 『Deduction』 — with one more leg art to back him, his body would have no weak point left.

A pity. This man had not carried his manual on his person.

Shen Xiuhan withdrew his gaze, paying the sprawled corpses no further heed.

With a flicker of motion, he vanished into the night without a sound.

…

The second day after Gao Nian of the Golden Dragon Gang fell.

The sky had only just begun to grow dimly light.

Shen Xiuhan was already standing in the courtyard, having run Heavenly Dark Eagle Force through from beginning to end.

Amid the whistling of fist-wind, the qi-blood in his body gradually flowed open and active.

Shen Xiuhan brought his stance to a close and stood, drawing out the small green porcelain bottle from his robe with great care.

He pulled the wooden stopper, tipped one 『Jade Blood Pill』 out, and cradled it in his palm.

The pill was green from end to end, its surface threaded with a fine, winding blood-line like a strand of silkworm filament; a faint medicinal fragrance hung about it.

Merely holding it in his palm to smell was enough to make the qi-blood in his body begin to seethe faintly.

Shen Xiuhan hesitated no longer. He tilted his head back and swallowed the treasured pill whole.

The pill melted the moment it touched his tongue.

At first, a faint, fishy sweetness. But a mere three breaths in…

Boom!

Shen Xiuhan’s eyes snapped wide.

It felt as if someone had shoved a red-hot lump of charcoal into his belly — a surge of wild, scorching heat erupted in his stomach with a roar!

“What overbearing medicinal force!”

Shen Xiuhan was inwardly shaken.

The great medicine refined from the second-tier treasure beast Azure Spike Fowl and the bowl of Ebony Restoration Broth he had drunk before were worlds apart.

If that broth was a gurgling little brook, this 『Jade Blood Pill』 was a torrent of magma that had burst through the dam!

The violent medicinal force split into a thousand filaments of qi-blood, and like unbridled wild horses, they charged along the meridians, surging furiously into his four limbs, all his bones, his five organs, and six viscera.

Beneath skin and flesh, waves of tearing, swelling pain came through.

Shen Xiuhan did not dare slack off.

If he let this medicinal force charge blindly through his body, the lightest outcome would be damage to his meridians; the gravest, a severe wound to his primal essence!

He sank his waist, planted his stance, spread both arms, and began running through Dark Eagle Stance over and over.

“In… out…”

Guided by the rhythm of breath and inhalation, the qi-blood that had been lashing out in every direction was gradually tamed, and began to flow in order along the paths of the stance art.

That scalding medicinal force washed again and again over his skin, his muscles, and his blood.

He kept at this grueling tempering for a full hour.

“Crackle, pop…”

The skin across Shen Xiuhan’s whole body turned red as a boiled shrimp.

The sound of blood flowing within him was as heavy and forceful as lead and mercury.

The beads of sweat seeping from him evaporated into thin threads of white vapor before they could even fall, swirling and rising above his head.

This was the outward sign of the medicinal force being wrung dry — absorbed completely — by muscle and blood!

“Hah…”

After a good while, Shen Xiuhan slowly drew his stance to a close, opened his eyes, and exhaled a plume of white vapor.

That breath, in the air, was like a solid white blade of qi; it shot out a foot or so before barely dissipating.

Shen Xiuhan clenched both fists hard, feeling the strength inside him brimming nearly to overflow.

Swish!

He threw a casual punch — and the air released a crisp “snap”!

“Excellent!”

Shen Xiuhan couldn’t help breaking into a look of delight.

“The total volume of my qi-blood has nearly doubled from before I took the pill. By Second Senior Brother’s reckoning, this ‘qi-blood like quicksilver’ phenomenon counts as Initial Mastery of Blood Tempering.”

“A few more 『Jade Blood Pills』 and I can push my qi-blood to Full Mastery, then start preparing to break through to Bone Tempering… quite a bit faster than my master predicted!”

“Once that’s done, my odds of keeping myself safe and seizing the treasure at Yunyi Island will climb higher as well.”

“Only…”

Shen Xiuhan’s gaze flicked aside.

Seeing that the 『Intelligence』 point count hadn’t budged at all, he gave a slightly disappointed sigh.

“So it seems… only naturally spiritual creatures like treasure fish and treasure beasts can increase my 『Intelligence』. Even pills refined from their blood and flesh only have the effect of boosting qi-blood…”

Pondering a moment, Shen Xiuhan gave a soundless laugh:

“That’s already enough. If anything, I was being a little greedy…”

He walked to the water cistern in the corner of the courtyard, scooped up a ladleful of well water, and poured it over himself from crown to heels, washing away the sticky sweat and grime.

The icy stream sliding along the lines of his muscles cooled his mind along with his body.

‘By rights, what matters most is continuing to stockpile 『Intelligence』. Once I have fifteen points saved, I’ll use 『Deduction』 to push a martial technique or cultivation method up another tier…’

‘But last night I not only killed Gao Nian — there was also something off about Steward Luo Zhan’s attitude at the retainer posting meeting… These local serpents are every one of them ruthless in their methods. I can’t afford even a moment’s carelessness!’

‘Forget it!’

Shen Xiuhan set down the water ladle, wiped the beads of water from his face. His gaze suddenly focused, and he summoned the golden light-screen in his mind:

【Today’s Intelligence has refreshed!】

【Intelligence ①: The Golden Dragon Gang is wholly on the losing end of its struggle with Raging Waves. Chief Gao Fu has decided to abandon the open gang headquarters, retreat into the shadows, and lie in wait for the opening of ‘the opportunity’…】

【But unforeseen events have occurred. Gao Fu already knows of his only son Gao Nian’s death, and, fearing that Raging Waves will seize the moment to pull up his roots, is right now hiding in the fifth house of Yeci Ward in the outer city, together with several trusted men…】

Hm?

Shen Xiuhan’s heart gave a start!

This old fox Gao Fu had learned of Gao Nian’s death so quickly — and had gone into hiding overnight!

But… the place he had gone to ground in, why did it seem so familiar?

Outer city, Yeci Ward, fifth house…

Wasn’t that Tian Erhu’s home?