x
Squeak.
After closing the door, Song Zhenguo walked to the windowsill. There, perched on the frame, was a black pigeon with pink and white eyes, preening its feathers.
His eyes lit up at the sight. He hurried over, gently caught the bird, and carefully removed a small paper tube from its leg.
Unrolling the message, he read the neat, delicate handwriting:
"Brother Song, Jun’er will help you inquire about that young master.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx0ar3C3ouo
Also, the Scented Silk Festival is coming soon. Can Brother Song promise Jun’er one thing? Do not—absolutely do not—go to the painting boat during that time!"
Song Zhenguo froze, then continued reading:
"The boat girls will use their names as tricks to lure people in, and there will be arrangements made that are unfavorable to Brother Song. Please trust me—Jun’er will handle everything. After the Scented Silk Festival, Jun’er promises to go home with Brother Song..."
Finishing the letter, a deep joy bloomed across Song Zhenguo’s face.
"Brother Song promises you—he won’t give them any chance!" he said aloud.
Though the warning seemed far-fetched, his trust in Jun’er left no room for doubt.
Without hesitation, he found a blank slip of paper, quickly wrote a reply, rolled it up, and tied it back to the pigeon’s leg. Holding the bird carefully in both hands, he stepped outside and released it into the sky.
The black pigeon spread its wings and soared out of the Song residence, gliding past vermilion tiles, through narrow alleys, over dark rooftops, and finally across the tofu-colored streets. It crossed the Songbai River and landed gracefully on a crimson pleasure boat.
It fluttered to a window of one of the side cabins, where a slender hand reached out and caught it gently.
Jun’er untied the paper tube from its leg, glanced around quickly, then set the pigeon free again.
"Go. Go back to your nest," she whispered softly.
The pigeon flapped its wings and vanished into the sky beyond the window's edge.
Jun’er closed the window and carefully unfolded the paper roll. As her eyes skimmed the words, a trace of tenderness softened her face. Without delay, she brought the slip to the candle’s flame.
She held it patiently as the fire consumed it. When only a small corner remained, she gently opened the window once more and released it into the night, letting the ash float down into the Songbai River.
Creak...
Suddenly, the door creaked open on its own, as if nudged by an unseen hand. Startled, Jun’er spun around, clutching her chest as her heart pounded wildly. She stared at the door in alarm.
After a moment of stillness, she cautiously stepped forward and peeked outside. There was no one. No sound, no shadow. She leaned out further into the corridor.
This was the dressing room beneath the main cabin—her own private space, granted thanks to Song Zhenguo. It was quiet here. Most of the other girls had gone upstairs to entertain the guests.
The hallway was empty.
Jun’er let out a quiet breath of relief, retreated into the room, locked the door, and secured it with a bolt.
She sat down at the dressing table and picked up a comb. Slowly, she began brushing her hair. Whenever her thoughts were unsettled, the simple act of combing always helped calm her heart.
But just as she lifted the comb, her face froze.
There, beneath it, a message had been written in black eyebrow pencil on the wooden surface:
“The Scented Silk Festival must be taken. Don’t forget your identity.”
Jun’er bit her lower lip, and a flicker of inner conflict rose in her eyes. After a moment’s hesitation, she picked up the pencil and gently wrote a single word beneath the warning: “Yes.”
Then, quietly, she reached out and wiped away the message, smudging it into a dark stain.
She slowly lifted her head, gazing at her blurred reflection in the bronze mirror. Her eyes lingered on the ghost of her own face, dazed and lost.
She knew exactly what the message meant. It was a warning—a cold reminder not to act on personal feelings. Thankfully, the content of her earlier letter had gone unnoticed.
“It’s a pity... I can’t stay with Brother Song forever...” she murmured, a mix of regret and determination flickering in her eyes.
The master sought those born under the yin sign—people born in the yin year, month, day, and hour. Song Zhenguo was among the chosen. Every arrangement had been made to ensnare him, and all that remained was for her to lure him to the pleasure boat on the day of the Scented Silk Festival.
And yet… without realizing it, she had fallen in love.
She admired his integrity.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgjxstibkE4
She cherished his kindness.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSvTIUkYNH6
She longed to lean on him, to stay by his side.
“Brother Song... Jun’er is so tired... so tired...” she whispered, gently caressing her cheek.
A single tear slipped from the corner of her eye, tracing a quiet path down her face.
…………
In a narrow canyon just outside the city—
Bang!!
Lu Sheng spun around and struck the thick boulder behind him, shattering it into countless fragments. The stone, once the length of an arm, exploded into pieces and scattered across the ground.
Bang! Bang! Bang!!
He turned again, delivering several swift palm strikes in succession. Each blow smashed the surrounding rocks one by one, sending stone chips flying in every direction.
A gray cloud of dust slowly billowed around him, dry and choking.
Lu Sheng gradually reined in his strength, drew back his hands, and let his energy sink back into his dantian. He stood still, silent and focused.
"My swordsmanship and palm techniques are solid," he reflected quietly, "but I’m lacking in light footwork. My long-range hidden weapon skills also need improvement. If I ever face a kite-type opponent from a distance, I could be in trouble."
His breathing slowed as he gathered his thoughts.
"The Jade Crane Art improved after absorbing the power of the Black Tiger Saber Techniques—but that improvement came from the ghost powder's influence." He furrowed his brow. "If I had to rely on my own skill to fuse techniques and refine them, I’d need far more experience. The process is almost like creating a new martial art—impossible to do alone without guidance."
He had attempted to make breakthroughs in other internal and external disciplines afterward, but all failed. In several tries, his meridians had even suffered minor injuries. Worse still, the results he got were wildly inconsistent with his expectations.
"Without sufficient martial arts experience, it's impossible to create a breakthrough technique on my own," he concluded. "The fusion of the Jade Crane and Black Tiger Saber Techniques looks simple on the surface, but it's likely the result of countless simulations or trial-and-error behind the scenes. If I want to further enhance my martial arts, I must find more of those ghost remnants."
After finishing his training, Lu Sheng walked over to a nearby tree. He took down the coat, towel, and other belongings hanging from a branch and began to wipe the sweat from his body.
"It's time to test the power of the third level of the Black Fiend Art," he muttered to himself.
He had never unleashed its full force before. Now that his body was fully recovered, it was the perfect moment to find out just how powerful it truly was.
Staring at the large tree before him, Lu Sheng suddenly grew excited. He gathered his internal energy, channeling it fully into his right hand, then struck with all his strength.
Bang!!
The sound echoed just like before, but the force didn’t seem significantly stronger. As expected, the Black Fiend Art wasn’t focused on raw explosive power.
Lu Sheng slowly drew back his hand and examined the result. A deep black palm print had been embedded into the tree trunk.
The handprint sank over ten centimeters into the bark, radiating a pungent, scorched odor.
He reached out and gently touched the charred edge. A large piece of bark crumbled off, revealing a dense network of blackened lines beneath—like scorched wrinkles etched into the wood.
"This burn is like fire damage..." he murmured. "The Black Fiend Art seems to rank highly among yang-based internal techniques. But unfortunately, it's only a partial version—just a few incomplete layers. If I could refine and enhance the Black Fiend Art, its potential for future development would be incredible."
At this point, Lu Sheng’s cultivation was equivalent to what an ordinary practitioner might achieve after forty or fifty years of training—not including his work with the Black Tiger Sword and other martial arts.
"Next, I need to focus on specialized footwork. Both the Black Tiger Saber Techniques and the other arts only provide footwork to support attacks. I lack a complete system that’s suited for movement—pursuit, escape, or long-distance travel."
He began searching through the martial arts he had collected. So far, he had only obtained one footwork technique—Eight Treasures Step, acquired in Jiulian City. But that method was more suited for dodging within close combat.
"Deep blue," he whispered inwardly.
The familiar modifier interface materialized before his eyes, floating steadily in the air.
Lu Sheng recalled the Eight Treasures Step technique he had memorized earlier. It was inferior even to the Chasing Wind Blade, and without a visualization diagram to guide him, he had simply committed the instructions to memory.
Focusing carefully on each move, he stepped out with his left foot, then twisted his calf to the left. His right leg tapped against the side of a tree trunk, and using the force of the motion, he propelled himself forward in a swift leap. This was the first move of the Eight Treasures Step—part of a full sequence of eight steps, divided into three tiers. It was said to be modeled after the famed "Eight Steps Chasing Cicadas" from the Central Plains.
Lu Sheng practiced for a while, and thanks to his solid footwork foundation, he quickly grasped the movement and force distribution. As he executed the steps, the Eight Treasures Step appeared as a selectable technique in the modifier interface.
He immediately halted and mentally selected the modification button.
The modifier interface pulsed brightly in response.
"Upgrade the Eight Treasures Step by one level," Lu Sheng commanded inwardly.
Instantly, the Eight Treasures Step’s status changed—from Uninitiated to Initiated.
Lu Sheng checked his body. Other than a slight numbness and tingling in his legs, and a small reduction in the internal energy from his Black Tiger Jade Crane Art, there were no major side effects.
"I've come this far without even realizing it... Martial arts of this level can no longer hold me back," he thought with a hint of quiet pride.
The interface now displayed:18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgSOuyUs0II
Eight Treasures Step: Initiated
"Raise the Eight Treasures Step to the highest—third—level," Lu Sheng recited firmly.
Swish!
The step technique upgraded from Initiated to Level One. Lu Sheng barely felt anything.
Swish!
At Level Two, his legs tingled with increased intensity.
Swish!
The Eight Treasures Step advanced to Level Three in an instant. In that moment, nearly four-fifths of his Black Tiger Jade Crane Art’s internal energy was consumed—an amount that would take at least two full days to fully replenish.
Throughout the entire process, Lu Sheng felt as if countless experiences, movements, and applications of the Eight Treasures Step had been imprinted in his mind. His legs were now noticeably more agile and powerful.
"Let's give it a try!"
He spotted a sparrow ahead, just taking flight from the grass, flitting into the air.
Lu Sheng pushed off the ground with explosive strength and dashed forward.
Puff, puff, puff...
With eight rapid consecutive steps, he closed the distance in an instant. The sparrow barely had time to adjust its flight before it was caught in Lu Sheng's grasp.
"My explosive power is strong. The internal strength from both the Black Fiend Art and the Black Tiger Jade Crane Art enhances my burst speed and reinforces my physique. With that foundation, the Eight Treasures Step performs exceptionally well. This should be on par with the Eight Steps Chasing Cicadas, right?"
Pleased, he opened his hand—only to find the sparrow reduced to a bloodied pulp.
He let out a sigh, exasperated.
"Well... that was overkill."
With the footwork issue resolved, Lu Sheng turned his thoughts toward refining his hard-body techniques.
"Now that the footwork is settled, it's time to focus on external body-tempering techniques."
During his months in Yanshan City, he had quietly gathered intelligence and assessed the martial arts community.
There weren't many top-tier masters in the city. The government's strength and tight control over martial artists meant that most experts served in official positions—military officers and bureaucrats.
The most renowned among them was Lu Chengzhong, master of the One Qi Green Summit Sword. Compared to him, the others were mere background noise. However, Lu Chengzhong was already 87 years old, and his three sons all held prestigious positions within the city. Getting close to him—let alone requesting guidance—was out of the question.
Lu Sheng had ruled him out from the start.
-----------18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK675RQbHAo
Hi there, Taleria here!18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2RNmGOaoaK
I hope you're enjoying this novel as much as I do. If you're having fun reading and would like to see faster and more consistent updates, I’d really appreciate your support!
You can visit my page at: patreon.com/taleria_tl18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbJNbakvfns
There, you’ll find my other works—and psst… there are advance chapters waiting for you too! 😉
