Chapter 043 – An Incident

Slaughtering pigs was a straightforward business. First a stab, then a slice. The stab went into the neck, letting the blood drain quickly. The slice would take off the head and open the carcass to remove the innards and cut the meat.

Before Li Yuan transmigrated, he once read about a General Zhang who wielded a snake spear. General Zhang had been a pig butcher—and Li Yuan was, too.

Sometimes he wondered if General Zhang's spearmanship came from all that pig-stabbing practice. On the battlefield, all you had to do was just treat the enemy like a pig, jab the spear at their neck, one swift thrust after another—fast, precise, and deadly.

Nothing fancy, just skill gained through repetition.

That thought flashed through Li Yuan’s mind as he gripped his blade, eyes half-closed, recalling scenes from his previous life. He pictured row after row of butcher blocks, each holding a hog pinned by the neck, unable to move.

Stab!

With a sudden twist of his wrist, Li Yuan imagined plunging the tip of the blade into the pig’s neck. The blade went in cleanly, and blood poured out in a scarlet rush. Once the blood was drained and the carcass washed...

“Hah!” Off went the head!

A hot surge flowed through his arms—some strange, blood-driven energy boosting his strength. Yet that downward chop wasn’t particularly fast or powerful. It felt like something was missing, as if he couldn’t fully channel his strength through every inch of steel. It was just a motion, nothing more.

Then came the slicing as he cut through the air, imagining the removal of intestines and organs. After finishing one imaginary carcass, he paused, sheathed his blade, then pictured the next pig and started all over again.

Outside in the snowy courtyard, flakes landed on wooden crates and basins, on the hard-packed yellow earth and the bare branches of a leafless tree. Snow swirled around him, stirred up by the flash of his blade.

Inside the house, Yan Yu leaned against the window, watching her husband practice in the wind and snow.

Snow fell; Li Yuan’s blade rose and fell. His footsteps trampled the snow underfoot, turning it into grimy black ice. Most people would slip if they moved too quickly on it, but the young man never lost his balance.

The blood-fueled energy pulsed through his body as he moved, warming him so thoroughly that steam drifted off him, white clouds of vapor rising like a pot at full boil.

“My husband truly looks magnificent...” Yan Yu sighed dreamily, one hand supporting her delicate face as she gazed out at the snowy courtyard and the man within it. Her eyes drifted across his strong waist, powerful thighs, and corded muscles until her cheeks turned pink at the sight.

Li Yuan trained for most of the afternoon, but aside from loosening up his joints, he didn’t feel like he’d gained anything at all.

“Sure enough, mastering a new skill isn’t easy. I did feel something with that very first stab, but the slashes that followed all seemed off somehow. Oh well, no rush. I’ve slaughtered so many pigs in my previous life that I’ve definitely got an advantage when it comes to using a blade. I’ll just keep at it tomorrow.”

Back indoors, they ate their evening meal. Yan Yu didn’t bring up the idea of going out, especially since Li Yuan had claimed he’d come home injured. It would hardly make sense to head straight out for a stroll.

After dinner, Auntie Wang, ever the industrious one, heated a generous amount of water and poured it into a wooden tub. Without being asked, she announced it was ready for the master and his wife to bathe.

It had snowed that day, so there was no need to fetch water from outside. They simply scooped it from the open-air water vat. Li Yuan took a comfortable bath and then climbed into bed.

A moment later, Yan Yu’s warm body slipped under the covers too. Outside was an icy world; beneath the quilt, though, everything was toasty and inviting.

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Two days passed in the blink of an eye. The snowfall had long ended, but the thaw brought on the harshest cold.

After lunch, with nothing much to do, Li Yuan and Yan Yu sat in the backyard.

“This snowfall means the weather should start warming up soon,” Yan Yu remarked. She was still wrapped in that same simple blouse of blue with white flowers, sitting on a wooden bench under the eaves and gazing at a bare tree in the distance. “I wonder what kind of blossoms it’ll have come spring.”

“It’s an apricot tree,” Li Yuan said. He had asked a member from the Blood Blade Sect about it when he first bought this property.

“Apricot blossoms?” Yan Yu’s eyes lit up at once, gleaming like ripples on spring water. “We had them back where I grew up, but there were none in Little Ink Mountain. It’s nice to have them again... It’s like this place is truly my home now.”

Li Yuan smiled. “Of course it’s your home. Wherever I am, that’s where you belong.”

She shot him a playful glare, but didn’t deny it.

After a while, Yan Yu suddenly jumped up from her seat, stepped into the courtyard, and struck a ready stance. “Husband, these past few days, seeing you practice your blade, I feel like picking up that martial cultivation technique I showed you. Maybe I can finally learn it properly.”

Deep down, she felt a bit competitive. She was the one who taught him that technique in the first place. So, how did he master it in just a few days, while she’d practiced it for ages without success?

Li Yuan said, “Go ahead. If anything looks off, I’ll correct you.”

She grinned, then fell silent and focused. Slowly, she spread her arms as if they were willow branches swaying in the breeze. Her steps were light, her breathing following a unique rhythm, alternating between expansion and contraction.

Knowing the trick to this exercise, Li Yuan offered guidance. “Breathing and posture are just surface forms. The real goal is to get your blood flowing inside. Let it circulate, building over time until you develop a unique internal power, like a heated current that makes you feel comfortable, even stronger all over.”

“Got it...” Yan Yu continued her movements with quiet determination. With Auntie Wang now taking care of the household chores, she finally had the time to devote herself to practice.

Meanwhile, Li Yuan went back to refining his pig-gutting blade.

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By evening, steaming millet rice was on the table along with stir-fried pork and green onions, stir-fried eggs with chives, and a bowl of meat broth drizzled with salt and oil. All in all, quite a hearty spread.

The town had decent supplies, so it wasn’t hard to pick up fresh green onions and chives at the market outside the shanty area.

After eating, Li Yuan headed to the front yard, where Auntie Wang was bustling around, heating water for his bath.

Just then, a knock sounded at the door outside the courtyard.

“Li Yuan? Are you home? It’s me, Cai Ze.”

“

Cough, cough...!

Yes, I’m here...” Li Yuan replied between coughs and went to open the door himself.

Standing outside was a young man in a bailiff’s uniform, none other than Cai Ze, carrying a basket of winter jujubes and a fish.

“Li Yuan,” he said, “I just heard your old injury flared up. I came by as soon as I was off duty.”

“Come in,” Li Yuan said. “But I can’t accept your gifts. You’ve helped me a lot already, getting me set up here. How could I take more from you?

Cough, cough...!

”

“Don’t be so polite. We’re practically family,” Cai Ze replied. Then, in a half-joking tone, he added, “But really, you’re already reached the ninth rank. How come you never told me?”

“It’s not that I was hiding it,” Li Yuan fibbed. “It’s just my injury... Once it acts up, I can drop back down at any time. Didn’t seem worth mentioning until I was sure.”

Cai Ze let out a soft sigh, then lowered his voice and leaned in. “If your body can handle it, you really should head back soon.”

“What do you mean?” Li Yuan asked.

“Those menial workers in every division—once you’re gone too long, they’ll start following your partner instead. Then, if you need them for anything later, it’ll be a hassle.”

“Is that so?”

“Your partner is named Wen Xiaoqiao, right?”

“Yes...”

“She’s from Parasol Town, a grain merchant’s daughter. She’s well-connected and capable. Word is she’s been investigating the disappearance of the fellow associates before you two. If she cracks the case, that’ll be a big accomplishment.

“So go back now. First, you can take some credit by helping with the investigation. Second, you can get to the bottom of what happened. If you two solve it, the higher-ups at the Blood Blade Sect might very well promote you to an official outer disciple.”

Li Yuan asked, “Hey, what exactly is this missing-persons case?”

“Just that, people vanished. Happens every year in this county, though this time it just happened to be the Blood Blade Sect’s own members on night patrol...”

Cai Ze leaned in closer, lowering his voice conspiratorially. “Personally, I think they were taken out in secret. But this time is different. Senior Li on the island is bound to keep a close watch. Now it’s a question of who’s bold enough to strike again.

“The muscle? Senior Li will help with that. The credit? He won’t claim it for himself. In other words, it’s a great opportunity for you.” Then he waved his hand dismissively. “Just my random thoughts. Don’t take them too seriously. So, have you made up your mind to go back soon?”

Li Yuan gave a regretful sigh. “I’d like to, but with this injury... Well...”

“That really is a shame.”

They chatted a while longer, and Cai Ze ended up staying for dinner before taking his leave. Only then did Yan Yu emerge from behind the curtain, eyes full of concern.

“Husband, what do we do?”

Li Yuan recalled that chilling aura he’d sensed the other day. “Honestly, I hope Wen Xiaoqiao manages to pull off a major success... so I can keep lying low here in the black market.”

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Three more days passed in a flash, and the weather began to warm.

That evening, just before dusk, someone banged urgently on Li Yuan’s front door, loud and piercing.

“Li Yuan! Li Yuan!” Cai Ze’s voice resounded from outside.

When Li Yuan answered, he found Cai Ze’s expression grim.

“What’s happened?” Li Yuan asked.

Cai Ze hesitated, then spoke in a low voice. “Wen Xiaoqiao...she’s gone missing, too.”