Chapter 052 – Aftermath

Inside the secluded chamber, Li Yuan set aside his stray thoughts and focused on memorizing the method for circulating blood at the eighth rank of the Spirit-Release Technique. It was an internal practice, not apparent from the outside.

Meanwhile, he continued to build up his vital energy just as he had at the ninth rank, so in the eyes of the maids, he was still training at the ninth rank of the Spirit-Release Technique.

A few days earlier, while chatting with Yu Mao, Li Yuan had casually asked how long it normally took to break through to the eighth rank.

Yu Mao had told him that with a solid manual, decent resources, and genuine talent, reaching the ninth rank usually took about a year. The key factor was always talent.

Many people, no matter how hard they tried, could never generate shadow blood, the trait that set true martial artists apart.

As for breaking through to early eighth rank, one typically needed at least three months, and reaching the peak could take over three years. That matched both the memories in Li Yuan’s mind and Xi Yan’s earlier comment, “You’ll need the eighth rank to train with puppets, which is still three or four years off.”

In other words, not making it to the ninth rank in under a year would actually be considered normal. If he did break through sooner, everyone would call him a genius. If he somehow managed it now, it would cause too much attention and trouble.

For now, Li Yuan was still officially at the ninth rank, so using ninth rank abilities didn’t raise any eyebrows.

After some time training quietly in the chamber, he moved to the training platform to continue tempering his shadow blood with the ninth rank cultivation technique. Time flew by, and before long he was drenched in sweat.

As usual, Xi Yan brought out a wooden tub for his bath. She helped him disrobe and slipped into the bath alongside him, carefully massaging herbal lotions into his tired muscles.

Li Yuan let the alluring woman tend to him, her gentle care washing away his fatigue, while his thoughts drifted to the problem of acquiring demonic beast meat, how to get the money and how to make discreet purchases in the black market.

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A short while later, Li Yuan changed into a clean black robe and headed to the black market’s north gate. Bowing respectfully, he set his cultivation manual aside and said, “Master, I’d like to head to Little Ink Mountain for a few days of training.”

Senior Li, rocking slowly in his chair, narrowed his eyes. After a moment’s silence, he spoke in a hoarse voice, “Given that you used to hunt in Little Ink Village, heading up Little Ink Mountain again is no issue...but let me warn you.”

“Please, go ahead,” Li Yuan said.

Senior Li’s voice rasped, “In the mountains, in vast wilderness or lonely shores—places far from the reach of men—never venture too deep...”

Li Yuan felt his heart jolt. Feigning curiosity, he asked, “Is it dangerous out there?”

Senior Li replied, “It was my master, your grandmaster, who left that warning.”

Li Yuan asked, “So even you abide by it, Master?”

Senior Li nodded.

A chill ran through Li Yuan. In a shaky voice, he asked, “Does that mean there really are...ghosts? People in our village always tell ghost stories. Are they true?”

Surprisingly, Senior Li didn’t outright deny it, nor did he confirm it. After a long pause, he simply muttered, “Maybe they exist, maybe they don’t. Everyone who claims to have seen them has vanished. So how could you, or anyone, know for sure whether they’re real or not?”

Li Yuan swallowed. At that moment, he realized that making it out of the mountains alive before was nothing short of a miracle. That place had been a sure-death trap...

He suddenly felt as though the hidden dangers of the deep mountains had just risen dramatically in his mind. Worse, some unknown terror might already be creeping closer, even into the black market itself.

Quietly, he said, “I will heed the grandmaster’s warning.”

“Go on,” Senior Li said with a slight wave.

“I’ll take my leave now,” Li Yuan responded with a bow.

He had almost walked out of earshot when Senior Li’s voice called after him again, “They’ve already reserved a spot for you as an inner disciple of the Blood Blade Sect. But you’ll have to wait a while for the official identity token.”

“Thank you, Master.” Li Yuan bowed one more time. He wanted to ask whether the recent disappearances on the island might be connected to these elusive ghosts, but he held back.

Without another word, he turned and left, heading briskly toward the docks in the south market. He had a feeling it might be quite some time before he returned to this place.

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While waiting for his boat at the docks, Li Yuan suddenly heard a commotion coming from the southwest corner—people shouting, water splashing, and a hubbub of anxious murmurs.

It drew a number of onlookers, including other travelers waiting for boats and a few black market merchants heading to the county for food or fun.

Before long, several onlookers hurried back, breathless and eager to share their news.

“All three missing Blood Blade Sect disciples have been found—yeah, all of them. Apparently at the bottom of the lake again. What in the world is going on?”

“How else could it be? I heard the Blood Blade Sect and the Wei Family never got along. The only reason they set aside their feud before was the threat of the Red Lotus Rebels. Now that those bandits have stopped, of course the fighting flares right back up.”

“Exactly, there’s nothing else to say. We don’t need to get caught up in the affairs of these powerful factions. Let’s just wait for the boat. Ah, speaking of which, it’s finally here! Ha! Tonight, as soon as I’m ashore, I’m heading to the Heavenly Scent Pavilion to hire myself a lady for a proper night out.”

“Hire one? Hey, brother, what do you mean by hire exactly?”

Before long, the conversation veered off into banter about women, leaving the men chortling in camaraderie.

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Li Yuan, however, was focused on the commotion in the distance. They were hauling bodies out of the water, and one of them was Cai Ze’s...

He didn’t go over for a closer look. When the small black-prowed boat arrived, he quietly boarded.

Once ashore, Li Yuan didn’t head straight home. Instead, he took a detour to the White Cloud Alley. He still remembered how, just over a month ago, he’d paced outside Cai Ze’s home at dawn with a fancy boxed breakfast and a jug of rice wine, waiting for him to appear. But in the blink of an eye, everything had changed.

Soon, he was standing before the same gate. After a hesitant moment, he raised his hand and knocked.

No answer. The house was dark inside.

He knocked again.

At last, a wary woman’s voice came from within, “Who is it?”

“It’s me, Li Yuan,” he replied.

Silence fell. Then, in the still night, the door creaked open. Light footsteps approached, and a woman’s soft voice came through the narrow gap, “Is that you, Mister Li?”

She had changed how she addressed him, but Li Yuan knew she was referring to him. “Yes, it’s me.”

With a squeak of the hinges, the door swung open, revealing Huang Ya’s delicate face.

Behind her stood a round-faced woman, looking tense and fearful. She was quite pretty, though pallid—perhaps from staying indoors or from poor health.

Li Yuan stepped inside, and Huang Ya hurriedly shut the door behind him. He glanced at the timid woman, then asked, “And who might this be?”

Huang Ya hesitated, then suddenly dropped to her knees in front of him.

Startled, Li Yuan reached out to support her. “What are you doing?”

In a hushed voice, Huang Ya said, “If you don’t mind, could we speak inside?”

“Very well...”

Once indoors, Huang Ya quietly recounted the situation.

It turned out that Cai Ze had a wife. He was concerned that his background and marriage wouldn’t align well with the Blood Blade Sect’s expectations. So he had pretended otherwise, claiming only to have two maids—one out front Huang Ya and one in the inner quarters.

In truth, the woman in the inner quarters was his wife, Zuo Xiuxiu.

After Cai Ze went missing, the two women had been paralyzed with fear, staying locked inside every day, too frightened to venture out.

“Master Cai had many friends,” Huang Ya said softly, “but you’re the only one who’s come by in person, Mister Li... And truthfully, I feel you’re different from the others. That’s why I dared to speak openly.”

Tears welled in Zuo Xiuxiu’s eyes. “Could you help me find out where my husband went? Word on the street says he disappeared, and I fear he may have met a terrible end...”

Li Yuan was silent for a moment before replying gently, “My condolences. Cai Ze... he passed away. They only discovered his body this evening. I came here because he once helped me, and I wanted to check in on things.”

“Ah...!” Zuo Xiuxiu raised her head in alarm, grief and dread freezing her features.

Li Yuan pressed on quietly, “What do you plan to do now?”

Zuo Xiuxiu looked completely lost. Huang Ya leaned close and whispered into her ear. After a long pause, Zuo Xiuxiu bit her lip and nodded.

Huang Ya then turned to Li Yuan. “May I beg a favor from you?”

“Please, go ahead,” he said.

Huang Ya lowered her gaze and explained, “Cai Ze once told me about a rule in the Blood Blade Sect. When a member dies, all of that disciple’s possessions revert to the sect. And...a maid is considered part of those possessions.

“When that happens, the Blood Blade Sect generally has three ways of dealing with us. The first is keeping us in the sect, allowing other disciples to pay for us as they wish. The second is giving us away as rewards to certain members. Lastly, the third is selling us directly to a brothel...

“I-I’d like to ask you to buy us first, then set Madam Zuo free. I’m willing to stay on as a servant for life, without complaint. As for the silver required, we do have some at home. If we move quickly, before the sect sends someone to take inventory, I...I can give you enough. All I ask is for you to use another person’s name to buy us. It should only cost around 60 taels of silver.”

Li Yuan let out a quiet breath. “If I can help, I will. But there’s no need for you two to go your separate ways. Keep your silver; whatever extra is spent, I’ll return to you.”

Huang Ya stood in stunned silence, and then, at once, both she and Zuo Xiuxiu dropped to their knees, attempting to bow in thanks.

Li Yuan quickly stopped them. Without another word, Huang Ya hurried off and came back with two gleaming gold ingots—ten taels in total—and then ten silver ingots amounting to a hundred taels, offering the 110 taels altogether to Li Yuan.