Chapter 34: Tempering Poison, First Test of the Blade

The morning breeze slipped into his nostrils, bringing a cool draft and a hint of iron rust. Li Ping'an inhaled deeply; the scent pricked his lungs, making them feel cold, and he felt invigorated. His whole body's pores seemed just awakened, quietly standing on end, catching the unusual trace in the air.

In the courtyard, Yan Bu Gui was squatting, tenderly feeling the crack in the doorboard. "Damn thing… how much money will this cost…" he muttered, babbling like a chant. A few women emerged carrying urinals, half‑asleep; when they saw Li Ping'an they froze, their gazes darting away.

Last night his room was so noisy—spitting blood and being interrogated—that, in others' eyes, his being able to stand up afterward was simply absurd.

"Ping'an… you… are you already going down to the ground?" a usually amiable aunt tentatively asked.

Li Ping'an forced a smile, uglier than crying, then coughed twice, his throat dry: "Cough… cough… just barely holding on… it's stuffy in the room, I came out for fresh air." He acted the part well; his freshly tempered body stored the lingering chill tightly, showing only the expected sickly pallor outwardly.

When Yan Bu Gui heard that, the tiny eyes behind his lenses lit up, and he hurried over: "Ah! Ping'an, you finally recovered! You scared me to death! Look at my door…"

Li Ping'an let out a snort inside, thinking this old schemer, the doorboard was pricier than a human life. He didn't wait for Yan Bu Gui to finish, coughing again, gasping to interrupt: "Teacher Yan… the Japanese Soldiers kicked the door, you should make them compensate… what's this, you think I'm an easy target, trying to make me the scapegoat? You pride yourself on being a cultured scholar, but I only see calculation everywhere. You weren't an accountant by any chance?"

The words made Yan Bu Gui's old face flush red; he stammered, "This… how should I put it… it's not that… sigh…" his speech stuck in his throat, neither coming nor going.

Li Ping'an was too lazy to continue, hunched his back, and shuffled slowly toward the courtyard exit. His steps seemed to float, making no sound on the ground.

Turning out of the courtyard, he entered the Alley. In the early morning the Alley was quite quiet, the blue‑brick walls felt icy. His sickly demeanor vanished instantly, his back straightened slightly, his gaze swept both sides like a blade.

A few half‑grown kids ran past the Hu Tong Kou. In the distance a vendor shouted about selling soy‑milk. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

But Li Ping'an's eyebrows twitched slightly. His keen ears caught something else—a faint gasp from the dead‑end alley opposite, low and pressed, like a Poison Snake waiting to bite.

Coincidence? Or coming for him?

Just as Kong Ben Musashi and Dao Tiao Lian had left, leaving a watchful eye was too normal. This was a probe, also a killing move.

Li Ping'an felt steadier inside. He had just been pondering where to test his skill, and now the delivery arrived at his doorstep.

He pretended to know nothing, kept coughing as he walked forward, his right hand still pressed to his chest—he was acting fully.

Just as he passed the Hu Tong Kou—

A dark silhouette lunged out! Fast as a gust of wind! A gaunt claw reached straight for Li Ping'an's back heart! If it had succeeded, the heart could have been ripped out.

The attacker's mouth was already twisted in a grin, about to land the blow.

But the instant the fingertips were about to touch his old cotton coat—

Li Ping'an seemed to have an eye on the back of his head; his body slipped left, missing by a hair's breadth!

The hand grasped nothing!

The assailant's smile froze on his face, and his heart gave a sudden thud: "It's ruined!"

Before he could change tactics, Li Ping'an's right hand, which had been pressing his chest, somehow flipped and landed on the attacker's exposed elbow. Skin met skin, icy to the bone!

A burst of chilling poisonous qi shot in, the arm went numb instantly, and his strength dissipated!

"What weird technique?" he shouted, his hair standing on end, his left hand slapping toward Li Ping'an's face, trying to push him away.

Li Ping'an didn't retreat but advanced, pulling the attacker's arm with his hand.

Clack!

A light sound, and the arm dislocated outright!

"Ah!" a brief, miserable scream escaped but was choked back. The chilling poisonous qi surged in, half his body went numb, his lips turned purple.

His eyes were full of fear! What the hell is this? Both chilling and poisonous! Completely different from what was said last night!

Li Ping'an didn't stop; his foot slipped and pressed against him, his left arm whipping like a lash on the attacker's defending hand.

Snap!

Another burst of cold entered, the man's movement stiffened.

Li Ping'an's right hand was already silently pressing on his abdomen.

No sound, no movement.

The man suddenly twitched, his eyeballs bulging, all his strength seemed drained, feeling as if a block of ice was lodged in his belly, freezing his limbs stiff.

He opened his mouth, gasping, and fell straight backward.

Just before he hit the ground, Li Ping'an's hand darted into his chest, pulled out something and slipped it into his own pocket. He kicked the ground, and the loose soil covered a few dark‑colored beads of sweat on the floor.

From start to finish, it was only a breath's worth of time.

In the distance the soy‑milk vendor was still shouting. The Alley seemed as if nothing had happened.

Li Ping'an quickly looked around, no one noticing. He immediately bent over again, leaning on the wall, panting heavily, as if that last move had drained all his strength.

"Where did that… strong man… come from?" his voice trembled, with lingering fear, "You scared… scared me to death…"

Mumbling finished, he kept his back hunched, shuffling three steps at a time outward, like a truly terrified patient.

Only as he turned out of the Hu Tong Kou, in the last glance before disappearing, he glanced at the quickly stiffened "corpse" on the ground, his eyes cold as ice.

The wind blew, a few leaves settled over the man's unblinking eyes.

The vendor's shout continued.

On the new day, Lord Yan had already taken his breakfast. Li Ping'an's "illness" seemed even heavier.