Chapter 25: Hidden Currents Surge

Xia Daoming returned to the pear blossom alley residence at noon.

Before that, he had circled far outside the city.

Though this seemed utterly unnecessary, Xia Daoming felt it wiser to loop around than to walk straight into the city carrying a large sack.

The bloodstains in the Xia residence courtyard had long been cleaned away, leaving no trace—last night, a fifth-rank Great Martial Master had nearly died in that very yard.

He shut the back gate.

Xia Daoming entered his study and opened the sack, taking out each box one by one.

“Indeed, no night grass means no fat horses—this time, I’ve truly struck it rich!” After a long while, Xia Daoming emerged from his study with a broad smile.

In Wu Yueli’s private treasury, the most abundant items were gold, jewels, and silver notes, worth a total of thirty thousand taels of silver.

Next came the Wu Yun Jin cultivation method and the Secret Diagram of Hidden Power Resonance of the Wu family.

These could certainly be sold for cash—likely more than thirty thousand taels—but with the current heat, it was not yet safe to dispose of them.

Lastly were pills, ointments, and medicinal herbs like wild ginseng that could be consumed directly for nourishment.

Of the pills and ointments, nearly one-third were products of the Ji family—this made Xia Daoming sigh in admiration; the Ji family truly was Licheng’s foremost medicinal merchant.

Over the past three months, Xia Daoming had been taking medicine daily and occasionally meeting Ji Wenyue; he was now barely qualified as a half-expert on medicinal prices.

According to Xia Daoming’s estimate, Wu Yueli’s collection of pills and ointments was worth at least seven to eight thousand taels of silver.

Yet Xia Daoming believed that all the pills, ointments, and herbs combined were worth less than a single herb: its stalk and stem glowed crimson like fire, yet bore three slender, ink-black leaves.

This herb radiated an intensely potent medicinal energy.

It was clearly a powerful tonic.

But medicinal herbs must not be taken lightly.

And since Wu Yueli had stored it without consuming it, there must be some reason or caution behind it.

So Xia Daoming planned to meet Ji Wenyue and consult her expert opinion.

The sun set in the west.

Once again, in the private room on the second floor of the Qingshi Street Jingxin Tea House, Xia Daoming and Ji Wenyue sat across from each other, sipping tea.

Ji Wenyue wore a modest green robe, her skin as white as snow, smooth and lustrous; her eyebrows like misty willow, her eyes clear as dew, beneath her delicate nose a mouth as radiant as pink cherry blossoms.

Her jet-black hair, tied only with a plain ribbon, fell loosely over her chest—more poised and elegant than during their desert days, with an added touch of mature allure.

“My grandfather suddenly brought out some rare herbs long kept in our family’s vaults and asked me to spend the next few months trying to brew a pill according to an ancient formula.”

“So for the next three or four months, I won’t be able to leave easily. Here are some pills and silver notes—combined with what I gave you last time, they should be enough for your needs.”

Ji Wenyue set down her teacup, picked up a bundle beside her, placed it on the table, and pushed it toward Xia Daoming.

“It’s hardest to accept a beauty’s kindness—you’re doing this, and it puts me in a difficult position!” Xia Daoming said with a look of obvious distress.

“Hehe, if you’re truly troubled, why not just marry into my Ji family and give yourself to me?” Ji Wenyue stuck out her tongue at Xia Daoming.

As their time together grew longer, Ji Wenyue had grown accustomed to Xia Daoming’s flattery and had learned to fight back.

“I sell smiles, not my body—give up that idea!” Xia Daoming said with solemn seriousness.

“Ah!” Ji Wenyue paused, then burst into peals of laughter, her figure trembling with mirth—so captivating that Xia Daoming’s heart raced and his composure wavered.

“You’ve given me far too much already—take this back. No matter how much power you hold in your family, using it so freely will breed resentment, even if no one speaks of it.” Xia Daoming tore his gaze from Ji Wenyue’s increasingly mature and alluring form and pushed the bundle back with a stern expression.

“Without you, I wouldn’t be who I am today! This is for you—how could that be wasteful? Besides, Licheng is about to become turbulent. The stronger you are, the better you can protect yourself—what do family opinions and resentment matter?” Ji Wenyue watched him push the bundle back and grew even more determined.

“Licheng is about to become turbulent? What do you mean?” Xia Daoming’s expression darkened.

For the past six months, he had settled in Licheng, living a life of comfort, luxury, and warm beds with beautiful women—and his martial cultivation had surged forward. He had enjoyed peace and had no wish for it to be shattered.

“The Wu family fortress lord, Wu Yueli, and his chief steward Jing Xuying were killed this morning. In all of Licheng, only four factions have the ability to kill these two without a trace: the Xu family, the Lin family, the Ding family, and the Dominant Blade Gate.”

“The Xu family stands alone above all others in Licheng, but the Lin, Ding, and Dominant Blade Gate are also powerful. They mutually restrain each other while forming a tacit alliance to resist Xu family suppression, avoiding being picked off one by one.”

“Of course, the Xu family has a Grand Master in residence; as long as they don’t try to annihilate the other three, those three will outwardly respect the Xu family and obey their orders.”

“But recently, rumors spread that the Xu family’s ancestral elder had suffered an accident and was in dire condition. The three families quietly began small moves—especially the Lin family, which acted most aggressively.”

“The Wu family fortress has always been seen as aligned with the Lin family. Now that Wu Yueli and Jing Xuying have been assassinated, my grandfather believes this is the Xu family’s warning to the Lin family.”

“But the timing of this event also indirectly confirms that the rumors about the Xu family’s ancestral elder are not baseless.”

“The Xu family, having dominated for years, has committed countless acts of tyranny and oppression—every faction in Licheng resents them, especially the Lin, Ding, and Dominant Blade Gate, who long to overthrow them.”

“If the Xu family’s ancestral elder truly falters, Licheng will plunge into chaos, with warlords rising and clashing for supremacy.”

“The Qianjiao Martial Arts Hall is also a force in Licheng. Since you’ve become Master Liang Jingtang’s disciple, when chaos erupts, you won’t be able to remain untouched,” Ji Wenyue said, her beautiful eyes filled with concern.

Xia Daoming sat stunned, unable to recover for a long time.

He never imagined that killing two people casually would lead the outside world to automatically pin the blame on the mighty Xu family for him.

Worse still, his accidental attack seemed to have violently stirred the surface calm of Licheng, which was in truth a sea of hidden currents.

Perhaps a great storm would arrive sooner because of his unintentional act.

“So you must quickly strengthen your power—and also strengthen those around you. Don’t worry about waste, and don’t worry about me,” Ji Wenyue said, seeing Xia Daoming’s dazed expression, assuming he was shocked by her insider news, and paused before continuing.

“Which faction does the Ji family belong to?” Xia Daoming suddenly asked.

“The Ji family deals in medicinal herbs and maintains good relations with all factions in Licheng. Every year, we voluntarily send large tribute gifts to the four major powers, and they often need our help to refine medicines.”

“So the Ji family navigates between all factions, remaining relatively independent—not aligned with any one side. But if the Xu family’s ancestral elder truly falls, and the factions begin their power struggle, the Ji family’s current strength will likely force us to pick a side!” Ji Wenyue said, her expression troubled.

“And which faction does the Qianjiao Martial Arts Hall belong to?” Xia Daoming asked again.

Ji Wenyue glanced at him in surprise and replied: “Martial arts halls are a uniquely special group. They openly accept disciples and teach martial arts—anyone who pays the fee is accepted, regardless of origin or background.”

“Those who train in the halls, once they master their skills, may establish their own schools, join a faction, or return to serve their own families…”

“Thus, martial arts halls inevitably develop tangled connections with all factions, forming a complex web of relationships.”

“With inherently loose cohesion and such intricate ties, martial arts halls have become a uniquely independent group, needing no formal allegiance to any faction.”

“The Qianjiao Martial Arts Hall is no exception. But I heard two distant members of the Ding family trained there and reached the Great Martial Master rank, formally becoming Master Liang’s disciples—so the hall is closely tied to the Ding family.”

“The Ding family?” Xia Daoming frowned slightly.

He had heard from Yuchi Xiao about these two Ding family senior brothers, but both had died young—Yuchi Xiao never said why.

Yet what Xia Daoming cared about now was not those two dead Ding brothers, but that if the Qianjiao Martial Arts Hall was branded as Ding family-affiliated, it would be dangerous under the current circumstances.

“Three months ago, when the Shi family severely injured Master Gu, it might not have been a trap set by the Shi family—it could have been ordered by the Xu family.” Xia Daoming’s mind quickly conjured darker possibilities.

“I only learned about the connection between the Qianjiao Martial Arts Hall and the Ding family because I specifically paid attention after you became Master Liang’s disciple.”

“But you’re Master Liang’s direct disciple now—you should know this already!” Ji Wenyue said.

“I never cared about these things before—I only focused on cultivation. Master Liang only grew closer to the Ding family because of those two Ding disciples; there’s no formal affiliation, so he had no reason to explain it to me.” Xia Daoming said.

“That’s true,” Ji Wenyue nodded, relieved.

“By the way, do you recognize this herb?” Xia Daoming handed Ji Wenyue a drawing.