Chapter 12: A Way Out

Ruan Xing smiled indifferently, "What if they aren't satisfied with me either? When that time comes, I'll still come back to be your apprentice. Even if I am a girl, I can still provide for you in your old age and see you off."

Although they had only known each other for two days, Ruan Xing's sweet words flowed out as if they cost nothing. Shi Shifu already felt that this little girl was not only exceptionally sensible but also quite adorable. He couldn't help but straighten his face to offer a reminder, "You had best make those above satisfied; that is a good thing for you, for me, and for Qiye."

Ruan Xing nodded, then asked again, "Our gang has only developed to this point in five or six years, so the people above must be very formidable, right? Are they high-ranking officials in the imperial court?"

"Do not ask such things lightly; no one will tell you, not even I know," Shi Shifu said with some seriousness. "Alright, that is enough talk, you should start practicing."

"Hey, wait! Just satisfy my curiosity one more time, I'll ask you one last thing!" Ruan Xing tugged at his sleeve and pleaded softly, her pair of black eyes fixed on him without blinking.

Shi Shifu felt somewhat helpless, "You little girl have quite a heavy curiosity. Go ahead and ask."

"It's just that..." Ruan Xing opened her hands to gesture, "You just said the gang teaches martial arts based on rank. Is it the kind of martial arts that the heroes in storybooks use to fly around?"

"Probably not." Shi Shifu thought for a moment and replied, "I was already old when I joined the Red Head Gang, so I didn't learn martial arts with them. However, I have seen quite a lot over these years. The low-level gang members only practice Body Refining External Technique, training through the hottest days of summer and the coldest days of winter. Only the high-level members are granted the Internal Energy Mental Method, but I have never heard of any high-level member who could fly after practicing it. The storybooks you speak of are likely just fabrications."

Pausing, Shi Shifu looked at her with some suspicion, "However, to be able to read storybooks, little girl, are you literate?"

Ruan Xing was startled upon hearing this. She had been so eager to ask about the Red Head Gang's martial arts that she had forgotten about this.

However, she quickly realized she was being overly paranoid and slowly relaxed. Whether she was literate or not made no difference to Shi Shifu; at most, he would just find it incredible that she could read at six years old. Still, she had to remedy the situation, so Ruan Xing said with a shy expression, "I am not literate, I just heard others talk about it, and I remembered it because I was interested."

"Hmm, I see." Shi Shifu nodded casually and said nothing more, ending the conversation. He turned to continue with the previous matter, demonstrating the new cheating technique for Three Immortals Return to Cave to Ruan Xing for her to practice, after which he strolled off to the corridor to take a walk.

Ruan Xing absentmindedly toyed with the white porcelain bowl containing the eggs, thinking about what Shi Shifu had just said.

Hu San had previously told her about the gang's organizational structure. At the very top were the Gang Leader and Vice Gang Leader. The second layer consisted of over thirty regional Guans. These first two layers were the high-level members of the gang. Each Guan was equivalent to a department head, leading their subordinates to manage their own designated areas and reporting directly to the Gang Leader. As for the status of the brothers in the Guans' halls, that was decided by the Guans themselves.

Only high-level members could be taught the Internal Energy Mental Method, which meant that only those at the Guan level would possess that kind of White True Qi...

Ruan Xing recalled the shocked expression on Qiye's face in her second simulation memory when he saw the other person use True Qi. Perhaps Qiye knew him.

As for that youth...

The residence that Qiye used as a hall had three courtyards. Aside from public areas like the martial arts training ground and the dining hall, there were seven or eight other courtyards of various sizes. Although that youth had not received instruction from Shi Shifu, since he could be kept as a backup by Qiye, perhaps he lived in this area as well.

Neither Qiye nor Shi Shifu restricted her freedom. She could use the excuse of familiarizing herself with the environment to wander around these few days and see if she could find him. Ruan Xing was not worried about being in danger if she saw him; after all, every time she died, they only acted after she left the city. Seeing him inside the hall should be safe. Thinking of this, Ruan Xing waited until she had finished lunch, mentioned it to Old Man Shi, and after he gave a non-committal nod, she safely stepped out of the small courtyard in the afternoon.

The path she took when she arrived passed through a very long corridor. At that time, she had been walking in a hurry and hadn't looked up carefully. Now, walking back, she discovered that there was a whole new world inside.

The corridor, shaded by trees, was very cool and connected three western buildings. One was the dining hall, where most gang members came to eat; Ruan Xing and Shi Shifu's meals were also fetched from there. Another was the living quarters for the gang members who trained in the hall; passing through their quarters led to a martial arts training ground in the back, about the size of a basketball court, capable of accommodating up to a hundred people practicing at once. Ruan Xing had already heard the shouts from the training ground while under the corridor. No wonder it was so easy for her to eavesdrop on the techniques in the simulation; it turned out to be this close.

There was also a third place, a small courtyard with a layout similar to Shi Shifu's, with two side rooms and one storage room, and a two-or-three-square-meter open space in front of the rooms. The door was wide open, and one could tell at a glance that it was empty and uninhabited.

Ruan Xing was just planning to go in and see if there were any traces of the previous occupant when suddenly, someone approached from the other end of the corridor. It was the round-bodied fat cook from the dining hall, holding a small bowl in his hands.

When she went to the dining hall to get food yesterday, the fat cook had given her an extra scoop because he saw she was thin. Seeing Ruan Xing now, he greeted her cheerfully, "Little girl, why are you standing here?"

"Just wandering around. Our hall is built quite impressively." Ruan Xing replied casually, standing on tiptoe to look into the small bowl, which was filled with something black, "What is this?"

"Pot-bottom ash," the fat cook said. "The brothers who practice martial arts inevitably get some bumps and bruises. I collect quite a bit from the stove while cooking, and it's just right to send it to them. Mixed into an ointment, it can stop bleeding and reduce bruising. Doesn't that save money on seeking doctors and medicine?"

Something flashed through her mind. Ruan Xing seemed to have heard somewhere that pot-bottom ash was a type of traditional Chinese medicine; as for what it cured, she couldn't remember. So that was its purpose. She said "Oh" and stepped aside to make way for the fat cook, "Then go ahead and get busy, Uncle. I'll wander around here a bit more."

She walked while thinking, reaching the end of the corridor. Further ahead, after rounding the spirit wall, was the main gate. There were people guarding the entrance, and she had no intention of going out yet, so she stood staring at the relief carvings on the spirit wall.

Pot-bottom ash... lime...

Suddenly, she thought of something and grasped that spark of inspiration in her mind.

In her past life, Ruan Xing knew of a very famous "Old Six" in the novel world. When this Old Six couldn't match others in martial strength in the early stages, he often used some underhanded tactics. The most common one was throwing lime into the enemy's face when they were off guard, effectively and directly crippling the opponent's combat power. He was affectionately called the Stone Lime Martial Saint by his fans.

Aside from being able to project that pale white True Qi, Qiye and the person who killed her were no different from low-level thugs in their other external martial arts. Mortal flesh and blood naturally couldn't withstand a lime attack. This way, she would be able to survive that attack.

Although she couldn't find lime right now, there were chili peppers in the dining hall. Usually, besides the rotating kitchen staff, only the fat cook was in the dining hall. Since it wasn't mealtime and the fat cook had just gone to deliver things, the dining hall was empty—it was a god-given opportunity.

Ruan Xing couldn't suppress her excitement. Looking left and right to ensure no one was around, she happily ran to the dining hall, stole a few dried chili peppers and stuffed them into her sleeves, and used a handkerchief to wrap up some flour to tuck into her clothes before hurrying back to Shi Shifu's small courtyard.

Thanks to Yong Nan for the tip~ Thanks to Qisheng Qizhang for the monthly ticket~ And to the baby from the channel server who sent a monthly ticket, I can't see your name, thank you~ (End of chapter)