Chapter 34: 34 A Turn for the Better

The sound of blade strikes, like the screeching of birds, tore through the long, rainy spring night; the neighbors must have heard it.

Yet in Zaozi Lane, no one dared to come out to investigate.

Song Cheng rolled up the book, shouldered his long blade, and sprinted through the rainy night.

The night was very dark and the road very slippery, but he moved as if it were a smooth path in broad daylight.

When he returned to the Ruyi Chamber of Commerce estate, he even caught a glimpse through the wall of Ling'er, who was stooping low and quietly returning through a hidden dog hole.

Song Cheng vaulted over the wall in a flash and returned to his own courtyard; it wasn't as if he expected the estate guards to do anything more than watch the main gate—when real danger struck, everyone just swept the snow from their own doorstep.

Back at his room, he knocked on the door and softly called out, "It's me."

Tong Xiaoniangzi hurriedly opened the door.

Song Cheng quickly stepped inside.

A chill followed him in.

Tong Xiaoniangzi said softly, "Come to the charcoal stove to warm up; I'll brew you a pot of ginger tea."

Song Cheng quickly stripped off his soaked clothes and hung them on a clothesline above the charcoal stove.

Water droplets fell "drip, drop," hitting the stove, creating smoke and wisps of white steam.

Tong Xiaoniangzi poured ginger tea from a ceramic narrow-necked pot that kept it slightly warm and quickly brought it over.

As Song Cheng took a dry towel to wipe his hair, he accepted the tea and glanced at his wife; seeing her clothes were intact, he asked curiously, "Why aren't you asleep?"

Tong Xiaoniangzi said, "With you not home, how could I sleep?"

Song Cheng set the tea down and quickly pulled out the slightly damp book, manually drying it over the stove. A trace of warmth rose in his heart, along with a sense of responsibility—if something happened to him, Tong Xiaoniangzi would surely not be spared.

"I won't let anything happen to me."

"Mm." Tong Xiaoniangzi replied as she found the only worn-out winter coat in the house, draped it over the young man, and sat down beside him; she asked nothing, just stared blankly at the piercing, fiery red glow in the charcoal stove.

The air was somewhat quiet.

Song Cheng suddenly smacked his lips, preparing to speak about today's events.

He did not intend to hide anything from his wife.

But just as he began, Tong Xiaoniangzi interrupted, "Don't say it."

Song Cheng was stunned for a moment.

Tong Xiaoniangzi said, "You didn't leave the house tonight; how would I know anything about what happened after you left?"

Song Cheng's lips twitched, but in the end, he did not speak.

Knowing something and not knowing something lead to different reactions.

This matter would surely blow up, and if his wife knew, it would only increase the risk of the truth leaking out.

"Help me light the lamp."

"Mm."

Tong Xiaoniangzi grabbed the lamp, brought it to the stove, picked up the wick, and carefully lit it.

By the dim light, Song Cheng quickly flipped through the book.

The scroll was clearly a hand-copied version, not the original, and it did indeed record a cultivation technique.

He read through it carefully, asking Tong Niangzi about characters he didn't understand, and if neither of them knew, they would guess together.

Outside the window, the rain was fierce and the wind wild; the night was boundless.

The small stove fire and the small home could temporarily shut out all that cold, cruelty, and treacherous danger, becoming a harbor for rest.

Soon, he finished the book; it was only half a volume.

Or perhaps not even half.

Information successfully appeared on the panel:

【Technique】

Grass Sea Startled Snake Form (Yellow Grade Grade B) (Incomplete)

5‰ chance to deduce the complete technique; each deduction costs 4 points.

On the other hand... after studying the Yellow Grade Grade B technique "Grass Sea Startled Snake Form," although it is incomplete, it still provides you with a certain line of thought.

Fighting against experts of the same level deepens your realization, and the path ahead becomes clearer.

"Xuanwu Fuliu Jin Jin Strength" has a 3.2% chance to deduce a "Yellow Grade Grade B" technique.

'Incomplete?'

It wouldn't be normal not to feel disappointed.

He even grumbled slightly to himself, "This cheat isn't very good."

But Song Cheng did not sigh.

He already understood the responsibility he shouldered.

His sighing would serve no purpose other than to make his wife uneasy and let her imagination run wild.

However, he had figured one thing out: for other people's techniques, he had to see the full set to record it. But for things he realized himself, he only needed a lead to get started.

Song Cheng tore the pages out, placed them one by one onto the charcoal stove, and watched the flames swallow them; only after they were burned to ash did he hold his wife and return to the bed for the night. The next day.

The clouds cleared and the rain stopped.

Tong Niangzi got up early to practice her blade.

Song Cheng also grabbed his blade to spar with her.

Resources, guidance, and experience could all improve cultivation speed, and Song Cheng provided all three to his wife.

He needed to deduce techniques himself and go out to find opponents to fight for experience, but his wife could get ready-made ones just by staying home.

Song Cheng taught strictly and sparred very seriously.

He gripped his long blade, suppressing his strength to trade blows with her. Before long, Tong Niangzi had been struck by the back of his blade several times.

Tong Jia did not complain, however; instead, she gritted her teeth and attacked with all her might, only stopping when she was panting for breath.

Song Cheng felt for her, but he knew that if he held back now, then when his wife truly encountered danger in the future, the enemy would not hold back.

After he finished resting, he scanned outside the wall and began to count silently in his heart: "One, two, three." Calculating the time, the matter of Shi Yi should be erupting now.

As the Guard Captain of the Ruyi Chamber of Commerce, suddenly appearing in Shanghe County and then dying—this would certainly cause a sensation.

"Three hundred fifty-six, three hundred fifty-seven."

"Master of the house, let's go eat first," Tong Niangzi said after seeing her husband lost in thought.

Song Cheng replied, "Oh, alright."

The two of them, wearing the only cloth garments they had bought at the market, went together to the Waiyuan Dining Hall of the Ruyi Chamber of Commerce.

Today: steamed white flour buns, boiled eggs, and sweet water.

Those practicing martial arts could also get a slice of fragrant boiled braised meat; that meat was at least half fat, and paired with a steamed white flour bun, it was so delicious it felt like it could take you to heaven.

Because of the Young Miss's instructions before she left, Song Cheng's dietary treatment was very high.

Not only could he eat the boiled braised meat, but he could even be allotted a portion of specially made "Demon Beast Meat."

It was unclear who had the big mouth, but almost the entire Ruyi Chamber of Commerce already knew that "the mud-legged fellow from Tanghe Village boasted that he would break into the Jin Realm within twenty days, and the Young Miss actually let him look through the family's Jue Jin Jin Jin." The cook didn't give Song Cheng much of a pleasant look either; he casually placed the fried Demon Beast Meat in front of him, turned around, and left without saying a single extra word.

In the cook's eyes, this young man was nothing more than someone who was ambitious but unrealistic and self-righteous.

As for who spread this impression, Song Cheng knew in his heart: it was Ling'er.

Besides Ling'er, who else could it be?

This girl was really going all out for her lover; not only did she act as a spy, but she also used all her strength to help her lover suppress potential rivals, even if he, this potential rival, was still very "weak" in strength, she spared no effort.

From her perspective, Song Cheng actually quite admired her.

But this did not hinder him from being happy that "Shi Yi is dead."

So many bullshit, troublesome things were all gone.

It felt so comfortable!

He continued counting in his heart.

"Seven hundred eighty-six, seven hundred eighty-seven."

While counting, he quietly cut the Demon Beast Meat and then, taking advantage of when no one was looking, stuffed it into the mouth of Tong Niangzi at his side.

Tong Niangzi refused.

He insisted on giving it to her.

Tong Niangzi had no choice but to open her mouth and let him have his way.

With every piece of meat that entered her stomach, Tong Niangzi felt her Qi and blood surging, with an urge to go practice martial arts immediately.

And just as he was feeding her the last two pieces of meat, Ling'er, wearing a thick cotton-padded jacket, also came to eat.

These past two days, what with going out on a rainy night and crawling through a dog hole, her constitution was weak, and she had already caught a cold.

"Achoo!"

Ling'er sat far away from Song Cheng, feeling lightheaded and unsteady.

Song Cheng raised his hand and called out with a smile, "Ling'er, good morning."

Ling'er glanced at him.

Having a cold, her expression management was not up to par, and her look of disgust was very strong, but she still said, "Morning."

Song Cheng continued to count silently.

Just as he was boredly counting to "one thousand one hundred twenty-six," a sound came from outside the door.

"It's bad, it's bad, something has happened! Something big has happened!!"

Following this shouting that sounded like firecrackers exploding, many people from the chamber of commerce poked their heads out, asking one after another, "What's wrong?" "What happened?" and similar things.

The messenger said with a mournful face, "A murder occurred in Zaozi Lane. The yamen runners, the yamen runners just came looking for us, saying we should go identify the person. They also said... the deceased should be our Guard Captain Shi Yi."

The crowd was stunned for a moment, and then someone laughed.

"Are you joking? Guard Captain Shi would have something happen to him?"

"Isn't Guard Captain Shi still not back yet?"

However, Ling'er's face turned pale and ashen.

Soon, she, along with the Steward and some other people from the chamber of commerce, quickly went to Zaozi Lane with the yamen runners.

One look... that corpse lying on the straw mat, separated head from body, who else could it be but Shi Yi?

Ling'er felt the world go black before her eyes and fainted directly.

When she woke up again, she saw Song Cheng's woman sitting by the bedside, holding a bowl of steaming medicinal soup.

Tong Jia scooped a spoonful and brought it to her lips, saying softly, "I am a doctor; this is medicine to clear heat and calm the spirit, it is very effective."

Ling'er gently opened her lips.

Tong Jia fed her spoonful by spoonful.

After she finished feeding her, Ling'er felt a warmth spread from the inside out throughout her whole body, and at the same time, sleepiness washed over her.

However, she did not want to speak, nor did she want to thank her; she simply turned over and faced the wall in silence.

Outside the door, Song Cheng glanced over.

The data passing through the wall revealed Ling'er's favorability.

A moment ago it was 45, and this moment... it had already jumped back to 60.

(End of this chapter)