Chapter 56: A Brush in the Rainy Night

Between the inner and outer city, there is more than a single wall; what the few people of the outer city lack is not just a set of clothes.

The casual exchanges they took for granted were, to those few in the outer city, secrets; Wang Gong tried several times to chime in, but couldn't get a word in edgewise.

For instance, the Divine Guard army they discussed, and the Hundred Families Wu Gong Ranking.

Dragon Hibernation City, the foremost prefecture of its commandery — for over a thousand years it had never lacked contenders; countless powers had sought to establish themselves within.

Some enthusiasts recorded every Wu Gong that had shone brilliantly within the borders of Dragon Hibernation Prefecture over the past thousand-plus years, compiling them into a single Hundred Families Wu Gong Ranking.

Among them were Wu Gong that had flashed into view only briefly, or had been lost for decades or even centuries; fewer than half still survived, most of them in the Divine Arm Valley.

As for the Divine Guard army, the few chatting were vague, offering only a few muddled words, but Li Yuan still caught the name Qiu Long.

Apparently he came from the Divine Guard army...

"Truly, a colossus!"

Li Yuan clicked his tongue inwardly.

"I heard Young Lady Lu's aunt received the 'Heavenly Cicada Sword Art'? I heard it's a top-grade Wu Gong ranked among the top thirty on the Hundred Families Wu Gong Ranking?"

"My aunt must have only received part of it."

Lu Lu Bailing showed a hint of pride, which stirred up a commotion in the private room.

Even for their fathers' generation, top-grade Wu Gong was something to be admired from afar, let alone reached; they themselves longed for it all the more.

"The Heavenly Cicada Sword Art is one of the five great secret top-grade Wu Gong transmissions of the inner sect of Divine Arm Valley; my aunt has only just begun learning it..."

Many pressed for more, but Lu Lu Bailing had no intention of elaborating; she merely offered a few modest words, drawing another wave of exclamations and flattery.

The Hundred Families Wu Gong Ranking...

Li Yuan's hands never stopped, but inwardly he grew wary.

If this ranking tallied every Wu Gong from the past thousand-plus years, then the Combat Dao Battle-Slaying Hammer, ranked eighteenth, must carry far more weight than he had imagined...

"Top-grade Wu Gong is hard to learn and hard to master; I've heard that even within Divine Arm Valley, only the most elite disciples can receive even a portion of it..."

Liu Zheng's words carried both envy and reverence.

But Lu Lu Bailing had already dropped the subject, turning instead to this coming entrance examination.

"On the first of March next year, Divine Arm Valley will open its mountain gates; every power under Dragon Hibernation Prefecture's jurisdiction will have quite a few spots..."

The competition then is bound to be fierce; we all come from the same place, so we really should help each other out..."

So this was the purpose of the gathering?

Li Yuan understood at once; as far as he was concerned, this gathering was already over for him.

The object of this mutual assistance could not possibly be him, no matter how you looked at it...

After eating and drinking his fill, Li Yuan rose and took his leave; the people in the private room were still chatting among themselves, and only Yue Yue Yunjin, Wu Ming, and a few others nodded to him.

As he was leaving, he faintly caught Wang Gong's voice:

"Hmph! With mid-to-lower grade bone structure, he might not even secure one of those spots then! Senior Brother Yue brought him along; he might as well have brought Niu Gui instead — at least he has mid-to-upper grade bone structure..."

"Bone structure, huh."

Leaving the One-Word Wine Tower, Li Yuan thought again of that scroll of the White Ape Fundamental Chart.

Top-grade bone structure had its own famous categories: for instance, Qin Xiong's bone structure was called 'Tiger Back Bear Waist,' best suited to the Tiger Roar Saber; and the bone structure best suited to the White Ape Cloak Hammer was naturally 'Ape Arms, Bee Waist, Mantis Legs.'

"After the Second Shopkeeper left, did that chart end up in Yu Zhen's hands?"

The thought turned over in Li Yuan's mind.

It was still early; he wasn't in a hurry to go back, so he wandered around the inner city for a bit, then strolled through Chai Fishery Lane as well; when it grew dark and he saw dark clouds covering the moon, only then did he turn back for home.

He had been waiting for this rain for many days now.

Inside the house, Li Yuan took out the things he had prepared long before.

By the candlelight, he changed into a set of grey hemp clothes, a common style, with a rag covering his face; he was now examining himself in a bronze mirror:

"Disguise really is a study in itself; just covering the face won't do — someone familiar could probably recognize you just from your eyes, right?"

After a moment's thought, he pulled the rag up higher, covering one eye.

"Mm, that should be about right."

Checking himself in the mirror and confirming he looked like a stranger, Li Yuan loosened his hair, then blew out the candle and strode out the door.

With his blood qi at Great Completion, plus the thousand-jin boost granted by wielding the 'Jasper Bronze Hammer,' Li Yuan felt his steps were swift; with a little effort, he could grab onto a wall four or five meters high, and with a light push, leap right over.

"Really, environment changes a person — in just eight months, my guts have grown this big. No, Daoist here is also forced by circumstance; I can't just wait until someone comes to beat me before fighting back, right?"

Treading on the roof tiles, Li Yuan moved with light steps; listening to the night wind whoosh by, he felt a certain thrill of an ancient knight-errant leaping across rooftops.

But he kept his head; over the past three days he had combed every alley and lane of Chai Fishery Lane.

Where the patrols went, where the night watchmen called the hours, where people moved about at night — he had it all mapped out in his mind.

"Qian Bao's house!"

Li Yuan paused his steps slightly, crouched down, and could faintly hear sighs and the sound of gnashing teeth from inside.

Ever since Li Yuan crippled him, Qian Bao had been bedridden; without Qin Xiong's protection, the ruffians he had gathered scattered like birds and beasts, and the common folk he had swindled and harmed before came knocking to settle scores — truly miserable.

"Forget it; even if he heals, he's a cripple now — he can't be a ruffian anymore."

After listening for a while, Li Yuan flipped himself away.

Tonight there was no moon; the sky was quite dark, with dark clouds faintly gathering. Though it hadn't rained yet, the city was already very quiet — apart from the occasional dog bark, there was no other sound.

After the Mount Fajiu Mountain incident, the City Guard army had truly searched every house from top to bottom; countless ruffians suffered for it, and the nights were very clean.

"All those scouting trips were wasted — in this whole city, only his house has a light on tonight!"

Li Yuan crouched on a rooftop and, in the distance, saw the place where Qin Xiong's mistress lived — a small courtyard of two rows and two stories, very conspicuous.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, Li Yuan lowered his head, hidden in the darkness, and swept his gaze with peripheral vision—only to see a black shadow flash past in the distance, its speed no slower than his own.

"Tsk, truly a dark night and high winds—perfect for shady business. Whose lot is this one from now?"

After hiding for a long while, Li Yuan finally poked his head out. Whatever others were doing was none of his business. After carefully checking that no one was around, he darted off toward Qin Xiong's mistress's house.

Before leaving, he also took a quick sense of the Soldier-Refining Register.

The Grand Craftsman's Hammer and the Jade Essence Copper Hammer both glowed faintly, and the Six Harmonies Boots were already in a place where they could be controlled at any moment.

Two days ago, he had tried controlling this pair of boots.

Like walking on flat ground—swift strides as if flying, combined with the boost of a thousand jin of strength, his speed could more than double.

This was his final preparation.

If he could win, he'd fight.

If he couldn't, he'd cover his head and run.

……

"Seems like someone else is here?"

A tall figure wove through shadow after shadow, glancing toward the distance as if sensing something—but paid it no mind. Rainy nights bred trouble; that was only natural.

Crack!

Lightning seemed to flash across the sky.

"The rain's coming!"

Qin Xiong's heart chilled slightly, and he quickened his pace.

The Li family had three generations, and had already suppressed his family for two. Since they'd fallen, best they stay fallen forever!

Whoosh!

One bound up, one bound down—Qin Xiong landed in the courtyard, burly as a bear, his feet touching the ground without a sound.

He flexed his fingers, strode toward the house, tilted his head to listen for a moment, and his brow furrowed at once:

"Mm… no sound of breathing? Where's the person? Where did they go…"

(End of Chapter)