Wang Anfeng didn't know how he had managed to hang on.
For the first time, he felt his existence was utterly superfluous. Had it not been for his concern that a martial artist from Danfeng Valley was lurking somewhere, detecting any anomaly and thus ruining everything, he would have fled long ago.
After finishing the meal, Wang Anfeng and Ding Song Yu Wen parted ways at the inn's main entrance. The young man watched the two leave together, then turned and blended into the crowd, slowing his pace to half of what it had been when he was being followed earlier.
He lowered his gaze and silently counted to thirty-four in his mind. Without turning around, he glanced quickly with the corner of his eye and saw an old inn. He saw a well-worn threshold and a wooden staircase with cracks, over which a young servant hurried with a copper basin and towel, stepping on the stairs and making an unpleasant creaking noise.
He withdrew his gaze. To the bystanders, the young man looked no different, continuing forward, albeit slightly slower as if he had eaten a bit too much.
Wang Anfeng didn't go straight back to the academy. Instead, he entered a drugstore next door, purchased some common medicinal herbs, and bought some other things before taking a detour back to the academy.
It wasn't until this youth in a blue shirt had disappeared into the crowd that at the inn with the smooth threshold and old stairs, a young man in grey leaned near a window finally turned around.
His right hand moved away from the hilt of the long, slender knife at his waist.
He slightly closed his eyes, reminiscing about the recent events in his mind.
The person he had encountered was indeed acquainted with those two.
When he came out, his pace was much slower than before.
After thinking it over several times in his mind to make sure nothing was overlooked, the cold Inner Qi in his body slowed its circulation. The pain like countless fine scales scraping through his meridians had finally settled down, and he took one more look at the inn before turning away, perhaps feeling slightly more relaxed, as a thought unexpectedly surfaced in his mind.
Not young, but eats quite a lot.
He turned back and sat down at the table, poured himself a cup of hot tea, and held the cup with both hands, feeling the temperature slowly dissipate. He watched the amber-colored tea reflect his simple features and whispered to himself,
"He really… deserves to be killed."
He raised his hand to sip the now-cool tea.
The turbulent urge to kill eased slightly.
Suddenly, a somewhat gentle voice came to his ears.
"Has he been found out?"
The man's expression remained unchanged, but his eyes grew even more lifeless.
Turning to where the voice had come from, by the wooden door stood a young man around twenty-five or twenty-six, also an assassin from Danfeng Valley. However, he bore a remarkably handsome face, with a slight smile on his lips, dressed in a light blue scholar's robe with a black jade pendant dangling at his waist. He looked elegant and suave, not like an assassin at all, but rather a scholar who enjoyed poetry and moonlit nights.
The young man in grey cast a glance at him and looked away.
His body tensed under his clothes, his voice hoarse and as ordinary as his appearance, difficult for anyone to remember, said,
The scholar-robed young man stared at him, stepped forward with a steady gait that matched the increasing beat of the grey-clothed young man's heart. The latter coughed under his breath, sensed a piercing chill, but before he could react, a strong hand was already on his shoulder, pressing down hard.
The scholar-robed young man suddenly laughed heartily, his face friendly and carefree. As the laughter died down, he lowered his voice and said by his ear,
"Then that's for the best."
"This time our alliance with White Tiger Hall involves a great deal, affecting many things. We really can't afford any mishaps, can we, hahaha…"
He laughed again, patting hard on the shoulder a few times with his right hand, winking and speaking,
"Tonight, let's go to the pleasure boat, listen to the Oiran sing, and then, hehe… lad, do you want to come along?"
The young man in grey closed his eyes, not replying.
The scholar-robed young man shook his head with a smile and walked away.
.....................
Fufeng County, North Martial State City.
Giant Peng Gang headquarters.
Over the past few days, the already considerable power of the Giant Peng Gang had outwardly focused on consolidating various businesses it had acquired. Secretly, however, they mobilized their people across various county cities to amass many items, most of which were various martial arts secret manuals.
Whether it was the lower-quality hard kung fu known throughout Jianghu or various weapons techniques and fist strikes, Sword Sutras, and blade scriptures, they sought quantity over quality.
They had collected over a hundred volumes.
Gang Leader Gongsun Jing flipped through a swordsmanship manual in his hands, utterly engrossed.
In this vast world, many are those who practiced martial arts. Throughout history, some martial skills had lost their true transmission, losing the truly marvelous elements and retaining only the framework of techniques, like the Qingfeng Sword Technique in his hand.
The techniques within were simple, and there was nothing extraordinarily brilliant about the changes. If one were to judge based solely on these techniques, they were only slightly better than what a common martial arts school could offer. However, when viewed as a whole, the inner implications were profound, asserting its unique style, clearly not just any ordinary material.
If a master were to take action, using their own martial arts essence to complete this set of sword techniques, it might well become a superior sword technique, revealing true meanings amid mediocrity, capable of dominating within the Lower Third Rank. Even if one were to cross the Longmen Pass and step into the Middle Third Rank, if a martial artist could add their own understanding to this sword technique, it was unknown how much further they could advance.
But, why would there be such a task from the dragon head leader?
The man slightly furrowed his brows, puzzled.
Even the most spectacular swordsmanship within the Middle Third Rank was merely trifles for a Grandmaster who had reached the Upper Third Rank; spending half a day based on their martial arts experience to create a new set was not difficult.
Would this thing be useful to them?
Gongsun Jing sank into his thoughts.
Was it to train disciples?
No... that was entirely unnecessary.
Or was it to cultivate some unique divine skills, and needed to observe all the observable martial skills in the world? To innovate from the old and leap forward, advancing toward a stronger realm?
Gongsun Jing's eyes slightly widened, increasingly believing in the likelihood of this possibility.
It's known that cultivation needs not only natural talent and perseverance but also extraordinary constitution and fortunate opportunities. Those martial artists with lower cultivation may possess techniques or martial insights that could even astonish a Grandmaster of the Upper Third Rank.
Perhaps it was just a bit, but if they could integrate these techniques, from the perspective of an Upper Third Rank Grandmaster, by simplifying the complex and innovating the old, it would inevitably create an unprecedented martial arts scripture.
To gather the wisdom of thousands to achieve the Taoist Fruit of one individual.
Convinced he had discerned the intentions of the dragon head leader, Gongsun Jing gasped inwardly, his facial expression changing as he felt the vast ambition and extraordinary vision of this dragon head leader were unprecedented, incomparable to any ordinary Upper Third Rank Grandmaster. At the same time, he grew even more uncertain about what the true purpose of this organization was.
Just then, a deep male voice came from outside the door, saying:
"Gang Leader, there is news."
Gongsun Jing returned to his senses, closed the manual in his hand, and placed it on the table before he spoke:
After the response, a tall and burly brute entered from outside, his face slightly excited, as he greeted Gongsun Jing with a fist salute, and said:
"Gang Leader, that 'Lost Treasure' you instructed us to keep an eye on has a lead."