Chapter 94: World Three [8]

The late-night incident did not affect Luo Yuezhu’s sleep. When daybreak came the next day, she felt full of energy and was very self-motivated. She didn’t wait for her Master to knock on her door and had already changed her clothes, following the previous day’s routine by starting her jogging warm-up in the courtyard.

Jing Ke nodded with satisfaction upon seeing this. She then began practicing swordsmanship in the courtyard, a way of exposing her exercising Little Disciple to more sword moves.

After a simple breakfast, Jing Ke had her Little Disciple continue weighted horse stance training while she herself rode out to gather news.

The black-clad man she had killed and dumped outside the night before was discovered before dawn. Because the corpse was masked and dressed in night attire, it was clearly no ordinary citizen, so the authorities from the yamen had taken it away for investigation.

After a circuit on horseback, Jing Ke heard the news she wanted.

Last night, members of the Devil Sect had launched a night raid on the county yamen. Of the two Martial Arts Alliance members recuperating there, one had been taken away, and the other had been afflicted with another potent poison, the kind that would kill him immediately without treatment.

Jing Ke stopped to listen for a bit and quickly confirmed that Lin Yuxiu was the one taken, and the poisoned one was naturally the unlucky Yu Buduo.

Yin Honglian’s methods were indeed just as she had described herself—she disliked open slaughter. She just preferred secretly poisoning people to disgust the Martial Arts Alliance.

As for the assassin Jing Ke killed the night before, after the yamen took him away, he was apparently labeled a suspected Devil Sect member, and they were currently investigating his origins based on his belongings.

Certain her Little Disciple hadn’t been implicated, Jing Ke rode her horse to a pastry shop, bought some treats reportedly loved by young masters and misses, and then rode back.

After rewarding her Little Disciple with the pastries, Jing Ke began teaching the most basic sword techniques in the afternoon, starting with thrusting, splitting, wiping, and lifting, combined with lower body movements: a bow-stance straight thrust, a horizontal split, and a reverse lift.

After demonstrating once, Jing Ke let her Little Disciple practice on her own, constantly adjusting her sword movements. After spending some time correcting her posture, the usual, seemingly mundane, hundred repetitions followed each form, slowly building muscle memory.

The effects of the medicinal bath were quite evident in the early stages. Luo Yuezhu, who the day before couldn’t even swing a sword three hundred times without collapsing, still had energy left after completing a hundred repetitions of each of the four movements.

“Add fifty more each,” Jing Ke said without hesitation. Since stamina and endurance hadn’t been pushed to the limit, they would keep adding, striving to break the upper limit daily.

“Yes, Master!” Luo Yuezhu replied cleanly. Although it was only her third day touching the wooden sword, she already loved the feeling of being a little stronger every day.

After a total of six hundred sword strikes, it was nearing the end of the Shen hour (around 5 PM). After taking the towel prepared by Little Mu and wiping the sweat from her forehead, Luo Yuezhu squeezed in about fifteen minutes to check the account books.

Learning martial arts was a must, but managing the businesses couldn’t fall behind either. She had to grasp both.

–

Lin Yuxiu being taken by suspected Devil Sect members caused a moderate stir in the Central Plains Wulin.

The poisoned Yu Buduo was also taken away by the personally arriving Hall Master of Azure Dragon Hall. Perhaps because the Devil Sect matter was more important, or perhaps the Martial Arts Alliance believed the circulating rumors—knowing Lin Yuxiu was beaten half to death for stealing Jing Ke’s belongings.

From the moment they arrived in Peace Offering City, it was as if the Martial Arts Alliance was ignorant of the fact that Jing Ke was the one who injured their men. After retrieving Yu Buduo from the yamen, they swiftly retreated to the Yangzhou area.

This surprised Jing Ke somewhat, but since the Martial Arts Alliance wasn’t planning to settle the score, she couldn’t be bothered to deal with them either. Teaching her Little Disciple was the most important task at hand.

The reason wasn’t actually complicated; it was simply the common flaw of the Martial Arts Alliance: bullying the weak and fearing the strong.

The Hall Master of Azure Dragon Hall, who rushed from the Yangzhou headquarters, was initially furious and wanted to regain face for his hall. But upon hearing Yu Buduo’s account of Jing Ke pinning Lin Yuxiu to the ground and thrashing him in less than fifteen minutes, he began to hesitate.

Although Lin Yuxiu was only in his early twenties, his innate martial talent was widely acknowledged within the Martial Arts Alliance. Even starting martial arts later in life, he was no worse than those who’d received expert guidance from the age of three.

It was precisely because of this that Lin Yuxiu was sent as a spy to infiltrate the Devil Sect, a task he completed flawlessly.

The Hall Master of Azure Dragon Hall was thirty-five this year. After Lin Yuxiu returned from the Devil Sect, they had sparred once. Although the Hall Master won, the victory was somewhat strenuous; his strength was only slightly superior to Lin Yuxiu’s.

In summary, the Hall Master, knowing his own Cultivation Base, felt he was no match for Jing Ke. Not wanting to offer his face for her to slap, he chose to be “sensible,” focusing solely on holding the Devil Sect accountable without dragging Jing Ke into it.

–

After successfully receiving the custom-ordered weapon for her Little Disciple from the blacksmith shop, Jing Ke increased the difficulty for her. In addition to the daily physical conditioning, she now added practical combat.

However, this combat training wasn’t between Jing Ke and Luo Yuezhu, but a sparring match between her Little Disciple and the Gatekeeper, who knew a bit of martial arts.

“Don’t hold back. If Yuezhu gets injured, it won’t be your fault,” Jing Ke instructed specifically.

Practical combat had to look like practical combat. Cultivating sharp perception and reaction speed early on would only benefit her Little Disciple, so injuries were a worthwhile cost.

“Just as my Master said, come at me with full force. If you can defeat me, this month’s salary will be doubled,” Luo Yuezhu stated.

As the head of the household, Luo Yuezhu clearly knew much better how to motivate the Gatekeeper to use his true strength.

“Miss, then I won’t hold back. Please forgive me,” the Gatekeeper said, still unable to resist the temptation of a doubled monthly salary. Gripping his staff, he let out a yell to psych himself up and charged forward.

The Gatekeeper was much taller than Luo Yuezhu, and his wooden staff was much longer than a sword, exponentially increasing his attack range.

Luo Yuezhu didn’t dare charge in recklessly. She retreated while using the basic sword techniques she had learned to defend against the Gatekeeper’s attacks.

At first, Luo Yuezhu was suppressed, practically only defending without attacking.

But as the fight continued, Luo Yuezhu discovered her strength was somewhat greater than she’d imagined. Many times, before her mind could react, her body had already made the counter-move.

At that moment, Luo Yuezhu vaguely understood why her Master always demanded at least a hundred repetitions when learning basic sword moves.

Not just a hundred repetitions when first learning them; she still had to review previous techniques the next day, starting with at least twenty repetitions.

Gradually finding her rhythm, Luo Yuezhu’s fighting spirit was ignited.

The Inner Strength she had inadvertently absorbed weeks earlier and the continuous effects of the medicinal bath gradually manifested. After finding her combat feel, Luo Yuezhu successfully severed the wrist-thick wooden staff with her sword within fifteen minutes, winning the match.

“Not bad, your sword moves are much more fluid now,” Jing Ke, leaning against the stone table, affirmed her Little Disciple’s performance. “Tell me yourself, did you notice any shortcomings during the fight?”

“The power behind my initial strikes was too weak. Some attacks I should have dodged instead of blocking head-on; blocking makes the web of my hand go numb. If the opponent seized that opening, the sword in my hand might have been knocked flying,” Luo Yuezhu carefully recalled the match. “Master, if I did it again, I would try to shorten the time.”

Jing Ke nodded slowly, starting to understand why teachers always favored naturally gifted students. They understood things without needing them spelled out, saving her, the Master, so much time and effort.

“Good, keep it up. After three months of External Martial Arts practice, you’ll follow me in learning the Internal Cultivation Method,” Jing Ke said.

“Alright, Master!” Luo Yuezhu’s response was exceptionally loud as she mentally calculated the time.

If she started counting from the first day of horse stance training, she estimated she could begin cultivating internal energy sometime after the New Year.

By then, the shop account books should also be sorted out. Without needing to go out visiting relatives, she would definitely be able to focus more intently on martial arts!

Jing Ke smiled, walked over, and gently patted Luo Yuezhu’s shoulder, releasing a wisp of Inner Strength to probe her meridians.

Her body was much stronger now. The dosage for the medicinal bath could be increased. Once her physique improved further, Jing Ke could also start transmitting small streams of Inner Strength directly into her Little Disciple’s body.

That’s right, Jing Ke had long planned to give her Little Disciple a bit of her own Inner Strength.

After all, Jing Ke’s goal was to make her Little Disciple as strong as possible in the shortest possible time, ideally strong enough to personally kill her enemies with her own hands.

–

Thus, September and October passed relatively uneventfully. November arrived quietly, carrying the wind from the Northwest.

A little over a month after the last uninvited guest, an official from the county yamen suddenly came to their door, specifically asking to see Luo Yuezhu by name.

Jing Ke, focused on instructing her disciple, was also home at the time. Hearing this, she had the Gatekeeper lead the official in. In the guest reception hall of the outer courtyard, she met this yamen emissary alongside her Little Disciple.

“I am Liu Yong from the county yamen. Greetings, Heroine Jing, Miss Luo.” The visitor was a 9th-Rank Constable, quite polite in his greeting.

“Head Constable Liu, you’re too kind. Please, sit,” Luo Yuezhu said, and quickly had Little Mu serve freshly brewed hot tea.

After a couple of brief pleasantries, Liu Yong got to the point. “I wonder if Miss Luo or Heroine Jing have recently noticed any furtive, unfamiliar faces lurking near the Luo Residence.”

“I’m not sure about unfamiliar faces, but I haven’t detected anyone acting suspiciously for the time being,” Jing Ke said, who went out for a stroll periodically.

“Head Constable Liu, have some bandits come to Peace Offering City?” Luo Yuezhu asked.

Head Constable Liu hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded. “Over a month ago, we found an unidentified body in the street. After investigation, that body likely belonged to a Low-rank Assassin from Rakshasa Tower, here on a contract.”

“Assassins from Rakshasa Tower generally have two months to complete a mission. If no word is received after two months, the previous assassin is presumed to have failed. Rakshasa Tower may then dispatch more assassins, or ones of a higher rank, to complete the task,” Head Constable Liu explained in particularly great detail, worried Luo Yuezhu hadn’t heard of Rakshasa Tower.

“Head Constable Liu, since you chose this moment to visit… does that mean the assassin’s aim was to take my life?” the quick-witted Luo Yuezhu asked.

Head Constable Liu wavered between nodding and shaking his head, ultimately feigning deafness to avoid the topic. “The clues left on the body are rather sparse. We can only roughly deduce that he hadn’t sent any messages back to Rakshasa Tower for over a month.”

“If nothing unexpected happens, a more formidable assassin will likely arrive in Peace Offering City. Please, both of you must pay close attention to your safety.” Head Constable Liu paused briefly.

“Also, someone spotted Third Master Luo seemingly still within Peace Offering City. If Miss Luo wishes to avoid him, you might refrain from visiting the southern part of the city.”

Head Constable Liu’s reminder was rather veiled. Luo Yuezhu only grasped his meaning after carefully pondering it.

Although the yamen had no concrete evidence yet, that so-called Rakshasa Tower assassin was very likely hired by Third Master Luo. Calculating the time, a new assassin should be arriving soon—it would be best for them to prepare.

Having understood Head Constable Liu’s meaning, Luo Yuezhu behaved with considerable composure and maturity. She personally saw Head Constable Liu off and even gave him some fine tea leaves as a token of thanks.

Head Constable Liu was a good constable who thought of the local people. Although his visit this time was partly to prevent chaos in Peace Offering City, he also didn’t wish to see Squire Luo’s sole surviving bloodline harmed by villains, their family fortune stolen afterwards.

After sending Head Constable Liu off, Luo Yuezhu, who had earlier been acting like a little adult, tugged on her Master’s sleeve and looked up at Jing Ke.

“Master, is Rakshasa Tower a very powerful organization?” Luo Yuezhu asked.

Jing Ke searched the common knowledge within her body’s memory and also recalled the information she’d gathered during her recent outings.

“Rakshasa Tower can be considered a faction of ambiguous alignment, neither wholly righteous nor entirely evil. The orthodox martial world doesn’t clamor for its destruction. Their Tower Master’s strength is probably on par with an Elder of the Martial Arts Alliance.”

“Compared to major Sects, Rakshasa Tower isn’t particularly powerful, but to you, they are very strong. Currently, you can only exchange a few moves with a Low-rank Assassin. To defeat a Low-rank Assassin, you’ll need to at least learn the Internal Cultivation Method first.”

Jing Ke evaluated as objectively as possible. An entity like Rakshasa Tower naturally posed no threat to her. But there was one annoying thing: assassin organizations like Rakshasa Tower valued reputation highly.

Unless she found Rakshasa Tower’s headquarters and beat their Tower Master into submission, after one wave of assassins failed, the next wave would simply replace them, continuing until they recognized her true strength.

Wait, there was actually another way—eliminate Third Master Luo, the one paying the bills.

Once the employer was dead, there would be no way to collect the final payment. Unwilling to operate at a loss, Rakshasa Tower would likely cease sending assassins after the currently dispatched one expired.

But Head Constable Liu had just come today specifically to warn them. If Third Master Luo were to suddenly drop dead tomorrow, she would be far too obvious a suspect.