Chapter 95: World Three [9] Part 2

“I’ll give them an extra month’s salary. That way, they’ll certainly listen to me, the master of the house. After all, I’m the one paying them,” Third Master Luo said, slightly bowing his head, not daring to meet Jing Ke’s gaze.

Third Master Luo remembered every word Jing Ke had spoken in the Mourning Hall. He was genuinely afraid she might draw her sword and end him right there.

Jing Ke gave a soft laugh. “Little Disciple, what do you think?”

“I’m willing to give Third Uncle a chance, but I no longer want Third Uncle staying in Peace Offering City. Could I trouble Third Uncle to return to his hometown for the New Year?” Luo Yuezhu also had her own temper. The man before her had secretly plotted her death; wanting to expel him from Peace Offering City didn’t seem excessive at all, no matter how one looked at it.

“The New Year is coming, I really should be heading back. I’ll set out in a few days, before the snow makes the roads difficult,” Third Master Luo naturally didn’t dare oppose Luo Yuezhu at this moment. He agreed with a hollow laugh.

Having successfully achieved their objective, Jing Ke and Luo Yuezhu didn’t linger and soon left the single-courtyard residence.

Seeing her Master mount her horse with such dashing flair, Luo Yuezhu, still beside the carriage, couldn’t help pausing. “Master, can I learn horseback riding from you?”

“Of course, but the weather isn’t suitable now. I’ll teach you in the spring,” Jing Ke agreed readily.

She was already prepared to bring out her Sect’s most treasured Internal Cultivation Method; how could she possibly refuse such a simple teaching request?

Seeing a hint of longing in her Little Disciple’s eyes, Jing Ke extended her hand towards her. “Want to try the feel of riding a horse first?”

“Huh?” Luo Yuezhu was momentarily stunned. “Master, you mean ride together with you?”

“Mhm, you don’t want to?” Jing Ke raised an eyebrow.

“I do, Disciple does.” Luo Yuezhu immediately changed direction towards her Master and grasped her hand.

Jing Ke smiled, pulled her Little Disciple up with a slight use of force, and settled her in front.

“Hold the reins. Get a feel for it ahead of time,” Jing Ke said. Once she was sure her Little Disciple was seated securely, she nudged the horse forward with her legs, starting a gentle walk.

Riding a tall horse was a novel experience for Luo Yuezhu. Most of her attention was captivated by the horse beneath her.

Only after about five or six hundred meters did a realization belatedly dawn on Luo Yuezhu.

It was clearly windy outside today, so why hadn’t she felt any of it while on the horse?

Was it because her back was to the wind? Had her Master blocked it all?

But seeing the leaves rustling in the distance, Luo Yuezhu knew her guess was probably wrong.

“Master, why can’t I feel the wind?”—Asking when you don’t understand was an excellent trait found in the young.

“Because I blocked it with my Inner Strength. You’ll understand once you start cultivating the Internal Cultivation Method,” Jing Ke explained simply.

Luo Yuezhu’s curiosity was piqued. “Master, if I cultivate the method, will I also be able to do this?”

“More or less, but it will require you to cultivate for a while longer,” Jing Ke said.

Luo Yuezhu: “Master, is Inner Strength really useful? Things like leaping onto roofs, Telekinesis, shattering stones, and splitting trees—can they all be accomplished easily?”

Jing Ke paused. “They can, but the amount and purity of Inner Strength differ, so the achievable effects also differ.”

“A duel between top-tier masters could probably destroy buildings within a hundred-meter radius; pavilions and courtyards would be reduced to dust,” Jing Ke said. “If it were someone with relatively weak Inner Strength, they might only be able to shatter a table with a palm strike.”

Luo Yuezhu nodded as if understanding, yet not fully. What her Master described sounded somewhat like the storybooks, yet not entirely the same.

“Master, what level can you achieve?” Luo Yuezhu asked, curiosity fully ignited.

“Me? I can roughly reach the level of top-tier masters. A fight could destroy some structures,” Jing Ke stated, considering herself modest.

According to her understanding of her own Sect, their Ancestral Master, who had lived for two hundred years and was nearing the Martial Path to Dao, might be capable of moving mountains and filling seas. Rumor had it that during the Former Dynasty Emperor’s rebellion, their Ancestral Master had even assisted, single-handedly halting an army of one hundred thousand.

But saying such things now would sound too exaggerated. After all, the currently recognized Number One in the World was the Alliance Leader of the Martial Arts Alliance, and moving mountains and filling seas was likely beyond him.

Holding off one hundred thousand was certainly impossible; even against ten thousand, it would be a stretch. He could probably only manage to kill a few thousand regular troops.

“Wow, Master is so amazing,” Luo Yuezhu sighed from the bottom of her heart, tilting her head back to look up at her Master.

“Master, how is my martial talent? Can I, through diligent practice, ever become as powerful as you?” Luo Yuezhu asked, her admiration for strength taking over.

“I’ve examined your meridians. They are much thicker than an average person’s,” Jing Ke said.

Luo Yuezhu could only see her Master’s chin and part of her profile. “Master, if the meridians are thicker… does that mean good talent?”

“Your body can store a great deal of Inner Strength, giving you an advantage in prolonged combat,” Jing Ke said. “But to improve your Cultivation Base, you’ll need to work even harder than ordinary people. If you can persist consistently, you should become about as strong as I am by around age thirty.”

Jing Ke decided not to tell her Little Disciple just yet that she planned to transmit Inner Strength directly to her, instead preparing her for harder work to come.

“I understand. Master, rest assured! I will work hard!” Luo Yuezhu responded with slight excitement.

I’m ten now, thirty will be only twenty years of martial arts practice. Twenty years to become a master! I truly am a prodigy destined for martial arts!

Jing Ke smiled and patted her Little Disciple’s head. “Alright, watch the road carefully. Don’t let the horse take a wrong turn.”

–

Had nothing unexpected happened, Jing Ke and Luo Yuezhu would have chosen a restaurant along the way to fill their stomachs before heading home.

But after over a month of calm, the unexpected finally occurred. Even though it was broad daylight, someone in night attire actually dared to leap out from a small alley and hurl a volley of hidden weapons directly at Jing Ke’s position.

Jing Ke’s pupils constricted. She immediately channeled her Inner Strength to block them all, simultaneously drawing her long sword from her waist and flying straight towards the emerging assassin.

The suddenly appearing assassin froze for a moment. Whether affected by the force of her Inner Strength or simply failing to react, he neither fled nor cried out—just stood there dumbly on the road. Pierced through the heart by Jing Ke’s sword, he expired without making a sound.

Jing Ke instinctively frowned. This kill had been too easy. Did this assassin who jumped out in daylight not even know how to spell ‘run’?

Before Jing Ke could figure it out, panicked footsteps and screams from passersby erupted.

A broad-daylight murder witnessed by many—the yamen officials arrived incredibly fast.

Today, the one patrolling nearby happened to be Head Constable Liu. Seeing that the killer was Jing Ke, a thought immediately formed in his mind. After dispersing the surrounding crowd, he searched the assassin’s body.

Smoothly finding an identity token in the assassin’s embrace, Head Constable Liu let out a soft sigh of relief. He clasped his fist towards Jing Ke and Luo Yuezhu, who had already dismounted and stood aside.

“Heroine Jing, Miss Luo, this man is an assassin from Rakshasa Tower. He likely intended to catch you off guard with hidden weapons, thus striking in broad daylight,” Head Constable Liu stated.

Head Constable Liu already knew Luo Yuezhu was targeted by Rakshasa Tower. Moreover, plenty of witnesses testified that the black-clad man attacked Jing Ke and Luo Yuezhu with hidden weapons first, before Jing Ke counter-killed him.

Thus, Head Constable Liu’s attitude was excellent. He indicated that Jing Ke merely needed to cooperate by writing a statement detailing the event, and the yamen would take no other action against her.

“Require my oral confession?” Jing Ke raised an eyebrow, slightly displeased by Head Constable Liu’s wording.

“Testimony, Heroine Jing, your testimony. My earlier wording was a slip of the tongue; please forgive me,” Head Constable Liu quickly corrected himself, realizing the poor phrasing.

He hadn’t meant anything by it; he was simply used to using the word “confession.”

“Fine, I’ll stop by tomorrow. Right now, I intend to eat something,” Jing Ke said, not making things difficult for him.

“This… Could Heroine Jing accompany us to the yamen right now?” Head Constable Liu asked, his tone slightly pleading. “The yamen isn’t far, and including the time to write the testimony, it’ll only take about half an hour. We can send someone to escort Miss Luo back first, so it won’t take too much of your time.”

This had happened in broad daylight, after all. The yamen needed to maintain a certain authority before the common folk; ideally, they needed to take Jing Ke with them now.

Jing Ke saw the plea in Head Constable Liu’s eyes. Remembering that he had specifically come to warn them two days prior, she nodded in agreement. “Alright, I’ll go with you to the yamen.”

“Master, should I go back home and wait for you, or order some food at a nearby restaurant and wait for your return?” Luo Yuezhu looked up and asked.

For her, having already handled the remains of her relatives with her own hands, an enemy’s corpse didn’t affect her much. Her psychological resilience had strengthened immeasurably from the moment she first heard the news of their deaths.