Is Wang Yu a Martial Arts Prodigy?

"Brother Yu!" Wei Honggang had heard correctly. Just as they broke out of the woods, three riders were already galloping toward them from the distance. Zhao Yingjie, Zhao Rong, and Li Yunxiu. Zhao Yingjie had ridden back to the manor to report, and Zhao Rong had immediately set out with him. Li Yunxiu had insisted on coming along the moment she heard. Reaching the outskirts of the woods, the three had not plunged inside to pursue; instead, tracking the startled birds taking flight above the canopy, they had sped closer. "With Zhao Shan and Zhao He assisting, Brother Yu is still holding out!" Zhao Yingjie shouted. "Zhao Shan and Zhao He are no match for Wei Honggang. We must reinforce the young master at once!" Zhao Rong said in a grave voice. Li Yunxiu said nothing, her eyes fixed anxiously on the birds wheeling over the treetops, silently praying the birds would not land and the forest would not fall still. Seeing the panicked birds flee all the way west toward the grasslands, the three spurred their horses in that direction. And then, from afar, they witnessed Wang Yu and Wei Honggang burst out from the woods, followed by Wang Yu pivoting in midair and slaying Wei Honggang with a single sword strike. "Brother Yu!" Zhao Yingjie yelled. Zhao Rong's eyes widened in sheer shock, as though he had witnessed a miracle. Li Yunxiu also stared incredulously at Wang Yu, who drifted lightly past and came to a calm, poised halt. She had never imagined that Wang Yu, who possessed no martial arts not so long ago, could make such tremendous strides in so short a time. Zhao Shan and Zhao He burst from the nearby woods as well. They had sprinted nearly the entire way, finally arriving just as the battle concluded. Deep within the forest, a white shadow flickered and vanished without a sound, leaving behind only an unfathomable gaze. *** "Brother Yu, you killed Poison Hand Veda?!" Zhao Yingjie darted over to Wang Yu's side, his voice brimming with disbelief. Wang Yu nodded. "Mainly because he was careless. He didn't expect me to suddenly wheel around mid-escape. And facing straight into the setting sun, he was blinded by the glare, allowing my sneak attack to hit home." Zhao Yingjie could not help but roll his eyes. "Careless again? How come everyone who fights you ends up careless?" Wang Yu chuckled. "Maybe I just look like an easy target." To tell the truth, he had not noticed Zhao Yingjie and the others approaching from afar. Had he known, he might have concealed his skill. His golden finger did not grant experience points for killing people; there was no need to steal the limelight. "The young master was holed up in the capital for ten years, living in indulgence and rarely lifting a hand. The world assumed he lacked guidance from a master and let his martial arts go to waste, so naturally people lowered their guard," Zhao Rong said with a smile. In truth, Zhao Rong had thought the same before. It was only when he tested Wang Yu and found his internal qi decent and his swordplay familiar that he realized the young man had not neglected his training. Even so, and even with Zhao Shan and Zhao He assisting, Wang Yu slaying Wei Honggang was something he had never imagined possible. Just then, Zhao Shan and Zhao He rushed out from the adjacent woods and made it clear that they had not even intervened. "What?" Zhao Rong was utterly dumbfounded. Li Yunxiu gave Wang Yu a deep, searching look before smoothing things over. "Regardless, Wei Honggang is dead, and slain by my husband's own hand. That is a fine thing after all." "Exactly, exactly!" Zhao Yingjie nodded repeatedly, stepping forward to give Wei Honggang's corpse a kick. "Poison Hand Veda carries a bounty of ten thousand taels of silver on the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor's wanted posters. That money is saved." Zhao He perceptively picked up the refined iron staff lying beside the corpse and asked Wang Yu, "Poison Hand Veda shook the Northwest with his Vajra Demon-Subduing Staff. Does My Lord wish to keep this refined iron staff as a trophy?" Wang Yu's eyes lit up. He finally remembered and immediately stepped forward to loot the corpse. Yet he found nothing of value—no martial arts manuals, no miraculous elixirs, and a pitifully meager amount of silver. Wang Yu sighed. Reality was not a video game after all. If this were a game, taking down a boss several levels above him would have yielded an explosion of high-tier loot. Li Yunxiu, who had watched Wang Yu loot Young Master Zhehua, and Zhao Yingjie and the others, who had seen him loot Naluotuo, were already accustomed to it. Li Yunxiu smiled. "Wei Honggang was no wandering rogue of the Jianghu, nor did he expect to die out in the wilderness. His most precious possessions would naturally be kept at Mount Qi's Vajra Stronghold. Why would he carry them on his person?" Wang Yu rubbed his hands, sorely tempted to pay a visit to Vajra Stronghold. Zhao Rong saw through his thoughts and dissuaded him: "The Great Bandits of Mount Qi never bother looting medicinal ingredients, nor do they possess the skill to refine pills. Furthermore, Wei Honggang originated from the Great Vajra Monastery, so he would not necessarily transcribe martial arts manuals to collect. Even if he did, cultivating them would invite endless trouble. "The Great Vajra Monastery is overbearing and tyrannical. If they discover someone practicing their arts without an authorized lineage, they capture them and lock them away until death. "While we have no fear of them, there is no need to court trouble. Besides, the young master's Flowing Fire Reflection and Seven Forms of the Setting Sun are in no way inferior to the arts of the Great Vajra Monastery." Zhao Yingjie chuckled. "Truth be told, if someone in the Jianghu suddenly learned Flowing Fire Reflection, we wouldn't let them off either." "Fair enough." Wang Yu nodded, letting go of the idea. He would still visit Vajra Stronghold, but not to scavenge for pills and manuals—rather to raze it to the ground and wipe out the Great Bandits of Mount Qi once and for all. *** Returning to where the carriages stood, the bandits had long fled, leaving only the four monks behind. Seeing Wang Yu return unharmed, Qianqian leaped down from the carriage, bolted over, and threw herself into his embrace. She looked him up and down, checking anxiously for wounds. Wang Yu raised his palm and gave it a light flip. "Slaying a mere bandit is as easy as turning over my hand!" A gleam of playful amusement flashed in Qianqian's eyes, yet she played along with a soft cry: "Brother Yu is the greatest!" Zhao Rong glanced at the four approaching monks and asked with a frown, "Who are they?" Zhao Yingjie quickly explained the situation in a whisper. "Poison Hand Veda has been executed. You are safe now!" Wang Yu said, waving a hand. The leading monk, named Fadu, let out a sigh of relief. He hesitated, looking as though he wanted to ask something. "Oh, right!" Before Fadu could ask, Wang Yu preempted him. "What was the deal with that Snow Lotus Jade Marrow Pill?" Fadu looked at Wang Yu, rendered speechless, but still replied, "Our temple's martial uncle obtained a Tianshan snow lotus from the Western Regions and combined it with over a dozen aged herbs to refine a furnace of Snow Lotus Jade Marrow Pills. The furnace yielded only two pills. This one was meant to be sent to the Great Vajra Monastery, but it was... was..." "But I saved your lives! As the saying goes, saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. Are twenty-eight stories of pagodas not worth a single pill?" Wang Yu asked. Fadu had no answer for that. Then he saw Wang Yu ask with apparent nonchalance, "There were only two pills in total, so why send one to the Great Vajra Monastery?" Fadu answered honestly, "Baolun Monastery lies near the Western Regions. It was established a century ago by forebears of the Great Vajra Monastery and is effectively a branch monastery. There is frequent communication between our temples, and we have even cultivated at the Great Vajra Monastery before." Wang Yu looked toward Zhao Rong, who answered, "Baolun Monastery is located in Ningxi Prefecture of Anxi Circuit, bordering the Thirty-Six Kingdoms of the Western Regions. Its primary purpose is to propagate the Buddhist teachings into the western lands." The implied message was that it posed no threat or impact to the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor, so the manor naturally paid it little mind. "Very well, I understand. You are safe now and may depart," Wang Yu told Fadu. Then he boarded the carriage and signaled everyone to return to the city. Fadu hesitated once more, but ultimately dared not ask. He watched the convoy depart into the distance. "Senior Brother!" another monk whispered, leaning in. "He ate the Snow Lotus Jade Marrow Pill. How do we explain this to the Great Vajra Monastery?" "How else? We tell the truth, of course!" Fadu said helplessly. "The one who took the pill is the Prince of Zhenxi, Zhao Yu. Can we make him vomit it back up?" The other three fell silent. Let alone them, even the Great Vajra Monastery could not make Zhao Yu spit it out. "Now that the pill is gone, do we still go to the Great Vajra Monastery?" "Of course. At the very least, we must give a full account of what transpired. How to handle the aftermath will be up to Abbot Zongshan to decide." And so, the four monks set out on their way. *** Upon returning to the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor, they dispatched men to spread word of Wei Honggang's death. Everyone washed up and gathered for dinner, welcoming Wang Yu and the others back. Wang Yu instructed Zhao Yingjie to clear out a side room in the main courtyard specifically to store his trophies of war. Though it held only a pair of eagle-beak mattocks and a refined iron staff for now, the future looked bright. Zhao Rong was equally gratified. The Great Bandits of Mount Qi lurked deep within the mountain ranges, heavily protected by mechanisms and concealed traps, with over a thousand brigands gathered under their banners. The Five Great Bandits of Mount Qi had terrorized the Northwest for over a decade, yet Zhao Zheng had never managed to kill a single one of them. Now, Wang Yu had slain the most notorious among them: Poison Hand Veda. Although Zhao Zheng's old wounds and the bandits' secondary threat meant he had never focused his full strength on Mount Qi, the fact remained that none had been killed. Judging solely by today's battle, it was undoubtedly an auspicious start for Wang Yu's ascension to command the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor. After dinner, Li Yunxiu naturally followed Wang Yu back to the main quarters to ask about his inspection of the northern defense line. Though she had heard much at the feast, she had him recount it once more, pressing for every detail. "So you killed Shi Mo's personal disciple." Li Yunxiu looked at Wang Yu with a deeply complicated gaze. "The move you used to kill Wei Honggang today... was it Return of the Swallow?" "Yes." "You obtained *Swallow Carrying Spring* barely a month ago, yet you have already mastered the supreme secret technique of that lightness skill?" "Mm." "And it has only been two months since you began practicing martial arts, yet your internal qi is already so formidable." "I took a lot of medicine." Could taking medicine explain that? Yet Li Yunxiu could find no other explanation. She had no choice but to admit: perhaps Wang Yu truly was a martial arts prodigy? Li Yunxiu looked deeply at Wang Yu, thoughts surging within her heart. She asked softly, "What if..." Before she could finish, footsteps approached outside, followed by a soft, tender voice: "Brother Yu." Li Yunxiu's expression darkened. She opened the door to find Qianqian standing prettily in the courtyard clad in a moon-white dress. Bathed in the thick moonlight, she looked like an ethereal sprite descended upon the mortal realm. "Is something the matter, sister?" "I was frightened by that brute today, and I wanted Brother Yu to keep me company." Li Yunxiu scoffed softly. She had said everything she needed to say anyway. Casting Wang Yu an ambiguous, searching glance, she flicked her sleeves and walked away. Qianqian walked timidly into the main room, offering Wang Yu a radiant smile. Wang Yu had grown accustomed to Qianqian's habit of teasing without ever offering anything tangible. "Shall we take a walk in the rear garden?" Qianqian shook her head. Her waist supple as a willow, she leaned softly against Wang Yu, resting a hand gently upon his chest. Looking up, her eyes sparkled with curiosity and a touch of coquettish charm as she asked in a tender whisper: "You're not Zhao Yu. Who are you, really?"