The Sick Tiger's Past

"What do you mean by that!" Li Yan rarely brought up the death of his father, Li Hu, simply because it had been somewhat disgraceful. His father was known by the moniker 'Sick Tiger of Guanzhong,' but he was also an incorrigible rake. Li Yan's mother in this life had been an ordinary peasant woman. Under his grandfather's strict discipline, his father had led a relatively peaceful life back then, practicing martial arts while dividing his days between plowing and weaving. That lasted until the year after Li Yan was born. A great drought struck Guanzhong, swarms of locusts turned into a plague, and pestilence spread everywhere. That very same year, the Maitreya Sect rose up to stir up chaos. His mother caught the sickness and died, and with the family unable even to put food on the table, his father grabbed his saber and set out into the world. He earned his bread and his silver from the jianghu, gradually making a name for himself. Yet that departure was like unleashing a ferocious tiger from its cage; there was no controlling him after that. Not only did he kill without batting an eye, but he also racked up a staggering trail of romantic entanglements. When Li Yan was young, he had seen several pretty women marching aggressively to their doorstep looking for his father, weeping and wailing, even brawling right outside the gate—making his grandfather so furious he could not stomach food for days. In the winter his father died, it had happened in a brothel in Chang'an City. According to the bailiffs and the brothel's chief servant, he had suffered a sudden bedchamber collapse. The coroner and Grandfather had examined the corpse in person and confirmed the same. From then on, Grandfather rarely mentioned his father again, aging visibly with each passing year. In the past, Li Yan would have dismissed Sha Lifei's words as mere lies. Ever since he learned about the curse, however, he had felt that the matter was not so simple. Seeing murderous intent rise in Li Yan's gaze as his dragon-like eyes glinted with icy light, Sha Lifei felt a chill run down his spine. He hurried to put on an appeasing smile. "I only heard... hey, it's just hearsay, mind you... Only a few months after it happened, something went wrong at that brothel." "What went wrong?" "People died! Several of the whores died!" "And what does that have to do with my father?" "Don't I just love prying into things? Those who died, I happened to know they were all old flames of your father..." "Keep talking!" "Normally, when a few brothel girls die, nobody in officialdom cares. But back then, things seemed terribly tense. Zhou Pan even took the initiative to cooperate, leading a whole pack of his disciples into Chang'an City to search all over." "You know what kind of man that old monkey Zhou Pan is. If there's an advantage, he grabs it; if there's trouble, he dodges it. For him to be so proactive, there was definitely something fishy going on!" "Besides, when your father met his end, he was the one who gloated the most." As Sha Lifei spoke, he carefully watched Li Yan's expression. Suddenly feeling the tension lift from his chest, he looked down, only to realize the short blade in Li Yan's hand had already slipped soundlessly back into his sleeve without him noticing in the slightest. A sleeve blade! Sha Lifei immediately remembered what this trick was. When Li Hu was alive, there was a jianghu legend that beyond the Guanzhong fast blade, he had also drawn upon the Kasaya Skill and Sleeve Hand to develop a hidden sleeve blade. A blade hidden in the sleeve originally described someone affable on the outside but venomous within. This sleeve blade was exactly like that, capable of claiming a life without making a sound. It was precisely with these two blades that Li Hu had carved out a formidable reputation. Who would have thought he had passed it on to his son as well? This kid was even more suited for a sleeve blade than his father. Though Li Yan had sheathed the weapon, his gaze remained cold. "Old Uncle Sha, straight shooters don't play games. If there really was foul play in my father's death, I'll owe you a favor." "Still, one thing doesn't excuse another. Why did you scheme against me?" "If you don't explain yourself clearly, this isn't over today!" There was a reason Li Yan was called a troublesome pest in the village. Having lived through two lifetimes, he had long seen through many things. He held no reverence for rituals, propriety, or social rules, and he was even less inclined to play games of concealment. Whatever Sha Lifei had planned, Li Yan would yank it out of him today even if he had to pull his teeth to do it! Staring into Li Yan's eyes, Sha Lifei felt his scalp prickle. He rubbed his bald head awkwardly and said, "Young Brother Yan, don't be angry. You know me—I'm famous for being loyal and righteous..." Halfway through his boast, he choked the words down and said helplessly, "Actually, it's nothing major. A while back, I accidentally offended one of Zhou Pan's disciples, but I still had to come to Xianyang City." "I figured your family had bad blood with him too, so it would be perfect to pull in a helper..." "Oh, so that's it." Li Yan feigned sudden realization and gave a slight nod. "Old Uncle Sha, you could have just been straight with me. Look at how this turned out—we nearly had an incident. Don't take offense." Sha Lifei nodded vigorously. "Not at all, not at all! We're on the same side. Also, about Daoist Wang, we'll see to it tomorrow. It's just that when we enter the city, we'll need to keep a low profile." "Naturally." Li Yan agreed with a faint smile, acting as if the near-bloodshed moments ago had never happened at all, then sauntered away. Only then did Sha Lifei breathe a sigh of relief. Feeling the cold sweat drenching his back, he cursed inwardly, *Dammit, this kid's mood turns on a dime like a dog's face. Once this business is done, I'd better steer clear of him in the future...* …… Returning near the sheds, Li Yan found a relatively secluded spot, leaned against a large tree, cradled his saber in his arms, and prepared to sleep. It was already summer and the night was not cold, so he had not brought any bedding when leaving home. He would make do for the night here, then leave as soon as he found Wang Daoxuan. He naturally took what Sha Lifei had said to heart. It seemed his father's death was not merely the bad luck brought on by the sorcerous curse; there was another hidden story behind it. Whether it had anything to do with Zhou Pan could not yet be determined. Yet some intuition told him that this affair was tied to the practitioners of the esoteric arts! No matter what he did in the future, his first step had to be entering this path. Just then, footsteps sounded behind him. Li Yan opened his eyes and saw Heidan. Holding a waterskin, the boy looked timid, hesitating to approach. Li Yan chuckled easily. "What is it? Did I grow a pair of horns?" This boy was about the only person in the village on good terms with him, and an honorable soul to boot. That was why Li Yan had stepped in without hesitation when asked for help back then. Heidan scratched his head, gave a bashful grin, and offered the waterskin. "Brother Yan, have some water. You were truly incredible today!" "It wasn't that I was incredible; he just underestimated his opponent." Li Yan's face turned serious as he gave an earnest breakdown of the duel. His clash with Meng Haicheng had appeared to be decided in a single move, but in truth, it had not been that simple. First, he knew the man specialized in Monkey Fist. Taking advantage of his own youth to make the opponent careless, he had provoked him with words, thus creating the most favorable conditions. The man was older and had plenty of jianghu experience after all. Had he fought cautiously and dragged things out, it would have taken Li Yan some real effort to bring him down. Since the two of them were close, Li Yan held nothing back, passing along these crucial pointers so Heidan could be on guard if he ever faced such situations in the future. Heidan listened dumbfoundedly. "It's that complicated?" Li Yan smiled. "The hearts of people in the jianghu are tangled. Brute force is only used once bridges are burned, but the blades in the shadows are far deadlier. If you don't keep your wits about you, how could you survive?" Of course, there were some things he left unsaid. Defeating Meng Haicheng in a single move had not merely been to show off. From the moment he heard Sha Lifei egging things on, he had known the old scoundrel harbored ill intentions. Only by leveraging the momentum of that swift victory could he force that slippery old fox to spill the truth. And his reflections were genuinely felt. Clashing with blades was only on the surface. When it came to the bizarre tricks of Xuanmen, if one did not understand and guard against them, one would not even know how one died. Heidan stood dazed for a long while before his eyes dimmed. "No wonder my father knows martial arts yet makes me scratch a living from the dirt. The jianghu really isn't a place for someone like me." Saying that, his emotions visibly surged. "Brother Yan, but I'm not resigned to this, and I don't want to rot away in the village. Teach me what I should do." Li Yan pondered for a moment. "Learn a craft first. If you want to venture out into the world, you must have a trade to feed yourself. Otherwise, you'll be stuck putting your life on the line with a blade like me." "Learn a craft..." Heidan thought it over and nodded earnestly. "Brother Yan, I'll listen to you. I have an elder uncle in Chang'an City who works as a leather tanner. If I say I want to apprentice under him and learn the trade, my father probably won't stop me." With that, hope rekindled in his eyes, and he scurried off happily. Li Yan laughed softly, then closed his eyes while cradling his saber. In his previous life, he had barely managed to scrape by only after learning the trade of auto repair. In this life, however, he found the blade in his hands to be far more useful... …… Without realizing it, the night grew deep and quiet. A waning crescent moon hung in the sky, leaving the surroundings dim and shadowy. In the sheds beside the wheat fields, snores rose in unison with the chirping of insects. The wheat reapers had all been traveling for days on end and had to start working before dawn tomorrow, so they had all gone to sleep early to build up their strength. In the distance, the sprawling Lu estate was equally silent. In several key areas, however, guards were patrolling. Zhao Jiu yawned, rubbed his face, and felt somewhat bored. Just as Li Yan had guessed, they were disciples of the Zhao Family Fist. Back in Jinzhou, they had escorted caravans for wealthy draft-bank merchants. Though risky, the work kept them well-fed and clothed, a livelihood passed down through generations. However, they had run into a tough opponent on the road once. Not only had they lost the cargo, but several pillar fighters of the school were killed. Their strength dwindled, and their business was snatched away. It would have ended with the entire group disbanding, but someone made introductions, and they became estate guards, following Squire Lu to Guanzhong. Compared to those days of roaming north and south, life now was far more stable. Yet it was so stable it made him itch for action. He had not seen so much as a petty thief. Just then, Zhao Jiu cast a casual glance into the distance and suddenly his eyes went wide. He could sense a vague, shadowy figure in the distance. "Who's there?!" Zhao Jiu felt no fear. With a cold sneer, he darted forward. Their estate guards had their own set of secret signals; no matter how dark it was, they could tell if someone was one of their own. Besides, if it were a cat burglar from the Rong faction of the jianghu, they would know the rules of the trade: first tossing a stone to test the path, then sounding out backgrounds, rarely engaging in a fight to the death. Since this person dared not answer, it was likely an amateur thief. He did not draw the saber at his waist, holding instead a rattan staff. Rattan staffs possessed superb flexibility and caused stinging pain when striking flesh. If it truly was some starving thief sneaking over walls, giving him a beating would suffice; there was no need to take a life. Yet when he reached the corner, he found nothing at all. *Could my eyes have played tricks on me?* Just as Zhao Jiu was puzzling over it, he felt a sudden chill on his back. Spinning around abruptly, his face went deathly pale, every hair on his body standing on end. There stood a hazy figure: hunched and diminutive, face covered in wrinkled, withered folds—plainly an old crone. Yet this old crone had a sickly greenish complexion, and her feet were off the ground, floating in midair... "Aaah—!" A terrified shriek shattered the silence of the Lu family estate... …… Beneath the large tree beside the wheat field, Li Yan's eyes snapped open. He twitched his nose, looking into the distance with suspicion. He smelled a strange, peculiar scent. It was neither the cold, bloody stench of the Chang soldier, nor the peaceful incense of the Earth God Temple. Instead, it carried warmth and sweetness, like a delicious pastry. A pastry? Li Yan had no idea why such a thought would pop into his head. Soon, however, he understood the reason. The substitute idol within his dantian was actually stirring with restless anticipation, like a gluttonous cat that had caught the scent of fish...