In the vacant courtyard, a solitary figure stood motionless.
Unlike when he was at the county yamen, he was not clad in the official robes of his station. Instead, he had changed into snug martial attire, and even wore a veiled bamboo hat concealing his face.
"Constable Wang Ping..."
Xu Bingzheng swept a calm gaze across the entire courtyard. A faint pulse twitched between his brows; had anything been the slightest bit amiss within the compound, it would not have escaped his penetrating gaze.
The walls, the tables and chairs, the ground.
He stepped through every corner of the courtyard in this manner, checking even the stable, only to find a well-behaved curly-maned horse huddling quietly in the corner.
"Nothing. Not on his person, and not in his dwelling. Something so precious could never be hidden outside. In that case, it likely wasn't him... That makes sense. His cultivation is far too weak. Even with three divine endowments and a surprise attack from the shadows, there is no way he could have slain Chen Haoyan, even a heavily injured one."
Xu Bingzheng withdrew his gaze.
The next second, his silhouette vanished on the spot. At the same time, a gentle breeze swept through, whisking away his footprints and every last trace he had left in the courtyard.
*Creak—*
Almost simultaneously, Wang Ping pushed open the compound door and strode inside. Seeming oblivious to anything out of the ordinary, he simply began brandishing his saber in the courtyard to practice his cultivation.
From morning until evening.
The sun rose, the sun set, and the moon hung from the tree branches.
When his practice ended, he meditated to rest, and then went to sleep—neither slipping away in secret nor engaging in any suspicious behavior. Everything appeared entirely ordinary.
Only then did Xu Bingzheng depart.
And at the exact moment he left, Wang Ping, lying in bed seemingly in "deep sleep," finally relaxed his spiritual sense. A first bead of cold sweat slowly rolled down his back.
It chilled him to the core.
*Damn it, he was spying on me!*
It was an extraordinarily peculiar technique. He could not feel Xu Bingzheng's gaze at all; only by employing his spiritual sense could he perceive that something was wrong.
*Is this what a titled martial master is capable of? According to Liu Ye, martial arts at this level break entirely free from mere fists and kicks, tending toward the spirit and consciousness. They say martial arts grandmasters have even reached the level of 'perceiving the divine,' capable of killing someone with a mere thought...*
It was very similar to spiritual sense, yet superficially so.
*Still, spiritual sense ought to be higher grade. At least I can detect his snooping, while he has no way of noticing my secret scrutiny.*
Furthermore, if Xu Bingzheng truly possessed an investigative means rivaling spiritual sense, the pills hidden in the horse's belly would have been discovered long ago.
Fortunately, things ended here for now.
Come the next day, Xu Bingzheng did not return. Even so, Wang Ping's mood did not relax in the slightest; on the contrary, his sense of urgency mounted.
*I can't stay here long.*
Where he lived now was far too close to the county yamen. To guard against Xu Bingzheng, he dared not make any move at all, forced to let time slip away in vain.
What was more, mere surveillance was only temporary.
Given time, if Xu Bingzheng kept finding no clues, he would sooner or later resort to bolder measures. What would Wang Ping do if those measures fell upon him?
*Why do they always have to push me...*
Wang Ping gritted his teeth in secret, his mind resolved: he had to find a suitable pretext to move out, somewhere Xu Bingzheng could not snoop on him at will.
*A titled martial master's spirit is far inferior to my spiritual sense. As long as I can move somewhere farther from the yamen, I can buy enough time and leeway. Right now, being this close, if Xu Bingzheng suddenly drops by, I won't even have time to hide my things...*
Wang Ping pondered this for a long time.
He needed a fitting excuse—one that would allow an impoverished, powerless minor constable whose housing was provided by the county yamen to move elsewhere.
*There actually seems to be one...*
***
The third day, early morning.
Wang Ping rose early as usual and headed to the drill grounds to practice archery. Before long, Liu Ye walked in carrying his pipe, looking somewhat melancholy.
"Brother Liu, how are things?"
Wang Ping took the initiative to ask.
"Not great." Liu Ye shook his head with a sigh. "As you know, many martial arts are priced beyond reach or unavailable on the market. Money alone can't buy them.
"Especially for an old brother like me. I've practiced martial arts for half my life, and I'm only missing a marrow-training art to achieve perfection in external arts. Yet I've searched seven or eight years for one, all to no avail. The yamen has them, but getting one requires taking on perilous bounties, and I really don't want to take that risk anymore."
Wang Ping could see the helplessness in Liu Ye's heart.
"So you don't plan to risk it, Brother Liu?"
"Not quite that, either."
Liu Ye shook his head. "I'm considering whether to pawn my share in Danfeng Tower to get my hands on some potent concealed weapons... They might even prove more effective."
At this point, Liu Ye suddenly chuckled.
"Of course, there's another path—an even better one. Pity I'm too old and not handsome enough, so I don't stand a chance... But a lad like you could give it a shot."
"This..."
Wang Ping's expression stiffened slightly.
He knew what Liu Ye was talking about. It was also the very pretext he had thought of the night before to move away from the yamen in a reasonable manner.
"Lord Chen may be dead, but the assets he left behind are substantial. Take Madam Su here in the county seat, for instance. She has a hand in nearly every rice shop, butcher shop, and smithy in town. If Lord Chen hadn't been shielding her, do you think a woman without a speck of martial arts could have built such an enterprise?
"Now that Lord Chen is dead,
"her backer has collapsed, and Madam Su has been harassed beyond endurance lately. Every wealthy, respectable household in town is drooling over her businesses, angling to band together and swallow them whole."
Having said that, Liu Ye shook his head and sighed.
"If you ask me, Madam Su is a pitiable soul. Rumor has it she was once a noble lady from the imperial capital, but got caught up in some offense and ended up stranded out here.
"Later, through great hardship, she managed to build a modest livelihood, only to catch Lord Chen's eye... He claimed to be her backer, but in truth, didn't he want both her money and her body?"
Liu Ye's tone held a tinge of contempt.
"Now Lord Chen is dead. His parents passed long ago, he left no children, and no one was even around to bury his body—so Madam Su paid out of her own pocket to hold the funeral.
"Of course, Madam Su's move kills two birds with one stone. It's quite clever.
"If you ask me, holding a funeral for Lord Chen is secondary. Her real goal is to use the occasion to find another patron to protect her livelihood."
Wang Ping caught on immediately. "She needs to borrow the tiger's might."
"Exactly, and there lies your future!"
Liu Ye clapped his hands. "A few of the strapping, valiant constables from the yamen have already headed over. Such a massive business—how could we let it fall into the hands of those rapacious scoundrels in town?
"That money belongs to our county yamen!"
Liu Ye declared self-righteously, then looked at Wang Ping with a chuckle.
"Still, if you ask me, none of those who went can compare to you, Little Wang.
"After all, you're the famous Danfeng Blade of the county, and Madam Su has spent many lonely nights at home. Dry wood meets a blazing fire. With a bit of luck, you could skip at least sixty years of detours..."
"Say no more!"
Wang Ping waved his hand with firm conviction. "Brother, you misunderstand me. I am no lecher, and I certainly would never peddle my charms for profit!"
***
The Su Family Residence.
"I was the junior Lord Chen valued most during his lifetime. I have come specifically to attend his funeral."
After presenting his visiting card, Wang Ping was guided by a servant into the sprawling mansion spanning several dozen mu. He could not help marvelling internally:
*They say that when Madam Su first arrived in the county seat, she had only a bundle of dresses and a few taels of loose silver. Her first venture was selling clothes at the grass market outside town. How many years has it been? Yet she amassed such a fortune. Sure enough, doing business requires colluding with officials; otherwise, how could anyone grow so big and powerful?*
Before coming, Wang Ping had inquired thoroughly.
Chen Haoyan owned neither residence nor estate in town. Outwardly, his sleeves were empty of bribe money, and aside from the yamen, he spent his daily life eating and sleeping in this very Su Family Residence.
Madam Su was only the proprietor in name.
In truth, she had merely served as Chen Haoyan's glove in the county seat. Not only had nearly all the money she earned gone to Chen Haoyan, but she herself had likely...
At that thought, Wang Ping cursed inwardly, *The beast!*
Of course, he had zero interest in money or romance.
What interested him was that given Chen Haoyan's wealth and standing, he must have amassed a collection of martial manuals. Otherwise, he never could have achieved perfection in external arts back then.
*Perhaps... not just martial manuals.*
Chen Haoyan was an internal strength martial master. Thinking bigger, secrets regarding condensing internal strength might well be hidden in his home. That was what Wang Ping truly valued.
*An internal strength physique chart!*
*To condense internal strength, one must first forge a physique. This involves circulating and aligning qi and blood through the twelve primary meridians, the eight extraordinary vessels, and even the internal organs.*
*A physique chart is a record illustrating this exact alignment. Only by circulating qi and blood according to the diagram can one integrate the body's total power into a unified whole and give rise to internal strength... Consequently, the vast majority of physique charts are closely guarded secrets; even immense wealth cannot purchase a glimpse of one.*
Yet one might well exist inside the Su Family Residence.
Chen Haoyan had been an internal strength martial master himself. He must have studied at least one physique chart in his day, meaning he might possess a transcribed copy.
It was merely a hunch. But even a sliver of possibility was enough to drive someone mad.
Were it not for this, Liu Ye would never have called it "another path," nor would the Su family be viewed as such a prized prize by the town's wealthy clans and various factions.
*Monopoly on knowledge at its finest.*
From the sheer scarcity of physique charts alone, Wang Ping could see how fiercely the upper-tier martial artists in this godforsaken place guarded themselves against the mud-legged commoners below.
Small wonder the realm had remained "at peace" all this time.
Before long, Wang Ping reached the main hall where the casket lay in state.
There, Wang Ping saw a crowd of familiar faces from the town's prominent gentry, circling around a single person like a pack of hyenas.
It was a cool, aloof woman of gentle bearing, dressed in a white mourning gown. Tear tracks lingered on her pretty face, and her beautiful eyes were reddened as though she had just finished weeping.
Yet facing the hyenas encircling her—all thirsting after the Su family businesses and even her own person—Madam Su appeared extraordinarily calm, even indifferent. She looked utterly resigned, as though her heart were already dead and nothing that occurred could stir her emotions any longer.
A moment later, she spoke.
Her voice was plaintive and cold, tinged with a touch of self-pity: "The master departed so suddenly. That all of you could come today to see him off—this humble woman thanks you on his behalf."
"Not at all, not at all, Madam Su is far too polite."
"I wonder if tonight, Madam..."
Madam Su clearly intended to steer the topic back to the funeral itself, but the others merely tossed out a few perfunctory pleasantries before turning the conversation right back to dividing up the estate.
These people all hailed from the prominent families of the county seat.
In their mouths, the enterprises under Madam Su's control were treated like a delicious pastry, a slice for you and a slice for me, on the verge of being carved up completely before her eyes.
Faced with such an ordeal, Madam Su initially tried to say a few words, but no one paid her any heed. Their words grew increasingly polite and respectful, yet their tactics were ruthless and merciless, clearly set on stripping her businesses clean down to the bone. In the end, Madam Su fell silent.
A breeze drifted past, fluttering the strands of hair at her temples.
Concealing her hand inside her sleeve, Madam Su tightly gripped a jade hairpin as if envisioning her impending fate. Her already sorrowful countenance grew all the more poignantly beautiful.
Seeing this, several constables immediately stepped forward.
"Gentlemen, you go too far."
"Rest assured, Madam Su. Your family's enterprises are protected by Dashun law, and the county yamen holds silver shares. We will never allow these people to arbitrarily carve them up and seize them."
"Back off!"
They were all shrewd opportunists. They had deliberately stood by earlier, waiting for this exact moment to step in, play the hero rescuing the damsel, and leave a deep impression on Madam Su.
Everyone present understood this tacitly.
Madam Su naturally knew it as well. In fact, she had spent her own money to hold Chen Haoyan's funeral precisely for this moment; it had all been part of her calculations from the start.
Consequently, her gaze toward the constables remained unchanged, and she even offered a faint smile, though the poignant aura of fragility about her only deepened.
Seeing this, Wang Ping knew it was time to make his move.
In the next breath, he walked straight forward, cleanly shoving aside everyone blocking his way before coming to a halt before the indifferent Madam Su.
"Wang Ping, the Danfeng Blade, pays his respects to Madam."
The moment these words left his mouth, the constables Wang Ping had just shoved aside changed countenance, cursing him bitterly in their hearts: *What the hell do you mean by bringing up that title?!*
"...Oh?"
At the same time, Madam Su, who had remained tranquil until now, finally turned her eyes upon him. Ripples stirred in her beautiful eyes as she looked at Wang Ping in surprise.
The Danfeng Blade, celebrated across the county seat, rang like thunder in the ears of women—especially one confined to her home like her.
She was naturally no exception.
Yet very quickly, the surprise in those sorrowful, cool eyes faded, replaced by the same icy revulsion she harbored for the others.
Wang Ping did not care in the slightest.
Immediately afterward, he took a stride forward and, in a thoroughly presumptuous posture, leaned right against Madam Su's ear and whispered a few words.
In the next second, Madam Su's expression changed.
Chapter 23