Confessing Everything

At the Su Family Residence. Inside Chen Haoyan's study, Wang Ping read by lamplight. Three thick tomes lay spread before him, and an irrepressible joy showed on his face. *Dragon Chant Iron Shirt.* *Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield.* *Dragon-Tiger Dan Embracing Secret Art.* All three secret manuals bore marks of having been thumbed through numerous times, accompanied by plentiful annotations, yet overall they were very well-maintained—a clear sign of how much their previous owner had cherished them. *Still, they all belong to me now.* At this thought, Wang Ping immediately picked up one of them. A secret manual Chen Haoyan had treasured beyond measure in life was now flipped open without the slightest hesitation. The contents were just as he expected. The three manuals detailed martial arts for tempering the skin, the flesh, and the marrow, respectively. They complemented his Three Demon Blades of Yanluo, which tempered the sinews, and the Cloud-Piercing Sky-Shaking Bow, which tempered bone and blood. As long as he mastered them all, he would instantly become a martial artist who had achieved external martial perfection! "Makes sense." "After all, my current situation is probably just like Chen Haoyan's back then. The martial arts he gathered happen to be the exact pieces needed to fill in my missing links." Wang Ping leafed through the manuals in swift succession. Only after the pages that Chen Haoyan had kept neat and smooth were rumpled and worn from his aggressive flipping did he set them down in satisfaction. "Simply perfect!" Taken individually, none of the three arts was particularly extraordinary. While not common goods, neither were they priceless treasures. Yet together, it was an entirely different story. "The Dragon Chant Iron Shirt tempers skin through dragon sinews, while the Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield tempers flesh through tiger bones. Once both reach perfection, skin, flesh, sinew, and bone can be seamlessly integrated. Practicing the Dragon-Tiger Dan Embracing Secret Art on top of that drastically boosts the results of tempering marrow, maximizing one's potential to the fullest." It was plain to see that Chen Haoyan had truly racked his brains over this. *After all, just like me, he was endowed with true dragon sinews and reputed to possess innate Herculean strength. That's why he deliberately picked this set of arts to play to his strengths.* Wang Ping gently stroked the covers of the manuals, musing inwardly: *It works out perfectly. The Su family should have stockpiles of the weapons required for these arts. I won't even need to forge anything new; I can just take what's here.* A confident smile spread across his face. *With my current aptitude, the aid of my spiritual sense, and the boost from elixirs, a single day is worth a hundred. Reaching external martial perfection is only a matter of a single night!* ...... The next day, early morning. Madam Su pushed open her boudoir doors. A chill breeze brushed against her delicately sculpted face. Parting her vermilion lips, she exhaled warm breath that drifted off as a pale wisp of vapor. At this hour previously, the young constable would already have come over to instruct her in martial arts. At this thought, her watery, luminous eyes turned toward the guest room not far away. The doors were tightly shut. *...Of course. He has already obtained the manuals and gotten what he wanted. Right now, he's probably seizing every moment to train. Why would he bother humoring me anymore?...* The spark in Madam Su's eyes faded quickly. The faint flutter of anticipation on her face subsided into quiet stillness, seemingly slipping back into her previous numbness... *Creak!* In the next second, the door swung open. Wang Ping stepped out, brimming with vigor. Within three feet of his body swirled a boiling shroud of white vapor, radiating heat like a fiery furnace. Standing before him, Madam Su felt a wave of heat wash over her, instantly banishing all the morning chill. Though it was formed from the steam of a man's sweat after fierce exertion, it bore not the slightest foul odor. Instead, it carried an elusive, clean fragrance that left her feeling momentarily lightheaded. "Pardon me for keeping you waiting, Madam." In high spirits, Wang Ping looked at Madam Su with an easy smile. The results of his cultivation had lived up to every expectation; he had undergone a complete metamorphosis! He did not even need spiritual sense. Merely by focusing his mind, he could naturally "hear" the beating of his heart, the surging flow of his blood, the operation of his internal organs, and the state of his skin, flesh, sinew, and bone. External martial perfection! This was absolute mastery over his physical body. From the breadth of his limbs and skeleton down to the minutiae of every pore and strand of hair, everything moved smoothly at a single thought. Kui ox hide, dragon elephant flesh, true dragon sinews, mountain lord bones, supreme yang blood, snow-refined marrow. Skin, flesh, sinew, bone, blood, marrow. All six external hurdles were now fully breached. Each breakthrough had marked a qualitative leap, and with all six stages reaching perfection in concert, they had triggered yet another qualitative transformation. A body that had undergone seven qualitative transformations could hardly be called the same species as an ordinary mortal, to say nothing of the fact that his skin, flesh, sinews, bones, blood, and marrow were all of the highest caliber. Feeling the surging power within him, Wang Ping could not help recalling the scene when he had first encountered the martial path of Dashun. Back then, he was just starting out, green and inexperienced. So when that old bastard Shouchong shattered an ornamental boulder into gravel with a single flying dagger right before his eyes, Wang Ping had viewed him as nothing short of godlike, profoundly awed by his might. Yet now— *I should be able to do that too.* Quietly feeling his own power, Wang Ping arrived at a conclusion: *I might not be able to do it with as much casual ease as that old bastard did back then, but I can certainly pull it off.* Had he possessed this level of strength on that rainy night, he likely wouldn't have needed Perish with the Sun to fight Chen Haoyan to the death—he could have slain him in an outright clash! A wave of immense satisfaction washed over him. The sense of security brought by growing power intoxicated him more than anything else in the world. It was not until Madam Su's voice drifted into his ears that he snapped back to reality. "Madam?" Wang Ping blinked, realizing only then that he had zoned out, having stared at Madam Su for quite a while—long enough for her fair cheeks to flush crimson. "Wh-what are you staring at me for?" "Insolent rogue!" The fluster from the day before welled up in her heart once more, mixed with an inexplicable hint of delighted surprise. Swirling emotions drove Madam Su to change the subject almost instinctively: "I... I gave you the martial arts yesterday. According to our agreement, you are supposed to continue teaching me today..." As she spoke, her voice trailed off into a murmur, for Wang Ping wore an utterly bizarre expression upon hearing her words. "...Wh-what is it?" Madam Su was baffled. "Did Madam forget?" Wang Ping gently reminded her. "Today marks Lord Chen's seventh day after death. His burial must take place this evening. Practicing martial arts wouldn't be very appropriate." *That's it?* In that instant, Madam Su's instinctive reaction was that it wasn't necessary at all—what did it matter if that bastard Chen was buried a few days late? Wouldn't it be better if we got down to business first... ...Yet a heartbeat later, she realized what she had just thought. In a flash, all the tangled, nameless emotions twisted into intense shame, rushing into her cheeks as a visible, burning crimson. Never before had she realized with such clarity that she had changed. Yet whom could she blame? The young constable before her? Ever since he had moved into her household, he had treated her with nothing but courteous respect, never overstepping by half a hair, and had even resolved numerous troubles on her behalf. How could she blame him? Mulling it over, she could only blame herself for being a fickle, shameless woman whose heart, desolate for so many years, had been swayed so easily. At this thought, Madam Su nearly plummeted into an abyss of self-loathing. Like an ostrich, she buried her head against her chest, as if she could no longer bear to face anyone. In the next breath, however, an unyielding force cupped her chin, dragging her bodily out of her downward spiral. Wang Ping pinched her chin between his fingers. Madam Su tried to avert her eyes, but she was held in place, unable to turn away. Glistening tears welled in her lovely eyes, and her body squirmed restlessly. "Don't..." Her voice was faint as a mosquito's buzz. Faced with Wang Ping pressing closer step by step, she tried to back away until there was nowhere left to retreat. When her peripheral vision caught Chen Haoyan's coffin, she was suddenly jolted awake. For some inexplicable reason, a thrill of vindictive excitement stirred within her. "Madam..." Wang Ping lowered his gaze, looking down at the woman who trembled like a startled rabbit yet remained bafflingly docile, doing nothing from start to finish other than retreating. *Things having reached this point, asking 'Where is Chen Haoyan's internal strength physique chart hidden?' is simply out of the question,* Wang Ping sighed inwardly. The mood had already been stoked to such a degree. If he blurted out that question now, they would surely turn against each other, and any chance of getting the physique chart would go up in smoke. He had to go with the flow. With that thought, Wang Ping could not help marveling: *Though I have no weakness for women and don't care to sell my charms for profit, heaven doesn't always grant one's wishes.* He would just have to suffer the hardship himself. In the next instant, Wang Ping reached out with a large hand and pulled Madam Su by the waist. At the same time, he released her chin and took her hand instead. "Rest assured, Madam. In this lifetime, I will certainly keep you safe and sound," he said with an earnest face. The moment the words left his mouth, he felt the tense, delicate body in his embrace soften in an instant—tempered steel melting into a ribbon around his finger. Her eyes shimmered like spring waters. At this moment, Madam Su no longer knew what she felt. Though she had long been prepared to surrender her body to protect her household estate, she had never imagined she would end up surrendering her defenses so utterly, stripped of all armor. What shamed her even more was that, beyond the panic, confusion, and racing heart, there was another emotion she could neither deny nor bear to face: Secret delight. *So he does fancy me after all. That virtuous gentleman act from before was definitely just a facade. He's finally showing his true colors.* *I knew it. Over the past few days, he must have plotted every step, just waiting for this moment. So it isn't that I'm shameless; it's that his scheming runs too deep. What could a helpless, frail woman like me do against him? I can only yield to circumstances. Whatever he wants to do, I can't stop him anyway...* In a daze, her thoughts drifted back to Chen Haoyan. She recalled her life over the past few years—placing her trust in a villain, living like a canary trapped in a cage, never able to take flight into the azure sky. What would become of her this time? Her decision had been far too hasty. In just a few short days, she seemed to have lost her senses. How could she know she wasn't simply trading one cage for another... She dared not look at the young constable before her, nor did she dare reply to his words. She could only hold her body taut and cling to her thoughts of canaries and cages, using them as a shield to escape reality. Yet the harder she tried to think, the hazier and more jumbled her thoughts became. Before she knew it, the nature of her thoughts had shifted. The canary that had been trapped in the cage had somehow broken free, soaring into the sky, dipping and rising, gliding freely without restraint... She gave up thinking altogether. At this moment, no matter what Wang Ping asked her, she would probably confess everything. Her lovely eyes stared blankly at the ceiling until she realized Wang Ping was lifting her up to carry her back to the bedroom, which suddenly brought her back to her senses. "W-wait!" The canary soaring in the sky scrambled back to the ground, anxiously pecking at Wang Ping's ear. "N-not the bedroom. Right here! I want it right here!" For a time, the only sound left in the hall was the frantic fluttering of the canary beating its wings. ...... The following day, at noon. Wang Ping's Iron Ox Art was by no means an empty boast, and Madam Su, having practiced martial arts in the past, possessed a constitution far superior to ordinary people. The two were well-matched, meeting their equal in one another. And so, before they knew it, they had flown from early morning straight through to midday. The canary had flown until it was completely drained of strength. Relishing the young constable's embrace, she curled up obediently, nestling against his chest. "D-don't move." Perhaps because they had fought so fiercely last night, Madam Su's voice was slightly raspy, which only made it sound all the more sultry and enticing. "It's all your fault..." Madam Su stroked her abdomen, filled with an inexplicable sense of fulfillment. The mournful sorrow between her brows had been wiped away entirely; like winter yielding to spring, she looked more radiant and charming than ever. "Madam..." Wang Ping whispered. "You're still calling me that?" Hearing this, Madam Su shot him a sidelong glance. First shifting into a more comfortable position, she then traced slender fingers across the man's palm. "My name is Su Ya," she murmured, voice faint as a mosquito's buzz. Wang Ping knew this was the woman in his arms giving herself to him, body and soul. Thus, he asked nothing, only holding her tighter in his embrace. After another moment, the two of them finally gathered their strength and stood up. Only then did Madam Su seem to remember something. Binding up her disheveled tresses once more, she glanced around the room and finally looked toward a corner. Lying there was a hairpin crafted entirely from fine jade—the very one Chen Haoyan had given her. When the canary had taken flight earlier, she had pulled it out herself, and finding it in the way, had tossed it aside. Now, a visible crack ran across it. "Hm?" Following her gaze, Wang Ping let out a soft exclamation. Beneath the damaged hairpin, he caught sight of a small slip of hemp paper that seemed to bear writing. Could it be... a diagram? In an instant, all traces of Wang Ping's earlier languor vanished. Straightening up abruptly, he reached out and drew the fallen hairpin into his grasp. "What is this?" Madam Su pressed her crimson lips together, seemingly too shy to speak. Seeing her reaction, Wang Ping understood immediately, and a surge of pleasant surprise welled within him. *I actually didn't notice it before!* *What material is this hairpin made of? It's clearly so brittle, yet it completely blocked my spiritual sense! If it hadn't been accidentally cracked this time, I would have missed it entirely!* Along the fissure in the hairpin, Wang Ping's spiritual sense poured inside. Immediately, a diagram resembling a splashed-ink landscape painting leapt into view before his eyes. Across the very top were seven flamboyant, soaring characters: Heavenly Peng Dragon Seizing Physique Chart!