New Book of Five Animals

Did soaking it in water really work? Li Hao had no idea. He had worn the Starry Sky Sword for many years, and the jade sword had been exposed to water plenty of times. He never took it off when bathing, yet it had never shown any special effect before. He had even held it in his mouth countless times as a child, with no result whatsoever. Yet this time, it seemed to work—at least for Black Panther. In the kitchen. Li Hao fetched a large soup bowl and placed the Starry Sky Sword inside. He poured in a kettle of boiling water, wondering if boiling water was the key. Naturally, one would never bathe in boiling water. Had the temperature been insufficient in the past, failing to meet the conditions required to melt or activate the mysterious substance on the jade sword? Black Panther had licked it a few times earlier to no apparent effect. Only after Li Hao scalded it with boiling water to disinfect it and Black Panther drank the resulting water did the hound react, its coat turning sleek and glossy in an instant. "If boiling water doesn't do the trick, I'll try simmering it over a fire." "Otherwise, I'm out of options. Could it be that only dogs can absorb the mysterious substance inside?" At this moment, Li Hao was at war with himself. He felt torn, thrilled, and excited, yet terrified that it would all be for nothing. He yearned to step into the realm of the mysterious! Perhaps then he would have a way to deal with the red shadow. Right now, he needed to gain such power. Someone outside was watching him, the red shadow could arrive at any moment, the Night Watchers might be looking for people who could see the red shadow, and there was a mole inside the Inspectorate... Contemplating all this, Li Hao's gaze grew increasingly determined. Even if this failed, he would not give up. The Starry Sky Sword had been steeping in the boiling water for a short while, but the water in the bowl showed no visible change. At his feet, Black Panther looked drowsy. Lying flat on the floor, the dog lifted its head toward the soup bowl with lingering longing, but it seemed unable to drink any more, lacking its earlier urgency. "Phew!" Li Hao took a deep breath. In no rush to drink, he carried the bowl out of the kitchen. He locked the security door and drew the curtains. Only after ensuring that no outsider could see inside and that any intruder would be detected immediately did Li Hao carry the bowl back to the sofa and sit down. The jade sword remained in the bowl, seeming even more translucent and crystal-clear now. Of course, that might just be his imagination. "The Li family's sword... to be passed down through popular ditties for so many years, it must have something mysterious about it, right?" Li Hao picked up the bowl, gritted his teeth, and placed his pistol beside him within easy reach. Only then did he cautiously take a sip—a very small sip. The water was still somewhat scalding, but Li Hao paid it no heed. A mouthful of hot water went down. At first, there was no reaction at all, only the sensation of heat. Gradually, however, Li Hao seemed to detect a faint difference. A warm current slowly spread through his stomach. Yet before long, the warmth vanished without a trace. Li Hao's eyes flickered wildly. Did it really work? Or was it merely an illusion? He feared it was psychological, that no real warm current existed. "As long as it doesn't kill me!" Emboldened, Li Hao took another gulp, drinking more this time. And this time, the sensation was far more distinct! A genuine warm current flowed through his abdomen! Not only that, Li Hao looked down at his belly and saw what appeared to be a faint starlike shimmer flickering near his skin. "Mysterious power?" Li Hao was shaken. Was this mysterious power? After drinking the water, he could actually see a starlike glow with his own eyes. In the next instant, however, his expression shifted. The starlike light suddenly began to dim and seep away, gradually fading until it dissolved into the air around him. The drowsy Black Panther suddenly opened its eyes, crawled toward Li Hao, and stuck out its tongue to lap at the empty air around him. Sadly, it caught nothing. "Hmm?" Li Hao frowned slightly, quickly assessing the situation. "Is that starlight the mysterious power?" "It appeared in my stomach first, leaked outward, and then vanished... Does this mean I can't retain this power?" He knew nothing about mysterious powers. Having trained in grappling and combat, however, he understood that everything required specific routines and rules to be properly contained and organized. Exercising blindly not only failed to strengthen the body, but could also cripple it—a lesson his teacher, Yuan Shuo, had impressed upon him. And right now, Li Hao was completely ignorant. This energy might be the very mysterious power he sought, yet he had no way to preserve it and could only watch helplessly as it leaked away. "Does mastering mysterious power require some kind of secret manual?" Li Hao glanced at Black Panther. The dog certainly knew no cultivation methods either. It was not cultivating, merely allowing the starlight energy to flow through its body. Even lingering inside for a short time seemed to have a strengthening effect. Li Hao looked at the remaining water in the bowl. He quickly reached several conclusions. First, the jade sword truly contained a starlike energy, but boiling water was needed to draw that energy into the water. Second, this energy had a strengthening effect on the body, but could not be retained. Third, acquiring mysterious power might require a manual or an entirely different system; merely ingesting and absorbing it was not enough to wield it. Fourth, could he simply be untalented? Li Hao had not come up with the fourth point on a whim. He was considering whether training in mysterious power required specific qualifications, and whether he possessed them. If someone else drank this water, would they be able to retain it while he could not? That was entirely possible! If anyone could wield mysterious power, it would not be virtually unheard of throughout vast Silver City, with only vague whispers of the Night Watchers' existence—and even their numbers were likely quite small. Noting these points, Li Hao checked his own body. He felt little change. There was no sudden burst of immense strength, nor did his hair turn glossy and his skin radiant like Black Panther's. "It just feels like soaking in a hot spring. My stomach is warm, but other than that... not much!" Li Hao muttered, feeling somewhat helpless. How could his transformation be inferior to a dog's? At least Black Panther's fur had visibly brightened after drinking the water. Yet he, on the other hand, felt barely anything. "Don't tell me I'm worse off than Black Panther?" Li Hao gave a bitter laugh. He also wondered if the first soak had been more potent. It was hard to say, but if he truly was inferior to the dog, that would be infuriating! "This won't do. That starlight energy is going to waste. Once it leaks out of my body, it's gone in an instant." Li Hao knitted his brows, staring at the half-full bowl, not daring to drink any more for now. He could not bear the waste! The power could stay preserved in the water and enter his belly, but once it seeped out, it vanished completely. "Can the Starry Sky Sword be soaked continuously, or is there a limit to how many times it works?" Too many uncertainties made him hesitant to squander the rest of the bowl. "Right now, I lack the ability to retain the starlight energy. If I could absorb all of it into my body, maybe some change would occur..." "No, that's not quite right either!" A thought struck Li Hao, and he muttered, "The main issue is that I'm like water without a source. Little of this energy is absorbed when it enters my body, and it dissipates quickly perhaps because there is no root of mysterious energy inside me..." It was only a guess; he knew far too little about these matters. "I can't just let it go to waste. Who knows how long this bowl of water will retain its potency..." He stood up, an idea coming to mind. Perhaps he could try the *New Book of Five Animals* his teacher had passed down to him. It was a modest health-preserving method adapted by his teacher from ancient records. Even in his seventies, Yuan Shuo could still walk like the wind and beat Li Hao to a pulp, so the *New Book of Five Animals* clearly held some merit. It did not involve intricate combat forms, but rather focused on conditioning every muscle and bone in the most efficient way possible, completely unrelated to any mysterious system. Li Hao turned to it now because he believed exercising might allow him to absorb more of the starlight. As for whether it would work, he could only do his best and leave the rest to fate. The *New Book of Five Animals* detailed the fundamental reactions of five creatures during hunting and flight: the ferocity of the tiger, the ease of the deer, the steadiness of the bear, the agility of the ape, and the swiftness of the bird. Li Hao's teacher, Yuan Shuo, was exceptionally skilled in the styles of the ape and the bird. In simple terms, Yuan Shuo wanted to flee with the agility of an ape and cross all manner of obstacles with the lightness of a bird, maximizing his chances of escaping danger at the first sign of trouble. As for Li Hao, during his time at Silver City Ancient Academy under his teacher, he had only learned the ape style. He had merely touched upon the other four without studying them deeply. Mastery was not achieved overnight; it required persistent practice. "Let's give it a shot!" Li Hao was not an indecisive person, and trying cost him nothing. He warmed up briefly, finding that his body seemed to adapt more easily than before. Soon, he picked up the bowl and took a gulp of the sword-soaked water. The next instant, Li Hao moved like an ape. Lifting his heels, he pushed off with both feet and leaped into the air. With nimble hands curved like hooked ape paws, he grabbed the gymnastic rings hanging from the living room ceiling and swung forward. The rings had been installed by Li Hao specifically for practicing the *New Book of Five Animals*. The ape art was all about agility. It was what his teacher excelled at, which was why Li Hao had learned it first—to make use of the existing environment and create the best, fastest, and most effortless means of escape. Now fully immersed, Li Hao felt his body was far more agile than ever before. Gripping the rings, he swung forward, kicked off the wall to launch himself airborne, and bounded forward like an ape, leaping through the air to catch the back of the sofa. Pushing off with both hands, Li Hao darted around the modest living room. The small living room was packed with furniture, leaving little open space. Yet within this cramped room, Li Hao's figure flickered continuously with astonishing agility. He was not particularly strong, nor was his build overly muscular. Compared to his friend Zhang Yuan, Li Hao looked like a scholar, whereas Zhang Yuan resembled a bear. Yet Li Hao's frame was ideally suited for the ape art. A bulkier physique would have hindered movement in such a confined space. Rapid panting echoed through the small room. This seemingly simple ape routine was intensely exhausting, requiring strict coordination with the breathing method outlined in the *New Book of Five Animals* to manage stamina properly. The breathing method was no profound martial manual; it simply taught one how to regulate breath—when to inhale, when to exhale, how to hold one's breath, and how to avoid cramps... Of course, it was easier said than done. While adapting the Five Animal Frolics had been straightforward enough for Yuan Shuo, developing the matching breathing method had cost him immense effort. Consequently, the *New Book of Five Animals* was no secret at Silver City Ancient Academy; many people knew it. What Yuan Shuo held back was the seemingly unremarkable breathing method. And that breathing method had been passed down to only a handful of his students. Now breathing heavily, Li Hao continuously adjusted his rhythm. A complete set of the ape routine did not take long—only about three minutes from start to finish. Yet three minutes of such high-intensity, rapid movement were enough to leave a grown man utterly spent. Li Hao had practiced for three years, and even now, he could barely complete two consecutive sets. After about six minutes, he would be completely exhausted, struggling even to stand. His teacher, a man in his seventies with stamina surpassing Li Hao's, reportedly held a personal record of five consecutive sets lasting fifteen minutes. Li Hao had always been skeptical of anyone sustaining such intense, high-speed, and acrobatic movement for fifteen minutes. If one could flee like an ape for fifteen minutes without running out of steam, one's chances of survival in danger would skyrocket. Of course, Li Hao had no time for idle thoughts right now. Under Black Panther's dumbfounded gaze, Li Hao darted about. The tables, chairs, sofa, coffee table, and walls all served as leverage points. Across the entire room, only Li Hao's sweat-drenched silhouette could be seen bounding back and forth. "Two sets!" Returning to his starting point for the second time, Li Hao's breathing grew unsteady, yet he felt he still had energy to spare. A gleam of delight flashed in his eyes. He did not know what other benefits the mysterious starlight energy held, but he could clearly feel that it boosted his stamina and made his body feel lighter. In the past, doing the ape routine always felt somewhat uncomfortable. His body felt heavy, and every leap and push required tremendous effort, draining him quickly. Today, however, it felt significantly easier. "Maybe I can do another set!" Only now did Li Hao have a moment to check his stomach. The visible starlight had largely dissipated, but a faint shimmer seemed to coat the surface of his skin. Though this glow would soon fade as well, Li Hao could sense that he had absorbed a substantial portion of it. His heart stirred. What truly was mysterious power? Why were the experts among the Night Watchers so elusive? He was not sure whether they were simply skilled fighters or possessed supernatural abilities like the red shadow—such as being invisible to ordinary people or conjuring fire. If they were merely exceptional combatants, Li Hao felt he did not even need to understand them. By drinking this water and training persistently, his own skills would only continue to grow. "Keep going!" Li Hao had no time to ponder further; he was riding a wave of exhilaration. Though exhausted after two sets, he felt he could press on. More importantly, he had not finished the water in the bowl. Taking another large gulp of the steeped water, Li Hao leaped into motion once more. ... "The guy upstairs is at it again!" At that moment, an elderly neighbor on the second floor cursed under her breath. Li Hao had always liked exercising at home, but he usually stopped after a few minutes. Today, however, what was he on? Performance enhancers? It had been half an hour, and the noise upstairs had not stopped. The soundproofing in this old building was terrible. If the young man were not an inspector, the second-floor auntie would have gone up to yell at him long ago. ... *Thud!* Li Hao ran through several more rounds, pausing to rest, take a sip of water, and resume. This time, instead of stopping after two sets as he usually did, he kept going until the bowl was empty. Collapsing to the floor like a heavy sandbag, Li Hao felt as though he lacked the strength even to get up. "Phew!" Gasping for air, Li Hao quickly shut his mouth and began regulating his breathing according to the method in the *New Book of Five Animals*. Panting heavily right after an intense workout was ill-advised. The *New Book of Five Animals* noted that breathing must be adjusted slowly, or much of the workout's benefits would be wasted. "Phew..." After regulating his breath for a while, Li Hao's eyes shone with joy. Nine sets! Of course, they were not nine consecutive sets; he had taken breaks in between. His teacher's claim of five sets referred to an unbroken run, so Li Hao had not broken his teacher's boasted record. Even so, Li Hao had managed three consecutive sets earlier, holding out for nine minutes! And even after that, he had possessed the stamina to keep training. That was astonishing. "This water... it's divine!" Li Hao drew a sharp breath. Did the Night Watchers or that red shadow strengthen themselves through methods like this? This was his very first time drinking it, his first encounter with it, yet the results surpassed his wildest expectations. His stamina felt far more abundant than before. If those people trained persistently day in and day out, even without conjuring fire or wielding superpowers, their sheer physical capability would already be terrifying. "I... might have underestimated the Night Watchers. If these people improve like this every day, could a Vortex III even hit them, even without superpowers?" Virtually impossible! The Vortex III had an effective range of only fifty meters; beyond that, Li Hao had no accuracy to speak of. Within fifty meters, Li Hao suspected they could close the distance and snap his neck before he even had time to pull the trigger! And if they possessed supernatural abilities like throwing fire from a distance, harming them would be utterly out of the question. "Firearms... might be useless!" Li Hao felt an even deeper sense of dread. Guns might be completely ineffective against the red shadow. Looking down at the jade sword at the bottom of the bowl, he scooped it up, his eyes filled with longing and anticipation. "Is there a limit to how many times it can be soaked each day? Can it produce this mysterious water every single time?" If there was no limit and it could be soaked freely, that meant he could drink it every day, as much as he wanted! His fear was that there were restrictions, that the mysterious starlight power was not infinite. Li Hao wanted to study it further, but glancing at the wall clock, he frowned slightly. He would have to let it rest for today; it was already eight o'clock. He had to go out! He needed to check Zhang Yuan's house. If he did not go now, he might not have the chance or time later. Someone was watching him. Taking advantage of the fact that they had only just begun tailing him today, he needed to verify whether the stone saber at Zhang Yuan's house was still there. "If the Starry Sky Sword possesses such power, then... what about the Zhang family's saber?" At this moment, Li Hao suspected that the red shadow's objective might very well be these weapons. "The Li family's sword, the Zhang family's saber... If their target is these heirlooms, the Zhang family's saber might already be gone. Then again, it's hard to say!" Indeed, it was impossible to be certain. Had the red shadow actually found the Zhang family's saber? It was nothing more than an ordinary-looking stone. Thrown on the ground, it appeared completely unremarkable, and the Zhang family had never cared much for it. After Zhang Yuan's parents died, Zhang Yuan had paid no attention to that stone either, tossing it who knew where. If Zhang Yuan himself did not care, could the red shadow or the forces behind it have found it? "But if they haven't found it... someone might still be watching the Zhang residence!" Li Hao's heart trembled slightly. In that case, if they had found it, going there might actually be safer; if they had not, going to the Zhang residence could be dangerous. Should he go or not? Li Hao soon made up his mind: he had to go, but proper precautions were essential. He had already resolved that if he went, he must ensure his own safety. If he could find the Zhang family's saber, all the better. The jade sword might have a limit on how many times it worked, perhaps losing its potency after a few soaks. But if the Zhang family's saber possessed the same property, it would give Li Hao more opportunities. Li Hao rose quickly, went into the bathroom, and took a quick shower. A moment later, he stepped out. He got dressed, put on the jade sword, and picked up his handgun. Just as he was about to leave, he hesitated, looking at Black Panther lying on the floor. "Come on, come with me. You have a sharp nose—help me keep watch!" Black Panther had also drank the water today, which clearly had done it some good. The creature was still a dog, after all. If someone trailed them and Li Hao failed to notice, Black Panther might catch their scent. "Woof!" Wagging its tail, Black Panther scrambled to its feet, looking somewhat excited. Li Hao smiled, stroked its head, and said softly, "Don't bark. A biting dog doesn't bark! You seem to have gotten smarter and can understand me. If you notice someone following me, don't bark—just bite my trouser leg, and I'll know! Got it?" To his astonishment, Black Panther actually nodded! The dog bobbed its head several times, then took a gentle bite of Li Hao's pant leg. Li Hao beamed. Good dog! It was more perceptive than the professionally trained police hounds at the Inspectorate. Impressive—Black Panther might genuinely be of help. Patting the dog's head, Li Hao pondered how to respond to potential threats and neutralize any lingering danger. Having settled on a plan, Li Hao stepped out the front door with Black Panther by his side. To Zhang Yuan's house!