The sound of clashing blades, like the screech of birds, tore through the long rainy night, inevitably heard by neighbors all around.

Yet, in Dates Lane, no one dared to venture out to investigate.

Song Cheng, with his scrolls tucked under his arm and a long blade slung on his back, sprinted through the rainy night.

The night was dark, and the road slippery, yet he moved as if he were walking in broad daylight.

Even when he returned to the residence of the Ruyi Commerce Chamber, he instantly noticed, over the wall, Miss Ling quietly sneaking back through a hidden dog hole in the wall, crouching low.

Song Cheng swiftly vaulted over the wall to enter, then returned to his own courtyard...

It wasn't that he said...

The guards of such a residence were only good for watching the gates; in the face of real danger, everyone had to fend for themselves.

Back at his house, he knocked on the door, calling out softly, "It's me."

Young Mrs. Tong hurriedly opened the door.

Song Cheng quickly stepped inside.

A chill also entered with him.

Young Mrs. Tong said softly, "Come warm up by the charcoal stove, I'll make you a pot of ginger tea."

Song Cheng quickly stripped off his soaking wet clothes, hanging them on a drying rope above the charcoal stove.

The droplets dripped and sizzled as they fell into the stove, smoking and steaming with wisps of white vapor.

Young Mrs. Tong poured out some ginger tea from a slightly insulated porcelain narrow-necked jug and briskly brought it over.

While drying his hair with a dry towel, Song Cheng took the tea and glanced at his wife, noting her clothes were intact, and curiously asked, "Why haven't you slept?"

Young Mrs. Tong replied, "How could I sleep when you are not at home?"

Song Cheng set down his tea, and quickly took out some slightly damp scrolls, manually drying them over the stove. A warmth grew in his heart, as did a sense of responsibility... should anything happen to him, Young Mrs. Tong would certainly not be spared.

"I won't let anything happen to me."

"Mhm," Young Mrs. Tong responded, fetching the only old winter coat in the house and draping it over the young man. Then she sat beside him, asking no questions, just staring blankly at the glaring red fire inside the charcoal stove.

The air grew somewhat quiet.

Suddenly, Song Cheng smacked his lips, preparing to speak about the day's events.

He did not plan to hide anything from his pillow companion.

But as soon as he opened his mouth, Young Mrs. Tong interrupted, "Don't speak."

Song Cheng was taken aback for a moment.

Young Mrs. Tong said, "You didn't go out tonight; how would I know what happened after you left?"

Song Cheng's lips twitched, but he eventually remained silent.

Knowing something and not knowing something creates different reactions.

The issue was bound to cause a stir; if his wife knew, it would only increase the risk of exposure.

"Light a lamp for me."

"Okay."

Young Mrs. Tong took the lamp to the stove, lifted the Lamp Grass, and carefully ignited it.

With the dim light, Song Cheng quickly read through the scroll.

The scroll was clearly hand-copied, not original, and it did indeed contain a record of a Cultivation Technique.

He carefully went through it, asking Madam Tong about words he did not understand. If neither of them knew, they guessed together.

Outside the window, the rain was fierce and the wind wild, the night endless.

The small stove fire, in their tiny home, could momentarily isolate all that was cold and cruel, dangerous and deceptive, serving as a haven for rest.

Soon, he finished reading the scroll, only half complete.

Or maybe even less than that.

The information successfully appeared on the panel:

[Cultivation Technique]

Grass Sea Astonished Snake Form (Yellow Level Grade B) (Incomplete)

5‰ chance to derive complete Cultivation Technique

Each derivation costs 4 points

Elsewhere...

Having consulted a Yellow Level Grade B Cultivation Technique "Grass Sea Astonished Snake Form," although incomplete, it still provided you with some insights.

Competing against a master of the same level deepened your understanding, making the path ahead clearer.

"Xuanwu Willow Brushing Force" has a 3.2% chance of deriving a "Yellow Level Grade B" cultivation technique.

'Incomplete?'

It would be abnormal not to feel disappointed.

Even with a slight internal complaint, "This setup isn't quite effective."

Still, Song Cheng did not sigh.

He had understood the responsibilities he carried.

His sighing, other than unsettling his wife and leading her to worry, would serve no purpose.

However, he had also made it clear: other families' techniques required the complete set before they could be recorded. For his own insights, only a primer was needed to reach the Entry Level.

Song Cheng tore the pages from the book, placing them one by one into the stove and watching the flames consume them until they were entirely burnt down before he hugged his wife back to bed...

All through the night...

...

...

The next day.

The clouds cleared and the rain stopped.

Madam Tong got up early to practice with her blade.

Song Cheng, too, grasped his sword to spar with her.

Resources, guidance, and experience could all accelerate the pace of cultivation...

And Song Cheng had endowed all three to his wife.

He needed to deduce the cultivation technique on his own, and go out to find opponents to fight for experience, but his wife could receive what she needed just by staying at home.

Song Cheng taught very strictly and took the sparring seriously.

He held a long blade in his hand, suppressing his strength while exchanging blows back and forth with his wife.

Soon enough, Madam Tong had been struck several times by the back of the blade.

Yet Tong Jia did not complain, but bit her teeth and attacked vigorously, only stopping when she was gasping for breath.

Song Cheng felt distressed, but he knew that if he held back now, when his wife truly faced danger later, her enemies would not show any mercy.

After resting, he glanced outside the wall, and began silently counting, 'one, two, three'...

Calculating the time, something concerning Shi Yi must have erupted by now.

Being the chief guard of Ruyi Commerce Chamber and suddenly appearing in Shanghe County, and furthermore dying there, it was bound to cause a sensation.

'Three hundred fifty-six, three hundred fifty-seven...'

...

"Honored husband, shall we go to eat first?" Madam Tong saw her husband daydreaming and spoke up.

Song Cheng replied, "Oh, sure."

Both dressed in the only clothes they had bought from the street market, they headed to the Ruyi Commerce Chamber's external dining hall.

Today: steamed wheat cakes, boiled eggs, sweet soup.

Those practicing martial arts could also enjoy a slice of delicious boiled spiced meat, where half of the meat was fatty, making it incredibly tasty with steamed wheat cakes.

Due to the young miss's instructions before her departure, Song Cheng's food treatment was very high.

Not only could he eat boiled spiced meat, but he was even allotted a special portion of "demon beast meat."

Who knows who let it slip, but almost the entire Ruyi Commerce Chamber already knew "The bumpkin from Tang River Village, who boasted he would break into the Force Realm within twenty days, and the young miss actually let him browse through the family's secret absolute techniques"...

The cooks didn't show much fondness for Song Cheng either, casually placing the fried demon beast meat in front of him and walking away without a word.

In the eyes of the cooks, this young man was nothing but ambitious and pretentious.

And who could tell where that impression came from...

But of course, Song Cheng knew the culprit: Miss Ling.

Who else but Miss Ling?

This young woman was all-out for her beau, not only acting as a spy but also doing her utmost to suppress potential rivals for her lover, even if this particular potential rival's power was still very "weak," she spared no effort.

From her standpoint, Song Cheng quite admired it.

But that didn't stop him from feeling pleased about "Shi Yi's death."

So many troublesome issues, all gone.

Quite relieving!

He continued counting in his mind.

'Seven hundred eighty-six, seven hundred eighty-seven...'

As he counted, he quietly cut up the demon beast meat and, when no one was paying attention, stuffed it into Madam Tong's mouth.

Madam Tong resisted.

He insisted anyway.

Madam Tong had no choice but to open her mouth and let him have his way.

With each piece of meat swallowed, Madam Tong felt her blood and qi surge, giving her an urge to practice martial arts immediately.

Just as he was feeding her the last two pieces, Miss Ling dressed in a thick cotton coat also came to eat.

These two days, having gone out in rainy nights and crawled through dog holes, she was frail and had caught a cold.

"Achoo!"

Miss Ling sat far from Song Cheng, her head heavy and her feet light.

Song Cheng raised his hand and called out with a smile, "Miss Ling, good morning."

Miss Ling glanced at him.

With a cold, her face could not hide the disdain, but she still said, "Morning."

Song Cheng continued quietly counting.

Just as he was boredly counting to "one thousand one hundred twenty-six", sounds came from outside.

"It's bad, it's terrible, something big has happened!!"

Following this outburst like firecrackers going off, many of the commerce chamber people poked their heads out, all asking "What's wrong?" "What happened?" and so on.

The person delivering the news said with a dreary face, "In... in Dates Lane, a violent crime occurred. Government officials just came, asking us to identify someone. They also said... the deceased, it should be our Shi Yi, Guard Captain Shi."

Everyone was stunned for a moment, then someone laughed off.

"You're joking, right? How could something happen to Guard Captain Shi?"

"Hasn't Guard Captain Shi not returned yet?"

However, Miss Ling's face paled, turning ashen.

Soon, she along with the steward and some other commerce chamber personnel quickly followed the government officials to Dates Lane.

On seeing... that decapitated body lying on the grass mat, who else could it be if not Shi Yi?

Miss Ling felt darkness before her eyes and fainted right away.

By the time she woke up again, she saw Song Cheng's woman sitting in front of the bed with a steaming bowl of medicinal soup in her hand.

Tong Jia scooped up a spoonful and brought it to her lips, softly saying, "I am a physician, this is a medicine to clear heat and soothe the nerves, very effective."

Miss Ling gently opened her lips.

Tong Jia fed her spoon by spoon.

After finishing, Miss Ling felt a wave of warmth spread from inside out, also feeling sleepy.

However, she didn't want to speak or thank, just turned around and silently faced the wall.

Outside, Song Cheng glanced around.

The data passing through the wall showed Miss Ling's favor.

A moment ago it was 45, this moment... it had jumped back to 60.

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