Nightfall.
Under candlelight.
Rose placed the young master's hand on her lap, then reached out with her finger, as delicate as a scallion, and took some ointment from a small porcelain jar, gently applying it to the swollen redness on the back of his hand.
"Young master, why do you care so little for yourself..." Her voice choked slightly, showing genuine emotion, "Yaohua was injured saving you, she just didn't want you to get hurt, young master..."
Li Xuan listened to the maid's rambling and felt the coolness of the ointment on the back of his hand. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
Rose raised her hand, quietly wiping away a small pearl of tears.
In her view, the young master must have punched walls or trees today, otherwise his fist wouldn't be so swollen.
The ointment's properties slowly released, causing the red swollen areas to become warm.
In the dim light, Rose rambled on, "Young master is our heaven, you mustn't have anything happen to you."
Feeling the girl's gentle touch before the cot, Li Xuan revealed his inner thoughts: "I want to practice martial arts."
After speaking, he clenched his fist again and reiterated, "I want to practice martial arts."
Rose: ???
She had been a courtesan and knew much about the affairs of the martial world.
Thus, she knew that it had always been best to start practicing martial arts from a young age.
Yet, even though one was a young man by then, it didn't necessarily block the path to practice; however, the difficulty and effort required would be much greater.
The young master soaked in a world of tenderness is a playboy. Is he really someone who can endure the hardships of practicing martial arts?
Besides, what's the use of enduring it?
Even if he managed to practice, what could he accomplish?
She had heard about the terrifying demon leopard on Red Flower Mountain. To be honest, weren't several people killed not practitioners? If the demon leopard hadn't been greedy and failed to escape in time, otherwise... had it hidden in the mist and continued hunting, wouldn't more people have died?
Rose wanted to tell the young master the truth from her heart, but she knew the young master had been stimulated. Denying him at this moment wouldn't be as good as going along with him, anyway, he'll eventually give up on martial arts when he can't take the hardship.
She squeezed out a sweet smile and said, "Rose will always support the young master."
Li Xuan acknowledged her.
The air grew quiet.
Suddenly, the girl slipped off her loose robe worn after the bath, creating the only sound in the silence.
The candlelight dyed the petite body in a flowing, fiery red color, appearing as the only shade in the dim light.
The girl threw herself into the youth's arms.
In the darkness came the rustling sounds.
Night seemed ablaze.
After a long time...
The two cradled each other.
Rose felt the warmth behind her and showed a sweet smile on her face.
Who else could she rely on in this world? There was no one other than the young master.
Even though they were called master and servant, in her heart, she already regarded the young master as her husband. Although she knew her status was not a match, the closeness made her feel a sense of comfort.
She took the initiative to ask, "What weapon does the master want to practice with? A saber? A spear? A sword? Many martial artists in the sect have skills in these..."
Li Xuan hadn't decided in his heart yet.
But, he was leaning towards claws or weapons like Iron Claw Tiger.
Why?
Today, he performed a simple test and felt that even adding a shortsword in his hand would become a burden under a speed of 20 points in agility.
Moreover, this required considerable grip strength.
This was different from what he initially imagined.
At first, he envisioned those movie-grade scenes of people holding longswords and achieving oneness with the sword.
But in reality, a movie is a movie, and reality is reality.
In this world, it currently seemed there wasn't any power like True Qi or any saying of Qi flowing through weapons to achieve oneness with the sword. Weapons, after all, remained weapons and couldn't become an extension of one's body.
With high-speed movement, wielding weighted weapons would lead to considerable drain.
Thus, he leaned towards claw-like weapons.
...
...
Next day.
Li Xuan sought out the martial artists at home, and upon asking, they all mentioned sabers, spears, swords, staffs, and similar weapons.
These he was not interested in practicing.
Thus, he sent someone out to inquire if there were experts in exotic weapons.
In doing so, managed to find some street performers, but these performers couldn't even defeat the martial artists of the Li family, making Li Xuan naturally unwilling to learn from them.
Day by day passed.
The murder incident involving the mysterious leopard lurking in the Red Flower Mountain mist seemed to gradually settle into the dust.
Of course, this was just on the surface.
Actually, the search for the Li family's eldest daughter continued, yet there was no news; also, how many families were destroyed by those many corpses, how many shadows and fears buried within people's hearts, this sort of impact couldn't be eliminated in even a few or ten years.
As for the martial artist of the Li family who died in battle, Master Li generously compensated their families, inviting them into the Li family industries, solving their living issues. This was a "toned-down version of 'Spending fortunes to buy loyalty'," done to show other martial artists and servants of the Li family.
Master Li of Xiongshan County, Li Xuan's father, is skilled at winning people's hearts and doesn't hesitate to spend when necessary.
Regarding Yaohua, who saved her son, Master Li also invited numerous renowned doctors, yet it's merely burns that can be treated, her life is not in danger. But her skills, along with those burn marks on her body, are far from satisfactory.
During the day, Li Xuan remained the cheerful son of a noble family.
But only Rose knew how frustrated and restless the young master was after nightfall.
Rose quietly observed these things.
Meanwhile, sometimes Li Xuan continued to run to Chaotic Crow Ridge to build his courage, leaving injuries that made Rose distressed.
...
...
That day, night.
After everything was well between the young master and the maid.
Li Xuan sighed deeply, then casually asked, "Rose, have you heard of Innate Talent?"
These past days he had asked many martial artists; many knew about Innate Talent, and each of them could say a few words, but when it came to actually measure it, no one knew how.
Rose was stunned when she heard this; she knew the young master was frustrated these days, not only because he couldn't find someone to teach him, but also because he couldn't find anyone to measure his Innate Talent.
Xiongshan County had no major sects, who here would genuinely be skilled in assessing this thing?
Even if someone said they could measure it, it was likely a fraudster in the martial world, not trustworthy.
But major sects meant journeying far from Xiongshan County, to the places of state offices or even to the Great Yin capital, that's where they could be found.
The Li family might be a notable family in Xiongshan County's small world, but in the state offices, would others pay any regard to the Li family?
Rose hesitated for a moment, then said: "I... I..."
Stammering.
The maid suddenly gritted her teeth, as if she had made some decision, and said: "I used to know an old man, that old man can certainly assess your Innate Talent."
Li Xuan was taken aback.
Rose cried: "I am only yours, young master; the rest were merely acquaintances made through playing the zither and singing songs.
That old man might be a reclusive elder of the martial world in Xiongshan County, by age he could be my grandfather.
If there were even a hint of impropriety between us, then I would be left with no burial place."
Li Xuan stroked her hair, laughed, and said: "I didn't ask about that."
Rose nestled into his embrace, letting out a gentle sigh.
...
...
The next day.
Li Xuan prepared gifts and a substantial sum of money, sitting in the carriage.
Rose guided the way.
The coachman zigzagged through the county west into a small alley of green tiles.
The alley had dusty, moss-covered cracks between the bricks, and on both sides, there were three or four households.
Li Xuan instructed the coachman to wait outside as he walked in with Rose, stopping at the end on the right.
Rose ran ahead, seeing the door was closed, she knocked and asked: "Is anyone there?"
No response.
"Is anyone there?"
Rose insisted on shouting.
Still no reply.
After a while...
The maid bit her teeth, suddenly shouted: "Feather Robe Jinlian."
Her voice trembled as she said this, and her entire demeanor began to show a peculiar contradiction, as if some past event was resurrecting her identity.
Li Xuan looked at her in astonishment, this... this lover seems to have quite a complex story.
Although he didn't understand what "Feather Robe Jinlian" meant, it was obviously a secret code, no wonder it took so long to mention knowing an old man.
However, even after Rose shouted those seven words, there was no sound from within.
Rose continued to knock on the door repeatedly.
Despite the banging door, nobody responded.
"Impossible, impossible..." Rose was somewhat dazed, turning her head to look at Li Xuan.
Li Xuan smiled at her, and said: "Rose, thank you."
Rose suddenly felt assured, her face showing a beauty of "turning tears into a smile."
Li Xuan didn't ask much, only said: "What do we do now?"
Rose said: "That old man can't leave here, he must be inside."
Li Xuan looked up at the wall.
Rose showed a hesitant expression but immediately said: "I'll go have a look."
Li Xuan shook his head, waved to the coachman behind the carriage, and shouted: "Shuzi, come over."
The coachman ran over enthusiastically.
Li Xuan called out in the direction of the house: "Apologies, elder!"
Then he pointed at the wall and said: "Shuzi, climb over and open the door."
"Sure, young master." Shuzi was excited, he stepped back a couple of steps, shouted strangely, then his feet wildly tapping on the wall, his hands gripping the wall, making a slap to ascend two or three feet, doing a fancy spin in mid-air, landing beyond the wall.
Li Xuan: ...
His coachman is indeed trained.
Shortly after, a "creak" sound was heard from the door as it opened from the inside.
Shuzi, being considerate, took on a protective stance and was the first to explore inside.
Li Xuan and Rose followed closely.
Rose looked around as she walked, her brows furrowing deeper.
Shuzi opened the door to the inner room and looked around, there was no one inside but everything remained, showing no signs of the homeowner leaving.
Shuzi then went to the small room with a dirt stove to check, after opening the door, looking left and right, still no one, but the air was permeated with a peculiar and extremely foul stench.
He sniffed his nose, quickly found the source of the smell— the pot.
Shuzi went over, pinching his nose with one hand, lifting the lid with the other.
Bam!
As soon as the lid was lifted, it was slammed down.
"Ah!!!!!!"
A terrifying voice erupted.
Shuzi, face ashen, stumbled and retreated from the stove room.
Li Xuan and Rose rushed over, peering inside, and couldn't help but turn pale as well.
In the pot... stewed was a familiar human head, already crawling with fat maggots.
Those ghastly white insects wriggled through the eye sockets and other orifices, and at the edge of the pot, strands of silver hair could faintly be seen.
Rose's teeth trembled, staring blankly at this scene, feeling not only disgusted, fearful, but also... utterly unbelievable.
From that silver hair, she already knew this was the old man she wanted to find.
And this old man...
He was a bona fide Grandmaster.
A true Grandmaster, traversing the martial world widely.
How could this be?
For a moment, the air was eerily quiet, as if all three of their hearts stopped beating simultaneously.
...
In the next moment, Li Xuan pulled Rose and turned to run, shouting "Shuzi, get the carriage."
Shuzi suddenly awakened from a dream, turned and ran with a blank mind.
While running, Rose suddenly pulled Li Xuan and said: "Look for the goods, once the authorities come, this won't be under our control anymore."
Li Xuan immediately understood.
He had trained his courage over this period, quite effectively, instantly decided: "Let's go!"
Rose rushed into the old man's bedroom, rummaging through cabinets, quickly retrieved a small box, opened it, inside was a secret manual and a set of strange weapons, ten silver wire rings.