Free Web NovelChapter 95: Chapter 94: Malicious Intent
Chen Shouye frowned slightly. The price was even lower than he had expected, but he needed to confirm its authenticity. He nodded and said, "Alright. I’ll pay fifty taels first. I need to inspect the Cultivation Technique."
Seeing him agree so readily, the greed in Wu Gui’s eyes intensified, almost glowing green. He now completely saw Chen Shouye as a fat sheep ripe for the slaughter.
His face plastered with a fawning, fake smile, he turned and fumbled around under a dirty straw mat. He pulled out two thin, tattered booklets—yellowed, blackened, and even spotted with mildew—and SLAPPED them down in front of Chen Shouye.
"Eight Directions Pile Skill to build your foundation! Eight-direction Saber Technique for killing! How about it? That should be enough for you, right?"
His tone was laced with exaggerated pride, as if he had just produced some world-shaking Martial Arts Secret Treasure.
Chen Shouye reached for the booklets, but Wu Gui abruptly slammed a grimy hand down on them. He thrust his other hand out eagerly, his voice turning harsh and greedy. "Hold on! We don’t break the rules! Money first! Only after the silver coins change hands can you look at the Cultivation Technique!"
Chen Shouye paused. He glanced up, coldly observing Wu Gui’s desperate, avaricious face. After a moment’s thought, he said no more and took a fifty-tael Snowflake Silver Yuanbao from his robes, placing it on the table.
The sight of the gleaming white silver made Wu Gui’s eyes nearly pop out. He snatched the silver, weighed it in his hand, and quickly stuffed it into his robes. His attitude instantly turned cold. He waved a hand dismissively. "The Cultivation Technique is yours. Figure it out yourself!"
Chen Shouye didn’t say another word. He picked up the booklets and quickly leafed through them, confirming the contents were more or less correct. Then he asked, "May I ask, Master Wu, does this Cultivation Technique have a history?"
Wu Gui said impatiently, "It’s my family’s heirloom, and I’ve taught plenty of people with it. If you don’t believe me, go ask around yourself. What the hell are you worried about!"
"I’ll take the full lineage of this Cultivation Technique."
Chen Shouye nodded.
"Five hundred taels! Not a coin less!"
Wu Gui squinted, staring intently at Chen Shouye, especially at his sash, which still looked heavy.
Chen Shouye untied the sash from his waist and took out nine more fifty-tael silver ingots of the same size, placing them neatly on the table.
Wu Gui’s breathing instantly grew heavy. His eyes were glued to the pile of silver ingots, his greed almost a palpable force.
He lunged forward, sweeping all the silver into his arms. The heavy feeling in his hands made his face blossom into a huge smile. He hurriedly stuffed the silver deep into his robes, as if terrified Chen Shouye would change his mind at any second.
"If there’s nothing else, get going. My place is small, it can’t accommodate a big shot like you!"
After securing the silver taels, Wu Gui immediately ordered him to leave.
Chen Shouye gave him one last deep look, tucked the two booklets into his robes, and, without another word, ducked out of the shack.
Behind him, Wu Gui stared at his retreating back, especially at the sash that still looked like it held more money. Greed and malice flickered in his eyes, and the corners of his mouth curved into a cold, cruel smile.
...
Chen Shouye hadn’t even left the shantytown before he felt Wu Gui’s greedy gaze stuck to his back.
’This man is definitely up to no good.’
Chen Shouye snorted inwardly, but his expression remained calm.
He knew that if he headed straight out of the city now, he would be giving the man a perfect opportunity to strike once he reached the deserted main road.
So, he went directly back to the inn, paid for a few more days, and settled in.
Entering his room and closing the door, Chen Shouye didn’t sit down right away. Instead, he carefully checked the bolts on the door and windows. Once he confirmed they were secure, he walked to the window and peered down through a crack in the curtains.
The street was bustling with people, and he didn’t see any sign of Wu Gui, but the warning bells in his mind hadn’t completely faded.
He immediately turned, sat at the table, and took out the two booklets he had gotten from Wu Gui.
The Eight Directions Pile Skill and the Eight-direction Saber Technique.
He picked up the Eight Directions Pile Skill first and read it carefully.
Its contents were indeed a basic Technique for tempering the body, stabilizing one’s stance, and consolidating qi and blood.
The eight stances it described corresponded to the eight trigrams. The Breathing Technique was also orthodox and balanced. Although rudimentary, there was nothing deviant or heretical about it. It was a proper, foundational Martial Art.
Next, he opened the Eight-direction Saber Technique. Inside were diagrams of eight Sword Techniques, supplemented by simple chants for circulating energy and exerting force.
The move names were simple and unadorned, like "Mountain Splitting," "River Blocking," "Returning Wind," and "Sweeping Leaves." They focused on practical combat actions like splitting, chopping, blocking, and sweeping—direct, sharp, and with wide, sweeping motions.
Chen Shouye had practiced the Iron Mountain Lean since childhood and had a discerning eye.
He had also discussed such things often with his older brother, Shouheng. He went over it several times and confirmed that while these two Cultivation Techniques were not advanced, they had no hidden dangers. Wu Gui had not tampered with the techniques themselves.
’The Cultivation Technique is fine...’
Chen Shouye’s gaze narrowed. He decided to stay for a few days.
First, he wanted to study them a few more times to be absolutely sure. Second, he wanted to lie low and see what his tail would do.
For the next three days, Chen Shouye did not leave his room, having all his meals brought to him by the inn’s waiter.
He spent his days in his room cultivating the Eight Directions Pile Skill and the Eight-direction Saber Technique.
With his own Cultivation at the level of Blood Refining Great Success, it wasn’t difficult for him to reverse-engineer and master them. Soon, he had already gained a basic grasp of the Saber Technique.
...
In the shadows of a street corner opposite the inn, Wu Gui had been squatting in ambush for three full days.
He had watched the fat sheep check into the most expensive inn in the county, but the man had not shown his face since.
The inn was bustling with people. He couldn’t find an opportunity to strike, nor did he have the nerve to try.
Anxiety gnawed at his heart like a swarm of ants.
The five hundred taels of silver in his robes felt heavy, yet it burned like a branding iron, leaving him restless and unable to sit still.
’Damn it! Is this kid a fucking turtle? Hiding in his shell and not coming out?’
He cursed under his breath, his eyes glued to the second-floor window of the inn.
The image of that heavy sash dangled before his eyes. There had to be more silver inside!
If he could just get his hands on it, he could...
His gambling addiction, like a cancer gnawing at his bones, suddenly flared up amidst the anxious wait.
His fingers began to tremble uncontrollably, and illusions of rolling dice and clacking Pai Gow tiles appeared before his eyes.
That frantic desire to win back his losses instantly shattered his already fragile patience and reason.
’Screw this waiting!’
He shot to his feet and spat fiercely. "That kid’s an outsider, I can tell by his accent. He can’t stay cooped up forever, can he? I’ll go win my money back first, then I’ll come back and deal with him!"
Clutching the five hundred taels of silver, he plunged headfirst into the gambling den he knew best in the county, as if a ghost were chasing him.
Wu Fayong’s ancestor was once a Hundred Households in the Jingwu Bureau.
He held an Official Position, wore the Xiezhi Order, and was in charge of punishments and arrests.
Unlike a Chief Banner Officer or a Junior Banner Officer, a Hundred Households was a genuine Seventh Grade Official Position. In the local area, he was considered a person of some standing.
The Eight-direction Saber Technique and Eight Directions Pile Skill were passed down from that ancestor. They were authentic foundational techniques of the official army, powerful and orthodox.
However, the tides of the imperial court were treacherous.
Many years ago, his grandfather’s generation was carelessly drawn into a court struggle. They backed the wrong side, were purged from the Jingwu Bureau, and ultimately died in a foreign land. The family’s fortunes declined from then on.
His father brought the family back to their ancestral home in Ping County. Using their savings, he bought some farmland and became a minor landlord, seeking only to live a peaceful life.
Wu Fayong was also forced by his father to practice the family’s techniques from a young age. His aptitude wasn’t bad, and he had tempered his qi and blood to become quite robust. He originally had a good chance of passing the Martial Examination and restoring his family’s honor.
Unfortunately, he picked up a gambling addiction.
At first, it was just a little gambling for fun, but he fell deeper and deeper into it.
The family’s fields and savings flowed into a bottomless pit like water.
His old father repeatedly tried to stop him, to no avail, and in the end, died of sheer anger.
After his father’s death, Wu Fayong became even more unrestrained.
After gambling away the entire family fortune, to raise more funds for gambling, he used his ancestral Cultivation Technique and his own foundation of Blood Refining Perfection to start the business of teaching Martial Arts.
Sometimes, he would encounter wealthy "fat sheep" from out of town who had no background and knew nothing about this world. He would tail them, rob them, and kill them, succeeding time and again.
Because he was always clean and his victims were all outsiders, he had managed to hide safely in Ping County all this time.
