HUFF...
In the courtyard, the iron pot hanging on the wooden rack emitted a slow stream of white smoke.
With his sleeves rolled up, Qi Xiu, rarely seen dressed in a short combat outfit, stood before the iron pot, his expression focused and serious, taking continuous deep breaths.
The iron pot was filled to the brim with iron sand as fine as soybeans, radiating intense heat and a strong medicinal smell.
This was a tool for practicing Black Sand Palm.
The seemingly ordinary iron sand was mixed with many medicinal herbs.
Looking down at his slender, fair hands, Qi Xiu couldn't help but sneer.
This damned world.
It had forced Qi, a scholar, to start practicing martial arts.
With Mr. Qian's birthday banquet approaching, the entire Qian Family was busy with preparations, and Qian Yuzhe, the young master of the Qian Residence, had to run around making arrangements.
Having no time to practice calligraphy, he simply gave Qi Xiu a break.
Qi Xiu took advantage of this free time to purchase all the materials needed for martial arts training.
In just two days, thirty taels of silver had been spent.
"No wonder they say the poor pursue scholarship while the rich practice martial arts. Training in martial arts is truly not something an average household can afford."
Besides the iron sand and mixed herbs, cultivating Black Sand Palm also required a special medicinal wine.
Only then could one ensure their palms wouldn't be injured or deformed during training.
The herbs needed to concoct this medicinal wine cost five taels of silver per dose!
Regaining his composure, Qi Xiu steadied his mind, followed the steps detailed in the Black Sand Palm secret manual, and plunged his bare hands fiercely into the iron sand before him.
HISSS!
The instant his tender skin made contact with the scorching iron sand, burning pain, stinging, and abrasions flooded Qi Xiu's body all at once.
Clenching his teeth tightly, enduring the pain in his hands, Qi Xiu's eyes remained resolute as he continued the movements prescribed in the secret manual.
Finally, after several minutes, an indescribable insight rose from within his heart.
Summoning the progress panel, Qi Xiu looked it over.
[Calligraphy (First Realm): 75.2%]
[Culinary Arts: 7.8%]
[Black Sand Palm: 0.1%]
"It's finally here!"
Seeing the words Black Sand Palm appear on the panel, Qi Xiu breathed a small sigh of relief.
The rest would be easy.
Time to train.
He continued to thrust and knead the iron sand, changing his hand forms and positions, stretching and exercising the muscles and meridians of his palms.
Bits of insight surfaced continuously.
As sweat poured down Qi Xiu's forehead, he suddenly felt the pain in his hands lessen.
Vaguely, it seemed as if some power was growing within the flesh and bones of his palms.
For Nine Heavens straight, fueled by the daily sensation of his growing strength, Qi Xiu developed a profound enthusiasm for martial arts.
If not for the physical toll, he would have even considered sleeping only a few hours each day and spending the rest on training.
But such intense practice also had its downsides.
First, Qi Xiu's consumption of food, medicinal wine, and herbs increased daily.
In just Nine Heavens, he spent two taels of silver on meals alone.
This was already half a year's food expense for an ordinary family of three.
Not to mention the even more expensive medicinal wine and herbs.
"I need to find a way to earn more silver," Qi Xiu thought, his hands soaking in the orange-yellow medicinal wine, his eyebrows slowly relaxing. "Otherwise, even if I enter Danqing Pavilion and become a calligraphy master, I won't be able to sustain the expenses of martial training."
[Black Sand Palm: 31%]
"According to the secret manual, it would take an ordinary person at least ten years to master Black Sand Palm to its peak. That means these Nine Heavens of my training are equivalent to three years of diligent practice for a normal person."
He took his hands out of the medicinal wine. The once slender and fair palms were now firm and taut, the muscles resilient and elastic. The veins on the back of his hands were clearly visible, like intricate rivers crisscrossing under the skin, seemingly harboring endless power.
"I'm really curious about what effects will manifest when Black Sand Palm breaks through the First Realm." Clenching his fist, which emitted a clanging sound, Qi Xiu's eyes filled with anticipation.
Even breaking through the First Realm in Calligraphy could activate a Divine Marvel like the "Suppress" Character.
Then what sort of changes would occur with a martial art like Black Sand Palm?
...
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!
Dawn had just begun to break when the urgent knocking woke Qi Xiu, who had been sleeping like a log.
"Who is it?"
Struggling to open his eyes—the past few days of martial arts training had left him greatly fatigued—Qi Xiu groggily got out of bed and asked, standing at the courtyard entrance.
"Open up! Investigation by the county office!"
The cold, low shout chased away much of Qi Xiu's drowsiness.
CREAK. He opened the courtyard door.
Standing at the entrance were two constables clad in black and red official uniforms, long swords at their waists, their expressions stern. One of them held a roster.
"Number Eight Nanguang Alley, is your name Qi Xiu?"
"Uh, yes."
The sudden appearance of the constables made Qi Xiu's heart tense.
Constables inquiring at the crack of dawn?
Could it be that thing from the Qian Residence had gone out and killed someone?
"Get dressed and come with us."
"Ah? Sir, may I ask what this is about?"
Glancing at Qi Xiu, the constable on the left said, "Last night, the entire family residing at Number Seventeen at the end of the alley was murdered. Everyone from this whole alley needs to come with us for questioning."
Hearing the constable's explanation, Qi Xiu's expression changed slightly.
As expected!
That thing came that day to scout the location.
He had thought that after so many days, nothing would happen.
He hadn't expected this to happen...
Urged by the constables, Qi Xiu hurried back into his house to change. As he stepped out, he saw a dozen other residents of the alley standing outside, their faces uneasy.
A massacre had occurred right where they lived. Anyone would be terrified.
Under escort from the constables, the group was taken to the Baoho County Magistrate's office. The sky had fully brightened by then.
"Go in, all of you, and wait for the County Magistrate to conduct the interrogation."
The constables herded the crowd directly into the back rooms of the county office, pushing all of them into jail cells.
"We... we're not criminals! Why are you locking us up?"
"Yeah, this isn't right!"
"Mommy, there... there are mice in here!"
There were already prisoners in the cells. Seeing their unfriendly faces and sinister expressions, the residents promptly protested, not wanting to be locked in together.
"Enough chatter! Stay put!" one of the constables barked impatiently before they turned and left.
"Heh heh heh, what's happened now? So many people locked up at once," a bald man in the corner observed the newcomers with amusement.
"Just ask them, and we'll find out."
A man with a goatee and a pockmarked face, chewing on a toothpick, sidled up to a young man who stood with his head bowed in silence.
"Hey, you. Spill it. What did you do?"
The person being questioned was Qi Xiu, who had just been brought in.
That thing from the Qian Residence has started killing people.
What on earth is going on with the Qian Family? After all this time, do they still not have a way to deal with that thing?
Being suddenly arrested by the constables, I had no chance to bring my ink and brush, so naturally, I'm unable to write the "Suppress" Character.
What if that thing finds its way here...
"Hey, hey, hey! I'm talking to you!"
Feeling increasingly uneasy as he pondered how to get out quickly, Qi Xiu was incessantly prodded by the ruffian beside him.
Suddenly looking up, he grabbed the ruffian's wrist. Annoyance flaring, Qi Xiu's brow furrowed as he growled, "Touch me again, and believe me, I'll cripple you."
Qi Xiu's right hand was thick and powerful, veins bulging, its skin faintly tinged with a dark, bluish-black hue. His fingers tightened their grip, threatening to crush the ruffian's wrist.
A martial artist first nurtures a measure of ferocity.
Having stepped into the world of martial arts, Qi Xiu was no longer the frail scholar he once was. His sudden display of anger intimidated the entire room.