Chương 197: Nie Feng Refines Organs

Plum Manor, early morning. Outside the plum blossom garden, Song Que and Nie Feng were sparring. Yesterday, seemingly having received enough stimulation, Old Nie had channeled all his force into entering closed-door cultivation. Benefiting from the fact that Song Que had frequently used acupuncture to stimulate his five internal organs previously, this breakthrough was exceptionally smooth. This morning, Nie Feng was brimming with vigor and sought out his Young Master to test his newly increased strength.

"Haha, Old Nie, that's at least five 'Bear Powers' of strength! Give it a few days to consolidate, and reaching six 'Bear Powers' shouldn't be difficult. Added to your wondrous cultivation technique, you probably won't be at a disadvantage even when facing Sixth-Grade 'rookie' martial artists like Chu Tianqiu."

"All thanks to the Young Master's cultivation," Nie Feng replied with a beaming smile.

"Haha, once I also break through to the Fifth Grade, we will finally have some self-defense capabilities."

"Young Master, do you also feel like you're on the verge of breaking through?" Old Nie's eyes lit up.

"Not yet, but it won't be too long." Smiling and shaking his head, Song Que didn't dwell on the matter, instead turning to shout loudly at Xiong Ba:"Xiong Ba, come join us!"

"Young Master, be careful!" Watching the two fight, the foolish Bear had long been itching to join in. Without the slightest hesitation, he leaped forward, swinging a fist the size of a large bowl down toward Grandee Song.

"Haha, very good!" Feeling the pressure, Song Que laughed joyously. Unlike before, where he would strike back with equally fierce and rigid fist techniques, this time he very skillfully utilized 'soft force' and exquisite body movement techniques to circle around the two of them. After fighting for a while, Xiong Ba felt incredibly uncomfortable. His full-body brute force felt like it was striking a roll of cotton, and he was being made dizzy by the Young Master's dazzling movements!

Resentfully waving his hands, he grumbled:"No more fighting, no more fighting! Not a drop of strength to be had!"

"Hahahaha..." Boss Song laughed smugly. Nie Feng's eyes also shone with excitement:"The Young Master has improved again!" As they all retracted their fists, Grandee Song happily shook his head:"I just had some insights; it's not a breakthrough yet. Xiong Ba, you don't need to be so frustrated. From now on, your Young Master will often use this method to spar with you. You'll inevitably run into agile martial artists when we go out in the future; if you don't get used to it, you'll suffer greatly."

"That's right, Brother Xiong Ba! Your brute force is more than enough, but your flexibility and adaptability are insufficient. You must overcome this, otherwise, you'll easily be targeted by others." Whatever the Young Master said was gospel. Xiong Ba rubbed his head gloomily and answered:"Yes, Young Master."

"Heh, don't be unhappy! Your Young Master has just learned quite a few skills from Hui Wu. I'll teach you guys in a bit! You little rascal, don't you know when you've had enough!" Hearing there were new martial arts, the foolish Bear immediately grinned from ear to ear:"Hehehe, thank you, Young Master!" After breakfast, Song Que led the two of them to the new lake. Using his not-yet-proficient lightfoot technique, 'walking on water,' he demonstrated it for his little brothers once.

He explained the key essentials to Nie and Xiong in detail. Having long been excited, Xiong Ba didn't hesitate to leap forward and stamp onto the water. Splash! Needless to say, the result—before he could even take two steps, the foolish guy sank into the lake, making everyone burst into laughter. Nie Feng didn't fare much better afterward. They didn't have Boss Song's 'hacked' body control, which was borderline monstrous. Therefore, most of that morning was spent by the two of them practicing swimming.

They could only watch Song 'the Expert' dashingly tap his feet across the lake, feeling incredibly envious. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.... After happily washing up, the three had barely sat in the courtyard resting when Zhong Hong led Wu Yi and Guan Yu over once again.

"A'Que! Your Old Brother is here to mooch a meal!" Before the person was even seen, Old Wu's voice rang out like a broken gong. Hearing the joy in his voice, it seemed their Wu family was very satisfied with yesterday's meeting with the in-laws. It seemed their position in the County Magistrate Office was now as steady as a mountain.

"Haha, Brother Yi! Brother Hong! Brother Guan! A happy heart truly makes one radiant! Congratulations!"

"Hehe, joy to us all! Quickly, prepare the food! Today, us brothers must sit down and have a real session!" Song Que naturally wouldn't refuse. He readily called for the food to be prepared. Before long, he led everyone to the table.

"Brother Hong, is everything fine in the city?"

"What else could there be? I went to investigate Silver Wave Lake yesterday. The Lingjiang Gang people saw me and pretended not to know anything; it was just too comfortable." Hearing him say this, everyone couldn't help but smile:"You guys probably won't have any issues. I need to be a bit more careful on my end. Old Nie, tell the people below to pay more attention to the movements at the docks."

"Yes, Young Master!"

"Enough about work! Brother Yi, today you're so happy—yesterday's matter must have been very successful, right?"

"Haha, everything is great! The Six Doors people have officially left; they treated this matter as a minor error to be overlooked. Furthermore, A'Que, you have good news too! Last night, Uncle spoke to Lord Huang about your matter. Lord Huang was surprisingly very straightforward in agreeing to help! In the middle of the night, he went to meet Gang Leader Du. The other side guaranteed that they will not continue to target the Moon-Lacking Pavilion from now on! You can rest easy this time."

Song Que was overjoyed hearing this! Regardless of everything else, being able to chase away that 'Sword of Damocles' Old Du hanging over his head was always a pleasant affair! He didn't know how reliable this matter was, but at least with those words from Chief Constable Huang, Du Ruhui wouldn't dare mobilize a massive force to find trouble for him! And if he only resorted to secret, underhanded tactics, he felt he could still hold his own! But just like that, he suddenly owed Huang Ze a favor.

Social relationships in this world were so complicated; truly, one's body was often not one's own to control! Shaking his head to toss these matters to the back of his mind, at least he received good news today! Boss Song happily raised his cup, determined to get Old Wu and Guan Yu drunk!... Eagle's Sorrow. A long convoy of over 50 carriages crawled slowly through the pass. At the top of each carriage hung a striking flag with a 9-story tower printed on it.

It was none other than the Sea of Clouds Pavilion, the Yun family's merchant caravan! Every month, they made 1 or 2 regular trade trips through this place. In the middle of the convoy was a different kind of carriage! It wasn't a cargo carrier like the others, but a sedan carriage! Compared to ordinary ones, this carriage was more spacious and imposing, intricately decorated, proving the person sitting inside possessed immense status!

If nothing else, the driver being a Sixth-Grade martial artist proved its owner was not ordinary! At this moment, someone riding a horse beside it leaned in close:"Young Miss, we have just passed Eagle's Sorrow! We will reach our destination in another ten li or so."

"We've arrived?" A voice like rattling pearls and jade sounded from inside the sedan. A jade-white arm gently lifted the carriage window curtain, revealing a young lady around twenty years of age. Her black hair was tied back, perfectly framing her high, wide forehead and bright, spirited eyes. Added to her exquisite features, she was even more beautiful! Who else could it be but the Pavilion Master of Lingjiang, Yun Xi?! The person speaking to her was none other than the Qinghe Manager, Yun Shan.

"Song Que actually chose a desolate, wild mountain area like this to stay in. Truly interesting!" Looking at the undulating mountain forests with no sign of people, Yun Xi said with a smile.

"Hmph! Young Miss, I bet he's hiding in this backwater because he's up to something shady! This person is definitely bad news!" A chirping female voice rang out from inside the carriage. Qing Zhu also pressed her face against the Young Miss's, peering out.

"According to Young Master Song, he was accustomed to mountain life before and couldn't adapt to the noisy and cramped conditions in the city, which is why he moved out here." Old friend Yun Shan still conscientiously explained on Song Que's behalf.

"Hehehe, Uncle Shan, you were probably tricked by this guy! Song Que likely chose to stay here partly for that reason, but it's not the main one."

"Oh? May I ask the Young Miss to clear my doubts?" Yun Shan asked curiously. Gently stroking her brow, Yun Xi chuckled:"Uncle Shan, on this journey, have you noticed if the Black Iron Stronghold's people are acting strangely compared to before? Also, comparing the intelligence on Xu Shi Cai's appearance back then with the descriptions from Song Que and his men—what do you think?" Yun Shan was struck as if by a bolt of lightning! His entire body shivered in shock as he blurted out:"Young Miss, do you mean...

Song Que is the Black Iron Stronghold..." With the air of having everything under her grasp, Yun Xi nodded, her lips curling into a smile:"The truth is not far off! Rumors say Xu Shi Cai cultivated a very high-level body-refining technique that caused his appearance to change!

From looking at the grudges between Song Que and the Black Iron Stronghold, to his people's 'drastic transformation,' and the fact that the Black Iron Stronghold bandits changed to a completely different acting style afterward, I can confirm that some time ago, this Pavilion Master Song secretly pocketed that place! Looking at his arrangements, this guy's schemes are quite grand! Things are getting more and more interesting."

"I knew he was bad!" Qing Zhu widened her eyes in anger.

"The Young Miss treated him so well, yet this guy secretly extorted money from our Yun family and even hiked the price by fifty percent! He really is an ungrateful 'white-eyed wolf' who has forgotten his favors! Hmph, hmph!" Hearing this young girl speak, everyone broke into a sweat! Yun Xi couldn't help but blush and angrily tap her on the head.

"What nonsense are you spouting?!

'Forgetting favors'? Don't let people misunderstand!" Knowing she had let her tongue slip, Qing Zhu shyly stuck out her tongue and lowered her head. Old Man Kong, who was driving the carriage, couldn't help but speak up:"If what the Xi girl says is true, then this guy choosing to stay here is also logical—it's convenient for traveling between both ends! It seems everyone has underestimated the ambition of this Pavilion Master Song!"

"Lalala... Since he wants to hide, we don't need to expose him! As long as we know how to observe whether he truly wants to be an ally with our Yun family, that's enough! Don't expose other people's scars!" Everyone nodded in agreement upon hearing this. The group of horses led the sedan carriage away from the official road, deviating from the path and heading toward Plum Manor!