"I've done it."
He gripped the wooden blade.
Ji Xiu lowered his head.
He gazed at the crude wooden blade, the one that had rubbed his palm raw. In theory, this rough piece of wood was useless for injuring anyone unless you simply clubbed them with it.
He silently tightened his grip, the words echoing in his heart.
RUMBLE!
Just then,
The gloomy storm clouds overhead suddenly roiled. A startling flash of lightning tore through the daylight, followed by a vast, heart-stopping peal of thunder.
SPLASH.
Within moments,
The sky grew dark, the wind howled, branches swayed, and the steeds whinnied long and loud.
A torrential downpour cascaded from the heavens, filling every rut in the bluestone paths and turning the packed earth to mud.
The unannounced deluge sent Old Yao scrambling outside. He shouted at Yao Shi to secure the stable gates lest the horses get spooked and bolt, while simultaneously grabbing armfuls of dry hay and tossing them under cover.
"Young Ji!"
As he bustled about, the sharp-eyed Old Yao spotted a small figure not far off.
The boy was standing under the great willow tree, letting the wind and rain lash him. Soaked to the bone, he still clutched the wooden blade, as motionless as if he were in a trance.
So, he quickly shouted:
"Stop your training! You're not going to master that blade overnight. It's pouring out here, get inside and take shelter!"
Hearing Old Yao's call,
Ji Xiu, soaked to the skin, had his black hair plastered across his forehead and temples.
He let out a long breath, no longer absorbed in contemplating the profound mystery he had just touched.
He trudged through the mud, getting himself so filthy he looked like a river spirit that had just crawled out of a ditch.
When Old Yao saw this, he rushed to push him into his own hut, terrified he'd catch an illness and neglect his duties as a groom.
As soon as they were inside, Old Yao piled firewood into the stove to light a fire, telling Ji Xiu to warm himself up. He then brought out a set of clean clothes and started nagging:
"These are young Shi's clothes. You're not much bigger than him, so they'll have to do for now. Honestly, you..."
He glanced at the water-stained wooden blade, its color now a shade darker, and sighed wistfully.
"Right, you're only sixteen this year."
"How many people at your age would be willing to just accept their fate?"
He sighed.
"Qin Biao said that to learn the blade, you went to serve under some washed-up, one-armed former Captain. You woke up early, stayed late, stoked his fire, and added firewood, all just for the chance to learn. Why suffer so much, I ask you."
"He practiced for half his life, and what did he accomplish? Isn't he just a household guard? This old man lives a better life than he does."
"Look at you, you've been training like a man possessed these past few days. And now... stories about you are spreading all over the courtyards."
"It doesn't matter if they're servants, tenants, maids, or menials... they're all secretly laughing at you for not knowing your place."
"Even Steward Lin, who's in charge of the outer residence's affairs, has commented on your slacking lately. He's not happy with you and is about to have you replaced."
"If you don't pull yourself together, you won't be able to hold onto this groom position. Sooner or later, you'll be replaced."
Seeing Ji Xiu, now in clean clothes, warming himself by the stove, Old Yao started complaining again:
"Without your skills, this old man will have to do more work. If you leave, they'll probably just stick some other useless lout in here, and that'll be a real headache."
"Why don't you hurry and go put in a good word with the Second Miss? Maybe..."
Old people get talkative, rambling on about this and that.
Old Yao stood beside Ji Xiu, chattering away for what felt like an eternity.
By the time Ji Xiu's hair was nearly dry, the old man still hadn't stopped talking.
It wasn't until Ji Xiu casually brushed his hair aside, revealing most of his face,
that Old Yao suddenly swallowed his words, his expression shifting to one of shock.
"Wait a minute, you..."
He hadn't paid much attention before.
But after this drenching rain,
as Old Yao took a closer look, he was shocked to find that the boy's sallow, gaunt complexion had, at some unknown point, been washed away.
Now, Ji Xiu sat cross-legged with his dark, half-dry hair falling around his temples, seemingly frowning in thought about something.
Although his frame was still thin,
there was...
...something that inexplicably made Old Yao feel a daunting sense of his own inferiority.
It was as if some invisible aura about him was affecting the old man. Just like... just like...
Yes!
It was exactly the same feeling he got when he faced Master Lin!
Even when Master Lin was just sitting there quietly,
he couldn't help but lower his head, his legs trembling. It was the same thing.
"Strange, so strange!"
"How did a little rain make this kid seem like he's undergone a complete Transformation?"
A shiver of alarm went down his spine.
The words he had been about to say, he now inexplicably dared not speak.
Just then, Ji Xiu stood up. Seemingly sensing the old man's discomfort, he spoke gently,
"Don't you worry, Old Yao. I know what I'm doing."
"Trust me."
"I'm going to feed the horses now."
The rain outside had begun to let up.
Old Yao stared blankly as Ji Xiu, dressed in simple cloth, walked out with calm composure.
A long moment later,
he suddenly cursed aloud:
"Well, I'll be damned. If you don't look closely, if you don't really pay attention, this old man really would've never noticed..."
"This kid... he has more of a presence than even the Third Young Master, the only male heir in the mansion, even if he is from a concubine!"
"Strange, truly strange. How did I not see it before...?"
...
Each autumn rain brought a deeper chill.
Lin Residence, Inner Courtyard.
The Third Young Master's Quarters.
Before a large, carved mahogany desk, Third Young Master Lin stared out at the rain through a paper window, his heavy eyelids hiding his thoughts.
Around him,
a large, black-horned bow hung on one wall.
Beside the desk, a blade's edge gleamed. One could tell that without daily training and polishing, it would never possess such a sharp aura.
Just then, Steward Lin, dressed in a long, blue brocade robe, entered the room.
Lin Du stroked the blade beside him. He watched the steward stroll in from the rain and asked quietly,
"Steward Lin, how are the arrangements for that groom coming along?"
'Steward Lin served my mother for many years. After gaining the family master's favor, he was granted the surname 'Lin'.'
'And I am the sole male heir of this Lin Mansion, though born of a concubine.'
'By rights, the Lin Residence should be mine to inherit, even if I am not of the main wife.'
'Within the five-hundred-li expanse of Anning County...'
'The Lin Residence's estate is neither large nor small.'
'People say that shallow waters cannot nurture a True Dragon.'
'And yet...'
'...from this backwater temple that is the Anning Lin Clan, which for generations had never produced anyone who even left the county... '
'...a True Dragon emerged nine years ago.'
He thought of his eldest sister, born of the main wife, who had left this small mountain city. His father, Lin Zhenhai, Master of the Lin Residence, had said it himself: she had joined a Sect.
Lin Du's lips trembled.
"I heard," he said.
"Father intends to choose a husband for Second Sister, one who will marry into our family."
He knew exactly what this meant.
'Normally, even though I was born of a concubine, as the only son, I just needed to practice hard and cross the threshold to become a Martial Artist.'
'Then the Lin Residence's assets—all its businesses, its shopkeepers and stewards—should have gradually come under my control. It would have been my right.'
'But...'
'...the two sisters above me are full-blooded siblings!'
'My eldest sister is too brilliant.'
'Basking in just a fraction of her reflected glory, Father now wants to hand this entire estate over to my second sister, Lin Ruyue.'
'Even though I've spent years refining my Bone Marrow and have succeeded in Blood Nourishing, with hopes of reaching Bone Tempering in the future!'
'It seems the family estate... will have nothing to do with me.'
'There was no other way.'
'That's why, the last time Lin Ruyue went out for a ride, I secretly tampered with her horse.'
'It's just a pity that some lowly servant, new to the mansion, had to ruin my plan.'
'Otherwise, if my 'dear' second sister had been injured or crippled...'
'...things would have been so much easier to handle afterward.'
Lin Du closed his eyes.
After listening to Third Young Master Lin, the steward simply looked at him with a concerned expression.
"Do not worry, Young Master."
"This position will be yours sooner or later."
"The other one has already left the shallow pond of Anning County. She will never return in this lifetime."
"As long as the Second Miss is prevented from inheriting, the Boss has seen your decade of diligent, unwavering practice."
"An estate this large ultimately needs a Martial Artist to run it."
"Otherwise, how long can it last by just bluffing with someone else's powerful name?"
He shook his head, and his eyes grew cold.
"That insignificant groom ruined our great plan and doesn't even know it. He's ridiculously ambitious, dreaming of Entering the Realm. He truly doesn't know his own limits."
"Still, it's for the best. He's given us an excuse. Even if he's the Second Miss's man, he won't be able to keep his job now."
"I've spent the last few days investigating his identity and background."
"He's just some poor kid from East Fire Kiln Street trying to make a living. An orphan, with only a little sister holding him back. He'll be very easy to handle!"
"It happens to be autumn, and the weather's turning cold. The Fire Kilns aren't a charity. Our residence has operations over there, so it's the perfect time to go collect some 'Firewood Money'."
"Then we'll find another excuse to teach him a lesson, have him laid up in bed for a few days. We'll accuse him of slacking, give him thirty lashes with a rod, and dismiss him."
"I sent him a message and a few warnings over the last half-month, but he turned a deaf ear. He clearly can't be brought over to our side."
"It's the perfect opportunity to install one of 'our own people', warn that Old Yao to keep his head down, and then, when the time is right..."
A cold glint flashed in Steward Lin's eyes.
"...you will be able to take your rightful place, Young Master."
...
「After the autumn rain, the air grew increasingly cold.」
The air was chilly, but as it brushed against Ji Xiu's skin, it no longer carried that biting, bone-deep cold that made one's legs tremble.
When a Martial Artist Enters the Realm, even if they have yet to begin Blood Nourishing or Bone Marrow refining, the Force that automatically circulates through their body dramatically increases their metabolism. Their daily food consumption and digestion rate increase several times over!
Even on a diet of chaff and wild greens, if they could keep it up for thirty years—right up until their Qi and Blood began to decline with age—as long as they avoided fights, they could still develop a strong constitution!
Therefore,
even though he had just become a Martial Artist, Ji Xiu no longer felt the cold as his Force circulated, Tempering his Tendons and Veins and performing Blood Transport and Collection.
However, he really did need to get a padded coat and quilt for his sister back home.
He could endure the cold.
But her small frame...
'Wouldn't she freeze to death?'
After finishing his work at the Lin Residence,
Ji Xiu carried his wooden blade and headed for Duan Chenzhou's home, calculating his next steps.
'Now that I have Entered the Realm, according to Master Duan, I'm considered to be in the Bone Marrow Refining Realm. I've finally found my path.'
'According to the rules,'
'once a commoner becomes a Martial Artist, they can be transferred to the Military Registry. Their name is officially recorded, and they enjoy all sorts of privileges, placing them above those on the slave and commoner registries!'
His eyes lit up.
And as long as he was a Martial Artist,
he wouldn't have to worry about making a living, even after being removed from the Slave Registry.
A place as large as the five-hundred-li Anning County had countless businesses, gangs, and Boxing Halls.
A Martial Artist who had Entered the Realm was a hot commodity!
If the Lin Residence hadn't, in all fairness, treated him decently, he wouldn't have bothered just going through the motions and doing the bare minimum.
Otherwise...
...he probably would have, at the very moment of his breakthrough,
...been unable to resist throwing his head back with a great laugh and walking right out the door. He'd change his registry, cast off his lowly status, and be free from his shackles forever!
"After I finish my blade practice with Master Duan today, I'll go first thing tomorrow morning..."
"...to the Government Office to change my registry!"