The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 190- 192

Chapter 190: A Surging Yearning

After informing the security guards of how things stood, Ling Zhang, following the training methods provided by Yuwen Tong, started adjusting himself to his body which now held strength of a whole new level.

What Yuwen Tong told Ling Zhang to do first was go all out to attack him. “There’s no need for you to worry about me getting hurt, because currently you’re not powerful enough to cause me any harm.”

Since Yuwen Tong put it this way, of course Ling Zhang chose to believe him. He launched an all-out attack on him sparing no efforts.

However, even so, Yuwen Tong still deflected Ling Zhang’s every blow as easy as falling off a log without even moving an inch.

Ling Zhang fell speechless.

“How do you feel?” asked Yuwen Tong. “Have you got used to your strength now?”

Ling Zhang inclined his head, a somewhat excited look on his face. “I think so.”

In the past he had merely felt that Yuwen Tong’s kung fu was very good, but now he came to a more distinct perception of it – if his kung fu was likened to a trickle, then Yuwen Tong’s would be a mighty ocean; if his kung fu was likened to a mound, then Yuwen Tong’s would be a lofty mountain. Even so, a moment ago Yuwen Tong had told him that the mental cultivation method of internal energy he was cultivating right now was more powerful than the one Yuwen Tong himself was cultivating.

This was the first time that Ling Zhang had deeply felt a surge of yearning clutch at his heart, along with… ambition. Nobody would say no to an access to power, especially power more potent than that of anybody else. This was an inborn longing. It was just that Ling Zhang had never had any clear conception of this before because of the trammels of conventional education imposed on his mind. Though he had been reborn, it was the strong desire for vengeance that had been motivating him to improve his power. This time, however, things were different. This was a very clear, very pure yearning for greater power. He wanted to surpass himself, to reach the apogee.

‘If some day I do reach the top of a lofty mountain like Yuwen Tong does, what kind of scenery would I be seeing?’ Ling Zhang suddenly felt an urge to find out and as well as a craving to stand side by side with Yuwen Tong on the peak to enjoy the same view.

Now he had an opportunity. What else could possibly be more exciting than this?

“Let’s try again!” said Ling Zhang.

Yuwen Tong gave a smile. He sensed Ling Zhang’s thirst, which was very familiar to him, for he used to be like this as well. And this time Ling Zhang’s yearning was giving him a different feeling. As if affected by Ling Zhang’s craving, he couldn’t help but anticipate the day that Ling Zhang would be as powerful as he was, which he firmly believed would be the most exciting moment in his life.

Ling Zhang still threw every punch with full strength, and he came to a clearer perception of his strength every time he went all out. He could even feel a wave of warmth surge out of his Dantian as well as the changes it brought inside him every time he threw a punch. Now he had come to a realization of the condition his body was in.

Yuwen Tong, seeing Ling Zhang had had some acquaintance with his bodily strength, began to teach him how to control it, which was more difficult than launching an all-out attack, but this was his own body after all, so it didn’t take long for Ling Zhang to get the hang of it.

“With the experience of what you’ve just done, you’ll gradually know what to expect in different circumstances and what kind of condition your bodily strength is in without any particular extra training. You won’t feel unadapted again,” remarked Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang, feeling that he was beginning to know the ropes, gave a bob of his head.

Motivated, Ling Zhang had Yuwen Tong spar with him on the drill ground for quite a while. Yuwen Tong understood very well why he was doing this. Ling Zhang was still in excitement, and the best way to help him cool down was to let him vent it.

At this moment, the two of them were the only ones left on the drill ground. Ling Zhang’s security guards and Yuwen Tong’s bodyguards were all standing outside the drill ground, watching Yuwen Tong training Ling Zhang.

“Childe Ling achieved such great progress after merely one night,” Yue Qi exclaimed in amazement under his breath.

Unlike Wang Dashan and other security guards of Ling Zhang’s, Yue Qi and other bodyguards were all internal energy experts and had a keener nose for this kind of changes. It had taken Ling Zhang only one night to achieve such progress. There was something called comprehension that was involved in this, which they felt was even more formidable.

“Not only does our young master have extraordinary comprehension, the mental cultivation method of internal energy he’s been following is also uncommon, I’m afraid,” commented Xie Shi, earnestly watching Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong sparring in the drill ground.

As Yuwen Tong’s personal bodyguards, they were all top-notch kung fu experts compared with martial arts practitioners in Jianghu. Naturally, the mental cultivation methods of internal energy they had been using were also pretty good, which was why they had such discernment.

“I think it’s no inferior than that of the Marshal,” Xie Shi continued.

Yue Qi gave a gasp of astonishment and said in a lower voice, “The mental cultivation method of internal energy of the Marshal is already one of the best. If Childe Ling’s is no inferior than his, it has to be at least one of the best as well. If that’s really the case, I’d be very surprised. The Marshal couldn’t be the one who gave him this cultivation method, so it must be from Childe Ling’s own family. Ling family has such a powerful cultivation method?”

“I’m afraid this matter is not as simple as it seems,” observed Xie Shi.

All of them had an intimate knowledge of the background of Ling family, for they had conducted an inquiry into Ling family back at the time when they had just arrived in Tanyang. Furthermore, in order to find out the origin of those martial formations of Ling Zhang, they had also gone to a lot of trouble to look into it, but eventually they’d got nothing, which was quite surprising. Of course, there was someone they suspected: Ling Zhang’s mother; but what scared them the most was that they followed this lead and continued their investigation but still found nothing…

They were all Yuwen Tong’s personal bodyguards, soldiers that had been toughened by countless fights on the battlefield. At the same time, they were also Yuwen Tong’s most capable intelligence agents. They had really never encountered any situations like this before, especially in recent years.

Eventually, Yuwen Tong had told them to stop the inquiry, saying that he had already known the ins and outs of it.

Of course they had guessed that Ling Zhang had told Yuwen Tong something. During these days, they had come to a perception of what kind of person Ling Zhang was and how much they could trust him. Since Yuwen Tong told them further inquiry would be unnecessary, they naturally stopped.

“Knowledge of uncommon martial formations; a medicinal jade that can detoxify all kinds of poison, and the likes of which could hardly be found in the world; and now such advanced and powerful mental cultivation method of internal energy – Childe Ling never ceases to surprise us,” remarked Yao Yi.

“No matter what, we just do what we’re supposed to do,” said Xie Shi.

“Yao Yi’s right. I have faith in the Marshal’s judgement, and Childe Ling is a pretty nice person. I trust him,” commented Yue Qi.

Yao Yi, Xie Shi and a couple of others twisted their heads around to look at him. Yue Qi was thrown into perplexity by their gaze. “Why are you looking at me like this?”

Yao Yi, Xie Shi and the others took their eyes off him. All of them had got acquainted with Ling Zhang as early as when they had been in Tanyang, so surely they knew Ling Zhang better than Yue Qi did. Of course they also trusted Ling Zhang. It was just that they had a subtle feeling that Yue Qi beat them to some kind of opportunity. ‘Why am I having this feeling?’ they wondered.

It was like they were the ones who found a treasure first, but then someone else showed up and claimed to be the discoverer, which made them subtly annoyed.

Yuwen Tong, though sparring with Ling Zhang, had been on the alert all along, so naturally the private conversation between Yao Yi and the others didn’t escape his quick ears.

He was very pleased with Yue Qi’s words and of course not surprised that his subordinates were intelligent enough to sense Ling Zhang’s secrets were not what they seemed.

It was not until another two hours passed that Yuwen Tong told Ling Zhang to stop. Ling Zhang, who was still in excitement, didn’t notice, but Yuwen Tong had perceived that Ling Zhang was already exhausted. If they sparred a while longer, Ling Zhang probably would have to spend the rest of the day lying in bed.

It was not until the two of them stopped that Ling Zhang came to realize that his body had almost been pushed to the limit. Though he was panting heavily and sweating buckets with trembling limbs and his every muscle was tired, his spirits were very high, and his eyes were even more sparkling than they’d been before the training started.

Yuwen Tong walked up. “You need to get some rest.”

Ling Zhang nodded and tried to lift his foot to walk only to find that he barely had enough strength to move his foot without his internal energy circulating. A moment ago he had been totally at ease, but now his whole body felt uncommonly heavy.

Yuwen Tong raised his hands and slowly kneaded Ling Zhang’s arms. And then, holding Ling Zhang’s hand, he took him for a walk around the drill ground at a gentle pace. After Ling Zhang’s heart rate returned to normal, he slowly took him back to the main courtyard house, had a servant bring some hot water into the room, helped Ling Zhang strip and wiped his body for him. After Ling Zhang changed into clean underclothing, he kneaded Ling Zhang’s limbs, massaged medicinal liquor into his skin and kneaded his aching muscles again, which kept him busy for quite a while.

Ling Zhang just watched with sparkling eyes as Yuwen Tong did all this. Following Yuwen Tong about, his eyes were even brighter than those of the white fox cub when it was waiting to be fed. And there was also an involuntary silly smile on the corners of his mouth.

Yuwen Tong, when looking at Ling Zhang, also had a passionate look in his eyes, and he couldn’t help but kiss Ling Zhang several times in a row.

‘This little guy still hasn’t come to himself yet,’ thought Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang meekly let him kiss and even raised his head and opened his mouth. He was so cooperative that Yuwen Tong could barely forbear to stop what he was doing, pin Ling Zhang to the bed and strip him naked.

Unfortunately, not only was Ling Zhang exhausted, his stomach started grumbling as well – he was starving.

Yuwen Tong applied some extra medicinal liquor to Ling Zhang’s skin and gave him a massage. After changing clothes, Ling Zhang came to himself and happily put his arms around Yuwen Tong’s waist.

Being hugged, Yuwen Tong lowered his head to look at him and gave him a kiss. “You recovered yourself.”

“I’m so happy,” said Ling Zhang with a sigh.

“I can see it on your face. Your excitement has cost you your sanity,” commented Yuwen Tong with a smile.

Ling Zhang was not annoyed by Yuwen Tong’s words, his arms still around Yuwen Tong’s waist. “It feels so good to have internal energy at my disposal.”

“Um. You are a kung fu expert now.” Yuwen Tong was still smiling, feeling that Ling Zhang at this moment was unexpectedly clingy and had thoroughly melted his heart.

“Now I cannot even force you to move an inch in a fight, but I’m sure some day I’ll be your match,” Ling Zhang said, eyes full of fervent yearning and self-confidence.

Yuwen Tong thought for a few moments and replied, “Then I think I’ll have to work harder. I don’t want to be defeated by you.”

Ling Zhang immediately felt somewhat distressed. ‘Yuwen Tong will work harder? Then how long will it take me to be his equal?’

“All right. I can hear your stomach grumbling. Let’s go and have breakfast,” said Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang, whose arms were still around Yuwen Tong’s waist, didn’t move.

Yuwen Tong’s eyes lit up and then he directly held Ling Zhang and walked forward. Just like that, the two of them in each other’s embraces left the bedroom, as if they’d been stuck together.

It was not until Ling Zhang saw the surprised look in eyes of servants waiting outside that he abruptly realized how embarrassing what the two of them were doing was. He hurriedly loosened his arms, freed himself from Yuwen Tong’s embrace, gave a soft cough, walked up and sat down.

He had just regained part of his strength and his limbs still felt somewhat limp, so his movements seemed fairly soft.

Yuwen Tong gave a chuckle and then sat down beside him.

Chapter 191: Fence-sitting of Other Sides

Having had a fascinating glimpse into internal energy, Ling Zhang showed great diligence in his cultivation. For the next few consecutive days, he immersed himself in it. Every time he sat in meditation, he entered a state of such concentration that he himself didn’t seem to exist anymore. And each of his cultivation sessions lasted very long – either all night or all day. Surprisingly, as if having got some kind of magic formula for it, he was really in his element during these days’ cultivation, encountering no hindrance whatsoever.

Everybody was amazed by this, for Ling Zhang’s perception was so amazing.

“It’s true that the Marshal unblocked Childe Ling’s meridians (each of a set of pathways in the body along which vital energy is said to flow) beforehand, but the progress he’s been making is still too quick.” Yue Qi and the others clicked their tongues in astonishment.Please visit website ReadNovelFull.com

Wang Dashan, other security guards, Xia Feng and Li Sicai all had little knowledge of this, so they had no choice but to strictly restrain the servants from approaching the main courtyard house. At this moment, after hearing the compliment Yue Qi and the others paid their young master, they naturally were secretly delighted.

Yuwen Tong was also surprised, but he was the one who had unblocked Ling Zhang’s meridians, and who had read the secret manual of the mental cultivation method of internal energy, so he knew more about it than Yue Qi and the others did. He was aware that the mental cultivation method of internal energy that Ling Zhang was following was not suitable for everybody, that there were some highly exacting requirements. Even for him, some of the requirements and cultivation reactions mentioned in the manual were impossible to achieve, but for Ling Zhang they seemed very easy. It was not that his comprehension or constitution was not as good as that of Ling Zhang but that this cultivation method seemed to be tailor-made for Ling Zhang. It conformed to Ling Zhang’s physical condition in a very ingenious way, which meant that this mental cultivation method of internal energy was solely suitable for a particular kind of people, and Ling Zhang was one of them.

As a result, Yuwen Tong was getting more and more curious about the parentage of Ling Zhang’s mother. All members of Ling family were common people without any specialness, so what distinguished Ling Zhang had to be something he’d inherited from his mother.

‘Exactly what kind of family background was her from?’ Even he couldn’t find any information about it. And about this matter, Ling Zhang had also adopted a cautious attitude tinged with subtle nervousness and wariness to; he hadn’t even dared to try the mental cultivation method of internal energy given to him at first. Therefore, Yuwen Tong deduced that not only was Ling Zhang’s mother’s parentage shrouded in mystery, there was also something dangerous involved in this.

The fear Ling Zhang had been trying to conceal had been the very reason why he’d instructed Yao Yi and others to stop inquiring into Ling Zhang’s mother’s family background. He was worried that they might alarm some people if they kept digging into it. Maybe this was also the reason why that old man showed up on that day. Although from the vantage point of the present, the old man seemed to mean no harm, Yuwen Tong didn’t want to take any risks for no good reason.

But playing a passive role was also not Yuwen Tong’s style. Though he had told Yao Yi and others to stop digging into Ling Zhang’s mother’s background, he had already started inquiring into the pamphlet on martial formations given by Ling Zhang as well as that sentence he read on the inner side of the title page of the secret manual on that day. It was impossible that formations of such ingenuity had never been used before, and there must be some traces left behind; and that sentence that sounded familiar to him must have some particular connotations. The reason why it sounded familiar to him must be that he had read it somewhere before. During the past few days, he had returned to the residential compound of Yuwen family and consulted the ancient books and records left by his forebears. It was just that there were too many of them and he hadn’t finished all of them; and for the moment he hadn’t recalled where he had read a sentence similar to that one.

And there was also that mysterious old man. Since he had shown up in the Wu City once, it was almost certain that he would show up again, and maybe he was in the capital city right now. Given how important that mental cultivation method given to Ling Zhang was, it was impossible that the old man didn’t care about what would happen next. The greatest possibility was that he was covertly observing Ling Zhang’s each and every move right at this moment. After all, because of him, both Ling Zhang and the Ling Mansion were in the limelight, which made it very easy for anybody having the intention of keeping watch on Ling Zhang to find this place.

He had already instructed his men to keep every corner in the Ling Mansion under secret surveillance, but nothing suspicious had been found so far. Either that old man had not shown up or the old man’s kung fu was so good that his men were unable to detect him. Yuwen Tong was more inclined to believe that the latter was the truth. He had had a brief meeting with the old man in the Wu City, and even he couldn’t tell how good the old man’s kung fu was. But he was not anxious; he believed that old man would show up again, especially when Ling Zhang was making such quick progress in his cultivation.

Thinking of this, Yuwen Tong decided to let Ling Zhang continue cultivating. When it came to cultivation of internal energy, comprehension was very important. Ling Zhang was now in a critical phase, and all other matters had to be put aside.

“Originally Zhang planned to teach you the seventh array of the formation in the next few days, but he doesn’t have the time, so I’ll teach you,” Yuwen Tong informed Wang Dashan and others.

He had given clear-cut orders for matters on his to-do list to be handled, and he had also visited the emperor and asked for a couple of days’ leave, which had been permitted by the emperor without any questions asked. As a result, he was at leisure now.

After hearing this, Wang Dashan and other security guards, who had had a previous experience of being instructed in formations by Yuwen Tong, were all very composed. “Yes, Marshal. We’ll concentrate our mind on learning!”

Unlike Ling Zhang, Yuwen Tong was much stricter and less forgiving. Wang Dashan and others had learned their lesson the hard way. Under no circumstance would they dare to be slack. On top of that, with their mastery of the first six arrays, they had an increasingly deeper perception of the trap-and-kill formation, so they made very quick progress in learning the seventh array.

In addition, with directions of Yao Yi and others, their kung fu skills had improved significantly. Practicing the trap-and-kill formation had brought a marked difference in them, and their kung fu skills were now several levels higher than before; and now after Yao Yi and others gave them some directions, they were far more powerful than the security guards they had been in Tanyang.

Yang Liuzi and the other eleven, however, were somewhat anxious. They had started learning the second array. Seeing the progress the other group was making, they were quite envious and only too anxious to reach the level of them immediately, but the training given by Xie Shi was very strict. He’d adopted a different method from the one used by Ling Zhang to teach the other group. Since Ling Zhang had only a superficial knowledge of kung fu, his training method focused on the formation itself, but Xie Shi was a kung fu expert, and seemingly for some particular reason, he was almost perversely stern to Yang Liuzi and the other eleven. The past few days had been torturous for Yang Liuzi and others.

What was gratifying was that Yang Liuzi and the other eleven had all made considerable progress, and the change in them could almost be deemed qualitative. If they were to fight their former selves, every one of them would prove to be worth three. Because of the awareness of their progress, Yang Liuzi and the other eleven, though jealous of the progress of Wang Dashan and others, were not really bitter about it.

Xie Shi had told them, “As long as you do what I tell you to, you’ll be able to keep pace with them in the near future.”

Yang Liuzi and the other eleven all trusted and respected Xie Shi very much and they laid no doubt whatsoever on his remarks.

“Xie Shi has been working his ass off these days. Every day he not only gives strict training to Yang Liuzi and others but also selects people suitable to learn detoxification skills, which makes him even busier than the Marshal and also make us look like idlers,” Yue Qi said to Yao Yi.

Yao Yi, however, cherished his leisure very much. “We haven’t had such opportunity to relax for quite some time, yet you seem to dislike being at leisure. I think I can do you a favor and talk to the Marshal. I’m sure the Marshal will gladly assign you a lot of tasks to keep you occupied.”

On hearing this, Yue Qi hurriedly shook his head. “Please don’t! I was just saying. Don’t you do that to me. Otherwise I will fight you, tooth and nail, even though you are our captain.”

Yao Yi, who had anticipated that Yue Qi would put it this way, gave a sneer.

…

When all people in the Ling Mansion were engaged in their respective business, many people in the capital city were perplexed.

Because the Ling Mansion was too quiet; Yuwen Tong was too quiet; and the residential compound of Yuwen family was too quiet as well. Just a couple of days ago, Ling Zhang and Yuwen Zhi had a dispute, which took a heavy toll on the reputation of Yuwen family. Yuwen Zhi hadn’t walked out of his home for several days, which showed how humiliating it had been for him. But this was the end of the story?

A lot of people in the capital city were counting on Yuwen Zhi to make trouble for Ling Zhang. All of them didn’t like the idea of Yuwen Tong marrying Ling Zhang. They either wanted to co-opt Yuwen Tong onto their side or had some other intentions. How could they just stand by and watch people of Yuwen family resign themselves to the situation?

“Did you find out what’s going on? What on earth happened to Yuwen Zhi? Why did he suddenly lie low?” the King Hui inquired of his henchman in his residential compound.

It was not that the King Hui intended to marry anybody to Yuwen Tong or draw Yuwen Tong over to his side but that he wanted to avenge the sufferings inflicted on his younger sister. Only one day after Ling Zhang entered the capital city, his younger sister had been sent into a temple to practice Buddhism, which was a punishment synonymous with stripping her of her title. He and his wife had also been implicated and scolded by his father. In the past few days, at the meetings in the imperial court, other princes had picked on him and he had had no choice but to swallow it in order to allay his father’s dislike for him, which had rendered him bitterly aggrieved.

“Your Highness, I did find something. It’s said that Yuwen Zhi broke Yuwen Qi’s leg and locked him in their ancestral hall to have him introspect about his faults. Zheng shi nearly cried her eyes out, but Yuwen Zhi still seemed to have no intention of releasing Yuwen Qi. He only sent for a physician to treat Yuwen Qi’s leg. And there’s Yuwen Feng. These days he enters and exits the Ministry of Rites in a very punctual fashion, and he goes to no other places apart from the workplace and his home. No matter who sounds him out, he refuses to breathe a single word. He’s very discreet about it,” reported the henchman.

“Yuwen Qi was forced to his knees on the street. Though his snake bit Ling Zhang, it caused Ling Zhang no harm. Given how much Yuwen Zhi dislikes Ling Zhang, it’s so confusing that he broke Yuwen Qi’s leg to pacify Ling Zhang.” The King Hui was puzzled.

“On that day the Marshal went back home in a great hurry. He definitely put pressure on Yuwen Zhi. It’s rumored that there was a quarrel. Pity because of Yuwen Tong’s presence, all servants didn’t dare approach the living room and nobody overheard anything. All those who know inside information are Yuwen Zhi’s trusted subordinates and can’t be bought,” observed the henchman regretfully.

The King Hui’s brow corrugated in a frown. “A man like Yuwen Zhi will by no means yield merely because Yuwen Tong puts pressure on him. There’s definitely something else that happened that day. Make some inquiries and figure out a way to find out what Yuwen Tong did to his uncle.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” his henchman hurriedly answered.

“What about my third brother? Did he do anything particular?” The King Hui asked another question.

‘On that day he gave me tit-for-tat and afterwards went so far to fawn on Yuwen Tong. How is it possible that he didn’t make any further moves?’ he thought.

“And didn’t you say that the one who tried to poison Ling Zhang in the Wu City had been seized by Yuwen Tong’s men? Why has Yuwen Tong been lying low all along? Any news from the Ministry of Penalties and the Dali Temple (the Supreme Judicial Court in feudal China)?”

The henchman wiped the sweat from his forehead and cautiously replied, “The King Duan didn’t do anything particular in the past few days. He’s been staying at home all this time. And Marshal Yuwen didn’t report the case to the Ministry of Penalties or the Dali Temple. There’s no telling what his intention is.”

The King Hui furrowed his brow, feeling dissatisfied.

Chapter 192: The First Layer of the Mental Cultivation Method

This mental cultivation method of internal energy had twelve layers in total. Ling Zhang had immersed himself in his cultivation of internal energy for almost ten days, so absorbed that he’d totally forgotten his self. Unexpectedly, on the tenth day he managed to make a breakthrough and reach the first level.

Maybe because Yuwen Tong had unblocked his meridians (each of a set of pathways in the body along which vital energy is said to flow), or maybe because the cultivation method suited him perfectly, things went so smoothly that it was literally amazing.

“Boom!”

Ling Zhang gave a palm strike with all his strength, aiming at a large rock on a side of the drill ground. As if hit by a giant hammer, the large rock broke into several smaller blocks.

Ling Zhang looked at his palm with a mixture of delight and surprise in his eyes, feeling it hard to believe that he wielded such great power now.

He had just finished his closed-door cultivation. Though he reached the first layer of this mental cultivation method of internal energy, he had no specific concept of what it meant. It was not until he broke the large rock with a palm strike that he distinctly realized how powerful he was now.

Ten days ago he still needed Yuwen Tong’s help to control his strength, but now he had come to know how to mobilize his internal energy to throw a good enough palm strike.

Not only he but also Yuwen Tong was excited with joy and surprise. He asked, “You finished the first chapter of the manual?”

Ling Zhang gave a bob of his head. “Nothing unusual happened to my body so I kept practicing, and I finished the first chapter without my noticing it, but after that, I found the second chapter really difficult, so I stopped. Am I progressing too slow?”

‘Too slow? This is anything but slow. Hardly anybody could make such quick progress as you did, no matter how hard they work,’ thought Yuwen Tong.

“When it comes to cultivation of internal energy, never rush into anything. Whenever you encounter hindrance of any form, just stop. You need to comprehend the first layer to the fullest before you try the second,” observed Yuwen Tong.

He didn’t tell Ling Zhang how amazing the speed his cultivation had been progressing was, because he didn’t want Ling Zhang to have any doubt about himself. All Ling Zhang needed to do was focus on his cultivation.

Naturally, Ling Zhang listened to Yuwen Tong. Since Yuwen Tong told him to take baby steps, he didn’t think too much about it. Besides, being able to break a large rock with a single palm strike was something he had never dreamt of.

“Congratulations, Young Master.” Wang Dashan and other security guards as well as Yao Yi and other bodyguards all came up to congratulate Ling Zhang.

Wang Dashan and his men were just delighted, while the delight of Yao Yi and others was mixed with shock. After all, the progress Ling Zhang had been making was too shockingly quick.

Yuwen Tong, who was still worried that there might be a problem, carefully examined Ling Zhang’s meridians. It was not until he confirmed everything was fine that he dismissed his worry from his mind.

“The palm technique recorded in the first chapter is elementary, but as long as you get proficient enough in it, it could also be quite powerful. Now let’s do some sparring. You don’t have to worry about me getting hurt by your palm strikes. Just attack with all your strength,” said Yuwen Tong.

“But I can break a large rock now,” Ling Zhang stressed.

Yuwen Tong smiled, “You may rest assured that I’m much sturdier than a large rock.”

Ling Zhang was rather dubious about it. After first, he didn’t dare to go all out, but gradually he found that his palm strikes indeed couldn’t harm Yuwen Tong. Emboldened, he came at Yuwen Tong with all his strength.

His level of proficiency in this palm technique was indeed still very low, and he had only a couple of moves at his disposal, which he was using repeatedly, but with Yuwen Tong’s guidance, he gradually came to understand how much internal energy he should mobilize when throwing a palm strike as well as when was the best time to throw it.

Ling Zhang spent another two days practicing the palm technique. Right at the time when many people who had been keeping watch on the Ling Mansion were running out of patience, someone delivered a calling card to the Ling Mansion. It was for Ling Zhang.

After reading it, Ling Zhang said, “It’s from the general storekeeper of the Jiang’s Drugstore Chain. He came into the city yesterday. In this card, he asks me when I’ll have to time to meet him.”

If it weren’t for this calling card, Ling Zhang wouldn’t have recalled this matter. During the past half a month, he had immersed himself in cultivation of internal energy and almost forgotten the situation outside this house.

Ling Zhang answered the calling card, telling the general storekeeper that he would meet him in the Taibai Tavern the next day.

…

The next day. In the Taibai Tavern.

The general storekeeper of the Jiang’s Drugstore Chain had arrived before Ling Zhang and booked a private room on the third floor, which showed that he took this meeting with Ling Zhang very seriously and had put quite some efforts into it.

“I’m sorry, Childe Ling. There’s been a several-day delay and it was not until afternoon of the day before yesterday that I arrived in the capital city,” said the general storekeeper.

Ling Zhang conveniently made a manifestation of his concern. “A several-day delay? What happened?”

The general storekeeper replied with a smile, “After Tanyang was rid of the scourge of bandits, many drug merchants flocked to Tanyang scrambling for herbs. Our drugstores also want to deliver as many herbs as possible to this city. All carts were heavily loaded, so we traveled slower than usual. People of Tanyang owe a great debt of gratitude to the Marshal and you, Childe Ling.”

“That’s a credit I don’t deserve, General Storekeeper. I’m a beneficiary as well. I wasn’t really of much help,” said Ling Zhang.

After an exchange of courtesies between the two, Ling Zhang went straight to the point. “General Storekeeper, the reason why I asked for an appointment with you on that day when I wasn’t even in this city yet is because I want to open a drugstore in the capital city. You know, my family have herb farms of our own. Apart from the one to the south of Tanyang, we also bought a herb farm to the west of Tangyang, so besides cooperation with your drugstores, I also want to try setting up a caravan of my own to transport herbs into the capital city. Sorry, I know you represent the Jiang’s Drugstore Chain, and it’s probably somewhat inappropriate for me to ask you about this matter, but you are the only one in this city that I’m acquainted with and trust. If this is too difficult a decision for you to make, I won’t insist, and no change will come to the cooperation between us.”

Facial expression of the general storekeeper of the Jiang’s Drugstore Chain suggested that light had just dawned on him. Instead of rejecting Ling Zhang’s request, he replied crisply, “I understand what you mean, Childe Ling. I’ll answer any question of yours as long as it doesn’t involve anything confidential of the Jiang’s Drugstore Chain.”

Ling Zhang was pleasantly surprised. “Thank you, General Storekeeper.”

Yuwen Tong’s influence was definitely part of the reason why the general storekeeper agreed so willingly, but no matter what, this was a great favor.

Ling Zhang asked a lot of questions. He had done some thinking and believed that he needed to find the right place first, but he had little acquaintance with which area was the most suitable for opening a drugstore, and neither did he know whether there were any particular details about a drugstore he needed to be aware of. The general storekeeper was frank and supportive and gave him a lot of suggestions.

The general storekeeper also offered to show Ling Zhang around the capital city and help him find the right place for the drugstore.

Ling Zhang declined the offer in the knowledge that the general storekeeper was a busy man. “I’ll select a couple of places according to the tips you just gave me, and then I’ll pick you up and let you take a look so that you can give me further advice.”

The general storekeeper responded, “All right. I’ll see what I can do to help after you find the places, Childe Ling.”

And then the two of them talked about a lot of matters concerning a drugstore that needed attention. After lunch, they parted.

On his return to the residential compound, Ling Zhang instructed Wang Qing and Li Sicai to look for suitable places.

Yuwen Tong had also made arrangements in advance for some men to go with the two of them.

The capital city was huge, and there were a lot of places suitable for opening a drugstore, many of which happened to be for sale. After several days’ searching, Wang Qing and Li Sicai finally found five places meeting Ling Zhang’s requirements.

Ling Zhang, after hearing the two of them give a description of the five places, weighed the advantages and disadvantages and then selected three of them which he believed to be the best. One was located in a sundry goods market. This market was actually a large-scale trading center, where goods from various cities of the Great Yue, even goods from the Wan Kingdom, were traded. If he opened a drugstore in this area, then it would be block trade that he was going to be dealing with, and he’d be vying with not only drugstores in the capital city but also those in other cities.

But at the same time situation in this area was rather chaotic. People who wanted to do business here would find it difficult to gain a foothold if they didn’t have any powerful backers.

However, currently, finding a powerful backer was the last thing that Ling Zhang needed to worry about, for everybody in this city knew about the relationship between him and Yuwen Tong.

Of course, apart from this one, there was also another one in the east of outer city. Though the street this shop was located on was not a main street, it was also quite busy. On this street, there were also another two drugstores. Since he would only be selling herbs and wouldn’t hire any full-time physicians, this place was perfect for him.

The one in the west of the city was his first choice. The general storekeeper of the Jiang’s Drugstore Chain kept his promise and went to see that place with Ling Zhang.

It was not until Ling Zhang arrived at the trading center himself that he came to know how disorderly this area was. People from different cities and goods of all descriptions, the authenticity of which was unknown, crowded the place so tightly that not a drop of water could have trickled through. Every day the bustle and hustle lasted from the opening of city gate early in the morning to the start of curfew at night.

But at the same time, there were also plenty of herb merchants here, and people having high-quality herbs never had to worry about finding buyers.

Even the Jiang’s Drugstore Chain had no branch in this area. The general storekeeper, when told that Ling Zhang was going to the trading center in the west of the city, was briefly stunned.

“Childe Ling, this store used to belong to Minister Wei. After he was brought down, all properties of Wei family were confiscated. This store was put up for sale after confiscation. The for-sale sign was hung up merely two days ago. A lot of people offered to buy it, but the Marshal had long ago given the word, so people in the department secretly reserved its ownership. You may have a look first. If it takes your fancy, you may directly close the deal. If not, we’ll look for another one.”

The speaker was Miao Shisan, one of Yuwen Tong’s personal bodyguards, who had searched more than half of the capital city with Wang Qing and Li Sicai in the past couple of days. Apart from him, there was also a middle-aged man in a special uniform, who looked like a petty official. After hearing Miao Shisan’s words, the middle-aged man said to Ling Zhang with a smile, “Would you like me to open the store and let you take a look, Childe Ling?”

Ling Zhang inclined his head in the knowledge that this man was probably the official in charge of the sale of stores. “All right. Open it.”

He didn’t show any courtesy, mainly because before he came here, Yuwen Tong had exhorted him not to forget his public image.

Ling Zhang believed that Yuwen Tong had made an excellent point, so though the petty official was smiling at him, he kept up his pretence of coldness instead of smiling back.

As expected, the petty official didn’t feel that there was anything wrong with Ling Zhang’s attitude. He even became more deferential and opened the door of the store with profound respect and humility to let Ling Zhang in. “This way please, Childe Ling.”

Ling Zhang stepped into the store and found that it was very large. There was not only a spacious hall but also a quite roomy rear warehouse. All kinds of ancillary facilities were also available. In addition, behind the rear warehouse was a courtyard. The back door of the yard led to another street, which made it very convenient for carts to carry goods into the store, for they didn’t have to go through the crowded street in front of the antechamber.

“This place is pretty good,” remarked the general storekeeper under his breath after seeing it. “It’s just that this store needs a revamp if you want it to be a drugstore.”

“Needing a revamp is not a problem as long as it’s suitable,” replied Ling Zhang.

“Then I suggest you choose this one, Childe Ling. It’s the best,” said the general storekeeper in a low voice.

Ling Zhang understood what the general storekeeper meant. “How about we go and take a look at the rear warehouse?”

The general storekeeper gave a nod.