The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 187- 189

Chapter 187: Yuwen Zhi’s Choice

Beneath Yuwen Zhi’s angry gaze, Yuwen Tong remained unswayed. “How it’s going to be solely depending on your choice, uncle?”

As a matter of fact, Ling Zhang was also somewhat surprised. Originally, he had merely intended to take advantage of Yuwen Qi’s mistake to cut Yuwen Zhi and others down to size, so that they would no longer dare to make trouble for him at every turn; he might really end up being killed if what had happened earlier this day repeated itself a couple of times. Though the choices Yuwen Tong offered Yuwen Zhi were surprising, this was a good solution to this troublesome issue. If Yuwen Zhi wanted to keep the glory, splendor, wealth and status he and his family currently enjoyed, he must mete out punishment to his son and stop being a busybody. If he wanted his son to keep his mobility, then he’d have no alternative but to separate from Yuwen Tong, which would also deprive Yuwen Zhi of the right to interfere in Yuwen Tong’s business. As a result, no matter which option Yuwen Zhi took, he would have to stop sticking his nose where it didn’t belong.

Of course neither of the two sounded acceptable to Yuwen Zhi, but he was not the one calling the tune in this matter, Yuwen Tong was.

“Ah–!”

Yuwen Qi’s leg was still broken. Yuwen Zhi did it himself. Zheng shi failed to stop her husband in time, though she wanted to.

“Qi’er! My Qi’er! How could your father be so heartless!” Zheng shi burst into loud wail, as if it were not a leg but his life that her son had just lost. Su Yaoyao standing beside her had paled visibly some time ago. The sight of Yuwen Qi lying on the ground crying in anguish chilled her blood to the bone, deterring her from giving another glance at Yuwen Tong.

“Lock Yuwen Qi in the ancestral hall for a month,” instructed Yuwen Zhi through gritted teeth after dropping the staff in his hand, his icy eyes fixed on Yuwen Tong.

Yuwen Feng, standing on the side with a sullen look on his face, tried to help Yuwen Qi to his feet but was pushed aside by him. “Get off me!” thundered Yuwen Qi.

“Yuwen Tong, Ling Zhang, I swear to God I’ll make you pay for what you did to me today! Father, how could you do this to me, father?!”

Yuwen Qi yelled furiously, screeching in pain, but neither Yuwen Tong nor Ling Zhang nor Yuwen Zhi made any replies to Yuwen Qi.

Yuwen Tong said to Yuwen Zhi, “Now that you’ve made a choice, I hope uncle and aunt will not interfere in my or Younger Brother Zhang’s business again. Meanwhile, I’ll keep my promise.”

Exercising all his self-restrain, Yuwen Zhi suppressed his rage, fists clenched tightly shaking in his sleeves.

After resolving the issue of Yuwen Qi and also having Yuwen Zhi make a choice, Yuwen Tong, along with Ling Zhang, left the Langya Garden which was the abode of his uncle.

Nobody uttered a word along the way. It was not until they went through the wood that Ling Zhang broke the silence. “I’ll walk Elder Brother Tao home first. You–”

Yuwen Tong replied, “I need to pay a visit to the Ministry of War. There’s a luncheon in the imperial palace at noon. I’ll return as early as I can in the afternoon.”

Originally, Tao Yi had wanted to decline Ling Zhang’s offer of walking him home, but after hearing Yuwen Tong’s remarks, he held back the words that had sprung to his lips. He had been very eager to see Yuwen Tong all along but what happened this day was so unexpected that he didn’t know what to say to Yuwen Tong. After all, he had just witnessed an intense domestic strife of Yuwen family…

Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong came to a temporary separation at the gateway of the residential compound of Yuwen family. Both of them had a lot to say to each other, but they knew this was not the right time to talk.

After Yuwen Tong left, Ling Zhang said to Tao Yi, “Elder Brother Tao, I’m really sorry to have put you through all this today.”

Tao Yi, whose tense back muscles finally relaxed as he walked out of the front gate of the residential compound of Yuwen family, shook his head and responded, “We’re friends. This is a mere trifle. It’s just… I never expected that things would be so difficult for you in Yuwen family. Just now, what happened back there on the street was so dangerous. If it weren’t for that thing you carried that could detoxify poison, there might have been unimaginable consequences.”

Ling Zhang said, “I think they’ll behave themselves for some time after this.”

Tao Yi, however, was not as optimistic as he was. “I’m afraid Yuwen Zhi and his family hate you to the core after what happened today. The influence they wield in this city is far greater than you can imagine. You must be extremely careful. Because of the Marshal, they won’t dare to overtly do anything to you, but they might resort to underhand means. You must make sure you’re accompanied by enough guards when going out, and…”

Tao Yi had a frown on his face. In his eyes, Ling Zhang thoroughly offended Yuwen Zhi on this day, and there would definitely be a lot of trouble in the future. Ling Zhang was new to the capital city. As the saying goes, ‘A spear thrust from front is easy to dodge, but an arrow shot from ambush is difficult to guard against.’

“I understand. Thank you for reminding me, Elder Brother Tao. I’ll be cautious. It’s you I’m worried about. You offered me help today, so Yuwen Qi definitely has put your name on his enemies list. I implicated you. If anybody of Yuwen family make trouble for you in the future, you must come to us and never fight them head-on on your own.”

Ling Zhang had a somewhat guilty conscience. ‘Tao Yi could have avoided getting involved in this.’

Tao Yi smiled, “My teacher is not someone anybody dares mess with either. He loves me dearly. Yuwen Qi is a junior and certainly doesn’t have the balls to offend my teacher. As for Yuwen Zhi, if he dares to do anything to me, my teacher will handle him.”

‘Tao Yi’s attitude suggests that nothing in the world scares him, that even if the sky collapsed, people taller than him would hold it for him. This is so…’

Ling Zhang, somewhat resigned, could only repeatedly exhort Tao Yi to be careful.

“Okay, okay. You’ve said that many times. I won’t forget,” observed Tao Yi, “and you and the Marshal may rest assured that I won’t breath a word to anyone about what the Marshal and Yuwen Zhi said today.”

“Thank you.”

“There’s no need for that. By the way, given that it was on a street that you came into conflict with Yuwen Qi, I’m afraid news of it has already reached a lot of people’s ears. If anybody tries to bust your chops with irritating words, just regard them as farts and ignore them.”

After seeing what happened this day, Tao Yi had come to realize that Yuwen Tong cared about Ling Zhang very much. ‘Marshal Yuwen even suggested he and Yuwen Zhi break up the family and live apart, which is an unmistakable indication that his feelings for Ling Zhang are uncommonly deep,’ he thought. It was just that there were a lot of outsiders who were unaware of this and not afraid to spread all kinds of ungrounded rumors which he worried Ling Zhang might be displeased to hear.

Ling Zhang, who understood what he meant, said, “I know. It’s not any of those gossips that I’m going to marry.”

“I’m glad you see it this way. Then… should we pay the book market another visit? We lost all the books.”

“We’d surely end up being the focus of everybody’s attention if we go back there.”

“Ha ha. You’ve got a point.”

…

After walking Tao Yi home, Ling Zhang returned to the Ling Mansion. Just like Tao Yi had said, news of what had happened earlier this day had no doubt already spread through the whole city. There was no telling how many eyes were watching him at this very moment, so he believed it was inadvisable for him to go anywhere else providing those people with yet more topics to chat about in their spare time.

As soon as he returned to the Ling Mansion, Xie Shi exhorted him to consume more tonics to build up his health. Given that the poison of the snake had finished a circulation inside his body, it must have inevitably caused his body some harm.

It was not until shortly before dark that Yuwen Tong returned. News of what had happened on the street during the day had quickly reached the emperor’s ears, and he had made a lot of attempts to sound Yuwen Tong out, but Yuwen Tong tactfully handled all those questions without disclosing any details.

“You’re back. How’s it going? Is everything all right?” Ling Zhang inquired of him.

As Yuwen Tong saw Ling Zhang, his cold face softened as quick as spring snow melted under scorching sun. “Those were just some routine affairs. There’s no problem.”

He wanted to go up and sat down, but then he recalled that his clothes were travel-soiled, so he went to take a bath first and then came back.

“You must feel aggrieved after what happened in the morning. Yuwen Qi tried to kill you, but I had to spare him.”

Ling Zhang conveniently ladled steaming soup into a bowl and put it down before him. “He’s kin to you after all. I don’t really want him dead that bad. Knowing that he won’t be able to make trouble for me again is enough for me. It’s you who should be concerned. Because of what you did today, you uncle holds grudges against you now. It’ll be very difficult for you to get along with him.”

“I’d warned him several times before. If he had for a single moment taken into consideration the relationship between me and him, he wouldn’t have connived at Yuwen Qi’s conduct. Let this be a deterrent to them for the moment.” Yuwen Tong, while saying this, stealthily look at Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhang’s five senses were far sharper than before now, so naturally this petty action of Yuwen Tong’s didn’t escape his notice. He pulled a wry face and looked at him. “What are you doing?”

Yuwen Tong put down the bowl, held Ling Zhang with his arm and replied with a sigh, “I fear that you’re angry and would forsake me and go back to Tanyang.”

His childish words sent Ling Zhang into chuckle. “If I were Maomao’s age, I would definitely have returned to Tanyang by now.”

Ling Zhang’s smile slightly faltered as he recalled Tanyang. “I’m worried about my family in Tanyang.”

Yuwen Tong held him tighter. “I see. I’ll have those covertly protecting them be more vigilant.”

Ling Zhang was secretly relieved somewhat, for he didn’t dare to write to his uncle about this matter for fear of worrying him.

“I’ve been wondering exactly what your uncle are thinking. Why does he dislike me so much? Does he really want you to marry your aunt’s niece so bad? She indeed looks quite pretty. What do you think?”

Yuwen Tong was instantly on the alert. This was a question fraught with traps, and a tiny lapse of judgement could put him in danger.

“Which one?” Yuwen Tong asked, affecting a puzzlement he didn’t feel.

Ling Zhang slightly raised his eyebrows. “You didn’t see her?”

“When? You saw her? You praised her as pretty. Surely you don’t have your eye on her, do you? This conception of yours is a little dangerous,” remarked Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang secretly rolled his eyes upwards. He didn’t believe that Yuwen Tong really had not seen her.

“The lady standing beside your aunt during the day. You really didn’t notice?”

As if light had just dawned on him, Yuwen Tong replied, “Oh, you were referring to that kid. I didn’t notice. Why were you staring at her?”

Ling Zhang fell speechless.

‘This guy’s learned to make unfounded countercharges.’

“During the day Yuwen Qi was shopping with her on the street, which was why they met us, and I took a few glances at her. She seems to be fifteen or sixteen and is of fine, delicate features. Her voice is as beautiful as that of a lark. Uh, and–”

“That’s enough. You seem to have so much to say about her. She’s just a shriveled little girl. Why did you pay so much attention to her? I’m unhappy now.”

Yuwen Tong punitively held Ling Zhang’s waist tighter, lowered his head and seriously looked at him.

“You said that you didn’t notice. If that were true, how do you know she looks shriveled?” Ling Zhang snorted.

Yuwen Tong responded, “My whole attention was fixed on you.” After saying this, he slid his hand downwards.

Ling Zhang instantly pressed his hand upon Yuwen Tong’s and glared at him. “What do you think you are doing?”

“I haven’t seen you for a full day. I miss you.” Yuwen Tong’s reply was very frank.

Ling Zhang felt an urge to give him a dirty look. ‘We saw each other in the morning, yet this guy sounds as if it’d been a year since we last met. He’s so thick-skinned.’

But after hearing these frivolous remarks of Yuwen Tong’s, Ling Zhang was indeed in a much better mood. Yuwen Tong was worried that he was angry, but in fact, he was more worried that Yuwen Tong was upset. Just like Yuwen Tong had said, if Yuwen Zhi had for a single moment taken into consideration Yuwen Tong’s feelings, he wouldn’t have ignored Yuwen Tong’s repeated warnings. Though in the morning Yuwen Zhi had chosen to punish Yuwen Qi, he definitely had some ulterior motive.

Chapter 188: An Honest Disclosure of Some Secrets

“It was this jade pendant that detoxified the poison.” Ling Zhang fished out the jade pendant hung around his neck.

In the morning, after Yuwen Qi’s venomous snake bit him, he had used this medicinal jade to detoxify his body, so he felt he owed Yuwen Tong an explanation.

“This is a medicinal jade?” Yuwen Tong looked in astonishment at the blackish green jade pendant hung around Ling Zhang’s neck. He had always known Ling Zhang’s possession of this jade pendant but had been unaware that it was a medicinal jade which could detoxify almost all kinds of poison.

Ling Zhang inclined his head. “My mother left it to me.”

‘Ling Zhang’s mother?’ Yuwen Tong recalled what he had read in the intelligence report presented to him by Yao Yi. Ling Zhang’s mother had passed away many years ago. At that time, Ling Zhang was still young. Her parentage was somewhat mysterious. People of Ling family had claimed that she was an orphan girl rescued by Ling Zhaowu, whose surname was Ji, but other than that, no further information about her had ever been disclosed. Since so many years had passed, there was no way to ascertain the facts.

But now it turned out that this supposed orphan girl had possessed a medicinal jade which could detoxify almost all kinds of poison. ‘It seems that the identity of Ling Zhang’s mother was not as simple as it was professed,’ thought Yuwen Tong.

“The medicinal efficacy of this jade pendant has been in decline. Its smell of medicine was quite strong when I was a boy, and now it’s very faint, but fortunately it still detoxified the poison of the snake,” remarked Ling Zhang, feeling lucky. Had it not been for this medicinal jade, he really might not have managed to escape death. “That snake was the source of the foul odor given off by Yuwen Qi that I smelled on that day, I suppose?”

Yuwen Tong gave a bob of the head. “It was. The way he came by this kind of poisonous creature was by no means decent. It could even deliver messages. Xie Shi is well acquainted with this kind of stuff. I’ll ask him in detail later and find out the origin of that snake.”

Soon Xie Shi was summoned. After that snake was trampled to death by Wang Dashan in the morning, its body had disappeared. He had gone to that street afterwards but failed to find it. Fortunately the poison in Ling Zhang had indeed been detoxified, which had greatly relieved Xie Shi.

“It’s blue all over in a very eerie way; not big, merely as thick as a little finger. Its coils are about the size of a palm. My arm went numb very soon after being bitten by it, and my vision blurred, too.” Ling Zhang gave a general description of the snake.

After a few moments’ thinking, Xie Shi told them, “It’s a virulent snake inhabiting south Xinjiang. The level of toxicity of its venom is extremely high. On top of that, someone specially domesticated that snake. If they fed pharmaceuticals to it, its venom would be even more poisonous. Anyone bitten by this kind of snake must ingest antidote immediately, or else the poison will take effect very soon and kill them. Fortunately Childe Ling promptly detoxified the poison with the medicinal jade he carried. Had there been a few moments’ delay, I’m afraid he would’ve…”

Ling Zhang was still experiencing a carry-over of fear, while Yuwen Tong had an icy look on his face. ‘I let Yuwen Qi get off too lightly by merely having his leg broken!’

Ling Zhang patted the back of Yuwen Tong’s hand consolingly. “I’m okay now.”

Yuwen Tong held his hand and asked Xie Shi, face frosty, “Can you prepare antidote to the venom of this kind of venomous snakes?”

Xie Shi replied, “I think so, but if the snake has been fed special pharmaceuticals, then I can only inhibit the toxicity of the poison with alexipharmic pills first and then figure out a way to detoxify the poison according to its properties.”

“Then prepare some alexipharmic pills right away. After that, ascertain the source of that venomous snake of Yuwen Qi’s. Find out where he got it,” instructed Yuwen Tong.

Xie Shi inclined his head. “Yes, Marshal.”

All of them had a lingering fear after what had happened on the street earlier this day. None of them had thought Yuwen Qi would resort to murderous means of this kind.

Yuwen Tong had already meted out severe punishment to Zhang Liu for his failure to render effective protection. Zhang Liu, having a guilty conscience, accepted his punishment without a single word of defense.

Xia Feng, Li Sicai and others had sullen faces, feeling that their young master had merely been in the capital city for a couple of days but had already encountered so many troubles, that this city was virtually no less hazardous than a dragon’s watery lair or a tiger’s den. What angered them even more was that people of Yuwen family were responsible for all these things. Though aware that Yuwen Tong had put pressure on those people, they were still in concern. Li Sicai had felt an urge to persuade Ling Zhang into going back to Tanyang, but eventually he restrained himself from doing so.

“Young Master, the next time you go out, you must take us with you. Please don’t leave this place with only two men again,” said Xia Feng.

“I see.”

“Young Master, if you encounter Yuwen Qi or any of the others again, don’t ever fight them head-on on your own like you did today. It’s too dangerous,” remarked Li Sicai.

“Young Master…”

A couple of people exhorted him one by one. It was not until Ling Zhang promised he’d heed their words that they stopped nagging.

After they left, Ling Zhang heaved a sigh of relief.

Yuwen Tong had been standing right on the side. Just now when Li Sicai and others had been, in the presence of him, telling Ling Zhang how to guard against possible underhand means of Yuwen family, none of them had made any attempts to sugar-coat their words, and he hadn’t dared to utter a single word of contradiction.

The two of them exchanged glances. Ling Zhang was the first to speak. “They know you had nothing to do with it. It’s just that–”

“I understand,” Yuwen Tong interrupted him.

…

At night, before they went to bed, Yuwen Tong suddenly recalled a particular matter. “What was it that you wanted to talk with me about in the morning?”

Ling Zhang, on being reminded, also remembered what he had meant to tell him. He replied, “It was about the old man we met in the Wu City on that day. I want you to take a look at the secret manual of internal energy for me and see if I should practice it or not.”

Yuwen Tong was surprised. This matter involved some of Ling Zhang’s secrets. He could tell that Ling Zhang had known that old man, and that secret manual of internal energy was definitely related to some secrets that were not supposed to be told. ‘Ling Zhang is willing to let me read it?’ he wondered.

“And there are also some things that I’d like to tell you about. You’ve always been meaning to find out the origins of those martial formations that I have acquaintance with, haven’t you?” Ling Zhang looked at him.

Yuwen Tong looked back at him. “You told me to stop investigating, and I’ve been waiting for you to tell me the truth all this time.”

Ling Zhang informed him, “I’ve thought about it. There are some things that I cannot tell you about for the moment, but there are also some that I can disclose to you. I’m very sorry that I cannot tell you everything.”

Yuwen Tong hurriedly observed in an earnest tone of voice, “It’s enough for me if you’re willing to tell me about some of them. I’m willing to wait longer for you to tell me about the rest.”

In fact, it had never crossed his mind that Ling Zhang would choose to disclose these things to him in these circumstances. After all, ever since he’d taken Ling Zhang into the capital city, so many dangerous things had happened in succession, in all of which Ling Zhang had been the target. He had been in fear all along that Ling Zhang would regret having come to this city with him, regret not having called off their engagement. If that was the case, it was possible that Ling Zhang might directly leave him and go back to Tanyang. Unexpectedly, Ling Zhang chose to tell him some secrets in these circumstances.

“It was my mother who taught me those martial formations. At that time, I was still young. She taught me a lot, spoon-fed all that knowledge to me regardless of how much I could memorize, because she really didn’t have much time left. For many years I couldn’t remember these. It was not until a few days ago that they came to mind,” said Ling Zhang.

‘Ling Zhang’s mother?’ Yuwen Tong, though surprised, didn’t find this too unexpected, for his men had found out the family history of Ling family almost down to the last detail. It was certain that nobody of Ling family had ever shown any talent for martial formations. The only thing that remained unknown to Yuwen Tong was the parentage of Ling Zhang’s mother.

“Why did your mother have acquaintance with these formations?” queried Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang shook his head. “That’s the part I cannot tell you right now. From the vantage point of the present, you may rest assured that not knowing this won’t do you any harm. There’s not much I can tell you. Apart from those formations and this medicinal jade of mine, that old man who suddenly showed up that day as well as the secret manual of internal energy he gave me are also related to my mother.”

Yuwen Tong had a thoughtful look on his face. “You said that you wanted me to check that secret manual of internal energy for you.”

Ling Zhang inclined his head, rose to his feet, fished out the secret manual of internal energy and solemnly handed it to Yuwen Tong.

After taking it, Yuwen Tong didn’t hasten to read it but felt burdened by Ling Zhang’s deep trust in him. ‘This thing must be very important. By letting me read it, Ling Zhang is placing no less trust in me than he did when he gave me that pamphlet with knowledge of those formations in it that day. Possibly, this manual is even more precious,’ Yuwen Tong thought.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Yuwen Tong looked at him.

Ling Zhang nodded. “I… trust you more.”

Indeed, he had far more trust in Yuwen Tong than he did in the Millennium Pavilion which was as insubstantial as a shadow. Besides, he wasn’t even sure whether the Millennium Pavilion was an ally or an enemy to him yet, so of course Yuwen Tong, with whom he had been through life-or-death moments and shared weal and woe, was more trustworthy.

Yuwen Tong turned the title page and was greeted and slightly surprised by a line of words, an uncertain look in his eyes, feeling that this sentence seemed somewhat familiar, as if he had once read this sentence somewhere before, but he couldn’t recollect any details.

Seeing this, Ling Zhang, who had been observing his face all along, couldn’t help but ask, “What is it? You’ve seen this sentence before?”

Yuwen Tong thought for a few moments and replied, “It’s just that these words strike me as slightly familiar. I seem to have read or heard them somewhere before.”

A thoughtful expression appeared on Ling Zhang’s face. After a while, he said, “Then keep reading.”

Of course, he himself had already read this secret manual of internal energy, and he had not found anything questionable. However, he knew he was inexperienced and rather undiscerning when it came to appraisal of this kind of things, so he trusted Yuwen Tong’s discernment more.

Yuwen Tong opened it and started reading carefully from the first page. Gradually, his countenance grew solemn. As he finished a third of it, he suddenly closed the secret manual of internal energy as well as his eyes. Not only was his face solemn, he also seemed to be in an unstable mood.

Ling Zhang was taken aback, thinking that there was something wrong with this secret manual of internal energy. “What’s wrong? Is there a problem with it?”

Yuwen Tong shook his head but made no reply. After a while, his countenance returned to normal and he responded, “Not really. It’s just that although I was merely reading this manual, the contents of it somehow exerted an influence on me. Just now my internal energy went somewhat unstable.”

Ling Zhang was amazed. ‘This thing is so powerful?’

“I told you this before – I was gifted with an extraordinarily retentive memory. Not only will I not be able to forget this mental cultivation method of internal energy after reading it, possibly it would even shake the foundations of my internal energy. I’ve got to stop reading it, but judging from the first one third of this manual that I’ve already read, this mental cultivation method of internal energy is not only unproblematic but also very profound and ingenious. You can practice it,” commented Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang took the secret manual handed to him by Yuwen Tong, unable to disguise the shock on his face. He had really never thought that this mental cultivation method of internal energy was so powerful, that even a man like Yuwen Tong, who had amazingly strong will and great self-control, would be influenced by it.

“Merely reading those lines in my head causes my internal energy to be mobilized and go turbulent,” Yuwen Tong added.

“I don’t feel anything when I read this manual. It’s just that I cannot understand those words,” remarked Ling Zhang.

Yuwen Tong replied resignedly, “That’s because you haven’t even learned the ABC of it. This secret manual of internal energy is not as simple as it seems. The mental cultivation method of internal energy I’ve been practicing is already one of the best cultivation methods in the world, but the contents of this manual still influenced me very easily. You must keep it somewhere safe and be cautious when you cultivate. Make sure not another person apart from me finds out about its existence!”

Chapter 189: Successful Comprehension of the Mental Method

Yuwen Tong told him that he needed to be prudent, so of course Ling Zhang didn’t dare to take it lightly.

“Now that you happen to have the time, you should give it a shot.” Yuwen Tong made a suggestion.

Ling Zhang had been itching to try it after hearing Yuwen Tong’s explanation. Though still unaware of the reason why people of the Millennium Pavilion had given him this secret manual of internal energy, he believed that it would be such a waste if he put away this gift unheeded when it could be very helpful. As a result, he inclined his head. “All right.”

Although Yuwen Tong had found it difficult to continue after reading one third of the manual, helping Ling Zhang lay a foundation was within his capabilities.

Back then when they had been in Tanyang, Yuwen Tong had already unblocked and expanded Ling Zhang’s meridians (each of a set of pathways in the body along which vital energy is said to flow), and Ling Zhang had had some first-hand experience of internal energy and knew how it worked. Added to this the secret manual and Yuwen Tong’s assistance, he soon got the hang of it and also learned how to circulate Qi inside his body.

Yuwen Tong, who had found Ling Zhang’s comprehension extraordinary back in Tanyang, was secretly amazed once again by how quick Ling Zhang had got the hang of it. ‘If Ling Zhang had started cultivating according to this mental cultivation method of internal energy a few years earlier, his current internal energy would definitely have been no less powerful than mine,’ he thought.

At this moment, Ling Zhang was immersed in the comfortable and curious feeling of warm power slowly circulating through his meridians. In fact, the pithy formula of this mental cultivation method of internal energy was somewhat difficult to understand, but with Yuwen Tong explaining those terms to him one by one, this was no longer a problem.

Ling Zhang’s Dantian was slightly burning. This feeling was far stronger than what he had felt back in Tanyang when a small amount of prototypical internal energy had first come into being in him. If at that time it had merely been a small patch of vapor that could only be faintly felt, now it had grown considerably, condensed into water and converged into a trickle, which was circulating constantly through the network of meridians inside him following the route described by the mental method. Because his meridians had been unblocked previously, this trickle flowed smoothly without any hindrance and eventually converged in his Dantian. Finally, he distinctly felt what that small stream of internal energy was like. It seemed to be some kind of ever-growing power, which was making his Dantian burning and at the same time making him feel full of energy, and his mind was clearer than before as well.

As Yuwen Tong saw that Ling Zhang was oozing a completely different aura and his complexion was growing ruddy, he came to appreciate that this time Ling Zhang had succeeded.

Since this was the first time that Ling Zhang had entered this kind of mysterious state of internal energy cultivation, it was a golden opportunity for him to get a better grasp of this cultivation method, so Yuwen Tong had everybody else leave the main courtyard house and forbade anybody to approach lest any interruptions come to Ling Zhang.

Moreover, this time Ling Zhang spent the whole night meditating and comprehending. It was not until the crack of dawn that he slowly came around from the fascinating mysterious state. His eyes, when he opened them, seemed even brighter than the first light of day, sparkling and brimming with radiating vigor. His temperament was also subtly different now. Even his skin seemed to be more brilliant than before, glowing like a pearl that had just been rid of the layer of dust concealing its luster.

After a careful recollection of what he comprehended the night before, Ling Zhang gave a happy smile. Finally, he could count himself as a practitioner of martial arts now.

In fact, he had barely felt the passing of time when his mind was in that mysterious state the night before. It was not until he saw daylight that he came to realize that he had been sitting here for a full night.

Yuwen Tong, who had been on the side all along, saw the qualitative change of Ling Zhang when Ling Zhang opened his eyes, thoughts surging in his mind.

“I did it!”

Ling Zhang excitedly jumped from the bed, but unexpectedly, this jump was far higher than usual. Taken aback, he failed to control his strength and was about to hit himself against the desk and cabinet on the opposite side. Fortunately, Yuwen Tong, who had been watching him all along, quickly leaped forward and held Ling Zhang in his arms. Thus, Ling Zhang ended up jumping right into Yuwen Tong’s embrace.

“What’s going on? I was nearly scared to death.” Ling Zhang heaved a sigh of relief after being caught by Yuwen Tong.

During that jump, his body felt as thought it had become significantly lighter. In the normal course of events, he could only jump a few paces far, but now since his body was considerably lighter, that jump was far longer than expected.

Yuwen Tong holding him first consoled him and then put his hand on Ling Zhang’s wrist. Feeling his pulse, he observed, “You achieved a lot last night. Of course internal energy would bring a lot of changes in your body. You feel you can control your body a lot more easily now, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” replied Ling Zhang.

“That’s what I figured. Gradually you’ll get used to it. And you need to learn how to control you body and strength more precisely,” commented Yuwen Tong.

So Ling Zhang, who had just woken from the state of internal energy cultivation, first adapted himself to his body. He was pleasantly surprised by the lightness of his body. Now his every punch was accompanied by a big whoosh of air, which was an unmistakable indication that his strength was more than one level higher than before.

“There is a set of palm technique complementary to this mental cultivation method of internal energy. You’ll be ready to learn them after you finish the first chapter of this manual, so we’re in no hurry to find you an external martial art to practice. This set of palm technique and this mental cultivation method of internal energy are supplementary to each other. Master them and you’ll be powerful enough to handle most kung fu experts in Jianghu (the martial arts world). After that, if you want to learn another martial art – a swordcraft, for example – with internal energy, you’ll be getting twice the result with half the effort during the learning process, which means you’ll master it very easily.”

Yuwen Tong told Ling Zhang about his cultivation prospects. He had already made a plan for him and Ling Zhang raised no objection. Haste makes waste. Since Yuwen Tong said that the set of palm technique complementary to this cultivation method of internal energy would be powerful enough for him to use to protect himself, he believed it was his best choice. And he was in no hurry to learn a swordcraft, too.

“When we were in Tanyang, didn’t you say that you wanted to improve your reflexes? Now you’ve learned the rudiments of internal energy, and your five senses are far sharper than those of common people. Both your hearing and sight are many levels higher than before. What you need to learn is how to better control your body and have it keep pace with your reflexes. This’ll take time as well. Just finish the first chapter and lay a solid foundation. After that I myself will help you train.”

Ling Zhang nodded repeatedly while hearing this, believing that there was nothing he should be worried about if Yuwen Tong would help him with the training.

“Are you hungry? If you are, we may go and grab a bite first, and then we’ll go to the drill ground and I’ll help you develop a better control of your body.”

Ling Zhang shook his head, eyes brimming with energy and vitality. “I’m not hungry. Actually I feel that I have inexhaustible energy. Let’s go to the drill ground right now.”

Yuwen Tong, seeing the yearning and expectant look on his face, didn’t have the heart to refuse and agreed.

The two of them walked to the drill ground. Wang Dashan and the other twenty-three men, as usual, had got up very early and were practicing martial formations. Even Xie Shi was also present. These two days, Xie Shi had been instructing Yang Liuzi and the other eleven in martial formations for Ling Zhang.

“Young Master, Marshal.”

All the twenty-four security guards, seeing Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong walk over, greeted them.

In the ordinary course of things, they only saw Ling Zhang come to the drill ground to practice kung fu at this hour; seldom had they seen Yuwen Tong show up as well. As a result, they all couldn’t help but pause, wondering whether their young master and the Marshal were adding something new to their training.

“You guys may continue. We can manage ourselves.”

Ling Zhang, seeing the mixture of nervousness and anticipation on their faces, was secretly somewhat amused, but this time he was here to be instructed by Yuwen Tong rather than instruct them. However, even so, he still observed how the training of his twenty-four security guards was going. When his eye fell on Liu Yi, he briefly paused. The day before, he allowed Liu Yi a day’s leave to attend to his own business, but a lot happened the day before, so he had not yet found the time to ask Liu Yi about it.

Liu Yi perceived Ling Zhang’s gaze and walked up to him of his own accord. “Young Master.”

He also looked back at Ling Zhang and suddenly felt that Ling Zhang looked different somehow, as if about him was an air of something that hadn’t always been there before. Involuntarily, a hint of confusion appeared in his eyes.

Of course Ling Zhang noticed the confused expression of Liu Yi. He just had never expected that Liu Yi would be so observant as to become conscious of his change so quick when none of the others had perceived it.

“Did you get your business handled yesterday?” Ling Zhang inquired of him.

Liu Yi nodded and replied, “Thank you for allowing me a day’s leave, Young Master. I’ve already finished the task that kung fu expert entrusted me with. I took a load off my mind.”

The day before, Ling Zhang gave him permission to go out but didn’t ask him anything, granting him enough discretion and also showing him enough respect, which he appreciated very much and would always bear in mind. He couldn’t disclose to his young master what he had promised that kung fu expert he would keep secret, but it was no hindrance to him being loyal to his young master.

“I’m glad to hear that. If there’s nothing else, you may go back to your training,” said Ling Zhang. Wang Dashan and the others had developed a very high level of proficiency in the first six arrays of the trap-and-kill formation. Ling Zhang planned to spare some time to teach them the seventh in the next few days.

Liu Yi gave a bob of his head but then still failed to keep from asking in a puzzled tone of voice, “You seem somewhat different now, Young Master.”

Ling Zhang smiled, “Really?”

After saying this, he didn’t give any explanation but abruptly launched an attack on Liu Yi. His fist materialized before Liu Yi, accompanied by a big whoosh of air. With a sudden change of expression in his eyes, Liu Yi quickly raised his arms in an effort to parry the blow. A muffled bang was heard and his arms briefly trembled. He even felt faint numbness in them.

“Young Master?” At first Liu Yi was dismayed and then he looked at Ling Zhang with a mixture of surprise and delight in his eyes. “You…”

Others also noticed it and gathered around, fairly surprised. Ling Zhang practiced kung fu with them every day, and they knew very well how much power his punches held, but the punch he just threw was manifestly of a different level from that of those he did the day before!

“I’ve started cultivating internal energy.”

Seeing the astonishment and confusion on the faces of the security guards, Ling Zhang merely gave a simple explanation, but thoughts were surging in his mind as well. He had sparred with Liu Yi many times before, but this time he felt that his strength was really far removed from what it had been previously. The reacting force from Liu Yi’s arms had given him a distinct feeling of how powerful that punch of his had been. At the same time, he’d also come to a new perception of Liu Yi’s kung fu skills. Just now, Liu Yi had firmly deflected that punch without the slightest sway of his body, which had been a definite proof that Liu Yi’s kung fu was far better than he had imagined. ‘No wonder on that day Yuwen Tong said that Liu Yi’s kung fu was not as it seemed,’ thought Ling Zhang.

All security guards were surprised to hear Ling Zhang’s explanation but also felt happy for him. “You just got started, Young Master?”

“But you’ve already made such great progress. You’re going to become a master of internal energy very soon, Young Master, aren’t you?”

Looking at their expectant faces, Ling Zhang replied honestly, “This is just the beginning, and I have no idea how far I can get either. You’ve got to keep this to yourselves. Don’t tell anyone else about it.”

All these security guards, who had been with Ling Zhang all the way from Tanyang to the capital city and had a sense of propriety, immediately promised that they wouldn’t breathe a word.