Chapter 12: Entering the Mountains

By the time Chen Yuan finished practicing his saber techniques, the sky had turned completely dark, with a bright moon hanging in the sky amidst a dense carpet of stars.

He sheathed his saber, returned to his room, and took out a coarse cloth bag containing the jade talisman.

Over the past three years, aside from escorting convoys on expeditions, Chen Yuan had used every opportunity to induce starlight infusion, causing his physical strength to grow stronger day by day.

He took the jade talisman out of the cloth bag. Under the starlight, the jade emitted a faint green glow.

The stars across the sky flickered in unison, converging into a beam of white light that descended from the heavens, circling around Chen Yuan's body.

Compared to three years ago, the white light, which was originally as thin as a strand of hair, had doubled in thickness, and its color had deepened slightly.

After ten breaths, the white light dissipated.

Chen Yuan opened his eyes, feeling a sudden surge of hunger. Unhurried, he took out three thumb-sized, pitch-black medicinal pills and swallowed them with water.

A moment later, a wave of warmth flowed through his limbs and bones, making his entire body feel comfortable as the sensation of hunger slowly faded.

"Whew..."

Chen Yuan exhaled a long breath. Feeling his strength increase by another notch, he murmured

"It's a pity that I only get one Essence Nourishing Pill per month. If I could take one every day, I could induce starlight infusion whenever I wanted..."

These pitch-black pills were called Essence Nourishing Pills, a benefit provided by the Tiger-Subduing Gang to Bone-Refining martial artists, at a rate of one per month.

However, as a disciple of Manager Li, Chen Yuan was eligible to receive one Essence Nourishing Pill after breaking through to the Skin-Refining stage. Over two years, he had received a total of twenty-four pills.

The Essence Nourishing Pill had the effects of consolidating one's foundation, boosting vital energy and blood, and strengthening the physical body. For a Bone-Refining martial artist, taking it would cause their vital energy and blood to become highly active for the next three days, doubling the effectiveness of their martial arts training.

But after Chen Yuan broke through to the Marrow-Refining stage, it took three Essence Nourishing Pills to replenish the energy deficit caused by a single starlight infusion.

For the rest of the time, he could only replenish his energy slowly to avoid attracting attention.

Having experienced the miraculous effects of the Essence Nourishing Pill, Chen Yuan's heart burned with desire. He inquired from Zhao Shan about its origin, only to quell his ambitions upon learning that the market price was two taels of silver per pill.

The price was too high. Of his four taels of monthly salary, he had to send one tael home and give five hundred copper coins to the old scholar, leaving him only enough to buy one pill.

Combined with the pills distributed by the gang, Chen Yuan had consumed a total of forty-eight Essence Nourishing Pills over the past two years.

The current Chen Yuan possessed greatly enhanced physical strength, possessing immense power of a thousand catties, resilient meridians, and acute senses. A feather could not land on him, a mosquito could not settle, and within a distance of five zhang, no sound went unheard.

While escorting convoys, Chen Yuan had witnessed Zhang Jingkui fighting another peak Marrow-Refining bandit leader.

Although neither was fighting to the death, they both exerted at least seventy percent of their strength, yet their power was far inferior to his.

This immense strength was Chen Yuan's greatest trump card.

In front of outsiders, he usually only revealed twenty to thirty percent of his capability, yet he was already regarded as possessing innate divine strength.

If he were to go all out, there was no telling how much power he would unleash.

Chen Yuan had no opportunity to test it, but he was confident that he could crush a peak Marrow-Refining martial artist, and it was even possible that he could rival an Inner Strength martial artist.

It was precisely because he possessed the power to protect himself that he dared to reveal his Bone-Refining strength to strive for the chance to enter the Prefectural City's main gang headquarters.

When he had accompanied the convoy into the Chiman Mountains three times before, he had performed very bravely whenever they encountered bandits on the road, earning many merits and gaining Manager Li's appreciation.

But that was at the edge of the mountain range, where the bandits were weak, and the encounters always ended without real danger.

This time, however, they were entering the depths of the Chiman Mountains, a perilous journey filled with numerous bandit strongholds.

Chen Yuan made up his mind to act cautiously along the way and avoid being a "leader among birds" (standing out).

The bandit strongholds capable of establishing themselves deep within the Chiman Mountains would have leaders who were at least peak Marrow-Refining martial artists, with no shortage of Inner Strength practitioners, and even experts in the Gang Qi or Hua Jin realms.

If Chen Yuan were to charge into battle as bravely as before and attract the bandits' attention, the risk would be too great.

Even if Zhao Shan didn't remind him today, he would have found an excuse to hide behind Manager Li.

...

The next morning, Chen Yuan rose early. After breakfast, he donned black clothing, packed his belongings, took his long saber, and arrived at a vast courtyard within Xingye Ward.

The courtyard contained a large training ground, roughly one mu in size.

More than thirty black-clad guards were already gathered on the training ground, carrying their luggage and holding ring-pommel sabers, standing loosely in three squads.

Two black-clad commanders stood before the group, one of whom was Zhao Shan.

Chen Yuan approached Zhao Shan and cupped his fists in greeting

"Senior Brother."

Zhao Shan waved him off

"Join the squad."

Chen Yuan went to the end of the third squad and stood quietly.

Fifteen minutes later, all sixty guards and the three squad commanders had arrived.

Another fifteen minutes passed, and Manager Li, also dressed in black martial attire, walked in alongside a burly, middle-aged man.

As the two approached the front, the three commanders bowed

"Greetings, Manager Li and Manager Zhang!"

The burly man was indeed another manager of the Hundred Weapons Hall in Leping County, Zhang Jingkui, who wielded a ring-pommel saber and was known in the martial world as the "Wild Vajra."

Zhang Jingkui waved his hand impatiently and shouted in a booming voice

"Today's shipment is going into the mountains. Manager Li and I will be providing backup. Everyone be careful along the way. If anyone makes a mistake, I'll skin them alive!"

"Yes!"

The guards responded loudly. Zhang Jingkui turned to Manager Li

"Do you have anything else to say?"

Manager Li stepped forward and said

"Since Manager Zhang has spoken, I will say a few words... This transaction is extremely important. If anyone causes a mishap midway, your entire monthly salary will be docked next month! However, if this transaction is completed smoothly, every member of the guard squad will be rewarded with three taels of silver upon the convoy's return!"

The crowd's expressions shifted upon hearing about the docked salary, but their eyes lit up at the mention of the reward.

The guards of the Leping County Hundred Weapons Hall were all Skin-Refining martial artists, earning only one tael of silver a month. Three taels was a very substantial reward for them.

As soon as Manager Li finished speaking, Zhang Jingkui stared at his face and questioned

"On what grounds do you dock my guards' salary?"

Manager Li replied with a hollow smile

"Don't be in a hurry, Manager Zhang. This is Shopkeeper Sun's intention. If you have an objection, I shall report it to Shopkeeper Sun immediately."

Zhang Jingkui's face darkened, and he gave a cold snort but said no more.

Manager Li smiled slightly

"The convoy is loaded. Let us depart!"

...

The Chiman Mountains stretched across the territory of the Qi State, spanning tens of thousands of miles in length and thousands of miles in depth, filled with rocky ravines, overlapping peaks, dense forests, and roaming beasts.

On a mountain path, the Hundred Weapons Hall convoy moved slowly like a long dragon.

The mountain road was narrow and difficult to traverse. The drivers carefully urged the horses forward. Twenty guards led the way at the front, twenty guarded the rear, and over ten guards patrolled back and forth on both sides.

Chen Yuan followed closely beside Zhao Shan, traveling in silence. His black martial attire was stained with many spots and had several torn holes.

Today was the third day since the convoy departed from Leping County, and they had only traveled sixty li within the Chiman Mountains.

The mountain roads were difficult, and since they were conducting a clandestine transaction with bandits, the convoy dared not take the flat and wide Yuanping Pass. They could only take mountain paths, winding through forests and valleys, making for slow progress.

During the journey, they had encountered bandits blocking the road. Fortunately, the front of the convoy displayed the flags of several major bandit strongholds in the Chiman Mountains, and the guard squad was large enough that the smaller camps were wary and did not strike.

However, many wild beasts had been disturbed by the convoy. In their terror, they became aggressive and were hunted down by the guards, ending up in the men's stomachs.

When facing highwaymen, Chen Yuan acted timidly, shrinking behind Zhao Shan, but when encountering wild beasts, he was incredibly brave.

A Bone-Refining martial artist could fight lions and tigers, and with his immense strength, Chen Yuan had killed a tiger with a single strike without any help. His clothes had been torn during that encounter.

He hadn't originally intended to act, but to maintain his persona as a reckless youth, he couldn't remain cowardly forever.

However, he did not forget to deliberately show flaws, such as having his clothes torn by the tiger, to make the situation appear quite perilous.

After setting up camp at night, Zhao Shan reprimanded him

"Junior Brother, you are too reckless. Your saber techniques lack any refinement; you are purely reliant on brute force. You almost got injured killing that tiger. If your skin had been torn and you were infected by tiger venom, there are no doctors in these mountains to treat you!"

Chen Yuan rubbed his head and said sheepishly

"I'm sorry, Senior Brother. Once I pick up my saber, I forget everything..."

Zhao Shan shook his head helplessly

"That was just a beast. If you had encountered bandits... From now on, do not act on your own unless I give the word!"

"Yes, Senior Brother!"

The two guard commanders nearby watched Zhao Shan scold Chen Yuan with mocking expressions.

One of the thin commanders laughed strangely

"Junior Brother Chen, don't listen to Zhao Shan. You are a Bone-Refining martial artist with immense strength; how could bandits be your match? Just keep fighting bravely. I'll make sure to ask the Master for credit on your behalf."

Zhao Shan's expression changed drastically. With a metallic *clang*, his saber was half-drawn from its sheath

"Zheng Jun, don't go too far! I haven't settled the score with you yet for when you encouraged Junior Brother Chen to charge into the enemy formation last time. If you keep talking nonsense, don't blame me for turning ruthless!"

Zheng Jun had not expected Zhao Shan to react so violently. His expression shifted, but facing Zhao Shan's fierce gaze, he did not dare say anything more, only muttering resentfully

"I was just suggesting Junior Brother Chen earn more merits. Is that wrong? People just don't appreciate good intentions!"

Then, he and the other commander turned to leave, complaining

"I don't know what Master is thinking, not kicking Zhao Shan out of the guard squad yet. He's practically riding over our heads!"

The other short, stout commander sneered

"Hehe, don't be angry, Brother Zheng. That Li Yong is incredibly cunning and has the favor of Shopkeeper Sun. It's a headache for Master to have placed Zhao Shan here. But this Chen Erniu is simple-minded; we can find an opportunity to strike him first..."

Their voices were extremely low, making them inaudible to others, but they reached Chen Yuan's ears perfectly.

A flash of sharpness crossed his eyes, but his face maintained a simple, honest smile

"Senior Brother, Brother Zheng is not a good person. I will listen to you on everything!"

Zheng Jun and the other commander, Ma Yaozong, were both disciples of Zhang Jingkui. They had long been at odds with Zhao Shan and harbored ill intentions toward Chen Yuan, especially after he had broken through to the Bone-Refining stage.

But Chen Yuan never fought back; he merely played the fool, and Zhao Shan always stepped in to shield him.

Zhao Shan sheathed his saber and said irritably

"All you know is to listen to me. Can I look after you for the rest of your life? I'll only be at ease when you start using your own wits!"

Chen Yuan nodded heavily

"I will listen to you, Senior Brother. I will definitely work hard to use my wits so that you can be at ease!"

"You brat..."

Zhao Shan shook his head and laughed, rendered speechless.

While the two were talking, several guards nearby had overheard their conversation.

An inconspicuous guard quietly slipped away, found Manager Li, and recounted the entire matter.

Manager Li said in a deep voice

"Good, I understand. Continue to keep an eye on the movements of those commanders."

"Yes!"

The guard took his leave. Manager Li gazed out at the vast mountains shrouded in the evening glow, stroking his beard, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.