"I was just... AHH!"
Lin Yan’s brow furrowed slightly. In a flash, he vanished from the courtyard.
In the neighboring courtyard, a middle-aged man in a brocade robe was yanking a woman by the wrist, his other hand creeping toward her waist.
The woman looked to be in her early thirties, with delicate features. Her face was now a mask of terror as she struggled with all her might, yet she couldn’t break free.
The zither on the table had been knocked askew, its strings still faintly vibrating.
Lin Yan landed without a sound and flicked his right index finger.
A wisp of Sword Gang shot from his fingertip, precisely grazing the back of the man’s hand and kicking up a spray of blood.
"AHH!"
The middle-aged man cried out in pain and snatched his hand back, stumbling several steps away. He stared down at his lacerated hand, his face deathly pale. He was about to erupt in a tirade of curses, but the moment he looked up and saw Lin Yan, he choked the words back down.
’He appeared in my courtyard without a sound and wounded me... He must be a Third-Time or even a Fourth-Time Skin Smoothing powerhouse.’
’A Third-Time or Fourth-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist this young must be the young master of some great family. He’s not someone a mere Second-Time Skin Smoothing Traveling Merchant like me can afford to offend.’
"S-Sir... My apologies for disturbing you. I... I offer my sincerest apologies. You are a man of great character, please don’t hold this against someone as insignificant as me."
"Get out!"
Hearing the word "Get out!", the man looked as if he’d been granted a royal pardon. Without daring to utter another word, he clutched his hand and staggered out of the courtyard.
The courtyard fell silent. The woman looked up at Lin Yan, her voice raspy. "Thank you... Thank you, Sir."
The front of her dress was pulled askew and her hair was in disarray. She quickly lowered her head, straightened her clothes, and tucked the stray strands of hair behind her ear.
Once she had composed herself, the woman curtsied to Lin Yan.
"I’m sorry to have disturbed you, Sir. I will pack my things and leave at once."
"Consider this payment for the song I heard today."
Lin Yan took a silver banknote from his sleeve, worth twenty taels.
Twenty taels of silver was enough to support a family of three for two years in a county town. Here in the Prefecture City, even with the higher cost of living, it was enough to cover a common family’s expenses for an entire year.
The woman stared at the silver banknote, stunned. She quickly shook her head. "Sir, you saved me. I can’t possibly take your money..."
"Take it," Lin Yan cut her off. "You play the zither very well."
She stared at him, dazed, her eyes welling up. After a moment of silence, she reached out, took the silver banknote, and clutched it tightly in her palm.
"Thank you, Sir."
Watching the woman depart, Lin Yan let out a soft sigh. ’Judging by her conduct, she must have come from a well-to-do family. Something must have happened to cause her fall from grace.’
’However, I’m only paying because her music enlightened me today. I won’t get involved in her troubles.’
’There are too many unfortunate people in the world. I can’t help them all.’
「The next day.」
Lin Yan emerged from his room after half an hour of cultivating the Eight Desolates Dragon Elephant Force. Jian Sheng, who was practicing his sword in the courtyard, heard the door and turned to look.
"Huh? Lin Yan, you seem different from yesterday."
"Different how?"
"Yesterday, you looked like you had something heavy on your mind. You seemed very down. Today... that feeling is completely gone. You’re back to how you were before we went up Tai Mountain."
Hearing Jian Sheng’s words, Lin Yan smiled. ’I thought I did a good job of hiding my feelings yesterday, but Jian Sheng still saw through me. Senior He must have noticed it even more clearly.’
"I got Middle Rank B yesterday, so I was a bit down. But after last night, I’ve come to terms with it. Middle Rank B it is. Aptitude for the Sword Dao isn’t everything."
"That makes sense. My master has said the same thing—aptitude for the Sword Dao isn’t everything. Higher aptitude only means greater potential. We Rank B might be a step behind Rank A, but that doesn’t mean we have no chance of catching up. How far you can go on the path of Martial Arts depends on more than just aptitude. There’s also opportunity and your own hard work."
"Yeah."
Lin Yan nodded. Just then, He Qiaosheng walked in from the courtyard gate. He glanced at Lin Yan and stroked his beard with a smile. "Looks like you’ve recovered from the blow."
"I’m sorry to have worried you, Senior."
"I wasn’t too worried. If you hadn’t bounced back, I was planning to have you and Jian Sheng spar a few times so you could regain your confidence at his expense."
Hearing his master, Jian Sheng pouted. "Master, who’s your disciple here, me or Lin Yan? You’re playing favorites."
"When you suffered a blow and lost your confidence, I, as your master, naturally found a way to help you recover. I’m the one who brought Lin Yan here. He has to return to Qing State in the same state he arrived. Otherwise, how am I supposed to explain things to Shouyuan?"
He Qiaosheng paid his disciple’s comment no mind. After following Lin Yan to kill Water Bandits for a few days, Jian Sheng had gradually begun to move on from his defeat at the hands of Shen Guyun. His condition was slowly improving—a clear sign that his Divine Soul was recovering.
’It was a happy accident. I never expected killing Water Bandits would have such an effect.’
"Senior He, might I be able to learn some Swordsmanship techniques from you?"
Although his mind was no longer in turmoil, Lin Yan wasn’t about to pass up an opportunity to increase his strength.
"Learn Swordsmanship from me? Didn’t your master teach you the Pine Wind Swordsmanship and the Mist Rain Swordsmanship? Those two are my creations. What you need to do now is cultivate those four techniques to the Perfection Level and form your Sword Pill."
He Qiaosheng’s expression grew serious. "Don’t mind what your master and I said about a Sword Pill being inferior to a Sword Heart. In the entire Shandong Dao, only one or two people with an Innate Sword Heart might appear in a span of decades. Being able to form a Sword Pill already places you at the very peak of the younger generation of Swordsmen."

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