Water Ink Panel: Starting with Bow Technique to Hunt the Sun and Patrol the Skies

With the assurance from Ruan Pottery Master, Shen Qing finally felt at ease. He clasped his hands and said, "I'll come back in a month and a half. It would be troublesome, but I'd like Master Ruan to make some more suitable arrows for me."

Ruan Pottery Master glanced at him and replied, "Fifty wen each."

Quite expensive.

That price was equivalent to the daily toil of an ordinary hunter.

However, fortunately, this amount of money was not much for Shen Qing now.

"Then I'll trouble you to make twenty," Shen Qing said as he took out one tael of silver and placed it on the table, then left with his fists clasped in a salute.

When he left, Shen Qing encountered a girl wearing a blue long skirt coming head-on.

Her hair was pinned up with a hairpin, her chest was just starting to rise slightly, like the hazy hills in the morning light, indicating she was of marriageable age.

But in terms of looks, she was rather plain, with some freckles on her face, and bore a resemblance to Ruan Pottery Master.

The girl in the long skirt stepped aside slightly, making room for Shen Qing.

Shen Qing nodded politely and left calmly.

The girl in the long skirt looked at Shen Qing's retreating figure a bit longer and then walked into the house.

She carried a pot of rough tea to Ruan Pottery Master and quietly asked, "Dad, who was that just now?"

Ruan Chengbao put down the iron hammer in his hand, took the tea pot, and said, "He came to have me make him a bow."

"Oh, do you know where he lives, what his name is?" the girl inquired curiously. "I've never seen such a handsome person."

"What, has this little girl developed a crush?" Ruan Chengbao asked with a teasing smile, looking at his daughter.

The girl stayed silent, quietly taking back the tea pot passed to her by Ruan Chengbao.

Ruan Chengbao smiled and said, "In a month and a half, he will come to pick up the arrows. I'll ask for you then."

"Okay, I'll leave it all to you, Dad."

Ruan Chengbao said no more and took the dark iron that had been thrown in and was now red-hot out onto the anvil. He swung the large hammer in his hand down upon it.

With a clang, sparks flew in all directions.

...

In a desolate hill outside of Taiping County, Zhou Family Patriarch Zhou Dingwen stood near a new grave accompanied by his eldest legitimate son Zhou Jishan, second son Zhou Congwu, and various servants.

A paper model of a spirit house and other assorted paper offerings crafted for the deceased were being busily arranged by the servants.

Each paper offering was intricately detailed.

From houses to daily household items such as scissors, everything that might be needed was there.

Even a dozen paper effigies of men and women, dressed as servants, stood outside the spirit house.

A moment later, a man who looked like a steward approached Zhou Dingwen and respectfully said, "Old Master, everything's ready."

"Then burn them all for Little Jade," Zhou Dingwen said, his eyes welling with tears. "Since she was young, she spent most of her time at home and couldn't bear to leave. Today marks the end of her mourning period, and she must embark on her journey. We can't let her suffer in the afterlife."

Eldest son Zhou Jishan stepped forward to comfort him, "Father, don't be too sad. The matter with Twelfth Sister has passed; the dead cannot be brought back to life."

Zhou Dingwen exhaled sharply, calming the tumult in his heart. He spoke slowly, "Have you found out yet? Was it the work of the Huang Tian Sect?"

Zhou Jishan replied softly, "I have thoroughly investigated, and Twelfth Sister had no ties to the Huang Tian Sect. We haven't had conflicts with them either; it doesn't seem like their doing."

"Then who did it? Who dares to strike in broad daylight within the Zhou family courtyard?" Zhou Dingwen's eyes were sharp. "Has our Zhou Family always been low-profile because everyone assumes we're weak and can be bullied?"

Zhou Jishan replied honestly, "I haven't found out yet, but it seems to be somewhat related to... the Seventh Branch… Twelfth Sister didn't come home the night before she died; the last place she went was to the Seventh Branch's side…"

Bang!

Zhou Dingwen's hand fiercely slapped the tombstone in front of the new grave. The stone sank deep into the ground, three inches lower, with a dull sound.

His face became enraged, "Investigate thoroughly. Better to wrongfully punish than to let one go."

"Yes, I'll definitely investigate carefully."

At this moment, a flame flickered into existence from a stack of paper offerings, spreading slowly outward.

Zhou Dingwen watched the flames, his eyes filled with sorrow.

The paper effigies of buildings, carriages, and people curled at the edges, blackened, and emitted a faint crackling sound as the flames licked them.

Gradually, the fire grew more intense, the flames leaping and tumbling in the wind, resembling a dancing fire serpent.

As the heat wave rose, the paper offerings quickly turned to ash in the flames, wafting up plumes of blue smoke.

Until at last, all was burned to nothing.

"Let's go back," said Zhou Dingwen, dispiritedly waving his hand as he walked down the hill.

His eldest son, Zhou Jishan, quickly followed. As he was stepping forward, Zhou Congwu pulled at his sleeve and said, "Big brother, didn't you find out that someone else came back with our sister that night? This matter is almost certainly related to him; why don't you mention it to father?"

"I've already checked that person. I only know he's a young man, nothing else. To truly find him would be like searching for a needle in the ocean. It's better to do something more certain. The seventh house has become increasingly arrogant lately. We'll talk about the rest later."

After a moment of stupor, Zhou Congwu fell silent and said no more.

...

Returning from Ruan Pottery Master's kiln.

Shen Qing was as ever deeply immersed in his cultivation.

During the day, he would rigorously practice the Wind Defying Finger at Linfeng Hall and occasionally practice the Dragon Roar Armor; at night, he would train in the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Skill, filling almost every moment of his day.

In the backyard of Linfeng Hall, Shen Qing's muscles were tense, and his skin had taken on a dark red hue.

"Just a little bit more, the Dragon Roar Armor is harder to train in than I expected."

Shen Qing's thoughts shifted as he glanced at the Water Ink Panel in his line of sight, and the information about the Dragon Roar Armor appeared before him.

[Skill: Dragon Roar Armor (Entry Level)]

[Progress: 92/100 points]

[Status: Cannot be improved]

[Note: Heaven lay a great responsibility on this man, must first suffer his mind and strain his muscle and bone. Continue to refine Qi-Blood and hone flesh, it will increase the progress of this martial skill significantly and greatly strengthen the physical body.]

Compared with the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Skill, a martial arts of the Great Zhou Dynasty court, the Dragon Roar Armor did not have a systematic methodology, and many parts of its cultivation were rough and unsophisticated.

As a result, Shen Qing encountered many obstacles during training, and his progress was slow.

This was even when augmented by the Blood Dominance Technique; otherwise, he would be even further behind.

It was hard to imagine how difficult it would be for a person without any foundation to cultivate martial arts in the Great Zhou Dynasty after the martial mechanism had been centralized.

"Hoo... Ha..."

Shen Qing gently exhaled a hot breath and his tightly stretched muscles relaxed, as his dark skin began to seep with layers of hot sweat.

As usual, he sat down on a stone stool to rest for a while.

At the same time, his gaze couldn't help but drift outside.

For some reason, the number of people coming to Linfeng Hall for martial arts training had decreased by another twenty percent in recent times, making the large courtyard seem quite deserted.

Moreover, the "security fee" he collected from the slum area of the Outer City also diminished compared to before.

The people living in the slums were decreasing.

This was not good news.

Shen Qing looked up to find the sky over Taiping County unexpectedly overcast with dense clouds.