Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

He was no longer in a hurry.

With Xu Yang’s talent, killing Xiao Hua was only a matter of time. There was no need to throw his life away.

Xu Yang said, "Before I killed Xiao Chen, I interrogated him and found out where Senior Sister Lin Wei’s remains are. However, to avoid alerting the enemy and letting Xiao Hua know I was the one who killed Xiao Chen, I can’t touch that place for now. After I’ve slain Xiao Hua, I’ll inform you, Master, so we can retrieve Senior Sister Lin Wei’s remains."

Lin Cheng nodded. "Good."

The two of them chatted with Lin Cheng for a while longer. Once Lin Cheng had more or less calmed down, they took their leave.

After leaving Lin Cheng’s courtyard, Sun Tao said with a wry smile, "Junior Brother Xu, you really kept me in the dark."

When Xu Yang was being targeted by Xiao Hua, he had been on pins and needles, worrying for Xu Yang’s safety, afraid that he would go and never return.

Xu Yang smiled. "But you never asked me, Senior Brother Sun."

Sun Tao thought about it and realized that was true. If he hadn’t asked, it couldn’t really be considered hiding anything.

"Kong Yu and his men... were they also killed by you?" Sun Tao asked.

He had never considered this question before, but now that he knew Xu Yang’s true strength, he couldn’t help but make the connection.

Everyone in their group knew that Kong Yu had long wanted to kill Xu Yang. Many had assumed Xu Yang just got incredibly lucky, and that Kong Yu had been accidentally killed by someone else.

Thinking about it now, it seemed more likely that Kong Yu had tried to kill Xu Yang and had been killed in return.

Xu Yang smiled and nodded. "That’s right."

Sun Tao was dumbfounded. ’So it really was him. Just how many things has this junior brother of mine done behind my back?’

"Please help me keep this a secret, Senior Brother. You should understand my personality; I don’t like to be conspicuous," Xu Yang said, cupping his hands.

Sun Tao nodded. "Don’t worry. I know what’s important."

The two of them continued talking as they quickly left the Inner Courtyard.

Just then, Tian Li’s voice called out from behind, "Brother Xu, please wait a moment."

Xu Yang turned around, confused, and saw Tian Li striding over. "Brother Xu, please hurry back. It seems something has happened at your uncle’s house."

He had wanted to tell Xu Yang earlier, but with so many people around, walls have ears. Plus, the two of them were there to see Lin Cheng, so he had to patiently wait for them to finish their conversation.

Xu Yang’s brow furrowed. He had wondered earlier why he hadn’t seen Xu Qing and Qiu Wenjie at the Martial Arts Hall. He’d assumed they were studying hard at home for the upcoming examination, but he never expected that something had happened.

"What happened?"

Tian Li said, "I don’t know the details, but just before you arrived, Junior Sister Xu Qing and Senior Brother Qiu left in a hurry."

Xu Yang nodded. "Thank you for telling me, Junior Brother Tian."

With that, he strode out of Weiyuan Hall.

"I’ll go with you to check it out," Sun Tao said, catching up.

Xu Yang shook his head. "You haven’t been home in two years, Senior Brother Sun. You should go home and see your family first. If I need help, I’ll come and ask you."

"Alright."

Sun Tao nodded. If even someone with Xu Yang’s strength couldn’t solve the problem, his own presence probably wouldn’t be of much use.

After parting ways with Sun Tao, Xu Yang headed straight for his uncle Zhou Shunchang’s home.

Having been away for two years, he had originally planned to buy some gifts, but now he was in no mood for it.

Arriving at Zhou Shunchang’s house again, he saw that while it was the same courtyard, the walls and eaves had been renovated, looking much grander than before.

He knew from Xu Qing’s letters that the tea business partnership with the Qiu Family was quite profitable, earning twenty to thirty taels each month. His uncle’s family could now be considered well-off.

"KNOCK KNOCK!" Xu Yang stepped forward and knocked on the courtyard gate.

"Coming!" A few moments later, a voice came from inside.

A smile touched Xu Yang’s lips. It was the little lass’s voice.

"Senior Brother Qiu, you’re back?"

Xu Qing opened the door, expecting to see Qiu Wenjie. But instead, she saw the figure she had been thinking about day and night.

She froze, thinking that the stress of the recent events and her longing for her brother were making her see things. She couldn’t help but rub her eyes.

"You silly girl, it’s been two years. Have you forgotten how to greet people?" Xu Yang chuckled.

Two years had passed, and the little lass had blossomed into a graceful young woman. Dressed in martial attire, she had a capable air about her, no longer seeming fragile.

She had shot up in height and was now only half a head shorter than him.

"Ah... B-Brother... you’re back?"

The little lass shrieked, her face flushed with excitement. She jumped up just like when she was a child, wrapping herself around Xu Yang and hugging his neck.

Fortunately, Xu Yang was prepared. He shielded his ears with Gang Qi, saving himself from the piercing pain.

"Alright, get down now. You’re a grown woman, yet you still act like a child," Xu Yang said, patting the little lass’s back.

The little lass got down, her face blushing. "No matter how old I get, I’ll always be a child to you."

She was no longer hanging on him, but she kept her arm linked with his, looking him up and down. "Brother, it’s so good to see you. You haven’t changed at all."

After two years, she had expected Xu Yang to have aged, but she found he looked exactly the same.

With his lifespan increasing daily, Xu Yang had become eternally youthful and naturally showed no signs of aging.

"Ah Yang?"

Just then, his cousin Zhou Xia and his aunt, who had heard the commotion, rushed over, looking at Xu Yang with pleasant surprise.

"Nephew pays his respects to Aunt and Cousin!" Xu Yang quickly pulled his arm away from Xu Qing and gave a formal bow.

His aunt waved her hand. "None of that formality. Go see your uncle. When he heard the little lass’s voice and knew you were back, he was so happy he tried to get up to see you. I had to stop him."

’My uncle can’t get up?’

Xu Yang’s expression darkened. Only then did he notice the faint smell of medicine in the courtyard.

He strode into the house and saw Zhou Shunchang lying on the bed, his face pale and his breathing weak.

With his keen eyes, he could tell at a glance that Zhou Shunchang wasn’t sick, but injured.

"Nephew pays his respects to Uncle."

Xu Yang gave a formal bow. Zhou Shunchang tried to get up but was gently pushed back down by him.

He carefully sent a wisp of Gang Qi into Zhou Shunchang’s body to investigate and discovered that many of his meridians were blocked and his ribs were broken.

The injuries weren’t too severe, but they weren’t light either. It would take at least a month or two of recuperation. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"Uncle, take this."

He took out a Gathering Essence Pill, had Zhou Shunchang swallow it, and then circulated his Gang Qi to dissolve it.

The Gathering Essence Pill was meant to supplement Vitality and strengthen the body. For an ordinary person, it was practically a miraculous healing medicine.

He helped Zhou Shunchang clear his blocked meridians. His uncle’s complexion gradually became rosy again, and his bones began to heal.

"Ah Yang, what kind of elixir was that? It’s divine!"

An hour later, Zhou Shunchang got out of bed with a ruddy complexion, feeling completely refreshed. As long as he avoided any major movements, he felt fully recovered.

The elixir was part of the reason, but it was mainly because he had used his Golden Gang Qi to assist. Simply taking a Gathering Essence Pill would not have produced such an immediate effect.

Xu Yang smiled. "It’s called a Gathering Essence Pill."

Zhou Xia and his aunt were so happy they wept. His aunt, in particular, grabbed Xu Yang’s hand and thanked him profusely.

"What are you crying for? My recovery is a good thing. Ah Yang has finally come home. Hurry up and prepare a meal. I want him to have a drink with me later," Zhou Shunchang boomed.

Xu Yang shook his head. "Uncle, you can’t drink alcohol for now. You need to rest for a while longer. The medicine I gave you is a fine thing, and most of its medicinal effect is still latent in your body, yet to be absorbed. You mustn’t overindulge."

Zhou Shunchang’s face immediately fell, but Zhou Xia and his aunt still hurried off to prepare the meal.

"Now, Uncle, tell me what happened to the family. How did you get injured?"

After sitting down again, Xu Yang began to ask questions.

While he was treating Zhou Shunchang, he had detected residual True Qi in his meridians. It was obvious he had been injured by a Qi Gathering Martial Artist.

"It’s all because of the business..."

Zhou Shunchang sighed. "Because of your reputation, combined with our high-quality, low-priced tea, business has been getting better and better. That made others jealous. People started threatening us, both openly and secretly."

They either wanted us to let them buy in as partners or give them a share of the profits.

But with Xiaqing and Wenjie around, most people didn’t dare to go too far and could only try to suppress our business.

But recently, Qiu Yongqiang found a new channel for medicinal herbs, and we wanted to get into the herb industry. That’s when those people started getting anxious.

Today, a few men came to the shop to stir up trouble, claiming the tea they bought was moldy. They demanded several hundred taels in compensation, and I was beaten during the argument.

They also left a threat, telling us to get the money ready, or they would smash all our shops."

He wasn’t complaining or blaming anyone, though. That’s just how it was to do business in this world. Getting a beating was a light punishment; the fact that he wasn’t beaten to death was only because they were wary of Xu Yang’s connection to Dragon Ascension.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have used such tactics; they would have just robbed them outright.

"Brother, Senior Brother Qiu Wenjie has already gone to deal with it," Xu Qing said.

Xu Yang’s gaze turned icy. "Wenjie should have reached Qi Gathering Great Success by now, right? What’s the background of these people, that they dare to be so aggressive?"

Two years ago, Qiu Wenjie had already reached Qi Gathering Minor Achievement. With his talent and the Qiu Family’s resources, he should have reached Qi Gathering Great Success after two years.

In a place like Qingyuan County, a Qi Gathering Great Success cultivator, while not able to run rampant without restraint, would still be considered an expert.

With such an expert protecting them, no one without a significant background would dare to covet the Qiu Family’s business.