Chapter 14: Nightfall, Black-Clad Masked Woman
Chapter 14: Nightfall, Black-Clad Masked Woman
Time passed day by day in this uneventful manner, and without realizing it, Wang Feng gradually adapted to this world. He slowly forgot the past and became the true Tang Jinbiao.
Over those two months, Tang Jinbiao almost every day repeated the same routine: running, taking medicine, and soaking in the bath.
But precisely this seemingly simple and dull training caused Tang Jinbiao to undergo striking changes in those brief two months. Not only did he grow half a head taller, but his body was no longer as thin and frail as before; instead, it became robust and muscular. His running speed also increased daily, and now when he dashed at full effort, he matched the pace of ordinary Qi Condensation seventh or eighth layer cultivators.
Of course, none of this was possible without his own hard work. Behind everyone’s success, silent sweat and toil always flow. Even if one’s father was Li Gang, gains without effort were impossible.
Perhaps effort didn’t guarantee reward, but without effort, there would be no reward at all. This held true for relationships, career, study, and all other matters alike.
During those two months, how much effort he personally exerted was known only to Huang Biaozi and himself. Each day, as the first light broke, he would set off to run—repeatedly scrambling up and down the mountaintop and foot. By noon, he would soak in the bath while eating, and after mere one hour of rest, he resumed running without stopping until late at night. Without Third Elder’s steady stream of elixirs and medicinal herbs, he would have died long ago from overstraining his life force.
On this particular night, the sky had completely darkened, nearing midnight, and Tang Jinbiao began striding briskly toward the mountain foot, hurrying home.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Though his figure appeared light and swift, each step landing on the stone slabs of the path produced dull thuds, clearly betraying that his body was not as nimble as it looked.
“Hey, Huang Biaozi, does my current body still fail to practice the Body Refining Technique? Not even the simplest Huang rank low level?”
Running, Tang Jinbiao queried Huang Biaozi in his mind.
After two months of interaction, their relationship had eased considerably. Communicating with Huang Biaozi no longer needed focused calm like before; now, a mere thought sufficed for exchange.
“Haha, what’s the hurry, kid? Both of us have ‘biao’—how could I deceive you? Hold out one more month, and starting tomorrow, you must increase the weight to fifty jin!”
“Bullshit! I dare say that with my current body, I could take on a fight against ordinary Qi Condensation fifth or sixth layer cultivators. If this physique still can’t handle the simplest Huang rank low level technique, then I seriously doubt if anyone in this world can cultivate at all!”
Through two months of probing, Tang Jinbiao had somewhat grasped Huang Biaozi’s character. Huang Biaozi claimed to be the founder of the Way of Deception. Though Tang Jinbiao didn’t know all the details, he sensed Huang Biaozi was unreliable, often spouting ungrounded nonsense like rambling about elephants, making tall tales routine. Thus, over those months, he reached one conclusion: Huang Biaozi could not be trusted.
Huang Biaozi seemed to notice these fleeting thoughts and again counseled earnestly.
“Get lost, don’t annoy me!”
Tang Jinbiao had grown tired of this routine and cut him off impatiently.
Initially, Tang Jinbiao considered asking his father for Body Refining techniques. But recalling his elusive father, he dropped the notion. As for his mother, after all this time, he only knew from Little Lv that she existed, having never seen her. Seeking help within the family was impossible, or even from Third Elder. So ultimately, to learn Body Refining arts, he had to turn to Huang Biaozi.
Tang Jinbiao raced onward toward the mountain foot.
“Be careful, someone approaches!”
“What’s happening?”
Startled, Tang Jinbiao recalled that over two months of late homecomings, he rarely encountered anyone else. Aside from Little Lv summoning him for meals, no one visited this spot, mainly due to the Tang Family’s vast power, expansive territory, and the remote Back Hill.
Whoosh!
Instantly, he darted beside the path, hiding behind cover and peering silently ahead.
Whoosh!
Moments later, a figure emerged under the night’s cloak into his vision.
As the distance was somewhat far and due to the night, he could not clearly see that person’s appearance, but he could faintly make it out that the person was wearing night clothes, with a slender and graceful figure; at a glance, one knew it was a woman.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
After arriving at the foot of the mountain, the woman seemed very alert, looking all around her. She found nothing unusual and then raced quickly up the mountain path.
“Huh? Who is that person?”
Upon seeing that figure, Tang Jinbiao immediately murmured to himself.
Over this period, the Tang Family members he had interacted with were almost no one else besides his younger brother. As for Tang Xingchi and Tang Huaxi, they only troubled him during that incident and had not shown up again since. Nevertheless, Tang Jinbiao firmly believed that as long as they remained in the Tang Family for one day, he would meet them again someday.
Although the woman’s face was unclear, her figure was very graceful and delicate. Moreover, a faint yellow glow emanated from her body surface; although not certain what exactly it was, Tang Jinbiao immediately concluded in his heart that it was a Cultivator.
“Late Foundation Building Stage!”
Just as Tang Jinbiao was secretly guessing, Huang Biaozi’s voice echoed again.
“What? That woman is actually at the Late Foundation Building Stage?”
Tang Jinbiao was greatly shocked in his heart. He watched her from afar; though unable to see her face clearly, based on her figure, she couldn’t be much older than him, at most a year or two more, maybe eighteen or nineteen. Yet upon hearing Huang Biaozi’s words, his mind nearly lost control.
“You kid, don’t move recklessly!”
But as Tang Jinbiao’s mind stirred, the woman approached near his hiding spot. Huang Biaozi urgently urged him in his mind, while Huang Biaozi emitted a wave of yellow glow, wrapping Tang Jinbiao entirely.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The black-clad and masked woman arrived instantly at the spot where Tang Jinbiao had just stood. However, after reaching here, she did not hurry upward. Instead, her gaze turned toward the area behind that Giant Boulder by the mountain path.
“Not good, she found us!”
Feeling the black-clad and masked woman’s eyes directing toward his hiding place, Tang Jinbiao’s heart skipped a beat as he secretly lamented.
“You kid, don’t move; she can’t see us!”
Huang Biaozi’s voice sounded a bit rushed, yet it also seemed very calm and composed, as if the woman truly couldn’t see them.
“Damn! But we’re clearly right here; how could she possibly not see us?”
Tang Jinbiao was extremely nervous inside. He didn’t think this woman was any good person, showing up here dressed like that in the dead of night.
“Enough with your nonsense, kid! Stand still and don’t move! This old man says she can’t see us, so she can’t see us!”
Huang Biaozi cursed in Tang Jinbiao’s mind.
“Damn!”
Tang Jinbiao cursed inwardly as well, yet dared not make any move. He stood there tensely.
“Huh? Strange, I distinctly sensed a faint aura here just now. How did it vanish in a blink?”
The black-clad and masked woman slightly furrowed her brows. She kept her gaze fixed on that Giant Boulder, seemingly puzzled.
No one knew how Huang Biaozi managed it. Tang Jinbiao was standing right beside the Giant Boulder, right in front of the black-clad and masked woman, yet she showed absolutely no sign of detection and couldn’t even see him.
“Damn! What a beauty!”
The black-clad and masked woman scanned around continuously, determined to find Tang Jinbiao. But after searching fruitlessly, there stood Tang Jinbiao directly in front of the woman. Though unable to see her face completely, even glimpsing part of it astonished him; this woman must be a great beauty who could topple kingdoms and cities if she removed her veil.
“Strange? Could my senses have been wrong?”
After observing for over a dozen breaths, the black-clad and masked woman found nothing unusual and couldn’t be bothered. She raced rapidly again toward the mountain top.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The woman raced away swiftly; her hair lifted slightly. In the darkness, near her nape, a mole became visible!
Sniff! Sniff! Sniff!
The woman vanished from the mountain path in a few breaths, reaching the mountain top. Tang Jinbiao was now completely mesmerized by her beauty. He stared blankly at the direction where she disappeared, his nose sniffing incessantly, as if frantically inhaling the lingering fragrance in the air left behind by her body.
“What a Goddess!”
Though he hadn’t seen her face clearly, just her figure alone was enough to drive one to distraction. At this moment, Tang Jinbiao fully revealed an infatuated and foolish expression.
“Heh heh, boy, feeling in love?”
Just as Tang Jinbiao was immersed in illusions of the vanished Goddess, Huang Biaozi’s lecherous voice echoed once more.
“Heh heh, boy, what do you think? If you study the Way of Deception with this old man for just two months—just two months, really only two months—with your talent, you’re sure to win her favor and get close! That young lady earlier is even more beautiful than what you saw! How about it? Study the Way of Deception with this old man!”
“Hmph! Say that kind of stuff to someone else! I’m too good a person, rare in this world—how could I ever learn your tricks? Go entertain yourself! I’m heading back to sleep!”
Tang Jinbiao snorted and flatly rejected him with contempt. After that, he once again stepped forward and raced down toward the foot of the mountain… … …