The heavy snow had stopped.
The cold wind was not as noisy as it used to be.
Outside the courtyard of the Chen Family, several Qinghe Gang members stood holding crossbow arrows, pointing their arrowheads towards the yard. At the slightest sign of trouble, they would pull the triggers without hesitation.
Chen Mo certainly wouldn’t expose himself completely. He and Zhang River stood inside the house, in a position unreachable by the crossbowmen.
Five or six Qinghe Gang members rummaged through the house, taking away all the food and dozens of wen coins Chen Mo had purposefully left out in the open.
The clothes in the wardrobe were also pulled out, thrown onto the ground.
Chen Mo even saw them looking under the heated brick bed, searching thoroughly.
The hidden cellar was under the heated brick bed in his parents’ room, where Han Anniang was hiding.
This cellar was specially made, with a layer of baked mud boards on top, and another layer of wooden boards underneath, so that heating the bed in winter wouldn’t affect the cellar.
When Han Anniang hid in the cellar earlier, Chen Mo deliberately covered it with a layer of long-burnt, seemingly uncleared ashes.
Also, under the bed, it was pitch dark, impossible to see without a light.
While they were inspecting, Chen Mo, with a fawning smile, took a cloth pouch from his chest and stuffed it into the small leader’s hand, saying:
"Big Brother, what has happened? I don’t know how I’ve offended Big Brother, if I have, please forgive me. I am brothers with Constable Wu from the government office, this is all we have left at home, please be lenient, be lenient..."
Chen Mo humbled himself, his face full of smiles.
The cloth pouch contained over a hundred wen coins.
The small leader weighed it and, without any politeness, accepted it, shouting into the room, "Done yet?"
"Boss, all done, nothing unusual found." The gang members came out of Chen Mo’s parents’ room, saying.
The small leader nodded, looked at Chen Mo carefully, and said, "Is it just the two of you in your house?"
"To be honest, Big Brother, he is Zhang River, my brother, here to hang out. I have a sister-in-law, but since it’s just after New Year, she’s gone visiting relatives, not at home." Chen Mo smiled.
"Heard from people in your village, that you hunted a black bear on the mountain recently?"
"That’s right, couldn’t afford to eat, so I went up the mountain to try my luck, to subsidize household expenses. But that was purely by chance, caught a hibernating bear and took advantage of its sleep to kill it."
The small leader was half-believing, smiled and said, "Really? Heard from people in your village, you can fight a dozen people alone. Those villagers named Wang Xi and Liu Ergou are missing."
Chen Mo feigned ignorance, "That’s just villagers bragging, I didn’t know you were here for that. Last time, Constable Wu and others came for this too, and they concluded that it was just a misunderstanding."
Chen Mo’s hand discreetly rested on his waist, posing a simple one-handed waist-holding stance.
The small leader seemed convinced, glanced at Chen Mo, and said, "Let’s go."
The group left, heading to the next house.
As Chen Mo watched their departing backs, his once smiling face turned instantly somber.
Zhang River came over, whispered, "Brother Mo, is this matter over?"
"No, it’s just beginning."
Today, Chen Mo practiced swordplay all day long, barely resting except for meals.
Even after it got dark, he continued to practice.
One slash after another.
[Sword swing count +1, Demon-breaking Saber Technique experience +1.]
Chen Mo felt his arms aching, sore, but he didn’t stop.
An understanding suddenly emerged in his mind.
He seemed to see a young boy standing under a waterfall, withstanding the rushing river water from above, diligently swinging his sword against the river surface.
The boy had been knocked down into the river countless times by the waterfall, but always got up, returned to his original position, and continued swinging his sword.
Day and night, year after year, the boy kept swinging his sword. Chapters fırst released on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝙣𝙚𝙩
Finally, perseverance paid off, one day he understood.
With one strike, the river surface exploded, waves rising layer upon layer.
Chen Mo glanced at the system panel.
[Cultivation Technique: Blood Nourishing Technique (Great Success 29.2/1000).]
[Realm: Bone Refining (Eighth Grade).]
[Skills: Demon-breaking Saber Technique (Advanced 0/400000).]
"After the Demon-breaking Saber Technique advanced to Intermediate, the additional power increased by fifteen points."
Chen Mo’s eyes focused.
In his hand, the Tang Blade slashed down.
Under his control, invisible sword qi erupted from the blade.
Where the sword qi passed, the snow on the ground exploded, and the courtyard gate three zhang away shattered into pieces.
Such a large commotion was particularly conspicuous in this small mountain village.
Luckily, it was night, in this freezing weather, with heavy snow falling, few would crawl out of bed to see what had happened.
Han Anniang came out of the kitchen, carrying hot water, eyes widening at the scene, finally turning her surprise into a single sentence: "Uncle, time to wash your face and feet and rest."
After washing his face.
Chen Mo sat on the heated brick bed. Han Anniang helped him remove his boots, then held Chen Mo’s foot, placing it in the hot water, massaging and washing it at the same time.
An oil lamp was lit in the room, the dim light illuminating Han Anniang’s face. Having transformed into a woman, after being nourished for so many days, Han Anniang became more maturely beautiful, her skin softer, like a ripe peach tempting one to take a bite.
But such a beautiful woman was washing a boy’s feet, seeing this, many men might beat their chests, exclaiming how they fell short.
After washing his feet, Han Anniang placed a towel on her leg, specially used for drying feet, then put Chen Mo’s wet right foot on her towel-padded leg, carefully checking for water stains, and repeated the process with his left foot.
Finally, Han Anniang quickly washed herself up, poured out the water, closed the doors and windows.
She took off her cotton clothes, blew out the oil lamp, took off her shoes and got into bed.
But she wouldn’t embrace Chen Mo directly, first warming her spot until her hands and feet weren’t cold, then she would snuggle into Chen Mo’s arms, softly saying half a sentence: "Uncle, you..."
If Chen Mo wanted to make a move, he’d naturally say "want," and then she would obediently comply. If not, they’d spend the cold night embracing.
Chen Mo lowered his head, kissed Han Anniang’s forehead, whispered, "Sister-in-law, I’m going to the city tomorrow. After I leave, you hide in the cellar."
Chen Mo realized that the matter with the Qinghe Gang must be resolved thoroughly.
Han Anniang’s expression froze, she only said, "Uncle, be careful," and spoke no more.
Maybe she already guessed something.
"Don’t worry, sister-in-law, it’s nothing." Chen Mo pinched her face.
Han Anniang gave Chen Mo a kiss, then softly said, "Uncle, tonight your humble girl..."