Chapter 19

In a tavern near the city gate, Yang Yong stood on the second floor, leaning against the railing, anxiously looking out.

"How is it, how is it?"

Yang Yong, drenched in sweat, urged again and again.

He had been waiting here for a whole day. Zhou Kuang and those bastards set out in the morning, but there was still no news.

"Could it have failed?"

Yang Yong couldn't help but think, but quickly dismissed the idea.

Zhou Kuang wasn't just any ordinary tough guy. With so many people, even an Eighth Stage Breathing expert would have been taken care of early, let alone a Yang Ji.

There was no way Yang Ji could have the strength of an Eighth Stage Breathing expert; that would be a complete fantasy.

"Could something have gone wrong?"

Yang Yong couldn't help but suspect all sorts of things. Maybe Zhou Kuang lost him, or they were too careless and Yang Ji escaped, or perhaps these bastards took his money and didn't do the job.

"If Zhou Kuang dares to take my money and not do the job, I'll make him die a miserable death."

Yang Yong couldn't help but curse fiercely.

He was increasingly suspicious that Zhou Kuang thought the risk was too high and took the money and ran. If that were true... although he couldn't do anything to Zhou Kuang, with the power of the Yang clan, it would be like squashing an ant.

"Here, here. Huang Hu is back!"

Suddenly, a voice of surprise rang in his ear.

Yang Yong strained to look far into the distance and indeed saw Huang Hu walking quickly toward him with his head down.

"How is it, how is it? Is Yang Ji dead?"

As soon as Huang Hu came upstairs, Yang Yong couldn't help but ask, his eyes full of anticipation.

To get this revenge, he had come here despite his injuries, renting the entire second floor. Now it was finally time to reap the rewards, and Yang Yong couldn't help but tremble with excitement.

Huang Hu's face was dark, and looking at the excited Yang Yong, he didn't know what to do.

"What's wrong?"

Yang Yong, seeing Huang Hu's expression, sensed something and his face instantly turned dark.

"Yang Ji... Yang Ji has returned from the mountain."

Huang Hu said seriously.

"What? He didn't die?!"

Yang Yong's pupils instantly widened, and he felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his face full of disbelief.

Yang Ji returned... he actually returned. This was the worst possible outcome. Why could Yang Ji return? Did he become alert? If he never leaves the city gate again, how can I deal with him?

Many thoughts flashed through Yang Yong's mind.

"Zhou Kuang, that bastard, took my money and dared not do the job!"

Yang Yong instantly reacted, cursing fiercely.

There was no reason for a dozen people to fail to deal with one person. The only explanation was that Zhou Kuang was afraid and took his money and ran.

Huang Hu remained silent, looking at the raging Yang Yong, feeling a bit sorry for him. He hoped Yang Yong was right, that Zhou Kuang took the money and ran, but...

"Zhou Kuang, Zhou Kuang is dead!... Killed by Yang Ji..."

Huang Hu swallowed hard and said in a low voice.

Boom!

A bolt of lightning!

Yang Yong felt as if he had been struck by a thunderbolt, his mouth wide open, his body stiff, his face full of disbelief.

Dead?

How could that be!

In that moment, all his anger vanished, and Yang Yong was shocked by the news, struggling to breathe. Huang Hu's voice continued to drift into his ears:

"Not just Zhou Kuang, his subordinates were also seriously injured. They carefully prepared and ambushed Yang Ji on his way down the mountain, but were all defeated by him. Now, they are preparing to leave Pingchuan County."

"Also, they told you to be careful, saying Yang Ji is at least a Seventh Stage Breathing expert..."

Huang Hu said in a low voice.

"!!!"

Yang Yong didn't hear anything else Huang Hu said. His face turned pale, and cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

"How could that be... how could that be? A dozen skilled people couldn't defeat one person? How could Yang Ji be so powerful? How could he be so powerful?"

In that moment, Yang Yong's eyes widened, as if he were in the deepest nightmare.

He always thought Zhou Kuang took his money and didn't do the job, but he never expected that a dozen people working together would fail.

"Zhou Kuang is dead! When did he become so ruthless? If they can't deal with Yang Ji, how can I? What if he finds out I was the one who hired Zhou Kuang? If he can kill Zhou Kuang, will he dare to kill me? — No, no... he can't possibly know it was me. But what if...?"

Yang Yong was drenched in cold sweat, suddenly feeling a great fear. As if sensing his fear, a figure flashed at the city gate.

Boom!

Yang Yong's whole body trembled, his eyes full of fear, stumbling and knocking over many tables and chairs, falling to the ground.

"Master, Master... what's wrong with you?"

Huang Hu and the others were shocked.

Yang Yong didn't say a word, madly rushing to the railing. But Yang Ji was already gone.

That night, Yang Yong fell ill.

The next morning, Yang Yong, with a large number of guards, left the Yang clan in the middle of the night, saying he was going to visit a distant relative on his mother's side.

No one knew what had happened; Yang Yong didn't say anything, not even to the matriarch.

When Yang Ji heard this news, he just smiled, not caring at all.

Yang Yong was just a small character, not worth his effort.

...

Days passed, and Yang Ji went up the mountain to practice every day. Before going down the mountain, he would bring some prey to the Crown King Snake.

Before he knew it, it was the New Year. After the New Year's Eve, the weather turned cold, and a heavy snowfall covered the entire Pingchuan County in a white blanket.

Creak!

The window of the woodshed was pushed open, and Yang Ji poked his head out.

"I wonder how that little snake is doing."

Yang Ji exhaled a puff of frost, suddenly lost in thought.

Snakes are cold-blooded animals, and in winter, their blood doesn't flow, so they hibernate underground.

Before, it was fine, but now, with the heavy snow, the temperature dropped drastically, making it extremely dangerous for snakes exposed on the surface.

Thinking of the Crown King Snake trapped under the large rock, Yang Ji suddenly felt worried.

"Uncle Liang, I'm going out for a bit."

Thinking of this, Yang Ji told Uncle Liang and then put on a cotton coat and hurried out the door.

The mountain was covered in white, with thick snow on the branches, leaves, and ground. The snow was knee-deep as he walked forward.

In front of the large rock, Yang Ji finally saw the Crown King Snake.

"This..."

Seeing the active figure under the snow-covered large rock, Yang Ji was speechless.

The heavy snow and drop in temperature seemed to have no effect on the Crown King Snake. It was still energetic and looked even better than yesterday.

"Incredible."

Yang Ji marveled, his face full of surprise.

Hibernation is a common trait of snakes, but this snake seemed different from others.

Under the large rock, the Crown King Snake looked at Yang Ji familiarly, without the intense hostility it had before. Perhaps because of the prey Yang Ji brought it every day, its injuries were gradually healing, though the arrow left by Lu Ling was still there.

"Little snake, little snake, even though it seems I was overthinking, this is still my little gesture, hoping it can help you a bit."

Yang Ji walked to five steps away from the snake and then threw a cotton robe over, gently covering the young Crown King Snake.

Five steps was the limit the Crown King Snake allowed Yang Ji to approach. Any closer, and the snake's instinct to resist other species would take over. Yang Ji didn't dare to take that risk.

After doing this, Yang Ji hunted a fresh, warm rabbit nearby and threw it at the Crown King Snake's feet, then patted his hands in satisfaction and left the mountain.

The whole time, the Crown King Snake watched Yang Ji work, and no one knew what it was thinking. For a long time, until Yang Ji's figure disappeared into the forest, it slowly lay down, ignoring the rabbit by its mouth, and remained still in the "cotton coat" Yang Ji made for it.

In a daze, something hard in the Crown King Snake's eyes seemed to melt, its gaze no longer as sharp, but softer, with something else in it.

...

After returning from the mountain, Yang Ji didn't immediately go back to the woodshed but quietly circled around to the inner courtyard of the Yang clan.

Normally, Yang Ji found it hard to enter here. But now, with the cold weather and heavy snow, there were few servants or guards on the road.

"Here."

Yang Ji hid behind a wall, carefully peeking out, focusing on the distance.

On a white marble square about five hundred steps wide, people were gathered, divided into several areas, with groups of Yang clan disciples practicing their skills.

These people all had long qi channels and stronger breathing than Yang Ji, all experts at the Eighth or Ninth Stage.

The sky was filled with heavy snow, and the weather was freezing, but these people were completely unaffected, their bodies steaming as if they had just come out of hot water.

Some even practiced boxing with bare upper bodies in the cold wind.

"You all listen carefully, strength and techniques are equally important. Stance and boxing are for increasing strength, which is internal cultivation, while techniques are martial arts. Only when both are mastered can one truly practice martial arts. Otherwise, it's just a show, and no matter how strong the strength, it can't be fully utilized..."

At the edge of the square, a powerful white-robed disciple walked back and forth, his whip cracking. His voice was loud and clear, with a faint red glow under his skin, clearly a "Warrior" at the Martial Arts Realm.

If anyone on the square dared to slack off, this "Warrior" would immediately lash out with his whip.

Yang Ji recognized him as "Yang Meng," one of the Five Tigers of the Yang clan, who had broken through to the Martial Arts Realm at a young age.

He was one of the most talented and renowned young disciples of the Yang clan.

"Amazing!"

Yang Ji's eyes were bright, watching intently.

No one knew that he was secretly learning martial arts here.

The "training ground" was not easily accessible, but this heavy snow provided him with an opportunity.

A few days ago, during the battle with Zhou Kuang and others, Yang Ji saw the techniques of Zhao Liang and Wen Meng and had the idea to learn martial arts. However, with his status in the clan, he couldn't easily get close to the training ground until this heavy snow.

For the past few days, Yang Ji had been familiarizing himself with the environment and the situation at the training ground. Now, he could finally decide which martial art to learn.

The Yang clan was a large family in Pingchuan County, with many martial arts. Each person learned different martial arts based on their talent and preferences.

"Running Horse Martial Art, Golden Rooster Martial Art, Agile Cat Martial Art, Fierce Bear Martial Art, Black Dragon Martial Art... too many. Low-level martial arts are useless, and high-level martial arts are beyond my breathing stage..."

Yang Ji's mind raced, his gaze sweeping over the training ground, quickly settling on a section in the lower right corner:

"... White Snake Martial Art! I'll learn this!"

The "White Snake Martial Art" is a Second Rank martial art, emphasizing agility and flexibility, containing body movement and techniques, making it the best way to deal with the human wave tactics of people like Zhou Kuang.

However, Yang Ji chose this martial art not just for that reason, but because—

"Crown King Snake!"

Yang Ji subconsciously thought of the Crown King Snake trapped under the large rock.

The martial arts of the Yang clan are "imitative martial arts," created and passed down by martial artists studying the life, habits, and movements of animals in nature.

Yang Ji lacked the mental techniques for these martial arts, so he had to trace back to the source, learning from the animals he could contact and studying their techniques to make up for it.

The "Crown King Snake" was the animal Yang Ji could contact the most.

"The White Snake Martial Art includes White Snake Lying in Grass, White Snake Spitting, White Snake Climbing a Tree..."

In the distance, a Yang clan disciple was explaining the key points of the "White Snake Martial Art." Yang Ji immediately controlled his breathing, focused all his attention, and memorized everything he saw.

...

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