Chapter 37

The next morning, just as Qin Fengming was enjoying his breakfast at the inn, suddenly, there was a great commotion on the street. A troop of soldiers rushed in from outside the town, heading towards the Zhang family’s residence. (www..com)

The townspeople were startled by the noise and gathered on the streets, staring in shock at the soldiers.

In just a moment, the news spread that both the Zhang family father and son had been killed, and the second young master had gone to chase the enemy and had not returned. The soldiers had been sent by the Zhang family to solve the case and apprehend the culprit.

Qin Fengming watched the scene with a cold smile on his lips. After breakfast, he left Tenglong Town as if nothing had happened. Given his young age, no one suspected him.

Although Qin Fengming was young, he knew it would be highly inconvenient to boldly enter the Qin family village now.

Everyone in the Qin family village knew he was a disciple of Luoxia Valley. If he appeared now, even a fool would know that he was responsible for the deaths of the Zhang family father and son.

The best plan now was to secretly enter the Qin family village, meet his parents and relatives in secret, and then quietly leave.

Standing before his family’s door, unable to enter and see his loved ones, Qin Fengming felt an overwhelming sadness.

He waited in a secluded place until it was dark, then changed into black clothes and used his lightness skill to head towards the Qin family village.

Upon entering the Qin family village, Qin Fengming found that the entire village had changed dramatically. The once dilapidated scene was gone, replaced by much cleaner streets and courtyards.

Standing in front of his old home, Qin Fengming was stunned by the sight. A large black gate stood before him, with walls over ten feet high, and the small bamboo courtyard was no longer there.

Standing at the gate, Qin Fengming carefully confirmed that this was indeed his home. With doubts in his heart, he went to a secluded place, and with a flick of his body, leaped over the high wall to take a look inside.

Inside the large courtyard, the area had more than doubled. In front, there were six tile-roofed houses, and on both sides, there were three side rooms each. In the middle room, the lights were bright, and voices could be heard from time to time.

He quietly approached the room, stood by the door, and listened to the people inside. They were having dinner, and the sounds of pots and pans, as well as familiar voices, reached his ears.

"Xiaomengzi, eat slowly, be careful not to choke."

Hearing this familiar voice, Qin Fengming's body trembled. This was something his mother often said during meals.

"Look at you, be more careful. You're already two years old, and still so clumsy," another young woman's voice said.

"Leave him alone, let him eat by himself," his grandfather's steady voice also came through.

"Xiaomengzi is already two years old, I wonder how Xiaosanzhi is doing. It's been almost six years since we last saw him," his grandmother's loving voice reached Qin Fengming's ears, causing his heart to tremble and his nose to sting with tears that uncontrollably fell.

Standing outside the door, Qin Fengming listened to the familiar voices, and the long-suppressed longing welled up inside him, overwhelming him.

Gradually calming down, Qin Fengming realized that the young woman speaking was likely his second sister-in-law, as his elder brother had mentioned in his letter that his second brother had married three years ago. The woman was from a neighboring village, and she was very proper and good-looking.

The child called Xiaomengzi must be his nephew.

Through the open window, Qin Fengming looked at the familiar faces, feeling extremely excited. Seeing that everyone in the family was well, he felt a bit more at ease.

Bending his knees, Qin Fengming knelt on the ground. With a thud, he bowed three times towards the room, then slowly stood up, wiped the tears from his eyes, and, with a determined heart, left the Qin family village...

A month later, Qin Fengming returned to Luoxia Valley. He first went to Danyun Peak to see his master and master's wife. At this time, his senior sister had already married his second senior brother Lü Xuan and no longer lived on Danyun Peak.

His master and master's wife did not ask him many questions but were very happy to see him and encouraged him.

What shocked Qin Fengming was that after being back at Caihua Peak for half a month, no one in Luoxia Valley had come to ask him any questions, as if he had never left the mountain. Even Master Sima and Elder Wu had not sought him out. This phenomenon puzzled him for a while.

One day, after practicing his sword techniques, Qin Fengming returned to his room and was about to practice his internal skills when he suddenly remembered the black ring he had taken from the Zhang family's young master.

He took out the ring and examined it carefully, but found nothing unusual. There were no seams or hidden mechanisms.

He drew his sword and struck the ring with six-tenths of his strength. With a "clang," the ring remained undamaged. His sword was extremely sharp, far superior to ordinary weapons. Even if it struck steel, it would leave a mark, but this ring, which seemed to be made of a metal-like material, was completely unharmed.

Holding the ring, Qin Fengming couldn't help but think that this ring was certainly extraordinary. He didn't dare use his full strength, fearing he might damage the sword given to him by his master.

Putting the ring away, he reached into his bag and found the unknown small booklet.

Qin Fengming had examined this booklet countless times, but it had no name, and the text inside was extremely difficult to understand, completely different from any internal skill he had seen before.

With nothing else to do, he became interested. Since this item belonged to the young immortal master, it must be a precious secret manual.

For the next month, Qin Fengming spent two hours each day studying the small booklet, comparing it with the internal skill he had learned. Finally, he made some progress.

He discovered that the skill was divided into ten levels, and one had to complete one level before moving on to the next. At the end of the booklet, several techniques were introduced, but when he tried them with his own internal energy, they had no effect. It seemed he needed to practice the skill first.

At first glance, the skill seemed like a martial arts internal skill, but upon closer inspection, it was different.

When practicing internal skills, one must start from the dantian, move along a specified route through the eight extraordinary meridians, and return to the dantian, completing one cycle. Each cycle would increase one's internal energy slightly. Consistent practice would gradually increase one's internal energy.

However, this unnamed skill aimed to absorb external energy through practice, then guide that energy along a specified route through the eight extraordinary meridians, and finally,汇聚到丹田。

尽管最终都是汇聚到丹田，但起始点却不同。

以秦风鸣的见识，他可以看出来，这无疑是一种更高明的内功心法。这一发现让秦风鸣内心顿时兴奋不已。如果能学会这种功法，定能使自己的实力更上一层楼。

（Note: The last two sentences were not translated as they were in Chinese and not part of the main narrative. If you need them translated, please let me know.）

However, this unnamed skill aimed to absorb external energy through practice, then guide that energy along a specified route through the eight extraordinary meridians, and finally, converge it into the dantian.

Although the end result was the same, the starting point was different.

With Qin Fengming's knowledge, he could see that this was undoubtedly a more advanced internal skill. This discovery made him extremely excited. If he could master this skill, it would certainly elevate his strength to a new level.