Hua Lian'er opened up like this for the first time, perhaps moved by seeing Chen Ping take risks alone today, feeling she couldn't lend any help.
At this moment, she just wanted to spill out everything she knew.
"Let's not talk about the Celestial List, just about tonight. Don't be fooled by how Deputy Commander Liang Qi was easily defeated, like a joke. Actually, this person is also on the list. He ranks thirty-ninth on the Earth List. I've heard that he's just a step away from the Grandmaster Realm. It's quite normal that he couldn't defeat Fairy Fubo."
"Fairy Fubo, you mean, the woman who played the zither?"
Zuo Duanshou had been puzzled. To him, a Deputy Commander of the Brocade Guard was already a top figure, yet he was beaten like a dead dog.
The opponent was a seemingly gentle and weak woman, which was naturally intriguing.
"Yes, Fairy Fubo, Weifu Bo, who wields the Nine Heavens Zither and her Stringless Celestial Sound is renowned in the Jianghu. Even among Grandmasters, she is considered outstanding. Moreover, her initial rise to fame came sixteen years ago when she was only thirteen."
"Tsk tsk..."
Several people exclaimed in unison.
Chen Ping noticed the twinkle in Hua Lian'er's eyes, resembling the expression of certain contemporary groups when speaking of their idols.
He couldn't help but feel a stir in his heart.
"You mean, this Fairy Fubo plays the zither very well?"
"Yes, her musical skills are unparalleled in the world, worthy of being called a master. It's said, when she plays the [Vast Sea Subdued Dragon Melody], the seas can calm... Back then, the [Nine Heavens Zither] and [Jade Flute] emerged from the East Sea, captivating countless heroes and elites."
Talking about Fairy Fubo, Hua Lian'er couldn't stop, feeling as if she wanted to speak for three days and nights.
She licked her lips, suddenly deflated and said, "Unfortunately, we were too far away earlier, so I only heard the sound but didn't see her celestial appearance, nor did I hear her qin music."
"If she truly mastered the Seven-Stringed Invisible Sword, the Earth List ranking might need to be rewritten again. In my opinion, that Commander Xu Jing'an of the Brocade Guard might not necessarily hold the second place firmly."
This was entirely a Jianghu fangirl, a stargazer.
Chen Ping once again doubted his eyes, observing closely but still couldn't find any trace of Hua Lian'er having practiced Martial Dao, which further intrigued him.
After some thought, he still chose not to ask directly.
With friends as close as they were, it wasn't necessary to probe into things that others didn't want to discuss.
Who doesn't have some secrets?
He had them.
Zuo Duanshou had them.
Even Little Table and Little Stool had them...
Though these two were often ridiculed and mocked, appearing meek and with little presence.
From their conversations, Chen Ping could still sense that they possessed a rare inner wisdom and eloquence.
Far beyond just a few years of private school education.
Although he didn't know why they were so determined to become eunuchs.
To serve others as attendants.
But their academic prowess was undeniable. Sometimes, when they spoke, they would inadvertently cite classical texts, using elegant words.
Anyway, as long as they could connect genuinely with each other, such secrets weren't that important to discuss.
Hua Lian'er had her reasons for not speaking.
Maybe revealing too much could harm them all.
...
In just a few words, the previously silent street was completely disrupted.
A flicker of firelight appeared in the distance, accompanied by the clatter of hooves.
There were shouts and cries.
Little Table opened a crack in a door, peered out nervously, and whispered with a look of shock, "Let's not speak any further and rest early. Seventh Brother, you never went out tonight."
"Yes, we are all deep in sleep, as we have songs to sing tomorrow."
Everyone understood that it was definitely the constables of Xingqing Prefecture starting to act. As long as they stayed indoors, there wasn't much worry about being caught by the night patrol.
After all, constables were also human.
They wouldn't honestly knock on every door for thorough checks.
Doing so would exhaust them to death.
The room quieted down again until some sounds passed by the door... Indeed, no one came to search the place.
Chen Ping felt more at ease, opening up his package.
At first glance, he saw the exquisite hand crossbow inside, with nine fine iron arrows placed beside it, not strung.
He knew that during Boss Yat's gang's robbery of Shopkeeper Shen's group, one arrow had been damaged.
However, nine arrows were still enough.
Chen Ping strung an arrow, aimed with it in hand...
Although it wasn't a good time to test the arrow, he felt much more secure.
He carefully removed the arrow, looking at the stack of golden leaves, folded into thin strips.
He estimated them to be around thirty to forty taels... With the current gold-to-silver ratio at nine to one, converting to silver would be nearly four hundred taels.
Besides the golden leaves, there was a small bag of silver ingots, totaling two hundred taels.
This wealth was remarkably substantial. Counting only silver taels, aside from the arrows, there were nearly six hundred taels.
Some people are just insatiably greedy, and very stingy.
Even with such a large fortune, Boss Yat still coveted the copper coins and broken silver the little beggars collected, utterly insane.
Such behavior, even if Boss Yat hadn't been taken down last time, would have sooner or later led to his demise at someone else's hands.
People's character determines their destiny, and that's how it is.
He even suspected, given Boss Yat's unequal distribution of spoils, that he might have been killed by his own brothers before anyone else could.
Of course, that was all in the past, and Boss Yat would surely not wish for others to keep thinking about him from the underworld.
There's no need to dwell too much on money matters... With money, one could slightly liberate themselves, buying some excellent medicinal herbs. To replenish the Qi and blood thoroughly, reaching one's realm.
Thinking of treasures, Chen Ping took out a small bottle.
He poured out three jade-like pills into his hand, took a closer sniff, and licked them, instantly feeling invigorated.
Without further hesitation, he swallowed one, focusing his thoughts on his leg again.
After the treatment by the qin sound, his injured leg had improved significantly... Except for slight weakness when walking, it didn't hurt to rest the foot, and the bamboo stick had long been thrown into a bush by Chen Ping; he didn't need anyone's support coming back.
Zuo Duanshou was a bit puzzled but attributed it to Chen Ping's swift recovery or naturally strong physique, not overthinking it.
After the Jade Ginseng Pill settled in his stomach, Chen Ping felt the injured leg begin to heal slowly again, his body's Qi and blood circulation accelerated, and an intangible yet real energy seeped into him gradually.
He felt wide awake, savoring the comfortable sensation of the medicine's energy coursing through his body, while his vision fell onto the Spring and Autumn Silkworm attribute column in his mind.
[Spring and Autumn Silkworm (Second Transformation)]
[Talent: Trace Origin and Steal Fortune, Cocoon Rebirth]
[Innate Talent: 4 (Ordinary)]
[Enlightenment: 3 (Average)]
[Tribulation Points: 3 (Breaking Realm)]
[Fortune: 1 (Change Destiny)]
[Cultivation Technique: Wandering Body Bagua Palm (Great Success), Spring Leg (Mastery)]
The improvement in Spring Leg stemmed from some light practice these days.
With the realm achieved and the body strengthened, practicing martial arts at the same level became easier.
Furthermore, after slaying Big-Beard Zhang and his companions, the Tribulation Points increased.
Considering these three's strength was slightly weaker than Boss Yat, and they weren't leaders, gaining just one point made sense.
Fortune also increased by one point.
What exactly is Fortune? Chen Ping had developed his understanding.
Perhaps it follows a path of punishing evil and promoting good.
Undoubtedly, these people had committed many evils in the past and would continue into the future...
Killing them would benefit All Living Beings, hence the Fortune point gain.
When slaying such people, how much Tribulation and Fortune could one gain?
Chen Ping speculated that it might relate to the opponent's strength and realm, and the consequences their actions would cause.
Ultimately, it wasn't crucial to delve into.
What he cared about was how 3 Tribulation Points weren't enough to upgrade his martial art realm, which was a slight disappointment.
He probably needed one more.
Gaining Tribulation Points was much harder than earning silver.
However, there was no fortune without tribulation.
Chen Ping hoped the Tribulation would come fiercely, yet also wished it wouldn't.
He could only leave it to fate.