Chapter 41: Riding a Tiger with No Way Down, a Loss That Outweighs the Gain

Everything outside had fallen completely silent.

Tianbao opened her little mouth to yawn, feeling drowsy and muddled. The sound of her parents’ rhythmic breathing and snoring beside her only made her want to bury her head and drift off to sleep immediately.

She had realized after operating her space repeatedly today that it wasn't without its costs. It made her sleepy. While others spent physical strength in a fight, she spent her vitality. If only there were a way to deal with things less taxing than fighting.

Dawn was about to break.

Mount Tubei remained quiet. Only three or four people were aware of what had transpired outside the Su family’s courtyard. Mrs. Huo was one of them. When she had poked her head out upon hearing the commotion, she had happened to see a figure plummet from the grey sky, crashing less than ten feet from her own doorstep.

"..." Mrs. Huo tiptoed back into her room.

The Twelve Piers were clearly not giving up. And that hidden master was truly formidable—hitting people as if they were birds, accurate every single time. This was the third time she had gotten up tonight after hearing a disturbance, and every time, she had witnessed someone falling from the sky.

"You old dog, I’ve discovered a secret!" she whispered mysteriously to her husband, who was sleeping on the other bed in the room. "I’ve discovered that the master doesn't even need to sleep!"

Huo Ziheng remained silent.

"Tsk, don't just dismiss me! No matter when people approach, they can't get within thirty feet of the Su family's home. It's as if traps have been set; whoever crosses the line is just throwing their life away!" Mrs. Huo clicked her tongue. "I have to admit, I’m impressed by this skill!"

She wasn't going to sleep, and Huo Ziheng knew very well that he wouldn't be able to either. He sighed helplessly, "The Su family is safe and sound. You don't need to keep getting up to check. Go to sleep; it’s almost dawn."

"This is so strange and exciting, how could I possibly sleep?"

"What does the Su family’s business have to do with you? There are others who should be the ones unable to sleep." The man let out a few forced coughs.

The woman immediately grew anxious. "Alright, alright, I won't bother you. Go to sleep, I’m lying down now!"

The hushed whispers faded, and Mount Tubei returned to the stillness before dawn.

Meanwhile, five miles away at the Wan Family Manor on Mount Tunam, the estate remained brightly lit. The main hall was as bright as day, with three men seated inside, none having slept all night. Several objects covered in white cloth lay on the floor in the center of the hall.

Wan Fu sat in a solid wood armchair on the left, facing a burly man in his forties. Sitting in the seat of honor was an elderly man with a deep, stern expression, his hair and beard white; his half-closed eyes glinted with sharp light.

"We have lost four experts tonight! Even Protector Chen has fallen at their hands. Among all the experts of the Twelve Piers, his skill ranked within the top three!" Wan Fu’s face was livid. He stared at the fallen experts beneath the white cloths, nearly grinding his teeth to dust. "I thought they were just a small farming family; I figured sending experts to launch a sneak attack would easily finish them off. I never expected to be so mistaken! I underestimated the person behind them. Sixth Uncle, what kind of background do you think they have?"

The old man called Sixth Uncle looked equally grim. He, too, had misjudged the situation. Had he known, he wouldn't have sacrificed four of the gang’s experts, especially someone of Elder Chen’s caliber. In this land of exile, holding one's ground ultimately came down to the strength of one's fists. In this lawless place, the harder your fists and the more ruthless your nature, the more you could hold onto, and the less likely others would be to bully you.

The Twelve Piers dominated half of the area outside Fengyun City precisely because they maintained twenty-six experts. Losing four at once was a massive blow to the organization.

The man on the right, a hall master of another branch of the Twelve Piers, spoke in a low voice. "You can count on one hand the number of people in all of Fengyun City with this kind of skill. Bai Kui is one, and Bai Xiaofeng of the Wangque Pavilion is another. But given their status and standing, they wouldn't have the time or interest to meddle in the affairs of a small, insignificant household. Excluding them, that leaves only one."

"Broken Blade!" Wan Fu blurted out.

"I can't think of anyone else, unless a new expert has entered this region without our knowledge."

But that was impossible. Every year, people were exiled to this land. The various factions entrenched here would vet newcomers; if they found someone with talent, they would try to recruit them, or kill them if they refused. For years, Huo Ziheng, who lived on Mount Tubei, had been the only exception—not only did he refuse to be recruited, but he also survived. However, that was only because he had sworn never to interfere in any factional disputes, earning him a peaceful existence.

Consequently, all three men in the hall immediately dismissed the possibility of a new expert sneaking in, followed by a long, heavy silence. The other factions couldn't possibly be unaware of the Twelve Piers' actions tonight. In short, the Twelve Piers had been thoroughly humiliated.

"Damn the Su family! Their lives are as cheap as ants, yet they are as hard to swallow as a thorn in the throat!" Wan Fu cursed again, a rare sense of frustration rising within him. "We are in a difficult spot now! To keep sending men is just throwing more lives away, and the losses are getting worse! But if we just let it go, where does that leave the face of our gang?!"

He looked at the old man in the seat of honor, feeling powerless yet unwilling to give up. "Sixth Uncle, what should we do? Tell me, I’ll listen to you!"

Sixth Uncle closed his eyes and slowly said in a low, heavy voice, "The gang cannot afford to lose more talent. Sacrificing so many for a tiny Su family is already a net loss. Once the gang’s strength is weakened, the vultures circling us will immediately swoop in to tear us apart; that would be penny-wise and pound-foolish! The Su family—set them aside for now. We will wait until we have fully assessed the depth of their support before making a move."

"But—"

"Let them be for now. They can only grow vegetables; at most, they’ll reclaim some wasteland. They can't cause us any real harm. What’s the harm in letting them jump around for a while? At worst, we’ve just lost a few tenant farmers. Besides, do you think it’s the Su family I fear? I fear the person behind them who has repeatedly intervened! There are ways to deal with the Su family—archers, fire, poison—we could ensure they have no peace. But if we do that, there’s no guarantee the person behind them won't come looking for trouble. What then? Those who aim for great things must know when to let go in order to grasp what truly matters!"

Wan Fu had nothing to say and finally fell silent.

The old man stood up, hands behind his back, looking heavily out of the hall. The sky was showing a faint glimmer; dawn was approaching.

"After daybreak, I will leave the city and see Broken Blade myself to ask him clearly. If it wasn't him who intervened, then we must be even more cautious. The balance of power in Fengyun City may be about to shift."

Hearing this, Wan Fu and the other man both felt a chill, their expressions turning somber.

Somewhere, a rooster crowed, its voice clear and far-reaching. The morning of a spring day in April on Mount Tubei began amidst the morning mist of the rising sun and the singing of birds.

Movement stirred in the Su family courtyard; the people inside were waking up. In the thin morning mist, the sounds of rinsing, low conversation, and the curling smoke from the kitchen stove wove together the essence of human life.

The day was bright and clear.