32. Tracking

After deciding to take down the young mistress, Song Cheng began to ponder.

As terrifying as the sea, a tide was approaching. If he couldn't climb aboard a ship at this time, when the waters rose, surely he couldn't hope for "Yune to save me"?

The Ruyi Commerce Chamber was that ship.

The young mistress was its helm.

Song Cheng did have some fondness for the young mistress and felt she must be a capable and admirable woman, but these feelings absolutely hadn't reached the point of considering marriage.

However, emotions could be cultivated later. For now... he had to start "grasping the helm".

This was... driven by interests.

In the darkness, the youth's eyes narrowed into two sharp blades.

Suddenly, raindrops fell on the oiled paper window.

It began to rain.

In early spring, it was naturally a spring rain.

The rustling sound was like a soothing lullaby calming the mind.

Song Cheng carefully covered Madam Tong with quilts and shifted slightly to the side.

"You're going again?" Madam Tong hadn't fallen asleep.

Song Cheng smiled and replied, "Yes."

"Be careful."

"Yes."

In the deep darkness, a Yin Soul emerged from the young man's body and swiftly exited the door.

Tonight, with light rain, a gentle wind, and half a 'two hours' due back.

In recent days, he had already visited every part of the county.

The north and east districts were not very impressive.

The area with the highest martial power in Shanghe County was the south district.

And the strongest figure in that district, the master of the Water Bird Martial Arts Hall, had already been defeated by him.

So, his task today was not to patrol the entire county town, but to... play the shameless villain and patrol Ling's boudoir.

Like a ghost, the Yin Soul traversed through the rain unseen.

Upon reaching Ling's boudoir.

At a glance.

The room was dark and lacked data.

'The young mistress just left the county today, and Ling isn't in her room in the dead of night?'

Song Cheng spun around, rode the wind out of the mansion, and upon reaching the outside, the Yin Soul shifted and floated up like the wind into the vast sky.

A Yin Soul is a floater after all...

If it wishes to ascend to the heavens, of course, it can.

As long as it doesn't get blown far away on a windy day and can't return.

After ascending, Song Cheng steadied his form and quickly scanned the surroundings.

There were hardly any people walking on the streets during the rainy night, so if Ling was still on her way, he would be able to see her.

Time passed quickly.

Song Cheng didn't have good luck; after the time taken for three sticks of incense to burn, he didn't locate Ling and had to start heading back.

He had gone close to the city gate, even leaving the city and wandering a bit in the wilderness to the east of the city, so the distance back home was not short.

Just as he turned around, he suddenly felt something, quickly turned his head, and saw a strange broken wooden sign by the edge of the woods, which wasn't there before—or had he missed it? The wooden sign was cracked and had nothing written on it, but was merely slanted in the mud.

'It seems... I didn't see it just now? Or did I overlook it?' Song Cheng stared at the wooden sign and looked into the distance. To the east of the city was the route leading to Tang River Village, and the two sides were not far apart...

But pondering was a matter of a few moments.

Immediately, Song Cheng no longer dwelled on it, tightened his form, and swiftly left.

...

...

The next day, early in the morning.

The sky was clear.

Madam Tong was practicing with her blade in the courtyard.

In recent days, she had truly had enough resources, and high-quality demon beast meat at that, which greatly invigorated her. Coupled with Song Cheng's careful instruction, saying she was advancing by leaps and bounds was no exaggeration.

After practicing for a while, during her rest, Song Cheng left the house.

"Brother Song, good morning! With such great pressure, are you still out for a walk?"

"Brother Wang, good morning. I just need some insight, hence the walk."

"Brother Song, good morning."

"Good morning."

Greeting people with a smile along the way, Song Cheng arrived at the young mistress's residence and raised his hand to knock on the door, but as he looked down, he noticed some mud at the corner stone steps near the door.

There was mud in the Commerce Chamber courtyard too, but mostly it was hardened, and even walking in rainy weather wouldn't get one muddied.

As for the area around the young mistress's residence, it was paved with stone bricks and there was no mud at all.

He narrowed his eyes, looked left and right, saw no one, and quickly kneeled down, picking up the mud, squeezing it, and smelling it.

It smelled of chicken feces.

Very faint.

Common people cannot smell it.

But for someone who had once been blind and had lived in a village often smeared with chicken and duck droppings, this scent was very clear.

Song Cheng dusted off his hands, and before his eyes, an image of a "three-dimensional map" seemed to emerge from the void.

Over the past days, he had not only been carefully observing the strength of the strongest in Shanghe County but had also looked at the terrain.

The distribution of alleys, core industries, and so on... he remembered them all.

In the county, the only possibilities for keeping chickens were three places: Dates Lane, Wengshizi, and Mai Family Lane.

So, had Miss Ling gone to one of these three places yesterday?

Just as he was thinking, a sneeze sounded from inside the door.

Dressed in beautiful clothes, Ling stepped out of the house in her little boots.

"Good morning, Miss Ling," Song Cheng said with a smile. "It's chilly this spring, and the winds are brisk at night. I'll have my wife make you a secret recipe for ginger tea, guaranteed to work."

Ling wore a pink fleece jacket, her delicate form exquisite, her eyes bright like stars. As the personal maid of the young lady, she was just the right complement.

Upon seeing Song Cheng, her face management wasn't yet complete, unintentionally revealing a hint of disdain which she quickly coughed away, cleared her throat, and then retracted. Then she said, "You are slacking off in your training again!"

Song Cheng laughed, "I'm thinking of taking a blade from the armory, different blade types require different training methods."

Ling said, "Oh, even before you've mastered it, you're already asking for this and that. Aren't those in the weapon rack enough for you to practice with?"

Song Cheng replied amicably, "Then okay, I'll go find another one."

"Suit yourself!"

Ling's attitude wasn't great, and her approval rating dropped from 50 to 45.

She huffed, turning her skirt-clad hips and walking away.

Song Cheng glanced at her retreating figure.

Had she met with a scoundrel last night?

He went to the chamber of commerce's weapon racks and rummaged through each.

The additional enhancements brought by the weapons flashed by.

But either they were 1 or 2, not even as good as the Fine Blade he had before.

Eventually, he didn't find a suitable weapon.

...

As night fell...

The light rain came again.

The youth sat cross-legged under the eaves with a blade on his lap.

He glanced at his panel and without hesitation added all of the remaining "37 points" to "Extreme Force."

Suddenly, the progress of "Extreme Force" leapt from "Uninitiated (0/4)" to "Great Achievement (9/32)."

His strength also increased from "39~78" to "41~80."

A sense of mystery emerged.

After the "Pouncing Force" evolved from the White Snake Blade and "Relaxing Force" brought by Willow Returning Force, the arrival of "Extreme Force" seemed just right.

Pounce, rapid and swift.

Relax, a shaking and plucking force.

Extreme, like an earth-shattering landslide, was a burst of crisp, fierce rupture, crushing inch by inch.

After pouncing, the large muscles were like a bow, the force like a body-breaking arrow. But as the arrow approaches, there's a fierce tremor. This tremor brings about a terrible rupturing force.

The blade technique hasn't changed, it's still "White Snake Swallows Sparrow," which must reach Perfection to elevate the blade technique along with it.

Song Cheng suddenly stood up, went inside, and told Madam Tong, "I'm going out for a bit."

Tong Jia did not ask; she just said softly, "Be careful, Head of the household."

Song Cheng nodded, then steWithout an umbrella, he walked out of the courtyard door and quickly hid in the shrubs near the young lady's residence, then quietly awaited any activity from that mansion.

His Yin Soul could not stay outside for long; it was not possible to linger outside the door for an extended period, so he had to tail her himself.

Perhaps today Ling wouldn't go out...

No matter, he would just continue waiting.

If the young lady wasn't around, Ling would eventually have to leave the house, if not today, then tomorrow.

He sat with his eyes closed in the spring rain, his black hair damp and hanging down.

The world for a moment seemed like ink.

Drops of rain hit the ground, creating countless sound sources, spreading ripples that collided with all things, outlining their shapes and interweaving into a world of pure white lines.

At midnight...

The door creaked softly.

Ling cautiously poked her head out, looked left and right, then holding her umbrella and carrying a red gauze lantern, hurried into the curtain of rain.

Her breathing was somewhat rapid...

As was her heartbeat.

In the rainy night, darkness enveloped everything; anyone walking here without a lamp would be no different from a blind person. Yet, using a lamp made one conspicuous.

Song Cheng walked in the darkness, following Ling from a distance.

He had once been blind.

Whether he used a lamp or not, it didn't matter to him.