Chen Sanshi and Zhao Qiao returned together to Swallow-Edge Village.
Along the way, nearly everyone treated him like a hero.
After all, with that black bear dead, the mountains would be far safer for hunters and herbalists alike.
Some villagers even wanted to send their sons to become his disciples.
Others offered their daughters to be his concubine.
A single bear was worth over dozens of taels of snowflake silver—in these times, that amount could buy the lives of several young maidens.
Naturally, Chen Sanshi refused them all.
Even as he pushed open his own door, he found two matchmakers stepping out of the house.
"Even they've come knocking?"
Chen Sanshi could only sigh helplessly.
"You're not hurt, are you?"
Gu Xinlan, as always, checked him from head to toe. Only after confirming he was unharmed did she finally relax. "So, what do you think?"
"What do I think?"
Chen Sanshi blinked for a moment before realizing she meant the offers for marriage.
He immediately shook his head. "I want to focus on martial cultivation. I've got no time for that."
"I thought so," Gu Xinlan said softly. "So I turned them all down for you."
As she helped remove his bow and iron spear, she added gently, "But Shi ge'er, when you do feel like finding someone, just tell me. I'll help you pick a pretty one."
Chen Sanshi was slightly surprised.
So Lan jie'er really didn't seem to mind that kind of thing.
Then again, women of this era often thought differently.
"Lan jie'er, could you cook this for me? Just boil it in clean water—no salt."
Chen Sanshi hadn't forgotten what mattered most. He pulled out the bear heart, nearly two jin in weight. Even through the lotus leaves, he could feel the raw vitality pulsing inside it.
"These silver taels—keep them. Buy whatever the house needs. And handle this bear meat too. I plan to bring some to camp in a few days."
With a woman managing the household, he barely had to worry about anything.
Gu Xinlan went to the kitchen to light the fire.
Chen Sanshi stepped outside to train with his spear.
After several full sets of spear forms, his stomach growled in hunger and dizziness swept over him. His body clearly felt "drained." Fortunately, dinner was ready soon after.
Bear meat, pork, steamed rice, wild vegetable and egg soup—and most importantly, the main dish: the bear heart.
Chen Sanshi picked up the bear heart and bit down directly.
A rush of iron and blood filled his mouth, the taste so thick it almost made him gag. The metallic tang shot up to his head, and he had to cover his mouth to chew and swallow by force.
It was disgusting—but incredibly effective.
The moment the bear heart entered his stomach, warmth bloomed inside him, spreading like a small flame. As his body digested the meat, the nutrients flooded his system, replenishing everything he had lost from training.
He no longer cared about the taste and simply tore into it, devouring mouthful after mouthful.
After eating about one-third of the heart, his whole body burned as though on fire. He hastily stuffed down some rice and soup, then rushed outside again to continue training.
The bear heart truly was a powerful tonic.
He practiced straight until nightfall without once feeling that same sense of depletion. If not for his muscles demanding rest, he might have trained through the night.
[Technique: Basic Spearsmanship for Infantry (Uninitiated)]
[Progress: (67/100)]
[Effect: None]
His efficiency skyrocketed.
With two-thirds of the bear heart left, he was sure he'd be able to cultivate his first thread of qi and blood within the next couple of days.
After finishing his drills, he returned inside. The heart's restorative power was still working through his body, leaving him full of energy.
Under the soft glow of candlelight, Gu Xinlan sat by the table, sewing diligently.
Ever since she'd stopped doing hard labor outside, her skin had grown fairer and her hands smooth, no longer swollen and red. From a distance, she looked like a delicate figure carved from white jade.
To save money, she didn't buy finished clothes. Instead, she purchased fabric and sewed garments herself.
Quietly, Chen Sanshi crept up behind her. Then, leaning close to her ear, he whispered, "Wife, wear the red one tonight. I'll be waiting inside."
"Ah—!"
Gu Xinlan gasped, startled—she hadn't heard him approach at all.
Her hand clutched her chest as she looked up at the table.
The red one…
Her face instantly turned crimson.
It was a half-finished red bellyband.
…
Chen Sanshi stayed home for two days.
By the third day, when he felt his condition had stabilized, he packed his things and set off for the garrison.
He wore a cloth cuirass and a red-tasseled cap, a bow slung over his shoulder and a spear in hand—his presence was sharp and commanding.
Villagers along the way couldn't help but stare.
"Shitou's going to be an officer soon!"
"Yeah, my cousin serves at the garrison. He says Shitou's been doing really well."
"Bah! Won't last long."
"Baldy Lai, can't you say something decent for once?"
"Believe what you want," the bald man, nicknamed Baldy Lai, shouted loudly—clearly hoping Chen Sanshi would hear.
"Uncle Lai."
Chen Sanshi walked right up to him. "You got something you want to tell me again?"
"You're a sharp one, kid."
Baldy Lai leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Guess what I've been seeing lately?
"These past two days, I've often seen Qin Xiong's younger brother treating that fat officer from the camp to drinks. You know what he's up to?"
Fat officer?
Wang Zhi?
Chen Sanshi's mind immediately connected the dots.
So Qin Feng had been inviting Hundred-Household Wang to drink lately?
He wasn't too worried.
Wang Zhi already knew about his conflict with Tianyuan Martial Hall. If he really meant to harm him, why would he have gone out of his way to teach him the Haoran Breathing Method?
And besides, that man accepting someone's hospitality didn't mean he'd agree to do them any favors.
Chen Sanshi knew that from personal experience.
Most likely, Qin Feng was just wasting silver for nothing…
Still, it wouldn't hurt to stay cautious.
Over the past two days, he'd made some inquiries.
He learned that Qin Feng had, half a month ago, been promoted from an outer disciple to a true disciple. However, since that promotion was recent, he had only just broken through to tempering blood—mastery stage.
Chen Sanshi, on the other hand, was only one step away from tempering blood—beginner stage.
Once he crossed that threshold, he might not lose if they fought.
From his hunt with the black bear, he'd already learned a valuable truth—mere strength wasn't everything.
That thought fired him up with renewed drive.
At the garrison gate, he ran into Wang Zhi riding back on horseback.
Even from a distance, he could smell the heavy reek of alcohol.
"Catch!"
Wang Zhi tossed him a wine jar. "Deer blood wine—three taels of silver a jar. Good stuff! Bought it just for you!"
"And who says I, Wang Zhi, am stingy or money-grubbing? Don't listen to Old Liu's nonsense. Stick with me, and you'll get your share of good things."
"Now, work hard and show me results. I want to see you form your first strand of qi and blood within ten days!"
"Thank you, Hundred-Household Wang."
Chen Sanshi cupped his fists. "I've hit a bottleneck with my spear training. Could I trouble you to watch my form for a bit—make sure I'm not going astray?"
"Bottleneck? At beginner level? There's no such—wait…"
Half the drunkenness vanished from Wang Zhi's face. "You… you're about to break through to tempering blood?!"
At the drill yard.
Chen Sanshi swallowed the last piece of bear heart, then took several gulps of deer blood wine. His body flared with heat; strength surged like a flood, nearly spilling out of his veins.
He seized the moment and raised his plum-blossom spear, beginning the Basic Spearsmanship for Infantry.
Stance work, spear technique, breathing method—threefold synergy.
Under their combined strain, his body ran at full load. Fueled by meat and wine, his spear swept faster and faster, every motion powerful, tireless, unrelenting.
His heartbeat thundered, his chest pounding violently as though something inside was ready to burst free.
'So this is qi and blood?'
He knew this was the critical moment. He didn't dare stop.
Each strike grew heavier, every movement fiercer, draining every ounce of strength, pushing his heart to its limit.
Until his arms went numb and veins bulged across his body, he roared, driving his last breath into a thrust that plunged his spear deep into the massive boulder at the yard's edge.
At that moment—
A new, burning current of vitality burst forth from his heart.
[Technique: Basic Spearsmanship for Infantry (Beginner)]
[Progress: (0/500)]
[Effect: Spear strikes fierce and swift; endurance extraordinary]