Shooting the Eagle: Starting from Iron Palm Peak

With Wang Chuyi cured of the poison, a sense of peace filled the inn.

Guo Jing was chopping wood in the courtyard, humming a Mongolian tune; Huang Rong was squatting in the kitchen brewing medicine, occasionally peeking out to call out, "Brother Guo, turn the fire down"; Wang Chuyi was sitting cross-legged on the kang (heated brick bed) practicing his internal energy, his complexion had regained its rosy hue.

Lin Qi sat on the threshold, looking at the bare old locust tree in the yard, but his mind was on something else entirely.

Mei Chaofeng.

Last night, after returning from Prince Zhao's residence, he handed the medicinal herbs to Guo Jing and lay down, but his mind kept racing. When he climbed over the wall, he deliberately avoided the northeast corner of the back garden. That area was pitch black, without lanterns or patrolling guards, eerily quiet. He knew why—because in that underground stone cave lived someone whom even the experts of Prince Zhao's residence dared not approach.

Iron Corpse Mei Chaofeng.

Lin Qi closed his eyes and mentally reviewed the memories from the original work.

Mei Chaofeng, a disciple of Huang Yaoshi, the Eastern Heretic, eloped with her senior brother Chen Xuanfeng and betrayed their sect, stealing the second volume of the Nine Yin Manual. Chen Xuanfeng was stabbed to death by Guo Jing, and the second volume of the manual was engraved on the human skin on his chest. Mei Chaofeng peeled that human skin from her husband's corpse and carried it with her.

Now, she is unable to move her legs due to a sprain caused by practicing martial arts, and is trapped in an underground stone cave in the back garden of Prince Zhao's mansion, where she survives by drinking human blood.

The true essence lies within her.

Lin Qi opened his eyes, staring at the bare branches of the old locust tree, his heart beating a little fast.

He was pondering a question: Should he go and get it?

The second volume of the Nine Yin Manual records the essence of all martial arts in the world—the Healing Chapter, the Acupoint Striking Chapter, the Secret of Releasing Acupoints, the Secret of Holding Breath, the Tendon and Bone Strengthening Chapter, the Soul Transfer Technique, the Great Subduing Demon Fist, the Destroying Divine Claw... Each of these skills alone is enough to make people in the martial arts world fight tooth and nail.

If he gets his hands on it, his martial arts skills will improve by leaps and bounds, and he can master the Iron Palm Clan's thirteen ultimate moves much faster. In the future, he will no longer be at a disadvantage when facing people like Ouyang Ke and Peng Lianhu.

Moreover, there is now an excellent opportunity.

Mei Chaofeng, unable to move her legs, is trapped at the bottom of the cave and cannot climb out. In the original story, she was rescued by Guo Jing after accidentally falling in. Now that Guo Jing hasn't fallen in, no one is there to rescue her.

She will starve to death in the cave within a few days.

At that time, all he needs to do is go down and take the scriptures from her. It will be effortless and risk-free.

Lynch tapped his fingers lightly on his knees as his mind raced.

This is the safest way. No risks, no desperate measures, not even a word to her. He just needs to wait.

Wait a few days, until Mei Chaofeng starves to death.

Then go down, take the scriptures, and leave.

How simple.

Lin Qi leaned against the door frame, looking up at the sky.

The sky was blue, the clouds were white, and the sun was shining brightly.

He felt a tightness in his chest.

Who was Mei Chaofeng?

She was a ruthless killer, her hands stained with the blood of innocents. In the Mongolian desert, she practiced her Nine Yin White Bone Claw on living people; each time she plunged her ten fingers into a person's head, five bloody holes appeared—a gruesome sight. How many people did she kill to practice this skill? Dozens? Hundreds?

She is not a good person.

Lin Qi repeatedly told himself this.

She was not a good person. She deserved to die.

but--

But she was also a pitiful person.

Her original name was Mei Ruohua, an orphan girl rescued by Huang Yaoshi from villains. Her master taught her martial arts, gave her a name, and allowed her to settle down on Peach Blossom Island. She made a mistake, stealing scriptures and betraying her master, but she regretted it for the rest of her life.

She was expelled from her sect by her master, her lover was murdered before her eyes, she herself was blind and crippled, trapped in a cave, barely clinging to life. For her, simply being alive was torture.

Lin Qi recalled Mei Chaofeng's fate in the original novel. To save Huang Yaoshi, she took a blow from Ouyang Feng and died in front of her master. Before she died, she asked, "Master, can...can you forgive me?"

Huang Yaoshi did not answer. But he shed tears.

Lin Qi lowered his head and looked at his hands.

These hands, trained in Iron Palm Kung Fu, have killed and saved countless lives. He transmigrated to this world, thinking he could calmly observe everything, taking what was right, killing what was wrong, and using what was right.

But he couldn't do it.

He imagined Mei Chaofeng trapped alone in a dark, cold cave, with no food or water, waiting for death to slowly creep closer. He dared not even think of that despair.

He thought back to when he first transmigrated. Kneeling in the main hall, covered in wounds, blood seeping onto the stone floor, he was dragged away. Back then, he too was someone waiting for death.

If Qiu Qianren hadn't taken him in, he would have died long ago.

Lin Qi took a deep breath, stood up, and walked a few steps in the yard.

Huang Rong peeked out from the kitchen and glanced at him: "Brother Lin, what's wrong? You seem distracted."

Lin Qi smiled and said, "It's nothing, I'm just thinking about something."

He walked back to the threshold, sat down, and continued to think.

Waiting for Mei Chaofeng to starve to death is the simplest, safest, and most rational solution.

She's a bad person. She deserves to die.

but--

He thought of his master, Qiu Qianren. His master was also a bad person; he had killed and harmed people, his hands stained with the blood of innocents. If no one had saved him back then, he would have died too.

But Lynch saved him.

Because he felt his master was worth saving.

Was Mei Chaofeng worth it?

Lynch didn't know.

He stood up again and paced around the courtyard a few times. Guo Jing, having finished chopping firewood, saw him and asked, "Brother Lin, are you feeling unwell?"

"No, it's nothing."

Lynch sat back on the threshold, crossed his hands on his knees, and stared at the ground.

He was thinking about what stakes he should use if he went down.

What does Mei Chaofeng want?

With her legs crippled, her greatest desire was naturally to be able to stand up again. Lin Qi knew the reason for her crippling condition—not from external injuries, but from a disruption of her internal energy pathways. She practiced the martial arts of the Nine Yin Manual, but lacked the Taoist internal energy cultivation methods from the first volume to harmonize Yin and Yang, resulting in difficulty catching her breath and blockages in her meridians.

She needs a genuine Taoist internal energy cultivation method.

Lin Qi happened to possess such an internal skill—the "Complete True Dao Song".

He had practiced the manuscript that Wang Chuyi had given him for several months and had long since memorized it. The internal energy cultivation method of the Quanzhen Sect was the most orthodox and harmonious of all the mystical sects in the world, specifically used to nourish internal energy and unblock meridians. If he taught this method to Mei Chaofeng, after she practiced it for a period of time and her internal energy was regulated, her legs might not be unable to recover.

He exchanged the mental cultivation method of "The Song of the Great Dao of Quanzhen" for the right to copy the second volume of "The Nine Yin Manual".

Mei Chaofeng can practice first, and if it's effective, he can be given the true scriptures. He won't take the true scriptures with him, only copying the parts he needs. After copying, he'll return the original.

If she agrees, everyone will be happy.

If she disagrees—

Lynch closed his eyes.

If she disagreed, he would turn and leave. He wouldn't kill her, nor would he wait. He gave her a chance, placing the choice in her hands. If she refused, that was her own business. He had done his best, and he had a clear conscience.

As for whether she will starve to death in the future—

That was her fate. He couldn't care less.

Lin Qi opened his eyes, his gaze hardening.

He took the iron palm token out of his pocket and rubbed it in his hand for a while.

The Iron Palm Clan's rule is that the leader cannot stand by and watch someone die. But that applies to their own people. Mei Chaofeng is not one of their own.

But he is a human being. As a human being, he should act like one.

Lin Qi stuffed the Iron Palm Token back into his pocket and stood up.

It was getting dark. He would go down to see her at the second watch of the night.