Shooting the Eagle: Starting from Iron Palm Peak

After returning from Jinghu Altar, Lin Qi's life returned to its usual rhythm.

Every day at dawn, I would go to the stone tower to practice my skills, including stance training, palm exercises, expelling poison, and practicing moves. In the afternoon, I would listen to Qiu Qianren explain martial arts principles and anecdotes from the martial arts world. In the evening, I would practice my internal energy on my own, sometimes until late at night.

But the atmosphere on Iron Palm Peak is quietly changing.

First, Han Biao returned.

Lin Qi met him on the mountain path. That morning, Lin Qi was walking from the side courtyard toward the stone building when he encountered three people. The one in the middle, who was in his early twenties, was wearing a brocade robe, his left arm was in a sling, and his face still had bruises—it was Han Biao, whom he had injured.

Han Biao paused when he saw Lin Qi, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.

"Lin Qi," he gritted his teeth and spat out the two words.

Lin Qi stopped, looked at him, and said nothing.

The two disciples behind Han Biao instinctively took a half step forward, their hands resting on the hilts of their swords. Lin Qi glanced at them, his hands slightly open, hanging at his sides.

The air on the mountain road suddenly became very tight.

Han Biao stared at Lin Qi for a few moments, then suddenly laughed. The laugh wasn't one of reconciliation, but a chilling "you just wait" kind of smile.

"Let's go." He and his two disciples brushed past Lin Qi, their shoulders almost bumping into each other.

Lin Qi didn't turn back. He continued walking towards the stone building, but he knew in his heart that Han Biao's return meant that Han Duanyue's faction would no longer remain quiet.

Secondly, rumors about Lin Qi began to circulate within the gang.

"Have you heard? That Lin Qi is a sycophant. I don't know what kind of sweet words he said to please the gang leader so that he would take him as a disciple."

"What flattery? I heard he cursed the gang leader in the main hall, and the gang leader not only wasn't angry, but even took him in. This guy's methods are really weird."

"How could a third-generation disciple rise to such heights in one step? It's all thanks to his smooth talk."

When these words reached Lynch's ears, he no longer cared much. But what he cared about was something else—the source of these words all pointed to the same person.

Han Duanyue.

That evening, Lin Qi finished practicing his skills and was about to return to the side courtyard when Qiu Qianren called him back.

"Did you hear the gossip in the gang?"

Lynch nodded: "I heard some."

"What do you think?"

"I believe someone is deliberately spreading these rumors," Lin Qi said, "with the aim of isolating me within the gang."

Qiu Qianren glanced at him: "You're not stupid. But do you know that the people spreading these rumors aren't just trying to isolate you?"

Lin Qi thought for a moment: "They also want to test Master's attitude. If Master doesn't interfere, they will become even more unruly; if Master does interfere, they will know that Master cares about his disciples and will restrain themselves."

"So, do you think I should interfere?"

Lin Qi was silent for a moment: "This disciple thinks it's better for Master to leave things alone than to interfere."

Qiu Qianren raised an eyebrow slightly: "Why?"

"Because if the master interferes, it will seem like the disciple is relying on the master's protection, which will only confirm those gossips," Lin Qi said. "The disciple will walk his own path."

Qiu Qianren stared at him for a long time, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"You've thought this through quite well."

He turned around, put his hands behind his back, and looked at the distant mountains. After a moment of silence, he suddenly said something unrelated.

"My inner demons have recently resurfaced."

Lin Qi was taken aback.

Qiu Qianren's voice was calm. "Over the years, I have done many wrong things. I colluded with the Jurchens, harmed loyal officials, and indiscriminately killed innocent people... I didn't realize it when I did some of these things, but when I think about them afterward, it feels like a thorn is stuck in my heart."

Lin Qi remained silent. He vaguely sensed the heaviness in Qiu Qianren's words.

"That day in the main hall, when you said those words to me, it felt like something had struck my heart. All those things—my master's dying words, those things I had deliberately forgotten—came back at once." Qiu Qianren paused. "These past few months, I've been thinking, what exactly am I doing? What has the Iron Palm Clan become in my hands?"

He turned around and looked at Lin Qi. Lin Qi saw a very faint red in his eyes, like bloodshot, but not quite. It wasn't fatigue, nor anger, but a pain seeping from within.

"In recent months, my murderous thoughts have grown stronger," Qiu Qianren said. "Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and suddenly want to kill someone. There's no reason, I just want to kill. A few nights ago, I almost attacked the disciple who brought me tea."

Lin Qi felt a chill run down his spine.

"Master, you..."

"I'm fine." Qiu Qianren raised his hand to interrupt him. "At least I'm fine now. But I can't go on like this. If I let things continue, I'm afraid I'll repeat the same mistake—back in Dongting Lake, I killed thirty-seven people in one night, most of whom were innocent. I don't want to do that again."

He turned around and looked at the distant mountains, where twilight was slowly swallowing the last rays of light.

"I'm preparing to go into seclusion."

Lin Qi's heart skipped a beat: "Seclusion?"

"Yes. I need time to calm down and resolve the inner demons I've accumulated over the years," Qiu Qianren said. "I plan to go into seclusion for three months to focus on my internal energy cultivation and calm my mind. During this time, you should stay out of the affairs of the sect and concentrate on your training. Avoid Han Duanyue's people if possible, and don't confront them directly."

"Disciple understands."

"You don't understand." Qiu Qianren looked at him. "I won't tell anyone about my seclusion except you. Tomorrow I'll tell everyone I'm going out on business and won't be back for three months. During these three months, the people in the gang will think I'm not at Iron Palm Peak. If anyone tries to cause trouble during this time, you need to protect yourself."

Lin Qi's heart sank. If news of Qiu Qianren's seclusion got out, the balance within the gang could be disrupted. If Han Duanyue knew Qiu Qianren was absent, would he seize the opportunity to cause trouble?

"Master, where you were in seclusion..."

"It's in the secret chamber beneath the stone building," Qiu Qianren said. "Don't disturb me. Unless—unless something truly terrible happens to the Iron Palm Clan."

Lin Qi was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"This disciple has remembered."

"Go back. You don't need to come to practice tomorrow at dawn. I'll go into the secret chamber first thing tomorrow morning."

Lin Qi stood there, watching Qiu Qianren's back. He suddenly felt that this person's back looked somewhat lonely, not like an invincible Iron Palm Gang leader, but more like an ordinary person fighting against something.

"Master," Lin Qi suddenly spoke, "I have something to say, but I don't know if I should."

"explain."

"No one is perfect, everyone makes mistakes. The fact that Master can realize his mistakes is already better than those who refuse to repent."

Qiu Qianren turned around and glanced at him. In that glance, there was weariness, relief, and something else that was hard to describe.

"You certainly know how to talk." He turned around and walked into the stone building. "Go ahead."

Lin Qi returned to the side courtyard, lay on the bed, stared at the wooden beams above his head, and couldn't fall asleep for a long time.

Qiu Qianren is going into seclusion. For three months.

What will happen to the Iron Palm Clan in these three months? Will Han Duanyue take the opportunity to make a move? Will the undercurrents on Zhao Tieshan's side escalate?

He didn't know. All he knew was that he had to be more careful than ever before for the next three months.

Outside the window, the moon was obscured by clouds, and the courtyard was pitch black.

Lin Qi closed his eyes and began to circulate his internal energy. The internal energy of the Iron Bone Technique flowed slowly through his meridians, and the internal energy in his dantian was much thicker than it had been three months ago, but it was still far from enough.

He needs to improve his martial arts skills.

---

The next day at dawn, Lin Qi did not go to the Stone Tower.

He stood in the open space of the side courtyard, practicing his skills by himself. He did everything: stance training, palm tempering, expelling poison, and practicing moves. Without Qiu Qianren's guidance, he became even more focused, repeatedly refining each movement until he was satisfied with it.

In the afternoon, he went to find Qiu Qianren, but the door to the stone building was already closed.

A disciple in black stood at the entrance and stopped Lin Qi when he saw him.

"The leader has ordered that no one is allowed to enter."

Lin Qi nodded and turned to leave.

In the days that followed, Lin Qi locked himself in a secluded courtyard and practiced his martial arts day after day.

He had mastered the first three stances of the Iron Palm Technique, and could execute each variation with ease. He was also constantly exploring the fourth stance, the "Severing the Flow Stance." Although he couldn't yet sever water with a single palm strike like Qiu Qianren, the palm prints on the wooden stake had changed from "dents" to "cuts," becoming finer and deeper.

The internal energy of the Iron Bone Technique was also steadily increasing. The internal energy in the dantian had changed from a thin layer to a full ball, and when circulating the energy, it could smoothly complete three small cycles within the body.

But no matter how fast he progresses, he can't keep up with the changing situation in the region.

The news that Qiu Qianren was "out on business" quietly spread within the gang.

No one knew he had gone into seclusion; everyone assumed he had truly left Iron Palm Peak. The atmosphere within the gang began to become subtle—Han Duanyue's faction acted much more flamboyantly than before.

Lin Qi could sense this change. When he went to help the government, he encountered more and more difficulties. Before, people just looked at him strangely, but now some people were deliberately picking on him.

That day, Lin Qi went to the Iron Palm Hall to collect his monthly quota of medicinal herbs. The disciple in charge of distributing the herbs glanced at his waist tag and threw a packet of herbs on the table.

"your."

Lin Qi opened the package and frowned. The amount of herbs was only half of what he usually received, and the quality was very poor; some of them were already moldy.

"These aren't the medicinal herbs I usually collect," Lin Qi said.

"That's all, take it or leave it." The disciple rolled his eyes.

Lin Qi glanced at him, didn't argue, picked up the medicinal herbs and left.

He knew that Han Duanyue's men were testing him. If he made a scene, it would give them an excuse; if he remained silent, they would escalate their actions.

Lin Qi chose the third path—he went directly to Mei Ruolan, the head of the Department of Internal Affairs.

Mei Ruolan was doing accounts in the accounting room when she saw Lin Qi come in. She put down her brush and looked him up and down.

"What's up?"

Lin Qi placed the moldy packet of herbs on the table and recounted the events. He didn't embellish anything, simply stating the facts.

After listening, Mei Ruolan remained silent for a moment, picked up the medicinal herbs, looked at them, and then put them down.

"I understand," she said. "I'll have someone send the medicine back to you. As for the disciple who distributed the medicine, I'll deal with him."

"Thank you, Master Mei."

Lin Qi turned and left. As he walked out of the tent, he felt a gaze on him from behind, but he did not turn around.

He knew that Mei Ruolan wasn't in charge because of him. Mei Ruolan was the head of the Internal Affairs Department, in charge of the distribution of resources within the gang. If anyone tried to withhold resources under her nose, it would be a challenge to her authority. Lin Qi was merely using her influence.

Leveraging external forces is also a way to protect oneself.

Back in the secluded courtyard, Lin Qi continued practicing his martial arts.

He worked harder than ever before. He got up before dawn every day and practiced until late at night. When preparing the palm technique, the medicinal liquid was hotter than usual, but he gritted his teeth and endured it; when expelling the poison, his internal energy was exhausted, but he gritted his teeth and circulated it for another cycle.

Because he knew that during the three months that Qiu Qianren was away, his only reliance was his own martial arts skills.

Moonlight shone on the open ground of the side courtyard, where Lin Qi practiced the "Severing Flow Stance" over and over again.

As the palm struck, wood chips flew everywhere.