Shooting the Eagle: Starting from Iron Palm Peak

After Qiu Qianren went into seclusion for half a month, Lin Qi made a decision.

For the past two weeks, he has secluded himself in a secluded courtyard, practicing his skills day after day. He has mastered the first four stances of the Iron Palm Technique. Although he cannot cut water with a single palm like Qiu Qianren in the "Severing Flow Stance," when he strikes a wooden stake, the force of his palm is concentrated into a single line, wood chips fly everywhere, and the cut is as smooth as if it had been shaved with a knife.

The internal energy of the Iron Bone Technique also deepened day by day. The internal energy in his dantian changed from a fluffy ball to a heavy pool, and when he circulated the energy, it could smoothly complete five small cycles within his body. After being repeatedly tempered by poison, the skin of his palms had a faint iron-blue hue, and his five fingers had a resilience that he had never had before when he moved them.

He felt that his martial arts skills were sufficient to roam the martial arts world.

It's not that he can defeat any master, but rather that he has developed the ability to protect himself. The sharpness and subtlety of the Iron Palm technique, coupled with his judgment of "power preceding the palm," makes ordinary martial artists no match for him. More importantly, his understanding of the original work is his greatest advantage—he knows where the opportunities lie, where the dangers are, who he can befriend, and who he must be wary of.

But if he stayed on Iron Palm Peak, there was nothing he could do.

Han Duanyue's men are becoming increasingly arrogant. This isn't the first time his medicinal herbs have been withheld; whenever he goes to the Iron Palm Hall on business, he faces constant harassment. Someone is secretly watching his every move, and once, when he returned to the side courtyard, he found the door lock had been tampered with and the room had been ransacked.

He didn't make a scene, nor did he confront Han Duanyue. He knew he was no match for Han Duanyue now, and a direct confrontation would only result in him suffering losses.

But we can't stay cooped up like this forever.

Qiu Qianren went into seclusion for three months. During these three months, the balance within the gang would gradually shift, and Han Duanyue's power would grow stronger. If he simply stayed in the secluded courtyard to practice, Qiu Qianren would emerge from seclusion three months later to find Lin Qi with greatly improved martial arts skills, but by then the situation within the gang might already be irreversible.

He needs to become stronger. Not slowly, but rapidly and dramatically.

In the original work, there happens to be a ready-made path.

Lin Qi lay on the bed, staring at the wooden beam above his head, and went through all the adventures in the original story that could enhance his skills from beginning to end.

Duan Yu's Beiming Divine Skill, Xu Zhu's transfer of skills from Wuyazi, Guo Jing's snake blood, Yang Guo's snake gall... these extraordinary encounters mostly have specific conditions and timing, and cannot be replicated at will.

But there's one of them he can try.

The eccentric old man Liang Ziweng kept a medicinal snake.

In the original story, Liang Ziweng spent twenty years painstakingly feeding a giant snake with various precious medicinal herbs, intending to drink its blood to enhance his martial arts skills. However, Guo Jing accidentally encountered the snake, bit its neck, and sucked all its blood. Enraged, Liang Ziweng vomited blood and chased Guo Jing all over the mountain.

After drinking the snake blood, Guo Jing became immune to all poisons and his internal strength greatly increased, laying a solid foundation for his future cultivation of the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms.

Right now, Guo Jing is still on the Mongolian grasslands, and it will be some time before he heads south to the Central Plains.

That snake is still in Liang Ziweng's hands.

Liang Ziweng was one of the martial arts masters recruited by Wanyan Honglie, and he lived in the Zhao Prince's Mansion. The Zhao Prince's Mansion was located in Dading Prefecture—the central capital of the Jin Dynasty, which is now Beijing.

Lin Qi is going to Beijing to steal Liang Ziweng's medicinal snake.

This idea is insane. The Zhao Prince's mansion is teeming with experts: Ouyang Ke, Sha Tongtian, Peng Lianhu, Liang Ziweng, and Lingzhi Shangren—none of them are people he can currently handle. But Lin Qi has an advantage none of them possess—he knows the layout of the Zhao Prince's mansion, where the medicinal snakes are kept, and he knows Liang Ziweng's habits and weaknesses.

More importantly, he knew the plot. He knew when the experts from the Zhao Prince's mansion would go out and when the guards would be most lax.

This isn't breaking in; it's stealing.

Lin Qi tossed and turned all night, recalling every detail from the original novel regarding the Zhao Prince's Mansion and the medicinal snake. Liang Ziweng kept his medicinal snake in a secret room in the back garden, locked in an iron cage, accessible only to Liang Ziweng himself. Liang Ziweng would feed the snake medicine every three days, opening the iron cage only when doing so.

In the original story, Guo Jing accidentally encountered the snake when he wandered into the back garden of Prince Zhao's mansion. At that time, Prince Zhao's mansion was holding some kind of banquet, the guards were lax, and Liang Ziweng was not present.

In other words, as long as he finds a suitable opportunity to sneak into the back garden of the Prince Zhao's mansion, he will have a chance to succeed.

The risks are high, but the rewards are also high.

Snake blood made him immune to all poisons and greatly increased his internal strength. With such power, he was able to gain a foothold in the gang before Qiu Qianren emerged from seclusion.

The next morning, Lin Qi went to see Mei Ruolan.

"Master Mei, this disciple wishes to go down the mountain for a period of training," Lin Qi said, getting straight to the point.

Mei Ruolan was doing accounts when she heard this. She looked up at him and asked, "Training? Where to?"

"The North. This disciple wishes to go out and see the world, broaden my horizons and gain more knowledge."

Mei Ruolan remained silent for a moment. She roughly guessed Lin Qi's true intention—if he stayed in the gang, Han Duanyue's men would keep causing him trouble; going down the mountain to avoid trouble would be safer.

"Does the gang leader know?"

"When the leader goes out on business, his disciples can't contact him," Lin Qi said. "But before a disciple leaves, he will leave a letter, which the leader will see when he returns."

Mei Ruolan glanced at him again, picked up a pen, wrote a few lines on a piece of paper, stamped it with her seal, and handed it to him.

"This is your travel pass. The gang's outposts along the way will provide you with assistance," she said. "But remember, you are a member of the Iron Palm Gang. When you're out and about, don't disgrace the gang."

"Disciple understands."

Lin Qi accepted the travel permit, bowed, and turned to leave.

He returned to the side courtyard, packed a simple bundle—a few changes of clothes, some loose silver, a short knife, and the bottle of ointment Qiu Qianren had given him. Then he sat down, wrote a short note, and tucked it under his pillow.

The letter contained only a few sentences: "Master, your disciple has gone down the mountain for training and will return within three months. During my absence, I hope you will take care of yourself. Your disciple, Lin Qi, respectfully submits."

He glanced at the letter, felt it was too short, and added, "I will handle Han Duanyue's matter myself. Master need not worry."

Then he shouldered his bundle, locked the door, and headed down the mountain.

When he left the mountain gate, the disciples guarding the gate looked at his travel permit, asked no further questions, and let him out.

Lin Qi walked along the mountain path, morning mist rising from the valley, Iron Palm Peak gradually blurring behind him. He didn't turn around.

He knew this trip was fraught with danger. The Zhao Prince's Mansion wasn't Iron Palm Peak; the experts there wouldn't show him any mercy. But he also knew this was his only chance.

If he stays on Iron Palm Peak, he will be slowly worn down by Han Duanyue's men; if he goes down the mountain to try his luck, at least there is still a way out.

He quickened his pace.

Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, Lin Qi bought a horse in a small roadside town. The horse dealer asked for fifteen taels of silver, but he bargained it down to twelve taels and led away a chestnut gelding. The horse wasn't particularly good, but it was young and had good stamina.

He mounted his horse and headed northeast along the official road.

The journey from Iron Palm Peak to Dading Prefecture is over two thousand li. Traveling on horseback along the official road would take anywhere from half a month to twenty days. He was traveling alone, without companions or helpers; he had to rely entirely on himself.

As Lin Qi rode forward, he mentally planned his next move.

The first thing to solve is finding lodging. Dading Prefecture is the central capital of the Jin Dynasty, and the city gates are heavily guarded; outsiders need a travel permit to enter. He has a travel permit from the Iron Palm Clan, which says "business" on it, so he should be able to sneak in. But he can't stay at an inn; there are too many people and it would be easy to be spotted. It would be best to find a place to stay in the suburbs and then sneak into Prince Zhao's residence at night.

Secondly, timing was crucial. He needed to find a night when the guards at Prince Zhao's residence were lax. In the original story, Guo Jing accidentally entered Prince Zhao's residence at a banquet, where Wanyan Honglie was entertaining guests, and most of the residence's experts were accompanying them. If he could seize such an opportunity, his chances of success would be much greater.

Thirdly, there's the escape route. After stealing the snake blood, he can't stay in Dading Prefecture for long; he must leave immediately. Once Liang Ziweng discovers the snake blood is missing, the entire Dading Prefecture will be under martial law, making it impossible to leave. He needs to plan his escape route in advance.

As Lin Qi walked, lost in thought, he had unknowingly walked more than ten miles.

Around noon, he stopped to rest at a roadside teahouse. The teahouse was small, with only three tables, and two people were already sitting in the corner drinking tea. Lin Qi glanced at them—both were dressed like江湖人士 (jianghu figures), with knives at their waists, and were talking in hushed tones.

Lin Qi sat down at a table near the door and ordered a bowl of tea.

He had just picked up his bowl when he heard the conversation between the two people in the corner drift over.

"...Have you heard? Wanyan Honglie's Prince Zhao's mansion has been quite lively lately. Experts from all over the Jin Kingdom are flocking there, saying they're going to hold some kind of 'Gathering of Heroes'."

"A gathering of heroes? What gathering of heroes?"

"I don't know. Anyway, it's about recruiting people from the martial arts world. Wanyan Honglie, that Prince Zhao, has plenty of money; who wouldn't want a piece of the pie?"

Lin Qi paused slightly in the hand holding the teacup.

The Gathering of Heroes. This scene isn't in the original novel, but it's true that Wanyan Honglie recruited martial arts masters. Ouyang Ke, Sha Tongtian, Peng Lianhu, Liang Ziweng, and Lingzhi Shangren all joined him during that period.

If the Prince Zhao's mansion is hosting a "Gathering of Heroes," the security will certainly be tighter than usual. However, at the same time, most of the masters in the mansion will be socializing in the front hall, and the security in the back garden will be more relaxed than usual.

This is both an opportunity and a trap.

After finishing his tea, Lin Qi tossed down a few coins, mounted his horse, and continued on his journey.

He had already made up his mind. After arriving in Dading Prefecture, he would first find a place to stay outside the city, observe for a few days, figure out the guarding patterns of the Prince Zhao's residence, and then look for an opportunity to make his move.

This journey will take half a month. He has plenty of time to figure out his plan.

The sound of horses' hooves echoed on the official road, and Lin Qi's figure gradually disappeared on the horizon.