Having studied for a hundred years, why do you call me the Martial Saint?

The next day, just as dawn was breaking.

Suishan Old Forest.

"Let's finish today's quota quickly, then hurry up and collect the produce so we can go down the mountain tomorrow. Mountain produce won't be fresh if it's left out for too long."

Qian Le walked ahead, chattering on and on, while Deng Shifan lagged behind, dozens of steps away, without uttering a sound.

Gu Shuxian stood between the two, casually agreeing with them, but in his mind he was thinking about yesterday's health-preserving boxing.

Last night, he spent a whole day practicing to comprehend the health-preserving boxing style. His internal organs felt as if they had been washed with warm water, and he felt incredibly comfortable.

That feels great! It's true that you have to start taking care of your health from a young age!

It seems I should practice this health-preserving boxing routine regularly...

No, no, no, reading provides far more benefit than daily grueling practice, and there's also the surprise of discovering a masterpiece. We should definitely read more.

Yes, I'm a scholar, so don't think about boxing all the time. Remember that.

Gu Shuxian was lost in thought, glancing around at his surroundings.

Death cap... Highly poisonous, inedible... Top-grade...

Dandelion...clears heat and detoxifies...old leaves and thin roots, unusable...

Shennong's eyesight is truly remarkable, but this Sui Mountain isn't very helpful; we haven't been able to find any valuable medicinal herbs.

The trees ahead grew denser, making it a perfect spot for logging, but Qian Le suddenly stopped.

Gu Shuxian followed his gaze.

Four people jumped out from behind the woods.

Who else could it be but Zhao Kui, Xu Ergou, and Zheng Da?

Zhao Kui, Xu Ergou, Zheng Da, and the other two men held long wooden sticks in their hands and stared at them with unfriendly expressions.

"run!"

Qian Le shouted directly, then turned and ran away.

Deng Shifan was the furthest away, and upon hearing this, he immediately started running towards the firewood yard.

Gu Shuxian cursed inwardly: This Zhao Kui is such a coward!

He's clearly a master of bone forging, the strongest on the surface, yet he resorts to such despicable tactics as outnumbering his opponents!

If Zhao Kui had come alone, he would have probably persuaded Qian Le and Deng Shifan to beat up this idiot together!

Zhao Kui lost without even knowing how he lost!

Now that Zhao Kui has brought his men, the plan is no longer feasible, and Gu Shuxian has no choice but to slip away as well.

Zhao Kui, Xu Ergou, Zheng Da and the other two were taken aback, not expecting Gu Shuxian and his group to be so decisive.

He stood there stunned for a while before cursing, "Damn it, chase after them!"

But they were a few steps too late, and by the time Gu Shuxian and the others got close to the firewood field, it was too late to catch up, so they reluctantly walked back into the woods.

……

Gu Shuxian and his two companions returned to the firewood yard empty-handed.

Qian Le, panting, cursed, "That Zhao Kui is a real scoundrel! We can't let him catch us. If we get beaten up by him in a deserted place, no one will stand up for us."

"What...what should we do?" Deng Shifan asked.

Now Zhao Kui is determined to take revenge on them. He failed to catch them just now, and he guesses he won't let them complete their quotas easily next time.

This is terrible. If they can't meet their quotas for several days, they will definitely be kicked off the mountain.

The firewood yard has its own stewards and managers.

Even Steward Sun couldn't help them.

"How about we catch Zhao Kui alone and beat him up?" Gu Shuxian suggested.

Qian Le shook his head and said, "Zhao Kui is probably close to developing his inner energy; we can't beat him."

That's hard to say, Gu Shuxian thought to himself.

"Let's spend money to avoid further trouble."

Spending money to avoid disaster?

Gu Shuxian quickly realized what he was referring to.

Qian Le led them to buy dry firewood from other laborers at the firewood yard, at seven or eight coins per load.

"At the firewood yard, Zhao Kui wouldn't dare to do anything reckless. We can just spend money to buy firewood to meet our daily quota," Qian Le said.

"We can't go on like this, can we? Let's call Senior Brother Meng Ping too, and see if we can get a chance to put a sack over Zhao Kui's head?"

Gu Shuxian continued to offer ideas; he really wanted to find an opportunity to beat Zhao Kui up.

"Meng Ping? I'm not sure what to say, but Zhao Kui probably won't cause him any trouble..."

Qian Le said with a somewhat uncertain tone that this was an intuition he had developed over the years, but he was not sure where this intuition came from.

"Besides, even if we had the chance to beat up Zhao Kui, it would only provoke him even more, which would be a loss. We might as well wait until he calms down and loses interest in us. I don't believe he'll waste so much time on Wang Biao!"

Deng Shifan nodded repeatedly in support.

Gu Shuxian shook his head. He always felt that running away was not a good way to solve problems, but he didn't have any good ideas at the moment, so he had no choice but to listen to Qian Le's arrangements for the time being.

"Oh, right, Senior Brother Qian." Gu Shuxian remembered something else.

"What's wrong?"

"Do you have a way to get me to deliver firewood to the designated location?"

"Of course, money makes the world go round... But where are you going?" Qian Le asked in surprise.

"Outer sect, Mingjian Residence."

Gu Shuxian was going to find Chen Wenyan, the mountain-guarding disciple she had met briefly on her way down the mountain.

He now has to do everything he can to find books to read.

And check with the outer disciples to see if they have the "Suishan Sword Sect Disciple Code of Conduct"!

Qian Le nodded in agreement and made the arrangements for him.

However, to Gu Shuxian's surprise, he did not see Chen Wenyan for three consecutive days.

……

Wancheng, Police Station.

The lobby was filled with smoke.

The sandalwood incense in the incense burner burned all night.

Pei Shi'an sat behind his desk, his brows furrowed into a deep frown.

He went through all the well-known Vajra internal strength masters in Wancheng, but couldn't find a single one that matched his name.

"Boss, have some tea and take a break."

A young constable dressed in a black uniform placed a cup of hot tea on the table and said with a grin:

"If you ask me, it's just two thugs who died, you can find anywhere. Doesn't this kind of thing happen three or five times a day in Wancheng? Why is the boss so concerned?"

Another middle-aged constable, who was wiping his knife, scoffed, "What do you know? You think our boss is like you, a complete coward who just wants to loaf around and wait to die?"

The young constable glared at him with displeasure.

The middle-aged constable put down his knife, wiped his hands with a rag, and continued:

"Don't be so unconvinced. What do you know about being prepared and taking precautions?"

"We're trying to make a living in Wancheng, so we need to know who we can mess with and who we can't."

"This self-proclaimed Divine Halberd Hero has an unknown background. If we don't find out his background, we brothers will kick a hornet's nest and die without even knowing how!"

After saying that, he added earnestly, "You guys are only able to sit here and make sarcastic remarks because our leader is carrying the burden there!"

Upon hearing this, the other constables quickly realized what was happening and began to flatter him.

"Yes, yes, the boss is so thoughtful!"

"We're so lucky to be following our boss!"

"The boss is great, no need to say more!"

Pei Shi'an listened to these flattering remarks, feeling both amused and exasperated.

His godfather asked him to investigate privately, but it wasn't that easy. These subordinates had been following him all along, and if he paid too much attention to a case, they would notice.

He was initially struggling with how to explain it, but unexpectedly, a great scholar defended him!

Pei Shi'an cleared his throat, intending to say some polite words.

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps came from the lobby entrance.

A constable, drenched in sweat, rushed in, leaning against the doorframe and panting heavily. He said urgently:

"Boss! Boss!"

"Boss! I... I know who the Divine Halberd Hero is!"

Upon hearing this, the entire room fell silent.

Then things exploded!