I am dying of old age, and I have awakened to the character of longevity.

It was late at night when they returned to Wuchiao Town.

The two bid farewell at the entrance of the town.

Xie An returned to the small house in the backyard of the pawnshop, while Chen He drove the carriage back to the pharmacy next to the entrance of the Chen Family Martial Arts Hall.

The pharmacy was lit.

As soon as he entered, Chen He saw his elder brother Chen Lei sitting in the shop, with the oil lamp lit, looking very anxious, and constantly peering outside.

"Brother, what brings you here?"

Although Chen Lei was two years older than Chen He, he didn't look old because of his years of martial arts practice. He possessed a powerful aura and commanded respect. He was a true Inner Gate martial artist.

"Third Brother, why are you only back now? I was so worried. I was afraid something had happened to this batch of medicinal herbs."

"The horse went wild halfway, delaying things. Fortunately, the medicinal herbs are fine." Chen He felt fortunate. Although Chen Lei treated him well, if he had lost the medicinal herbs, he probably wouldn't be able to stay in the Chen Family Martial Arts Hall any longer. This tenuous connection to distant relatives would also come to an end.

"That's good." Chen Lei breathed a sigh of relief and followed Chen He out to the carriage to inspect the medicinal herbs.

The Chen Family Martial Arts Hall produced a large quantity of medicinal supplements, enough to meet the expenses of the entire martial arts hall's instructors and students. Each purchase of medicinal herb ingredients from the county town cost hundreds of taels of silver. It was a top priority that absolutely could not go wrong.

While helping to unload the medicinal herbs, Chen He casually asked, "Brother, I heard people in the county town talking about the Giant Whale Gang today. Have you heard of them?"

Chen Lei didn't notice anything unusual and casually said, "The Giant Whale Gang is a gang that was established in recent years. It has developed very rapidly, with six or seven hundred members, and they even raised knights. They are a major scourge in Qingwu County. It is said that the gang leader is an expert from another county, very capable. He is ambitious and wants to compete with the Tiger Wolf Gate and the Heavenly Saber Society for territory."

What?

Chen He was stunned. He never expected the three robbers he encountered tonight to have such a big background.

A gang with six or seven hundred people was already terrifying enough. What's more, they even trained knights… that is, cavalry.

No wonder Xie An told him not to mention the encounter with the robbers to anyone.

Even if Chen Lei, his cousin, knew… he would probably reprimand him, and might not even be willing to help him cover it up. He might even tie him up and take him to the Giant Whale Gang to apologize and appease them.

Fortunately… he listened to Old Xie Tou's words.

Chen Lei saw Chen He's strange expression, "What's wrong with you?"

Chen He quickly made an excuse, "Perhaps it's because the weather is freezing."

…

Back in the small house in the backyard, Xie An took a bath and washed the blood stains off his clothes. Only then did he lie on the bed and start pondering.

There was a detail that Xie An didn't tell Chen He.

That was that Li Wei was the illegitimate son of the Giant Whale Gang leader's mistress.

These were Wang Wu's mutterings to himself, but Xie An had heard them.

This matter was very bad.

However, Xie An carefully reviewed what happened tonight and asked himself if he had left any details that might reveal his identity. It would take the Giant Whale Gang a lot of time just to find the bodies of the three men.

If there were any loopholes, there were… that was, Yong An Pawnshop.

If Li Wei colluded with the people from Yong An Pawnshop, then the people from Yong An Pawnshop would know that Li Wei's target was himself.

The more Xie An thought about it, the more uneasy he felt, as if he were sitting on pins and needles.

Having lived to this age, Xie An sought only caution. He believed in nipping all dangers in the bud. Even the slightest potential danger made Xie An feel uncomfortable.

"I'm still too weak, without the ability to deal with the Giant Whale Gang. Although I have the Longevity Fate, I can constantly increase my lifespan. But my strength cannot be transformed in a short period of time. If I had a backer bigger than the Giant Whale Gang, I wouldn't have to worry."

Thinking of this, Xie An thought of Zhang Lin, the protector and steward of the black market.

"Zhang Lin's backer is the Tiger Wolf Gate. No matter how strong the Giant Whale Gang is, it is not enough in front of the Tiger Wolf Gate. Zhang Lin already intends to win me over… this may be a good place to go. It not only solves the crisis of the Giant Whale Gang, but also provides me with a lot of cultivation resources, which is better than me struggling alone."

"However, before joining, I must improve my strength and seek a better position and treatment. In addition, I must also inquire about the style of the Tiger Wolf Gate. Don't let it be a gang that is kind on the surface but secretly burns, kills, and loots."

Having made up his mind, Xie An didn't have so many worries and began to review the process of tonight's battle. Finally, he came to a conclusion.

"Bows and arrows are too suitable for me! I must put learning archery first in the future."

After tonight's events, Xie An increasingly realized… he hated taking risks, and close-quarters combat was not suitable for him. Bows and arrows could solve the enemy outside the distance that could threaten him, undoubtedly the best choice.

"However, bows and arrows have requirements for the scene of use. They must be able to exert their power in relatively open areas. If it's in a room… it won't work. Therefore, in addition to bows and arrows, I urgently need to practice a close-combat martial art. Ensure that after being approached by the enemy, I can also kill them."

"I haven't practiced any martial arts fighting methods, my biggest advantage is my strength. A broadsword is undoubtedly the most suitable close-combat weapon. But broadswords are too conspicuous, eye-catching, and not enough. In addition to swordsmanship, I also need to learn a small weapon that is not easily detected by outsiders. In this way, once approached by the enemy, in addition to using a knife to resist, I also have a hidden skill to kill the enemy unexpectedly. This has not much risk."

Small weapons…

Daggers, short swords, or soft swords that can be hidden in the belt…

Xie An felt that they were all too conventional.

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"Forget it, think slowly…"

In the next few days, Xie An still got up early every day to inspect the pawnshop, and after seeing that the pawnshop was operating normally, he returned to the small house in the backyard to start practicing health-preserving exercises and archery.

In addition, he also vigilantly paid attention to whether there were any outsiders in the town who came to inquire about the death of the Giant Whale Gang bandits. He also privately asked about the situation of the Tiger Wolf Gate.

This day, Xie An spent a whole day working hard, and called up the panel.

【Fetal Breathing Technique: Three-style Method (6/100)】

【Five Animal Play: Spirit and Form Combined (9/100)】

【Remaining Years: 16 years.】

The information on the panel had changed, and there was no longer the prompt of "Complete XX, increase lifespan by XX years."

At first, Xie An thought he was seeing things, but after calling up the panel several times, the result was still the same. He could only accept it.

As long as the Remaining Years were still displayed, there was no need to panic.

"It's still too slow. I have to collect the medicinal herbs on Tang Qingfeng's unique prescription. Only the last ingredient, bear heart, is missing."

At dusk, Xie An took a large sum of two hundred and ninety taels of silver and went to the Blood Ling Black Market.

Because he had the sign given by Zhang Lin, the guards at the entrance of the canyon decisively let him go, and the stall fee and admission fee were not charged. Even the attitude was much more respectful.

Tonight's black market was even more prosperous than last time.

There were hundreds of stalls in total, with merchants coming and going. It seemed that Zhang Lin's clearing of the surrounding robbers had initially achieved results, the order was better, and the safety factor of the black market was improved. More people came to buy and sell.

In addition to the stalls, there were also some houses around, simple teahouses, restaurants, etc. In the distance, there were also several more unique courtyards, presumably where Zhang Lin and others worked and stayed.

Xie An came to the place where animal skins, tendons, internal organs, and bones were sold with ease. He found a bear heart. After some bargaining, the stall owner would only accept a minimum of sixty taels.

Helpless, Xie An took out the silver ingot and planned to pay.

Just then, a familiar voice came.

"Haha, old brother, you came so early."

It was Zhang Lin.