Shen Hao could tell that Bai Mudan truly hadn’t taken the matter to heart.

Perhaps after two years, she had already come to terms with it. Or perhaps she had once committed some grave sin, so that even having her martial arts crippled was something she was willing to accept as atonement.

In any case, since the person involved was unwilling to say more, there was no need for him to tear open the wound again and make it hurt even more.

What’s more, even if he knew the reason, what could he do about it?

After a brief silence, Bai Mudan continued guiding Shen Hao, and the matter was left at that.

A few days later.

In the woods of the forest park.

A figure could be seen moving nimbly in a forest clearing, performing a set of palm techniques.

His hands were like fans, pushing left and blocking right. His arms were supple as if boneless; when they shook and extended, there was no sound at all—seemingly slow yet actually fast, with faint afterimages appearing.

Bai Mudan stood at the edge of the clearing with her hands clasped behind her back, watching Shen Hao perform the Eight Yin Palm without blinking.

As she watched, gusts of rootless wind suddenly rose. His hands crossed, and waves of soft, yin palm force were sent out. Wherever they struck, the surface silently caved in, leaving behind palm prints. A satisfied smile appeared on her face.

For a moment, she seemed to see a familiar figure—someone practicing a snake-like sword technique in the woods, graceful in posture, light in footwork, black hair flying.

But that image appeared only for an instant. She shook her head and cast it aside.

In her view, Shen Hao’s martial talent was no less than that sword-practicing figure from her memory. In fact, because of the Nine Yin Meridians, he even surpassed it.

Back when she was deducing the Sunflower True Scripture, in order to test the art, she had selected many people as test subjects.

From the initial first version, to the second, the third… all the way to the current version that Shen Hao was practicing—only this could be considered the complete mental method she had painstakingly deduced. As for those who practiced earlier versions, either the flaws were too great or the art was incomplete. None of them were acknowledged by her.

She still remembered clearly how, in order to eliminate those who had practiced incomplete versions of the Sunflower True Scripture, she either schemed to lure them out or took action personally. In the end, she killed most of them, leaving only two or three still alive.

In the blink of an eye, two years had already passed—neither particularly long nor particularly short.

Recalling it now, it still felt like yesterday.

Unknowingly, Bai Mudan fell into her memories. When she came back to her senses, the light breeze in the woods had stopped. Shen Hao stood at the center of the clearing. On the ground around him, the dry leaves and fallen foliage swept up by the palm winds were no longer a single intact piece—everything had been shredded into fine fragments. Yellow-brown and green were mixed together, spreading outward in circular patterns.

“Clap, clap…”

Bai Mudan applauded, smiling as she said, “Very good. Very impressive. In just half a month, you’ve already reached the level where the Eight Yin Palm produces thread-like gusts of force. You’re only lacking a bit more refinement. As long as you persist, your achievements will be limitless.”

“This is all thanks to Teacher’s guidance. That’s why I’ve been able to reach this level,” Shen Hao said. He could also feel how much he had improved. A joyful smile appeared on his face as he sincerely thanked Bai Mudan for her instruction.

These half a month had far surpassed two months of his own blind exploration.

Sure enough, martial arts really did require a teacher. Without one, progress was slow and mistakes were easy to make.

“Next, you should be able to cultivate Nine Yin Gathering Yang,” Bai Mudan said.

Hearing this, Shen Hao’s spirits lifted. Nine Yin Gathering Yang—this was something Bai Mudan had mentioned long ago, saying it was a technique only someone with Nine Yin Meridians like him could learn.

Put simply, it was extreme yin transforming into yang—turning the extremely yin internal energy cultivated through the Sunflower True Scripture into the most rigid, most yang energy. Once mastered, yin and yang within the body could be switched at will, with unimaginable power.

Although ordinary people who castrated themselves could also practice the Sunflower True Scripture, without Nine Yin Meridians, it was impossible to practice Nine Yin Gathering Yang. This technique was like an Easter egg within the Sunflower True Scripture—you could do without it, but without it, you would never reach the highest realm.

And that realm was precisely the one Bai Mudan had always yearned for and theorized about.

Only those with Nine Yin Meridians could reach it.

And Shen Hao was exactly such a person.

Earlier, because Shen Hao hadn’t yet met the requirements, Bai Mudan had only mentioned it briefly. Later, Shen Hao became immersed in his own progress and forgot about it for a time.

Now, with Bai Mudan bringing it up again and saying he had reached the requirements, Shen Hao immediately became excited and eager to try.

Just as he was about to ask how to begin, his brows suddenly furrowed. He sensed that something was wrong. Several unfamiliar auras had appeared around them at some point, surrounding both him and Bai Mudan.

“Since you’re already here, why hide so sneakily?” Bai Mudan seemed to sense it as well. She raised her eyes and swept her gaze around, speaking out.

“I heard that Bai Mudan’s cultivation was long since crippled, yet you can still be this alert and detect us. That really is a bit surprising,” a voice infused with internal energy echoed through the woods, seeming both near and far, impossible to pinpoint.

“Who’s there?! Come out!” Shen Hao realized the newcomers meant no good and were likely targeting Bai Mudan. He immediately spoke up as well, stepping in front of her to shield her.

Now he knew that Bai Mudan’s current condition was one of outward strength but inner weakness. Even if she could use qigong, it could only last for a short while. Once the limit was exceeded, her injured meridians would lack follow-up strength, causing the qi force to fail and leaving her an ordinary person again.

Under such circumstances, as Bai Mudan’s student, both emotionally and logically, he should stand out and protect her.

“Interesting. Who are you? Bai Mudan’s disciple?” the voice chuckled lightly.

“I’m just a cripple. How could I be qualified to take disciples?” Bai Mudan replied calmly. “But as for you lot, hiding your heads and showing your tails—if I’m not mistaken, you should be from the Snake Bone Society, right?”

“Miss Bai is correct.”

As the words fell, figures descended from several nearby trees.

These people were dressed differently, clearly all men. The one thing they had in common was that each wore a pure white mask on his face. On the mask, the eye holes curved downward like little crescents, while the mouth curved upward, giving an eerie smiling expression.

Snake Bone Society again!

Shen Hao swept a glance around and counted eleven people who had come down from the trees, perfectly surrounding him and Bai Mudan.

Seeing this, he couldn’t help frowning slightly. His mind raced, thinking about how to protect Bai Mudan and escape.

This was his first time experiencing being surrounded. If they were just ordinary people, he wouldn’t have cared. But these were clearly all martial artists. He had only been practicing martial arts for two or three months. His only combat experience was sparring with Bai Mudan—and even that had been cut short. Now that he was surrounded, he felt nervous, unsure how many enemies he could handle, whether he could protect Bai Mudan, and a host of worries flooded his mind.

All eleven people remained perched on the branches rather than landing on the ground, looking down at Shen Hao and Bai Mudan in the clearing. This put considerable pressure on Shen Hao. Bai Mudan, on the other hand, despite having her martial arts crippled, had seen such scenes many times before and showed no sign of nervousness at all.

“Worthy of being a genius of Lou Wai Lou. Even with your cultivation crippled, you remain calm in this situation. Do you think you can handle us? Or do you think the people of Lou Wai Lou will come to save you?”

Just as Shen Hao was tense, a man in a Zhongshan suit emerged from the woods.

He also wore a pure white mask and leather shoes. Clapping as he walked out of the trees, he stopped at the edge of the clearing. He glanced at Bai Mudan, then at Shen Hao, but ignored the latter and spoke only to the former.

“Miss Bai, our Snake Bone Society would like to invite you to be our guest.”

“Sorry, I’m not interested,” Bai Mudan refused without hesitation.

“Why not consider it, Miss Bai?” the man in the Zhongshan suit urged. “Look at you—once a genius of Lou Wai Lou, yet you’ve ended up like this. Your cultivation crippled, placed under house arrest, constantly monitored, deprived of your freedom. Can you really go on living like this? Why not consider joining our Snake Bone Society? Then you’d have not only the freedom you desire, but also endless wealth and glory.”

“Tch. Are you trying to recruit me?” After hearing this, Bai Mudan couldn’t help but scoff. “Don’t think that just because you dress it up nicely, I’ll be tempted. My understanding of the Snake Bone Society is far deeper than you imagine. Do you really think I’m a three-year-old child, so easy to deceive?”

“Miss Bai, everything I’ve said is true. There’s no deception at all,” the man in the Zhongshan suit said sincerely. “As long as you’re willing to come with me, we can help you take revenge!”

“You’ll help me take revenge?” Hearing this, Bai Mudan tilted her head slightly, seeming somewhat tempted. This made Shen Hao a little nervous.

These people clearly weren’t good people. If she really agreed to go with them, he would be in an awkward position. Should he stop her? Or should he just watch her leave?

If that police officer Bai Qi came looking for her later, what should he say? And what about Lou Wai Lou…

“Yes,” the man in the Zhongshan suit said confidently, his hands clasped behind his back.

“Do you know who crippled my cultivation?” Bai Mudan asked. Despite the man’s confidence, she found it rather amusing.

“Lou Wai Lou, Liu Yuehai,” the man replied.

Lou Wai Lou, Liu Yuehai? So this was the person who crippled Teacher Bai’s cultivation. Shen Hao committed the name to memory.

“Oh? So you do know?” Bai Mudan said. “Then where does your confidence come from?”

“…That’s a secret of our Snake Bone Society. If you join us, you’ll naturally find out,” the man fell silent for a moment before answering.

Hearing this, Bai Mudan’s eyes narrowed slightly, as if she had thought of something. A faint smile appeared at the corner of her lips.

Seeing this expression, the man in the Zhongshan suit thought she had been moved. His tone relaxed slightly as he asked, “So?”

“Sorry. I still refuse.”

Unexpectedly, Bai Mudan rejected him once again.

As soon as those words were spoken, the atmosphere in the woods tightened instantly, as if it had frozen solid, making it hard to breathe.