"How could this be?"

Qin Fang’s brow furrowed.

’Didn’t my senior brother say in his letter that Huichun Hall’s power was still quite strong?’

’He even said no one in the county town would dare to cause trouble.’

’And this is what happens?’

’It seems someone really is targeting Huichun Hall.’

’Master won’t be in trouble, will he?’

The expression on Qin Fang’s face shifted.

Xu Meng spoke for a while before noticing Qin Fang’s strange expression. He paused, then asked in a low voice, "Brother Qin, what’s wrong?"

Qin Fang snapped out of it and let out a light sigh, his expression softening.

"It’s nothing... Brother Xu, please continue."

Xu Meng looked blank for a moment, then scratched his head. "Continue with what? It’s just... hearing this news so suddenly was a bit of a shock, that’s all. Besides that, the news of the Treasure Fish has spread. More and more people are going down to the river, and some have run into trouble with Demons, their boats wrecked and themselves killed..."

Qin Fang’s mind stirred at his words. He had, in fact, noticed the fish market seemed to be picking up lately. Fishermen had started coming every day to sell their catch.

’Of course, it was still a far cry from how it was at the very beginning.’

Riches stir the hearts of men.

But in this World, the things that truly moved people were those related to their own power.

After a few more words, Xu Meng remembered something. "Oh, right. Brother Qin, you wouldn’t come see me unless you needed something... What’s on your mind?"

This brought Qin Fang back to the matter at hand. After a moment of thought, he said, "I might need to trouble Monkey with another trip to True Martial."

"Pfft, is that all?" Xu Meng said with a laugh. "You could have just told Monkey to go. That kid... he listens to you more than he listens to me these days."

But Qin Fang shook his head. "It’s still proper to let you know."

"Alright, alright..." Xu Meng shook his head and called for someone to fetch Monkey.

Monkey arrived shortly after. When he heard Qin Fang had another job for him, he immediately puffed out his chest and swore he could handle it.

After bidding farewell to Xu Meng, Qin Fang returned home and wrote a letter. In it, he asked about the things Xu Meng had mentioned and inquired once more if there was any threat to his master.

After some thought, he gave Monkey five hundred taels of silver. He instructed Monkey to use three hundred to purchase Qi Blood Pills from Huichun Hall, and to give the remaining two hundred to his senior brother... to then be passed on to his master.

’The situation at Huichun Hall is uncertain right now, and I don’t know if Master will be caught up in it.’

’If things get volatile... Master had fronted him so much silver in the past; Qin Fang wasn’t sure how much the old man had left for himself.’

’I’ll give him two hundred taels of silver to keep on hand, so he doesn’t find himself in a pinch when he needs money... That prideful little old man would never admit it, even if he was in real trouble.’

’Qin Fang believed five hundred taels of silver wasn’t enough to tempt Monkey into doing something stupid.’

As he handed over the Silver Notes, he made a point to observe Monkey’s reaction. Monkey simply took them quickly and respectfully, then thumped his chest and promised to get the job done, showing no sign of temptation whatsoever.

Qin Fang nodded and told him to be careful. Monkey acknowledged the order and turned to leave.

「Two days later」

Monkey returned with the Qi Blood Pills and a letter from his senior brother.

The letter roughly outlined Huichun Hall’s current situation for Qin Fang...

To be honest, even his senior brother was shocked by the assassination of the Anjin Martial Artist from Huichun Hall.

He hadn’t expected such a sudden turn of events either.

However, he didn’t know much about Huichun Hall’s internal affairs.

He only knew that rumors were now spreading throughout True Martial County Town, linking Huichun Hall to Demons... The situation was far more severe than he had first judged.

Still, he reassured Qin Fang in the letter, stating that their master had not been affected. Although he was part of Huichun Hall, he was a resident physician, not a Shopkeeper or anything similar.

He had cured so many patients over the years that the common people held him in high regard.

Even now, with Huichun Hall facing public condemnation, the few resident physicians with virtuous reputations were an exception.

He went on to say that he had given the silver to their master. At first, Master refused it, telling him to return it to Qin Fang. But after some persuasion, he finally accepted.

’The little old man is so proud. And after years of being charitable and giving alms, his savings were actually quite depleted...’

His senior brother didn’t ask where Qin Fang got the silver, but he ended the letter with a reminder: the situation throughout True Martial was delicate and strange, and Qin Fang had to be careful and not act recklessly...

Clearly, his senior brother had his suspicions but felt it wasn’t his place to scold Qin Fang directly, so he offered a veiled warning instead.

After finishing the letter, Qin Fang let out a soft sigh and put it away.

’The situation is a little better than I expected, but only by a little.’

He had a persistent feeling that a mysterious force was behind recent events, with Huichun Hall as its target.

But what was the motive?

Qin Fang couldn’t figure it out. In the end, he just let out a sigh and stopped dwelling on it.

’He only cared about his master. As long as Master wasn’t affected, he couldn’t care less what happened to Huichun Hall.’

Later, Qin Fang found Monkey. "Monkey, I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble you frequently for a while."

Monkey’s eyes lit up, and he grinned, showing slightly yellowed teeth. "It’s my honor that Master Qin has a use for me! Sir, please don’t say anything about it being a ’trouble.’ That’s treating me like a stranger."

Qin Fang thought for a moment, then clapped Monkey on the shoulder, which made the young man extremely excited.

He was clearly more than happy to build a good relationship with Qin Fang.

’He even felt that his own relationship with Master Qin was probably better than his boss’s relationship with Master Qin!’

His master was safe, Wang Hu was dead. With that, Qin Fang once again settled into his training routine.

He spent his days training in the courtyard.