He had almost grown calluses out of his ears from hearing such remarks as those made by the scholar while he was eating and drinking at the Changfeng Tavern.
The Queen of the Great Zhou wanted to secure her throne, so she had to use iron-fisted methods.
The old party was unwilling to let a woman who was not from the Li family take the position, so naturally Lian Yuanzhang, He Ming and others would openly resist.
Back in Qingheju, Xu Yunfan looked up at the moon.
Just one corner is missing, and it will become a white jade plate hanging in the sky.
"A few days left."
Xu Yunfan played with the iron plate in his hand.
Three days passed in a flash. Xu Yunfan left the city that night, changed into black clothes in the forest on the official road, wrapped the heavy hammer with black cloth, and carried it on his back.
He strode quickly towards the west of the city.
The thirty-mile distance was reached in just a moment's effort as he ran at full speed.
From a distance, Xu Yunfan saw a stone bridge looming in the mist.
Xu Yunfan stopped in front of a dead willow forest not far from the stone bridge.
The shrill cry of a night owl pierced the mist. The stone bridge in front of me was covered with moss, and a broken lantern hung on the crooked wooden stake at the bridge head.
The lame old Taoist was carrying a broken wooden stool and sitting in the shadow of the bridge pier. His eye sockets were sunken like two dry wells. In the cold wind, he had no intention of moving his body at all.
You should at least be a martial artist, training either your tendons or your bones.
If you train your skin, you will be like Old Man Lu, with muscles and tendons all over your body.
But this Taoist priest was too old, his energy and blood were exhausted, and he could not even exert 50% of his peak strength.
If one does not train the muscles, bones and skin to perfection, and does not practice the three external combinations to enter the flesh training stage, as one ages, the Qi and blood will dissipate, and one's strength will decline year by year.
Xu Yunfan stopped for a long time and looked around. In this withered willow forest alone, there were no less than five people, all dressed in black, with a calm aura, long breathing, and considerable strength.
But it should not be possible to achieve perfection in one practice.
Xu Yunfan glanced at it and stopped paying attention.
After seeing someone coming out of the withered willow forest and showing their token to cross the bridge, more people came in one after another showing their tokens.
Seeing this, Xu Yunfan no longer hesitated, stepped forward quickly and handed over the iron plate.
"Mist Hidden Order?"
The old Taoist rubbed the scratched part of the token with his fingernail and sniffed the rust.
"Leave the market before the hour of the Rat. Fighting is prohibited in the Ghost Market. Those who violate this rule will be attacked by a group of people."
The old Taoist said casually and returned the token to Xu Yunfan.
Xu Yunfan nodded slightly, walked across the old path, and slowly walked towards the other side of the stone bridge.
On the other side of the stone bridge, what comes into view is a small hill. There is a crack in the hill, and men in black are constantly coming in and out.
Xu Yunfan followed the crowd, entered the crevice of the mountain, passed through the secret passage, and suddenly saw a hundred-meter-long underground street.
Honeycomb-like caves were carved out of the stone walls on both sides, and masked vendors set up tables in front of the caves.
A burly man wearing a ghost mask walked by dragging a heavy yoke, and the iron chain scraped against the bluestone ground, sending out sparks.
It was completely different from the cold and eerie ghost market he had imagined. It was very lively here, and the noise was even louder than that of a vegetable market.
Passersby all concealed their bodies and did not show their true faces.
When passing by the seventh cave, there was a masked one-eyed man spitting everywhere.
"Look at this 'Dragon Subduing Palm'. It was written by a Beggars' Sect elder thirty years ago. It's truly a top-notch muscle-training martial art..."
Xu Yunfan stopped and turned to the part showing the key points of the palm technique, and he found it indeed mysterious.
"How much?"
The one-eyed man said quickly, "Want to buy it, brother? I'll sell it to you sincerely, two thousand three hundred taels of silver."
Xu Yunfan's eyes twitched slightly. He rubbed the pages with his fingertips. The ink was clearly newly copied. After calming down, Xu Yunfan felt that this martial arts secret was somewhat familiar.
Thinking back carefully, I realized that I had just heard this storytelling in a teahouse three days ago. He put it down silently and turned to leave.
Seeing this, the one-eyed man couldn't help but want to say a few words in a cold voice, but suddenly noticed the heavy troops on Xu Yunfan's back, and his mouth suddenly became speechless. He hummed and said nothing more.
Those who can command heavy troops and move with ease are, without exception, extremely vigorous and powerful.
After walking around the area where secret manuals were sold, what really caught Xu Yunfan's attention was an old woman in black clothes at the end of the street, who was hunched over and holding a stick.
The pile of secret books in front of her had their corners wrapped in oil paper. The pages of "Iron Shirt" were yellowed and curled, making it look like an antique.
Xu Yunfan's fingertips brushed across a flawed diagram, and he suddenly exerted force to tear apart the adhesive—the words "Postpartum Care for Sows" were revealed underneath.
There is a pornographic picture under the cover of "Golden Bell Cover" and a wanted poster is posted on the inside page of "One Finger Sun".
The old woman immediately jumped up and yelled in a sharp voice, "You young man, why are you destroying my secret manual? This is a peerless magical skill!"
Xu Yunfan really wanted to pull out his sledgehammer and hit the old woman, but he let out a breath, turned around and left without saying a word, leaving the old woman to jump up and down and curse on the spot.
The people around the black market seemed accustomed to this scene and continued to do their own things.
"Sir, would you like to buy real Kung Fu?"
In a cave not far from the old woman, a man wearing an iron mask was striking sparks on a stone table with a judge's pen in his hand.
There were seven thread-bound books neatly stacked on the desk, all covered with the most ordinary indigo coarse paper. The titles of the books, such as "Subduing the Tiger Long Fist" and "Six Harmonies Sword Technique", were written in tiny calligraphy.
Xu Yunfan glanced at the titles of the books and said calmly, "These items can be bought for thirty cents a stack at the bookstore in the east of the city."
After saying this, his eyes narrowed slightly.
The fire starter in the cave illuminated the three-inch deep finger marks on the wall. The edges of these holes that penetrated the bluestone were smooth, and it was clear that they were left by a master who had reached the pinnacle of martial arts such as Eagle Claw.
At least only a martial artist who has mastered bone training can have such power.
Although Beiye City is small, I have met quite a few martial artists. Now I know four or five of them.
"Thirty cents for a stack?"
The man turned the judge's pen in his fingertips several times, with a smile in his eyes.
"It's more than that, at least thirty taels. These days, being able to read and write is also a livelihood."
Xu Yunfan pondered for a moment. He walked around this ghost market and found all kinds of things for sale, but most of them were fakes. Many things required his own eyesight to judge.
Moreover, many of the items had a distinct smell of blood, clearly indicating they were stolen goods.
"Is there any real martial arts?"
"Of course, the things I sell at Jinfenglou are all real."
The iron-faced man asked, "What kind of martial arts do you want?"
"Bone training."
"Bone-strengthening Kung Fu, sir, you are in luck, I happen to have one here."
The iron-faced man did not answer directly, but took out a thick book from the wooden box behind him and handed it to Xu Yunfan's desk.
On the cover of the book, three gold-plated characters stand out clearly:
"The Golden Crow Tempering Bones".
"Bone strengthening skills?"
Xu Yunfan's fingers gently stroked the cover, feeling the rough texture of the paper. He could sense that the contents of this tome must be true, but...
Xu Yunfan opened the book and was about to take a closer look when the iron-faced man stretched out the judge's pen in his hand and pressed down the book.
Xu Yunfan said, "How can I verify the authenticity of the product if I don't take a look?"
The iron-faced man did not answer immediately, but tapped the stone table lightly with the judge's pen, making a crisp sound.
His eyes were deep, as if he could see through Xu Yunfan's thoughts.
"Sir, do you know how many eyes are watching these martial arts in the underground of Beiye City? And how many people have lost their lives in order to obtain the true teachings?"