The manual for the Black Death Demon Technique was barely two thousand characters long.
The two of them quickly finished reading through it.
They exchanged a look, and both agreed it was truly worthy of being called a Demon Technique.
Its method for cultivating Inner Strength was simple and brutal, yet completely unorthodox.
To cultivate this Martial Art, one had to use a woman's fresh blood, seeking to absorb the Innate Primordial Yin within it.
The most basic requirement for the chosen woman was that she be a virgin.
A better choice would be a woman born in a Yin year; an even better one, born in a Yin year and Yin month, and so on, up to what Zhou Qingmei understood to be "Top Grade."
To ensure the Innate Primordial Yin wasn't lost, the practitioner couldn't simply kill the woman and drain her blood.
Instead, while the victim was still alive, one had to open a small hole in her Baihui Acupoint. Then, pressing the Laogong Acupoint in one's palm against it, one would follow the Demon Technique's Secret Technique to draw the Innate Primordial Yin into the body, channeling it from the Hand Jueyin Pericardium Meridian into the Ren Meridian Qi Sea.
The process continued until the woman died, at which point her Innate Primordial Yin would completely dissipate.
Afterward, this Yin Qi had to be refined into Black Death True Qi.
From then on, one would perform Circulations with this energy. Once a profound amount of Inner Strength had been accumulated, one would break through the Ren and Du Meridians. At that point, the Demon Technique would be considered mastered.
The method's simplicity lay in one fact: as long as there was enough Innate Primordial Yin, the speed of Inner Strength accumulation was far beyond anything the Inner Strength techniques of the Jianghu's Renowned and Righteous Sects could compare to.
Furthermore, the Black Death True Qi was sinister and vicious. It could destroy an opponent's foundation and damage their Cultivation, making it incredibly difficult to handle.
"No wonder the Black Death Sect was able to run rampant back in the day."
Fang Shuwen said with a frown after he finished reading,
"Besides, there aren't any decent External Martial Arts in here. I read it for nothing."
"Then let's destroy it."
Zhou Qingmei was utterly disgusted by such Martial Arts.
Since it didn't have what Fang Shuwen was looking for, she immediately suggested destroying it.
Fang Shuwen didn't hesitate. He took the manual in his hands, circulated his Inner Breath, and with a quick rub, reduced it to a flurry of tiny shreds.
With a flick of his hand, he tossed the scraps out of the tree hollow, where they were instantly obliterated by the downpour.
Zhou Qingmei sighed in relief at the sight and said with a smile,
"Actually, if you're looking for External Martial Arts, you don't need to search through something like the Black Death Demon Technique."
"I have one for you."
"The Martial Arts of Zhuji Pavilion can be taught to outsiders?"
Fang Shuwen was skeptical.
Forget about a major sect like Zhuji Pavilion; even at his Four Seas Martial Arts Hall, if someone were caught secretly learning their techniques, he and his martial brothers would hunt the person down as a group.
The best-case scenario was to pull them into the hall to become an apprentice.
Failing that, they would be severely beaten, or even have the tendons in their hands and feet severed.
It wasn't that the people of the Four Seas Martial Arts Hall were vicious; it was a matter of survival. Secretly learning a school's techniques was a major taboo in the Jianghu. In such a situation, it was considered perfectly justifiable to kill the thief on the spot.
"Of course the Martial Arts of Zhuji Pavilion can't be taught to outsiders, but I've had my own fortuitous encounters while traveling the Jianghu."
Zhou Qingmei said,
"I once slipped and fell into a cave where I discovered a set of Palm Techniques. They were marvelously intricate and incredibly formidable."
"My own Martial Arts Cultivation is entirely focused on the sword. I still haven't fully grasped Zhuji Pavilion's Thousand Character Sword Technique, so naturally, I wouldn't waste my energy on other Martial Arts."
"So, I've never practiced this Palm Technique. If you want to learn it, I can teach it to you."
"This..."
Fang Shuwen hesitated.
'There's no such thing as a free lunch.' Fang Shuwen had some idea of why Zhou Qingmei was making this offer. 'But he couldn't shake the feeling that this would complicate their relationship.'
'Originally, it was a simple, transactional relationship. Half City Zhou paid him for protection, and all he had to do was keep her safe. Once the job was done, he'd collect his payment, and they would go their separate ways, never to be involved again.'
'Although Zhou Qingmei was a rare beauty, Fang Shuwen wanted to avoid women like her all the more.'
'After all, a girl who looked like that was always surrounded by trouble.'
'If he now accepted a Palm Technique from her—one that even a True Disciple of Zhuji Pavilion praised so highly...'
'...it would no longer be a matter of money. The favor he'd owe would be immense.'
'If they ran into trouble he couldn't handle later, he'd feel too awkward to just run away.'
"What are you hesitating for?"
Zhou Qingmei said with a laugh,
"You've saved my life twice. If it weren't for you, I'd already be dead. It's just a Palm Technique, what's that in comparison?"
"You're a grown man, don't be so bashful."
Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Fang Shuwen nodded.
"Alright, but let me be clear about one thing. In this life, the thing I cherish most is my own neck."
"Second is silver."
"Your father spent silver, so I'm protecting your safety. That's all perfectly logical."
"So even if you don't teach me this Palm Technique, I will continue to protect you."
"By the same token, even if you do teach me this Palm Technique, if we encounter a danger in the future that I can't handle, the most I'll do is run away with you... I will absolutely not lay down my life for you."
Zhou Qingmei's expression didn't change in the slightest. She nodded immediately.
"That's exactly how it should be!"
"A human life is at stake. Why should a few pieces of silver obligate you to die for me?"
"If a situation is truly beyond your abilities, just run. I will have no complaints."
With things laid out so clearly, Fang Shuwen stopped being hesitant and agreed.
However, tonight was clearly not the right time, so the two of them moved on to the remaining spoils.
As for the silver notes, Fang Shuwen had intended to split them fifty-fifty.
But Zhou Qingmei said,
"It's best we don't use these silver notes. With an unknown bank like this, there's no telling if it has connections to the Black Death Sect."
"Going to exchange them for silver might be like walking right into the tiger's den."
Fang Shuwen raised an eyebrow.
"Does that mean the bank itself is a clue?"
"That makes sense."
Zhou Qingmei paused, then nodded repeatedly. She took another close look at the silver note, which listed the bank's location.
"This bank is in Guangning City!"
Fang Shuwen rubbed his chin and said,
"Guangning City was plagued by a degenerate. After you took him down, you ended up offending the Black Death Sect."
"The Black Death Sect cultivates the Black Death Demon Technique, which requires women's blood as a catalyst..."
"The pieces are starting to fall into place."
"The main enemy we're facing now is the Black Death Sect!"
"They've been hiding in Guangning City, skulking around and building their strength, but then they ran into you, a disciple from Zhuji Pavilion."
"To avoid being exposed, they decided they had to kill you to silence you!"
Zhou Qingmei agreed with his assessment and said with a smile,
"In that case, as long as we can find clues about the Black Death Sect in Guangning City and wait for reinforcements from Zhuji Pavilion to arrive..."
"...we might just have the chance to annihilate the Black Death Sect in one fell swoop!"
"Brother Fang, your use of the word 'skulking' was particularly apt!"
"..."
Fang Shuwen gave a dry laugh and tried once more to split the silver, but Zhou Qingmei, being fabulously wealthy, wouldn't hear of it and gave it all to him.
Finally, there was the letter.
But opening it made Zhou Qingmei's brow furrow deeply.
On it was a single, simple sentence:
"By order of the Young Sect Leader: execute Zhou Qingmei at all costs. Any delay risks jeopardizing our grand plan!"