Qin Wang headed to Yang's Breakfast Stall, where he had a bowl of rice noodles and a bowl of noodles before continuing down the long street.
By eleven o'clock in the morning, he was standing a hundred yards away from the Flying Eagle Martial Arts School in the north of the city, carrying twelve taels of silver.
Through his inquiries that morning, he learned that there were three major martial arts schools in Yan Yun County:
1) Flying Eagle Martial Arts School: Specializes in body techniques known as "Flying Eagle Body Technique," enabling practitioners to move as swiftly as flying eagles.
2) Iron Clothing Martial Arts School: Focuses on the Iron Cloth training method, a hardening martial art that strengthens the body and muscles.
3) Electric Sword Martial Arts School: Teaches a sword technique known as "Electric Sword Technique," allowing the practitioner to strike as fast as lightning, slicing an enemy's throat before they can react.
All three martial arts schools accept disciples from the public. The apprenticeship fee is ten taels of silver for the first three months. If a student has not mastered the basics by then, they must pay another ten taels to continue learning.
Qin Wang felt that since he already knew the Taizu Long Fist, he now needed to learn a body technique. Regardless of whether he could defeat an opponent, mastering a good light-body technique would allow him to run away if needed.
He had thought about it: even if he was not strong enough to defeat the head of the Chen family, Chen Kun, he could still use his agility to escape and bring his sister, Qin Xuemei, with him.
"Young man, are you here to learn light-body techniques?" An elderly man, about fifty years old, short, and with bandaged legs, came out of the martial arts school and kindly asked Qin Wang, who was examining the signboard with the words "Flying Eagle Martial Arts School" in gold.
"Yes, sir. I want to learn light-body techniques," Qin Wang responded, cupping his hands in respect. "I heard the apprenticeship fee is ten taels of silver?"
"Yes, the apprenticeship fee is ten taels. Do you have it with you?" the elderly man asked warmly, inviting Qin Wang inside.
"Yes, I have it," Qin Wang replied.
"The old man's name is Du Fu, and I am responsible for welcoming new disciples. I'll take you to register. After you pay the apprenticeship fee, you'll receive your disciple's uniform and badge, and you can start training in the Flying Eagle Body Technique every day," Du Fu introduced enthusiastically.
Two large stone lions, each about a yard high, flanked the entrance of the Flying Eagle Martial Arts School. Inside, a three-yard-wide path led fifty yards to a spacious training ground, which was about one hundred yards wide and long. Numerous boys and girls, dressed in uniforms bearing the school's emblem, were running with sandbags tied to their legs, practicing on plum blossom stakes, stone piers, and dodge techniques.
Du Fu led Qin Wang to a pot-bellied steward, where he paid ten taels of silver and received a black wooden badge numbered 348 and a set of clothes embroidered with a flying eagle.
He then handed Qin Wang over to a plump young man about twenty-four or twenty-five years old, saying, "Nephew Zhang, this is a new disciple, Qin Wang. Please guide him in practicing the Flying Eagle Body Technique."
"Don't worry, Uncle Du," the young man replied, then turned to Qin Wang. "Junior Brother Qin, my name is Zhang Hao. You can call me Senior Brother Zhang. Follow me."
"Alright," Qin Wang nodded, following Zhang Hao.
"To practice body techniques, you must first train to be light and agile. To achieve this, you must run with sandbags tied to your legs, gradually increasing the weight. Every morning, Senior Brother Lin will teach the basics of light-body movement. Come, try running with the sandbags first," Zhang Hao explained, pointing to the youths running with sandbags.
"Alright," Qin Wang agreed, tying two sandbags to his legs and starting to run.
By five in the afternoon, as he walked down the street, Qin Wang noticed that running with the sandbags was very heavy, but once he took them off, he felt light as a feather and much faster. He had only practiced briefly in the afternoon and was preparing to return the next morning.
"Now, let's check out Zheng Kecheng's estate at No. 12 Linjiang Courtyard," he thought. After finding a place to eat and resting for a while, he headed to Linjiang Courtyard.
Soon, Qin Wang arrived at Linjiang Courtyard, located in a wealthy area of Yan Yun County where affluent merchants and nobles purchased estates. The area contained over a hundred estates, separated by ten yards of paved ground and landscaping trees.
The estates, resembling large courtyard houses, had high walls over a yard tall, with rock gardens, ponds, and pavilions inside, showcasing their luxurious value.
"This Zheng Kecheng really knows how to enjoy life! Damn, as a chief constable, how much money must he have extorted to afford such a lavish estate for his mistress!" Qin Wang cursed inwardly as he passed by No. 12 Linjiang Courtyard, noting that it appeared unoccupied.
"I wonder if Zheng Kecheng's mistress is inside?" he pondered, observing that the courtyard wall was over a yard high. The only ways to enter were by using a grappling hook or climbing a large maple tree extending its branches near the wall.
If he encountered Zheng Kecheng's mistress, he would have no choice but to kill her.
Qin Wang moved away and waited about five miles from the estate. On winter nights, the moon was dim.
Time passed, and by midnight, seeing no one entering No. 12, Qin Wang donned black clothes and a mask, then climbed the tree to scale the wall into the courtyard.
Holding a dagger, he crept along the wall, listening intently as he moved.
"It seems the woman isn't here," he thought, relieved to find the estate empty. This made his task easier.
Each room's windows were tightly closed. He cautiously entered one, finding a bedroom with a dressing mirror, a bed with neatly folded bedding, and a large brown wardrobe, all filled with a lingering fragrance.
Listening carefully, he pushed the window open slightly and leaped inside, scanning the room before approaching the wardrobe. Inside, he found neatly folded women's clothes.
The wardrobe had four sections. Qin Wang opened each, finding only clothes and no internal skill manuals as expected. Frowning, he muttered, "Impossible, the intelligence can't be wrong. Did Zheng Kecheng take it?"
Unwilling to give up, he continued searching and discovered a hidden drawer at the bottom of the wardrobe, secured with a small brass lock. Using his dagger, he pried it open and found a yellowed booklet, ten five-tael silver ingots, several silver notes, and a yellowed jade stone about three inches long and one inch wide.
Ecstatic, he realized his efforts had paid off.