C15 The Promise of the Thousand Mile Red Coat!

Bang! Bang!

The sound of fists cutting through the air echoed in the courtyard where a young man was diligently practicing his punches. Wang Feng had received a system reward because both Deng Jiu and Deng Chanyu had completed their transformations. The rewards included a revised version of the Seven Stars Fist technique and the Diagram of Cosmic Union.

The Seven Stars Fist, originally the signature technique of the Hummingbrand, incorporates the Eternal Vigil of the Mind's Gate. Each technique has its strengths and weaknesses, but when used with agility and skill, one could strike with the force to topple a bull. The Diagram of Cosmic Union channels the energies of Taiji's Yin and Yang, offering a test of one's spirit and enhancing the speed of bodily cultivation with the forces of heaven, earth, the eight desolates, the four extremes, and the dualities of Yin and Yang.

"These are indeed two exceptional treasures!"

The Big Dipper is composed of seven stars: Tianshu, Tianxuan, Tianji, Tianquan, Yuheng, Kaiyang, and Yaoguang. Wang Feng's Seven Stars Fist technique is similarly structured around seven major realms, suggesting that it has the potential to elevate a practitioner to the World Ender Realm.

Wang Feng was currently in the Tianshu realm, the initial stage of exploration. After about six hours of rigorous training, he concluded his session with a deep breath in and out, expelling a breath of stale air back into the world.

"Young Master!" Lee called out from a distance.

"Oh? What is it? Is there a problem?"

"Well..." Lee appeared conflicted.

"Hey! Hey!" Wang Feng gestured dismissively. "Don't look so troubled! There's nothing we can't discuss. Out with it, what's the matter?"

Lee's face relaxed, returning to its usual composed appearance, reminiscent of a wise sage.

"Young Master, we've run out of ingredients for the pills."

"Oh, is that all? We can simply buy more," Wang Feng responded nonchalantly, waving his hand.

"But, Young Master, we're out of money. All our funds were spent on Miss Deng's medical treatment."

"Is it all gone?"

Wang Feng was genuinely concerned as he pressed his hand to his forehead. He knew Lee wouldn't deceive him. The money his mother had left him was nearly spent in less than half a month. Now he was truly out of money! What was he to do?

There's an old saying, "Money talks," but without it, was he destined to be the one pushed around instead?

"The money my mother left me was tens of thousands of gold coins! It's disappeared too quickly."

"Indeed, my income and expenses haven't been balanced. I've been spending far too much lately!"

Wang Feng said, "Lee, I'm going to figure something out. I'll be back soon."

After much deliberation while wandering the streets of East Deld, Wang Feng decided to ask Wang Mingzhu for a loan. With Lee's pill-making skills, as long as they had the ingredients, they wouldn't have to worry about making gold coins.

Arriving at Wang Mingzhu's residence, the guard recognized Wang Feng and allowed him to enter without hesitation. He then summoned a maid to announce the visitor.

"Jiujiu, are you there?" Wang Feng called out in the courtyard.

Wang Mingzhu emerged from the inner chamber.

"Someone's already let me know. What do you think? Am I here?" Wang Mingzhu teased with a chuckle.

Wang Feng cleared his throat, "Ahem, I was just worried you might be out."

"Come on in, don't just stand there. What brings you here? Let's talk in the pavilion outside," Wang Mingzhu said, reaching for Wang Feng's hand.

"It's really nothing! It's just, well..."

"What is it?" she pressed.

Wang Feng, usually so bold and brash, found himself blushing and nervous while holding Wang Mingzhu's hand.

"Why so nervous? I'm not going to bite!" Wang Mingzhu said with a playful laugh.

Today, Wang Mingzhu was dressed in an elegant dark green qipao, revealing a hint of her fair skin at the chest. Her hair was adorned with a fine silk band, neatly tied into two butterfly knots.

Upon reaching the pavilion, the two settled into their seats.

A maidservant promptly placed the finest tea leaves into a pot of boiling water. Just outside, a verdant expanse of lotus leaves unfurled, their tender shoots newly emerged.

Wang Feng earnestly began, "Jiujiu, I need to ask you for a loan."

"How much do you need?" inquired Wang Mingzhu.

"One hundred thousand gold coins. I'll repay you in a week's time," Wang Feng replied.

Without hesitation, Wang Mingzhu retrieved a gold card from her purse and handed it to Wang Feng.

With a playful smile, she teased, "Take it, Brother Wang Feng, but remember, you owe me one hundred thousand gold coins in a week!"

Wang Feng, taken aback, questioned, "Jiujiu, why do you trust me so implicitly? Aren't you worried I might not pay you back?"

"I'm not worried at all. Brother Wang Feng, don't you remember what you promised me when we were children?"

Wang Feng feigned forgetfulness, "I seem to have forgotten all about that."

Wang Mingzhu chuckled at his response, then gazed intently at his face before saying deliberately, "I know you're lying to me. Brother Wang Feng, you've never been good at deception."

Wang Feng gave an awkward laugh, "Honestly, I've forgotten!"

Yet, his mind was awash with the memory of his tenth birthday, before he had lost his prodigious talents, and the vision of a red-clad figure that had appeared before him. It was Wang Mingzhu's birthday, and Wang Qianxiong had gifted her the cherished Red Cloud Mist Whip, which she adored and clung to.

She kept drifting over to his side, eager to share any delicacy she had with him.

This caused Wang Qianxiong's white whiskers to bristle with irritation, though he refrained from scolding her in front of the numerous guests, not wanting to spoil his daughter's reputation.

It was her birthday, observed by many, yet she remained innocently committed to the notion Wang Feng had shared to amuse her: "Good friends should always share their treats."

On her birthday, in the seclusion of Wang Mingzhu's backyard garden, the little girl in red approached Wang Feng and asked with delicate earnestness, "Brother Wang Feng, would you marry me?"

Wang Feng mused to himself, "What could a little girl possibly be thinking about so deeply?"

He playfully responded, "I don't want to."

Little Wang Mingzhu inquired, "Why not?"

Wang Feng remarked, "Is this kid really that precocious?"

Little Wang Mingzhu asked, "Can you eat 'precocious'? You still haven't answered my question. Answer me now! Answer me!"

Wang Feng was at a loss for words...

In a spur of the moment, he came up with a fib to tell Little Wang Mingzhu, "If you can surpass me in martial arts, I'll marry you! Remember this: when your hair reaches your waist and is as black as a raven's wing, I will travel a thousand miles, lay out a bridal path a thousand miles long, and come to you just as I promised."

What he hadn't anticipated was that at the age of ten, Wang Feng's talents would be utterly squandered, leaving him nothing but a shell of his former self.

As a result, he constantly avoided Wang Mingzhu, always hiding whenever she sought him out, never showing his face. Now, Wang Mingzhu had grown into a tall and elegant young woman, her hair long enough to reach her waist, yet the playful promise he once made remained unfulfilled.