1 The Dao Has No Mercy Way of the Devil

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Cold wind whipped about like blades, and snow flew around, falling to the
ground.

Lu Sheng opened his eyes and found himself seated in a dull-yellow horse
carriage, which shook left and right. He could hear a young girl speak in a
soft and gentle voice beside him.

Outside the carriage was a sea of buzz and commotion. Hawkers were trying
to sell their goods, people were yelling and others exclaiming. Children were
making a din.

Lu Sheng heaved a deep sigh.

He knew he could no longer go back. He was originally a seasoned player in

a state-owned enterprise. However, he’d gotten drunk, and when he woke up
from his stupor, he found himself in this present world.

It had been five days since then.

He sniffed at the air, smelling a wafting aroma of wine, mixed with the
fragrance of pies and fried nuts.

"Sigh… The Osmanthus Winery’s white osmanthus wine is getting more and
more fragrant," the personal servant girl in the carriage, Little Qiao,
whispered in a childish voice.

Little Qiao was only twelve this year, but with her natural dollish features
and petite figure, she looked no different from a ten-year-old.

Her small, chubby face carried a natural blush. She donned a small green
cotton skirt and her hands were now rubbing a hair tie she was preparing to
tie up Lu Sheng’s hair with when they alighted.

This kind of hair tie was made of the expensive bark of a species of rubber
tree which emanated a light fragrance. The only bad thing about it was that it
stiffened when the weather got cold and needed to be warmed and softened
by rubbing it with warm hands.

Lu Sheng laughed and kept silent. Meanwhile, the carriage quickly came to a
stop.

He pulled back the carriage’s veil and alighted, stepping onto the greyish
white street covered with bluestone tiles, each as big as a face basin.
On the street, carriages and horses led by people travelled in either direction.
Hawkers chatted with ladies who were out on a stroll, and wives appeared in
public and laughed without care or restraint, peals of laughter resounding
incessantly on the street.

Lu Sheng raised his head and saw the winery ahead. On a white rectangular
signboard, three giant words danced – The Osmanthus Winery.

"Young Master Lu, you’re here! Come in, please! Room A has been reserved
for you!" A servant greeted them with a welcoming smile.

Lu Sheng nodded. From Little Qiao’s hands, he received a silver-bordered

white paper fan and shook it open like a rich young master. A scenery of
mountains and a river intertwined with each other was painted onto the fan,
and a poem had been written on the side. It was clearly the work of a great
literati.

He followed the servant into the familiar winery.

It was divided into two stories. The hall on the first story was presently filled
with many of those who were listening to song performances.
A young lady dressed in green stood in the middle of the empty space, her
clear voice twisting and turning melodiously. Beside her, a middle-aged
woman was playing a lute.

The song being performed was called Three Meetings, a tragic love story
about a general on a mission of conquest and a fox lady in the mountain
wilderness.

But it was a shame that those present were a boorish bunch, and only few
somewhat cultured ones among them were barely able to understand the
song. The rest of them treated the two ladies like thin air.

Those who tipped were even fewer.

Lu Sheng paused. Seeing how lively it was, he sat down on an empty seat on
the first story.

"Who picked Three Meetings?" He asked the servant casually.

He held an uncommon status here in The Osmanthus Winery. Had it been an

upscale place of entertainment on Earth, he would have been a VVIP guest: a
patron whose annual spending was at least in five digits.

In a small northern city like this Nine Links City, such spending was enough
to make one a VVIP customer.

"It’s Young Master Zhou. Young Master Zhou Que," the servant replied
softly.

Not intending to make things difficult for him, Lu Sheng dismissed him with
a wave of his hand.

After pulling Little Qiao down onto a seat, his gaze swept the crowd on the
first story and quickly landed on a pale and frail gentleman clad in white
robes. He was fanning himself lightly with an ugly gold fan he held in his
hand.

"I bet he’s targeting that young girl who’s singing," Lu Sheng shook his head.

"Young Master just warned him last time. That lad’s really a rotten egg!"
Little Qiao pouted angrily. [1]

Lu Sheng smiled and no longer said anything. He started listening to the song
quietly.

Dishes soon filled the top of the mahogany table. Lu Sheng grabbed some
stir-fried meat slices with lettuce and started eating.
He also drank a mouthful of white osmanthus wine, drinking it as if it were a
normal beverage. The faint and sweet floral fragrance mixed up in it made it
taste like fruit juice.

‘Food and clothing fit for royalty, without any lack or want, and I’ve even got
a pretty servant girl to warm my bed… this lifestyle is way too decadent,’
sometimes, Lu Sheng would think about simply living the rest of his life this
way. The pursuit of his previous life was to eat, drink and laze around
anyway.

He ate another mouthful of dishes, and drank another mouthful of wine.

Then, he opened his mouth so Little Qiao could put in a salted ice prawn she
had just shelled.

Those ice prawns were the local specialty of this snowy northern city. Just a
casual scoop in a thick ice hole would draw up a large amount of translucent
prawns.

Those were ice prawns.

They were half the length of a normal prawn but were a fresh delicacy. The
meat melted instantly in one’s mouth, serving up an indescribable
gastronomic pleasure.
Of course, it was extremely pricey.

It was already considered extravagant for an average person to eat it once a

month. Who could enjoy it during every meal like him?

Lu Sheng enjoyed the delicacies and wine before him while listening to the
song, but his mind was elsewhere.

He had already arrived in this ancient China-like world for so many days.
Yet, according to his observations, this world was riddled with many strange
happenings.

Initially, he’d thought that he had gone back into the ancient times, but later
he discovered otherwise.

The customs, the habits, the weather and the climate here were all vastly
different from those during the times of any other dynasty or in any place that
he knew of.

As he was thinking of these things, the winery’s main doors opened again.

A group of muscular men dressed in short robes filed in, finding a table near
the corner and sitting down immediately.
These muscular men were clearly not locals. Their dressing indicated that
they seemed to have come from the Central Plains. Neither their clothing nor
bearing were as rough as the northerners.

"Ai…"

The leader among them was a bald man with bronze earrings and a fierce-
looking face. Yet here he was, sighing.

"The days are getting worse."

"Don’t worry, big brother. If we can’t go past Lee Village, we’ll just take the
second route. Skirting around Zhang Village will work, too," another man
said with a frown.

"What do you know? I came to meet up with you guys precisely via that
route. They’re not much better off than the people at Lee Village… there’s
plenty of dead there too," the bald man’s fierce-looking face trembled and
turned even more sorrowful.

"What on earth happened? Tell us big brother, so we can learn a thing or

two," a man urged.

The bald muscular man sighed again. "I don’t know the specifics either. I just
know that quite a few fishing villages by the Sui Yang Lake have been
affected. Seems like a water ghost has been haunting them."

"Water ghost!? No way!"

Lu Sheng’s table was not far from them and he could hear their conversation
which they made no effort to conceal.

At first, he was simply listening for fun, but little did he expect that those
men started chatting about some superstitious things.

The Lu family in his present life was one of the several most wealthy families
in this snowy northern city. Saying that they lived high off the hog would be
an understatement.

If it was on Earth, they would be at least billionaires.

During those past few days, coming out for a drink, he had heard more than a
few rumors about demons, spirits, gods and ghosts in the winery. But they
were largely gossip.

This was the first case that involved people who had a personal encounter, so
Lu Sheng raised his ears and eavesdropped attentively on their conversation.
It was a good thing that they did not hush it up. They continued chatting
loudly about the strange occurrences in the fishing villages.

"That water ghost… I saw it with my own eyes… it was over ten feet tall,
with a green face and fangs, covered with lots of seaweed. Oh my goodness,
if I, your big brother, didn’t run fast enough, you wouldn’t be able to see me
now," the bald man was still having the shivers as he recalled it.

"Big brother, is the water ghost real?" One of them was skeptical.

"Are you sure you didn’t make up this story?" Another of them sneered.

Having heard to this point, Lu Sheng found it funny too. It was probably
another boast by some boor from god-knows-where. He had seen many of his
kind in this world.

Having eaten something and drunk some wine, he made a servant bring over
the singing lady’s song list and casually looked it over.

Three Meetings was not bad, but didn’t suit the atmosphere. He wanted to
change it to a more joyous tune.

"PA!"
But, right at that moment, the bald man slapped the table with his palm, his
face now red.

"You really think that I, Boss Hu, only knows how to boast!? Look, look at
what this is! That’s a piece of bone left behind by the water ghost! I secretly
picked it up after the incident!"

He retrieved a piece of jade-like green stone gingerly from his chest and
slapped the tabletop with it.

"Isn’t that just a piece of mixed jade?" One of them sneered.

"Mixed jade? This is mixed jade?! Go eat crap!" The bald man’s face was red
with rage.

"This brother over here. Can you show me that thing?"

A mild voice rang out from the side suddenly.

Lu Sheng was standing beside their table with a smile on his face. His gaze
swept across the green piece of jade on the tabletop.

"This thing… you dare to take it? This was left behind by a water ghost," the
bald man remarked in surprise.
He had merely taken it out to show it off for a while and was planning to
throw it away a little later.

After all, it was left behind by something inhuman. If it led the water ghost to
him, he would really be in deep trouble.

"It’s ok. I just want to take a look," Lu Sheng did not believe in any tale
about a water ghost. It just seemed to him that the piece of jade would sell
well; it looked different from your average jade.

The average mixed jade could be purchased from shops and stalls
everywhere. It was casually polished from jadeite corners and was extremely
cheap.

But, for some strange reason, the moment he saw this piece of jade, he knew
something was different about it.

The bald Boss Hu glanced at Lu Sheng and saw that he carried an

extraordinary aura about him, dressed in clothes worn by the rich.

He wore a green robe and a white fox fur jacket. On his head was a jade
officer hat, and on his feet, there were black-soled shoes with cloud patterns
embroidered on them with silver threads.
The cost of his entire outfit was enough to pay for a few months’ worth of
spending at The Osmanthus Winery... and probably enough to equal an
average household’s annual expenditure as well.

"Well, Young Master, if you want it, er… just a talent of silver will do!" The
muscular man ventured after some hesitation.

"Deal," Lu Sheng let Little Qiao take out a talent of silver and place it on the
table.

"It’s yours now," the bald man took the jade and stuffed it in Lu Sheng’s
hands decisively. The few of them exchanged glances with each other, rose
from the table and left.

Without another word, Lu Sheng watched them leave. He held up the jade in
his hand for a closer examination.

‘A talent of silver. If this was China on Earth, then we’re talking about a
thousand Chinese dollars’ worth of purchasing power. Only in this life can I
spend so extravagantly,’ he shook his head. A talent of silver meant nothing
to him. According to the memories of his present body, his average monthly
expenditure was at least above a hundred talents of silver. [2]
Occasionally, he would even spend up to a thousand talents and more. That
equaled millions on today’s Earth!

Thinking of this, he complained in his heart about what a prodigal the

previous host of this body had been.

Ignoring the stares of the surrounding onlookers, he held onto the jade, called
Little Qiao and left the winery, heading towards the horse carriage waiting
outside.

Yet right after stepping out of the winery, before he was even halfway there,
he abruptly stood still and placed the jade in the heart of his palm.

There and then, in the middle of his right palm, the jade started melting!

In a matter of seconds, the originally hard rock dissolved into a pool of dark
green goo. A faint but terrible scream came out from the goo.

"Poof!"

Without warning, the goo exploded into a ball of green smoke and gradually
dispersed in front of Lu Sheng.

He stood rooted to the ground in shock. Refocusing his sight, he saw that the
jade was still in his palm, but the green sheen within it had vanished silently.

‘Just now that was…’

He stood on the spot blankly, continuously recalling the image he had just
seen.

"Young Master? Young Master???" Little Qiao kept calling out beside him.

Lu Sheng snapped out of his reverie and looked at the jade in his hand once
again. It was now nothing more than an ordinary cobblestone; not even a
vestige of jade remained.

Hair stood on the back of his neck. Imperceptibly, he seemed to understand

something.

"Let’s go. Back to the manor!"

Little Qiao blinked and took a while to react. "Okay…"

Both of them boarded the carriage. The driver gave a few whips and two
black hairy horses began to advance slowly.

In the carriage, Lu Sheng did not make a sound. He just kept staring at the
cobblestone in his palm. At this point, Little Qiao too discovered the change
in the stone.

‘We got scammed again!’ She muttered in her heart but did not say much.
‘Young Master’s considered alright this time. The biggest scam he fell for in
the past was that supposedly ancient wine flask. It cost over a thousand silver
talents and almost drove Old Master to his grave. It’s just a talent of silver
this time. Sometimes Young Master’s meal costs more than that.’

The horse carriage headed straight for the manor. As it passed by the city
gates, Lu Sheng heard shouts from the outside.

"…I heard a while back that the water ghost has been exorcized! A travelling
priest saved the fishing villages from danger!"

"Has the court sent anyone?"

"Yeah, already quite some time ago. I heard even the prefectural yamen’s
Chief Constable Ouyang almost lost his life. Good thing he met a travelling
priest. According to the news, when the priest attacked, there was a blinding
golden flash and the water ghost cried out pathetically before turning into
green goo. Afterward, it just exploded into thick smoke and then dispersed."
[3]
"So it wasn’t attacked by the court’s experts?"

"Of course not!"

Lu Sheng could tell that it was the officers on guard duty chit-chatting.

He would often intentionally pass by the gates on this side of the city. The
soldiers on guard duty were well-informed of the latest news and loved to
brag and bullshit about strange news from all over the region.

‘What a coincidence…’ Lu Sheng’s face betrayed nothing.

Recalling that piece of jade from earlier, his heart sank.

Meanwhile, the horse carriage lumbered on toward Ku Rong Street – the

most prosperous part of the city.

[1] ED/N: Before Lu Sheng was addressed "young master", whereas here the
servant girl adds the character for "big", which has a more respectful sound to
it. While I’m not a TL so I can’t tell for sure with my much worse Chinese, it
seems to mean that he’s the oldest son of his parents (which is a fact) or the
oldest youth in his generation in his family (branch families likely do not
count). It could also mean that he’s the first in line to inherit the family
head’s position. Later on, she’ll also use this form of address (but also at least
one more word that also translates to "young master"). There are many ways
to say "young master" in Chinese, but we’ll always translate them as "young
master" (sometimes we’ll use capital letters to emphasize the instances where
it’s a translation of a more respectful Chinese version).

[2] ED/N: Chinese dollars = Yuan = Renminbi. While only the latter two
names are official (as far as I know that is), the first one also be heard from
time to time.

[3] ED/N: "Yamen" is the word for a government office that existed during
feudalism in China.

2 Cheating Device Way of the Devil

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The end of Ku Rong Street was where a district for the wealthy was. The Lu
Manor was one of the houses there.

The horse carriage headed straight down Ku Rong Street and entered into a
garden area.

This area was surrounded by greyish-white stone walls, forming a huge oval
shape.
On the left of the area was where the Lu Manor was located.

The manor was the very image of quiet and tranquility, with black doors
flanked by red lanterns and two stone chimeras, now covered with a white
layer of snow.

The horse carriage stopped at the entrance of the Lu Manor, where Lu Sheng
alighted. People within the mansion had long since heard the sound of him
approaching and unhurriedly opened the doors. A chamberlain awaited at the
entrance.

As soon as Lu Sheng and Little Qiao passed through the doors, they saw a
good-looking man and a woman standing together on a stone bridge to the
right of the residence.

The man was dashing, confident and with a brilliant countenance. He had
sharp brows and sparkling eyes, and there was a thick aura of a Confucian
scholar around him.

The woman looked soft and gentle, her eyes beautiful as if taken from a
painting. She had slender waist and long legs; her manner was that of a well-
bred girl from a wealthy family.
Seeing the two of them, Lu Sheng’s train of thought was briefly interrupted.
His mood lifted somewhat, and took the initiative to go over to greet them.

"Elder Brother Xu, why are you here only today? My little cousin has missed
you for the past days," he smiled as he walked on the stone bridge.

The man smiled as he turned and caught sight of Lu Sheng. "So it’s Young
Master Sheng. Earlier, I had to follow orders to investigate into something, a
case which had just been resolved. I came to see Yiyi as soon as I could.
Don’t blame me for this, I couldn’t disobey orders from the higher ups."

"A case? Has there recently been a case so big that Elder Brother Xu needed
to personally take care of it?" Lu Sheng knew that Elder Brother Xu Daoran
was of a high position.

He was a County Lord who was overall in charge of law and order in all of
the counties within Nine Links City area.

The position of a County Lord was second only to that of the County
Magistrate, and was akin to that of a Police Commissioner.

"Just some cases in the fishing villages, but they’ve been resolved," Xu
Daoran smiled warmly. "Although, Little Sheng, when are you coming to
help me? You promised me previously that you would come to help me out
in planning for the city’s law and order."

How could Lu Sheng remember everything this body’s previous host had
promised in the past? He gave a perfunctory laugh and hurried to change the
subject.

"Fishing villages? Don't tell me it has to do with the rumored water ghost?"

"What water ghost! It was just a lunatic driven to madness by his desire for
revenge who went on a killing spree. I have already beheaded him at the
scene!" Xu Daoran shook his head and said indifferently. "The case has been
resolved, let’s not dampen our spirits by harping on these matters. Little
Sheng, do you still remember what I promised Yiyi previously?"

"To offer joss-sticks in Red Lotus Temple, and take a hike while you’re at
it?" Lu Sheng swiftly replied with a smile.

"You sure remember these play things very well," Xu Daoran helplessly
replied and added, "You’re no longer young… nineteen-year-old this year,
was it? You should find some work to do. You can't expect to live the rest of
your life like this, can you?"

He had watched Lu Sheng grow up. Because their families had been long-
time friends, he had always seen Lu Sheng as his younger brother.

Now, he felt that he had to offer a few words of advice.

Lu Sheng shook his head and laughed. "Elder Brother Xu, do you want me to
become an official, or a businessman?"

"An official, of course. This is also your father’s wish. Your maternal and
paternal uncles both hope that you can come over and help them as soon as
possible. After all, you’re the eldest son of the Lu family," Xu Daoran
persuaded.

"Let’s not talk about this first. It’s not urgent, not urgent at all! I’m still
young. What logic is there behind this hurry to chase the eldest son out?"
Unconcerned, Lu Sheng replied randomly in a casual tone.

Xu Daoran and Lu Yiyi were both speechless, and did not continue the topic.

Lu Sheng did not want to dwell on the subject of being an official. He

changed the subject, and walked off with Little Qiao in the direction of his
sleeping quarters.

Once he got there, he changed his clothes. Without even going to greet his
father, he then took the piece of cobblestone and went alone to the garden at
the back of the manor.

Xu Daoran was born in the Xu family which, like the Lu family, was one of
the most illustrious families in this northern city that is Nine Links. Their
members had far-reaching influence, and held important positions in all areas
of the city.

Lu Sheng felt rather kindly disposed towards Xu Daoran; he was a sincere

and honest guy, without selfish motives, and was genuinely interested in
Yiyi.

To Lu Sheng, he was as close as an elder brother.

Except…

Lu Sheng grasped onto the cobblestone, once again thinking back to the
earlier scene. He thought back to what he had incidentally heard at the city
gates, about how the water ghost had been killed.

‘In this world, are there ghosts and immortals…?’

There was a faint, indescribable gloom in his heart as he gazed at the snow
swirling in the garden.
‘Perhaps it’s just as Elder Brother Xu said... it’s just a false rumor spread by
the people,’ he shook his head, grasping onto a thread of wishful thinking in
his heart.

Early in the evening, he returned to his room to wash and sleep. The day’s
events had left him befuddled. With so many things on his mind, he quickly
grew tired.

He slept through the night, up until sunrise.

"DONG DONG DONG! DONG DONG DONG!"

The sound of frantic knocks arose.

Lu Sheng abruptly opened his eyes, shot up from the bed and looked towards
the door.

"Who is it?!"

"Young Master...! There’s been trouble...!" It was Little Qiao’s voice.

Lu Sheng hurriedly got off his bed to open the door. Outside, Little Qiao
stood there with a terrifyingly pale face, devoid of all color. The fat cheeks
on her baby face were currently trembling uncontrollably.
"Xu… Xu… Xu…"

Seeing this, an ominous sense of crisis began to rise in Lu Sheng’s heart.

"Just what happened? Take a deep breath!" He raised his hand to pat Little
Qiao’s back vigorously.

Only then was Little Qiao able to breathe normally.

"The Xu family… Lord Xu’s family’s all finished!!" She said in one breath,
sobbing.

Lu Sheng was stupefied.

Little Qiao speedily helped Lu Sheng into his outer robes. Without saying
another word, they both sped towards the outer manor.

The patriarch of the Lu family, Lu Fang, was standing outside the manor. He
had his hands behind his back, a hint of a tremble on his crestfallen face.

Three huge black double horse carriages waited next to him.

Lu Sheng, along with his other cousins within the manor, hastily paid
respects to Lu Fang before promptly boarding the carriages.

Lu Fang and Lu Sheng sat together, father and son both silent as they faced
each other. Neither spoke a word while on the carriage.

Lu Fang was over sixty years of age. With a white beard, skinny build and
handsome features, he looked more like a distinguished scholar rather than a
businessman.

The horse carriages advanced without slowing down. It wasn't long till they
arrived outside the Nine Links City’s gates.

Lu Sheng alighted from the carriage, and was shocked by the scene before his
eyes.

To the left of the carriageway outside the city gates, ten corpses lay neatly on
the snow. From young to old, from men to women… they were all of the Xu
family!

All of them were clad in robes custom-made for the Xu household. Xu

Daoran lay in the middle of the third row.

His face was ashen, his body stiff and eyes shut tightly. His expression was
one of extreme fear, just as if he had seen something immensely terrifying
before his death.

Lu Sheng saw the constables maintaining order at the scene. He saw his own
father, Lu Fang, standing in front of an old man’s corpse, not saying a word
with his fists clenched tightly.

The Prefect, having heard the news, was also present, his face as white as the
snow surrounding them.

Lu Sheng took a deep breath and walked slowly to stand next to a constable.
"How did they die?"

That constable recognized him and knew who he was. He sighed.

"All of them died in their own manor, hung by seaweed from the house
beams. No idea where the seaweed came from…"

"Yiyi! Yiyi!!"

A cry of alarm suddenly sounded out from behind. Obviously, little cousin
Yiyi had fainted.

Lu Sheng heaved a deep sigh, recalling what Xu Daoran had said to him only
the day before.
He had just returned from solving cases in the fishing villages…

Fishing villages…

Water ghost…

That bizarre piece of cobblestone…

In that moment, many thoughts went through Lu Sheng’s mind.

In actuality, he had only been in this world for a couple of days, and did not
have any deep attachment to Xu Daoran. Therefore, he only felt a sense of
regret and shock at the moment. However, he did not feel the grief others
would have expected of him.

It’s not that he had never seen corpses before.

Rather, it’s just that he had never seen this many corpses before.

"Where is Priest Chi Ling of the Xu household?" He heard Lu Fang asking

the senior constable.

"In another area. The corpse has been split into many chunks, one of which
has even been gnawed at by a beast…" the senior constable replied in a low
voice.

A spell of silence.

Be it the Lu family, the Prefect or the commoners looking on from the city
gates, they were all silent.

"Priest Chi Ling is quick with his sword, and is even a cut above Uncle
Zhao…" Lu Fang gradually lowered his voice.

Uncle Zhao was the strongest martial arts master employed by the Lu family.
Priest Chi Ling was stronger than Uncle Zhao, and yet he was killed.

This was no longer a simple murder case, but a grave danger that was enough
to threaten everyone present!

Of all the people present, who would dare say that he was mightier than the
Xu family?

No one would dare say so, not even the Prefect.

Lu Sheng stood silently on the roadside. He’d initially thought that this world
was very safe and was but an imitation of the ancient China, that’s all. There
were some surprising occurrences, but nothing too serious.

But now, it seemed…

He touched the cobblestone that was in his sleeve pocket.

The cobblestone was shockingly hot at the moment.

He took out the cobblestone, hesitated for a bit, and then lightly threw it
away.

This item might just bring calamity upon him.

The Xu family had a foundation as robust as his own Lu family, and yet was
entirely wiped out in the span of a single night.

This caused Lu Sheng to be greatly alarmed in his heart.

He deliberated, and suddenly walked over to the right of the cobblestone,

bent over, and picked it up.

"Psss."

Unknowingly, his forefinger had been accidentally cut by wild grass jutting
out from the snow-covered ground.

It was a special kind of grass. The sides of its leaves were sharp as the edge
of a blade.

Lu Sheng’s finger was immediately sliced and bled, a few drops of blood
dripping onto the cobblestone.

"Young Master?" Little Qiao followed closely behind him, somewhat

anxious, with tears streaming down her small face. Clearly, Xu Daoran’s
death was a huge blow to her.

Lu Sheng’s body was frozen on the spot.

A series of extremely unique syllables suddenly floated across his mind.

"Welcome to the Deep Blue Skills Cheating Device."

In a moment, Lu Sheng’s eyes went into a daze. Quite a while passed before
he was back to himself.

He stared at the translucent, bluish square frame floating before his eyes.
Astonishingly, in it he could see his name and all skills he currently mastered.
‘Isn’t this… the little cheating device I wrote for a mobile phone app?!’

Lu Sheng felt like he was going mad, having one hallucination after another.

It was bad enough that he had been reincarnated into this Young Master of a
wealthy family, who barely had the strength to truss a chicken. As if that
wasn’t enough, he was actually having all sorts of hallucinations now!

In his previous life, he had downloaded a little game called Chronicles of

Flying Swords and Heroes when he was bored. However, because the game
was too difficult, he had programmed a simple cheating device to modify his
martial arts in the game.

He had named it the Deep Blue Cheating Device. Come to think of it, the
voice he had heard earlier was his own, recorded through a voice-changing
device.

Never did he expect…

Lu Sheng looked resolutely into the space within the square frame.

The space was remarkably simple. There were only numerous small boxes,
packed densely together.
On it were written:

Lu Sheng – –

Martial Arts: None.

3 Black Tiger Saber Technique 1 Way of the Devil

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‘A hallucination? Or not a hallucination?’

Lu Sheng’s eyes narrowed. He suppressed the doubts in his heart.

"I’m fine," he replied calmly, straightening his back.

"Young Master… Lord Xu and the rest, they all were such good men. Such
good officials. How can it be…?" Little Qiao’s eyes welled up with tears and
she started crying.

Lu Sheng stared silently at the Xu family corpses that lay on the floor.

All of them were greenish gray and had ligature marks on their necks.
The Prefect glanced at them a few times and then left hurriedly, leaving it for
the Chief Constable in charge of the case to handle.

Several yamen officials, who were also responsible for investigation, went
aside to discuss the case with the Chief Constable.

"Young Master, Old Master asks you to come over," a servant ran to Lu
Sheng and whispered to him while looking sympathetically at the corpses of
the Xu family members lying on the ground.

"I’ll be right there." Lu Sheng glanced at the servant. "Are you scared?"

"I am scared," the servant was merely eighteen or nineteen, yet carried an air
of maturity beyond his age about him. "But, your servant is a refugee from Ju
Rong Nation in the east. There’s a famine over there now. Corpses are all
over the ground everywhere. Quite a few people even trade their children
with each other to eat them. Pitiful scenes like this are commonplace… ai…"

He sighed. But realizing quickly that he was not chatting with one of his
friends, he immediately bowed his head.

"Commonplace? Are there many of such incidents in Ju Rong nation in the

east?" Lu Sheng asked casually.
The servant fell into silence for a moment. "More than a few."

Lu Sheng’s heart tightened.

Without a pause in his steps, he quickly walked to the father of his present
self – Lu Fang.

Lu Fang. Other name – Quanan, a.k.a. the Golden Dollar Man.

Lu Quanan’s wealth was famous even in the entire Nine Links City. News
that the Lu and Xu Family were about to be joined by marriage had also
spread throughout the city. Even people from Zi Hua City in the west had
come to present their wedding gifts.

To think that a topic as hot and event as celebrated as this would come to end
in such a manner.

Presently, Lu Quanan’s face was extremely ugly. Heavy fatigue and worry
were visible in his eyes.

"Tell Constable Zhao about yesterday’s situation in detail."

He moved aside to make space for an approaching bearded man.

In his mind, Lu Sheng kept replaying what he had heard from Xu Daoran
yesterday. He believed that the water ghost case must be related to the Xu
Family deaths. So, he recounted his conversation with Xu Daoran the
previous day.

He didn’t hide anything.

Chief Constable Zhao’s brows knit together. He, too, saw no major clue in
the entire affair.

Seeing that there were no more questions for him, Lu Sheng departed.

Before leaving, the yamen’s men began to clean up the corpses.

Lu Sheng stared for a while from the sidelines. When he saw Xu Daoran
being lifted up on the stretcher, he sighed and approached a constable nearby
and asked," Brother, are there any surviving members of the Xu family?"

He thought that if there were any survivors from the Xu family, he would
take care of him or her and perhaps even learn some useful information from
them.

"Nope… they’re all gone. Even their external relatives’ entire families were
implicated. Perhaps they’ve still got a few distant relatives in Zi Hua city,"
the constable shook his head and whispered.

Lu Sheng quietly stuffed a silver coin into his hand. Then, taking Little Qiao
along with him, he boarded the horse carriage with his family.

The horse carriage headed back towards home.

However, the Xu family’s pitiful state was still on everyone’s minds.

As the head of the family, Lu Fang aka Lu Quanan assembled everyone for a
family meeting and announced that the engagement with Xu family was void
from now on and the women were to console Yiyi. Then, he returned by
himself to rest in his room.

One by one, the young men in the family went out, be it to the winery in the
city, or to the brothel and other similar establishments. That was their usual
way of numbing themselves to traumatic events.

As for the women, they went out to the nearby Red Lotus Temple to pray for
peace and protection.

Ideally, they would come back with a talisman from the Red Lotus priest
which would protect the family from invasion by any external evils.
The entire Lu family was fraught with fear.

But Lu Sheng did not go out. Instead, he brought Little Qiao with him and
headed for the library where the family kept its books.

The library was in absolute silence. He pushed the doors open and entered to
see a plump woman wiping the shelves.

The mahogany shelves and furniture as well as the faint light streaming in
from the windows gave this place an eerie atmosphere.

Lu Sheng went past the wooden partition blocking the entrance, which
featured a circular painting of flowers and birds, sniffing the faint fragrance
of wood in the library.

"Take your leave first. I’ll read some books by myself and take a rest," he
instructed.

"Yes," Little Qiao replied obediently and left together with the plump
cleaning woman.

Standing alone in the library and staring at the rows of shelves before him, Lu
Sheng sighed. Then, he began to search the shelves one by one.
Very quickly, he found some sort of local prefectural record books. Taking
all of these books out of the shelves, he began flipping through them one by
one.

Using the faint light streaming in from the windows, he quickly browsed
through one of them from cover to cover.

"In the seventy-second year of the Great Song, a man appeared in the
outskirts of Nine Links City and slaughtered twelve with a saber in a frenzy.
Killed after being surrounded and attacked by yamen constables."

"In the eighty-fifth year of the Great Song, on the streets in downtown Nine
Links City, a man’s head was suddenly separated from his body. Cause of
death remains unknown."

"In the ninety-first year of the Great Song, tourists went missing in the
deserted temple outside the city, numbering at least fifteen. Case remains
unsolved till the current date."

"In the ninety-fifth year of the Great Song, the owner of Nine Links City
Music Plaza went missing. His limbs were later discovered in four different
locations of the city. The corpse had already decomposed into bones despite
only four days passing since his death."
"In the hundred and sixteenth year of the Great Song, a baby’s cry from
outside the city was heard at night. Those sent to investigate all went missing.
The sounds of crying could be heard for three days before vanishing by
themselves."

***

Reading the records of these cases, both big and small, Lu Sheng grew
increasingly shocked and terrified. It was deeply unnerving.

It was truly no simple feat for people to retain their sanity and live normally
in a world like this, grave danger awaiting at every step.

He opened another book. It was even more exaggerated than the previous
one.

"In the hundred and nineteenth year of the Great Song, a blizzard broke out in
Nine Links. The Dragon Lord was rumored to have appeared somewhere,
causing the snow to stop in three days. Three days later, the blizzard that
lasted for more than ten days ended abruptly."

"In the hundred and twenty-eighth year of the Great Song, fog appeared on
the road leading towards Zi Hua City. Those who entered the fog would lose
their bearings and appear mysteriously by the coast of the White Frozen Sea
several miles away. Ten days later, the fog disappeared."

Having read till this point, Lu Sheng was almost certain that this world was
not as simple as he had thought. Demons, ghosts and monsters probably
really existed here.

At least he currently knew of no method in this world which could

manipulate the weather.

He shifted the chair, picked up a flint and lit up the candles on the table.
Their bright yellow flame flickered, casting shadows on his face.

"If this world is truly as dangerous as I think, then what do I need to protect
myself? What can I use to protect myself?"

He asked himself and thought about this question for a moment by the table.

Then, rising slowly, Lu Sheng blew out the candle and returned all the books
on the table to their places on the shelves.

He pushed the doors open and stepped out.

"Young Master, you’re done reading?"

Little Qiao was dozing off, her back against the door. She was caught by
surprise when Lu Sheng suddenly came out, but still reacted quickly.

"Mm. Where’s Uncle Zhao now? Do you know?" Lu Sheng asked casually.

There were many surnamed Zhao and of similar age in the Lu Manor, but
only one of them was known to all as Uncle Zhao.

He was the one whom even Lu Fang addressed as Uncle Zhao, the number
one expert and the strongest martial arts master in the Lu family – Zhao
Dahu.

"Er… at this time of a day Uncle Zhao is usually at the martial arts arena,
tempering his bones and training the servants," Little Qiao was on good terms
with other servants and so was rather well-informed.

"Let’s go find him."

Lu Sheng thought long and hard. Uncle Zhao was the easiest person within
his reach from whom he could learn some self-preservation skills.

Walking along the path in the manor, Lu Sheng quickly traversed two
stretches of sleeping quarters and arrived at the back of the manor.
Atop a big arena, a white-haired elder was leading more than ten servants in
practicing martial arts.

The light of the morning sun washed down on them, gradually lightening Lu
Sheng’s heart which was heavy with the terrible events he had learned of in
the morning.

The martial arts master Zhao Dahu wore an outfit of short athletic robes,
consisting of a black top and grey pants. On his back, he carried a giant thick-
backed saber that never left his body.

Lu Sheng waited and observed on the side.

On the arena, Zhao Dahu trained the servants for a while, then let them train
on their own in pairs against each other.

He himself, however, approached Lu Sheng. He had noticed Lu Sheng much

earlier already.

"Young Master, what brought you here today to the arena? Is there something
for which you need an old man’s help?"

Zhao Dahu’s status in the manor was more or less equal to that of Old
Master’s.

There were also several other martial arts masters whose status was not low
and interacted with these young masters and ladies as equals.

Lu Sheng glanced at the servants who were still practicing their moves not far
away.

"Uncle Zhao, I wish to learn martial arts," as the words left Lu Sheng’s
mouth, Zhao Dahu’s smile momentarily froze on his face.

"Big Brother Sheng, you haven’t come here to pull an old man’s leg, have
you?" [1]

"I’m not pulling your leg," Lu Sheng shook his head.

He had given it more than enough thought. The easiest and the only available
way for him to acquire some self-preservation skills was to start by learning
from the martial arts masters in his own house.

And among those in the entire Nine Links City, the ones who could best the
saber technique of the martial arts master in his own house – Zhao Dahu aka
Uncle Zhao – could be counted on one hand.
Zhao Dahu looked at Lu Sheng seriously and shook his head. "If Brother
Sheng is serious about learning martial arts, then what this old man is capable
of, I can impart to you. But… you’re too old, so your bones’ shape is fixed
and you won’t be able to execute many of the moves properly at all. And if
you can’t execute them properly, then the might of this skill will be greatly
reduced…"

"It’s fine. Uncle Zhao, just teach it to me."

Lu Sheng was not merely seeking some self-preservation skill, but also to test
and verify something.

Zhao Dahu fell deep in thought for a moment. Finally, he straightforwardly

agreed.

"Might as well, then. I’ve got no heir… and having lived with the Lu family
for so many years, it’s been a good life and Old Master has been good to us.
If we go by the book, you’re learning my craft and so must perform the
discipleship ceremony. But given my relationship with the Lu family, forget
about becoming my disciple. Just don’t leak my craft out to anyone else,"
Zhao Dahu said with a wave of his hand.

As the eldest son in the family, it was only a matter of time before Lu Sheng
took over all businesses and properties under the Lu Manor.
So, he also harbored intentions of pulling him closer to himself.

"But, Brother Sheng, there’s something I need to make clear to you

beforehand."

"Please speak," Lu Sheng replied earnestly.

Zhao Dahu caressed the beard on his chin and said in a low voice. "I know
you want to learn martial arts for self-protection because of the terrible Xu
family case from this morning. But let me set this straight. Not even the
strongest experts in the pugilistic world can handle these strange and weird
things, mired in odd mystery as they are. "

"…I got it," Lu Sheng nodded. "I just… feel unsettled. I’ll simply do what I
can."

"As long as Brother Sheng understands." Zhao Dahu thought for a moment,
then pulled out a small booklet from his chest, wrapped in layers and layers
of yellow cloth. Meticulously, he slowly unwrapped it, revealing the booklet
underneath.

Several big words were written on the cover: "Black Tiger Saber Technique."
[1] ED/N: The Big Brother here means something along the lines of "I’ll
flatter you a bit, so stop joking around/messing with me, would you?" Similar
way of addressing others can be often seen in novels in similar situations (the
one I’ve seen the most times was Big Brother, followed by Aunt)... or so I
thought, but the old codger still keeps on using it, so just keep in mind that it
can be used this way…

4 Black Tiger Saber Technique 2 Way of the Devil

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"This is a basic saber technique that a wandering priest imparted to me when

I met him by chance in my youth. In the pugilistic world, it can be considered
a third-class martial art. But don’t underestimate it because of that. It’s got its
strengths. Third-class secret manuals are good enough to make it into
restricted libraries of great sects.

Take it back and read it seriously, including the detailed posture diagrams.
Follow them and practice by yourself for now. If you’re sure that you want to
learn this technique after browsing through it, come to me afterwards. But
regardless of whether you decide to learn it or not, you must remember to
return this booklet to me."

Zhao Dahu carefully handed the booklet over to Lu Sheng.

"Alright!" Lu Sheng understood that this likely was Zhao Dahu’s crown
jewel.

While he handed it over to him so easily, it by no means implied that Lu

Sheng could learn the saber technique simply with the booklet alone.

Training in martial arts was highly demanding; it required many corrections

of the details. It was not something one could learn easily by following some
instructions on a booklet.

"Many thanks, Uncle Zhao!" Lu Sheng received the booklet with great care.

Carrying the Black Tiger Saber Technique booklet, he went straight back to
his bedroom and closed the door. Alone, he lit the candles, flipped open the
booklet and started reading its contents.

Black Tiger Saber Technique – though it was termed a "saber technique", it

actually contained only a total of three moves.

All three were offensive moves.

No defensive moves, no evasion techniques... only offensive moves.

The first move – Tiger Kill.

The second move – Tiger Might.

The third move – Tiger Roar.

The moves were simple: they were basically three different saber strokes,
each having different strengths and effects.

Lu Sheng looked at it briefly and roughly understood it. Simple as those

strokes were, their might depended on one’s familiarity with them as well as
one’s strength and speed.

Strength and speed, in turn, relied on one’s body coordination when

employing force.

Hence a mantra came along with those three saber strokes as part of the
package.

The so-called mantra was essentially a guide to thought and mental activity,
applied to daily life, which maximized the power of the saber technique. It
was basically what people termed as adjusting the mental world.

Stroke techniques for adjusting The External, mantra for adjusting The
Internal: the two combined to achieve the ultimate integration of one’s mind,
body and soul.

The Black Tiger Mantra was divided into three levels. There were no special
names for the levels; they were simply called Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3.

Only when one mastered the mantra and became familiar with the external
stroke techniques as described in the booklet could one be considered as
having achieved full mastery of the saber technique.

Lu Sheng closed the booklet lightly and sat by the table in silence for a long
while, unceasingly memorizing all the challenging parts of the Black Tiger
Saber Technique and revising them over and over again.

Then, he called out in his mind. "Deep Blue."

Immediately, the Deep Blue Skills Modifier screen appeared before his eyes.

Enclosed within the blue-bordered frame were rows after rows of small
boxes. The box in the first row of the first column, at this moment, displayed
his present status.

Lu Sheng --
Martial Arts:

Black Tiger Saber Technique: Uninitiated."

The display was very simple and contained only the Black Tiger Saber
Technique that he had just browsed through once.

‘It really… it really wasn’t a hallucination!’ Lu Sheng’s body stiffened

immediately.

Not out of fear, but... out of excitement!

This world was way too dangerous.

He was originally content to be a parasite, living without care or worry for

the rest of his life. But now it felt like he had just fallen into a snake’s den
and became surrounded by many poisonous snakes. If he were to accidentally
fall prey to one of them, he would instantly become a minor character in
some horror myth – dead beyond death. [1]

‘But now, there’s finally a glimmer of hope… if this modifier really

works…’ Lu Sheng suppressed the excitement within his heart and began
recalling the cheating device’s functions which he had written into its code.
The Deep Blue Skills Modifier had only one function, and that was to modify
the martial arts skillset of the main character in the game.

It could modify the level of one’s martial arts directly into the pinnacle level
of complete mastery. But what it could not do was modify one’s level of
familiarity with the martial arts, blood volume, strength, speed, inner force…
etc.

The only thing it could modify was the level of the martial arts that one was
already initiated in.

‘The only thing I can modify in this box is this Black Tiger Saber Technique.
How do I begin the modification?’ Lu Sheng began fiddling around.

Alone in his bedroom, his hands were subconsciously flipping through the
booklet, but his attention was actually focused on the Deep Blue Skills
Modifier in his mind.

He scrutinized the modifier, over and over again. Quickly, he discovered a

tiny button right at the bottom of the modifier.

On it was written: Begin Modification.

‘This is it.’

With a thought, he pressed deeply onto the button, as if with a finger.

Immediately, the entire screen flashed, and he suddenly felt that he could
control everything in the Modifier at will.

It was a miraculous feeling. But rather than dwelling on it, Lu Sheng’s

attention quickly focused entirely on the Black Tiger Saber Technique.

The status display after the Black Tiger Saber Technique read "Uninitiated".
But in that very moment, when he focused his attention on it, its status
jumped in a flash. It turned into "Initiated".

Delighted, Lu Sheng eagerly focused his attention on Black Tiger Saber

Technique.

Very swiftly, the Black Tiger Saber Technique jumped again and turned into
Level 1.

After that was Level 2, Level 3…

"It’s done!" Lu Sheng was filled with delight. Looks like the modifier worked
indeed.
But, just as he was ready to kick back and relax, the Black Tiger Saber
Technique jumped again!

"Level 4!!"

The Black Tiger Saber Technique jumped to Level 4 in one sitting!

"Boom!"

Just as the Black Tiger Saber Technique advanced to Level 4, Lu Sheng felt a
loud boom go off in his mind.

A splitting headache came upon him and his body began trembling violently
as if he was struck by lightning.

He collapsed onto the table. After a long period of recovery, he finally lifted
his head with difficulty.

It felt wet beneath his nose, and he sniffed out a hint of blood’s smell.

Lu Sheng lifted his hand and gently rubbed on it. It was dark-red blood.

His eyes were unfocused and every single spot all over his body was sore.
His body felt devoid of any strength; even standing up took a great deal of
effort from him.

Lifting his arms, he saw a terrible-looking patch of white on the skin at the
back of his palms. He couldn’t keep his eyes open and felt extremely sleepy.

‘These are symptoms of a serious blood loss!’ Though Lu Sheng did not have
medical training, he at least possessed some basic common knowledge...
enough to know that he might be suffering from a serious blood loss.

Sitting by the table, he just barely propped himself up and kept the booklet.
Then he collapsed onto the bed to rest.

"Little Qiao!"

"Yes, Young Master? What are your instructions?" Little Qiao asked softly
outside the door.

"Go… cook me some red dates porridge and add some ginseng into it. Use an
aged one," Lu Sheng said with great difficulty.

That was the good thing about being a rich man’s kid. Average families
treated normal ginseng as a life-saver, not to mention aged ginseng. Which
family could eat it as a tonic like Lu Sheng was about to do?
Little Qiao acknowledged and quickly ran to the kitchen to relay his
instructions to the cooks.

Lying alone on the bed, Lu Sheng rested for a long while, but his vision
remained somewhat dark and he felt devoid of strength in his limbs.

Yet, ignoring these sensations, he stretched out his arm and, to his surprise, a
practiced muscle memory and intuition that was the result of years of
familiarity and practice with saber flooded from his palms into his mind.

The three moves of the Black Tiger Saber Technique and the three levels of
its mantra had unknowingly become etched indelibly onto his mind.

He now thoroughly comprehended the three stroke moves, even the hidden
subtleties behind them. Not only that, he also understood inside out how the
mantra complemented the different strokes.

"It really worked!?" Lu Sheng closed his eyes, his heart in ecstasy.

The experiment had succeeded.

Although it had consumed his blood and mental energy, it was worth it in
exchange for the full mastery of the Black Tiger Saber Technique.
‘But, the Black Tiger Saber Technique clearly has only three levels. So where
did this fourth level come from?’ That was what baffled Lu Sheng.

Moreover, the fourth level of the Black Tiger Saber Technique now felt
extremely familiar to him in his mind.

It was as if… as if he created it personally in the first place!

The subtle philosophy and ideological underpinnings hidden within it were

not something that a person of this world could conjure up, rather, it seemed
to be the product of modern scientific theories of force.

Although he was just a civil servant, he had at least taken classes on

engineering, sports, science and the likes.

Before he could continue that line of thought, Little Qiao brought the
porridge over.

"Coincidentally, some blood-restoring porridge was cooked for Third Young

Miss, also with red dates as its main ingredient. But Third Young Miss
doesn’t want it, so I brought it over for Young Master. This is Lily Red Dates
Broth, good for calming the mind and restoring blood. I’ve also added
ginseng into it. Do you want it, Young Master?" Little Qiao asked softly
outside the door.

"Bring it in," Lu Sheng replied softly.

Little Qiao gently pushed open the doors and walked in. But immediately
upon entering, she saw the trace of blood on Lu Sheng’s collar.

"Mas…Mas…Mas… Young Master, what happened to you!!?" Little Qiao

was so shocked she almost spilled the porridge on the floor.

Lu Sheng grimaced.

"I’m fine."

"You still say you’re fine! You’ve even vomited blood!" Xiao Qiao’s face
had turned pale with fright.

"I really am fine…" Lu Sheng replied helplessly.

Little Qiao hurried to serve Lu Sheng the bowl of porridge in her hands.
"Come Young Master, drink some hot porridge first."

With her assistance, Lu Sheng finished the entire bowl of porridge, one
mouthful at a time.
Having finished eating, he felt more at ease.

He began to recall in detail all of the assorted pieces of information and

experience pertaining to the Black Tiger Saber Technique that had suddenly
popped up in his mind.

Strangely, these were stored in his mind as if they were there right from the
beginning. There was no difficulty involved in comprehending them and he
felt as if it would be a piece of cake for him to execute them in practice.

If not for the current state of his body, he would have searched for a saber in
the arena and begun practising.

After he had finished the porridge, Little Qiao quickly left for the pharmacy
to look for the Lu Manor’s doctor-in-residence. She was still worrying about
Lu Sheng’s health.

Lu Manor possessed its own exclusive doctor – a thin elderly man sporting a
goatee.

Carrying a giant medicinal chest on his back, he hurried over.

He sat down beside Lu Sheng’s bed and touched his pulse. After that, his
brows unknotted themselves.

"It’s nothing much, just a loss of blood. Also, too much mental energy had
been expended. He just needs to rest for a few days," he pulled out a slip of
paper and began scribbling a tonic prescription on it.

"Take this to the pharmacy, and feed the Young Master with it twice a day
for ten days and he’ll fully recover."

"Thank you, doctor."

Lu Sheng heaved a sigh of relief. It was exactly the same as his own
diagnosis.

Not long later, Lu Fang aka Lu Quanan also arrived.

"What happened?" He had come with his second and third mother. [2]

Lu Sheng’s own mother had died of sickness a long time ago. It was his
second mother who raised him.

His second mother Liu Cuiyu was mild-mannered and treated others with
great generosity. She raised him like her own child, without any differential
treatment between him and her own children.
"It’s just some blood loss from practicing martial arts. It’s nothing," one by
one, Lu Sheng explained to his family members.

As the eldest son of the family, he was to inherit the family’s enterprise in the
future and become its central pillar. Anything that happened to him would
naturally immediately draw other’s concern.

[1] ED/N: Literally rice weevil, figuratively sponger, parasite.

[2] ED/N: The author literally seems to be saying second and third mothers…
I’d rather use "wives" but it’d sound even more awkward later, so... Well,
taking into account that it’s a different world, I guess it’s okay to allow the
author some leeway for differences in common sense there (if it’s intentional,
that is…).

5 Heroic Courage Way of the Devil

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"Practising martial arts?" Lu Quanan furrowed his brows.

"Why are you starting to practice martial arts again?" He was about to chide
him further, but he promptly thought of other young masters who chased
pleasures and indulged in them. In comparison, this child Lu Sheng’s actions
indeed showed much more ambition than the others’ actions. As the chiding
words appeared at the tip of his tongue, they turned into a sigh instead.

"If you want to practice martial arts, then you’d better find your Uncle Zhao
and learn from him rather than practice blindly by yourself; it can easily lead
to mishaps," he shook his head and turned to walk out of the door. Halfway
there, he paused and added,

"If you need any medicine from the pharmacy, just go ahead. I’ll give you
two thousand talents each month for your monthly allowance…" He left in
big strides after he had finished speaking.

Second mother Liu Cuiyu reached out and lightly wiped Lu Sheng’s
perspiration off with a towel.

"Your father’s quite soft-hearted," she gave a long sigh.

"The Xu family’s Old Master and he were sworn brothers… Now that this
has happened, he’s feeling very miserable. It’s good for you to practice
martial arts. It’s just that, most who do so begin from a young age to establish
a solid foundation. At this age now, it is rather late…"

She prattled on and on about other things, but Lu Sheng was entirely unable
to hear what she said.

His attention was wholly focused on the Black Tiger Saber Technique that he
had newly acquired.

‘It’s really incredible…’

Lu Sheng narrowed his eyes a little. On the surface, it seemed like he was
listening to his second mother, but in reality he was assessing the state of his
body.

He flexed his biceps.

‘The muscles on my arms are the same as they were. Yet, there’s this feeling
of familiarity, a strong sense of muscle memory as if I’ve undergone many
years’ practice. It’s simply…’

He again tried to flex his muscles, this time on his legs.

Clearly, the muscles on his legs could exert strength much more easily than
previously.

He could distinctly feel his strength from both his legs quickly coursing
upwards, all the way to his waist and then to both his arms.
This fluidity in the flow of strength was described in great detail in the Black
Tiger saber Technique.

This was called Strength Proficiency.

‘If it is as the saber Technique says, most people who practice martial arts
would have a method to circulate a huge amount of the body’s strength. One
is already considered an expert if he is able to mobilize 50% of his total
physical strength. To be able to mobilize 80% of one’s strength means to
enter the so-called Strength Proficiency realm.’

Lu Sheng considered those things in his mind while taking into account the
memories originally present in his current body as well as what he had once
heard from Uncle Zhao and in conversations with other martial experts
regarding the matter.

The Strength Proficiency realm was reckoned to be more or less one of the
very highest levels achieved by those within Nine Links City.

Even for a normal person, to be able to consolidate their strength and focus it
into one strike would result in a terrifying speed and strength far surpassing
the limits of an ordinary person.
‘Uncle Zhao is exactly in that Strength Proficiency realm…’ Lu Sheng sighed
inwardly. The effects of the Modifier were not compromised in the slightest.
This thoroughly removed the worry weighing down on his heart.

"It’s a pity that the Modifier seems to expend a combination of one’s mental
energy, Qi and the sort. Just modifying an ordinary saber technique once has
actually almost caused me to lose both qi and blood to the point of being
bedridden… and it’s not even one of those legendary inner force or Qi skills."

Lu Sheng was gradually coming to understand the essential nature of the

Modifier.

It was basically just like an adjustment device that was able to imprint one’s
body with experience, memories, instincts and martial arts.

However, this sort of adjustment required energy consumption, which

apparently occurred at the expense of his mental energy and Qi.

Moreover, there was no guarantee of instant success when adjusting one’s

body and mind.

‘The body is like a pile of materials. The Modifier seems to make use of
these materials, and establishes a new foundation upon the original base. But
it cannot just increase the muscle strength or bone strength from nothing.’ Lu
Sheng obtained hypothesized.

In the following few days, the changes to his body also confirmed his
hypothesis.

It began to slowly recover since Day One. At the same time, sturdy muscles
gradually formed on his arms, legs, chest and back.

Moreover, Lu Sheng felt an obvious change as the pain in his body turned to
numbness. On his palms, a thick horny layer steadily appeared. [1]

His appetite also grew larger and larger.

In order to hide these sudden changes, he would sneak out by himself each
day to have extra meals outside.

Four meals within the house: three basic meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner)
plus a midnight snack.

Outside, he would still eat the same portions as he did at home.

This carried on for seven days. After that, Lu Sheng’s whole body became
slightly sturdier, and his stature was no longer as thin and weak as it used to
be in the past.

As for the saber technique manual, he had long since returned it intact to
Uncle Zhao.

Having heard how he was ill and bedridden, Uncle Zhao didn’t say anything
much. When he received the manual, he merely shook his head and sighed
without raising the matter of the saber practice.

Lu Sheng guessed that Uncle Zhao probably thought that he had recklessly
tried to practice and hurt himself as a result.

Indeed, Uncle Zhao’s thoughts were just like that.

Initially, he had wanted to wait till Lu Sheng faced difficulties in saber

practice before helping him clarify his doubts and clear up any confusion.
Who knew that, in the blink of an eye, he would hear that Young Master Lu
Sheng would be bedridden from injuries. And then, he had even come to
return the secret manual, without mentioning the matter of the Black Tiger
Saber Technique again.

Thus, he concluded that Lu Sheng was no longer interested and had given up.

Regarding this, Uncle Zhao could only sigh and say nothing.
Everything returned to as it had been in the past days.

The Xu family’s demise seemingly did not have a big influence on life in the
Lu Manor.

The younger generation continued with their hikes, drank their flower wine,
listened to tunes, went horse riding, attended poetry shows and flower
exhibitions. Although Nine Links City was not huge, it was not small either;
there were plenty of these entertainment establishments.

As for the older generation, they occasionally attended this and that gathering
and went to the city to participate in yamen’s meetings.

Lu Quanan also buried his head in devoting all of his energy to business
dealings.

It seemed that everyone had already forgotten about the Xu Family’s tragedy.
They once again lived the same lives as before.

That is, with the exception of two people.

One of them was Lu Yiyi. Having lost her fiancé, her sweetheart, her face
was continually bathed in tears. She looked more and more haggard.
The other was Lu Sheng. He now liked to venture out a lot more.

He didn't go to enjoy himself by listening to music and dancing, but rather

went outside the city to find a clear patch in the small forest nearby.

There, he minded his own business and started to attempt practicing the
Black Tiger Saber Technique.

***

Black winds blew among the mountain ridges located along the southwest
region of Nine Links City.

The sound of wind whistled in the dark night.

Lu Sheng was hurrying in their direction, carrying a long-hilted saber he had

bought at a blacksmith’s shop.

He did not intend to reach Black Winds Ridge; he merely wanted to find an
opportunity to test his saber skills.

He had obtained the Black Tiger Saber Technique through the Modifier,
which he did not intend to divulge. This would be his ultimate trump card.
To outsiders, everyone believed him to be an ordinary young master of a
wealthy family, too weak to even truss a chicken.

Using their prejudice, he could rely on this skill of his to turn the tables on his
opponent should he find himself in a dangerous situation.

Of course, all this was dependent on the actual usefulness of the Black Tiger
Saber Technique in combat.

Lu Sheng wasn't sure where Black Winds Ridge exactly was, or how far it
was from Nine Links City.

There was no night curfew in Nine Links City; its city gates were open even
at night. He changed into a simple and plain clothing and then used ladies’
cosmetic powder to slightly alter his appearance. Alone, he dressed in thick
clothes and lowered his head to cover his face.

And so, he became just a random tourist whom nobody knew.

Borrowing the dark of the night, Lu Sheng left the city, his eyes gazing into
the distance.

The pitch-black wilderness of the mountains seemed like a huge, hibernating

beast, concealed in the silence under the moon.

His heart was beating quickly.

However, he had to hide himself if he wanted to test out the true power of the
Black Tiger Saber Technique.

Standing in front of the city gate, he plucked up his courage and walked in
the direction of Black Winds Ridge.

"Ding, Ding, Ding…"

A caravan returning in the night was just entering the city from the main
road.

The wind chimes that hung on the carriages rang out as they swung about in
the wind, their sound carrying far into the distance of the night.

Lu Sheng exited the city from the side doors.

The city gates of Nine Links City were very strange. Not only were they kept
open through the night, there was quite a number of them as well. The walls
seemed tall and sturdy, but the truth was that there were many cracks in the
walls, air seeping through them. It was hardly useful for defense at all.
"Returning late at night again today?"

"Precisely… it’s pitch-dark at night, and the carriage wheels were twisted
while rushing back. What bad luck!"

The leader of the caravan and the city guards talked on the main road at the
central city gates; the sound of their conversation floated over.

Lu Sheng stood on a small road facing southwest. In comparison to the main

road, this one was a lot narrower.

Only two torches on the city walls lit the black side doors. Dim light
emanated from them, lighting up a mere half a meter or so of the way ahead.

"This is indeed the ancient times…" Lu Sheng heaved a sigh in his heart.

Looking out, it was pitch-black in all of the three directions ahead. Only Nine
Links City at the back offered some light.

"No flashlights or street lights. The wilderness of the ancient times is simply
a paradise for the wild predators."

He hesitated for a slight moment, but experience from the Black Tiger Saber
Technique that surged through his body caused his fear to diminish.

This was because the Black Tiger Saber Mantra provided a method to deal
with such a pitch-black environment.

Or rather, the Black Tiger itself was an excellent hunter that could see well in
pitch-darkness. The Black Tiger Saber Technique demanded one to be
sensitive to the sounds of the wind to determine one’s surroundings, and thus
its users did not fear such an environment.

Tightening his belt, Lu Sheng grasped the long-hilted saber tightly, walking
onto the narrow road towards Black Winds Ridges with haste.

About a hundred meters along the narrow road, he withdrew two flints from
his waist pouch, and lowered a small torch from his back that he had prepared
earlier.

With a flint at the head of the torch, he exerted all his might to rub another
against it.

"POP!"

Sparks sputtered out from the head of the torch.

The red sparks appeared in a small number, but then spread to the whole head
of the torch.

There was finally some light in the pitch-darkness.

Lu Sheng turned and gazed backwards. The lights from Nine Links City were
already very faint.

He lifted the torch and proceeded forward slowly.

‘According to what the hunter said, a wild wolf often roams this stretch of
road at night. Well, we’ll see how good my luck is.’

He did not dare to really go to Black Winds Ridge. Having learnt that there
was a high likelihood that things like ghosts and monsters existed in this
world, he naturally did not dare to venture too far away from the city.

If it weren’t for the fact that he was still unable to test out the true ability of
his skills even after devising various methods while inside the city, he would
not have come out here alone to try his luck.

After continuing onwards for another stretch of distance, he soon noticed

tracks on the ground.
Just as the old hunter had said, these were the tracks of a wild wolf.

There were also a few pieces of white, clayish egg-shaped feces.

Lu Sheng picked up a stone to poke the feces. It was already dried and
hardened by the wind. As it broke apart from the poking, something like
fingernail parts was revealed from the inside.

‘It should be this place… This lump of feces should be from a few days ago.
According to the words of the old hunter, he just saw that old wolf here
yesterday. It should be somewhere around here.’

Lu Sheng held the torch in one hand, while the other unhurriedly drew the
long-hilted saber from behind his waist.

The long-hilted saber was a type of a saber derived from a combination of a

weapon and a farming tool. It had a very long hilt.

The hilt and the blade of Lu Sheng’s saber were roughly of the same length.
When the blade was removed, it could be used as a pole for farming. It was
somewhat similar to a small glaive.

It took him quite some strength to wield it with one hand. He might as well
stick the torch into the crack of a stone that lay at the side.
He was surrounded by messy heaps of stones in weird shapes and sizes.
There weren’t any trees around, and thus there was no fear of anything
catching fire.

Lu Sheng stuck the torch in between the rocks and carefully retrieved a paper
bag from his waist pouch. Inside it, there was a slab of fresh pork he had
carved out earlier this afternoon.

He slowly unfolded the grease paper and lay it onto the ground.

There were still traces of blood on the surface of the meat slab. A raw smell
of blood soon wafted in the wind, spreading around the area.

Lu Sheng lifted his saber and hid himself a short distance away, hunched
behind a big rock, waiting.

The wind was rather cold.

Lu Sheng tilted his body, sticking to the white rock that was slightly taller
than a person, and gazed in the direction of the meat slab.

Time passed by slowly.

"Howl…"

Soon, the wind brought with it a faint sound, similar to the wind yet
reminiscent of the whimpering of some animal.

"HOO!"

Suddenly, a black shadow flashed from the side. The light from the torch
reflected in and revealed a pair of lush green eyes.

The black shadow moved with extreme speed. In a moment, it pounced on

the meat slab, held the meat in its mouth, and sped away.

Lu Sheng rejoiced, and was about to move.

Suddenly, his back tightened as a gust of cold wind blew against it.

Lu Sheng’s eyes went wide. Lifting the long-hilted saber, he turned around
and swung it, delivering a horizontal slash.

[1] ED/N: "Horny" as in hard and rough. What did you expect? :3 TL/N: Or
rather, "stratum corneum", the scientific term for the outermost layer of the
epidermis. "Horny layer" is the established layman's term for it.
6 Black Meeting Way of the Devil

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The stroke was fast and furious; it was as if it had been practiced innumerable
times.

Lu Sheng’s body executed it by instinct.

He saw the ball-shaped black shadow pouncing towards him get struck by the
saber and felt the backlash from the blade striking something hard.
Borrowing the momentum from the huge impact, the long-hilted saber swept
away the oncoming black shadow.

"BAM!"

The black shadow slammed into the ground, rolled over a few times and
emitted a pained growl. The torch cast its light onto it now that it appeared in
its range.

It was a wild wolf! Its waist had been cut wide open by his saber!

Before he could think about it further, two other wild wolves pounced
towards him from the dark.

His body reacted in the first second by instinct.

Tilting the long-hilted saber leftwards, he blocked one of the wild wolves
with its long hilt. Then, with a swing of his body, he threw that wolf onto the
other beast.

"Bang!"

These two effortful motions left him wanting in strength. He was but a frail
and skinny rich man’s kid not too long ago, after all.

The two wild wolves were thrown into the distance, hurt.

Panting heavily and red-eyed, Lu Sheng lifted his saber and unleashed a
Tiger Kill on the nearest wild wolf!

The blade sliced down from above, inclining slightly. His wrists vibrated
vigorously – they shook thrice continuously, as per the rate dictated by the
mantra.

"Whoosh!"
The roar of a fierce tiger seemed to ring in the air.

Struck with fear, the two wild wolves trembled and their movements lapsed
by a beat.

At that instant, light flashed across the blade of the long-hilted saber. One of
the beasts was beheaded on the spot with a clean saber stroke.

The tip of the saber had also nicked the other wolf’s neck, and blood was
rapidly seeping out of it.

Lu Sheng mustered up his strength and struck again. This time, it was Tiger
Might.

His forearm vibrated four times, employing a different level of force each
time. The strength of his entire body was channeled into the saber.

Tiger Might emphasized speed more than Tiger Kill did, compromising
slightly on strength in return. Nonetheless, it wasn’t something the fragile
neck of a mere wild wolf could withstand.

Before the wolf could dodge, it was struck squarely in the neck by the long-
hilted saber that sped up drastically without warning.
"Splat!"

The wolf’s head fell on the ground.

Lu Sheng sucked in huge mouthfuls of air, panting heavily.

The continuous series of big movements had left a layer of sweat on his face.

"HOWL…"

One more wild wolf remained – the one which went for the meat.

Now, it went around a rock, its two green eyes staring furiously at Lu Sheng.

‘My body’s too weak after all…’ Frustration gathered in Lu Sheng’s heart.

However, his face remained impassive. He understood that when facing off
against a wild beast, one must never back off or show even a hint of fear.

"Eh!?"

Both his eyes opened wide in a stare as he glared fiercely at the wolf.
The last wild wolf focused its stare on him for a moment longer before
slowly retreating backwards. Finally, it completely slipped into the darkness.

Only then did Lu Sheng breathe in relief.

Actually, his stamina was almost completely spent. Both his arms were sore
and weak, even to the point of trembling when grasping his saber.

If that wild wolf had really pounced on him... while he was certain that he
would survive, he wouldn’t remain unscathed either.

He waited till he was sure that the wild wolf had really left. Then, Lu Sheng
retrieved the torch and left hurriedly in the direction of Nine Links City.

With this trip, he now knew where he stood.

Uncle Zhao had once mentioned his glorious past in connection with the wild
wolves outside the city.

After achieving full mastery of his saberplay in his youth, he had once been
surrounded and attacked by three wild wolves. Armed with nothing but a
single-handed saber, he slaughtered all three wolves at the cost of a mild
injury to his forearm.
This had already set a terrific battle score.

The wild wolves in this world were completely different from those that Lu
Sheng knew.

Their bodies were larger – each one much larger than the wild wolves on
Earth. They were much stronger as well.

Almost the same as the big golden retrievers people kept as pets. [1]

Another difference between wild wolves here and on Earth was that those
here gathered in packs of three to five. Very rarely would there be large packs
of them.

Lu Sheng jogged back to the city gates. When the light of the torches on the
city walls came into view, he felt a sense of relief.

Rolling up the clothes on him, he hid the blood-stained spots and his long-
hilted sabre, took out his travel pass, and strode towards the city gates.

***

"Brother Sheng, Brother Sheng, listen to me! This ain’t ordinary stuff. Right
after reaching Zi Hua City, I had people bring it here from over there.
Rumor has it that in the Central Plains it is considered the Number One
Legendary Stone. Countless merchants and nobles bid and fought for it.
Finally, in an accident, it fell into the river and the waves brought it to Zi Hua
River. Then it was fished out of the waters by the fishermen of Zi Hua City.

I can’t tell you the twists and turns of this story in just a few words. If not
for…"

"Do I look like a fool to you?" Lu Sheng gently waved his fan and looked at a
fatso before him with a faint smile.

This fatso was called Zheng Xiangui. He was the second son of the boss of
the Precious & Famous Auction House in Nine Links City.

As well as Lu Sheng’s best friend from his past.

Lu Sheng and he grew up as brothers from another mother. They clicked

impeccably with each other and went through all troubles together, sharing
thick and thin. [2]

It’s just that Zheng Xiangui had a bad habit. It was his tendency to wallow in
greed.
In his own words, he would say that even biological brothers had to keep
clear scores, otherwise their relationship would sour sooner or later.

Both of them were sitting in Goldfish Restaurant’s Peony Room. A well-

endowed lady dressed in pink sat beside the fatso, reclining in his arms.

This lad was now staring at Lu Sheng with a pained expression.

"Brother Sheng, now that’s where you’re wrong. Your brother here took
great pains to find a rare treasure. And now here he is, giving you the
opportunity to bid for it in private before it gets auctioned. It’s fine if you
don’t value it, but how can you ridicule me?" Fatso pointed at Lu Sheng,
looking as if he was immensely grieved.

"Alright, alright. Don’t pull that trick on me. Have you gotten news about the
martial arts manuals I’m looking for?" Lu Sheng continued to ask.

He came looking for this blood brother of his in order to gather more martial
arts manuals.

One Black Tiger Saber Technique was not enough. Not even close.

He finally understood the chances of survival out in the wild an expert like
Uncle Zhao had.
No wonder he had never heard of anyone journeying out in the distance
alone. Out in the wilderness, wild beasts were abundant. For anyone to
venture out all by himself was to court death.

Even Uncle Zhao, Zhao Dahu, famous in Nine Links City, was able to deal
with just three wild wolves on his own. Maybe four, at the very most. Any
more and even the Nine Links City’s supposedly top-notch expert would
have to surrender.

"With stuff like martial arts manuals, it’s hard to tell genuine apart from fake.
Not only that, many of them have hidden snares within them. Even if they
were genuine, some of the methods written inside will lead to lifelong
handicaps if you make even a small mistake and practice them for long. What
do you want this for, Brother Sheng? Without a master to guide you, there’s
no use no matter how many manuals you buy," Zheng Xiangui asked out of
curiosity, rubbing his white jade thumb ring.

"You’re quite in-the-know." Lu Sheng chuckled. "I naturally have my uses

for them. Don’t bother yourself with that, just find me a few to begin with."

Zheng Xiangui shrugged. "Well, I guess there are a few. Two martial arts
manuals were deposited for sale by a client just recently. We’ve gotten a
master to examine them. They should be genuine. But without a master,
nobody dares to practice them."

"What’s the asking price?" Lu Sheng asked straightforwardly.

"Hey hey, Brother Sheng, with this special relationship going on between the
two of us, why act so polite?" Zheng Xiangui started giggling like a woman.

"Can you stop being so disgusting?" Lu Sheng was speechless. "Name a

price, come on, I’m in a hurry."

"I can only sell you one. The other one has been reserved by another VIP,"
Zheng Xiangui said with a smile.

"One will do. Did you bring it?" Lu Sheng raised his eyes.

"Brother Sheng understands me well after all. Seeing how you were going
after it, I directly brought it over," Zheng Xiangui took out a thin grey
booklet.

"This manual doesn’t have any moves. It’s simply a special strength
technique. One price, a hundred talents!"

"Let me take a look first," Lu Sheng stretched out his hand.

A hundred talents was equivalent to ten thousand dollars. This fatso also
really dared to ask.

Fatso chuckled and placed the booklet in his hand. Taking the manual over,
Lu Sheng flipped through it and read in detail.

This manual seemed like it was part of a larger book from which it was
ripped. It so happened to contain some content on strength.

Looking at its contents, the cultivated strength was termed Jade Force.

According to the manual, full mastery of the skill allowed one to begin
accumulating force from all over the body right from the very first move. The
accumulated force, once completed, could raise one’s striking speed and
strength explosively by a great margin.

Lu Sheng looked at it. Its technique didn’t seem to overlap with the Black
Tiger Saber Mantra and so could be stacked with it.

But he was not looking for this.

He was looking for those inner force Qi skills – manuals which could
strengthen his physique and mind.
From the pathetic state he landed himself in after using the Modifier once, he
could tell that he needed to improve his physique in order to reduce the
aftereffects of using the Modifier.

"Do you have those legendary inner force Qi manuals?"

"Inner force Qi manuals?" Zheng Xiangui rubbed his chin.

"Brother Sheng, you got me in a fix now. If there really was such stuff in the
market, not to mention whether they’re real or fake, they’d be snatched up in
the blink of an eye."

"You yourself said that it’s hard to distinguish real from fake. You should
have copies of such in your family warehouse, right?"

Lu Sheng, too, was in-the-know. A business like an auction house would

certainly make a copy of the manuals they release for auction to keep as
surviving copies.

Having run an auction house for so many years, the Zheng family must have
had accumulated more than a few such copies.

"Oh, those… Brother Sheng. Even I cannot guarantee that there’s any one
genuine among them.
If only one in a hundred is real, we’ll be lucky. Until today, no one has been
able to cultivate any Qi from them. You sure you want them?" Zheng
Xiangui hesitated. "As your brother, I’ll give you a piece of advice: don’t
play with those surviving copies. If anything goes awry, you’ll damage your
body and there are no means to fix that."

"You’ve got a way to find them?"

Lu Sheng raised his brows. Fatso’s expression was a familiar one to him.
Each time he displayed such an expression, it meant that he did know an
answer, but was hesitating whether or not he should say it.

"Well, I’ve got a way… Brother Sheng, the kind of a manual you want…
there indeed is one like that in this upcoming auction," an awkward
expression appeared on Zheng Xiangui’s face.

"Why didn’t you say so earlier?" Lu Sheng’s brows twitched.

"It’s not that your brother didn’t want to say. It’s that this stuff is going to be
placed on auction in the Black Meeting…"

"Black Meeting?" Lu Sheng understood instantly.

A Black Meeting was an anonymous auction during which clients hid their
faces and names. The items brought out for auction were also often
"unclean"; more than one of them was something blood was spilt over as
well.

Those who liked to attend the Black Meeting were mostly those who lived on
the edge and were dangerous gangsters.

"Can you arrange for me to attend?" Lu Sheng, however, had made up his
mind to attend.

No average gangster would dare to provoke the Lu Manor anyway.

Just counting strong housemen, the Lu family had thirty or forty of them. Not
to mention several experts like Uncle Zhao among the ranks of its estate
guards.

Old Master Lu Quanan also possessed inseparable connections with the

yamen authorities and could expect the help of the army when he
encountered trouble.

With a powerful family background like that, he really needed not fear any
ordinary gangsters.
[1] ED/N: The only Chinese subspecies of wolves that would barely fit the
bill is the Mongolian wolf, being roughly the same or barely smaller
compared to golden retrievers (unless there’s something I missed). Most
other wolves like the Tibetan wolf or the wolves in the West are much bigger.
Maybe the author meant St. Bernard or a similar dog breed? It is indeed
bigger than any Eurasian wolf subspecies I know of.

[2] ED/N: Brothers from different mothers is an idiom, meaning that they
were as close as brothers. I almost fell for it...

7 Meeting 1 Way of the Devil

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"I’ll certainly arrange it. But…"

Fatso was put on a spot. ‘What kind of people attend the Black Meeting?
Murderers, robbers, burglars, thieves, people with shady backgrounds! If
Brother Sheng accidentally got embroiled in a conflict and got hurt, that’d be
really unfortunate.’

"But I better keep a low profile, right?" Lu Sheng smiled. He understood his
concern.
He was representing not merely himself, but also Nine Links City’s Lu
family. Once any mishap happened to him, the Lu Manor would settle scores
with Zheng Xiangui for sure.

"It’s best that you understand it. Brother Sheng, your identity isn’t like
anyone else’s. If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t be so worried…" Zheng
Xiangui sighed.

"I got it. Just make the arrangements. I must lay my hands on that thing," Lu
Sheng insisted.

"Sigh…" Zheng Xiangui sighed helplessly as he complied.

Lu Sheng confirmed the starting time of the Black Meeting with him
carefully. Then, he waited while Zheng Xiangui instructed someone to bring
over a VIP invitation.

With the invitation in hand, he finally left the restaurant.

"High-grade cosmetic powder! Ladies, come and take a look!"

"High quality first-grade products from the Central Plains, just imported from
Zi Hua City!"
"Blusher that’s exclusively from Purple Sun & Floral Scent. You can’t find it
anywhere else!"

On the streets outside the restaurant, hawkers pushed their wooden carts
laden with cosmetic powders, inching along the sides of the streets.

Lu Sheng’s glance swept over them. The street in front of him specialized in
selling cosmetic products. Many women and ladies loved to shop here.

A light rain had just fallen on the street, leaving a wet layer on it. The rays of
the setting sun reflected off them, dyeing the entire street into a faint red hue.

Lu Sheng breathed out. The moment his breath left his mouth, it condensed
into white mist which dispersed gradually.

He turned back to look at the restaurant. The Goldfish Restaurant cast a giant
shadow under the sun.

This was the largest restaurant in Nine Links City and it happened to be its
peak hours. Customers streamed in and out of the restaurant incessantly,
creating an unusual commotion and din.

Standing in the shadow of the restaurant, Lu Sheng looked towards both its
sides.
Other places were rather neglected.

Hawkers inched along, pushing their carts with cosmetic goods, moving
without stopping in the shade.

As Lu Sheng watched on, he thought of buying some gifts for second mother
and Yiyi. These cosmetic powders weren’t expensive, and sometimes one
could find quality goods that’d serve as fine gifts.

He strolled along the streets, trying to pick a good hawker.

As the afternoon went on, the streets grew increasingly deserted and many
shops closed for the day.

The number of people on both sides of the street shrank to just a few. Lu
Sheng met them only occasionally.

The strange thing was that these hawkers selling cosmetic goods could
clearly see that there weren’t many people around them, and yet they still
smiled and hawked their goods with great effort.

Hawking yells rose and fell here and there, reverberating across the big
empty street.

Lu Sheng’s eyes narrowed, but didn’t think that anything was amiss. ‘Perhaps
this is a custom or phenomenon unique to this world.’

Glancing from left to right, he finally picked a hawker pushing a cart painted
in light red. A pole was attached to the cart, and a flag on it that read:
"Central Plains’ Li’s Cosmetic Goods".

The hawker moved along slowly, pushing his cart, with a big smile on his
face. He was clad in a grey linen robe and a greyish white melon peel cap.

‘I think Li’s Cosmetic Goods is quite an established business from the

Central Plains.’

Lu Sheng recalled from his memory and slowly headed towards the hawker,
intending to pick some quality cosmetic powder for second mother and Yiyi.

The hawker gradually moved forward. Near him, a few kids were having fun,
chasing each other and playing.

The cart went past the children, then turned into a small alley in the shadows.

Lu Sheng guessed that the hawker was probably about to call it a day. So, he
hastened his steps, going after him.

"Ai! Brother Sheng!"

Suddenly, a voice called from behind him. It was a pretty familiar voice, as if
from someone he knew.

Lu Sheng turned around to see a tanned, muscular scholar walk towards him
in big strides.

"Luo Sheng?" [1]

He hesitated for a moment before recognizing him.

Luo Sheng, aka Luo Junyi, was a classic rich young master in Nine Links
City, just like Lu Sheng. But, unlike others, this lad possessed an actual
academic degree; he had just passed the prefectural level exam recently and
became a xiucai. News was that he had quite the literary flair. [2]

Actually, Luo Junyi had a very ordinary friendship with him. It just so
happened that his name coincided with that of a Mount Liang hero, hence Lu
Sheng remembered his name after hearing it once.

"Brother Sheng, it’s an emergency, an emergency!" Loo Junyi took two steps
towards him, red-faced.

Lu Sheng immediately understood why this dude came looking for him.
Although he was a young master of a rich family, he extremely loved
gambling and often gambled to his last penny, winding up borrowing money
from all over the place.

It looked like he had depleted his gambling capital again.

Lu Sheng laughed as he took out ten talents of silver from his waist pouch
and handed them over.

"How’s your luck today?"

"Acceptable, acceptable, hahaha… I knew I could count on Brother Sheng,"

Luo Junyi took the silver and left hurriedly.

Lu Sheng shook his head. The money was a small matter. Lu family’s
business and estate was enormous after all. Somebody would come handing
over money just around the corner.

He turned to find the hawker selling cosmetic goods again.

The hawker’s cart had already entered the alley, leaving only a small half of
it outside.

With great strides, he swiftly walked over and followed it into the alley.

"Eh??"

Lu Sheng froze in his tracks. This was an alley with a dead end!

The alley was empty, without a hawker, a cart or any living soul to be found.

His eyes both narrowed to a slit and his body became poised and alert.

From beginning to end, left to right, he carefully examined this blind alley.

It was an alley over ten meters long, formed by the greyish black walls of the
houses on both sides. At its end, it was blocked by an aged black wall, with a
few seals glued across it.

The seals of made of white paper and red letters looked dark under the sunset.
Their corners flew up, having lost their adhesiveness.

"No trapdoors on the walls... where could the cart have gone…?"

Lu Sheng kept searching his memory. He clearly remembered that the cart
had entered this alley between the houses.

He backed out of it and saw the few children who were still playing and
chasing one another. These kids wore simple clothes and seemed to come
from ordinary families.

Lu Sheng plastered on a smiley face and fished out a few bronze coins from
his pocket. He caught a little girl who was giving chase.

"Little girl, can I ask you something?"

"What do you want to ask, brother? Please ask."

The little girl sported two ponytails and was nine or ten years-old, her cheeks
red and puffy. Perhaps because she was used to playing on the streets, she
was unafraid of strangers and replied straightforwardly.

"Brother would like to ask - did you see that Li’s Cosmetic Goods cart pass
by here just now? Did it enter this alley here?"

Lu Sheng stuffed two bronze coins into the little girl’s palms. A radiant smile
immediately broke out on the little girl’s face.

"I didn’t see any cosmetic goods cart, did I? We play here every day. The
cosmetic goods carts usually come only in the morning. In the afternoon, they
all go over to the antique street."

"You didn’t see it?" Lu Sheng was stunned. He felt that the kid was lying.

But then he saw the earnest expression on the little girl’s wide-eyed face.

"What I said is true. There really weren’t any carts on the streets today. If you
don’t believe me, you can go ask others. There’s nothing at all on the streets,"
the rest of the children ran over and voiced their assent.

"Yea yea. My mum was even gonna come over to get some stuff, but not
even one cart could be seen. It’s really strange."

"This brother says he just saw a Li’s Cosmetic Goods," the little girl pointed
at Lu Sheng.

"Where? Where?"

"I don’t see it. That’s all that there is to this street."

"Brother probably saw it in his dreams? Heeheehee…"

The group of lads broke out in laughter and din again.

The smile on Lu Sheng’s face gradually vanished. He turned his head to look
at the Goldfish Restaurant.

The restaurant under the shadow was crowded with business. Its
extraordinary liveliness of was in stark contrast to the desertedness of the
streets here.

"In that case, did you all see…"

Lu Sheng turned back and his voice froze.

The kids around him had all disappeared god-knows-when. All around him,
the street was deserted, empty and devoid of anything.

Without so much as a single passer-by.

The commotion and din of the children had vanished. Logically speaking, it
was impossible for children of that age to all instantly disappear without a
sound like that.

Lu Sheng was confident in himself. He was, after all, trained in the Black
Tiger Saber and could even detect the position of wild wolves just by
listening to the wind. And yet, he did not even hear the sound of the children
leaving.

Staring at the desolate and deathly street, a chill went down his spine. He
quickly walked towards the Goldfish Restaurant.

"Pitter, patter…"

The sounds of his footsteps rang clearer than usual. The more he approached
the restaurant, the more he felt a warm sensation on his entire body.

Whoosh!!

All of a sudden, as if he had just broken through the water surface, Lu Sheng
felt everything come to life around him, brimming with life and energy.

One by one, warm-bodied customers passed by beside him. One of them

accidentally knocked into him and hurried to apologize.

Ladies were alighting from horse carriages, smiling as they walked slowly
into the restaurant and were led in by waiters.

Standing before the restaurant, Lu Sheng looked back on the street selling
cosmetic goods again. Without knowing when, it was now filled with some
passers-by who weren’t there previously.
It was worlds apart from the desertedness before.

Lu Sheng sucked in a mouthful of cold air and swiftly hailed a horse carriage.

"To the Lu Manor!"

"Alrighty, please sit tight!"

With a whip from the carriage driver, a skinny old horse slowly moved its
hooves.

Seated on the carriage, Lu Sheng’s mind was occupied by what he had

encountered.

The hawker, the group of children… they were all very abnormal.

‘Thinking about it now, the smile on the hawker’s face didn’t move a single
inch. It felt extremely fake.’

His thoughts led towards the terrible Xu family case and, suddenly, the sense
of an impending disaster washed over him.

"This city is really getting more and more dangerous…" he mumbled.

The horse carriage pulled up shortly outside the Lu Manor gates. Upon seeing
Lu Sheng in the carriage, the gatekeeper hurried over.

"Young Master, you’ve returned?"

The gatekeeper was surnamed Wang and was the eighth oldest among his
siblings. Everybody usually called him Little Eight. He was a smart lad and
had only turned seventeen this year. He inherited his father’s job as the
gatekeeper of Lu Manor.

Little Eight was pretty familiar with Lu Sheng and would often recount the
strange rumors and hearsay flying around in and out of the city to him.

Those were also what Lu Sheng loved to hear.

"Is the Old Master in?" Lu Sheng asked casually after alighting and paying.

"Old Master went to the yamen again. The Prefect summoned him. To find
something, it seems," Little Eight smiled.

"Find something?"

Lu Sheng had been busy with his own matters the past few days and
neglected the happenings at home.

"What thing?"

8 Meeting 2 Way of the Devil

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"Not sure about that. Yesterday, Old Master called all heads of the businesses
here, both minor and major, for a meeting. As they were leaving, I heard
them say that everyone will have to help find it together. I wonder what it is,
to go so far as to call all those big shots to help," Little Eight smiled as he
thought about the matter.

Lu Sheng said nothing in response. However, he put on a rather gloomy

expression. He walked past the main door to enter inside. As he walked, he
asked him another question. "Has anything strange happened lately?"

"Er… Young Master, although Little Eight is considered well-informed, how

can strange things happen everyday?" Little Eight shrugged his shoulders
helplessly. [1]

"Although… I heard that there was a big fire that broke out last night at the
Goldfish Restaurant that you frequent. Half the side street was burnt away!
Even though we servants were a long way off, we could still see the flames
very distinctly from far away."

"A big fire…"

Lu Sheng’s heart sank. He had a faint guess.

"Are you talking about that street that often sells cosmetic powders during the
day?"

"Precisely, just that!" Little Eight nodded vigorously, "I hear that quite a
number of people died. Some of them were entire families, including the
young and the old. It’s really awful… I wonder which heartless creature set
the fire!"

‘A big fire…’

Lu Sheng said nothing more. He suppressed the matter deep within his heart
and stopped thinking about it.

The Black Meeting was arranged to be at night in three days’ time, in a cellar
outside the city.

In these three days, Lu Sheng rested and ate each day as usual. He could
clearly feel his body growing sturdier, as if the Black Tiger Saber altered by
the Modifier had also improved his physical state itself.

In those three days, he paid the street near Goldfish Restaurant a visit yet
again. Sure enough, it was all charred and burnt. Quite a few people could be
even seen being busy at rebuilding new houses.

Lu Sheng walked back along the road that he had gone before. It was exactly
the same as he had seen the other day.

Even that dead end of a back alley was just as it had been.

He now had a few guesses in mind, but did not feel fearful or anxious.

Since there were water ghosts in this world, then naturally, other things could
also exist.

He had initially intended to get initiated in that Jade Force on the ripped
manual which he had bought during these three days, and then to modify it.
However, as he thought of the Black Meeting, he decided to hold back for
now. If he injured himself badly and spat out blood after modification again,
he would lose this opportunity.

Time passed by quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was the day of the
appointment.

It was around seven or eight at night.

Lu Sheng changed into a set of black robes and put on the mask of a tiger. It
was a toy for children that he had casually bought off the streets, and was
very crudely made.

In front of the Lu Manor entrance, the Zheng Family’s horse carriage was
already waiting.

He hurriedly boarded the horse carriage. Zheng Xiangui was currently sitting
inside, biting off big chunks of meat from the braised chicken thigh he held in
both his hands.

This fatso also wore a set of black robes. However, it didn't really matter –
anyone could tell from his exaggerated physique that this guy was the Young
Master of the faction hosting the Black Meeting.

"Good, you’re here, we’re just waiting for you. Brother Sheng, hurry, get on
the carriage."

Both men sat down and the horse carriage slowly began to move.
Zheng Xiangui advised Lu Sheng throughout the journey on the dos and
don’ts after entry, a whole host of messy details to pay attention to. Still, Lu
Sheng committed each of them to his memory.

Soon, they left the city. They travelled along a main road, from which they
took a twist into a side road, then meandered along for quite a distance before
heading directly into the outskirts.

After travelling along the outskirts for a while, the horse carriage approached
a little village tucked away in an overgrown wilderness area. It stopped in
front of a stone house in the middle of the village.

"This is it," Zheng Xiangui jumped off the carriage. A black-robed man
standing guard at the door of the stone house came forward and greeted him.

"Everybody’s present?"

"Everybody’s present. The first auction item is already being displayed."

Zheng Xiangui nodded, anxiously urging, "Let’s hurry inside, it’s already
started."

He pulled Lu Sheng into the stone house. He opened a wooden door on the
floor in the middle of the stone house, revealing a flight of stairs that led
underground.

Lu Sheng followed behind Zheng Xiangui and two other guards down the
stairs. At the bottom was a karst cave with a rather large surface area.

The karst cave was even prepared rather decently.

There was a big hall in the middle. In the surrounding stone walls was a
circle of side rooms, each of them looking like little packets hanging on the
walls.

A few people were seated sparsely in the big hall. No firelight came from the
surrounding little packets; clearly, they were not in use.

"Wow, this place has a rather huge layout," Lu Sheng exclaimed.

"Hehe, we discovered this place accidentally," the fatso said laughingly. He

brought Lu Sheng in from the back of the big hall, and headed for the seats in
the front row.

Only a little more than ten people in total attended the Black Meeting this
time. They all sat scattered around the first row.
A tall, skinny man whose face was veiled was standing on the stage.
Currently, he was introducing the details of the item being auctioned in a
loud voice.

Next to him stood two dwarves. Both of them wore bright garish floral
garments and held a bronze plate in their hands between them. There was a
dagger on the plate, brown and spotty from rust.

"An ancient dagger passed down from Ju Rong Nation, most likely forged by
Duan Fengzi of the olden days! There are some words carved on it in the
national language of Ju Rong Nation, even if… aye! Guest No. Four bids one
thousand talents! Any higher bids? Any higher bids!?" The man on the stage
yelled loudly with an extremely animated expression.

Lu Sheng and Zheng Xiangui sat on the seats to the left.

The rows of seats here all seemed to be carved out of white stone. It was
extremely cold to the touch, emitting completely no warmth.

Fatso sat right next to him. He cocked his head and whispered, "What you
want is the fifth item, the second to last one."

Lu Sheng nodded his head wordlessly.

Clearly, the dagger on the stage had just been dug up from the ground not too
long ago. It was perhaps found by a grave robber.

There were still quite a few people competing for it below. In just a short
while, the bid for the dagger had risen to one thousand eight hundred talents.

Lu Sheng’s heart beat quickly as he listened to the proceedings. This was

already twice the equivalent of his monthly allowance!

He did not watch the bidding competition on stage any longer. Instead, he
diverted his attention to focus on the guests who were near him.

Most of the guests to the Black Meeting carried with them weapons, ranging
from short to long in size. Moreover, most of them were dressed in black and
disguised, though there were also exceptions.

Of the more than ten guests who were present, there were three who did not
conceal their identity.

One of them was a man with red hair who wore a fitting yellow leather armor
and carried a broadsword on his back.

Another was a very short, skinny and seemingly weak youth who had a beak-
like mouth and sunken cheeks. Tied to his waist were two bulging black
leather pouches that carried god-knew-what.

The third one was the most eye-catching.

Or rather, it was a pair. A man and a woman.

The man’s clothes and a sword he carried on his waist conveyed a sense of
strength; he seemed to be a bodyguard. He held an indifferent look that only
softened for a bit when he gazed upon the woman.

The woman wore a black dress that was not one of the typical long dresses
that women in ancient times wore. It was a tight dress whose hem and its
surroundings looked like a body-hugging miniskirt that one would see on
Earth.

From head to toe, there was only that one piece body-hugging dress which
barely covered her rear. Just a slightly bigger movement of lifting her legs
would clearly reveal the space between her two legs.

This woman dressed sexily. She had long legs and a slender waist; a pair of
white weapons at her chest threatened to tear the dress apart, looking as if at
any moment the dress would burst at the seams near the chest area.

Lu Sheng could not help but look at the woman’s face.

She had a very high nose bridge and a pair of charming and glittering eyes
that seemed to always be smiling. Her long black hair fell on her shoulders,
so smooth and shining that they seemed to reflect a bit of light.

‘This is so much more effective than any so-called Photoshop makeup

technique,’ Lu Sheng praised in his heart.

One could tell that this woman was someone influential with a mere glance.
Only one who was absolutely confident in one’s strength would dare to show
such a beautiful face so freely at the Black Meeting.

"That’s Duan Muwan," seeing Lu Sheng’s attention had been attracted by the
woman, Fatso promptly leaned in to whisper the introduction. "But I don't
recommend you trying to pick her up. This woman is beyond fierce!"

"Fierce? How so?"

Lu Sheng was mildly curious, but he did not have any designs on her. It was
just that the woman was simply too eye-catching, so he was sizing her up.

Fatty smiled a little and looked towards the stage, at the second auction item
that had already appeared.
"Duan Muwan came to Nine Links City about two months ago. I heard that
she came along with a merchant group. The two of them, master and servant,
joined the group by themselves. To walk such a long distance in itself is
already not easy."

"Indeed, it’s no easy feat," Lu Sheng nodded.

"Moreover, because of her natural beauty, this woman has been very
promiscuous since coming to Nine Links City. Quite a number of handsome
young masters have been seduced by her and then, guess what happened?"
Fatso shook his head and sighed.

"What?" Lu Sheng asked, his curiosity now piqued.

"All the young masters were infatuated beyond reason, resulting in a massive
melee, which resulted in quite a number of injured and even quite a few
killed," fatso said as he clicked his tongue.

"Even so, those who were seriously injured and handicapped remain devoted
to this woman. But she’s already forgotten them in the blink of an eye!"

Lu Sheng narrowed his eyes, a shiver in his heart. He had heard of these
incidents, but never imagined that this woman was the cause of them all. For
them to pine for her even after they were handicapped… this was not
something that could be explained by her beauty.

In that moment, he labeled Duan Muwan as extremely dangerous in his mind.

For her to be able to twist so many people around her little finger, she either
had extremely high EQ or employed some unusual methods. It was best to
stay as far away as possible from such characters.

He refocused his attention on the auction on the stage.

It was already the fourth auction item’s turn now: a yellow-bronze half-body
leather armor.

"This leather armor is the Ice Wolf Armor, made of the combined, tanned
hide of nineteen white wolves of the Ice White Grasslands. Nineteen layers of
wolf hide are now as thin as a copper coin after tanning. Its resistance against
both blunt tools and swords far exceeds that of a normal leather armor. It’s
almost the same as wearing another layer of chainmail armor!" The black-
robed man exclaimed loudly to introduce this piece of leather armor.

"Starting bid price is two hundred talents!"

Silence. No one moved.

The host didn't seem to mind it very much. He got one of the dwarves to hold
the leather armor before personally taking out a dagger and violently piercing
into its side.

"Thud!"

A muffled sound rang out as the dagger slid off. Surprisingly, only a small
scratch remained on the leather armor.

"Three hundred talents!" Seeing that, someone immediately placed a bid.

"Four hundred talents!"

"Six hundred talents!"

The bids continued to rise higher and higher. Lu Sheng himself was rather
moved when he saw it. This sort of leather armor was both lightweight and
nimble, and was more convenient and flexible than the metal armor as it did
not affect one’s movements. If its defense was really as strong as stated, then
it indeed was a valuable item.

He wanted to state a price, but seeing that the bids arrived at almost one
thousand talents in the blink of an eye, he could only restrain himself and
give it up. His true goal was still the next item: the manual.
He could not lose sight of the big picture for this small item.

In the end, the leather armor was bought by the red-haired man with the
broadsword on his back. Shortly afterwards, the second last item was up.

The inner force secret manual.

9 Duanmu Wan 1 Way of the Devil

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"Next up is an inner force secret manual that we’re all familiar with through
the legends. Of course, with regards to its authenticity, we remain unsure
despite our examination. After all, stuff like inner force takes a long time to
practice and evaluate. We can’t tell if it’s genuine or fake in the short term.
But, from our examination of the book’s material, we can confirm that the
fabric used has exceeded one hundred years in age!"

The host chuckled twice as he saw that he had succeeded in rousing the
audience. All lines of sight zoomed in on him.

Then he continued slowly. "This secret manual’s name is Black Fury Skill."

Lifting a yellow-bronze plate, the two dwarves slowly sauntered up the stage.
On the plate, there was a pitch-black booklet made of silk cloth.

"This Black Fury Skill has thirty-two levels in total. According to the records
in it, every rise in level will be accompanied with a tempering of one’s body.
The manual here contains levels one to five."

"Tsk, turns out it’s incomplete," someone among the audience immediately
voiced their dissatisfaction.

"Inner Qi is already tough enough to train in to begin with... it’s so iffy and
nebulous. And now, your secret manual isn’t even complete? Who would
dare to use it? If somebody had modified any parts of it, to practice it would
mean to court death!" Another mocked.

"Well, you don’t have to buy it," yet another scorned.

"Everyone, please be silent," the host said with a smile, lowering both his
arms. "This Black Fury Skill manual was actually deposited with us for
auction by a client. Actually, this client had also verified with us the
authenticity of a portion of it. Let’s not talk about the rest. At least the first
three levels can definitely be practiced."

He thought that those words would certainly impress and rouse the audience.
However, nobody changed their attitude.
Lu Sheng shook his head slightly; he understood why this was so. Zheng
Xiangui, however, was puzzled.

"Brother Sheng, what happened? There’s something wrong with this

response, isn’t there?"

"Nothing’s wrong, this is very normal," Lu Sheng replied flatly. "Inner force
manuals take years to practice… It’s really too long. Regardless of whether
or not there’s somebody to demonstrate it, no one dares to put his or her
stakes on it."

"Moreover, I’ve heard Uncle Zhao mention that inner force isn’t as powerful
as the legends have it. Unless one practices it to the pinnacle level, its force
sometimes even loses to that of a strike by an outer force expert at full
strength."

"Why’s that so?" Zheng Xiangui was even more puzzled now.

"Perhaps Young Master isn’t well acquainted with this area," spoke a captain
of the guard standing behind them at that moment.

His name was Chen Dewu, one of the Zheng family’s guard’s two strongest
captains. This trip to the Black Meeting was too important, so he was sent
here to maintain order.

Like Uncle Zhao, he was also one of the few outer force martial arts masters
of the Strength Proficiency level venerated in the city.

Chen Dewu glanced at Lu Sheng, then continued, "Be it inner force or outer
force, they’re all training in strength. The route of outer force training
emphasizes increasing one’s physical muscular strength by training with
external strikes and forcibly stimulating one’s own body. Such a method
surely takes its toll on the body, but increases strength very rapidly.

The route of inner force training focuses on cultivating and tempering the
internal organs and nourishing Qi and blood. Although this method takes
much longer as it raises one’s strength at a slower pace, it doesn’t damage the
body and can increase one’s lifespan.

That’s the difference between inner and outer force. Actually, pinnacle outer
force experts can hold their own against inner force cultivators. The really
powerful ones are those who practice both inner force and outer force..."

"I see…" Zheng Xiangui remarked in realization.

Lu Sheng nodded as well. "I’ve heard Uncle Zhao say the same before as
well."

"Then why’s everyone still so mad about inner force training? Both are on
par in terms of raising one’s strength anyway," Zheng Xiangui raised a doubt.

"For longevity, of course… strong as they may be, outer force experts are
past their prime the moment they’re past thirty. But once you have inner
force, you can extend your prime into your fifties or even sixties. The two are
entirely incomparable," Chen Dewu replied with longing.

Presently, Lu Sheng’s attention was focused on the secret manual on the

stage, for which the bidding was about to start.

The host pointed at the black cloth manual in the tray.

"Bidding begins now. The starting price is a hundred talents!"

"A hundred and thirty talents."

"A hundred and fifty!"

"Two hundred!"

"Three hundred!"
"Three hundred thirty talents!"

One by one, the bidders increased the price. Even some of those who’d made
sarcastic comments earlier were participating.

That went to show that while everyone had reservations about the manual,
they were still rather confident in the Black Meeting’s reputation and
examination standards.

"Somebody’s purposely jacking up the price," Fatso mumbled.

Lu Sheng’s narrowed eyes were staring at the stage.

"Five hundred talents!" He raised his arm and shouted.

The entire meeting fell into silence momentarily at the sudden increment of a
hundred talents.

In this age, the purchasing power of five hundred talents was equivalent to
five hundred thousand Chinese dollars.

All for a manual whose authenticity wasn’t proven and might contain
mistakes or omissions.
"Five hundred and fifty talents," a voice rang out again.

Lu Sheng looked over. It was a yellow-skinned man with drooping eyes.

His masked face also appeared dry and skinny, as if without much meat or
skin. His eyes, however, looked savage. One look revealed that he was no
kind-hearted soul.

Lu Sheng had expected such a situation. How could something like an inner
force secret manual not be fought over?

Not taking it to heart, he continued raising his arm.

"Six hundred talents."

"Seven hundred talents!"

It was him again. Lu Sheng had only just raised a bid and he immediately
followed.

"Eight hundred talents!" Lu Sheng said calmly. His dad Lu Quanan had given
him two thousand talents for his monthly allowance. Even if it cost him all of
it, he would use them all to win this manual.
Anyway, with the Modifier, all it took was some possibility of being initiated
in a martial art for him to find its name on the Modifier and modify it directly
to its extreme.

"Nine hundred talents!"

That man’s savage eyes glared towards Lu Sheng.

"A thousand talents," Lu Sheng said composedly.

"… One thousand and one hundred talents!" The other party’s voice now
sounded slightly forced. "Friend, I’m of the Zhang family of the White Jade.
Give me some face."

‘Zhang family of the White Jade?’ Lu Sheng’s face twitched.

This Zhang family wasn’t from the Nine Links City; rather, it was the top
family in the nearby Zi Hua City – the family of the Zi Hua Prefect Zhang
Song.

"Oh, the Zhang family of the White Jade. To think that they’d come over to
our Nine Links City to hunt for stuff…" Beside him, Zheng Xiangui’s voice
was overflowing with surprise.
His Zheng family was in charge of the Black Meeting and was concerned
only with the auction. They didn’t care about where the guests had come
from.

"One thousand two hundred talents!"

Lu Sheng raised his arm again.

Anger smoldered in the eyes of the man from Zhang family. In the region
near Nine Links and Zi Hua City, he had never encountered anyone who
stepped on the Zhang family’s face like this thus far.

The Zhang family did not merely possess the Prefect Zhang Song. They were
also proud to have within their ranks the number one expert of Zi Hua City –
Zhang Songxi.

They had spread their influence in both the government and the underside of
the society – that was their greatest assurance when they did as they pleased
outside.

"Just ignore him. Items auctioned at a Black Meeting go to the person with
the highest bid. Even the Zhang family doesn’t dare to break this rule lightly.
Or else who would still work with them in their jade business?" Zheng
Xiangui gloated in his misfortune.

The man from Zhang family was named Zhang Jundong – a specialist who
had come to Nine Links City to gather any and all secret inner force manuals
that may appear.

Actually, the Zhang family had eyes on every secret inner force manual on
the market and would intercept them before they were retrieved and placed
on auction.

Only this one fell through a gap in their net in Nine Links City as it was
deposited at a Black Meeting for auction by a client who had arrived
abruptly. Since it didn’t go through the regular route, it escaped their
interception.

"One thousand three hundred talents!" Zhang Jundong gritted his teeth and
raised his arm again.

"One thousand four hundred!" Lu Sheng refused to yield in the slightest.

Presently, only the two of them were competing against each other; none of
the rest intended to take part in it.

"One thousand five hundred talents!" Zhang Jundong glared at Lu Sheng

unflinchingly. "Friend, when you’re out on the roads, it’s better to have more
friends. Let me have this manual today and the Zhang family will remember
this favor."

Lu Sheng’s face did not change.

"One thousand six hundred talents."

He raised his arm and bid again.

Zhang Jundong was thoroughly incensed. He had come primarily for this
Black Fury Skill, expecting to acquire it within an estimate of a thousand
talents and pocketing the rest of the fund. Little did he expect that an ill-
mannered weirdo would jump out of nowhere and compete with him so
stubbornly.

"One thousand, seven hundred and fifty talents!" He rose to his feet without
warning, placing all of his money onto his bid at one go.

"One thousand eight hundred!"

Lu Sheng’s face was impassive.

Zhang Jundong turned his head and glared at Lu Sheng with murderous
intent.

"Well done! Very good," he declined to say a word more and gauged Lu
Sheng from top to toe with his eyes instead, as if trying to commit every
detail about him to his memory.

With a wave of his arm, Zhang Jundong rose in anger and stormed out.

"Congratulations to this mister," the host smiled from ear to ear. For an inner
force manual whose authenticity and accuracy was uncertain to fetch such a
high price... he was bound to earn a commission several times higher than
usual.

Receiving the secret manual, Lu Sheng handed over the silver notes.

Then, he left on his own after telling Zheng Xiangui that he’s going to leave
first. He didn’t even stay to look at the last item on auction.

He got his goods and was out of money.

Chen Wude followed him all the way out and even brought along two guards,
fearing Lu Sheng may suffer a mishap.

Following the route from which he had come, he left the karst cave. Lu
Sheng looked at the skies outside; it was already deep into the night.

The Zheng family’s horse carriage was already waiting outside.

Chen Wude could not go far and so let a few guards leave with Lu Sheng. He
himself returned to stay by Young Master Zheng Xiangui’s side.

Bringing three guards along with him, Lu Sheng exited the stone house and
was about to board the carriage.

"Hoo..."

All of a sudden, a gust of wind blew over from the surroundings of the
village.

A guard went on the alert and surveyed the surroundings but found nothing
wrong.

"TCH!"

With the soft sound of friction, a black shadow flew past a guard without
warning, penetrating the small circle of guards and rushing straight for Lu
Sheng who was right at its center.
The black shadow moved extremely fast. The guards’ formation was
completely bypassed before they could even react.

"DANG, DANG, DANG!"

Three sharp clangs rang out. A short blade in the black shadow’s hand had
swiftly left cuts on the arms of the three guards.

The three grunted in pain and quickly retreated, clutching their wrists.

They were merely mercenaries employed by the Zheng family as guards, not
die-hard loyalists. Naturally, they weren’t going to put their lives on the line
for the Zheng family.

Seeing that the black shadow could not be stopped, they might as well focus
on their own safety. After all, they already had wounds on their wrists to
show for their efforts.

Harboring such thoughts, their formation of three instantly broke apart,

completely exposing Lu Sheng within it.

"Die!" A deep, raspy voice came out of the black figure’s mouth.

He lifted his short blade and slashed towards Lu Sheng’s chest violently.
Despite his speed and strength decreasing considerably after wounding the
three men, it was still a piece of cake for him to deal with an ordinary rich
young master.

Moreover, even if the other party was a martial arts practitioner, it wouldn’t
make a difference. Apart from a few in Nine Links City that could be counted
on one hand, none of the fighters in this region were his match.

Before striking, Zhang Jundong had carefully observed that the other party
was not among their ranks.

While he introduced himself a member of the Zhang family at the auction, he

simultaneously harbored another identity.

He was none other but one of the notorious bandit chiefs outside Zi Hua City!

Since he was outbid at the auction and failed to secure the manual, then he
might as well take it by force. It wouldn’t be his first time doing so after all.
And, no one at the Black Meeting would guarantee the safety of its bidders
anyway.

After killing the other party and securing the manual, he could even save over
a thousand talents out of nothing for his own expenditure. So, why not?
10 Duanmu Wan 2 Way of the Devil

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The dagger flew straight toward Lu Sheng’s chest, its blade shredding his
clothes in a single stroke.

Lu Sheng’s masked face did not move an inch as he stared back at him, as if
frozen in shock.

An evil grin appeared in the corners of Zhang Jundong’s mouth.

"Don't blame me. You’ve got only yourself to blame for provoking someone
you shouldn't have!"

The tip of the blade cut through Lu Sheng’s clothes, slashing onto his skin.

"BANG!!!"

At exactly that moment, Lu Sheng’s body fell backwards. From behind his
waist, he withdrew a long-hilted saber that looked like a black python.

The saber swept out violently from behind his back, the blade brutally
slashing into the dagger in Zhang Jundong’s hands. Zhang Jundong’s blade
move was at the end of its trajectory and thus exhausted most of its strength,
and could not compare in the least to the immense speed of his counterstrike.

The dagger flew up high into the air from that single hit.

Lu Sheng’s blade flipped, aiming immediately for Zhang Jundong’s head

with Tiger Kill.

"HOO!"

Zhang Jundong’s pupils contracted as the faint sound of a tiger’s roar rapidly
approached him through the air.

All his hair stood on end; he could not possibly imagine that this young
master of a wealthy family, protected by three guards, would actually erupt
with such fearsome strength in but an instant!

‘What reaction, such speed! Not good!’

He had no time to think about anything else. Retreating in a backward flip,

both his feet skidded about seven or eight steps before he turned around in an
attempt to flee.
"TCH!"

The tip of a long-hilted saber pierced through his chest.

Blood gradually oozed out from the wound.

"TCH!"

Lu Sheng walked over and reached out to pull the saber out from his body,
wiping it clean on the corpse’s clothing.

"Come, send me back."

Calmly, he boarded the horse carriage and let down the carriage curtains,
leaving behind the three guards at the scene and the two who were guarding
the door.

Neither the five of them nor the coachman said a word as they looked at the
corpse on the ground.

The three guards were especially silent. Their faces were ashen as they
quietly boarded the horse carriage.

"Go!"
The coachman flicked the horsewhip and the carriage slowly began to move.
Only the sounds of the carriage wheels turning could be heard within the
carriage.

The three guards sat facing Lu Sheng for a moment. However, they were
unable to bear with the silence. One by one, they helped each other out of the
carriage to walk alongside it.

Soon, Lu Sheng was left alone inside the carriage.

He sat up straight on a round cloth cushion, his face expressionless. He

closed his eyes slightly, as if to take a nap.

However, only he knew in that moment how tumultuous were the waves of
turmoil within his heart.

‘I killed someone…’

He killed a person…!

Be it in his past life or the present one, he had not even injured anybody
before, much less take away their life.
However, in that earlier moment, he had reacted purely based on his basic
instincts. Seeing that the other party was about to escape, he had decisively
raised his saber and thrust forward.

The incredible muscle memory gained after modification very smoothly

extended the saber and executed the second move of Tiger Might, piercing
through the opponent’s heart from the back with great precision.

After that, his opponent died.

The scene from earlier constantly replayed itself in Lu Sheng’s mind. That
man hadn’t been kidding about it, he’d seriously wanted him dead.

As he felt threatened, Lu Sheng’s primal instincts made him counter the

threat with force and eliminate it.

And, in the end, it had indeed been completely eliminated.

However, he had also exposed his martial arts skills.

And even killed someone.

‘The good thing is, the Black Tiger Saber Technique moves are unique and
distinctive. With a bit of investigation, they’ll be able to clearly trace them
back to Uncle Zhao. That’s not such a big deal, but I’ve got to be careful in
the future…’

The horse carriage moved along slowly. It was about half an hour since they
had left the village.

"Ring-ling-ling… ring-ling-ling…"

It wasn’t clear when it began, but clear and crisp sounds of a tolling bell
gradually drifted over with the wind, coming from somewhere in the pitch
darkness outside.

The coachman gazed backwards and saw a white horse carriage speedily
closing in from behind. From the looks of it, they were also hurrying along
towards Nine Links City.

The three guards also saw the white horse carriage approaching from the
back.

Two large pristine-white horses pulled an intricately designed white carriage,

carved with many exquisite silver flower motifs. A faint fragrance emanated
from the carriage and drifted with the wind.
The three of them looked at each other, instinctively grasping their
broadswords. Earlier, they had failed to protect a distinguished guest and
almost let him meet with a mishap. If they failed again, the Zheng Family
would definitely not let them off.

Their wrists were also not too badly hurt from earlier. After applying
medication to it and resting a bit, they were now able to exert roughly seventy
or eighty percent of their strength.

All three were veterans who had previously joined the army. With the three
of them forming a mini-formation, defeating seven, eight ordinary men
would pose no problem at all.

There was nothing extraordinary about the white carriage other than the fact
that it was more luxurious, which wasn't a big deal.

However, what unsettled some of them was that the lanterns guiding that
carriage actually weren’t lit!

In the wilderness beyond the city, and especially so on a gloomy, moonless

night, it was nigh impossible to continue forward in pitch darkness if one did
not light the lanterns, even on a road.

Yet this horse carriage was traveling at an extremely high speed, even faster
than their own lantern-lit carriage!

"Something’s wrong," one of the three said in a low voice.

Lu Sheng pulled back his curtains and glanced to the back, and also saw the
white carriage rushing along in the dead of the night. A man with a gentle
and handsome countenance was driving the horse carriage. Clearly, it was the
guy from earlier in the Black Meeting - the gentle-looking man who guarded
the woman by his side.

The white horse carriage sped along with nary a pause; soon, it gradually
passed by the side of Lu Sheng’s horse carriage.

"Ah Jiu, let's stop for a bit."

A beautiful, melodious voice of a woman sounded out from within the white
carriage and it immediately slowed down to travel head to head with Lu
Sheng’s carriage.

The curtains slowly lifted to reveal a charmingly coquettish face with a slight
frown, lit by the lantern.

It was that woman from before – Duanmu Wan!

Lu Sheng put on a poker face as he looked at the other party.

"Young Master, the roads are extremely dark tonight, can I borrow one of
your lanterns to light the way? Take it as us watching out for each other?"

Duanmu Wan had also noticed Lu Sheng and flashed him a smile.

"…Sure, Miss Duanmu."

Lu Sheng replied placidly, and then proceeded to lower his curtains.

"Young Master, if little miss may be so bold as to ask another favor," that
Duanmu Wan spoke again without waiting for him to retreat back to his
carriage, "I knocked over a teapot in this carriage of mine, wetting the round
seat cushion and everything here. Could I please…"

Lu Sheng’s eyes narrowed as a sense of caution rose within him.

This Duanmu Wan appeared rather suspicious. ‘She says it’s wet inside her
carriage, but who really knows?’

The manner in which the other party caught up with them in the dark of the
night was very suspicious; it seemed to be deliberate in order to strike up a
conversation. Even if he refused, there was no guarantee that Duanmu Wan
would let him off.

"If Miss doesn't mind my shabby horse carriage, then please come up here to
rest for a bit." Currently, he had achieved full mastery of the Back Tiger
Saber Technique, achieving extraordinary battle scores in the past two
consecutive battles. Gradually, he gained some confidence in himself by now.

He was confident of holding his own in a duel against any average martial
expert, or even someone like Uncle Zhao, who was the foremost expert in
Nine Links City. Even though he was sorely lacking in battle experience, the
fourth level of the Black Tiger Saber Technique seemed to have given him a
strength that surpassed even that of Uncle Zhao’s.

Given a short time and a small space, it would be difficult to say whether he
or Uncle Zhao would win.

So, even though Duanmu Wan had remarkable skills, he believed he had the
means to protect himself.

"Thank you very much, Young Master."

Under the swaying lights of the lanterns, Lu Sheng instructed the coachman
to stop. The white horse carriage also gradually came to a stop.
The carriage doors slid open. Duanmu Wan, still dressed in her black
miniskirt from earlier, slowly walked over.

She lifted her head and flashed a smile towards Lu Sheng, who was opening
the carriage door for her. Her exquisite, fair skin, cherry dark-red lips, and
her delicate pink tongue that slowly darted across her lips caused the
surrounding guards’ and the coachman’s hearts to unwittingly skip a beat.

She slowly stepped up the carriage by Lu Sheng’s side.

In the moment she did so, the black dress that barely covered her rode up
slightly to reveal a pair of long slender legs and a round, tender rear.

The view beneath her skirt flashed for a moment, just enough for Lu Sheng to
see a little, yet not very much.

"Aiya."

Duanmu Wan’s body suddenly twisted as she sprained the back of her feet,
her whole body flinging itself onto Lu Sheng.

"Careful," Lu Sheng hastily reached out to support her.

Inwardly, however, he grew even more cautious. He chuckled coldly in his

mind as he recognized the same "coincidence" so often portrayed in the
romance dramas on Earth.

Still, he did not let it show. Instead, he just intended to respond according to
common sense.

Duanmu Wan fell softly and feebly into the nook of his arm. The surging
waves of her chest accidentally rubbed against Lu Sheng’s forearm.

Instantly, Duanmu Wan’s face flushed red as she lowered her head, righting
herself as if she just experienced a slight electric shock.

Lu Sheng’s mind also shook, and he held onto her even more firmly.

"Many thanks, Young Master…" Duanmu Wan said in a meek voice.

"You’re welcome. Do take a seat," Lu Sheng supported her to the seat at the
side of the carriage.

Within the large interior, there were two rows of four seats opposite of each
other. Lu Sheng sat across from Duanmu Wan.

The horse carriage again began to move slowly.

Duanmu Wan sat there with her face flushed, both her legs slanted to the
side, tightly closed together without even a slight crack between them. Just
that, from Lu Sheng’s point of view opposite of her, he could see the hint of a
shadow in the space between her skirt and her thighs. If only Lu Sheng
wanted to, he could follow the shadow with his gaze and fully peek at the
view beneath her skirt.

In any case, there were only the two of them within the carriage. Moreover,
Duanmu Wan’s head was lowered in embarrassment at this moment, and
could not see him.

"Peng."

Suddenly, the horse carriage seemed to grind over something and jumped a
little.

Duanmu Wan’s legs shook slightly from the impact, revealing a sliver of a
crack.

By now, a small section of the view beneath her skirt was revealed to Lu
Sheng. His gaze swept over from the corner of his eye, catching a faint
glimpse of a patch of white.

"Is Young Master headed towards Nine Links City?"

Duanmu Wan seemed not to notice that she had exposed herself as she asked
gently.

"That’s right, you’re heading there too, Miss?" Lu Sheng casually asked a
pointless question.

"Yep. To be honest, Wan’er is currently staying at the Thousand Blessings

Inn in the city. I heard that there was a Black Meeting… so, along with my
guard, we came here to check it out. Who knew everyone was going to be
masked! How boring," Duanmu Wan seemed rather dissatisfied.

"For Wan’er and a personal bodyguard to travel such a long distance by

yourselves, it sure takes great skill and boldness!" Lu Sheng said calmly.

"What skill? It’s only because we were saved by a merchant group on the
way that we were able to successfully arrive at Nine Links City. Otherwise,
Wan’er and the guard would have perished from hunger or cold in some
remote corner along the journey," Wan’er explained.

"Speaking of which, the Young Master who saved Wan’er is as strong as you
in terms of martial arts prowess," Duanmu Wan smiled lightly.

"Is that so?"

Hearing that, Lu Sheng knew that she had witnessed that earlier scene of him
fighting.

"At the Black Meeting, Wan’er saw that Young Master seemed to really need
inner force secret manuals?" Duanmu Wan asked again.

11 Lying Dormant 1 Way of the Devil

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“Indeed,” Lu Sheng touched his tiger mask, caution rising in his heart.
“Could it be that Wan’er has a way?”

“Wan’er does indeed have a way to find a few inner force secret manuals for
young master. But what will young master offer in exchange for them?”
Duanmu Wan asked in a meek and gentle tone.

‘What a bold claim. Find a few of them? Even the Prefect in the city would
not dare to say such a thing,’ Lu Sheng was extremely cautious now.

“What does Miss Wan’er want in exchange? Will silver or gold do?”

“How about the same price as today’s Black Fury Skill?” Duanmu Wan
smiled.

“If Miss Wan’er really can get me those manuals, yes,” Lu Sheng replied
seriously, gazing deeply at this woman.

Unbothered by Lu Sheng’s gaze, Duanmu Wan laughed.

“Young master need not worry. Wan’er just saw that you, young master, look
handsome and have an extraordinary air about you, and so wants to win some
favor with you in advance.”

As if Lu Sheng would believe her.

The horse carriage advanced slowly and entered the city shortly after,
stopping outside the Thousand Blessings Inn.

Duanmu Wan and her guard alighted and walked towards the inn under the
warm welcome of the inn’s waiter.

On the carriage, Lu Sheng watched quietly as the two figures disappeared

inside the inn. His poker face betrayed none of his thoughts.

“Let’s go back,” he instructed.

Only then did the coachman come to his senses, looking as if he had just
awoken from a dream. Wiping the saliva off the corner of his mouth, he
spurred the horses to continue the journey.

As for the three guards, they were no better, showing looks of disappointment
on their faces when Duanmu Wan departed.

***

On the morning of the second day, back in the manor, Zheng Xiangui
personally made a visit. Clearly, it was to apologize for yesterday’s events.

The two of them sat in the garden in the backyard. A stone table was laden
with wine flasks and side dishes to go with it – a plate of peanuts and a plate
of cold mixed carrots.

Under the hot sun, such food was incredibly refreshing.

“I must drink this cup!”

Zheng Xiangui said earnestly, lifting his wine cup.

“Yesterday was my oversight. When I heard about the news, it scared the
guts out of me. If any mishap came to you, I wouldn’t be able to do right by
the Lu family even if I cut off all the meat from my body.”

Lu Sheng shook his head, “It wasn’t your fault; I was the one who insisted
that you make the arrangements,” he argued.

Zheng Xiangui emptied his cup with a gulp and slammed the cup back on the
table-top.

“Pah.”

A soft sound rang out as the cup hit the table.

“Brother Sheng, I found it really strange right from the start… how was it
that you had the guts to risk going to a Black Meeting to buy stuff, not to
mention the rest.

In the end, turns out you had so many cards hidden up your sleeves, didn’t
you? But when it comes to things like dueling with others face-to-face, I
think you better lay it off. Even if they’re the Zhang family, your Lu family
isn’t to be trifled with in the Nine Links City. Can their hands reach here?
However, even if they can’t, why take a risk? What if something happens to
you…”
Lu Sheng smiled.

“To be honest, I’ve been passionate about martial arts since my childhood.
I’ve just kept it under wraps because I’ve never achieved anything. Now that
I’ve got some small accomplishment in this area, I couldn’t resist the itch for
some hands-on practice at the Black Meeting.”

“Hands-on practice? You killed someone,” Zheng Xiangui was speechless.

“You’ve got to let Uncle Lu know about this, in case the Zhang family lays
the blame on you. At least he’ll be prepared.”

“That I know,” Lu Sheng nodded. “Speaking of which, do you know more

about the background of that Duanmu Wan?”

“Duanmu Wan… That, I really don’t. How about I check it out for you?”
Zheng Xiangui said hesitatingly. Because his Zheng family was used to
dealing with a more complicated lot, they had a lot more connections and
intelligence sources than the Lu Manor and so were stronger in that area.

“Might as well.”

Lu Sheng poured a cup of wine for himself and sipped lightly on it.

The wine here was very diluted, to the point that it was almost no different
from fruit juice beverages.

“Why? Duanmu Wan contacted you?” Zheng Xiangui quizzed.

Lu Sheng was about to answer.

Abruptly, the sound of hurried footsteps came from the garden’s raised
circular entrance.

A teenage girl in the prime of her youth, dressed in goose-yellow short robes,
entered with quick steps.

The teenage girl was born with a goose egg-shaped face, her waist so slender
as if it could be easily broken by one light grasp.

Her robes were open at the front, revealing the pure white inner layer
underneath, which kept her full breasts tightly covered. But, because her
breasts were too full, they bounced up and down as she walked.

“Brother, Brother Sheng, so you guys were hiding here after all!”

Upon seeing Lu Sheng and Zheng Xiangui, she stormed over and pulled on
Zheng Xiangui.
“Let’s go, let’s go, stupid brother! You stood me up and left me waiting at
home for two whole hours!”

“Yu’er, long time no see. Looks like you aren’t in a great mood?”Lu Sheng
smiled and greeted her.

“It’s ‘cause of my old brother again… he said he’d bring me to watch the
opera troupe in the northern sector of the city. They’re leaving in the
afternoon. If we don’t go now, we’ll be there too late! I waited for so long but
he didn’t show up.”

Zheng Yu’er was Zheng Xiangui’s sister. Biological sister, to be exact.

The two of them were extremely close since childhood. Because of Lu Sheng
and Zheng Xiangui’s friendship, Zheng Yu’er was also close with Lu Sheng
as well.

“Yu’er, my bad…”

Zheng Xiangui hurried to apologize, a look of sadness on his face.

“I’ll make it up to you, I’ll make it up to you! Whatever you want, I’ll buy it
for you!”
As the second son who controlled part of the family’s business, Zheng
Xiangui’s cash flow and allowance was far beyond that of his sister.

“I want a purple ink brush, three slabs of ink, ten boxes of cosmetic powder
from Red Moon Seal, five packets of powder-needles every day, a stalk of
coral flower every day…”

Zheng Yu’er listed her conditions, rapid like a machine gun; clearly, she had
been prepared for it beforehand.

But before she got past a few lines, she was struck by the sudden awareness
that Lu Sheng was present, and immediately bowed her head in
embarrassment.

Then she stepped hard on Zheng Xiangui’s foot.

“AIYOH!” Zheng Xiangui’s pitiful scream echoed in the garden.

“Good sister, good sister! Let’s go home! We’ll talk when we get back!”

Not long later.

Lu Sheng looked on amused as Zheng Yu’er dragged Zheng Xiangui home,

holding him by his ear.
Sitting on the stone bench by himself, he watched the servants clean up the
wine and dishes.

“Black Fury Skill… it can improve my body’s constitution, but it’s

incomplete and so not particularly suited for me to practice. What a pity… I
don’t have any better option right now.”

He shut his eyes and began imagining a thread of Qi rise upwards from the
soles of his feet, then gather into his abdomen before spreading all over his
body according to the route recorded in the Black Fury Skill.

This was the method of initiation into Level One of the Black Fury Skill.

Simple as it may be, it was highly demanding in terms of one’s innate talent.
According to the manual, it took at least several days to a month to generate
Qi.

This wasn’t considered long.

His first step was to be initiated in this skill. Only then could he find the
corresponding skill on the Modifier and begin modification.

So, there was no way around this for Lu Sheng.

“Young Master.”

Little Qiao walked out from her room and called softly.

“What’s the matter?”

Little Qiao looked at Lu Sheng. Young Master seemed rather distracted

lately, but she did not know the cause.

“Is there something bothering Young Master?” Always the kind and
understanding one, Little Qiao asked carefully.

“Don’t make wild guesses, it’s my own problem,” Lu Sheng sat on the bench,
closed his eyes and began rocking his body back and forth lightly.

A dark blue Modifier screen floated before his eyes.

Lu Sheng surveyed it from top to bottom, finding it written in an empty slot

in the first row: Black Tiger Saber Technique – Level 4.

As for the Black Fury Skill, no sign of it was in sight. With a thought, Lu
Sheng closed the Modifier and rose from the stone bench.
Since the Black Fury Skill was in his hands, he would persist in practicing it.
As long as there was a thread of possibility for him to be initiated in it, his
trip would not be wasted.

In the following few days.

Lu Sheng did not go anywhere else. Instead, he sat tight within the Lu Manor,
hard at work training his martial arts.

Since his Black Tiger Saber Technique was exposed, he might as well no
longer hide it. It wasn’t that big a deal of a skill anyway.

At the same time, Lu Sheng began consulting Uncle Zhao about some key
tactics and actual fight experience. His main purpose in doing so was to
intentionally reveal that he had learnt some of the Black Tiger Saber
Technique by himself.

Although he had mastered the saber technique, he still needed detailed advice
on its actual usage, including when to strike, which move to use against what
kind of opponents… these were all based on experience.

Exploiting the opportunity, he spread the story of how he had been practicing
martial arts in secret across the entire Lu Manor.
***

Three days later…

“Dang, dang dang dang!”

On the arena, both Lu Sheng and Uncle Zhao wielded a saber each as they
rapidly traded blows.

Two streaks of light, reflected off their sabers, rolled all over and collided
into each other every other second, like two balls of silver.

Without warning, Uncle Zhao dodged sideways, evading a saber slash.

With a solemn expression and his hair flying behind him, his eyes widened
suddenly.

“Tiger Kill!”

“ROAR!”

A tiger’s roar rang out from within the winds as the long saber in Uncle
Zhao’s hands hacked towards Lu Sheng’s wrists like a meteor!
“Tiger Kill!”

At almost that exact moment, Lu Sheng too growled and struck with Tiger
Kill as well!

The two had battled on for a long time before Lu Sheng pretended to barely
react, adjusting “just in time” to use Tiger Kill.

His rhythm was slower by more than a beat.

“DANG!”

Two saber’s edges collided ferociously.

Then, the two figures parted, each staring at the other, panting heavily.

Lu Sheng lowered his head and saw that a section of his right sleeve was
missing. Immediately, a look of reverence appeared on his face.

“As expected of Uncle Zhao!”

He smiled as he kept his saber and stood straight.

“It’s already very powerful… very powerful… to be able to use Tiger Kill in
so short a time. Even if Young Master used to practice martial arts in secret,
how long has it been since you got the saber technique…? Given time,
there’s no question that Young Master will certainly surpass an old man like
me. Even in the entire Nine Links City, you’d secure a spot in the Top 5,”
Uncle Zhao exclaimed.

“To think that I assumed that Young Master had given up on practicing the
saber… who would have thought…”

Lu Sheng laughed.

“Stop joking, Uncle Zhao. You’re one of the top four experts of Nine Links
City, how can I surpass you that easily?”

“No, no, I’m not worthy of that title. I’m old and long since past the valor of
my youth,” Uncle Zhao waved his hand hurriedly.

“But Young Master’s talent is astonishing… to be able to master the first

move of the Black Tiger Saber Technique in such a short time. You can
actually consider learning a few more martial arts.”

“Learning a few more martial arts? Uncle Zhao means…?” Lu Sheng raised
his brows.
Uncle Zhao laughed.

“I, Old Zhao, still have some face in the Nine Links City after all. On the
other hand, Young Master, your Lu family is famous for your wealth. With
these two combined together, I should be able to persuade more than a few
old fogeys to take out their crown jewels – their highest martial arts – and
teach them to you.

Speaking of which, these supposedly highest martial arts can all rank as Third
Class martial arts. Most of them are on par with the Black Tiger Saber
Technique. If Young Master is interested, I can introduce you to these
people.”

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Hearing this, Lu Sheng’s eyes shone brightly.

He had been unable to find powerful martial arts manuals in their complete
form. Since that was the case, he could perhaps make up for quality with
quantity.

Anyway, with the Modifier, he was able to cultivate martial arts at an

astonishing speed, reaching full mastery with just a bit of effort. To cultivate
a few more skills in this manner should very likely help him to achieve his
objective.

In this world, demons, devils, ghosts and monsters could appear at any time.
If he did not make use of time to quickly become stronger now, then when he
really met with danger, what could he possibly defend himself with?

Thinking of this, Lu Sheng’s eyes shone brightly again. He understood what

Uncle Zhao meant.

There was quite a number of old fogeys who practiced martial arts in Nine
Links City. For example, the yamen’s previous Chief Constable Zhang Xun,
whose Heart-Shattering Palm technique was extremely powerful. Now that
he was older and without children, he was left without a successor.

He did not have many assets left and was living a hard life, unable to make
ends meet. Often, he had to rely on old friends like Uncle Zhao to get by.

If Lu Sheng was able to use money and connections to pull some strings, it
would probably be very easy to get him to pass the Heart-Shattering Palm
technique on to him.

Back in the days, when Zhang Xun was younger, he was actually termed the
Number One Expert in Nine Links City!

It was only when he got older that the others caught up to him. At eighty-six
years of age, he was much older than Uncle Zhao, and his legs were no
longer nimble.

When Uncle Zhao and the rest rose to prominence, he had already been
retired for many years.

Nine Links City had no shortage of such former experts.

Lu Sheng’s heart surged. If he were able to learn a thing or two from these
people and master their skills to very high levels, it would cumulatively result
in extreme power even if they were all Third Class martial arts.

“How is it? Young Master, if you are willing, I can get in touch with some
suitable old friends for you.”

Uncle Zhao also hoped to help look out for some of his old friends. Perhaps
he couldn't bear to see his old friends living miserable lives in their evening
years despite their capabilities.

Lu Sheng thought it over in detail.

“Uncle Zhao is right on point. However, which experts are you able to get in
touch with?”

“Don’t bother about which ones. Beware of biting off more than you can
chew. What I can guarantee are the Heart-Shattering Palm and the Eighty-
Four Swallows Pursuing the Wind Blade.

These two old friends of mine lost their heirs to enemy factions long ago.
Now, they have no one to rely on and lead a tough life. They have long since
intended to find a disciple to inherit their skills.

However, as the saying goes, martial arts are the hobby of the rich. When it
comes to practicing martial arts, without sufficient resources to nourish the
body, training hard will only harm one’s health. So they didn’t think it was
right to put others in harm’s way and thus didn’t choose anyone,” Uncle Zhao
said ruefully.

“It just so happens that, Brother Sheng, you are bestowed with exceptional
innate talent and are gifted above the rest. While we don't harbor hopes for
the top-notch martial arts of the big factions and clans, it would be very
impressive if you do master these two skills. It fulfills Brother Sheng’s
requirements, and also helps me look after a few good friends – killing two
birds with one stone!”
Seeing him lay out his personal intentions and considerations, Lu Sheng’s
face turned somber.

“Since Uncle Zhao has given your word, then these two elders will both be
my teachers. The manor will send them twenty talents of silver monthly as
teaching fee.”

Hearing this, Uncle Zhao could not help but smile.

“Brother Sheng is indeed magnanimous and compassionate…”

Actually, it cost barely ten talents of silver for one to learn an established
skill from a typical martial arts academy.

Yet, Lu Sheng gave each of them twenty talents without reservations and
therefore gave a lot of face to Uncle Zhao.

When word of it spread, Zhao Dahu would be able to hold his head up high in
his circle of old friends.

“Brother Sheng, you continue with your practice, I will relay the news to my
several friends.”
Since the matter had been decided, Uncle Zhao also could not wait to rush to
find Zhang Xun to relay the good news!

A while back, Zhang Xun had gotten the flu yet again. He initially had a body
of iron, but had failed to maintain his health when he was younger and had
suffered too many internal injuries. His health was now deteriorating and he
lacked the money to care for his body.

The medical fees from earlier were even lent to him by Uncle Zhao.

If not for this, he would not have thought to recommend teachers to Lu

Sheng.

He really couldn't… just couldn't bear to see his good friend in such dire
straits.

“As you wish, Uncle Zhao,” still holding onto the saber, Lu Sheng cupped his
hands.

Watching Uncle Zhao depart, Lu Sheng remained, standing alone on the

arena.

He lifted the saber and once again practiced the Black Tiger Saber
Technique.
Tiger Kill, Tiger Might, and Tiger Roar – separately, they were three
different sets of combinations of saber techniques consisting of over ten
moves.

While the three big moves were separate individual strokes, in reality, they
each contained quite a number of independent saber moves within
themselves.

For example, Tiger Kill consisted of saber moves targeting the front, moves
targeting the back, as well as those targeting both the left and the right sides,
as well as moves which targeted any hidden weapons, those against long-
hilted weapons, others against heavy weapons…

There were many different kinds of such variations.

It wasn't just that one move that required practice.

As he trained, a servant suddenly ran to the side of the arena. The servant
waited for him to finish practicing, as if he had something to relay.

Lu Sheng’s brow furrowed. He speedily kept his saber and stood up, gazing
onto the servant.
“What’s up?”

“Young Master, there’s a horse carriage outside. A young lady who

introduced herself as Miss Duanmu claims that she has an appointment with
Young Master, and is here to visit,” the servant replied respectfully.

“Duanmu… Duanmu Wan is here, eh.”

Lu Sheng’s heart trembled slightly.

He had trained the Black Fury Skill ever since he got his hands on it, but till
now, was still unable to become initiated in it.

This casted doubt on the authenticity of this particular inner force skill.
Duanmu Wan had said previously that she could get her hands on inner force
secret manuals, but there was no way to know if they were legitimate.

‘Forget it. I’ll just meet her first and then worry about it.’

Although the other party was a shrewd character, he wasn't one of those
pampered young masters within the city who were unused to the ways of the
world. If she intended to seduce him with some evil purpose in mind, there
was no way he would fall for her low-level skills, no matter how many of
them she was capable of.
“Invite her into the guest hall, I’ll be there shortly.”

“Yes.”

The servant left.

Lu Sheng got the maidservant to prepare a basin of water, which he used to

wipe some of the perspiration off his body. He then changed into a fresh set
of white robes before heading to the guest hall.

Walking past the arena and a little flower garden, and then heading down a
corridor, he arrived at the guest hall meant solely for receiving guests.

The guest hall’s big doors were open, revealing a woman in a long purple
dress seated primly to the right. The woman had a coquettish face, skin white
as snow, and wore crescent-shaped earrings made from polished pearls. She
carried a dignified and graceful air.

Remarkably, it was none other than Duanmu Wan.

Lu Sheng’s third brother, Lu Chenxin, was also in the guest hall. Presently,
he was enthusiastically trying to get intimate with Duanmu Wan.
Lu Chenxin was mesmerized as he stared at Duanmu Wan’s chest. The faint
view of a deep ravine could be seen beneath the white camisole covering her
chest, and his eyes seemed to sink into it and could not be pulled away even
if he wanted to.

“Cough, cough.”

Lu Sheng lightly coughed twice.

Both of them immediately noticed him and turned their heads to look at him.

“Big Bro…”

Lu Chenxin’s face flushed bright-red, looking rather embarrassed as he stood

up.

“Since Big Bro is here… this lady Miss Duanmu came specially to find
you…”

He stuttered a little.

“Third Bro, how about you head over to the kitchen first to get them to send
over some sour plum soup? I’ll manage over here.”
Lu Sheng was considered rather wise in the family. He had quite a bit of
experience, and conducted himself responsibly. Thus, his words carried quite
a bit of weight among the siblings.

He wasn't frivolous like his peers, the other young masters.

Altogether, he had two biological siblings. Second Sis Lu Qingqing had

ventured out to practice martial arts and had yet to return; Third Bro Lu
Chenxin stayed at home, diligently reading the traditional sage books to
prepare for future examinations, hoping to attain scholarly honor. [1]

As for Lu Sheng, he had even taken over the reins for a portion of the
family’s business a while back. His performance had long since affirmed Lu
Quanan that he would be the one to take over the business in the future.

Because Lu Sheng was bound to be the one to manage the family’s finances
in the future, his younger brother and sister, as well as the rest of the
members of the household, all counted on him to provide for them in the
future.

In the day-to-day matters, everyone treated him with some measure of respect
to curry favor with him.

“Brother Sheng, I just happened to bring over a pot of sour plum soup, I’ll
give it to you guys. It’s been chilled, very tasty.”

Fifth Mother, who had been passing by, smiled as she walked in from outside
the guest hall with a pot of sour plum soup in her hands.

Fifth Mother was the fifth woman the household head Lu Quanan had
married. However, she was not his wife, but a concubine instead.

Unlike the first three, Fifth Mother and her daughter, younger cousin Lu
Yingying, would need to depend on Lu Sheng for a living after Old Master
Lu Quanan passed on.

Therefore, although she was Lu Sheng’s Fifth Mother in name, more often
than not she and younger cousin Lu Yingying treated Lu Sheng with
deference.

After all, once Lu Quanan passes on, Lu Sheng did not have any obligation to
support the mother and daughter pair. In order to prevent them from being
chased out of the house, it was necessary to butter up the future household
head, Lu Sheng, in advance.

“You’re too kind, Fifth Mother.” Lu Sheng hurriedly went over to receive the
sour plum soup and laid it down. “I can handle it over here, please head back
first.”
“Yes yes yes, Brother Sheng you entertain your guest first.” Smiling, Fifth
Mother left hastily.

Before leaving, she looked at Duanmu Wan with jealousy. She was only
slightly over thirty this year, and although she maintained her looks well and
surpassed others in appearance, she paled in comparison to Duanmu Wan.

“I’ll leave a bit earlier,” Lu Chenxin also quickly took this chance to leave.

Soon, only Lu Sheng and Duanmu Wan were left in the guest hall.

“Does young master still want secret manuals?”

Seeing that there weren’t others around, Duanmu Wan smiled slightly as she
asked.

“Miss Duanmu is indeed impressive. I hid my identity and disguised myself,

yet you were still able to find me here,” Lu Sheng’s face betrayed not a hint
of emotion.

“You’re kidding, Young Master Lu. In the whole of Nine Links City, who
else is such bosom buddies with Zheng Family’s Zheng Xiangui, and has so
many resources within the family? By roughly matching the height and
physique, it is not difficult to identify you, young master.”

Duanmu Wan smiled gently.

“It’s not difficult to do so only for Miss Duanmu. Ok, enough with the
nonsense. So, what secret manual has Miss Duanmu brought for me? I’ll say
first though, I’m only interested in those inner force manuals.”

Lu Sheng said casually in an unhurried and calm tone. He did not lose his
cool just because his identity had been exposed.

“Naturally, they’re all inner force manuals.”

Duanmu Wan extended her slender arms to retrieve from her sleeves three
small booklets, placing them lightly onto the small side table one by one.

All three light-green small booklets were sewn together with needle and
thread. Clearly emblazoned across the cover were some large characters:
“Green Pine One-Thought Formula”, “Jade Crane Skill”, “Yin Yang
Attraction”.

Lu Sheng’s face remained emotionless as he gazed over all of them.

“Miss Duanmu is indeed open-handed. Except… how will I verify whether

these secret manuals are authentic?”

“That's simple,” Duanmu Wan smiled lightly. “These three types of inner
force skills are all exceedingly easy to get initiated in. Just cultivate it for a
day, and you’ll be able to sense the Qi. However, on the other hand, it is
difficult to achieve full mastery in any of them. Thus, it is easy to establish
their authenticity.”

Then, with a change in tone, she added, “As for whether there’re any
alterations or omissions in them, young master, you’ll have to trust Wan’er.
Otherwise, no matter what secret manuals are placed before you, I’m afraid
young master will be suspicious regardless.”

“Miss Wan’er is right to say so,” Lu Sheng’s heart leapt with joy. If it were
just as the other party said, that all three secret manuals were extremely easy
to initiate, then compared to the Black Fury Skill, these three skills were way,
way more suitable for him.

13 Lying Dormant 3 Way of the Devil

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“Just as a reminder to young master, these three inner force skills are merely
life force skills that focus on improving one’s life force. After mastering
them, they won’t add much to your fighting strength. They’re suitable for
passing down in the family to improve life force, and not suited for battling.
Also, the highest they go is Level 2.”

Duanmu Wan reminded.

“Life force skills… and only two levels… don’t you have any of those
legitimate inner force skills from the pugilistic world?” Lu Sheng frowned
slightly.

“I do… But those kinds of inner force skills are mostly the property of sects
and factions… even if I gave them to young master, would young master dare
to cultivate them?”

Duanmu Wan’s beautiful eyes stared at Lu Sheng, a hint of a laugh within

them.

Lu Sheng fell into silence, then laughed as well.

“Indeed. I don’t dare to cultivate those inner force skills. Leaking the inner
force skills of those sects leads to a never-ending vendetta.”

“It’s best that Young Master understands. Of course, I’ve also got some low-
end inner force skill manuals, but in comparison with these three, those
manuals are extremely time-consuming and don’t seem very powerful. So,
these three are better.”

With respect to Lu Sheng’s immediate admission, Duanmu Wan was rather

impressed. Before a beauty like her, almost all men would more or less
subconsciously put on a strong and competitive front and try to project their
heroic side.

Yet Lu Sheng could unflinchingly say the three words – “I don’t dare”. It
wasn’t something that an average man would be able to do.

“These three inner force skills don’t match my requirements very well,” Lu
Sheng replied in a deep voice.

“Young Master Lu, don’t be so quick to reject them. You’ve got to know that
inner force skill manuals aren’t cabbages. You can’t expect them to come on
demand,” Duanmu Wan said with a wide smile. [1]

“It’s also by coincidence that I happen to have these manuals with me now.
In a while, I may not…”

Lu Sheng didn’t understand what she meant.

“Can’t you just make copies of these manuals and sell them again and
again?”

“That may be so, but those that I sell are all sole copies. The original copies,”
Duanmu Wan declared confidently.

“Are you serious?” Lu Sheng was starting to get interested.

“Of course I’m serious. As for that Black Fury Skill, Young Master Lu had
better not cultivate it. Not only is it incomplete, it’s passed down from
hundreds of years ago. The possibility of finding the rest of the manual is
virtually nil,” Duanmu Wan advised.

Lu Sheng fell deep in thought for a moment.

“Does Miss Wan’er have other secret manuals with her? I don’t need the
originals, just copies will do. How about one hundred talents for each
manual?”

Duanmu Wan’s face remained impassive except for a faint smile.

“Is Young Master Lu that crazy about martial arts?”

“Yeah, I’m basically nuts about martial arts,” Lu Sheng replied earnestly.
Duanmu Wan looked at him with interest. The two of them stared at each
other like that for a while before she suddenly laughed out.

“In that case, money for the goods.”

“And goods for the money. I want the Jade Crane Skill.”

Lu Sheng picked one at random. He took out the silver notes from his chest
pocket. It was the last of his savings and he was now left without a penny.

Duanmu Wan received the notes and stuffed them into her sleeves without
even a look before she placed the Jade Crane Skill down.

“Then I wish Young Master achieves full mastery of the martial art soon.”

“Thanks for your well-wishes,” Lu Sheng rose to see her out.

Only after walking Duanmu Wan to the gate and watching her board the
carriage and leave did Lu Sheng finally heave a sigh of relief.

For some unknown reason, he always found himself on his guard whenever
he faced Duanmu Wan.
She was clearly just a weak woman who knew no martial arts. But something
about her felt off to him.

He watched as the horse carriage lumbered on until it disappeared from sight

at the end of the street. Only then did Lu Sheng turn back in.

Holding the Jade Crane Skill manual in his hand, Lu Sheng hesitated. In the
end, he decided to take a look at this inner force martial art first before doing
anything else.

***

In the Nine Links City Prefect’s yamen.

The rectangular yamen courtyard faced the courtroom, its surface covered in
white stone bricks which reflected the blinding light coming from the
sunrays.

In the courtyard, over ten red pillars supported a red rooftop. That was the
courtroom.

Two rows of Pride-Killing Cudgel, painted red, lined the sides of the
courtyard. [2]
The Old Master Prefect, Song Duanchi, sat atop the courtroom, his brows
locked together in a knot. Behind him was a massive picture of an immortal
crane soaring in the blue skies and a white sun.

Two men stood on each side beneath him. A total of four men stood before
him.

They were the family heads of the Zhao, Li, Lu and Zheng families
respectively.

These four families’ power was more than half of the power held by various
industries and businesses in all of Nine Links City.

Lu family’s Lu Quanan was one of the four.

Wearing a mandarin robe with golden coin and talent motifs sewn onto it and
donning a squire’s hat, he was at the moment incessantly pinching the beard
on his chin, staring at the Old Master Prefect who sat above them.

All five of them were silent, the Prefect included.

The head of the Zhao family, Zhao Shide, was a muscular and fit bald old
man. His Zhao family commanded all of Nine Links City’s restaurants,
brothels, entertainment plazas and casinos. Among the four of them, he had
the highest standing.

Presently, seeing that no one spoke, he ventured in a thick-skinned manner.

“Old Master Song, you asked us to search for that person and that thing. And
we did send out men to look for it. It was supposed to be a small matter at
first. But now, over ten of our men have gone missing one after another.
We’re talking about a matter of life and death here. If you still intend to keep
the truth from us under such circumstances, then forgive us for not helping
you anymore.”

Lu Quanan made up his mind to keep his mouth shut. The other two seemed
to share the same intention.

Prefect Song Duanchi’s brows tightened further as he heaved a long sigh.

“Those are orders from above. Even I can’t do anything about it. Moreover,
strange things keep popping up one after another these few days, both in and
out of the city. I’ve gotten the abbot of Red Lotus Temple to perform rites,
but it didn’t help.

Also, none of the wandering experts of the pugilistic world whom I’ve
engaged have returned. Who knows if they’ve run away, or… The Wang
Villa case from outside the city also remains unresolved till today. I’ve
gathered the four of you here to see if you’ve got any good ideas. After all,
this is our Nine Links City.”

The trio, including Lu Quanan, kept silent. However, Zhao Shide chuckled
coldly.

“Let’s put aside the matter of searching for that person. We’ll just leave it on
hold. As for the other matter, since Old Master is out of methods, I’ve
actually engaged a highly skilled expert to assist in the investigation. As for
the compensation, it’s not fair for it to all come from my family, isn’t it?”

“Since it’s a highly skilled expert, if he or she can really crack the case, I’ll
give him or her the full reward,” the Prefect confirmed first.

“My family will contribute a thousand talents.”

“Mine as well,”Lu Quanan added hurriedly.

“Mine too,” the last family head jumped onto the bandwagon.

“Alright. Looks like the Xu family case is taken care of for now. But as for
the Wang Villa case…” the Prefect was troubled again.

“Wang Villa… is it the case in which the concubine jumped into the well?
Why not just deal with it according to Song laws?” The Li family head asked
in a flat voice.

“If only it were that simple. The problem is that we can’t even find that
concubine’s corpse. There isn’t even a drop of blood at the bottom of the
well, and yet numerous people in the villa swear that they saw the concubine
jumping into it with their own eyes. And we did indeed find many footprints
beside the well…”

The Prefect shook his head.

‘What an eventful autumn…’ Lu Quanan exclaimed in his heart at the

situation.

Recalling the look of terror on the face of his old friend, the deceased Xu
family head, his heart was wrenched in pain.

***

Lu Manor.

In the sleeping quarters.

Lu Sheng sat cross-legged on his bed, focusing his thoughts and senses.
Following the method in the Jade Crane Skill manual, he began imagining an
immortal crane spreading its wings, attempting to soar, in his chest. The
crane flapped both its wings without stopping, building up strength and
momentum, but just could not fly up.

After mustering his Qi for a while with his eyes shut, he gradually opened his
eyes, retrieved the Jade Crane Skill manual from his chest, opened it and
read.

On the first page was a hand-drawn sketch of an immortal crane, soaring

above the skies with its wings wide open. Its posture, on the verge of
shooting up into the skies, radiated a faint oppressive aura.

Lu Sheng concentrated momentarily on the sketch, then immediately shut his

eyes and continued imagining the immortal crane in his chest.

He repeated this thrice.

The light streaming in from the window gradually grew dim. Little Qiao had
come to call him to dinner several times, but Lu Sheng rejected each time,
keeping his door shut tight and remaining seated on his bed.

The immortal crane conjured up by his imagination was becoming more and
more realistic, coming closer and closer to life.
At the moment when dusk descended and the skies turned dark, Lu Sheng’s
eyes suddenly opened wide.

“Hoo…”

He forced out a breath of murky air.

Taking a deep breath, he clearly felt a slim line in his chest, as wide as an ant,
slowly circle in his chest as it formed a simple oval.

This oval spun clockwise at a turtle’s pace – so slow that it was undetectable
unless one felt for it carefully.

Lu Sheng relaxed in his fatigue, calling out in his mind without further ado.

‘Deep Blue.’

Immediately, the Modifier screen floated before his eyes.

In the dark blue square frame of the Modifier beneath Black Tiger Saber
Technique was now added a line of small words.

“Jade Crane Skill: Uninitiated.”

‘I gotta hurry.’

Lu Sheng hurriedly focused his mind and clicked on the Modify button lest
the thread of Qi he sensed disappeared.

As the button was pressed, the entire Deep Blue Modifier flashed once.

Lu Sheng quickly gathered all his focus on the Jade Crane Skill.

‘Upgrade one level!’ He thought.

The status display of the Jade Crane Skill jumped all of a sudden.

From Uninitiated to Initiated in one second.

Lu Sheng paused, and felt a small stream appearing in his body, flowing
slowly from his chest down to his abdomen.

It formed an oval loop between his chest and abdomen, threads of cooling Qi
flowing unbroken between them.

‘I’m initiated now… looks like it didn’t cause much of a burden to my body.’
Lu Sheng thought. Then focusing his concentration again, he imagined the
Jade Crane Skill upgrading yet another level.

“Cough, cough!”

Suddenly, he felt a dry itch in his throat and began coughing loudly.

An irritating sensation of heat rose from his abdomen and gushed into his
heart. Lu Sheng’s throat immediately turned dry with thirst.

‘Crap, my body’s weakened! The Jade Crane Skill rose too rapidly and hurt
my body too. Just, it was not as bad as during the time with Black Tiger
Saber Technique.’

Lu Sheng relaxed his mind and let the Modifier grow faint and disappear.

‘So this is inner force?’

He stretched out both his legs and got off his bed slowly.

Carefully sensing the Jade Crane Skill’s inner Qi flowing cyclically without
stopping between his chest and abdomen, Lu Sheng could not help but feel
astonished.
‘It feels as if I’ve got a new line in my body.’

Lu Sheng attempted to control the line and discovered that it didn’t seem
capable of being channeled elsewhere; it could only remain fixed cycling
between his chest and abdomen.

As this line of inner Qi flowed in the cycle, he could plainly feel his
breathing become much easier and his spirits lift and strengthen.

‘Initiated in inner force, let me see…’ Lu Sheng flipped open the manual and
looked at the records in it.

14 Lying Dormant 4 Way of the Devil

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Written clearly on the booklet were the words:

"This skill effectively extends longevity, improves blood circulation and

nourishes the five viscera to smoothen one’s Qi; effective for recuperating
from internal injuries. The more advanced one’s cultivation, the more
effective the results."

‘Recuperating from internal injuries?’

Lu Sheng’s heart skipped a beat.

"Young Master? It’s time to eat. It’s already the height of the Zi hour…"

Little Qiao’s voice drifted in from outside.

Lu Sheng warmed up his arms and shoulders. Pushing the door open, he saw
Little Qiao sitting alone on a small stool outside the door. Who knew how
long she had been waiting for him there.

The height of the Zi hour, in other words, the latter half of the Zi hour.

According to how they kept time in the Song Dynasty, the timekeepers
divided the day into twelve two-hour periods. Each period was split into the
beginning and the height portions.

Which means, it was currently between 24:00 and 1:00 in the morning..

"It’s already so late?" Lu Sheng gazed towards other courtyards. The usual
hustle and bustle these courtyards emitted during the day were now
completely quiet.

Faint sounds of the gong rang out in the night wind as the night watchman
made his rounds outside.

"Is there still something to eat now?" Lu Sheng walked towards the kitchen.

The Lu Manor’s kitchen was built between the front of the manor and the
backyard; to get there, one needed to walk out of the backyard.

"I’ve asked the kitchen to leave some food for you, Young Master; there’s a
bit of each dish, we just have to heat it up," Little Qiao said softly as she
hurried to Lu Sheng’s side.

The two of them walked along the winding corridor, exiting the backyard and
taking a left turn into the small kitchen yard.

A few tables and chairs were placed in disarray in the kitchen yard, left there
especially for the chefs and servants to dine at.

Just as the two entered the small yard, they saw a person sitting at the edge of
a table, wolfing down Lu Sheng’s dinner.

"Big Bro, how come you’re still up so late?" The person eating his dinner
lifted her head to reveal a plain yet pretty and innocent face.

"Qingqing?" Lu Sheng stared in surprise. "When did you come back?"

Sitting down opposite her, he sized Lu Qingqing up as she ate with relish.

She was his younger sister - the daughter of his Second Mother. They were
thus of the same father but different mothers. However, Second Mother had
very often treated him even better than her own biological daughter; to her,
he was like her own son.

In the original Lu Sheng’s memory, his feelings towards Second Mother and
Lu Qingqing far surpassed those he felt towards his other siblings.

"Oh, I just got back. I was really hungry so I rushed here! I found a feast laid
out on the table, so I thought it was prepared for me."

With a sword on her back, Lu Qingqing dressed in blue overalls and clearly
bound her bosom. If not for her pretty face, it was impossible to tell she was a
woman.

"You shouldn't have come back…" Lu Sheng sighed.

"Why?" Lu Qingqing lowered her bowl, her expression abruptly turning

somber. "Brother Xu died from some unknown cause… just what trouble did
Uncle Xu’s family get themselves into? Demons, devils, ghosts and
monsters… what a mess! I just don't believe in those!"

"What do you mean?" Lu Sheng stared at her.

"The reason why I returned earlier is to look into the real cause of Brother
Xu’s death, and to bring the murderer to justice!" Lu Qingqing spoke
earnestly, a thread of killing intent flashing in her eyes.

Lu Sheng kept silent for a long while as he looked at his Second Sis. A hint
of anger rose up on Lu Qingqing’s face.

"Big Bro, Brother Xu is dead. Don't you want to find out the real killer at
all?!"

"I’ve looked into it, but there weren’t any leads…" Lu Sheng shook his head.
"There were no clues regarding the killer, no trace at all. All the people of the
Xu Family, over ten of them in total, died tragically in the middle of the
night. Yet there was no wind of it at all."

"I don't believe it!" Lu Qingqing stood up. "I’m full. I’ll begin investigating
tomorrow. Big Bro, I’m going to rest first," she said, and walked off in big
strides to leave the yard.

"Little Qiao, want to come over to my place?" Along the way, she called out
to Little Qiao.

Her face gloomy, Little Qiao shook her head. Clearly, talking about the
incident of Brother Xu caused her spirits to be dampened.

Xu Daoran was gentle and courteous, and had always been kind to them.
How could she have even imagined that such a kind-hearted person would
perish in an instant?

After Lu Qingqing left, Lu Sheng sat down. Once Little Qiao heated up the
leftovers, he continued to eat.

‘It’s been five years since Qingqing left to train in martial arts under Priest
Tie Sang, the famed swordsman near Zi Hua City. However, it seems that she
has not cultivated inner force.’

According to the records in the Jade Crane Skill manual, a special trait of all
those who cultivated inner force was a pair of eyes scintillating with charm.

The more advanced one’s inner force was, the more spirit and vigor one’s
eyes shone with.

However, Second Sis’ eyes were dark and gloomy, no different from an
average person. Clearly, she was not an inner force cultivator.
‘Of course. How can inner force cultivators be as common as cabbages on
market? But, that really goes to show just how complicated that Duanmu
Wan is…’

Lu Sheng muttered to himself irresolutely while immersed in his thoughts.

Finally, he collected his thoughts, and then began to eat his dinner.

***

The next morning.

Early in the morning, Lu Sheng followed Uncle Zhao and headed towards
Chief Constable Zhang Xun’s house.

"Although Chief Constable Zhang’s Heart-Shattering Palm does not belong

to any faction, it has been rumored that it can hold its own against the
renowned Iron Sand Palm. Its focus is on penetrative force that can pass
through an object and hit a target on its other side. In combat, it can target
and hit the enemy’s internal organs directly. It’s extremely powerful."

Uncle Zhao and Lu Sheng each rode a horse as they made their way to Zhang
Xun’s house. It was located in the Blacksmiths’ District, the area of Nine
Links City nearest to the city walls.
Mainly the poor and people like craftsmen, blacksmiths and carpenters
resided here.

Along the way, Lu Sheng saw poor people everywhere, sickly in appearance
and with emaciated bodies. Most of the passers-by were also dressed in
patched-up clothing.

"I’ve occasionally heard of the prowess of the Heart-Shattering Palm since I

was young. Just how did Chief Constable Zhang end up in such dire straits?
As a yamen military official, he definitely should have more than enough
connections and experience to live in a better area, Lu Sheng asked casually.

Uncle Zhao shook his head. "How? It’s all because of the tragedy that year.
He exacted vengeance by killing his enemy with his own hands, but ended up
with internal injuries that frequently act up. Just the purchase of all sorts of
nourishing medicines was enough for him to end up here."

As they chatted, the two of them soon arrived in front of a small, worn out
courtyard.

Uncle Zhao got off his horse and knocked onto the door.

"Who’s there? Soon, a skinny and weak youth opened the door. Noticing
Zhao Dahu, he welcomed them in a surprised tone. "Uncle Zhao? Quick,
come in, come in!"

Lu Sheng followed in through the doors. He immediately saw a white-haired

elder, sitting in the yard and basking in the sun.

"Is that Young Master Lu?"

The elderly got straight to the point as he asked loudly.

"That's me," Lu Sheng cupped his fists.

"This old man has received the silver you sent here previously. I can pass
down the Heart-Shattering Palm technique to you straightaway, no problem.
However, this old man does have a difficult favor to request of you."

The elder was none other than Chief Constable Zhang Xun, he who once
killed without batting an eyelid.

"Please speak, Master Zhang," Lu Sheng’s expression remained the same.

"This old man hopes that Young Master Lu can learn this skill and pass it on
to a few more people. This way, my life’s achievements will not be lost,"
Zhang Xun’s voice was full of vigor and full of dignity despite his age.
"Don't worry, Master Zhang! Junior will do so!" Lu Sheng said resolutely.

"Good! Be it training with our swords or fists, it is this bold courage to strive
forward that we need, come what may! Without this spirit, even the most
powerful stroke is but weak and hollow!" Zhang Xun’s voice was
unexpectedly severe.

"My Heart-Shattering Palm and saberplay share some common points. Be it

the palm or the saber, you need to be decisive, and imagine yourself in a do-
or-die situation. Only then will you be able to explode with the most
immense strength and speed! If your heart hesitates, then your strength
abates!"

Lu Sheng’s mind shook as if he suddenly comprehended something.

"Essence, Qi and spirit; heart, mind and strength – combine them and, once
they all fit together, focus them on one point. This is the secret to success in
both saberplay as well as my Heart-Shattering Palm!" Zhang Xun said
sternly.

Lu Sheng closed his eyes as he stood there, looking as if he had just gained
enlightenment. His hand grasped onto his long-hilted saber on his waist.
He had just arrived at the courtyard, and had already taken the first lesson
from this former Number One expert of the Nine Links City!

‘If your heart hesitates, then your strength abates!’

These words resounded like thunder in his mind, constantly surging

throughout it.

It was precisely because he tended to think too much that caused his saber
moves to carry a sliver of hesitation.

Now that he thought of it, it should be because his resolve was lacking!

His level was clearly higher than Uncle Zhao’s; yet, when they actually
fought each other, he was less confident than the other. Initially, he had
attributed that to his lack of experience.

But now, from the looks of it, it was rather his resolve that was lacking, both
in mind and heart!

A long while later.

Lu Sheng cupped his hands into fists as he saluted Zhang Xun.

"Many thanks, Master Zhang!"

"No problem. Now, everyone else, get out! I’m going to pass on the key
formula of the Heart-Shattering Palm to you!" Zhang Xun’s voice rang out
clearly.

Uncle Zhao and the youth both gave a small wry smile before leaving the
courtyard.

An entire day passed.

Lu Sheng stayed at Zhang Xun’s house the whole time, memorizing the key
formula and practicing moves of the Heart-Shattering Palm. Zhang Xun also
readily shared with him his battle experience; he held nothing back.

Having been initiated in his inner force skill, Lu Sheng was exuberant in
spirit and teeming with strength. He diligently learnt and practiced
unceasingly all throughout the day, resting only twice during the whole day.

In the evening, he had committed to memory and familiarized himself with

the essential aspects of the Heart-Shattering Palm. Only then did he bid
Zhang Xun farewell and left.

He went to his sleeping quarters the minute he got home and sat down cross-
legged.

‘Deep Blue!’ He commanded wordlessly in his head, causing the screen of

the Modifier to once again surface in his mind.

After pressing the Modify button, the entire screen flashed violently.

Lu Sheng focused his concentration onto the Jade Crane Skill from before.

‘There shouldn't be any problems this time round.’

Modifying skills by a single stage ensured that it was not too overwhelming
and lessened the burden on his body.

‘Upgrade one level!’

Lu Sheng stared intently at the Jade Crane Skill. Soon, the state of the Jade
Crane Skill jumped directly from Initiated to Level One.

Lu Sheng instantly felt as if all his five viscera and six bowels were on fire;
his mouth and tongue felt parched and his face flushed red. [1]

He had read in the secret manual that such sensation would occur when one’s
inner force was too abundant, causing one’s heart to overheat.
He rose hastily to the table, where he had Jadeite Dendrobium tea ready just
in case, and began to drink it slowly. [2]

The Dendrobium was also known as the Yin Nourishing Fairy Grass, which
had extremely potent nourishing effects. The other variant, the Metallic
Dendrobium, was the one which was the most often used on earth; here, it
was the Jadeite Dendrobium that was most commonly used instead.

It was a highly expensive tonic imported from the Central Plains. It just so
happened that there was some stock in the family’s pharmacy that he was
able to use.

Only after drinking three cups of rich Dendrobium tea was Lu Sheng able to
feel some warmth ebbing out from his chest.

‘If it is as recorded in the secret manual, there are only two levels of the Jade
Crane Skill, and I was indeed able to sense Qi in just one day. However, it
requires a hundred days just to get initiated, and that is for the more gifted
ones. To cultivate the first level would require about two to three years. As
for the second level, that would require five to ten years.’

He placed the teapot back onto the table, retrieving the Dendrobium left on
the bottom and stuffing it into his mouth to eat it.
‘What I just did, is equivalent to two to three years’ worth of hard work. Not
bad.’

He could distinctly feel the Qi in his chest was slowly becoming easier to
sense than previously.

If it had been of a hair’s breadth before, then it was now as thick as a single
chopstick.

Lu Sheng then looked at the other martial art, Heart-Shattering Palm.

Currently, this martial art was displayed as Uninitiated, with different

sections for the outer and inner force skills. As long as he remembered the
moves and the heart formula, then it would be displayed onto the menu of the
Modifier screen.

As for inner force, he must first be able to sense Qi before he’d able to
modify it.

Lu Sheng intended to quickly upgrade his Jade Crane Skill to improve his
essence, Qi and spirit before modifying the other outer force skills. In this
way, the load on his body would be greatly reduced.
15 Lying Dormant 5 Way of the Devil

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Lu Sheng trained at Chief Constable Zhang Xun’s place for three whole days.
He had thoroughly committed the Heart-Shattering Palm to memory.

Then, he went to find the other elder.

The second teacher recommended by Uncle Zhao was surnamed Du, first
name Zhen. He was a top expert in the former Prefect’s yamen, and belonged
to the same generation as Chief Constable Zhang Xun.

His ninety-nine strokes of the Eighty-Four Swallows Pursuing the Wind

Blade were as fast as lightning. A pity that, without rhyme or reason,
someone had injured his hand tendons, incapacitating him. Because he never
married, he was similarly without children. As a taciturn introvert, he also
had no other heirs.

Lu Sheng stayed there to learn for a total of four days.

Actually, in his eyes, the ninety-nine strokes of the Eighty-Four Swallows

Pursuing the Wind Blade paled slightly in comparison to the Black Tiger
Saber Technique. However, it was always a good thing to acquire more
martial arts skills.

Then, he again implored Uncle Zhao to bring him one-by-one to other

famous experts within Nine Links City, especially those of the older
generation.

After receiving his father Lu Quanan’s nod of approval, he was able to use
money to pave his way. He was again able to learn from two others: he learnt
the Precious Eight Steps and the Double-Horned Blade.

Both martial arts were relatively weaker than the Black Tiger Saber
Technique. After all, he understood that Black Tiger Saber’s Uncle Zhao was
one of the finest experts within Nine Links City. It wasn't an easy feat for
others to reach the same level.

For two consecutive months, Lu Sheng persevered and assiduously trained in

all sorts of different martial arts. At the same time, he continued to stuff his
body with copious amounts of Yin-nourishing and blood-nourishing
prescriptions.

Ever since he started to practice martial arts, his family had been spending
more than a thousand talents a month to sustain his expenditure on herbal
tonics. This was an astronomical sum for an average family.
It was a good thing that he had his father Lu Quanan’s backing. Otherwise,
even a rich young master could not be so unrestrained and audacious in
spending money.

In the blink of an eye, the summer passed and, with the coming of September,
autumn arrived.

It had already been three months since Lu Sheng arrived in this world.

"Brother Sheng’s been really hardworking these days..."

Uncle Zhao stroked his moustache, his gaze resting upon Lu Sheng who was
currently diligently practicing the Eighty-Four Swallows Pursuing the Wind
Blade on the arena.

Lu Sheng did not use the Modifier to modify this blade technique. He had
been refraining from using the Modifier during this period, relying solely on
himself to comprehend it.

At the end of the day, the Modifier was an external help. He wanted to see
how the martial arts trained by himself fared in comparison to those he
attained through the Modifier.
Coincidentally, the Eighty-Four Swallows Pursuing the Wind Blade
technique was fundamentally not difficult with its simple moves, and thus
very suitable for him to train in slowly.

"Swoosh! Swish swish swish!"

Crisp sounds rang out one by one. The stacks of straw surrounding Lu Sheng
were instantly hacked by the blade.

Lu Sheng held a small glaive, longer than a meter, with one arm. Swiftly, he
flipped the glaive and fastened it behind his back. ‘Time to call it a day.’

"I started training martial arts too late; if I don't put in some effort, how will I
catch up to others?" Lu Sheng replied smilingly after a moment. "I must
really thank you, Uncle Zhao, for your help this period."

Uncle Zhao waved his hand.

"Brother Sheng, I know that you intend to gather the martial arts secret
manuals to strengthen the family, but those in Nine Links City who’re willing
to impart their martial arts are just these few. It’s very unlikely for the rest to
do so. What are your plans from now on?"
Lu Sheng fell deep in thought momentarily, allowing Little Qiao to wipe off
his perspiration as she saw fit with a wet towel.

"Since Nine Links City…"

"Bad news! Bad news!!" Suddenly, a house servant hollered as he hurried

over in the direction of the arena, his face white as a sheet.

"What happened? You’re noisy!"

A guard within the manor went forward and chided him. He pulled the
servant aside as he questioned him in detail.

After he had heard the reply, the guard’s facial expressions also changed
somewhat. He hastily ran over to both Lu Sheng and Uncle Zhao.

"Young Master, Second Miss got into a fight with someone, and is now
nowhere to be found!" The guard exclaimed very anxiously.

"WHAT?!"

Lu Sheng stood there stupefied.

He knew that Lu Qingqing would get into trouble when she got back, but had
no idea it would happen so soon. [1]

"Where is she? Whom did she fight with?" Uncle Zhao was solemn as he
asked promptly.

"On Flower Willow Street, with a few guards of a merchant who had just
entered the city as they were passing by."

"Does Old Master know of this?"

"I’m not sure, but that servant just now received the news just a moment ago.
Second Miss’ personal servant girl ran over to relay the info. He then came
over to Young Master’ side as fast as possible," the guard replied quickly.

These people were all orphans Lu Quanan bought and cared for from young,
nurturing them into adulthood. They were all highly loyal to the Lu Manor.

"Nice work. There’s no hurry to let Father know about this. I’ll go and take a
look first," Lu Sheng said in a grim voice.

"Second Miss was looking into the tragic case of the Xu Family. How did she
end up fighting with a merchant’s guards?" Uncle Zhao asked suspiciously.

"We’ll know after we go take a look," Lu Sheng’s face was calm.

They gathered the servants and guards within the manor, chose ten of them
and headed straight for Flower Willow Street.

Flower Willow Street was a famous red-light district in Nine Links City.
Only heavens knew why Lu Qingqing ended up here during her investigation.

The horses ran at full pelt the entire way.

By the time Lu Sheng arrived, the entire street was in complete disarray. The
owners of two stalls near the Lu Family were comforting the peddlers in the
vicinity that had suffered collateral damage.

"Pay for the damages to whomever we should, and apologize to whomever

we need to. Don't let others look down on our Lu Family," Lu Sheng
instructed.

"Yes!"

Ten people who came with him replied immediately and dispersed to clean
up the mess.

As for Lu Sheng and Uncle Zhao, they went over to the sidewalk to search
for traces of the fight.
"Qingqing hadn’t left for a very long time, her temper has always been
explosive. To be provoked by gangsters in such a place as this, it’s not at all
strange for her to retaliate," Lu Sheng carefully checked the traces of blood
on the floor.

There was not much blood, and he wasn’t worried that it was Qingqing’s
blood. Given her ability, it was not difficult for her to go up against two
people on the level of someone merchants hired as guards.

A blotch of dark-red blood stained the greyish-white stone tiles. Under the
glare of the sun, it was extra eye-catching.

Lu Sheng stooped down, lightly dabbing his finger into the blood and taking
a sniff. Instantly, his brows furrowed.

"What happened? What did you discover?" Uncle Zhao walked over and, just
like Lu Sheng, dabbed his fingers into the blood before taking a sniff. "This is
ordinary human blood, nothing strange about it."

"That’s not what I’m puzzled over…" Lu Sheng shook his head. "What I’m
puzzled over is that there is quite a large amount of blood here. Although
Qingqing has a bad temper, she is not someone who would seriously wound
her opponents. To draw so much blood… it’s not like her to be so reckless."
At this time, the guards who were settling matters in the area had also
returned.

"Young Master, there’s news. Someone saw Second Miss, armed with a
sword, fight with two others and chase them all the way outside the city!
Someone else also said that those two she was pursuing were murderers
wanted by the authorities, not some merchant’s guards!"

"I see," Lu Sheng nodded. "Come, we’ll go to the city gates to take a look.
The nearest gate around here is the West Gate, they should have exited from
there."

A crowd of people followed him and swiftly headed for the West Gate.

Over ten minutes later, the group arrived at the West Gate. A city guard came
to greet one of the house servants; clearly, they knew each other.

"Second Miss Lu has given chase in the direction of the Black Winds Ridge,"
the guard provided them with a vital information.

Lu Sheng gathered the men to search for her and stepped out of the city.
However, he made no more than several steps before Lu Qingqing could be
seen in the distance, rushing back in the direction of the city gates. She rode
on a horse, lugging with her two men, tied together.

As soon as she saw Lu Sheng, Lu Qingqing appeared very pleased.

"What are you doing rushing over here, Big Bro? Aren’t they just two petty
thieves? Don’t you have any faith in my abilities?"

She had changed and dressed up like a heroine, a longword resting within a
silver sheath in her hands and a belt with golden trimmings attached to her
waist. Her hair was cinched high atop her head, giving her an especially
valiant and formidable look.

Lu Sheng stood at the city gates and waited for Lu Qinqing to arrive in front
of him on her horse. Only when she flipped over and alighted from the horse
did he heave a sigh of relief.

"Don't be so reckless in the future."

Although he wasn't the original Lu Sheng, he had experienced Second

Mother’s sincere care for him in this period. He wasn't a cold-blooded person
or someone unable to discern who was sincere and who was hypocritical.

Because of Second Mother, he also had a slight sense of obligation to care for
Lu Qingqing.
"Don't worry. Yours truly couldn't care less about these petty thieves in Nine
Links City!" Lu Qingqing said absentmindedly.

Lu Sheng looked at the two convicted murderers on the floor, tied together
with a rope. Both of their faces were ashen, as if resulting from a severe
blood loss. Currently, they were still unconscious and it was difficult to tell if
they were even alive.

But what was bewildering was that there was a slight hint of a curve at the
corners of their mouths; it seemed as if they were… laughing?

Lu Sheng made a mental note regarding this matter.

Seeing that Lu Qingqing was unscathed, he did not say anything else.
Perhaps he had made a mountain out of a molehill.

After giving Lu Qingqing a few more words of advice, he and Uncle Zhao
led the rest back to the manor.

The life once again went back to its original rhythm.

Each day, he woke up and trained saber moves for six hours in the morning.
After lunch, he then began working on his footwork and the Heart-Shattering
Palm. At night, he returned to his room to practice the Jade Crane Skill.

As for the Black Fury Skill, he had decided to stop training in it.

Seeing how he repeated this cycle, Uncle Zhao advised him to focus his
energy on just one particular skill. However, Lu Sheng had other plans.

After he had successfully placed all of the martial arts skills onto the
Modifier selection screen, he once again began to upgrade the Jade Crane
Skill’s level.

In the dead of the night.

Lu Sheng lay on his bed, his eyes gradually beginning to open.

He sat up ramrod-straight and looked at the paper window. Faint moonlight

was streaming through it, leaving a distinct, white patch on the floor of the
sleeping quarters.

Outside the window, faint snoring sounds of the guard on night duty could be
heard.

The wind blew fiercely, causing the tall trees within the courtyard to sway
with a cacophony of swishing sounds.
Lu Sheng slowly sat up cross-legged on his bed.

‘It’s about time.’

He listened intently to the sounds around him, but did not find anything that
could be a disturbance to him.

‘After cultivating for so long, my body’s essence, Qi and spirit are at their
pinnacle. Now, it’s about time to upgrade the Jade Crane Skill.’

In these few days, Lu Qingqing had been performing heroic feats all around.
She caused quite a stir as she went about, nabbing convicted murderers and
injuring thieves and robbers.

Seeing this, however, Lu Sheng’s heart was always troubled by an

inexplicable sense of urgency. Particularly, in the past days, he heard from
Master Zhang Xun that, when he was still the Chief Constable, he had also
faced a few strange cases. Although in the end these cases were left
unresolved, they all left a deep impression on him.

Collecting his thoughts, Lu Sheng called out in his mind. ‘Deep Blue.’

Immediately, a light-blue screen appeared in front of him.

With great familiarity, he pressed onto the Modify button and then focused
all his concentration onto the selection for Jade Crane Skill.

‘Upgrade one level!’

The selection panel instantly jumped from the first level to the second, like a
walk in the park.

A feeling as if the insides of his body were about to be hollowed out violently
surged through him. It was as if, in a short amount of time, he had
excessively indulged in debauchery.

His head buzzed and his vision blurred as a dizzy spell hit him. The same
sense of a hot flush from before flooded him again.

16 A Turn of Events 1 Way of the Devil

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‘Not too shabby. Good thing I’ve been focusing on nourishing Yin during
this period. This second level is also the highest level of the Jade Crane Skill;
an average person would need five years to attain it. I’ve cut down five years
to such a short time, so naturally, the stress on my body is a lot bigger than
when I was becoming initiated in the skill.’

He felt out the state of his body’s interior in detail.

Although weak, it was actually a lot better than before. Looks like him
nursing his health recently had indeed been effective.

"HOO…" He exhaled at length.

Lu Sheng could feel the circle of inner Qi within his chest thickening from
the width of a chopstick to that of nine chopsticks.

Qi that was the width of nine chopsticks combined together was quite a lot
thicker than it was previously. The second level of the Jade Crane Skill
clearly felt different from before.

Lu Sheng felt highly invigorated as he breathed in and out. His reaction speed
was also a lot faster than usual.

‘According to the records on the second level of Jade Crane Skill, it should
be able to extend longevity and help staunch bleeding faster. I’ll test the
effect of the inner force tomorrow, then. Also, I should get in touch with
Duanmu Wan and see if I can get any new inner force skills from her.’
Since the Jade Crane Skill was authentic, then the other inner force manuals
might also be real. He wanted to try and see what would happen if he
cultivated in several different inner force skills at the same time.

Logically, as long as the inner force skills were not in conflict with each
other, then it should be possible to combine them.

Having thought that, Lu Sheng once again lay on his bed to rest.

However, just as he lay down, he could hear faint footsteps from beyond the
courtyard, as if someone was leaving for a journey.

Listening to the rhythm, it sounded very much like steps of Lu Qingqing.

Lu Sheng shook his head and paid it no heed. In this period, Lu Qingqing left
the house in the middle of the night almost every few days to gallivant
around the city.

Who knew what leads she had found.

Initially, he had even tailed her carefully for a stretch, but then realized that
his footwork was way incomparable to that of Lu Qingqing’s. He had lost her
after just a moment, and then subsequently decided not to waste his energy.
Early next morning, Lu Sheng carried the silver notes that he had prepared
and headed straight for the Thousand Blessings Inn, where Duanmu Wan was
staying.

"What? She’s already checked out?"

Lu Sheng’s eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the innkeeper.

"When was that?"

"Roughly half a month ago, Miss Duanmu was invited by a few young
masters to sightsee at Red Lotus Temple. After that, she sent somebody to
come back to check out."

The innkeeper was also very smitten with Duanmu Wan.

After all, she was a natural beauty. Furthermore, many young masters had
come round to pursue her, and she herself spent money like sailor on a shore
leave. Naturally, all these left a very deep impression on him.

"Red Lotus Temple…"

Lu Sheng frowned. His intuition told him that, most likely, Duanmu Wan was
not at Red Lotus Temple.

It was but a mere excuse for her to suddenly check out.

"Then forget it."

Waving a folding fan in hand, he left the inn. His two bodyguards kept watch
outside the door.

"How did it go, Young Master? Did you find Miss Duanmu?" The guard
Little Song interacted with Lu Sheng very much on a day-to-day basis; he
also helped Lu Sheng clean up all sorts of venues for him to train martial arts.
Occasionally, he would even train alongside Lu Sheng on the arena; his
martial arts skills were still passable.

"Nope, she’s left," Lu Sheng shook his head.

"Then where are we headed now?"

"Where? Back to the Manor."

Having failed to obtain any secret manuals, Lu Sheng’s mood was sour.
The three of them boarded a horse carriage and made their way back straight
to the Lu Manor. Just as they approached the front of the residence, they saw
that another yellow horse carriage had already stopped in front of the main
entrance.

Carved on the side of the horse carriage was the big character "Zhang 张".

"Zhang Family?"

Lu Sheng’s face flickered. A long time has passed since a member of the
Zhang Family was murdered; they had finally made their way here.

But he was not afraid. He got Little Song and the rest to leave, before
entering via the main entrance alone.

Looking in from the main entrance, he was just able to see into the Main
Hall. Currently, Lu Quanan, accompanied by another martial artist, was
attending to someone from the Zhang Family.

The Zhang Family had only sent one person over.

It was a man of roughly thirty or so years of age, with narrow eyes and thick
brows.
"… How could my son have done such a thing, the Zhang Family must have
made a mistake!" Lu Quanan sat on the host seat, his face a picture of
calmness.

"Quite a few people witnessed it at that time! How could it be false?!"

That man boiled with anger.

"I don't care how powerful your Zhang Family is in Zi Hua City, this is Nine
Links City, not your Zi Hua! Your Zhang Family may be strong, but my Lu
Family is no pushover! If you continue to frame us, don't blame me, Lu
Quanan, for being unkind!" Lu Quanan said coldly.

The Zhang Family man was trembling all over from his rage. He was
speechless as he pointed his finger at Lu Quanan.

"Fine, fine, fine!!! The Lu Family head really has guts. I will definitely
transmit your message, word for word, back to Family Head Song Xi!
Goodbye!"

He turned around and strode off.

Halfway to the carriage, he met Lu Sheng but did not recognize him. He
continued to angrily storm out of the manor.
Lu Sheng was not surprised. Given the Song Dynasty’s weakened state in this
time, the land was highly divided. Moreover, they were far away in the
North, where city heads and local powers were overlords in the land.

Even in the Central Plains, big families like the Lu Family largely paid lip
service to the government, opposing it inwardly while showing outward
devotion. It had even led to quite a number of scuffles.

This Zhang Family actually dared to come up here to interrogate them and
pursue matters! Did they think they were in their own Zi Hua City?!

The man brushed past Lu Sheng, furiously stormed into the horse carriage
and left.

Lu Sheng walked into the Main Hall and saw his father Lu Quanan seated on
the chair, his face nonplussed.

"Dad, finished settling your business?" He asked lightly, signaling to the

surrounding guards for them to leave as he wished to speak alone with his
Dad.

Lu Quanan sighed. Seeing that it was Lu Sheng, he could not help but smile a
little. "Little Sheng, you have to look after your younger sister more, don't let
her run around the city all day."

"I am not able to control her," Lu Sheng shook his head, a bitter smile on his
face. "Dad, the thing that the higher ups wanted us to find - has it been
found? So, is it a person or a thing that they're looking for?"

"It could be a thing, and could also be a person. It's hard to say for sure!" Lu
Quanan shook his head, deliberately keeping his voice low.

"Currently, the Prefect is having a headache because of the Xu Family case

and the Wang Villa well incident beyond the city. Especially the latter—so
many constables weren't able to find any leads, so what could your younger
sister achieve by herself? Get her to stay at home and behave herself."

"She's gone to investigate the Wang Villa case?" Lu Sheng was shocked.

"You didn't know? The yamen’s constables even saw that girl Qingqing at the
Wang Villa. Every two to three days, she'd pick up some fugitives or suspects
and send them to the yamen. Almost everyone there knows her by now," Lu
Quanan said helplessly.

"I see…" Lu Sheng frowned. "I've been busy lately gathering martial arts
skills, and haven't had the time to look after her."
"Gathering martial arts skills… you've already spent close to five thousand
talents on that. How's the progress?" Lu Quanan asked casually.

"I've already collected quite a number. I’ll gather and organize them into a
scripture library at home. That way, it'll be a lot easier for our Lu Family to
grow some experts," Lu Sheng said seriously.

"I have somewhat guessed what you intend to do. In these troubled and
chaotic times, it’s not enough to just rely on the ten over of us in the family.
We need to train more experts of our own. Which was also why I’ve given
you my unconditional support ever since I heard that you’re gathering martial
arts," Lu Quanan was grim as he spoke.

"We’ve a total of eighty-six servant guards in the family that we can deploy
at any time. However, because we need to defend our manor, the actual
number that we can deploy is just about forty or so," Lu Sheng calculated for
a moment. "These forty people are hardly even enough to look after the
safety of our Lu Family’s thirteen small villas and sixteen shop-houses
outside.

"Of course dad knows this, but… trustworthy people are really hard to come
by…" Lu Quanan sighed.

"What about adopting orphans? There are quite a few street urchins within
the city, right?" Lu Sheng suggested.

"Well… At the end of the day, we’ve got to consider what the other families
will think…" Lu Quanan hesitated.

"We’re short-handed to begin with, so why do we need to be concerned about

the other families? Can’t we just proceed under the table?" Lu Sheng argued.

"This is a sensitive issue, one where the slightest move has huge
repercussions. If the other families find out, they will definitely reprimand
our Lu Family for being ambitious and too high-profile," Lu Quanan shook
his head lightly.

Lu Sheng tried to persuade him some more, but to no avail.

In his heart, he knew that Lu Quanan was no longer full of vigor like his
younger self. In those days, he was without a penny and did not have people
who depended on him that he would have to worry about. Therefore, he was
unwavering and bold in his decisions, and was able to build up an incredible
estate for the Lu Family.

Now, though… he hesitated and shilly-shallied back and forth about matters.

Lu Sheng was able to see that the fact that Lu Quanan supported his
gathering of martial arts was because he himself also had the mind to expand.

However, when the rubber meets the road, he was full of uncertainty and of
two minds about matters.

After saying a bit more, Lu Sheng stopped trying to persuade him, merely
mentioning about the health of some of those in the family. After that, he
took his leave.

Standing alone in the Main Hall, Lu Quanan’s brow was deeply furrowed, as
hesitant as he was earlier.

Lu Sheng, on the other hand, had already decided not to rely on his old dad
anymore. In this chaotic world, if he were not strong enough, then others
would definitely see him as prey sooner or later.

He left the Main Hall and went ahead to the arena to continue practicing
martial arts.

After he had achieved the peak of the Jade Crane Skill, he was full of spirit
and vigor all throughout the day. Even though he busied himself from dawn
to dusk, he did not feel too drained.

When he sensed a bit of fatigue, he would sit down to rest for just a moment
before his body would feel every bit as alive as a dragon or a tiger and he
would be able to continue working for hours at a stretch.

On the arena, he trained his saber skills all the way till evening.

Only then, with his entire body drenched in perspiration, he went to shower
and rushed to have his dinner.

At dinner, Lu Quanan, Second Mother and Lu Sheng sat at one table, while
the rest of the relatives sat by themselves at another big table.

Such was the custom. Lu Quanan was the household head, Lu Sheng was the
future household head, and Second Mother was extremely close to both Lu
Quanan and Lu Sheng. She was also in charge of the day-to-day matters of
the female servants and maids in the back yard.

These three people thus enjoyed the three highest positions in the entire Lu
Family.

Only after them came Third Mother, Fourth Mother, Fifth mother, Lu
Qingqing, Lu Yingying, Lu Chenxin and others in the family.

Although the Lu Family was a first-generation upstart family, they modeled

themselves after the customs of the other influential and great households in
many areas.

For example, one of those practices was not to speak when eating and not to
converse when sleeping.

People ate around two big tables, with only the sound of chopsticks hitting
bowls ringing out occasionally. Besides that, it was a state of utter silence.

"Little Sheng."

Lu Quanan, who almost never spoke at the dining table, suddenly opened his
mouth.

Once he did, the whole family paused eating to listen. That was also part of
the etiquette. After all, if it weren’t a highly important matter, he usually
would not speak at the dining table.

"Yes, Dad?"

Lu Sheng put down his chopsticks and looked at Lu Quanan.

"You said that you couldn't gather any more martial arts in Nine Links City.
Do you want to make a trip to Mountain Edge City?" Lu Quanan asked
seriously.
"Mountain Edge City?"

Lu Sheng was shocked. He had not thought that his old dad actually wanted
him to leave Nine Links City.

"Yea." Lu Quanan nodded. "I have an old friend there. His letter a few days
back mentioned that there are famed experts from the Central Plains currently
in Mountain Edge City who are opening their doors to impart their skills. If
you are willing, you can make a trip there. Who knows, you might be able to
bring back one or two sets of truly remarkable martial arts from the Central
Plains."

17 A Turn of Events 2 Way of the Devil

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Lu Sheng put down his bowl and sunk in thought.

He had a feeling that his old dad Lu Quanan seemed to be worrying about
something and so wanted to send him somewhere distant where he would be
safe.

But it was also true that if Duanmu Wan wouldn’t appear again, then he had
really exhausted Nine Links City’s potential for his growth. Travelling to
Mountain Edge City, which was far more prosperous than Nine Links City,
wasn’t such a bad idea for him either.

"Might as well. I’ll go and come back quickly. If I really can learn something
from those famed experts, I’ll send someone back with a letter instead," Lu
Sheng thought for a moment and agreed.

Mountain Edge City was a great distance away from Nine Links City; it was
twice as far as Zi Hua City.

Even with horses running at full pelt, it would still take two days and one
night to reach it, not to mention travelling on a carriage.

After Lu Sheng gave his assent, he spent several days hiding at home to
practice martial arts and build up his energy reserves.

Meanwhile, Lu Qingqing continued to venture out every day as per usual.

News of her capturing so-and-so would spread every now and then.

Lu Sheng couldn’t keep a leash on her. Neither could anyone else in the
Manor. Second Mother, too, could not help but give up after her words fell on
deaf ears.
After resting for several days, Lu Sheng prepared to upgrade the few martial
arts he had acquired lately.

Given his strong foundations in Black Tiger Saber Technique and Jade Crane
Skill, he quickly used the Modifier to master Heart-Shattering Palm,
modifying it to Level 3 and achieving full mastery of it.

He left the rest of the skills untouched, intending to modify them after he
thoroughly recovered from his loss of blood and Qi.

As for Eighty-Four Swallows Pursuing the Wind Blade, he intended to

practice it slowly on his own as a point of comparison with the other skills.

This cycle repeated itself almost till the date of his setting off when another
strange event occurred in the city.

A few hunters who lived in the vicinity of the city had mysteriously vanished
on Wan Qing Festival.

Just a few days ago, some people had seen them bring fox fur and other
wildlife products into the city to peddle. Then, all traces of them were wiped
off the surface of the earth.

They had vanished within Nine Links City, but the incident was noticed only
after their families reported them missing to the authorities.

What was crucial, one of the hunters was the cousin of a senior constable in
the yamen. That’s what prevented the case from being handled like other
similar cases.

It seemed like a simple case on the surface, but the moment investigation
began, something fishy cropped up.

Those hunters had taken only one route from beginning to end, disappearing
on the street near the Goldfish Restaurant.

Not a single soul had seen them along the way.

So, the constables hurried to investigate along the street near the Goldfish
Restaurant.

But that place had just been on fire and was now empty. Why would these
hunters who came peddling head in that direction?

As Lu Sheng puzzled over this, Little Qiao ran over in panic and told him
that Lu Qingqing had headed towards the street near Goldfish Restaurant all
by herself at midnight.
It was now bright as day but she was still nowhere to be seen!

Lu Sheng’s heart skipped a beat. He knew that something had happened to

her.

"When exactly did Qingqing head there?" He quickly asked.

"Not sure, but it should be during the Chou hour [1] after midnight. Usually
Second Young Miss would return before dawn. But this time, she did not,
and her servant Little Red told me that Young Miss had instructed her to
prepare hot water in her room for her to bathe in.

In the end, she waited for a long time but there was no sight of Young Miss,
so she panicked!" Little Qiao swiftly replied.

Lu Sheng was just taking a stroll and resting in the garden. It was his method
of relaxation before practicing saberplay.

Who would have expected such a thing to happen at this time?

"Go at once to inform Uncle Zhao and the family head, I’ll head over there
first to take a look!"
"Little Eight had already led some men there to check out the situation. He
was the one who sent news of Young Miss’ disappearance!" Little Qiao
hurriedly added.

"Little Eight…" Lu Sheng’s eyes narrowed. He remembered he was the

manor guard. "Got it."

Swiftly, he put on an outer coat, equipped himself with the standard-issue

long saber from the house, led a horse out from the stable and then rushed
towards Goldfish Restaurant without further ado.

The entire Lu Manor, from top to bottom, was alarmed. Lu Quanan

immediately gave the order for Uncle Zhao to lead his men towards the
Goldfish Restaurant. Simultaneously, he sent men to report the case to the
authorities at the prefectural yamen.

A massive network of manpower and connections rapidly extended itself.

The first task on hand was to determine if Lu Qingqing had really gone
missing instead of merely falling out of the radar for a short time.

"Jia!" [2]

Lu Sheng rode the horse hard, flying along the cold morning streets that were
relatively empty at this hour of the day, allowing him to rush forward at great
speed.

If this was at any other time, even he could not avoid blame for riding so
furiously on the busy streets.

But this was no ordinary situation.

Little Eight’s message that Lu Qingqing had gone missing was but a fuse that
ignited Lu Sheng’s nervousness. What really caused his grave concern were
the strange happenings that he had run into along the street near the Goldfish
Restaurant previously.

The Yellow Speckled Horse soon arrived at the entrance to the Goldfish
Restaurant. [3]

The restaurant’s doors were locked tight. The sky had just barely lit up and it
was not yet daylight-bright.

The street on the side of the restaurant was a patch of soot and mess.

The few wooden houses which were being demolished were torn down only
halfway due to the fire. The remaining half now mixed with the collapsed
rubble, appearing more desolate than usual.
Lu Sheng jumped down from the horse and walked onto the charred street.

"KA-CHA…"

A crisp sound came from something which he stepped on with his leather
shoes.

Lu Sheng reached out to grab onto his saber hilt. Thanks to the two real-life
combat situations he experienced, he was now much more composed than
before.

Light scintillated in his eyes as he surveyed the surroundings. Before long, he

noticed something out of sorts.

A deep sword mark was carved into a wooden beam in front of the wooden
houses in the middle section of the charred street.

Messy footprints were on the ground, and fresh black soil could even be seen
in them.

Lu Sheng reached out to touch the sword marks on the wooden beam. The
wooden beam, charred and black on the outside, was pale-yellow on the
inside – it was not thoroughly burnt.
The sword mark had just hacked open the charred surface, revealing the pale
wood texture within.

"Should be nearby."

He slowly unsheathed his saber and carried it into the house, blade pointing
downwards.

The ceiling of the wooden house had been thoroughly consumed by the fire.
As Lu Sheng walked through the door, he was greeted with a mess of charred
furniture, bundles of burnt cloth and some melted god-knows-what.

Barely a few steps into the house, Lu Sheng discovered another sword mark.

A charred wooden table was collapsed on its side. Two deep sword marks
were carved into its edge and even some steel shards were left on it.

"What great strength."

Lu Sheng pinched one of the shards between his fingers, surmising it to have
come from the steel longsword carried by his second sister Lu Qingqing.

He bowed his head to look at the footprints, then hastened towards the
backyard of the house.

Stepping through the house, he entered the backyard.

In a gap in the backyard wall, a one-eyed muscular man with messy hair
wearing a brown leather armor and carrying a thick-backed broad saber was
presently cursing and mumbling to himself as he went on sticking something
to the wall.

"Who’s there!?"

He immediately sensed Lu Sheng as he entered the backyard and stared at

him ferociously.

"Who’s there? I want to ask you, who the hell are you?"

Lu Sheng sized him up in an instant.

The man was almost 1.9 meters tall, and muscles bulged like rats all over his
body. Coupled with the silver thick-backed broad saber, still stained with
traces of blood, a savage and beastly aura emanated off him.

"Me?" The man chuckled and tossed away the paper in his hand.
"Looks like you’re that brat girl’s family? That brat actually dared to kill two
of my disciples. So, big bro and I captured her. Too bad you’re too late. That
brat girl has been sent back to the stronghold by my big bro for his
enjoyment."

"Brat girl?" Lu Sheng’s eyes grew dark. "Seeing your mannerism, I’m sure
you’re not just a nobody. I bet you’ve heard of my Lu family’s name in Nine
Links City too. Why don’t you name a price? Let’s talk it out!"

"Talk your ass! Are you the only one here, brat from the Lu family?" The
man laughed coldly as he stared at Lu Sheng.

"My men are behind," Lu Sheng didn’t bother to hide that fact. He was facing
a seasoned opponent and lying to him was probably futile. So, he might as
well speak the truth.

"You’re all alone and yet dared to come all the way here... you’ve got guts!"
The man chuckled.

"Number Two, Number Three, take him down. Let the Lu family pay a
ransom for his life!"

Right after his voice fell, two men jumped inside through another gap in the
wall, both in brown leather armor. One of them carried a long-hilted axe
while the other a Qi Mei Staff. [4]

"Just one little brat, I can handle him alone. Godpa, why did you call both of
us out?" One of them complained. [5]

"Whoever arrests him first will get the credit!" The man laughed aloud.

Hearing that, both of them smiled and stared at Lu Sheng as if he were their
prey.

"Heheheh, what a handsome little boy. He’ll make a nice pair together with
that brat girl. It’s not a bad idea to take turns playing with both of them,"
Number Two stared lustfully at Lu Sheng’s lower body.

"Play my ass! If anybody’s gonna play with him, it’s godpa first!" Number
Three spat into his palms.

"Break both his legs, but don’t draw too much blood. Otherwise it looks ugly
and spoils the mood. That previous one… you hacked off his right arm with
your axe and blood splurted everywhere… his body came apart when we did
him!"

"That’s none of my business! Didn’t you whack that guy on his back with
your staff? When it was our turn, he was almost dead!" Number Two argued
in defense.

These two were twin brothers who were blessed with muscular constitution.
Once, by chance, they fell under the tutelage of Lin brothers—Phantom Head
Blade and Severed Head Blade of Nine Links City and Black Winds Ridge.

Severed Head Blade Lin Hongshui happened to be none other than the man
carrying the thick-backed broad saber.

Phantom Head Blade—Lin Shuanghuo—and Severed Head Blade—Lin

Hongshui—were fugitives who had committed murder in Nine Links City
over a decade ago. At that time, both of them had slaughtered two merchant
troupes in one night and fled with copious amounts of silver and jewelry.

The secret arts that both of them possessed were two sets of Wind-Rippling
Saber Techniques, savage in might. Both wielded astonishingly heavy broad
sabers.

The older among them, Phantom Head Blade Lin Shuanghuo, had set the
record of cleaving a live person into two clean halves with one saber stroke
during pursuit by constables.

This was the first time Lu Sheng faced off squarely with others. Three others
at the same time, in fact.
He lifted his long saber and looked towards the approaching Number Two
and Number Three.

‘Let me test the waters first with a stroke. I’m outnumbered… if it doesn’t
work, I’ll retreat first.’

He was a little worried. After all, he had no clear idea of how strong he was
right now since he lacked any basis for comparison.

Hence, he was rather careful.

Lu Sheng used neither Black Tiger Saber Technique nor Heart-Shattering

Palm.

Rather, he used Eighty-Four Swallows Pursuing the Wind Blade, which he

had been routinely practicing by himself. He certainly couldn’t reveal all his
cards right from the start.

Grasping the saber hilt a trifle loosely, he gazed towards Number Two.

"Come!" Number Two’s mouth formed a grin as he waved his axe and
pointed at his own head.
"Little brat’s even got the looks of an expert. Hack here! Here! Your grandpa
here will stay still and let you…"

"CHI!!"

A silver light flashed across in that moment.

The long saber in Lu Sheng’s hands had turned into an agile swallow, leaping
across the distance of several meters in a second and slashing horizontally
above Number Two’s body in one stroke.

"SPLAT!"

A human head instantly flew up in the air.

Blood splattered all over.

And, the entire yard fell into a deathly silence.

18 A Turn of Events 3 Way of the Devil

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Number Three stared dumbfounded, holding onto his Qi Mei Staff.

Severed Head Blade Lin Hongshui’s jaw hung wide open as he looked at the
human head rolling on the ground and then looked at Lu Sheng who stood
still on the spot, looking slightly dazed.

The autumn wind swooshed, blowing a handful of fine dust on the ground up
into the air.

For a moment, none of the three men spoke a word.

Lu Sheng had not expected in the slightest that this big shot-looking dude
couldn’t even defend against his probing strike.

In the meantime, Number Three was shocked dazed and his legs were
beginning to tremble.

As for Lin Hongshui, it had been totally beyond his wildest imaginations that
such a stroke would come from this brat wet behind the ears—Lu Sheng.

"Great... great, great!"

Abruptly, he laughed out loud. However, the smile on his face was filled with
savagery.
"Yet another who has come looking for…"

"CHI!"

Light flashed as it was deflected off the saber. This time it was Number Three
who was the target.

Lu Sheng’s figure flashed in front of Number Three. Fresh blood splurted out
again.

Number Three’s head was now gone as well. It rolled across the ground
before coming to a stop by a pile of charred ashes.

Lu Sheng shook the blood off his saber blade.

A frenzy of ecstasy arose in his heart.

‘This is what it feels like to take a life. This is what it means to be a saber
warrior! As the legends go… "at the first word of discord, scores are settled
by the saber"!’

He gripped the long saber tightly. This ordinary silver-white long saber in his
hand, with only a blade the length of a forearm, was like his closest comrade.
A faint and strange feeling gushed up in his heart. All of a sudden, he felt as
if he was personally being immersed in and experiencing all the wuxia novels
that he had read in the past.

An indescribable passion burned in the depths of his heart.

"Come! Either kill me, or end up like the two pieces of trash on the ground."

Lu Sheng liked this feeling. His eyes red, he licked his dry lips as he
approached Lin Hongshui step by step.

"You brat!!"

Lin Hongshui burst into rage as his expression changed into a furious one.

Gripping his thick-backed broad saber with both his hands, he strode towards
Lu Sheng.

"CHI!"

A silver swallow appeared suddenly again as Lu Sheng’s saber struck

forward.
Despite his Eighty-Four Swallows Pursuing the Wind Blade being only at the
Initiated level, it displayed considerable might when employed with Lu
Sheng’s mastery of the way of the saber, which had come from his training in
the Black Tiger Saber Technique.

"DANG!"

However, this stroke was blocked by Lin Hongshui with a lift of his arm.

"I recognize this strike… Swallows Skirting the Water… so it’s Swallows
Pursuing the Wind Blade…" he sneered viciously. "In those days, I almost
hacked the original master of this saber technique to death, so it’ll be easy to
get rid of a little ass-brat like you!"

He added some force, pushing Lu Sheng’s long saber away.

The broad saber’s blade flipped and slashed diagonally upwards with extreme
force and velocity.

This stroke, Water-Splitting Move of Wind-Rippling Saber Technique, was

one of his favorite trademark opening moves. Each time he used it, his
opponent would either have to dodge or be forced to face him head-on.
Lu Sheng leapt aside, dodging the broad saber. He executed Eighty Four
Swallows Pursuing the Wind Blade at full strength with the long saber in his
hand, clashing against his opponent.

The battle between the two escalated to a frenzy in the middle of the
backyard.

Lin Hongshui’s saber strokes came thick and heavy like hammer strokes, full
of extreme force. Whenever Lu Sheng came into contact with one, his arm
would turn numb.

But Lu Sheng’s saber strokes came quicker and displayed superior stamina,
often striking along the sides of his opponent’s strokes or parrying them aside
with Eighty Four Swallows Pursuing the Wind Blade.

Both actually struck with immense speed, incomparably quicker than

Number Two and Number Three.

But for both of them, saberplay at this speed merely fell under normal
conditions.

In one breath, Lu Sheng continuously executed the ten over moves of Eighty
Four Swallows Pursuing the Wind Blade in full, yet he still failed to gain the
upper hand.
Lin Hongshui, on the other hand, remained as energetic as a tiger; his moves
were still astonishingly strong.

"DANG, DANG!"

Both sabers collided against each other twice in a row once again.

Lu Sheng’s foot twisted a trifle carelessly as he stepped onto a fragile plank

of wood, resulting in him losing his balance.

Lin Hongshui’s eyes widened and his broad saber immediately slashed
downwards with full might before him.

"Go and die!!!"

He would cleave this terrible brat into two halves there and then! How dare
he kill Number Two and Number Three right in front of him?

If he left this score unsettled, who would still dare to follow him in the
future!?

The broad saber vibrated eccentrically as it slashed down towards Lu Sheng’s

head viciously.
The core of Wind-Rippling Saber Technique’s mantra was precisely to
significantly amplify the strength of broad saber strokes through a unique
method of employing force.

This astonishingly bolstered the strength of Lin Hongshui’s saber strokes,

which were already shockingly powerful to begin with.

The broad saber fell squarely towards Lu Sheng’s head.

"HOO!"

Right in that instant, Lu Sheng straightened his body and steadied himself in
a second. The long saber in his hand vibrated at extreme speed, emitting a
vague roar without warning.

"ROAR!!!"

It was a tiger’s roar!

Lu Sheng’s eyes were dyed mildly red as he executed Tiger Kill of Black
Tiger Saber Technique.

Carrying powerful vibration and explosive force, the saber blade slashed
towards Lin Hongshui’s saber-wielding arms. The speed of this stroke was
far swifter and more vicious than that of the broad saber!

"Don’t you dare!!!" An enraged roar sounded out from behind the gap in the
wall all of a sudden.

In the blink of an eye, a ball-like black shadow shot forward and struck the
side of Lu Sheng’s long saber.

"DANG!"

It was a piece of ashen stone.

A second muscular man, who was carrying a thick-backed broad saber, leapt
into the yard.

This man’s face was sporting two intersecting scars which stretched from the
forehead to the chin, giving him an extraordinarily savage look.

"Big bro!!"

Earlier, Lin Hongshui’s reaction was delayed by a bit due to the tremor
induced by Black Tiger Saber Technique’s tiger roar; he nearly had both his
arms lopped off by Lu Sheng.
Now, he hurriedly withdrew his saber, giant beads of cold sweat breaking out
on his face; he was clearly terrified.

"This brat is using Black Tiger Saber Technique; he’s not easy to deal with!
There are more people coming. We’ll take him down together!" Lin
Shuanghuo said severely as he glanced at the two corpses beneath him.

"Alright!"

The two brothers split up and charged towards Lu Sheng simultaneously.

Lu Sheng remained unfazed, executing Black Tiger Saber Technique’s Tiger

Might. The strength of the saber stroke was now much heavier than that of
Eighty Four Swallows Pursuing the Wind Blade.

The might of Black Tiger Saber Technique at the level of full mastery was
astonishing. Each stroke he made was one step earlier than either of theirs,
slashing towards vital areas and thus forcing them to be on the defensive.

In the short span of a few breaths, he had continuously executed Tiger Might
seventeen times!

"CHI CHI CHI CHI!"

Shouts and yells rang out back and forth across the entire yard.
Unexpectedly, the combined might of both brothers was merely enough to
reach a draw against Lu Sheng!

Never once did they have a chance to execute their saber strokes to the full;
each time they were halfway in motion, they would be forced to retreat in
defense.

The intense battle carried on for the duration of half a joss stick. Lin
Shuanghuo had run out of patience. Exploiting an opportunity while his
younger brother hung on temporarily, he took a step back, took out a paper
sachet from his chest and hurled it towards Lu Sheng’s face.

"Just die!!!"

"Poof!"

The paper sachet was hacked into pieces by Lu Sheng’s saber, scattering
large amounts of ash within.

Shocked, Lu Sheng quickly shut his eyes tightly.

Without time for further thoughts, he executed the final Tiger Roar madly.
"ROAR!!!"

Yet another tiger’s roar rang out.

"DANG, DANG!"

This time, Lu Sheng’s long saber could no longer avoid the two broad sabers,
colliding head-on against them.

"KA-CHA!"

The long saber broke apart, its blade spinning to the side before stabbing into
the ground.

However, as it was the most powerful move of Black Tiger Saber Technique,
the strength and speed of Tiger Roar was not to be taken lightly.

The broad sabers, too, were shaken in Lin Hongshui and his brother’s hands
as they loosened their grip.

"Now let’s see what you’ll block our attacks with! Go and die!! Hahaha!"

Lin Shuanghuo laughed manically. A saber warrior without his saber was
essentially a lamb ready to slaughter. The gap in strength was extremely
wide.

He was about to tighten the grip on his saber to finish Lu Sheng off.

"BOOM BOOM!"

Just then, two low and deep palm strike sounds rang out.

Lin Shuanghuo’s eyes opened only to see Lu Sheng close by all of a sudden.
Both his palms slammed into his younger brother Lin Hongshui’s chest one
after another, lightning-quick.

The broad saber in Lin Hongshui’s hand dropped to the ground with a clang.

He fell two steps backwards in disbelief, clutching his chest and unable to
speak.

"Big… Big Bro… get…out!"

"PUUUU!"

Lin Hongshui spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed backwards.

At this moment, Lu Sheng had already entered a strange state of maniacal
frenzy.

After killing Lin Hongshui, he charged towards Lin Shuanghuo in a flash

using Heart-Shattering Palm’s movement steps.

As if he had just awoken from a dream, Lin Shuanghuo roared in rage,

intending to block his advance with his saber.

But he was too late.

His younger brother’s death had left him stunned for an instant. Just that
moment’s delay was sufficient for Lu Sheng to come too close for his
comfort.

"BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!!!"

With a series of three palm strikes, Lu Sheng’s palms struck Lin Shuanghuo
in his chest and abdomen thrice like a streak of lightning.

The Heart-Shattering Palm’s signature penetrative force went through the

skin and muscles and straight to the organs.

Lin Shuanghuo’s face turned beetroot red. He retreated several steps, then
collapsed onto his knees.

He glared at Lu Sheng unyieldingly and opened his mouth to speak.

However, blood kept gushing out of his mouth, stopping his words as he
choked.

"PUUUU!!!"

Lin Shuanghuo collapsed stiffly forward. No sound was heard from him
again.

Lu Sheng chuckled twice to himself.

‘Two Strength-Proficiency experts… probably they’re Phantom Head Blade

and Severed Head Blade that Uncle Zhao had hunted when he was young. To
think that they’d die in my hands today…’

Staring at the four corpses on the ground, his heart was momentarily washed
over by a wave of ecstasy as Qi and blood surged all over within him.

‘Could it be that this is the level of Intent-Proficiency that Uncle Zhao

mentioned? As well as the martial arts intent that Master Zhang Xun advised
me about previously?’
If Strength-Proficiency was the level of controlling and harnessing the entire
body’s force and strength, then Intent-Proficiency was the use of sight, intent,
sound and other means to attack the enemy on multiple fronts.

At the same time, the Intent-Proficiency level gave one a stronger command
of one’s own physical force than the Strength-Proficiency level.

After all, how could the muscles in the human body be so easy to thoroughly
master?

Lu Sheng remembered that someone on Earth had once researched and

discovered that if the strength of all the body’s muscles was gathered in one
place, it would enable even an ordinary adult’s strike to attain the horrifying
force of several metric-tons.

Theoretically, that was the limit.

But the human skeletal system simply does not allow one to employ force of
such magnitude.

So, it was just a theory.

But even then, Intent-Proficiency probably developed one’s muscles to a

level incredibly close to that.
Lu Sheng stood in the yard and stepped forward to search the Lin brothers’
pouches and clothes.

From their waist pouches, he fished out a stack of silver notes – each worth a
hundred talents. He swiftly stuffed them into his own waist pouch without
bothering to count them.

Then, he obtained a worn black booklet, made of some unknown leather. The
booklet was kept by Lin Shuanghuo close to his body and so was clearly very
significant.

Lu Sheng left the rest of the mess untouched and rested quietly in the yard as
he waited for Lu Manor’s men to arrive.

Actually, he too had suffered a few injuries from the battle with the two
Strength-Proficiency experts.

Lin Shuanghuo and Lin Hongshui were both born with the natural gift of
strength. Moreover, the Wind-Rippling Saber Technique increased that
advantage of theirs, greatly amplifying the force behind their saber moves.

In that last head-on collision, the muscles in Lu Sheng’s right arm had also
been concussed. His heels were also suffering from a dull ache – probably an
injury incurred by his high-intensity explosion of power.

Not to mention the throbbing pain coming from both his shoulders, caused by
his continuous series of outbursts within a short period of time as well as
saberplay at full strength. Add to that the final collision—perhaps he had
injured his bones as well.

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"Ah… my body is still too weak… just a few months’ cultivation is far from
enough." Now that Lu Sheng stopped moving, his entire body was instantly
attacked by pain.

Thankfully, Jade Crane Skill continuously circulated inner Qi by spreading

out an enormous amount of silk-like threads, akin to weaving a spiderweb, to
all sore parts of his body.

As the inner Qi continued to grow and nourish his body, faint sense of a
numbing itch began to cover the parts that originally hurt.

‘The effects are indeed shocking. This kind of numbing itch should appear
only when a wound is healing and growing new flesh,’ Lu Sheng speculated.
Glancing over at the corpses on the floor, he walked through the gap in the
wall Lin Shuanghuo had appeared from earlier.

On the other side of the gap was a backyard belonging to another family.

Upon entering the backyard, Lu Sheng’s gaze swept over the footprints that
lay on the ground. Following the footprints, he walked along towards the
interior of this other family’s house.

As he entered the house, Lu Sheng was struck dumb as he saw the sight
before him.

What greeted him was the sight of Lu Qinging hanging from the house
beams, wearing nothing but a smattering of white-colored inner garments.

The lass had fainted. More than half of her inner pants was stripped off,
revealing delicate and soft snowy-white buttocks. Her legs were tied apart
from the other, causing both her legs to spread out wide in a humiliating
posture.

If not for a strip of cloth obscuring it, one could almost get a view of the most
crucial part.
As for her upper body, a large part of it was also exposed. Only a slight piece
of cloth covered the center of her chest.

From the look of things, if Lu Sheng had arrived any later, Lin Shuanghuo
would have certainly finished her off.

"Thankfully… thankfully…"

Lu Sheng hastily approached and removed his outer coat to wrap Lu

Qingqing with it before putting her down.

No one else could know of this incident. Otherwise, Lu Qingqing’s reputation

would go down the drain.

Lu Sheng decided to keep the fact that Lu Qingqing was held captive a secret.

In this generation, if people got wind of such incident happening to a woman,

who would dare say for sure whether or not Lu Qingqing had been taken
advantage of?

A woman’s purity was of extreme importance in the current times.

In some families, women who lost their purity before marriage would even be
locked in pig cages and drowned!
With Lu Qingqing in his arms, Lu Sheng lightly slapped the girl’s face a few
times.

If inner Qi could be freely controlled, then perhaps, just like the inner force
that he had once heard of, he would be able to send some of it into others’
bodies to help them in healing.

It was a pity that his Jade Crane Skill inner force could not be moved outside
his body in the slightest.

Only after slapping her over and over again did Lu Qingqing gradually and
weakly regain some consciousness.

Having just awoken, both her eyes were dazed as she stared blankly.

Only when she felt chilly all over her body did she suddenly remember that
she had been defeated and then tied up by those thugs.

Her current, odd situation caused her body to quiver all over. When she had
come to, she stared at Lu Sheng, the rims of her eyes fast turning red…

Tears welled up in her eyes and threatened to flow out at any moment.
"Hurry and get dressed! Our family’s men will be here any minute," Lu
Sheng hurried her up. Uncle Zhao and the rest should be able to find their
way here very quickly.

Actually, only a very short amount of time passed since he entered and then
dueled with the Phantom Head brothers. And precisely because of that Lu
Qingqing was left with just enough buffer time.

Lu Qingqing’s face flickered and seemed to quickly understand something.

She was no fool, and understood what her Big Bro was trying to say.

Hearing that there was still some hope to redeem the situation, she hurriedly
straightened her limp body. She went around all over the house to gather her
torn clothes, though she wasn't able to wear them all as some of them were
rather damaged.

Some of her intimate parts were revealed as she put on her clothes, though
she could not be bothered to care too much about that now.

Being sensitive and considerate, Lu Sheng turned around to back-face her.

He waited for Lu Qingqing to finish dressing herself before turning around

again.
Seeing how considerate her Big Bro was, Lu Qingqing heaved a long sigh of
relief. While her face was still slightly flushed, it was better than before.

"Big Bro, what about those thugs!?" A vengeful look appeared on her face.

"I killed them," Lu Sheng said calmly. "What about Little Eight? I didn't see
him."

"I’m not sure… I didn't see Little Eight here."

Lu Qingqing had just answered, when suddenly, she seemed to collect her
wits. In an instant, she was dumbfounded.

So many people, so many experts—and yet her Big Bro killed them all by
himself?

She was rather doubtful.

In her impression, the image of Lu Sheng was always the refined, scholarly
young master. Although he had started practicing martial arts recently, those
men were highly skilled; even her Master might not be able to deal with them
on his own…
‘How could Big Bro have done it by himself…?’

"We’ll look for Little Eight on the way back. You've finished packing? Later,
we’ll say that both of us worked together to kill those men, got it? You were
fighting head to head with their disciples when I arrived," Lu Sheng was
preparing their oral testimony.

"Mm!"

Lu Qingqing knew the grave severity of the situation. Without asking further,
she nodded her head seriously.

But as soon as she thought about how Big Bro must have seen her practically
naked body, a strange sense of shame and humiliation rose up in her heart.

It felt as if she might as well be naked whenever she stood in front of Big
Bro.

Thinking of that, her face once again flushed red. She quickly lowered her
head to hide it.

Lu Sheng once again tried to tidy up the last traces of them in the house and
kept the rope that was used to tie her earlier.
Halfway through, Uncle Zhao and the rest finally arrived.

The sound of hurried footsteps belonging to a group of people rushing into

the next-door backyard could be heard.

Then, a cry of alarm rang out.

"It’s the Lin brothers, Severed Head Blade and Phantom Head Blade!" A
slightly older guard’s voice sounded out loudly. The crowd got into a frenzy
before quieting down for a moment.

Uncle Zhao’s voice rang out next, "Let’s find Young Master and Second
Miss!"

"We’re alright!"

Lu Sheng, with Lu Qingqing in tow, returned to the earlier yard.

Uncle Zhao, dressed in black athletic robes and holding a twin-saber in his
hand, was standing in the middle of the yard.

As for the other guards, they all split up to investigate the corpses and leads
at the scene.
"Brother Sheng! Good thing you’re alright!" A look of relief appeared in
Uncle Zhao’s eyes, and his originally stiff and severe manner immediately
relaxed.

"This is not a good place to talk, let’s get back first."

After speaking, he looked at Lu Qingqing who was following behind, his

eyes seemingly in thought. Although both their disguises could fool most
people, it did not fool a seasoned player of the pugilistic world like him.

Lu Sheng nodded, knowing that someone from the Manor had already
notified the authorities. Both of them led Lu Qingqing and the group of
guards out and hailed a horse carriage.

The three of them sat in the carriage, while the rest either rode horses or ran
back as they sped back the way they came. There were also a few people left
in the yard who were responsible for communicating with the authorities
from the yamen.

The three headed straight back to the Manor.

Then, they shut the main doors tightly.

Lu Quanan, Second Mother and the rest of the family members were already
waiting within the Main Hall.

Lu Qingqing was brought there after she changed her clothes.

Lu Sheng did not follow along. He relayed the entire incident in detail to
Uncle Zhao; only, it was a modified version, in which Lu Qingqing had been
embroiled in a fight to the death with the enemy’s disciples when Lu Sheng
arrived.

Thereafter, using his injuries as an excuse, he returned to rest.

The physician from the pharmacy also came by to check his wounds.

Torn muscles in many areas, some slight hairline fractures, and even a bit of
internal bleeding. Shoulder blades were slightly dislocated, and so on and so
forth.

Lu Sheng really detested these bothersome checks done by different groups

going on and on. A very simple matter took half a day to settle.

After washing up, a teary-eyed Little Qiao helped him out of his outer coat
and onto the bed to rest.

After the physician left, Lu Sheng once again felt that his injuries had
recovered by quite a bit since their return. His spirit was full of vigor as blood
pulsed through this veins; his body showed no signs of having experienced a
great battle.

At the peak of Jade Crane Skill, the power to recover from wounds was
indeed highly powerful and effective.

Lying on his bed, Lu Sheng rubbed his tummy, filled with the bowl of
ginseng chicken soup he had drunk earlier. His whole body felt warm and
fuzzy; it was extremely comfortable.

‘This trip has been a false scare. Little did I expect that although Second Sis
had gotten herself into trouble, it was not with any demons, devils, ghosts or
monsters, but two fugitive murderers from many years back instead.’

Initially, he was a bundle of nerves because he had previously run into

strange occurrences along that street.

Therefore, he’d proceeded with much caution.

Little had he known that the source of harm was not the supernatural, but
men…

He lay on his bed, running through the memories of the day’s duel in detail.
‘From beginning to end, my strokes could probably have been cleaner and
more direct. If I used the numbing effect produced by the sound of the tiger’s
roar in Black Tiger Saber more flexibly, then perhaps I could even have
avoided that forceful head-on collision with the two of them.’

His brow furrowed as he began to reflect.

‘It’s truly challenging to face a physically stronger opponent. As a saber

warrior, strength shouldn’t be my weak spot. Maybe I’ll need to find and
train in some external force martial arts techniques to improve my strength.’

He had not attempted any of those external force martial arts that trained hard
skills yet. How would those skills turn out after being modified by the
Modifier?

***

The Lu Manor Main Hall.

Lu Quanan sat in the host’s seat, his face somber as he glared at Lu Qingqing
below.

Next to him were seated Second Mother, Third Mother, and the rest. The
whole family was gathered here to enquire into the details of the matter.

Lu Qingqing and Uncle Zhao stood below, a few other guards being present
as well.

"…the situation roughly happened like that," Uncle Zhao added some
finishing touches to the version provided by Lu Sheng and relayed it for
everyone present to hear.

"As for the people from the yamen, I’ve already liaised with them. This case
was to the credit of Brother Sheng, no one can snatch that away," when he
said this, Uncle Zhao immediately broke into a light smile. "Brother Sheng
likes to train martial arts, but little did I expect that he would actually be able
to kill Severed Head Blade and Phantom Head Blade! Clearly, his prowess is
extraordinary. He is gifted above others, a late bloomer!"

"With regards to Little Sheng, I’m very satisfied and very reassured."

Lu Quanan’s face softened a little. Because of Lu Sheng, this capable son of

his, his initial anger had soothed quite a bit.

Right now, he looked again at Lu Qingqing.

"Little Qing, you take a look at your Big Brother, and then take a look at
yourself. Other than creating trouble for your family and your older brother,
can’t you do something useful for the family?" Lu Quanan’s voice was harsh.
"I sent you to train martial arts, not to come back and kick up a ruckus!"

"Dad… I know my mistake," Lu Qingqing felt deeply regretful. If not for Big
Bro who had arrived in the nick of time, then her whole life might have gone
down the drain due to this incident.

"You know your mistake? When have you not said that? And then? It’s
always the same thing!" Lu Quanan grew angrier the more he talked.

"After you've recovered from your injuries, I’ll find a family to marry you out
and give birth to a son, that’ll finally ground you."

"NO!"

Once Lu Qingqing heard about being married off, she instantly reacted like a
cat whose tail was stepped on, almost jumping out of her seat.

"I don't want to marry! No! Dad, I know my mistake now. In the future, I’ll
definitely help with the family matters! I won’t cause trouble! You rest
assured! Really! This time round it’s for real!"

Lu Quanan ignored her, instead looking towards the physician who had just
entered from the side.

"How are Little Sheng’s injuries?"

This physician was actually a distant relative of the Lu family, except that he
was in a different line of work. After the Lu Manor thrived, they were all
gathered together.

"It’s alright, just some skin-deep abrasions. He needs to rest for about ten
days to half a month and he’ll be fine," the physician hurriedly replied.

"That's a relief. I’ll ask him again at that time whether he still wants to head
to Mountain Edge City to learn martial arts."

At that thought, Lu Quanan grew a little apprehensive.

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"Brother Sheng has been practicing martial arts in secret by himself since
young. So, his body’s rather tough. Family head, you need not worry."

Uncle Zhao said with a smile.

"At first, even I hadn’t expected that Brother Sheng would be that powerful.
Those two were, after all, both experts whom I had tried but failed to arrest in
my younger days. To think that, after all these years, they would fall into
Brother Sheng’s hands."

He had seen their wounds. Both had died under Heart-Shattering Palm.

However, he had no idea when Brother Sheng had mastered Heart-Shattering

Palm; neither could he tell the extent of the skill behind those palm strikes.

After all, the mastery of this skill could not be told just from looking at the
surface.

"That’s for the best," Lu Quanan nodded. "Everything’s fine. Back to normal.
Let him get some rest and carry on with the plan to go learn martial arts in
Mountain Edge City."

"Looking at Little Sheng’s moves, I’m sure he must be extremely passionate

about martial arts. Otherwise, there’s no way that he would become so well-
trained. So, I’m certain Little Sheng will be glad to hear that," Second Mother
replied gently.

"Alright, alright. This was a false alarm. Everybody, go back to business.

Little Qing will go back to reflect on herself. Stop wandering outside during
this period. Just stay home!" Lu Quanan gave the confinement order.

"Ok…" Lu Qingqing too was scared out of her wits this time. Had her big
brother come later by a minute, she would have been finished.

She needed time to recover emotionally as well.

***

News of Lu Qingqing’s matter quickly spread throughout the entire Lu

Manor like wildfire, spreading even to the other families in Nine Links City.

And, so did Lu Sheng’s reputation as a martial arts fanatic.

These years, few knew of Phantom Head Blade brothers. Still, everyone
learned of how Lu Sheng had arrested a few powerful fugitives with his sister
and supposedly killed more than a few men.

Once this got out, Lu Sheng turned famous overnight.

Everyone in the manor started to look at Lu Sheng differently.

He was someone who had taken the lives of powerful fugitives!

Each time Lu Sheng was spotted, everyone feared him.

After all, which fugitive who managed to resist capture for years didn’t have
some tricks up his sleeves?

"That’s very normal," Lu Qingqing sat in Lu Sheng’s room, swinging both

her legs back and forth and chewing on an apple in her hand.

Because of how she had nearly lost her modesty previously, she now no
longer headed out every day.

She got used to hanging out in Lu Sheng’s room instead, attempting to

persuade him to investigate the Xu family tragic case with her.

"Now in Lu Manor, apart from you, Big Bro, and a few martial arts masters
like Uncle Zhao, those among the guards who have seen blood before are
pathetically few in number. That’s how the servants used to look at me too,"
she seemed to have grown used to it. "Speaking of which, if master and
seniors knew that I had such a powerful big bro like you, I wonder what kind
of expression they’d have… it’s fun even just imagining their faces!"

Lu Qingqing laughed.
Gripping a brush, Lu Sheng was composedly practicing calligraphy.

"Brother Xu’s case should and must be investigated! It’s just not the right
time yet," he said somberly.

"Brother Xu… died such a terrible death!" Lu Qingqing’s eyes began to

redden as she thought about that.

"Don’t worry. One day I’ll get to the bottom of this," Lu Sheng put his brush
down and looked at the giant word sprawled across the paper: "endure".

The match against two Strength Proficiency experts this time gave him some
awareness of where his limits lay.

Every single Strength Proficiency expert was someone not to be trifled with,
possessing their own exclusive trademark skill. Needless to say, they were
much more powerful than the average martial arts trainees.

Although he had attained full mastery of both Black Tiger Saber Technique
and Heart-Shattering Palm with the help of the Modifier, it wasn’t a simple
matter of one plus one equals two for him to face off against two opponents
at once.
When two Strength Proficiency experts teamed up, their combined might was
more than the sum of its parts. One must realize that it took twice as much
energy to deal with them as when fighting against one.

If there was just one more Strength Proficiency expert who coordinated well
with Lin Brothers, then he would have met his end there and then.

Lu Sheng pondered that.

Although he did win this time, it was a narrow victory. In the end, even his
saber had been broken and he had ended up with numerous wounds riddling
his body.

‘I guess I’m still too weak… In the Xu family tragic case, just the number of
Strength Proficiency protectors amounted to four! Add to that the countless
housemen and servants... to slaughter all of them without a sound within the
span of a single night… that kind of power… just thinking of it gives me the
chills.’

Once this thought surfaced, Lu Sheng felt that his own preparations were far,
far too inadequate.

He needed stronger power, stronger martial arts!

"Big Bro, what’s on your mind? How about going shopping with me?"

Lu Qingqing waved her hand in front of Lu Sheng’s face, anticipation shining

in her eyes.

Ever since she was saved, she had become another person before Lu Sheng.
Her temper had mellowed significantly, becoming gentler and more feminine.

"Qingqing, do you know of inner force?"

Lu Sheng responded with a question instead of answering her.

"Inner force… I’ve heard master mention it," Lu Qingqing nodded. "Inner
force experts are different from us outer force practitioners. Their training is
gradual and takes a long time. Normally, without three to five years of
cultivation, they’re no different from an average person. Why do you ask, Big
Bro?"

"Your master… does he know any inner force experts?" Since he was unable
to locate Duanmu Wan, Lu Sheng intended to look for a breakthrough
through Lu Qingqing.

"Well, he does know a few. Master has two good friends—both priests who
cultivate life-force Qi skills," Lu Qingqing replied.
"Life-force Qi skills… are there those inner force experts with legitimate
fighting skills?"

"That… I’ve never heard of any."

Lu Qingqing’s reply left Lu Sheng disappointed. But it was also to be

expected.

Even the mysterious Duanmu Wan could produce no more than a few life-
force Qi skills. Lu Qingqing’s master was merely an outer force expert with a
bit of fame. The odds of him knowing inner force experts were slim.

"Why? Big Bro’s thinking of training inner force? I heard that stuff’s very
iffy and time-consuming… the training process is fraught with risks and it’s
not even very powerful. How can it be faster to attain or stronger in battle
than outer force training? What’s the point?" Lu Qingqing could not
understand.

"I have my plans."

Lu Sheng began to form calculations in his mind.

Mountain Edge City. He did truly intend to go there, but with this matter
arising, it really wasn’t a good time for him to leave Nine Links City—
especially considering the great distance between the two cities.

His family in this present life has been very good to him; his old dad, second
mum, Uncle Zhao and the others all treated him very well.

He would hate it if something were to happen to them while he was away.

Moreover, in this time and age, if something really did happen, where could
he hide and find refuge all by himself?

Lu Sheng also sensed that his old dad Lu Quanan was dispatching him to
Mountain Edge City to draw him away from a certain something.

"A storm is coming…" he heaved a long sigh. Looking at his naïve Second
Sister Lu Qingqing, his heart suddenly felt heavy.

‘If I really leave, perhaps I can hide from danger for a moment. But I can’t
always be hiding. At the end of the day, I’ve still got to face it. I should
quickly grow while the conditions at home are good and there’s no lack of
money. Until I have the strength to protect myself—that’s the right path.’

Road to Mountain Edge City was really too long. Lu Sheng already had other
plans.
Inner-plus-outer training—integrating inner force and outer force—that was
the best direction towards great power which came to his mind now.

Suddenly, he recalled the secret manual that he had burnt a hole in his pocket
to obtain—the incomplete Black Fury Skill.

‘Although it’s incomplete, it’s the only manual I have in my hands right now.
To heck with it.’

Listening to Lu Qingqing’s incessant chatter beside him about the interesting

trivia from her days as her master’s disciple, Lu Sheng began recalling Black
Fury Skill’s force movement routes silently.

He had previously spent quite a period of time practicing Black Fury Skill
and so remembered the Level One Initiation mantra.

Seeing that Lu Sheng was distracted, Lu Qingqing left in disappointment

after going on for a while.

Little Qiao entered after that to bring Lu Sheng a pail of water to wash his
face. Then, she served him his medicine.

Lu Sheng did not say a word at that time. He kept his focus entirely on Black
Fury Skill’s intent routes while performing those tasks.

A guess formed in his mind. The reason why it was so difficult to learn Black
Fury Skill could have been because, like Jade Crane Skill, there was
supposed to have been an initial Qi movement diagram added to it.

Jade Crane Skill’s Qi movement diagram was an immortal crane with its
wings stretched out, about to fly.

Perhaps Black Fury Skill had something like that too, just that it wasn’t in the
manual.

‘That diagram’s like an overview, coordinating the entire body’s inner Qi

movement routes.’

Too bad he had too few materials on inner force with him and was thus
unable to conduct a systematic research and come up with any reasoned
theories.

His only option was to just remain focused on practicing Black Fury Skill
while nursing his wounds.

In the blink of an eye, several days had passed again.

Yet another strange incident occurred in Nine Links City.

Somebody had discovered a child’s graffiti on the perimeter wall of a side

yard on the city’s outskirts.

The graffiti looked like it was drawn with charcoal. Some people kept watch
over the wall to see whose kid was so mischievous.

Unexpectedly, within a night, more graffiti was mysteriously added to the

perimeter wall, undetected by anyone. However, not a single soul had been
spotted.

The Xu family massacre, the Wang Villa well incident, the missing hunters…
and now this mysterious graffiti on the wall.

This series of incidents had everyone in Nine Links City like cats on hot
bricks.

Someone even reported that he heard a blood-curdling scream from outside

the city. He mustered up his courage and ventured out to take a look, only to
see signs of a fight between ferocious beasts and traces of blood left on the
ground.

However, the prefectural yamen announced the order to cancel the request for
assistance.

One morning, Lu Quanan had been summoned to the prefectural yamen with
the same three family heads as usual.

When he came back, his face looked foul.

Lu Sheng inquired about it but he kept silent, remarking only that there was a
conflict with the Prefect which made everyone unhappy.

Thereafter, Lu Quanan made contact with Lu Sheng’s uncle, Lu Anping—the

deputy commander of the garrison.

In all these years, the reason why the Lu family had been able to hold their
own was not only thanks to Lu Quanan alone. Eldest Uncle Lu Anping was
also a strong pillar that held up the family.

Both of them conversed in the study behind closed doors for a long time
before finally emerging from inside.

Then, someone spotted the eldest uncle leaving Lu Manor hurriedly.

Although he resting and cultivating in his own room, Lu Sheng was

continuously observing the situation in the prefectural yamen through Lu
Qingqing and Little Qiao. Not to mention, second mother, fifth mother, Lu
Yingying, Uncle Zhao… and all others would visit him very now and then.

At this moment, all of Nine Links City apart from the Lu Manor gave Lu
Sheng a sense of living with a sword of Damocles hanging over his head.

Just then, Uncle Zhao sent someone over, saying that Little Eight’s
whereabouts had been discovered. He had fainted in one of the houses along
that street. By the time he was found, he had been starved to a bag of skin and
bones.

"Little Eight? Did he say what happened to him? Why was he left alone in
that house?" Lu Sheng asked.

The one who came to pass on the message was a guard under Uncle Zhao’s
command; he shook his head.

"He didn’t say much. He just kept repeating that he rushed over that day as
fast as he could. But not long after entering that street, he suddenly fainted.
When he came to, he saw us."

Lu Sheng frowned. "Is that true?"

"True. Uncle Zhao has already confirmed that other sources corroborated
with his testimony. It was indeed as Little Eight said."

"Then that’s strange…"

Lu Sheng shook his head.

"You may leave first."

"Yes." The guard left swiftly.

In the courtyard in front of his room, Lu Sheng paced around.

His wounds had long since more or less recovered. Now, he was just
practicing Black Fury Skill, awaiting the moment he would be able to sense
Qi.

As long as a thread of Qi was sensed by him, he would rapidly upgrade the

inner force skill. He was bent on truly making Black Fury Skill a part of his
strength.

Just then, Lu Quanan hurriedly entered the yard with two housemen trailing
after him.

"Sheng’er, you’ve rested quite a while. How about setting off today?"
Lu Quanan’s face was calm and serene. In his hand was a black silk bundle,
which was the money for the journey that he had prepared for Lu Sheng.

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"So quickly?"

Lu Sheng asked softly as he received the bag.

"Early bird gets the worm. In a while, things may get a little messy in the
city... but don’t worry, I’ve got everything arranged," Lu Quanan flashed a
reassuring smile at Lu Sheng.

Lu Sheng nodded and said nothing more. Taking Little Qiao along with him,
he packed some clothes and then left silently on a horse carriage via the side
gate.

Sitting in the carriage, Lu Sheng gazed at the Lu Manor shrinking in the

distance. For some reason, his heart felt heavy.

"Young Master, are we really going to Mountain Edge City? It’s so far.
When will we get to come back?" Little Qiao worried.

Lu Sheng smiled but did not reply.

The black carriage looked a little worn and was about the same as others on
the streets. There were no Lu Manor markings or signs on its body either.

As it left the city center and headed towards the main city gate, the carriage
was even intercepted and questioned several times by the patrolling guards.

Lu Sheng parted the curtain slightly and saw that squads of city guards were
leading many last-minute farmer conscripts to patrol the streets.

His gaze swept past a pointy building which the carriage passed.

"PAH!"

Suddenly, Lu Sheng slapped his palm.

The horse carriage immediately turned left and entered a relatively narrow
alley. Consequently, the carriage slowed down considerably and quickly
came to a stop.

Lu Sheng took Little Qiao by the hand, lifted the carriage curtains and
alighted.

"Brother Sheng, I’ve been waiting for you for a long time now."

Zheng Xiangui’s chubby face appeared in sight before the two of them.

"Ai!?"

Little Qiao was instantly surprised.

"Let’s go. Here’s not the place to talk. I’ve already prepared the location that
you need," Zheng Xiangui whispered.

The carriage again slowly moved out of the alley.

However, it was empty this time. Lu Sheng and Little Qiao boarded another
carriage in the alley and slowly headed out of the city.

Once they were out of the city, they neared a messy rocky mountain a few
miles’ distance away from Black Winds Ridge.

There was a small patch of green forest there, the sound of a brook coming
from within.
The carriage paused in front of the forest.

Zheng Xiangui alighted from the carriage first and surveyed the
surroundings.

"This is the place—a secret hideout I established using some money in the
past. It’s yours to use for the time being."

Lu Sheng led Little Qiao off the carriage. "Thanks, Fatso."

"We’re brothers, why mention it?" Zheng Xiangui replied earnestly. "The
surroundings here aren’t populated. The nearest inhabited place from here is
one of my Zheng Family’s villas. I’ve made arrangements for some food to
be delivered here into the forest everyday, just outside the hut. You can pick
it up yourselves."

Lu Sheng nodded.

Zheng Xiangui then said, "You better be careful. This place isn’t far from the
Black Winds Ridge. Although the main path is guarded by soldiers and won’t
be much of a problem, wild wolves and some stray animals occasionally
come by."
"Don’t worry. Remember to inform me of any news from within the city.
You can send them over along with the food," Lu Sheng reminded.

"Got it."

The three of them entered the forest. Several meters into it, a brook came into
their sight, flowing along the wall of the mountain like a silver ribbon. Clear
as crystal, it formed a beautiful stream among the bushes and rocks in the
forest.

The forest teemed with chirping of various species of birds. The trees and
grass here were pristine, unmarked by any human activity.

Lu Sheng strode across the brook and saw an intricate wooden hut deep
within the forest, near the wall of the mountain. It was made of white logs,
stacked atop one another like building blocks, forming a minimalistic, white
wooden hut. There was even a small garden path on its side.

"This is as far as I’ll see you guys off," Zheng Xiangui said softly.

He had brought two personal bodyguards with him who were trained from
their childhood and were absolutely loyal to him. So, he wasn’t concerned
with the risk of them revealing any information.
"You’ve worked hard this time. Carry on and go back," Lu Sheng nodded.

Zheng Xiangui left swiftly with his company.

Lu Sheng then began to instruct Little Qiao to clean up the hut.

The hut was stocked with grain and dried meat, as well as some fresh fruits
and vegetables, which were clearly just brought over.

"Young Master, don’t tell me we are going to stay here? Aren’t we going to
Mountain Edge City anymore?"

Little Qiao remained puzzled.

"We’re still going, but that’s in the future. We’ll stay here for the time
being," Lu Sheng casually replied.

The two of them cleaned up the house, which took them until the sky was
almost turning dark.

Little Qiao lit an oil lamp.

In the pitch-black night, the yellow glow of the lamp cast a dim, lonely light
on the interior of the hut.
Lu Sheng stood in the courtyard, looking up into the skies.

The sky was a patch of darkness. Even the moon and the stars had been
covered by clouds and not a trace of light could be seen.

The oil lamp in the hut emitted a faint yellow glow, casting some light into
the courtyard, making it the brightest spot in the entire forest.

Lu Sheng stood in the yard and gazed outwards through the fence.

The forest was a patch of pitch-black darkness. Every now and then, some
unknown sound would arise, and something would move past in a flash.

Lu Sheng held onto the saber hanging on his waist with a backhand grip.

Zheng Xiangui wanted to arrange some guards for him, but he turned him
down. The less people knew that he was staying here, the better.

Looking at the trees shrouded in pitch darkness outside the courtyard, Lu

Sheng closed the wooden yard gate and turned to do the same for the hut’s
windows.

The windows were dual-layered. The inner layer was a sheet of paper, while
the outer was a layer of solid, hard wood that blocked things from passing
through.

Lu Sheng shut the outer wooden layer, making the light from within the hut
visible only through tiny gaps in the windows.

He pushed the door open and entered the hut.

Little Qiao was laying the bed.

There was only one bed in the hut, laden with wooden planks and dried
leaves, then a straw mat and finally a cotton mattress atop it.

"Young Master..."

Little Qiao’s eyes were watery and her cheeks blushed.

"If you would like to rest now, let Little Qiao warm your bed for you."

"…" Lu Sheng was speechless for a moment. "There’s still a small bed in the
back. Just go sleep on your own."

Little Qiao looked no different from a young girl twelve or thirteen years-old,
which made him feel sinful.
"Alright…" Little Qiao’s face immediately burned with shame.

Out in the wild, with no one else but the Young Master and herself cramped
into such a small hut, there was no avoiding each other when it came to
changing clothes, bathing and so on. If something did happen, it would be
very normal.

A pity that Young Master didn’t harbor such thoughts yet.

After each of them washed separately, Little Qiao went to bed first under Lu
Sheng’s urging.

The so-called small bed was basically a bed within the same wooden hut,
separated by just a layer of wooden planks. Only a wooden wall the width of
a palm separated the big and small beds, in the middle of which was a small
door covered with curtains that separated them.

It only took a single thought for anything to happen.

But Lu Sheng’s thoughts were not there.

He slept early after gathering his focus to practice Black Fury Skill for a
while.
Early in the morning on the second day, Little Qiao went out to pick up the
meal box delivered to the gate of the courtyard.

After breakfast, Lu Sheng practiced a set of Heart-Shattering Palm moves,

then carried on to practice Black Fury Skill.

Apart from Little Qiao strolling around in the yard occasionally, the entire
morning was a picture of serenity. Lu Sheng spent it completely focused on
practicing Black Fury Skill.

After lunch, it was Black Tiger Saber.

Before dusk, Lu Sheng read the note stuffed into the meal box, finding out
that there was no special news. Then, he went to bed early, not forgetting to
practice Black Fury Skill for over four more hours before sleeping.

The cycle repeated itself.

Just like that, Lu Sheng and Little Qiao dwelled in the forest for half a month.

But, there was no hint or trace of Lu Sheng progressing in Black Fury Skill.

According to the records in the manual and practical martial arts knowledge,
a normal person would have given up after half a month without sensing the
skill’s Qi, or Qi sense for short.

After all, when an inner force skill was suitable for one to cultivate, it only
took several days to generate Qi sense.

But Lu Sheng understood that Black Fury Skill was a lost inner force skill
whose overview diagram was missing. Duanmu Wan had mentioned that
initially as well.

That’s why he persisted for such a long time. But, he didn’t expect that there
would still be no progress till now.

Then, just when Lu Sheng was about to give up, a trace of unusual Qi sense
finally emerged during the time when he was practicing Black Fury Skill.

***

The sky was dark and heavy.

Even at noon, a trace of cold permeated the air.

The forest was enshrouded in shadow, and even birds seemed to have lost
their strength, with only one, two chirps resounding every once in a while.
Wielding a long saber, Lu Sheng slowly rehearsed Eighty-Four Swallows
Pursuing the Wind Blade in the courtyard.

His speed was not fast as he was merely training the precision of his strikes.

On the surface, it seemed like he was practicing the saber. However, the truth
was that Lu Sheng attention remained mostly on Black Fury Skill.

"Slash, slash, slash!"

After slashing sideways with the saber thrice, Lu Sheng sheathed the saber
and was about to enter the hut for lunch as per usual.

Unexpectedly, however, as the final slash ran its course, a trickle of scorching
Qi flow flashed across his lower back between his kidneys before vanishing.

Lu Sheng froze in his tracks, carefully savoring the sensation.

Slowly, he activated Black Fury Skill, tracking its movement in his body.

Immediately, the scorching sensation flashed past, again at the spot between
his kidneys.
"This is… Qi sense!"

Lu Sheng was overwhelmed with joy.

After so many days of hard work, he was beginning to suspect whether Black
Fury Skill in his hands was really an authentic inner force skill.

Thankfully, his hard work paid off. The inner Qi generated inside his body
finally put to rest the heavy burden on his heart.

‘I’ve got to level it up quickly while the Qi sense remains!’

Without a further word, Lu Sheng struck while the iron was hot.

‘Deep Blue,’ Lu Sheng called out in his mind, and the blue frame of the
Modifier rapidly floated before his eyes.

He clicked on the Modification button and the square frame flashed once
quickly.

This time, the contents in the frame were indeed different than previously;
"Black Fury Skill" was now added to the bottom of his list of martial arts.

"Black Fury Skill: Uninitiated."

Despite their simplicity, these few words gave birth to irrepressible joy in Lu
Sheng’s heart.

Since he was presently unable to find a better method of leveling himself up,
Black Fury Skill almost became the last glimmer of hope that he clung onto.

Otherwise, he really was at a loss as to how he could deal with the unknown
mysteries and strange threats of the outside world.

‘Modify Black Fury Skill, upgrade one level!’

Lu Sheng had just expressed his intention when the "Uninitiated" status of
the Black Fury Skill jumped to "Initiated" without warning.

"BOOM!!!"

At almost the same time as Lu Sheng saw the change in status, his five
viscera and six bowels boiled without warning!

An immense heat wave emerged within his body out of thin air, gushing
tyrannically along more than ten of his meridians.

The heat wave scorched and boiled, like a stream of flame flowing within Lu
Sheng’s body!

He stood rooted to the ground, his face reddening and swelling rapidly. Even
the skin all over his body began turning as red as cooked prawn shells.

Massive volumes of sweat poured out from his pores, evaporating into white
steam and rising into the air.

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The heat wave came and left quickly.

After only several breaths, it had rapidly gone through several cycles within
Lu Sheng’s body, the latter gradually acclimatizing to it.

Although Lu Sheng’s body temperature remained high, it was no longer

boiling hot like before.

Jade Crane Skill’s inner Qi accelerated its operation within his body,
releasing massive amounts of threads of Qi on its own, repairing the damaged
meridians and organs.
Half a day passed.

Lu Sheng’s skin finally gradually reverted back to its original fairness.

"Phew…"

Even the breath that came out of his mouth was scorching hot.

Not a single part of his body was without pain. All the bones and muscles in
his body felt as if they were pierced with needles.

This was a completely different story than when he practiced Jade Crane
Skill. Presently, he felt like he had just been smashed all over his body by a
giant hammer.

‘Good thing Jade Crane Skill has stored up quite a big amount of inner Qi in
my body during this period… just what I need to recover.’

Feeling Jade Crane Skill at work within his body, automatically healing his
organs, he heaved a sigh of relief.

‘Never did I expect that just the Initiation level of Black Fury Skill would
have such tyrannical effects. When I reach higher levels later on, that force…
how strong would it be?’
He shuddered at the imagination.

"Little Qiao!" He shouted.

"Coming, Young Master!"

Little Qiao hurriedly ran over from the back, water dripping from her hands.
It looked like she was in the middle of washing something.

"Bring me some medicinal tea."

Lu Sheng instructed. He was now in pain all over and his body felt extremely
heaty, making him parched with thirst. [1]

Little Qiao quickly served the already concocted medicinal tea. In it were
many Yin-nourishing herbs, such as Jadeite Dendrobium, Southern Barbaric
Turtle Shell, Winter Gardenia Jasmine, Yin-Winter and other expensive herbs
unique to this world.

Gulping down a cup of medicinal tea in one mouthful, Lu Sheng immediately

felt a cooling sensation slide down his throat into his stomach and then
radiate across all areas of his body from his stomach.
The cooling sensation relieved him of the heatiness in his body.

Lu Sheng continued to gulp down the entire pitcher’s worth of tea. [2]

Only after he had chewed and swallowed all the herbs together with the tea
did he breathe comfortably, though he felt like having even more.

He lay down to rest on the bed for several hours before the sky turned dark.

Finally, the pain all over Lu Sheng’s body was gradually relieved.

Seeing that there was nothing out of the ordinary with Lu Sheng, Little Qiao
assumed that he simply felt thirsty, and did not pay extra attention. Picking
up the pitcher, she went out to carry on washing clothes by the brook.

Having rested for a while, Lu Sheng went out into the courtyard again with
his saber in the evening, intending to test out the might of Black Fury Skill.

The reaction induced by Black Fury Skill far surpassed that of Jade Crane
Skill. This especially piqued his curiosity. How powerful exactly was this
inner force skill?

His heart itching, Lu Sheng rose from bed to practice as soon as the pain
abated.

In the dimly lit forest.

Lu Sheng carried his saber and walked out of the courtyard. He went far
away from the hut, finding a deserted clearing.

Then, he began attempting to activate Black Fury Skill’s inner Qi.

Black Fury Skill’s inner Qi circulation was from both kidneys to his
abdomen, as if forming a belt around his waist. It was very strange.

At Initiation level, the inner Qi was already chopstick-thick.

Lu Sheng controlled it with his mind. Indeed, in contrast with Jade Crane
Skill, Lu Sheng could command and control it at his fingertips.

He tried drawing a strand of inner Qi from his abdomen upwards. Rapidly, it

flowed to his right shoulder, right arm, right palm and then finally the long
saber.

At the precise moment when the strand of inner Qi flowed into the saber
blade, Lu Sheng heard the faint sizzling of something burning.
With his arms boiling hot, an irrepressible frenzy gushed forth in his heart as
he swung his arms forward without warning.

"CHI!"

The long saber suddenly slashed outwards, landing a blow on a tree trunk
before Lu Sheng.

"SWISH, SWOOSH!!"

The huge tree, thick enough for a man to hug, trembled violently. Massive
amounts of leaves fell like rain. The saber in Lu Sheng’s hands was now
deeply etched into the trunk. At the same time, a faintly perceptible blackness
was spreading from the wound on the trunk.

‘It’s slightly black?’

Lu Sheng pulled out the saber forcibly, frowning as he touched the black
area.

‘Looks as if it’s been burnt by fire… is it high temperature? Or some other

effect?’

He thought for a while. Then, surveying his surroundings, he swiftly dashed

out, reaching for a bush and grabbing at something in it.

"CHI~~~~"

A multi-colored wild chicken was in his hand, caught by its neck. It had
hidden in the bush, thinking that Lu Sheng could not see it. But, in the end, it
was caught all the same.

‘Let’s give it a try… Let’s see if it’s really as I’m thinking it is.’

Lu Sheng carefully walked back to the trunk, then scraped some powder off
the edges of the wound with his finger.

The light black powder was collected in his palm. Then, he meticulously
shoved it down the wild chicken’s throat.

After it had consumed the powder, Lu Sheng waited for a moment as he

observed the wild chicken calling out madly, looking as if it was in malaise.

He again scraped some more powder and made the chicken eat it.

This time, the wild chicken was able to make only a few steps once Lu Sheng
released it, collapsing onto the ground.
Lu Sheng walked over and touched it. The wild chicken’s body was boiling
hot. It was still alive but devoid of any strength in its body, as if it were
having a high fever.

‘As I thought! It’s poison! And, it should be a fire-based poison.’

In his mind, Lu Sheng tentatively confirmed the Black Fury Skill’s

properties.

He took out the manual, which he carried everywhere with him, and looked
carefully over the details recorded within.

" ...Black Fury Skill, vicious and scorching. Extremely fiery and poisonous.
Without an opposing inner Qi to counteract and neutralize it, the victim will
die after three days."

Regarding the might of Black Fury Skill, there was only such a simple one-
liner recorded.

But, it was already sufficient for Lu Sheng to discern what Black Fury Skill
was all about.

Indeed, it was poison that he now wielded!

‘Amazing,’ Lu Sheng exclaimed in his mind.

This Black Fury Skill was truly a different kind altogether from life-force
skills like Jade Crane Skill. It was an inner force skill specially designed for
killing and combat!

The gap between their might was a wide chasm indeed!

Lu Sheng examined Black Fury Skill’s inner Qi within his body using his
senses.

The stroke earlier had consumed a small portion of his inner Qi. He
compared it with the total amount left.

‘At the level of Initiation, I should be able to hold it for ten strokes or so. Any
more than that and I’ll run out of inner Qi. Black Fury Skill’s inner Qi seems
to also possess the effect of increasing my explosive strength. It’s really too
useful!’

Having found out its effects, Lu Sheng turned back. This was only its power
at the Initiation level. If he waited till it was upgraded to the higher levels,
who knew how powerful it would get?

He was really anticipating it.

Back in the hut’s courtyard, he ran into two Zheng family guards who came
to deliver their meal.

Seeing Lu Sheng, both of them hurried over to greet him.

"Young Master Sheng, there’s been some happenings lately. It’s all in the
meal box. Please take a look at the news when you see fit."

Both of them delivered polite pleasantries and then quickly left the forest.

Lu Sheng took over the meal box at the entrance of the courtyard. Without
further ado, he opened the box. As expected, a letter sealed with wax was
placed in it.

Entering the courtyard, he handed over the meal box to Little Qiao, tore open
the envelope and retrieved the note within.

‘Brother Sheng, the Xu family tragic case from previously in the city has now
been cracked.

It was cracked by an expert hired by the yamen. He arrested a large gang of

people in the city without mercy, beheading more than ten of them this
afternoon at the entrance of the grocery market.’
Zheng Xiangui’s opening line caused Lu Sheng to be in a daze.

He read on.

It turned out that the series of incidents during this period had made everyone
like cats on hot bricks, even leading to a riot a few days ago. As a result,
many residents and peasants who lived in the city were escaping towards Zi
Hua City. The authorities even had to retain some of them by force.

Thereafter, in order appease public morale, the yamen arrested a few dozen
men in one go and declared them the culprits of the previous few cases. Only
then did the public calm down slightly.

After reading the note, the corners of Lu Sheng’s mouth turned upward in a
cold smile.

‘Looks like the yamen can’t take it anymore. Culprits? If the culprits were so
easy to arrest, they wouldn’t have to wait until now.I bet they’re just finding
people any way they like to make up the numbers.’

Fortunately, the note mentioned that nothing was going amiss at Lu Manor;
everything went on as usual.
Lu Chenxin and other young masters who were supposed to be playing
continued to play as usual, seemingly unaffected in the slightest.

Business for the brothels and entertainment places in the city boomed
recently, too. Clearly, it was because people needed an outlet for the immense
stress and fear they were under.

Lu Sheng inhaled deeply.

‘These methods can indeed stabilize the situation, but only temporarily. It’s at
best a stopgap measure. The case hasn’t really been cracked, and if a similar
case crops up again…’

He kept the note and collected his thoughts.

Facing the power of these supernatural elements, the present Lu Manor of

Nine Links City was just as powerless as normal commoners.

If those things really happened to them, it would be a foregone conclusion.

Therefore, his sole objective now was to upgrade himself as much as he

could to make himself stronger.

Only then could he have the strength to protect himself when facing off
against the supernatural in the future!

He did not know how strong he had to be in order to deal with that stuff.
Hence, he could only exhaust all means within his reach to maximize his
power.

After receiving the letter, Lu Sheng began consuming copious amounts of

expensive nourishing herbs which they had brought out.

Each day after his three meals, he would let Little Qiao boil thick medicinal
soup.

Under the nourishment of such strong medicinal effects, the aftereffects of

upgrading Black Fury Skill into the Initiated level vanished in a mere three
days.

Four days later…

‘Second upgrade!’

Lu Sheng was standing before the tree trunk from that day.

The depth of the blade wound from that day was about a fifth of the trunk’s
width. Now, it remained on the trunk, its edges already withered and dead.
This was one of the thickest trees in the entire forest. Yet right now, even it
appeared sickly and lifeless.

Lu Sheng decided he might as well pick this spot as the site of his second
breakthrough.

Sitting against the tree, he laid out the medicinal soups from the meal box one
by one and then sat cross-legged.

Black Fury Skill’s inner Qi was circulating unbroken along the route between
his abdomen and kidneys.

‘Deep Blue,’ Lu Sheng called out in his mind.

The blue Modifier floated into sight before him. Lu Sheng looked at the
Black Fury Skill column.

With his mind, he pressed the Modify button.

The square frame flashed once.

Lu Sheng’s face immediately turned solemn.

‘Upgrade Black Fury Skill by one level!’ He thought.

"SWOOSH!"

Originally, the status of Black Fury Skill was "Initiated". Presently, at Lu

Sheng’s will, the word "Initiated" flashed rapidly and turned into the words
"Level One".

Before Lu Sheng could delight in it, he felt a heat wave slightly weaker than
the one before flow throughout his body in an instant.

Both in and out of his body, he felt like he was being baked in a furnace.
Point-blank.

In the span of just a few short breaths, sweat was pouring down all over Lu
Sheng’s body like rain. His skin was once again dyed red.

Fortunately, his body was somewhat used to it this time round and thus it
wasn’t the same tough going as the first time.

In just a few tea cups’ worth of time (that is slightly over ten minutes), Lu
Sheng slowly recovered his breath.

Although every single spot on his body was covered in pain, several new
meridians were burst open by Black Fury Skill’s inner Qi, adding to the
network of circulation. Naturally, these newly opened meridians needed
repairing too, which also took time.

But right now, he felt as if he was filled with Qi from head to toe, to the point
of exploding.

‘Let’s try again!’

Lu Sheng stood up and drew the long saber behind his waist.

[1] ED/N: "Heaty" refers to a TCM concept where there’s too much Yang Qi
within one’s body and not enough Yin Qi.

[2] TL/N: A pitcher can hold five servings [of tea].

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As Lu Sheng commanded in his mind, a strand of Black Fury Skill’s inner Qi

was rapidly activated.

This time round, it was the first level of the Black Fury Qi.
The scorching heat was much more intense than before. As he activated the
inner Qi and it traveled across his muscles, skin and bone marrow, Lu Sheng
felt as if they were on fire.

Black Fury Qi emitted from both his shoulders, travelling along the back of
his waist and flowing into his right arm before fusing into his right palm and
pouring through the long saber.

"CHI!!"

The saber blade slashed into the air, making a sound like the shredding of
paper, then hacked violently into the tree trunk before him.

The stroke struck deeply into the tree, cutting through half of the trunk before
it got stuck and stopped.

‘Great!’

Lu Sheng’s heart leapt for joy.

He knew that he had once again made a vast improvement.

His body wracked in pain, Lu Sheng dragged himself back into the wooden
hut to rest.

In the subsequent days, he did absolutely nothing. Other than exercising his
body for a little bit, he spent most of his time sleeping and resting.

At the very most, he would circulate Jade Crane Skill at a faster rate. Jade
Crane Skill could help strengthen and heal his body much faster.

He needed to make adequate preparations to break into the subsequent two

levels.

After all, there were three levels that he could cultivate in the Black Fury
Skill Manual!

***

At the Lu Manor in Nine Links City.

Sister Yu held a basket in her hands, within which were a few hard-boiled
eggs, some yellow-bean cakes, and two pieces of wind-dried smoked meat.

She made her way out of the Lu Manor through a side door, called out to the
door guards, and walked out along a little alley—all these with great
familiarity, like a walk in the park.
Near the mouth of the alley, a few kids with ponytails ran around kickin up a
ruckus, hoping to snatch a stick of candied hawthorn fruit from the hands of
the kid in the lead.

Seeing this, Sister Yu sighed. She thought of how Little Eight was just as
adorable when he was younger, always running about in front of her,
badgering her for a stick of the candied hawthorn fruit.

She was only eighteen years old and still young at that time. Each day, she
would go to work at the Lu Manor. Occasionally, she would receive some
tips that she did not pass to her parents, which counted as some spare change
for her to spend.

She would then use this money to buy some snacks for Little Eight—he was
only about a few years old at that time.

But now…

Thinking about how Little Eight seemed to have lost his mind nowadays,
Sister Yu felt extremely miserable in her heart.

She continued along the main street in front of the Manor entrance and
returned to her usual manner, ending her walk down memory lane. She
decided to visit each and every stall to buy some knick-knacks for the
children at home.

Today was a rare day off when she had to return home to rest. She intended
to select nice little surprises for her husband and children.

"Child, my child!"

Suddenly, she saw a woman with disheveled appearance. She was sitting
dazedly at the corner of the wall, murmuring to herself in a low voice.

Somehow, she felt that the woman seemed rather familiar, as if she had seen
her somewhere before, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

She took a few glances, feeling pity for the woman.

She then retrieved a cake from her basket and placed it before the woman.

"Please eat. This world… hai," she sighed.

She straightened herself and turned to continue her search for what she
needed.
"PA."

In the blink of a moment, she felt an icy cold, wet and slippery hand grabbing
tightly onto her own right hand.

"Have you seen my child!"

The voice said.

Sister Yu’s heart lurched and she turned around. It was the woman who had
been sitting on the floor.

She glared fixedly at Sister Yu with a pair of bloodshot eyes, with such
intensity that her eyes were seemingly about to pop out of their sockets.

"What are you doing? Let go!"

Sister Yu was frightened as she hurriedly shook herself away with all her
might, then retreated two steps back.

"Are you mad!?"

However, that woman seemed not to hear a word as she continued to glare
unflinchingly at her.
Inwardly, Sister Yu cursed her bad luck. Turning around, she hurried off with
her head low, not intending to do any more shopping. She felt a faint, tingling
pain appear in the place where her hand had been grabbed.

Passing through this street, she took a turn into a small alley as she went on
her way home.

Although it was quiet and isolated, it helped her save quite a bit of time as
she did not need to make detours.

The alley was quite long, with a number of twists and turns along the way.
Both sides of the alley were flanked by ordinary single-story houses, their
roofs at the level slightly above the height of an average man. In the alley,
there were many puddles of dirty water and litter strewn all over the place.

Sister Yu looked at her wrist. The place where she had been grabbed earlier
had begun to turn red.

"What bad luck! Ai… I’ll need to apply some ointment when I get back."

She jumped across a dirty puddle, but the pink embroidered flowers on her
fabric shoes were nonetheless stained by some of the sewage. Her mood
instantly soured even further.
She stomped her feet violently on the ground and proceeded onwards a few
steps.

"Bam."

She suddenly knocked into someone.

She raised her head.

"Have you seen my child?"

It was actually the woman from before!

Sister Yu’s heart thumped loudly, as if about to burst forth from her chest.

She stumbled many steps backwards, without even noticing that she had
directly landed onto the dirty puddle.

"You, you, you!!!"

This woman’s bloodshot eyes were locked onto Sister Yu.

"Child, my child!"
Sister Yu turned around, intending to flee.

"PA."

An emaciated hand caught her arm with powerful strength.

"Have you seen my child?"

The woman maintained the same wooden, expressionless face as she repeated
that same line.

"HELP…!"

The sound barely echoed down the alley before it came to a premature end,
and deathly silence replaced it...

***

Three days later, the Lu Manor.

Second Mother Liu Cuiyu’s brows furrowed as she sat on the wooden bench,
looking onto the relative of Sister Yu who came to relay some news.
"Sister Yu is not back? She applied for leave and left to return home to her
family three days ago."

This burly male relative had the unique stench of mud about him, something
characteristic of farmers. With him standing there in the side hall, the space
felt somewhat cramped.

"Usually, Big Sis would get back way ahead of time, but this time round, the
people at home were all waiting and waiting, yet saw no sign of her. So, we
got worried… plus, with the many incidents that have happened within the
city… anyway, they got me to come here to ask…"

Liu Cuiyu shook her head.

"She indeed left a long time ago. She even took a few pieces of dried meat
and biscuits from the kitchen… After so many days, if she hadn’t gone back,
where could she have gone to?"

She began to grow a bit worried.

"Bad news! Bad news!"

Suddenly, urgent cries of alarm were heard from outside the house.
A lass, pale and flustered from fright, came running in.

"Second Mistress! Bad news! Something has happened to Sister Yu!"

"What happened?!" Second Mother Liu Cuiyu stood up in an instant, the

expression on her face changing.

The burly man also turned as white as a sheet of paper as he looked at the lass
running in.

"Sister Yu’s body has been found by someone in an alley outside the city. It’s
been lifeless for a couple of days!"

The lass’ words immediately caused Second Mother and the burly man to be
stunned.

"Lifeless…?"

Reeling from the shock, Liu Cuiyu once again sat down.

***

Several days later…

Lu Sheng savored the feeling of the blade he held in his hands in detail.

Black Fury Qi flowed from within his body into the saber’s blade, akin to a
wafting hot air that slowly drifted from within him to swiftly dilute into the
saber before spreading out to evenly cover the entire blade.

His injuries had recovered a great deal.

He decided that, on this day, he would once again upgrade the level of Black
Fury Skill to reach the second stratum.

Now, his body was more and more accustomed to the agitation caused by
Black Fury Qi. The injuries resulting from upgrading a level should likely be
lower than the previous time.

"SWOOSH!"

He began to practice Black Tiger Saber Technique.

Black Tiger Saber Technique had a total of three moves, but in actuality, it
could be further divided into more than ten over variations of moves.

Through combining a few of the variations that he had gained enlightenment

of with the variations Uncle Zhao had imparted to him, he produced a set of
complicated and varied saber strokes.

In the open clearing in front of the wooden hut, Lu Sheng clutched the long
saber in hand. His whole body flashed as light reflected off the saber in rapid
succession and swooshing sounds of the surrounding air being cut rang out.

The silver beams of saber light danced around him in a sphere, making it
seem like his entire person was cocooned within.

Black Tiger Saber Technique was extremely imposing, with multiple hacking
and chopping moves that lent a terribly fierce air to it when he trained.

Lu Sheng practiced the three saber moves repeatedly over ten times, causing
his blood and Qi to boil. From time to time, Black Fury Qi would fuse into
the long saber and add tremendous power to his moves.

Taking advantage of the blood and Qi coursing through his veins, he

promptly kept his saber and called out in his mind.

‘Deep Blue!’

The Modifier screen sprang forth.

Lu Sheng moved quickly. He pressed the Modify button, then concentrated

all his focus onto the Black Fury Skill section.

‘Upgrade Black Fury Skill by one level!’ He commanded silently.

"Swish."

Immediately, the state of Black Fury Skill leapt from Level One to Level
Two.

Except that this time round, the change happened somewhat slowly, and was
not as quick as before.

Lu Sheng had just finished modifying when he felt the Black Fury Qi within
him increase exponentially. A vast amount of Black Fury Qi seemed to
materialize from out of nowhere and grew to two portions roughly the size of
one’s fist, circulating at each of his shoulders respectively.

‘It seems like my body has adapted this time round. Moreover, the Second
Level merely increases the overall amount of Black Fury Qi. It should be
fine.’

Lu Sheng had read from the manual that the Second Level was the safest of
the levels, which was why he dared to directly break into it in the middle of
saber practice.
After breaking through to the Second Level, Lu Sheng felt that the reserves
inside his body from before had been thoroughly emptied.

This was especially the case for the accumulated Jade Crane Skill’s Qi.

This was a Qi skill that nourished the body. Ordinarily, his diligent training
should have resulted in overflowing Qi that would have gathered and
congealed into a ball of Qi at his chest.

After the thickness of the inner Qi had reached its limit, that ball of Qi would
indicate that it would begin to increase naturally.

But just this one breakthrough of Black Fury Skill depleted the ball of Jade
Crane Skill Qi, turning it into nothingness in the blink of an eye.

Additionally, the originally thick and sturdy Jade Crane Skill’s inner Qi was
immediately reduced to the thickness of an embroidery needle.

Lu Sheng grew in his resolve after his breakthrough into the Second Level. It
was now about time for lunch.

"Young Master, a new letter has arrived!"

Little Qiao carried the meal box as she walked in from the door of the yard,
waving a yellow envelope with a red seal in her other hand.

"Let me see it."

Lu Sheng kept the saber back into its sheath, hanging on his side, then
received the letter Little Qiao brought.

Retrieving the letter and opening it, he read through it once quickly and his
face quickly darkened. Then, he kept the letter.

"Little Qiao, it’s time for us to head back," he said calmly.

"Back to Lu Manor?"

Little Qiao was thrown off guard, but elated.

"That’s right, let’s go home," Lu Sheng nodded.

Both of them packed their bags in a jiffy, finished their lunch and left a note
at the entrance to the yard. Then, they headed for Nine Links City in a hurry.

From the wooden hut in the little forest to Nine Links City was a journey of
roughly eight or nine miles.
A long saber hung across Lu Sheng’s back. It was an ordinary saber made of
fine iron rather than some famous weapon. However, its strength was in its
sturdiness and weightiness, which ensured that it wouldn't get damaged
easily.

Both of them sped unrelentingly towards Nine Links City. Little Qiao was
dead beat; halfway through the journey, she even needed Lu Sheng to carry
her for a stretch of distance. That's how she was able to prop herself up to the
end.

Lu Sheng was currently practicing Black Fury Skill, on top of which he also
diligently practiced saber techniques each day. Thus, his body had grown
much tougher than before.

This was especially due to Black Fury Skill that spurred on his growth.

Each time it completed a revolution within his body, it felt like a ball of
piping hot Qi flowed around his body, nourishing his muscles and bone
marrow.

24 Trouble 2 Way of the Devil

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Practically each morning after he woke up, Lu Sheng felt his muscles grow
sturdier and stronger, and his body increasingly mightier.

But the price he had to pay for this was an increased appetite, which had
grown to at least twice of what it had been, the effects felt during each meal.
Moreover, his meals all consisted of lavish portions of fish and meat as well
as expensive medicinal tea each day.

Just the expenditure on his meals alone would be enough to bankrupt an

average family.

Lu Sheng did not dilly-dally along the way. Once he entered the city, he
traced back the familiar road to the Lu Manor entrance.

Seeing him approach, the doorman standing guard at the entrance

immediately greeted him in welcome.

"Young Master is back!"

"Mm," Lu Sheng gave a cursory reply before striding into the Manor.

There was a rather strange atmosphere within the Manor, but when the
servants and helpers saw that he had returned, they all scurried around to
greet him.

"Young Master is back!" Someone shouted.

"Young Master! Young Master is back!"

"Oh, it’s Young Master!"

One of the servant-maids ran over in a hurry. A faint look of surprise mixed
with joy could be seen on her face, akin to someone out of her wits who
suddenly chanced upon a life-saving antidote.

"Where's Dad?"

"The Family Head asks you to come over now," another servant-maid ran
over and hastily replied.

"Mm."

Lu Sheng lowered his saber and placed it behind his back.

He rushed straight towards the inner yard.

The inner yard was a picture of quiet, to the extent that the silence was
somewhat eerie, even cold.

He saw there several servant girls, each one more gloomy than the other.
Those near him spoke out in greeting, but those further away didn't notice
him and remained engrossed in their chitchat. Sounds of their conversation
drifted from afar along with the wind.

"Yesterday night, there was the sound of a woman crying in Sister Yu’s room
again."

"I heard about that too, it seemed to come from somewhere far away. Some
of the guards walked past, but saw no one inside the room, not even a
shadow."

"Oh please, let’s not talk about it anymore, it's so scary."

"Could it be a female ghost?"

"Don’t spout nonsense! Be careful or you’ll get a beating."

With his saber behind him, Lu Sheng crossed the stone bridge and caught
wind of the casual talk between the servant girls.

From what these people were saying, Sister Yu’s Lily Flower Room at the
back yard had since become the biggest restricted zone within Lu Manor.

No one needed any reminders to stay away; none of them dared to go near.

His mood fell. Putting the conversations together with the contents of the
letter, his mood instantly turned dour.

Finally, what he had feared this whole time had happened!

This world was already plagued with danger and malice all over. For an
ordinary man, there was zero chance of resistance against any such strange
occurrences.

What he was worried about was that all that befell the Xu Family would one
day suddenly strike the Lu Manor as well.

When that happened, what could he use to resist it…? What could he use to
save himself?

What could he use to save his family in this life?

‘Female ghost? Well, I want to see which female ghost can defend against
MY saber!’ A fierce glint shone deep in his eyes, viciousness rising in his
heart as he strode towards the Main Hall in the inner yard.

Wasn't all he had accumulated thus far for the sole purpose of countering that
which was happening before his eyes?

Entering the Main Hall within the inner yard, Lu Sheng’s gaze immediately
fell upon the haggard Lu Quanan, who was sitting at the host’s seat. Next to
him, Second Mother, Third Mother and the rest hurried over.

All his siblings and cousins from both maternal and paternal side were
present.

Other than during festivals or special occasions, this was the first time all
family members had gathered together.

All of them turned to see Lu Sheng, burly and strapping as he strode in with
saber on his back.

A hint of joy appeared on Lu Quanan’s face, but turned into worry in an

instant.

"Little Sheng, you… ai. You shouldn't have come back."

"Dad, just say it. What happened? Sister Yu died?" Lu Sheng wasted no time
as he asked straightforwardly.

Recently, he had been practicing saber strokes everyday. On top of that,

Black Fury Qi constantly flowed through him. All this lent a sliver of fierce,
murderous air to him.

Seeing this, those present then remembered that Brother Sheng had actually
killed two thoroughly fiendish and cruel fugitives. He was a ferocious
character who could kill even murderers.

At that thought, their originally frightened and anxious hearts were somewhat
soothed for the moment.

"Let me tell you what happened instead," Second Mother Liu Cuiyu sighed
and said.

Lu Sheng found a seat to the right. "Please go ahead, Second Mother."

Liu Cuiyu pondered for a moment as she organized her thoughts.

"This matter begins with Sister Yu’s sudden death a while back."

She sighed again.

"That day, someone from Sister Yu’s family came over to ask me if Sister Yu
had gone back, to which I replied that she had already left way before he
came to inquire.

That man then said that her family had waited for a long time to no avail, and
thus he came to the Manor to look for her.

I also had my suspicions, and was just about to send someone out in search
when we received news from the yamen that Sister Yu had died in an alley. It
had been a few days, and her corpse was already frigid.

Afterwards, I forked out some silver to count towards Sister Yu’s funeral
expenses. But only two days after that incident, another person from the
Manor went missing as well. I sent some people out to search, they found the
corpse in a river beyond the city."

Liu Cuiyu’s face was awash with sorrow as she recounted till here.

"From that day onwards, one person from the Manor would go missing
everyday. We haven’t been able to find out anything! It’s already the fifth
day today.

And every night, faintly discernible sounds of a woman’s wails would drift
out from the Lily Flower Room where Sister Yu used to stay. We went in to
investigate, but there was no one inside.

There used to be five people who stayed in that room. Now, of the five, three
have already gone missing…"

Hearing that, Lu Sheng’s face was already the picture of gloom.

"What did the people at the yamen say?"

"What can they say? They know absolutely zilch! They gave some random
excuse to shirk their responsibility and left," Lu Chenxin couldn't help but
interrupt, his voice laced with fury.

"I got your Eldest Uncle to send some men to keep watch during the night,
but that wasn't too helpful either. When there are many people around, that
sound doesn’t appear; we can only hear it when there are few people around,"
Lu Quanan shook his head and said.

"Where’s Qingqing?" Lu Sheng suddenly realized that Lu Qingqing was

actually missing from the crowd.

"She ran off on her own to the Zheng Family. Something has also cropped up
there," Lu Quanan said helplessly.
"Something has also cropped up at the Zheng Family?" Lu Sheng’s heart
constricted.

"But it’s not like our problem, rather, they met with some bandits who
attacked their merchant groups on the road. I don’t know where that lass
Qingqing managed to find a lead, but she now suspects that the bandits are
related to the Xu Family incident. She went out yesterday to investigate and
has not been back since," Second Mother Liu Cuiyu remarked.

Lu Sheng gave a cold snort. "This lass is getting more and more out of hand.
On the other hand, for the matter within the Manor, even if it’s not a female
ghost, a highly skilled expert in qinggong will also be able to do such a thing!
What about Uncle Zhao? What does he think?" [1]

"Your Uncle Zhao and a few of the other uncles have all been conscripted to
the yamen to support the forces somewhere outside the city. Come to think of
it, they still have not returned yet," Lu Quanan replied.

"Which is to say, that person took advantage of their absence and that’s why
he dares to come to the Manor to pretend to be a ghost?"

Lu Sheng’s first words deemed this matter to be the work of man rather than
the work of demons, devils, ghosts or monsters.
Regardless of whether this was the work of the supernatural or not, it could
only be declared the work of man on the surface!

Otherwise, the mighty and illustrious Lu Family might just fall apart.

Lu Quanan also immediately understood this principle and nodded in reply.

"Now that you say it, it really does seem like the work of man…"

"There’s someone crying in Sister Yu’s Lily Flower Room at night, right? I’ll
go stay there tonight. Let’s see if anyone else goes missing," Lu Sheng
decided.

"But, Little Sheng…" Lu Quanan wanted to add something else, but Lu

Sheng raised his hand to stop him.

"Don't worry Dad, I know what I’m doing," Lu Sheng said calmly.

No matter whether the other party was a man or a ghost, since it was afraid of
crowds, then there would definitely be a viable solution to this.

If this small obstacle before them proved insurmountable, then if they met
with a vicious character like the one that suddenly wiped out the whole Xu
Family, wouldn't they be relegated to being helpless lambs facing a butcher?
"Little Sheng… you must be careful…"

Liu Cuiyu was worried.

The rest of the people, on the other hand, looked as if a huge burden had been
lifted off their shoulders.

Since Brother Sheng, who had even killed fugitives before, said that it was
the work of man, then it very likely could be true.

With Brother Sheng around, surely that thug would very soon be captured.

Once the meeting ended, Lu Chenxin, Lu Tianxiang, Lu Yingying and the

rest went out to spread this piece of news at the first possible moment.

Soon, near evening time, each and every person within the Lu Manor knew
that Young Master Lu Sheng had returned, and even assessed that this spate
of events was the work of man!

Moreover, he had decided to keep watch during the night in Lily Flower
Room!

When this news spread, the entire Manor from the top to the bottom
immediately heaved a great sigh of relief.

These few days, the Lu Manor’s denizens’ tension had pent up to an

extremely high level. Just like a string instrument—if its strings were to be
wound too tightly, they would break. Their nerves were not far from reaching
that point.

Momentarily, everyone felt a lot more at ease.

Although the threat had not been averted, the atmosphere of fear and panic
from before had relaxed quite a bit.

Young Master was personally staying in the Lily Flower Room and could
deal with the wailing, come what may. Even if something cropped up, Young
Master would definitely be there to be the first one to deal with it.

After enquiring into the entire incident from A to Z, Lu Sheng immediately

sent someone to tidy up the Lily Flower Room and prepare some mattress
and the like. He would stay there by himself tonight.

Others tried to persuade him otherwise, but seeing that he had a steely
resolve, they could only give up.

Lu Sheng got Little Qiao to return to his original sleeping quarters. A saber in
one hand and a pitcher of medicinal tea in another, he walked into the Lily
Flower Room by himself.

Lily Flower Room, Lily Leaf Room and Lotus Room were the three areas in
the Manor designated as the servant girls’ quarters. They were all packed
closely together.

Of them, Lily Flower Room was situated in the middle.

Lu Sheng came before the Lily Flower Room with his saber in hand. Not a
soul could be seen in the neighboring two yards; clearly, they were all
frightened away by the wails during the night.

He pushed open the door to find the place tidied up spotless and a bed
arranged there nicely. A meal box was placed on the stone table in the little
yard.

Other than that, the whole place was deserted.

Atop the greyish white stone table were still some traces of pink, which
appeared to be the remnants spilt from the cosmetic powders women used.

Lu Sheng eyed the sleeping quarters.

The sleeping quarters and the little yard combined seemed to form a square
box. The sleeping quarters were split into five individual units which were
lined up together, the doorway acting as the corridor. He followed down the
corridor and exited into the little yard, where he saw a well and a set of stone
table and stools next to it.

Lu Sheng sat next to the well like a big shot, all-imposing. He opened the
dark-red meal box, taking out plates upon plates of side dishes and placing
them all onto the stone table.

There were three side dishes and one soup, coupled with steaming hot white
rice.

Picking up his chopsticks, Lu Sheng began to eat with relish.

He took almost an hour to finish this one meal, cleaning up every last bit of
that extravagant spread. Only then did he burp and come to a stop. [2]

The sky gradually dimmed into the night. Lu Sheng lit some candles and
lanterns by himself, casting the little yard and Sister Yu’s sleeping quarters
into bright light.

The five sleeping quarters were arranged in a line, with Sister Yu’s the
furthest one in. The light that traveled within was limited, and sounds from
outside that trailed in would also be reduced to a mere whisper.

Lu Sheng finished his meal, walked down the corridor with a saber in hand,
and entered the room.

Inside the room there were a black wooden bed, a square table and three
chairs. Besides those, there was a cupboard and a dressing table.

Behind the dressing table was a window. Currently, the wooden window was
half open, revealing the pitch-black alley outside.

Candlelight on the study table just to the right of the entrance lit up half of
the room, which instead contrasted with and emphasized the pitch black of
the half open wooden window.

Lu Sheng walked over and stuck his head outside the window to take a look.

The alley beyond the window just happened to face one of the side doors to
the Lu Manor.

Looking out from the window, one could distinctly see that the straight alley
led right up to a desolate-looking, white side door.

[1] TL/ND: Qinggong (轻功) refers to a type of movement skill that allows
one to run at fast speeds, leap over great heights and even fly over short
distances.

[2] ED/N: While it is offensive in some countries (mainly in the West,

including my own country), the Chinese apparently consider such "natural"
sounds made by the body normal and don’t consider them offensive or
something requiring an apology… or so I’ve heard.

25 Night Watch 1 Way of the Devil

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"Creak…"

Lu Sheng shut the windows tightly and turned around to survey the room.

He took off his coat and hung it on the wooden rack behind the door.

Then, he opened a cupboard. Inside, he found a few pieces of dull-looking

ladies’ clothes Sister Yu used to wear. Closing the cupboard, Lu Sheng went
over to examine the dressing table.

The simple dressing table was devoid of any embellishments. Only a copper
mirror was placed in the middle on top of it.
Some pink powder was scattered in front of the copper mirror. Lu Sheng
picked some up with his finger and held it up to his nose.

‘Just normal women’s cosmetic powder.’

Lu Sheng suddenly frowned.

‘I remember that Sister Yu wasn’t one to use cosmetic powder.’

"HOO…"

Suddenly, a gust of chilly air blew over, causing the candlelight to flicker
unsteadily.

Lu Sheng swiftly gripped his saber and surveyed the room.

"SWISH."

From the gap left in the slightly ajar door, corner of a white robe flashed past.

Lu Sheng quickly strode over.

‘I clearly remember that I closed the door when I came in.’

He touched the wooden latch. An opened lock still hung from it. Opening the
door, he stepped out into the corridor to take a look.

It was cold and empty, without a single soul in sight.

Cold air continuously gushed in his direction.

Lu Sheng’s gaze swept around once and discovered nothing amiss, so he

returned to the room.

"KA-CHA!" The door shut tight.

Walking to the side of the table, he sat down and placed his saber on the
tabletop, his hand still holding onto it.

Thus, he sat as he waited for the supposed wail to echo within the room.

The candlelight’s lonely glow grew dim.

Time passed gradually.

With the support of Jade Crane Skill, Lu Sheng did not feel tired in the
slightest. He remained vigilant as he sat beside the table, awaiting the
wailing.

After a while, since he had nothing to do, he accelerated the circulation of

Jade Crane Skill at his will.

This life-force skill was way too stable, anyway. There was no way it could
be destabilized even if he wanted it to.

A long period passed without his notice.

Finally, a cockerel’s sharp crow broke the silence. The darkness outside the
window had gradually lifted, turning into a faint white.

Only then did Lu Sheng all of a sudden realize that he had sat there for a
whole night.

‘Where’s the woman’s wail? There was nothing the whole night.’

Through the windows, he could see the faint rays of light cast by dawn.

Lifting his saber, Lu Sheng stood up and stretched his body.

He opened the door and walked out. Some light had penetrated the corridor.
He came into the courtyard of the Lily Flower Room. The empty utensils
from yesterday’s meal lay there untouched.

He could faintly hear people conversing outside the yard. Lu Sheng walked
over and pushed the doors open with strength.

His old Dad Lu Quanan, Lu Yingying, Lu Yiyi as well as his other family
members had already been waiting outside for a while.

Seeing the doors open, everyone jumped in shock and took a step back.

But recognizing Lu Sheng, Lu Quanan hurriedly approached him.

"Little Sheng! You okay!?" His face was full of concern.

Lu Sheng saw that everyone was carrying a torch. When some guards
arrived, they were even holding unsheathed swords and sabers in their hands.
Confusion arose in Lu Sheng’s heart.

"What’s wrong? What happened?" He asked loudly.

Lu Quanan heaved a long sigh. "Last night in our house, another person went
missing."
"HUH???"

Lu Sheng’s eyes immediately opened wide.

Second Mother Liu Cuiyu came forward and recounted the incident.

It turned out that while Lu Sheng was keeping his night watch, the rest of the
manor had come near and they, indeed, did not hear any woman’s wail.

At first, nothing was out of the ordinary. Those among the guards who were
on patrol duty went on patrol as they were supposed to. Many people stayed
in their rooms, saying that they would rest. But, actually, most of them could
not sleep and stayed up to wait for the outcome.

But then, something went wrong.

"Bajun, he… he said he was going to the latrine, but he never came back…"

A slightly rotund woman sobbed as she held a handkerchief.

This woman was the sister of Lu Sheng’s biological mother, Sun Yan. In
other words, she was his little aunt, Sun Zining.

The one who went missing this time was Lu Sheng’s cousin—Zhang Bajun.
Lu Sheng was not on close terms with Zhang Bajun. This fella loved
gambling and was a good-for-nothing. Lu Sheng disliked him and would
often lecture him.

Hence, the fella never liked Lu Sheng either and usually avoided him.

Little did he expect that he was the one to go missing this time round. Lu
Sheng’s brows were locked in a furrow.

"I didn’t sleep a wink at all last night. I sat in the room, listening for any
sounds, but didn’t hear any woman’s wailing." Upon hearing his words,
everybody’s hearts grew cold.

"What on earth is going on!"

Little aunt Sun Zining started to howl in tears.

"Zining, don’t get anxious. I’m sure there’s something we can do," Second
Mother pulled her aside to console her.

"Let’s go to the Main Hall first. We’ll discuss how to deal with this together,"
Lu Quanan sighed.
Helpless, all they could do was to first leave this place.

Lu Quanan gathered Lu Sheng and a few other immediate kin, including the
eldest uncle.

The doors to the Main Hall were shut tight. The few of them sat on their own
seats, the mood gloomy and oppressive.

Eldest Uncle Lu Anping was a thick-browed, big-eyed, square-jawed and

sober-looking man.

He wore a half-body silver-scale armor common during the Song Dynasty,

with an ornamental curved saber on his waist. Sitting beside Lu Quanan, his
face was solemn.

"The question now is whether or not we should let the yamen authorities
intervene," Eldest Uncle said slowly. "If we still can’t find the source, I’m
afraid we’ve got no choice but to borrow some external help."

"It’s easy to invite a god in, but hard to send a god out… ai!" Lu Quanan
sighed. This was the umpteenth time he had sighed today.

In the last few days, he was taxed to his limits and now looked a lot more
aged than he should.
Lu Sheng sat on the lowest seat of honor, silent. [1]

Lu Quanan looked at his son. "Little Sheng, have you got anything to say?
You’re the future head of the Lu family. In the future, the family estate and
business will belong to you in their entirety. Under these circumstances, have
you got any ideas about how we should solve this problem?"

Lu Sheng shut his eyes for a while before opening them again, about to
speak.

"Bad news, bad news!"

Little Qiao’s voice suddenly rang out from outside the door.

"Young Master! Brother Sheng! The men in the Manor are about to flee!"

Lu Sheng rose immediately and strode towards the doors to open it. Little
Qiao was waiting in front of the doors, her face flushed.

"Young Master, with one more person missing in the Manor, the guard
Commander Wang Chong seems to have fled in secret, leading quite a few
men with him! I got the message from the sisters and hurriedly ran over to
inform you."
"Fled?"

Lu Sheng’s eyes glared.

He had guessed that panic would spread and result in some people escaping.
But never did he expect that it would happen so early.

"Where’s Wang Chong now?"

"No idea. We only realized it once they were gone. Zhao Fanghu and gang
are now gathered in the courtyard. I’m scared that they’re thinking of running
away too," Little Qiao hurriedly added.

Zhao Fanghu was another leader among the guards and housemen.

"How many of them are gathered?" Lu Quanan rapidly asked.

"Not sure, but a lot!" Little Qiao quickly replied.

"I’ll go take a look!"

Lu Sheng’s face sank. He strode towards the courtyard. Lu Quanan and

Eldest Uncle Lu Anping followed with dark faces as well.
The few of them arrived at the courtyard soon after.

Over twenty people had already gathered in the courtyard—mostly housemen

and guards, with a few servant ladies among them.

Panic was written all over their faces.

Some of them were already holding onto their packed luggage, ready to leave
Lu Manor anytime.

Upon seeing Lu Sheng and the rest arriving, the buzz and commotion among
them died down slightly.

"Who wants to leave?"

Lu Sheng walked to the front of the group and asked coldly.

"We all do!"

A male guard stepped forward, happening to be none other than Zhao

Fanghu. Fear and panic showed on his face.

"Young Master, we’re people too. We’ve got lives as well! The trouble now
in the Lu family isn’t the work of man at all. It’s a female ghost!"

His eyes were wide open and filled with terror.

"Absurd!" Lu Sheng interrupted him sternly. "Who gave you the guts to
bewitch the rest with your wiles!"

"But I saw it myself! That white figure! You people from the Lu family, stop
pulling us down with you into the gra…"

"SPLAT!"

Blood spilled all over the ground.

The guard’s head flew up into the air all of a sudden, landing on the ground
with a thud and rolling to the foot of a servant-maid, who was carrying a
bundle in her arms.

"DEATH to any who bewitches others with their lies!!!"

Lu Sheng roared as he glared at the terrified group before him, his hand
gripping his saber.

"THUD."
Only then did the guard’s headless corpse collapse onto the ground.

"AH!!!"

The servant-maid screamed.

"SHUT UP!"

An air of savagery emanated from Lu Sheng. As his gaze swept over, the
maid, still in the middle of her scream, covered her mouth in shock and
sobbed uncontrollably.

When did the guards and housemen ever witness such a bloody scene?

Every single one of them was shaken and in tremors; their faces turned as
white as sheet of paper and none of them dared to make a single sound.

"Get back to your posts, all of you! I’ll kill anyone who tries anything
funny!" Lu Sheng warned sternly.

Deep fear showed in everyone’s eyes.

Compelled by Lu Sheng’s tyranny, they then recalled that their young master
was someone not to be trifled with as he had single-handedly killed several
fugitives.

In the blink of an eye, everyone dispersed as if they were on the run.

Other guards who were not among those who had tried to flee earlier also
cleaned up the corpse that collapsed onto the ground.

All of these housemen, guards and servant ladies had signed a lifetime bond
when they entered the service of the Manor.

To think that they wanted to leave just like that! Did they really take the Lu
family to be soft-hearted philanthropists?

After everyone dispersed, Lu Sheng turned around only to see Lu Quanan

and Eldest Uncle Lu Anping staring at him with surprised and complicated
looks.

"Extreme measures for extreme times. That’s just a stopgap measure," Eldest
Uncle shook his head.

"We just need to contain this for the time being. If we can’t solve this in the
short term, then even we ourselves need to go on the run," Lu Sheng said
calmly.
"Looks like we really need to seek the yamen’s help this time…" Lu Quanan
sighed. "Good thing we’ve got you around this time, Little Sheng."

Lu Sheng’s resolute handling of the situation proved to him that he was

capable of shouldering responsibilities and displaying strategic thinking. That
was a great comfort to him.

Lu Sheng said with determination, "Tonight, let me keep another night watch.
I want to see what on earth dares to make waves in my family! Father, don’t
worry. Although I didn’t make any discoveries last night, I did notice a clue."

"Really?" Lu Quanan’s spirits lifted.

"As real as it gets!"

"Do you need me to dispatch some troops over?" Eldest Uncle asked in all
seriousness.

"No hasty moves now. I’m afraid that more men will drag us down. Nobody
knows what these ghosts can do. The extra manpower may get in the way.
They can stand guard outside the Manor," Lu Sheng shook his head.

"That’s true, Little Sheng. This time we’re all counting on you!" Eldest Uncle
nodded and patted Lu Sheng on his shoulder.

Despite being the Deputy Commander, he was after all not a man of the
pugilistic world. Moreover, military officers of the Song Dynasty had not
seen war in many years.

In actual fact, his position was earned through paper examinations on strategy
and tactics. There was no direct link to actual fighting.

Privileging the civil office at the expense of the military had been a bad
practice of the Song Dynasty for many years. Hence, right now, Lu Sheng
became the backbone of the family.

"Don’t worry," Lu Sheng recalled the corner of the white robe that he had
seen. His intuition whispered to him a solution—if he managed to capture the
person under the white robe, perhaps the case of the missing persons could be
resolved.

[1] ED/N: Basically means that his position in the meeting is the lowest and
he has the least seniority compared to everyone else.

26 Night Watch 2 Way of the Devil

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The second night.

Lu Sheng once again went in to stay at the Lily Flower Room. This time, he
went there when it was still day.

Saber in hand, he searched around the entire room wordlessly.

Then, after he had committed the shape and size of the room as well as the
position of all the items within to his memory, he once again sat down inside.

He calmly waited for the dusk to fall.

The Lu Manor had been temporarily subdued by him, with none daring to
entertain the thought of fleeing.

After all, Nine Links City was only this big. Their only option would be to
escape to Zi Hua City. However, with everyone else on high alert, monitoring
the situation, none dared to be the first to try anything funny.

They were all afraid that someone else would secretly blow the whistle on
them in front of Young Master—Lu Sheng had established that whoever
reported a deserter would be awarded a hundred talents for each person
reported!
A hundred talents! If one reported ten people, that would be one thousand
talents!

Not many people would be able to earn such a vast sum, not even across their
entire lives.

Thus, for the time being, the situation in the Lu Manor was stabilized.

Eldest Uncle had also deployed some soldiers to stand guard at each of the
entrances of the Lu Manor, restricting anyone from leaving as they deemed
fit.

As for those who had escaped earlier, he also put up wanted posters in order
to catch and bring them all back.

After all that spate of busyness, the sky gradually dimmed.

"HOO…"

Streams of air constantly circulated inside the house.

Lu Sheng sat within Sister Yu’s room, his hand gripping an unsheathed saber.
His eyes were closed as if he were taking forty winks.
He had not rested the entire last night. As he waited here during the day, it
was also in this manner that he sat down to rest.

Jade Crane Skill was indeed formidable. Even though he had not slept the
whole night, he remained rather energetic.

The rays from the sun slowly faded.

Lu Sheng did not light the room. He sat there in the gloomy darkness,
intending to completely recreate the usual conditions of the room.

Light faded gradually as the place became darker and darker.

Lu Sheng slowly adjusted by relying on his sense of hearing and paying

attention to the movement of the air currents to observe his surroundings.

Time trickled away in minutes and seconds.

Soon, the sun had fully set and the room was cast in absolute pitch darkness.
He could not even see his fingers stretched out in front of him.

Nonetheless, Lu Sheng remained sitting there, stable as a rock.

"Swish…"

Suddenly, the sound of clothes ruffling against each other drifted in from the
door.

It sounded like the faint swish of clothes, seemingly rubbing against the
wooden surface of the wall.

Lu Sheng opened his eyes. A faintly discernible blur of white shadow of a

person could be seen in the dark, currently climbing in from the door.

Because it was simply too dark, he could not see the features of the other
party in detail. Only the fuzzy outline of a person clad in white could be seen.

This person walked extremely slowly, at the speed of a crawl.

In the dark, Lu Sheng felt as if the other party was smiling. He clearly could
not see the facial features, but he could feel that the other party was smiling
eerily.

"You finally dare show yourself."

Lu Sheng stood up, both his eyes glowing ferociously.

Black Fury Skill instantly circulated through his entire body; his body
temperature shot up in an instant.

"HOO!"

Suddenly, the white shadow flung itself violently at him!

"DIEEE!!"

A glint flashed from the blade in Lu Sheng’s hands.

Black Tiger Saber’s Tiger Might viciously slashed outwards to meet the
incoming white shadow!

In that moment, as the saber blade collided with the white shadow, his vision
blurred and the whole room instantly became silent. There was nothing
within earshot.

Currently, the space in front of him was completely empty, with nothing in
sight. His stroke had actually cut empty air!

‘Such great speed!’

Without even thinking, Lu Sheng swung his long saber around him, viciously
hacking at his surroundings maniacally.

"CHI!"

The wooden clothes-rack that had been in the way was slashed in a single
stroke, falling to the ground. The back of a chair was also split into two in a
similar manner.

He gave a cold snort, about to keep his saber and continue observing.

Suddenly, he felt a cold sensation at the back of his head.

Lu Sheng swung around madly. Unexpectedly, the white-robed figure was

just a hair’s breadth right behind him, hurling itself towards him.

"You court death!!"

Black Fury Skill mobilized at its highest capacity all over his body. Qi and
blood pulsed wildly through him as his long saber abruptly unleashed the
third move of Black Tiger Saber—Tiger Roar.

"ROAR!!!"
As the full might of Black Fury Skill rushed through him, the saber blade
even clearly emitted the deafening, ear-splitting roar of a tiger.

The tiger roar shook all the items within the house, causing them to tremble
and jiggle about.

At once, that white shadow gave a miserable shriek similar to the shrill cry of
a little girl. With a whoosh, it fled from the window.

Not hesitating for even a moment, Lu Sheng calmed his raging Qi and blood
as he sped off in pursuit.

"BANG!"

In a stroke, he whacked the wooden window that was in his way, destroying
it.

His whole person seemed like a ferocious tiger emerging from its lair as he
jumped out of the window into the alley.

The white shadow moved at astonishing speed. With just a few twists and
turns, it zoomed down the alley, past the junk that littered the place.

Lu Sheng was in hot pursuit.

"Bam! Bam!!!"

Two piles of junk that were in his way immediately exploded under his two
strokes.

"There’s some commotion inside! Is it Young Master?"

Some guards outside were shouting.

Lu sheng’s heart constricted.

Then, he saw some guards on the night watch near the side door.

One of them turned to look in his direction, his face taut with fear as he held
onto a saber.

Lu Sheng didn't even have time to say anything. The white shadow sped
forward with terrifying speed and entered the body of one of the guards.

"ALL DISPERSE!" He thundered in rage. The mad rush of his Qi and blood
once again caused his saber blade to emit a sound like the immense roar of a
massive tiger.
"HOWL!"

Lu Sheng’s entire person pounced forward forcefully, slashing out with Tiger
Roar!

"DANG!"

Veins rapidly surfaced all over the skin of the guard whose body the white
shadow had entered. He raised his hand to dodge the attack.

Startlingly, he was actually able to precisely block Lu Sheng’s saber move.

Two blades collided at full impact. In that instant, Lu Sheng felt strength not
inferior to that of his own resist him furiously.

Looking at the guard again, he saw that both his eyes had already rolled back.
Both eyes were without any black, leaving behind but a patch of miserable
white.

‘Possession?’

Lu Sheng extended his saber once again, heading straight for the guard’s
neck.
"DANG!"

Again, he was blocked.

The guard who had been possessed had drastically grown in might. Lu Sheng
traded blows with him with his saber.

Both men dueled back and forth with their sabers, causing a cacophony of
clanging sounds as metal hit against each other. It was a deafening din.

The other two guards at the side door were scared beyond their wits,
hurriedly fleeing far away with tails between their legs.

The din and commotion attracted the attention of quite a number of other
guards and servants, who rushed over.

Under the rush of the Black Fury Qi, Lu Sheng’s strength grew by an entire
measure as he continued to duel with the possessed guard for over ten moves.

Gradually, the poison from the Black Fury Skill slowly permeated the
guard’s palms, causing his strength to steadily decrease and weaken.

The second level of Black Fury Skill was indeed as powerful as Lu Sheng
had expected, poisonous beyond comparison.
"SPEAK! WHO SENT YOU?" Lu Sheng charged forth brutally in a swift
saber attack, hacking into the guard’s saber blade.

A massive wave of strength thundered through the possessed guard’s body,

making it shake violently. His body turned limp and numb in an instant,
causing his movements to slow by a beat.

"BANG!"

Lu Sheng’s other hand attacked with a penetrating palm strike to the heart,
exploiting the opening to land a blow straight to the guard’s chest.

He had long prepared to strike with Heart-Shattering Palm as a premeditated

follow-up move.

"AH!!!"

The guard shrieked miserably as the attack landed smack on his chest. A
mouthful of blood gushed out madly from his mouth as his body was thrown
up into the air before falling onto the ground in a heap.

A flash of white shadow flew out from the guard’s body towards the nearest
of those who had come to check out the situation.
This time round, it was actually a servant girl.

Perhaps because the shadow was far too near Lu Sheng, it had no other
choice, being able to only choose somebody to enter at random.

The servant girl had only just been possessed, her skin turning red, when Lu
Sheng rushed over.

With a turn of his hand, he struck with a backhand slash without warning!

"CHI!"

The powerful saber blade hacked into the servant girl’s body savagely and
her entire body was flung into the air, blood splattering all over the floor.

"EVERYONE GET FAR AWAY FROM HERE! DON’T COME NEAR!"

Lu Sheng’s voice boomed.

And yet, it was too late. Once again, a few other guards had dashed over,
sabers in hand.

The white shadow flew out in a flash, yet again entering into another body.
"AH!!!" Lu Sheng bellowed in rage, pushing the Black Tiger Saber
Technique’s momentum to its maximum under the thrust of Black Fury Skill.

The incensed roar of a mighty tiger once again sounded out around him.

His long saber slashed out at full strength like a giant boulder smashing into
the ground, carrying with it the intense howling of the wind.

The guard who had been possessed instantly turned in the direction beyond
the side door, as if thinking of escaping.

"RUMBLE!"

Lu Sheng actually destroyed the walls of the yard near the side door in one
ferocious stroke.

Blade in hand, he charged through the broken wall and, in one vicious stroke,
struck the skull of the possessed guard who had been caught off guard.

"AH, AH, AHHH!!!"

A woman’s shrill, tragic cries rang out.

The guard’s skull had been butchered into two, with bits of red and white
splattered all over. Yet, he was still able to extend his hand and land a
forceful blow with his palm onto Lu Sheng’s lower abdomen.

"BANG!"

Lu Sheng fell back two steps, breathing heavily like an ox. A dense demonic
aura permeated his whole body as an eerie blush flashed across his face.

A bit of blood could be seen oozing from the corners of his mouth.

Lu Sheng once again raised his saber, but heard a clanging sound as the saber
blade broke apart and fell to the ground.

He decided that he might as well throw the saber away, instead lunging forth
to deliver two consecutive palm strikes.

This time round, the middle of his palms actually turned into a faint black
under the activation of Black Fury Skill as he used Heart-Shattering Palm to
strike.

"BAM, BAM!"

Two thuds sounded out before the white shadow once again floated out from
the guard’s body.
She still wanted to run.

However, Lu Sheng moved his Black Fury Skill-infused palm to grab onto
her clothes. Immediately, he felt as if he had grasped onto a block of ice.

However, Qi, blood, and the Black Fury Qi that were coursing wildly through
his entire body made him unafraid of this icy coldness in the least.

The second level of the Black Fury Qi within him rushed madly towards the
white shadow’s clothes in his hands.

"DIEEE!!!"

Lu Sheng exploded with all his power and hit out with abandon in that palm
strike.

All the Black Fury Qi in his body seemed desperate to be released in this
palm strike.

"BAM!!!"

"AH!!!"
Eventually, the white shadow let out a high-pitched scream as it was hit on
the chest, causing her whole shape to instantly distort. With a ‘chi’ sound like
that of shredding a piece of cloth into countless pieces, it exploded in an
instant and vanished.

Lu Sheng’s eyes bore great killing intent. With a plop, he fell into a half-
kneeling position on the ground.

He promptly spat out a mouthful of black blood.

Hands still shaking, he grabbed onto the broken saber on the floor and
stabbed it into the ground unsteadily to support himself.

Jade Crane Skill and Black Fury Skill were spinning madly within him in an
attempt to heal the injuries his body had suffered.

Because he had taken a blow earlier and over-exerted his strength, his
meridians were unable to bear the pressure and became covered with a
number of small cracks.

With both these serious injuries stacked on top of the other, Lu Sheng was
unable to support himself any longer now that he relaxed his Qi and blood.

After a long time had passed, the guards and housemen who had scurried far
into the distance finally dared to come near. By then, Lu Quanan and the rest
of the people had also rushed to the scene.

Everyone was in a spate of shock when they saw the utter chaos at the scene.

Then, they saw that Lu Sheng was half-kneeling on the ground, some blood
on the corners with his mouth and another patch on the floor; clearly, he had
just spat it out.

Lu Quanan ran over hastily.

"Little Sheng! Are you alright? Call the physician, quick!!!" Anxiety could be
seen on his face. He held onto Lu Sheng as he turned around and bellowed,
"What are you standing there for! COME HELP!!"

The others seemed to finally awaken from their stupor and hurried forward to
help lift Lu Sheng.

Eldest Uncle looked over the broken saber on the ground, the corpses, as well
as the wall that had been broken through.

Then, he turned to look at Lu Sheng, who was still billowing with killing
intent as he panted badly. A slight shudder shook in his heart.
How could his nephew of just ten over years old have caused this scene? In
fact, it was comparable to the work of the ferocious beasts from the mountain
forests!

He had once chanced upon a black bear roaming the mountains and
personally witnessed its might when it barged into a house. It had then caused
a scene of devastation that was not unlike the one before his eyes.

"About what happened tonight, no one is to spread it beyond these walls!

Otherwise…" Eldest Uncle Lu Anping glared coldly at the group of people
around.

"Come, clean up the mess. Do your best not to leave behind any traces."

The guards and housemen felt a chill down their spine as he glared at them.
Moreover, with the corpses before them as deterrence, none of them dared to
dispute his words.

27 Hiring 1 Way of the Devil

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The group of people carried Lu Sheng into his bedroom and had the Lu
Manor’s physician-in-residence examine him.
The physician entered the room and came out soon after.

"No major issues. He’s just physically spent and also suffered a heavy blow
to his abdomen. Young Master is strong and sturdy; as long as there are no
internal injuries, it’s nothing to worry about."

Only then did Lu Quanan sigh in relief.

It was really too rash for Lu Sheng to have personally intervened this time.
He was the Young Master of the Lu Family. If some mishap had happened to
him, who would they rely on in the future?

"Quanan, this was our only resort," Eldest Uncle sighed. "I intend to skip the
Prefect and personally report what happened here to the court. As the parent
official of an entire city, that Song Duanchi had previously already promised
to report this matter to the court, but until now, he still… as the Deputy
Commander, I had on several occasions requested Commander Yang Duanrui
to file a report, but he always came back with excuses."

"Could there be more to this than meets the eye?" Lu Quanan asked softly.

"Not sure… and we’ve still not heard from that lass Qingqing as well as those
who went missing," Eldest Uncle shook his head.
Both of them stood outside the door, feeling that they should do something,
yet without a clue what they could do.

The gravity of this incident had far surpassed their imagination.

Although they had previously heard of such incidents happening in other

places, when it fell on their own house, they were at a loss of what to do.

"How about…" Lu Quanan hesitated, "we offer a reward to hire people

trained to deal with this sort of supernatural things?"

"Courage is born under the incentive of gold. This may work. Anyway, these
incidents are now the talk of the city. There’s no way we can cover them up,"
Eldest Uncle nodded.

After discussing in detail, both of them settled on the decision.

Not long after, Lu Manor servants each carried a stack of red paper and
pasted it outside the Lu Manor’s main doors as well as the public noticeboard
nearby.

Rapidly, the sheets of red paper appeared in several important locations with
high traffic volume, attracting more than a few stares.
***

Several days later, the city gate.

On the busy main path covered with commuting travelers and carriages, a
team of merchants pulling along grey cargo came to a slow halt as they
reached the city gate. The leader of the merchant team began supervising the
unloading of the goods.

This merchant team was merely passing by Nine Links City and so only a
fraction of the goods were being unloaded.

As the leader supervised, two figures jumped down from a carriage—one tall
and the other short.

Both wore Taoist robes. The taller between them was a middle-aged man
with a red, square face. A sword was strapped to his back and he wore white
cloth shoes with black soles.

The other, a lady, was also dressed in a Taoist robe but looked pretty. Despite
a trace of fatigue on her face, her demeanor remained characteristic of the
well-educated. In these times, only one born in a wealthy family would
appear as such.

"Brother Yan, this in Nine Links City."

The lady’s voice was clear, like that of an eleven or twelve-year-old girl
whose voice had only just broken.

"Mm. Should be the Nine Links City that he spoke of. It’s been tough on you
this whole journey, Rongrong," the Taoist nodded and surveyed the
surroundings.

Quickly, he noticed a red paper announcement pasted on the city gate.

The announcement had drawn a large crowd of onlookers. Even the two
sentry guards had approached to chat with the people there.

Everybody wore looks of envy and surprise.

"It’s not tough at all to be travelling with Brother Yan Kai! That
announcement looks like an offer of reward. Let’s go take a look. Maybe
somebody has already encountered trouble and posted a request for help."

Rongrong had followed Yan Kai on many adventures and was rather
experienced with such situations.
In the previous few cases they had handled, they had gotten in contact with
the people in trouble through the posted notices too.

Yan Kai nodded. "Let’s go. We’ll take a look."

The two of them neared the city gate and squeezed their way towards the
notice.

"…So it’s the Lu Manor… it’s really been eventful lately in the city. Even
the Lu Family is now in trouble."

"Lu Family… just a while back, some of theirs fled. I caught a glance. I think
it was the Lu Family’s ex-guard commander. The entire manor is in panic."

"It’s been a few days since I last saw Sister Yu out on errands. Could
something really have happened?"

The crowd exchanged comments and continued chatting here and there.

Listening carefully, Yan Kai looked at the notice pasted on the gate.

It read:
"Reward of five hundred gold for people with special skills and talent for
hire.

Lately, too many strange incidents have been occurring in the city, with
people often going missing.

Earlier, there were also the Xu Family tragic case, the Wang villa well
incident and now my Lu Manor’s midnight woman’s wail.

For the sake of peace in the family, we hereby offer five hundred talents of
gold, worth approximately five thousand talents in silver, in return for
thoroughly investigating the matter and locating the missing persons."

The notice was simple, its meaning clear and to the point.

A second poster was also pasted underneath it, detailing from beginning to
end the process of how the Lu Manor had encountered the midnight wail.

It thoroughly recounted the cases of missing persons that had occurred in the
Lu Manor.

Yan Kai read in detail and his brows were locked in a furrow.

"That’s it. We’re going to the Lu Family."

Rongrong had just finished reading the contents of the notice too.

"It just so happens that we’re looking for ghosts. And we can also earn some
quick money along the way."

"We do not practice our arts for the sake of money," Yan Kai remarked
solemnly.

"Yes, yes, yes," Rongrong stuck out her tongue and shut her mouth hurriedly.
She knew that Brother Yan Kai could not tolerate those who helped others
with the expectation of getting something in return.

Without a further word, Yan Kai stepped forward to tear the notice down.

The Lu Manor houseman on duty beside it came to life immediately.

"Sir and Ma’am, this way please!"

Yan Kai nodded.

Bringing Rongrong with him, he followed the houseman towards the Lu

Manor.
The crowd of onlookers immediately went "ooh" and "ahh", with more than a
few busybodies even following them for a stretch to see if they were truly
going to the Lu Family.

It seemed like this couple dressed in Taoist robes really had some tricks up
their sleeves.

Not caring a hoot about whether or not people followed them, Yan Kai
walked on without the slightest change in expression. Clearly, he had long
since been used to being watched by spectators.

In the meantime, Rongrong actively struck up a conversation with the

houseman, inquiring about the Lu Manor’s recent situation.

Not long after, both of them boarded a horse carriage, which turned left and
right before coming to a halt.

Once the two of them alighted, someone was already present to lead them in.
They walked into a gigantic manor, decorated with artificial mountains and
flowing rivers, small bridges and gardens… and so on. With birds chirping
and the fragrance of flowers wafting in the air, the setup of the manor was
extremely intricate and luxurious.

Yan Kai walked on with Rongrong in tow without so much as a glance.

Quickly, they arrived in the Guest Hall.

"Welcome, welcome."

A middle-aged man, looking troubled and slightly pale, was sitting in the
Guest Hall.

The man looked plump and was dressed in a silver-bordered light blue robe
embroidered with coin motifs. The long beard hanging off his chin was neat
and clean.

It was none other than Lu Quanan, who had just come from meeting with Lu
Sheng.

"Are both of you the ones who tore down the notice on the city gate?" Lu
Quanan sized up the two standing before him.

Both were Taoists. The man’s face was red and well-nourished. His forehead
was prominent, eyes sober and back straight. If he was wearing a set of
scholar’s robes, he would likely possess the air of a noble gentleman.

The lady was pretty and slightly wide-eyed, appearing somewhat innocent.
Her bright eyes stole glances in all directions, making her look as if she was a
little miss who had run out of a prominent family and disguised herself.
"That’s right. Just a lowly Taoist, Yan Kai. Yan as in ‘colour’ (颜); Kai as in
‘open’ (开). My Taoist name is Huanyang-Zi," Yan Kai introduced himself.
"This is my junior sister Duan Rongrong. Both of us are here because of the
missing persons case."

"Please take a seat, please sit," Lu Quanan gestured.

Both of them sat and servant-maids swiftly served tea and snacks.

"I’ve written about the incident in detail on the notice. If Taoist Huanyang-Zi
would like to receive this reward, you’ll have to meet my son Lu Sheng. He’s
the one in charge of assessing the candidates for my Lu Family’s reward this
time," Lu Quanan said softly. "Of course, if Taoist truly has the skills, then
regardless of the outcome of this matter, we’ll offer up a hundred talents of
silver after this."

Both Yan Kai and Duan Rongrong were in agreement with this.

Lu Quanan enquired further regarding their backgrounds—where they were

from, their age, where they currently resided, etc.

Yan Kai answered each question in turn.

After a short rest, the Guest Hall was filled with a few others who had torn
the notices down as well.

Among those who came subsequently, two of them were monks from the Red
Lotus Temple. There was also a Taoist like Yan Kai.

The last of them was a travelling adventurer. A pair of twin sabers hung by
his waist, both short sabers. His facial features were pretty and if one looked
closely, one would realize that "he" was actually a "she" in disguise.

After waiting for a while longer, it seemed to Lu Quanan that all who would
come had come. Without further ado, he led the party to the side yard where
Lu Sheng was.

The Lu Manor comprised of many side yards, occupying a large plot of land.
A portion of the manor even stretched towards the city wall, occupying a
whole third of Nine Links City’s most prosperous sector. That went to show
how well endowed they were.

It wasn’t surprising—among the five great families of the city, the Lu Family
was the wealthiest.

The party followed Lu Quanan towards the Yellow Crane Courtyard.

Along the way, guards and housemen armed with sabers and swords were in
full view, stationed everywhere between the courtyards.

Each of the guards and housemen was well-built and muscular, standing with
impeccable bearing. A single glance revealed that they had undergone
military training.

As Yan Kai looked on, his face grew solemn. "This Lu Family is not to be
trifled with…"

Duan Rongrong was puzzled by his words.

"Aren’t they just rich? Pretty much similar to the families we encountered
previously. What’s the big deal about them?"

Yan Kai shook his head.

"Not just that. The Lu Family probably has a military background. Otherwise,
the housemen and guards here would not possess such an aura. The military
has strict rules. Only those who went through regular military training can
maintain such spirit and vigil. They’re not like old retired soldiers."

"Military background! And to think that even such a family would need to
request for help. Looks like they’re really in big trouble," Duan Rongrong
clicked her tongue.

The party walked over a hundred steps and quickly entered the Yellow Crane
Courtyard.

The Yellow Crane Courtyard was right beside the arena. They could even
hear the commands and shouts coming from the arena on which the guards
were presently training.

The Young Master of the Lu Family—Lu Sheng—was sitting on a reclining

chair in a half-sitting position. His face was pale and body wrapped in a thick
fur blanket. Strong medicinal smell wafted in the air. He didn’t seem to be in
high spirits.

Yan Kai carefully sized up Lu Sheng. One glance told him that the Qi and
vigor in his eyes were dim and faint, like that of a patient who had yet to
recover.

"Greetings to you, brave men," Lu Sheng coughed twice as he clasped his

hands together at the party. "As is evident to all of you, my physical
condition is unwell. I’ve yet to recover from my injuries so please forgive me
for not rising to welcome all of you."

"Young Master Sheng is too polite."

One of the monks from Red Lotus Temple, named Master True Depths,
stepped forward and spoke.

"Lu Family has always been one of the devout patrons of my Red Lotus
Temple. Now that you’re in trouble, the abbot has instructed us to make a trip
here to see if we can lend a helping hand."

"Many thanks, Master. Please thank the Red Lotus Abbot on my behalf as
well," Lu Sheng replied with a smile.

The other Taoist began to inquire about the case.

Lu Sheng answered each of his questions.

While listening carefully on the side, Yan Kai was also carefully examining
Lu Sheng.

"He’s injured because his body was invaded by Yin Qi. And that also just
recently," Yan Kai deducted from his careful observation of this Young
Master Lu.

28 Hiring 2 Way of the Devil

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"In other words, this place is the source of that thing which we’re looking
for?" Duan Rongrong asked softly.

"With Yin Qi of this density… it’s not certain," Yan Kai shook his head
slightly.

In the meantime, Lu Sheng had begun to invite these extraordinary men to

demonstrate their expertise.

The Taoist who had spoken earlier chuckled.

"This is this humble Taoist’s expertise."

He reached out and grabbed. A stone appeared in his hand from god-knows-
where. Then, he squeezed his hand closed with sudden force.

"Swoosh…"

Fine stone dust immediately trickled down the gaps between his fingers and,
immediately being carried away by the wind.
The party around him stared in shock.

Clearly, this was a feat that not even the strongest experts in Nine Links City
could perform.

The travelling adventurer who was a woman-in-disguise was now staring

especially solemnly at the Taoist.

Even Yan Kai regarded this Taoist with increased respect.

To possess the strength to crush stone into dust demanded extremely strong
inner force. Never would he have expected to find one such expert in this
place.

Low shouts of surprise escaped the mouths of the housemen, guards and
servant-maids standing around.

Lu Sheng stared at the Taoist without so much as a word. Only a frown

appeared on his face.

The Taoist chuckled. "How’s that, Young Master? Does my ability meet your
standards?"

Lu Sheng slowly breathed out.

Then, his eyes turned cold and stern all of a sudden.

"This is clearly the scent of Stone-Congealing Powder! You swindler! Where

are you from and how dare you make a fool of me! Arrest him!"

Everyone around was dumbfounded.

Before they could react, two muscular guards pounced on the Taoist, pressing
him onto the ground.

The Taoist screamed and struggled to no avail under the weight of two men.
No sign of the immense force capable of crushing stones into powder
manifested.

He was simply just an ordinary man.

"Young Master, how shall we deal with him? Should we inform the yamen
authorities?" A muscular guard on the side asked. He was one of the guards
who had personally seen Young Master’s divine might when he destroyed the
female ghost on the previous night. Thus, he was now thoroughly converted
as Young Master Lu Sheng’s diehard loyalist.

Lu Sheng looked in disgust at the Taoist struggling on the ground.

"No need for that. Just pull him out and behead him."

"NO, DON’T! Young Master, I just fell into a moment’s folly, wanting to
earn some extra money! I was out of my mind!"

Upon hearing his words, the Taoist was immediately sent into shock and
begged to be spared at the top of his voice. His whole body trembled like a
reed in the wind, his face as white as a sheet of paper and drenched in cold
sweat.

"Young Master, spare my life!!!"

"Yes sir!"

The guard did not care about his pleas and had his men drag the Taoist out of
the courtyard.

There was also an execution room specially prepared beside the arena.

Given the Lu Family’s immense wealth and power, the yamen would close an
eye when the Lu Family executed a couple of people on its own authority.
Yan Kai and the rest looked on in shock and fear as the man was dragged out.
Quickly, a faint tragic scream rang out from outside.

"Alright, gentlemen. Now that we’ve dealt with the phony, may I please have
the next person to demonstrate his ability," Lu Sheng recovered the gentle
smile that was previously on his face.

The remaining few now had a deeper understanding of the temperament of

this Young Master of the Lu Family.

Though he looked frail and sickly, he would turn into a monster in the blink
of an eye. He acted decisively and without mercy… truly, he was one not to
be trifled with.

After a moment’s silence, the second person to step forward was Master True
Depths of Red Lotus Temple. This master’s hands were shaking, but he still
mustered his courage and stepped forward.

"I… This humble monk suddenly remembered that there are urgent matters to
be settled in the temple…" Facing Lu Sheng, Master True Depths broke out
into a cold sweat as he spoke.

Unexpectedly, he stepped forward not in order to demonstrate his abilities,

but to retreat!
The younger monk behind him fared even worse. Not only was cold sweat
tricking down his forehead, his face was ashen white and both his knees
buckled against each other incessantly.

"Since Master has matters to attend to, please take your leave first."

Lu Sheng smiled, remaining polite and gentle. He quickly instructed a

servant-maid to lead Master True Depths and the monk to the exit without
making things difficult for them.

Within a short while, three people were gone.

Only three were left—the travelling adventurer and the Yan Kai duo.

"Let me go next."

The travelling adventurer who was a lady-in-disguise stepped forward and

pulled out the twin sabers on her waist.

"My forte is qinggong, short-range and long-range pursuit as well as tracking

and investigations. Should be of help when looking for missing persons."

"Oh? In that case, may I know how to address you, Miss?" Lu Sheng smiled.
"Zhuan Feng."

"Chuan Feng?" Lu Sheng was stunned.

The female travelling adventurer quickly scribbled two words on the stone
desk with her finger.

Only then did everyone understand that her last name was "Zhuan". [1]

"So, Miss Zhuan Feng, may I know how you’re going to demonstrate your
expertise?"

Curiosity appeared on Lu Sheng’s face.

Zhuan Feng sniffed and squatted down to carefully examine the surface of
the ground. Then, she put her ear close to the ground to listen.

Before long, she arose and opened her mouth to deliver her assessment.

"I can determine that, Young Master Lu, you and your men have been in this
side yard for no more than four hours.

From beginning to end, there should have been two batches of guards and
servant-maids who came in and out to clean the place. The total number of
people was less than ten and it should have taken place about two hours ago.

Only after that did Young Master arrive. Moreover, neither Young Master
nor anyone around you entered the rooms in this side yard. Clearly, this yard
was specially set up just in time for the purpose of assessing us. Not even you
had the time to enter the rooms."

Immediately, Lu Sheng and the rest opened their eyes wide in astonishment.
Not only them, the guards and the servant-maids standing by around them
looked as if they had just seen a ghost.

Merely by bending down towards the ground, looking, listening and sniffing,
she was able to deduce so many facts!

This Miss Zhuan Feng was indeed an extraordinary talent!

"Impressive!" Lu Sheng clapped lightly.

"Miss Zhuan Feng, regardless of how you determined all those, you’ve
passed. Next would be these two persons…" He looked towards the duo
including Yan Kai.

While Yan Kai handled his gaze well, Duan Rongrong’s hair stood on ends
as Young Master Lu’s gaze shot in her direction.

Just a moment ago, he was all filled with smiles. In the very next second, he
had turned into a devil and had the Taoist beheaded.

Even if such a man were to smile at you, how could you be certain that he
wouldn’t put you to death in the very next second?

In her mind, Duan Rongrong had already labeled this Young Master Lu as a
highly dangerous character.

Yan Kai, however, remained composed as he stepped forward.

"If I have not guessed wrongly," he stared at Lu Sheng with eyes full of
vigor, "Young Master Lu’s injuries were caused by Yin Qi invasion, am I
right?"

"Oh?"

Lu Sheng’s brows raised. Now he was really getting interested.

This man before him seemed like he really knew a thing or two.

"Your wound should be on your abdomen. But, thankfully, it did not reach
your internal organs. However, with Yin Qi invading your body, if you do
not purge it, it will eventually damage your Yang Qi.

This is a bit of Yang Returning Potion concocted by your humble Taoist. If

Young Master’s got the guts, you can try consuming it to test its effects."

He retrieved a black porcelain bottle from his sleeve and handed it over.

A servant-maid on the side hurriedly received it and placed it on a plate

before delivering it over to Lu Sheng.

"Remember to return me the bottle after drinking," Yan Kai added.

Lu Sheng looked at the porcelain bottle. He pulled out the wooden cork and
held it up to his nose for a sniff.

Just a sniff alone made him feel as if much of the Yin coldness in his body
had been purged. A fiery scent wafted into his nostrils from the bottle,
making him feel hot all over.

It was indeed true that he started having the shivers even since he got back to
his room to rest after the blow to his abdomen. The wounds on his body were
secondary. His main concern was that the strand of Yin coldness had
infiltrated his body. Regardless of what tonics that supplemented Yang he
consumed or how he worked out under the sun, it was useless in getting rid of
it.

Although there would be some warming effects on his body right after he had
consumed Yang-supplementing tonic or worked out, that Yin coldness would
come back the moment he rested.

Looking at the porcelain bottle in front of him, Lu Sheng smiled and emptied
it into his mouth without hesitation.

A faint taste of rust flooded his mouth, accompanied by a spicy, piquant

flavor. A gush of heat slid down his throat.

Lu Sheng breathed out slowly. His entire body was flooded with warmth, as
though he was under a hot summer day’s sun at noon; it was extremely
comfortable.

The Yin coldness from before melted rapidly like snow under the heat of the
summer day. Before long, it was no longer perceptible.

"Taoist-sir, you’re indeed impressive," Lu Sheng knew at that moment that

he had run into an expert. "This bottle of Yang Returning Potion will be
factored into your compensation."
"Does that count as a pass?" Yan Kai asked.

"Of course! The three of you, please follow me."

Lu Sheng rose slowly, supported by guards. He led the three of them into the
inner house in the Yellow Crane Courtyard.

The servant-maids and guards departed, leaving only that muscular guard
beside Lu Sheng.

"Ka-cha."

The door shut tight.

Only five people stood in the room.

"Here are the specifics of what happened…"

Lu Sheng began recounting the flow of events, starting from the first case of
missing persons.

Yan Kai and the rest of them listened meticulously, inquiring about some
detail every now and then.
Everything that Lu Sheng knew, he replied in turn. What he did not know
was supplemented by the muscular guard beside him.

The conversation lasted for a whole hour.

After understanding the situation, Yan Kai bowed his head as he fell deep in
thought.

A moment later, he lifted his head again.

"The supernatural beings that Young Master ran into, this humble Taoist
names them Demonic Ghosts."

"Demonic Ghosts?" Lu Sheng asked. This counted as his first foray into the
mysterious side of this world.

"Demon Ghosts, Demonic Ghosts. In themselves, they’re not formed by souls

of people who have passed on per se. Rather, they’re formed by the
bitterness, jealousy, hatred, injustice… and other emotions of humans. These
emotions absorb some mysterious power from the environment, congealing
into ghosts," Yan Kai explained solemnly. "Dealing with one or two
Demonic Ghosts is a small matter. But if left alone for a long time, they will
spread like a virus, killing more people and then forming new Demonic
Ghosts. From the density of Yin Qi on Young Master, the Demonic Ghosts
that you were in contact with had been left alone for a long time."

"For a long time? In that case, wouldn’t there be more Demonic Ghosts in
Nine Links City?"

Lu Sheng’s face grew serious.

"Highly possible," Yan Kai nodded. "Alright, leave this matter to me. I’ll
deal with it. Young Master needs only to rest and recover at home. But this
humble Taoist is only responsible for dealing with the Demonic Ghosts. As
for finding the missing persons…"

"I’ll find the missing persons," Zhuan Feng said. "When it comes to these
supernatural encounters, I’ve had a couple of experiences with them in the
past too."

Lu Sheng nodded in assent.

"In that case, Taoist-sir, what else can I do to help you?"

Now he was fully convinced that this Taoist Yan Kai must be one of those
rumored professionals.

"Demonic Ghosts are not something that you can handle. The pressing matter
at hand for you is to move out of Nine Links City immediately since you’ve
made contact with them, lest you become fodder for the Demonic Ghosts to
feed on," Yan Kai said plainly. "In addition, we’ve come also in order to
investigate the Xu family’s massacre."

"I also want to help in any way I can," Lu Sheng said earnestly.

"I’ve already said that it’s unnecessary. Numbers won’t help when it comes
to ordinary men. Even if you’re trained in some martial arts, you’ll only
become a burden to us. Martial arts have no use at all against ghosts!"

Yan Kai replied unceremoniously with a frown.

Beside him, Duan Rongrong broke out in a cold sweat, fearful that they had
angered Young Master Lu…

Lu Sheng was about to speak, but was cut off by Yan Kai.

"Alright, no need to speak any further. This isn’t something that you ordinary
men can participate in."

[1] TL/N: The reason why everyone heard Zhuan Feng’s name as Chuan
Feng at first was because Chuan Feng (传风) literally means "passage of
wind" in Chinese, which is apt for someone with her skill as a fast tracker. Lu
Sheng and the rest were surprised by the uncanny aptness of this name. This
also explains their later reaction when they realized her name was actually
Zhuan Feng.

29 Found 1 Way of the Devil

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Hearing Yan Kai’s words, Lu Sheng simply smiled instead of getting angry.

"In that case, I’ll just pass a message to the underworld in the city. If any help
is needed, you can approach all the clothes shop, pharmacies, blacksmiths in
the city. They’ll all lend you their assistance."

"That works too," Yan Kai nodded. "Alright, since that’s settled, we’ll make
a move first. First order of business is to examine the Lily Flower Room."

"Please be my guest," Lu Sheng smiled.

"I’ll go too," the female adventurer Zhuan Feng said as she followed them.

Watching the trio leave, Lu Sheng gave the order to permit them free access
to the entire Lu Manor. None was to intercept them.
"Little Sheng, do you think those three will be of use?" Lu Quanan had just
entered through the door and had heard their exchange earlier.

"Whether or not they’ll be of use doesn’t matter. Simply by being able to see
through my wounds and curing me with a bottle of potion it was worth us
spending this sum of money," Lu Sheng replied.

"I give you full authority to oversee this matter. The entire Manor, myself
included, will take orders from you. So just do as you deem fit!" Lu Quanan
said in all seriousness.

"Thanks, Dad," Lu Sheng replied with a smile.

After Lu Quanan left, Lu Sheng returned to his bedroom and had Little Qiao
feed him with nourishing bird’s nest by the spoon. [1]

Ever since he was injured, he had not seriously upgraded his martial arts.

After all, to expend energy and Qi to upgrade his martial arts with his body
damaged was to court death, not to seek strength.

With the Yin Qi now purged from his body, however, he began thinking
about how he should plan his future development.
While drinking bird’s nest, Lu Sheng sat on the rattan chair in his courtyard,
his eyes closed and body reclining lazily.

"Young Master, Miss Qingqing has already not returned for a few days.
Could she have…?" Little Qiao asked softly with a face full of worry.

"Don’t be anxious. There’s no use in getting anxious. Leave these

professional matters to the professionals to deal with. Even if we went along,
we’d just be getting in the way," Lu Sheng shook his head.

"It’s just that when I see Second Mistress crying her heart out every day, it
breaks my heart too," Little Qiao whispered. "Young Master, do you think
they’re up to it?"

"They should be able to dig some things up. As for how much, I’m not sure,"
Lu Sheng replied casually. His mind, however, was on whether or not Yan
Kai’s words were true.

Thinking it through in detail, the Taoist had no reason to lie. If he was out to
swindle money, just that bottle of Yang Returning Potion would have been
enough to make him a handsome profit.

With such people handling the issue now, there was no need to get anxious
indeed, especially since the Demonic Ghost in Lu Manor had been dealt with.
They were safe for the time being.

It’s just that, according to Yan Kai, there still remained more than a few
Demonic Ghosts in Nine Links City.

Immediately, a thick sense of danger rose in Lu Sheng’s heart.

Previously, it had already taken all his might to deal with just one Demonic
Ghost. Had there been a few more…

"Leave first. I want some quiet and rest," Lu Sheng suddenly said.

Little Qiao responded in acknowledgement and helped him onto his bed and
covered him in blankets. Then she left the room.

The door closed with a "ka-cha" sound.

Lu Sheng slowly rose from the bed and took out a grey paper packet from a
drawer.

He opened the paper packet gingerly to reveal some fine greyish-white

powder.
This were the remains left behind by the Demonic Ghost.

Lu Sheng did not know whether it was of any worth. But any object left
behind by such supernatural beings had to be of some use somehow.

Hence, he did not dispose of the powder, but rather hid it carefully.

He spread the powder out on the tabletop.

‘Looks like if I want to find out what this stuff is good for, I’ve got to look
for the Yan Kai duo,’ he mused.

Keeping the powder, he finally climbed onto the bed and slept soundly.

When he awoke, it was already dark.

Little Qiao was lighting up the candles in the room. She was twelve years old
this year. She was presently bent over, with her butt under a small white dress
facing Lu Sheng. Its perkiness was a huge temptation.

The hem of her skirt reached towards the knee. With her present bent-over
position, the silhouette of her round, perky butt was clearly visible through
her skirt.
"Ahem…" Lu Sheng coughed lightly. Having awoken, he was feeling
refreshed and alert.

Little Qiao heard him immediately and quickly spun around.

"Young Master, you’re up! There’s still some fungus soup boiled with
vegetables in the kitchen. Would Young Master like a bowl?"

"What time is it now?"

"Almost the Hai hour," Little Qiao hurriedly replied.

Lu Sheng did the conversion in his mind. The Hai hour was between nine to
eleven o’clock at night.

"Oh, it’s already so late. Have the few who went out in the day sent any word
back?"

"You mean the Taoists?" Little Qiao clarified.

"Yeah."

"Brother Yuhan has been waiting outside for a long time. There should be
some news," Little Qiao replied.
"Let Yuhan come in."

Lu Sheng rubbed his temples and began climbing out of bed to get dressed.

By the time he was properly dressed in his clothes and outer robe, the
muscular guard from before—Yuhan—had entered.

"Young Master," he clasped his hands together in ceremony.

"Is there any news from Taoist Yan Kai?"

"Yes. Taoist Yan Kai went to the Zheng Family. One hour ago, he solved a
similar missing person case for the Zheng Family. Now, he’s gone to the old
Xu Manor," at the mention of Yankai, a look of respect appeared on Yuhan’s
face.

This man was able to resolve that strange matter so quickly!

One needed to know that he had seen what that Demonic Ghost was like—it
could possess a body, it could fly, it was extremely fast and even carried
extremely dense toxic Qi on its body. Even Young Master was hurt by it!

Yet that Taoist could deal with such a monster so easily. He truly deserved
the title of an expert!

Lu Sheng was unsurprised. "How about Miss Zhuan Feng?"

"She’s already found some leads. I’ve instructed a few men to follow Miss
Zhuan Feng out of the city. There should be a message from them soon,"
Yuhan replied.

"They truly are professionals indeed. When these matters land in their hands,
clues start showing up in just one day!" Lu Sheng exclaimed. "Let’s go. Grab
a bite with me. Hopefully, my sister is fine."

Neither Yuhan nor Little Qiao dared to reply to that. As servants, no matter
how they replied to such comments, they were inviting trouble onto
themselves.

Lu Sheng led the two of them out of the bedroom, which was guarded by two
guards. An entire table full of delicacies had already been prepared outside.

A few servant-maids were cleaning the utensils efficiently.

Lu Sheng sat down, grabbed some food with his chopsticks and put it into his
mouth.
"News! Young Master! There’s news!"

Suddenly, a series of shouts rang forth from outside the courtyard.

Lu Sheng rose at once. A fumbling houseman dashed into the courtyard

through the entrance, panting while speaking loudly, "Second Miss… there’s
news of Second Miss! In the deserted Taoist temple outside the city!"

Outside Nine Links City, there were three Taoist temples. But only one was
deserted.

It was situated north of Nine Links City, near the White Frozen Ocean. There
was a series of deserted mountains there and a Taoist temple was built in the
mountains. No one knew which Lord of the Dao was worshipped there.
Neither did anyone know when the temple was built.

But Lu Sheng at least knew of that place. He had visited it several times
when he went hiking as a boy.

Whenever it rained, they would head to the deserted Taoist temple for shelter.

"Is it that Taoist temple near the White Frozen Ocean?" Lu Sheng added to
clarify.
"That’s the one indeed," the housemen quickly answered. "Miss Zhuan Feng
said that all the missing persons may be gathered in that Taoist Temple and
that we can investigate it ourselves."

"What about Taoist Yan Kai?"

"They’ve already gone ahead!"

Lu Sheng’s eyes narrowed. He had only just recovered and should not be so
quick to join in the action.

But, this was a golden opportunity.

Ideally, the best scenario was that Taoist Yan Kai would stay for the long
term. But from the looks of it, the duo including Yan Kai didn’t seem like
they were planning to stay for long. Rather, it appeared more as if they were
merely passing by this place in the pursuit of some lead.

‘Looks like I really need to think hard about how I can get word out of this
Taoist regarding the rumored secret arts that can handle and deal with
ghosts.’

Lu Sheng’s original intention was to acquire some of the cultivation mantras

used by those rumored immortality cultivators.
Since even things like Demonic Ghosts existed, perhaps those methods to
cultivate immortality and become an immortal existed as well.

"Gather over ten men. We’ll go take a look too."

At this thought, Lu Sheng gave the orders.

"Yes!" Yuhan quickly acknowledged.

***

The night wind howled, bringing with it a piercing coldness.

Among the mountains, a long line formed by red flaming torches was moving
rapidly.

The leader, riding on a horse and wrapped in a thick coat, was none other
than Lu Sheng.

Behind him was Yuhan, who was himself followed by over ten guards.

The party had advanced in the dark for the duration of a joss stick before
finding the road that led towards the deserted Taoist temple mentioned by
Zhuan Feng.

Equipped with torches and weapons like sabers, swords, bows and arrows,
and wearing leather helmets, the party looked almost like real soldiers.

Everyone advanced another few hundred steps in the cold wind. Finally, an
old, desolate grey- and yellow-colored Taoist temple revealed itself in the
forest ahead.

The originally quiet and dark temple was now filled with sudden flashes of
sparks. Faint yells and shouts came from it as well.

The cold wind was too strong. Lu Sheng was straining his ears, but all he
could hear was the howling of the wind which covered up the sounds coming
from the deserted Taoist temple.

When they were just a hundred steps away from the temple, he raised his
hand, signaling the party to halt.

Now that they were near, everyone could hear the shouts coming out from the
Taoist temple. They should have come from Taoist Yan Kai.

"Young Master, what should we do?"

Yuhan asked a trifle nervously, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

"There’s no hurry," Lu Sheng tightened the fox fur outer coat around him.
The fluffy white fox fur covered his neck tightly and looked very warm and
snug. "If we go over now, we’ll only become a burden to the Taoists. So,
there’s no hurry," Lu Sheng said gravely.

Everyone waited for a while longer. The sparks and flashes in the temple
were getting brighter and brighter, and Taoist Yan Kai’s shouts were getting
clearer and clearer.

Lu Sheng waited outside quietly for a while, until the shouts from the temple
ceased. Only then did he signal for a torch from a guard.

Gripping the torch himself, he approached the temple alone.

Yuhan wanted to stop him; but on a second thought, he gritted his teeth.

"Follow!" He shouted loudly, following closely after Lu Sheng.

As for the rest of the housemen and guards, their hair stood on its ends. But
the iron rules of the Manor compelled them to advance forward, after Yuhan.

Although Yan Kai as well as Young Master were shielding them in front,
these housemen and guards were largely inexperienced youths who had not
seen blood yet. It was already to their credit that they were able to suppress
their instinct to flee.

[1] ED/N: Edible Bird Nest, search that on wikipedia to find out what’s that.
To put it shortly, it’s an actual bird nest that’s made of solidified saliva of
some bird; it apparently tastes great and has a big nutritional value, and is
quite expensive. Here likely as a soup.

30 Found 2 Way of the Devil

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Lu Sheng slowly drew near to a twenty steps’ distance away from the temple
and stood still.

He carefully peered into the temple. Through the collapsed gate, he could
clearly see Yan Kai wield a tempered steel sword and strike a hazy white
figure into retreat.

Within the blink of an eye, the white figure was savagely stabbed by the
sword and shrieked pathetically in a girlish voice.

After that, it collapsed on the ground and immediately vanished into thin air.
Red-faced, Yan Kai slowly sheathed his sword. White steam was rising
slowly from his crown.

With its close proximity to the northern frozen ocean and its location deep in
the mountains, this place was freezing cold. Even exhaled breath condensed
into white vapor, not to mention the heat from such an intense battle.

Having sheathed his sword, Yan Kai saw Lu Sheng and his party.

"It’s the Lu Family’s Young Master Sheng and his men."

Duan Rongrong had previously been hiding in a corner. Seeing that the
Demonic Ghost had been destroyed, she quietly snuck out of her hiding
place.

"What a close shave. Demonic Ghosts have never lived in groups. To think
that we ran into three of them here! Our luck was just too bad," at the thought
of the situation earlier, her nerves remained jittery.

"It’s alright now. They’ve all been dealt with," Yan Kai said in a composed
manner. "Go greet Young Master Sheng. The underground tunnel in the
temple may have got something to do with the missing persons."
"Mission completed! We’ve earned a long journey’s worth of travelling
expenses!" Duan Rongrong leapt in joy. Patting the dust off her clothes, she
approached Lu Sheng and his party.

Yan Kai shook his head as he followed after. Fatigue showed on his face.

Lu Sheng plastered on a smile and approached in greeting.

"Taoist-sir…"

The words had only just escaped his lips when he heard a ripping sound like
the tearing of cloth.

"POOF!!!"

A white figure shot towards Lu Sheng and the guards behind him from the
side!

"Not good! It’s trying to possess a body!"

Yan Kai knew how difficult it was to face Demonic Ghosts. Unlike other
ghosts, Demonic Ghosts were capable of possessing bodies. Once a Demonic
Ghost possessed a body, many of his special methods to counter them would
lose their effect; he would be left with no choice but to face them head-on.
Moreover, when a Demonic Ghost possessed a body, it would temporarily
increase the possessed body’s overall ability by a large margin. It was an
insane power.

Perhaps if he was at his peak, he would not fear it. But now that Lu Sheng
had brought so many men, the Demonic Ghost was supplied with plenty of
ideal targets to possess. These muscular men, full of vigor and energy, each
made for perfect host for the Demonic Ghost.

Presently, he was taxed to his limits and near the end of his strength. Once
the Demonic Ghost successfully possessed a body, the situation would
instantly turn extremely perilous.

"MOVE AWAY!!!" Yan Kai rushed over, his blood and Qi surging like
waves within him.

Yet, as fast as he was, he was still no match for the Demonic Ghost’s speed!

With a "swoosh", the white figure had already pounced towards Lu Sheng—
the one with the richest blood and Qi among them.

Yan Kai was alarmed. It was one thing for others to be possessed, but if Lu
Sheng met with any mishap, they would run into real trouble here in Nine
Links City!

Although they had interacted with each other for only a day, this short period
of time had given them a deep impression of the status the Lu Family
commanded in Nine Links City!

Stepping forward using a strange movement pattern, he burst forward at high

speed in an attempt to intercept the white figure before it pounced on Lu
Sheng.

"CLANG!"

Without warning, a white glint flashed.

Lu Sheng’s eyes burst open.

All around him, the flow of Qi trembled as deafening tiger roars could be
heard.

Lightning-quick, he pulled out the long saber strapped to his back with his
right hand and hacked downwards at the area before him, pencil-straight.

Gleams of light flashed off the saber as it roared madly like a fierce tiger.
"ROAR!!!"

"BOOM!!!"

The saber hacked at the white shadow. Like a torn rag, it was forcibly flung
outwards and tossed wildly about by the impact, before finally vanishing with
a poof.

Silence descended on the area. Slowly, Lu Sheng sheathed his saber.

The muscles all over his body remained bulged due to the increased blood
circulation, causing him to give off an air of savagery and menace, as if he
was some ferocious beast.

Yan Kai froze in his steps, his eyes opened wide. Staring at the spot where
the Demonic Ghost had vanished and then looking at Lu Sheng’s body,
currently inflated with Qi and blood, he was struck dumb for a whole few
seconds.

Duang Rongrong’s eyes lit up and she walked towards Yan Kai, clicking her
tongue.

"Brother Yan Kai, this Young Master Sheng… is not to be trifled with…"
Duan Rongrong was merely a novice in the arts who had yet to grasp the true
implications of that saber stroke. But, Yan Kai was a different story. He
stared dumbly at Lu Sheng and was still unable to speak even when Lu Sheng
had walked up to him.

"You’ve worked hard, Taoist-sir. If it hadn’t been for the fact that the
Demonic Ghost was already mortally wounded by Taoist-sir, I wouldn’t have
been able to finish it off in one saber stroke," Lu Sheng smiled. [1]

"…Young Master Sheng… is too polite," Yan Kai finally shook himself out
of his shocked daze.

"To be honest, I’ve seen other exorcists like myself. I’ve also seen people
who could deal with troublesome stuff like Demonic Ghosts using other
methods.

But to slay Demonic Ghosts purely with the might of one’s inner force, like
Young Master just did… this is the first time I’m seeing such a thing."

As he spoke, he began recalling his earlier words about how martial arts were
useless against Demonic Ghosts.

Now, he couldn’t help but put on a pained smile.

"Oh?" Lu Sheng was surprised.

Smiling bitterly, Yan Kai was now no longer impatient like previously and
began explaining in detail.

"Actually, martial arts aren’t really entirely useless. But only inner Qi of an
extreme Yang nature or some special attribute would cause some damage to
ghosts.

But the level of damage we’re talking about… let’s put it like this: if one unit
of strength based on our method can kill one Demonic Ghost, then it’d take
fifty units of strength to do the same with Yang-nature inner Qi!"

Lu Sheng instantly understood.

It was now clear to him why the supposed martial arts experts did not enter
Yan Kai’s eyes. The gap between their efficacy was simply too big!

"But—on top of the fact that it was already wounded by me— that stroke
which you performed earlier was capable of slaying the Demonic Ghost in
one move because the inner Qi which you used possesses an attribute that
was able to slightly suppress the Demonic Ghost," Yan Kai added.
Those who had followed Lu Sheng—Yuhan and the rest of the Manor
guards—had personally witnessed how Lu Sheng had hacked into the
floating white figure in one saber move.

Their previous fear vanished instantly, turning into boldness.

Moreover, each one of them was now looking towards Lu Sheng with eyes
full of respect and worship.

While the Taoist was powerful indeed to destroy those ghastly white shadows
so easily, they now felt that their own Young Master wasn’t too shabby
either.

Yuhan had been fearful earlier, especially when the ghost had pounced
towards them. His back was soaked in cold sweat.

It was a good thing that he didn’t manage to react in time; he just stood
frozen and so did not make a fool of himself. However, more than half of the
guards behind him had turned around and fled, their torches and weapons
abandoned on the ground.

Lu Sheng turned around and glanced at his guards before turning to Yuhan
and saying, "Tidy up this place and search the perimeter. See if there’re any
others. Taoist-sir, this place is ‘clean’ now, isn’t it?" He spun round to ask
Yan Kai.

Yan Kai blushed in embarrassment as he was reminded of his earlier

negligence. He nodded vigorously.

"Don’t worry, it’s ‘clean’ now. That was just a fish that got through the hole
in the net."

Duan Rongrong was staring at Lu Sheng curiously with her big eyes.
Meanwhile, Yan Kai continued, "There’s an underground tunnel in there.
When Miss Zhuan Feng discovered this place, she surmised that there might
be living people hidden in it."

"Where’s Miss Zhuan Feng?" The question had only just left Lu Sheng’s
mouth when Zhuan Feng walked out from the temple.

"Let’s go. We’ll take a look inside."

Lu Sheng gripped his saber’s hilt tightly and walked towards the temple’s
gates.

Yan Kai and Duan Rongrong followed, taking Lu Sheng over in a few steps
to lead him in.
The entire Taoist temple was a yellowish grey, comprising of three rooms
linked together.

The Great Hall right in the middle was missing its doors. A gaping hole was
also discernible in its ceiling, revealing the messy undergrowth and rocks
within.

Lu Sheng followed the Yan Kai duo into the Great Hall. On the wall facing
the main doors was the drawing of a black and white Tai Chi diagram. [2]

Before the Tai Chi diagram was a stone idol. However, half its head had been
sliced off and now it was indistinguishable as to which Lord of the Dao it was
that had been worshipped here.

Yan Kai walked to the idol and hooked something up from among the
undergrowth with his foot.

"KA-DUMP."

With a crisp sound, a square entrance, about the size of a person, was
revealed on the ground, opening an underground passage.

From the entrance, one could even hear the faint howl of the wind, mixed
with crying sounds made by people. It was very eerie.
Zhuan Feng walked to the side of the entrance and said,

"I’ve gone inside this tunnel once just now. In it… there are some corpses,
and also some living…"

At this point, an awkward expression appeared on her face, as if she lacked

the words to describe what was inside.

Lu Sheng glanced towards Yan Kai.

But the Taoist merely smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"I’ve heard Miss Zhuan Feng’s description of this place too. Only you can go
in. Don’t worry, there are no longer any evil things inside. There is no
danger."

A bad premonition surfaced in Lu Sheng’s mind. He gripped his saber’s hilt

tightly and suppressed the unease in his heart. Then, he slowly climbed down
the steps into the tunnel.

Zhuan Feng followed along as well.

Apart from the two of them, no one else entered.

The tunnel was rather narrow at first. After about ten steps or so, it came to a
bend and led to a pitch-black iron door.

The door was ajar and faint sounds could be heard from within.

Lu Sheng glanced at Zhuan Feng.

"That’s the place. All the missing persons are here, I think."

Zhuan Feng said earnestly.

Lu Sheng was rather curious about this Zhuan Feng.

What on earth must she have gone through to turn from a girl in the prime of
her life into such an indifferent person, like a professional hunter?

For example, when the Demonic Ghost had appeared earlier, Zheng Feng
didn’t look panicked in the slightest when she came. Perhaps she had similar
encounters in the past.

Lu Sheng studied Zhuan Feng measuredly.

"Miss Zhuan Feng, have you got any interest in joining my Lu Family as a
paid consultant?"

"Nope," came Zhuan Feng’s unembellished reply.

"Fine," Lu Sheng knew that, apart from money, he had nothing that could
attract such a talent and hence said nothing else.

He pushed open the iron door.

As the iron door creaked against the ground, Lu Sheng gradually took in the
view behind the door.

It was a stone chamber no longer or wider than ten steps. A heap of naked
corpses was piled up in one corner.

Among them were both males and females, the young and the old.

Apart from the corpses, there were also three living people left in the room.

They were two women and a man—all well-built and clearly the type who
had trained regularly.

Lu Sheng’s heart sunk when he saw that one of the females was Lu Qingqing.
Without a strip of clothing on her, Lu Qingqing was presently on her fours.
Her long hair had fallen in a mess and her face was pale with a tinge of blue.

Hearing commotion, she lifted her head and looked dazedly at the door. Her
originally lively big eyes had become blank, lifeless and dull.

Saliva dripped down the corner of her mouth. She seemed completely devoid
of intelligence.

"Qingqing!!!" Lu Sheng rushed up, took off his outer coat and wrapped her in
it. "Qingqing, wake up! Wake up!!"

He gave Lu Qingqing two slaps on her face.

But it was futile.

Lu Qingqing’s eyes remained the same as before.

Witnessing the scene, a trace of sorrow flashed past Zhuan Feng’s eyes.

"It’s no use. She’s already lost her mind… Yin Qi invaded her brain and,
without the support of Yang Qi, at least half of it died. It’s already a miracle
that she’s alive. Those were the Taoist-sir’s exact words."
Lu Sheng’s heart sank violently.

Lifting Lu Qingqing up in his arms, he looked at the other two people.

Both the man and the woman were of fine appearance with attractive bodies.
Clearly, they were deliberately spared and kept here by the Demonic Ghosts
for god-knows-what purpose.

[1] ED/N: The MC is speaking humbly here. Sorry, no fitting translation into
English is possible, at least considering MC’s status and the exact context.

[2] ED/N: It’s probably obvious, but it’s the round, half-white and half-black
symbol in which both colors look like two curving tears merging with each
other, the symbol of Yin and Yang.