Impervious to Blade and Spear

After Lu Chen returned to Qingshan Village, his life became peaceful once more.

He taught literacy and arithmetic in the morning, martial arts in the afternoon, and gave Lu Ming and Lu Tang extra lessons in the evening. His days were full.

In his spare time, he studied the Vajra Body and read Elder Ning's books on medicine and herbs, hoping he might unlock a medical Trait.

He also carefully examined the intelligence from the Black Kill Pavilion.

Most of it concerned geography, local customs, and the like. The country he lived in, for example, was Great Qian.

Qingshan Village fell under the jurisdiction of Shahu County in Shanyang Prefecture, in the south of Great Qian.

To the north of Great Qian lay the Northern Barbarian Tribe.

Due north of Great Qian, a mountain range called Qianling stretched between it and the Northern Barbarian Tribe's grasslands. A thousand zhang high, its towering peaks were difficult to cross. Only in the northwest was there a gap, where a mighty fortress called Zhenbei Pass had been built.

If the Northern Barbarians wanted to march a great army south into Great Qian, they could only pass through Zhenbei Pass.

To the west of Great Qian lay the Star Alliance Dynasty, with the north-south Black Flood Dragon Mountain Range and the Yellow Dragon River forming the boundary.

To the east and south of Great Qian lay the sea.

The intelligence said nothing about what lay farther west of the Star Alliance Dynasty.

The same was true of the Northern Barbarians. He didn't know what lay farther north of them.

Great Qian, the Star Alliance, and the Northern Barbarians stood like the three legs of a cauldron. They had fought one another for years, with victories and defeats on all sides.

According to the Black Kill Pavilion's intelligence, however, the previous emperor, Emperor Yongning, had died suddenly more than ten years ago. Several princes had fought one another for the throne, but none had succeeded, allowing a child of only eight to seize the opening and ascend it.

All these years, the child's mother, the empress dowager, had held the reins of government in Great Qian. The princes' free-for-all more than a decade ago had badly weakened the country, and Great Qian had grown worse with each passing year.

Just two years ago, the Northern Barbarians had actually led their forces through Zhenbei Pass and raided south. Although Zhenbei Pass was later retaken, it had still sent a signal.

Great Qian seemed to be failing!

Last year, several prefectures in the north had suffered three or four consecutive years of drought. Many people could barely fill their bellies, and taxes were heavy. Unable to survive, many had taken to the hills as bandits.

Under the leadership of people unknown, these commoners had risen in rebellion many times. Though the imperial court had sent troops to suppress them all, the nation's fortunes were already beginning to totter.

"This feels familiar!"

Just reading the intelligence, Lu Chen felt he had seen similar events back on Earth.

"Information really did travel too slowly in ancient times. We ordinary folk in the south haven't heard even a whisper of the uprisings in the north!"

Lu Chen frowned, thinking he should have the village chief and the others stockpile more food and weapons.

After reading all the Black Kill Pavilion's intelligence, Lu Chen had gained a preliminary understanding of this world.

"Forget it. No more thinking—time to train! I've been practicing the Vajra Body on and off for two days. I have a feeling I'll get a Trait soon!"

Lu Chen put down the booklet in his hand, took his stance in the courtyard, and began to practice.

A long while later, with the bright moon high overhead, Lu Chen finally stopped.

[Host's continued training detected. New Trait generated]

[Vajra Body (Entry)]

Joy appeared in his eyes.

He took out a dagger and tapped his arm with it. It felt like tapping a tire: extremely tough.

His skin hadn't changed color, but its defensive strength had shot straight up.

He tried making a cut with a little force, but it left only a faint streak of blood. He wiped it lightly with his hand, and the mark rapidly faded as well.

"So strong?"

Lu Chen's eyes lit up.

This was only the entry stage, yet the effect was already so strong. If he trained it to the Marrow Washing Realm, wouldn't ordinary people be unable to break through his defense even if he just stood there?

"Now I have ranged attacks, close combat, defense, and footwork. It's still a little early to call myself a hexagon warrior, but a four-sided warrior is already taking shape!"

He was quite satisfied with his progress.

"I'll train the Vajra Body myself for now. I don't have enough Fate Value yet, and I still need to add points to the Ox-Cleaving Saber Technique. When the time comes, if I have enough Luck Value, I might be able to break through to Xiantian in one go!"

With his Fate Value limited, he would naturally prioritize adding points to the one at the highest realm.

Still, he wasn't in a hurry. Quite a few people in the village were already close to entering the martial path.

"As long as everyone reaches the entry level later on, I should be able to harvest a big wave of Fate Value!"

He felt he preferred this kind of steady, long-flowing stream of gains.

He didn't like gaining Fate Value by killing people.

But such was the world. Once in the jianghu, he couldn't always act as he wished.

"Hmm, that's fucking melodramatic!"

Lu Chen took off his clothes, poured cold water over himself for a bath, and lay down to rest.

While he was in Shahu County, he had basically stayed up late every night.

But in the village, his sleeping schedule was much better.

While he slept soundly, however, others couldn't sleep so well.

In Shahu County, people from Shanyang Prefecture had arrived to conduct an inspection.

So many people had died in succession, including a County Commandant. This was no small matter!

"You don't have a single lead? This Li Ziren had dealings with the Flying Eagle Horse Gang? Why were there words written in blood in his house?"

The inspecting official from Shanyang Prefecture was named Zhan Ping. He was a Prefectural Judge, responsible for criminal cases and reviewing case files. He had brought two men with him: Zhao An, a constable, and Song Qi, a coroner.

The three had arrived on the third day after Li Ziren's death.

"Sir, Li Ziren was usually kind to others. We haven't heard of him making enemies with anyone, either."

Meng Ping shook his head as he spoke at the banquet.

The three men from the prefectural yamen were at the banquet, along with Meng Ping and Wang Xiong.

Hu Bufan had made an excuse and left halfway through.

"I heard something also happened at the Black Kill Pavilion that day, and there were words written in blood on the wall there too. Judging by the handwriting, was it the same person's doing?" Zhan Ping asked unhurriedly after taking a bite of food.

"Yes. Li Ziren's eldest son died there too."

"Li Ziren's entire family was wiped out? Tsk! The higher-ups are furious about the murder of a court official. They've ordered us to solve the case within seven days, find the killer, and execute him on the spot. We'll need your full cooperation in this matter!"

"Sir, of course. We'll do everything in our power. We won't let a single bad person escape, nor will we wrong a single good person! By the way, sir, you've had a tiring journey. We've arranged a place for you to rest. Shall we?"

With that, Meng Ping clapped his hands. Several women in flowing robes entered from outside, bringing a fragrant breeze with them, their figures faintly visible beneath their gauzy clothing.

Zhan Ping raised his eyes and looked at them. They were quite good-looking. He pointed at Meng Ping and chuckled. "Mm, I am a little tired! Old Zhao, Old Song, have a good time and relax!"

"Thank you, sir! Thank you, Brother Meng, Brother Wang!"

They drank one last round together, then headed off to the next engagement.

"Sir, I'm terribly sorry, but I have some matters at home that I need to go back and handle. I'll have to take my leave for today!"

As they came down from the restaurant, Wang Xiong caught a glimpse of a figure flashing past. His heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained unchanged as he cupped his hands to the others.

"Since you have matters to attend to, go on. Tomorrow you'll have to punish yourself with three cups!"

Zhan Ping was eager to get to the next engagement, and it made no difference whether Wang Xiong was there.

"Thank you, sir! Brother Meng, sorry for the trouble, but please look after the gentleman. Brother Zhao, Brother Song, I'm truly sorry. I'll take my leave!"

"Go on, go on!"

After leaving the others, Wang Xiong put away his ingratiating smile and grew serious. As he walked, his thoughts turned to the figure that had flashed past.

"After the Black Pole Gang was wiped out, I sent word to the higher-ups at once. They've only come today?"

He had a bad feeling about this.

He returned home and entered his study. Sure enough, a figure in black sat quietly in his seat.