Movement Technique

Movement Technique

Lu Zhaojin opened the cabinet and rummaged through some clothes, eventually finding the Movement Technique Manual Lu Wenxiu had mentioned.

Its cover was somewhat tattered, clearly having been flipped through many times. It was evident that after obtaining this movement technique, Lu Wenxiu had not slacked off and had trained diligently for some time.

"Falling Leaves Following the Wind Movement Technique."

The six characters on the page danced like dragons and snakes, bold and unrestrained. The person who had created this movement technique must have been a forthright, heroic master.

Lu Zhaojin flipped through it swiftly, reading ten lines at a glance. Li Xiufang watched him, and the sound of turning pages made her frown slightly. She said nothing, yet the look she gave Lu Zhaojin seemed to say everything.

Clearly, she did not believe Lu Zhaojin possessed Eidetic Memory, that he could learn this movement technique after merely looking at it once.

Was he putting on airs before her to draw her attention, all so he could enter the Li Family?

Li Xiufang felt that the man surnamed Qi at the city lord's manor must have told Lu Zhaojin something. That was why he had been acting somewhat strangely today.

She sneered inwardly. If he thought this would earn him the Li Family's attention, then he was bound to be disappointed.

The Li Family's wealth ranked among the very best even within the Great Ding Dynasty. Moreover, there were quite a few outstanding young talents in the family who had made it onto the Dragon Ranking, and their rankings were far higher than Lu Zhaojin's.

That was why she had never paid much attention to this nephew of hers.

However, just as Lu Zhaojin had said, the Li Family's recent prospects in Luoshui Commandery truly did not look promising. Using her sister's breach of contract as an excuse, the Xu Family had repeatedly suppressed the Li Family's Brocade Merchant Guild.

Furthermore, Brocade Merchant Guild branches elsewhere in Luoshui Commandery had also inexplicably suffered exclusion from local forces.

Such things had never happened before.

Thus, the reason Li Xiufang had come to Luoxia City was that the Lineage had sent her to soothe the Brocade Merchant Guild here while also dealing with those disobedient people.

The Li Family had also conducted repeated secret investigations and discovered that the Xu Family's shadow lay behind all these matters.

Whether in overall strength or wealth, the Xu Family was inferior to the Li Family. Thus, it had always occupied the position of second-best in Luoshui Commandery.

Now that the Xu Family had suddenly changed its ways, it was because it had latched onto the Third Prince. It had become utterly lawless in Luoshui Commandery.

Recording successful

The Movement Technique Manual appeared on the character panel.

Lu Zhaojin closed the manual and put it back where it belonged.

Lu Wenxiu asked in slight surprise, "You remembered it?"

Lu Zhaojin nodded. "I remembered it."

Li Xiufang could not help speaking. "Bragging."

Lu Zhaojin merely smiled without saying anything. There was no need to explain himself to her. "You gave me this movement technique, so I owe you a favor. What traits did the person who injured you have? I'll cut him down for you."

Naturally, Lu Wenxiu did not believe that Lu Zhaojin had memorized it so quickly, but she did not mock him. Recalling the scene from that day, she said vaguely, "They all covered their faces, so I couldn't see what they looked like. But one of them used the Xu Family's ancestral technique, which was easy to recognize. So they should be from the Xu Family, though I don't know exactly who they were."

Lu Zhaojin shook his head with a soft laugh. "There's no need to know exactly who they are. Just kill them all."

Upon hearing this, Lu Wenxiu and Li Xiufang exchanged a glance. They had not expected Lu Zhaojin's killing intent to be so heavy. It seemed the descriptions on the Dragon Ranking suited him rather well.

Lu Zhaojin did not care about their thoughts. The Xu Family had long been on his kill list, because Xu Huan had been the one pulling strings behind the destruction of the Sihai Escort Agency.

And Xu Huan was a member of the Xu Family. Since he had died at Lu Zhaojin's hands, the Xu Family would not let the matter rest.

He simply did not know why, after coming to Luoshui Commandery for so many days, he had yet to encounter anyone from the Xu Family.

Li Xiufang said in a low voice, "Those Xu Family people truly linger like ghosts that refuse to disperse. We drove them off a few days ago and thought they would not dare remain in Luoxia City. Who would have thought they were hiding in the forests outside the city, perhaps waiting to ambush us when we return to Luoshui City?"

Lu Zhaojin glanced at her and finally understood why he had not run into anyone from the Xu Family.

Lu Wenxiu gently rubbed the wound on her shoulder to help the ointment take effect faster, then let out a sigh. "The Xu Family has the Third Prince backing them now. All of Luoshui Commandery is spreading word that the Xu Family will replace our Li Family and become the foremost Lineage in Luoshui Commandery."

Li Xiufang had nothing to say.

Lu Zhaojin did not want to listen to such irrelevant matters either. "I'm leaving."

This time, Lu Zhaojin did not take the usual path. Instead, he leaped from the attic window, his entire body fluttering across the rooftops like a fallen leaf before swiftly vanishing into the distance.

Lu Wenxiu stared in dumbfounded shock. "Th-this is the Falling Leaves Following the Wind Movement Technique!"

Li Xiufang was equally astonished, beyond all measure. "How is that possible?!"

After looking through it only once, he had not only remembered its contents, but had even learned it. Such talent and comprehension were rare in the world.

A trace of regret also rose in Li Xiufang's heart. If she had not treated Lu Zhaojin with such cold mockery just now, would his impression of her have been somewhat better?

Lu Wenxiu withdrew her gaze and looked at Li Xiufang. She saw the loss and regret in the other woman's eyes and sighed again. "So this is where the Li Family's greatest loss lies..."

Li Xiufang snapped irritably, "Stop talking."

She left Lu Wenxiu's room and returned to her own. After giving it some thought, she decided to write a letter back to the Lineage. As for Lu Zhaojin, let those old fellows decide what to do.

Pedestrians in the streets and alleys felt a black shadow flash overhead. They looked up, but saw nothing. Doubt arose in their hearts as they scanned their surroundings, finding nothing unusual. Then a chill suddenly crept down their spines. Had they encountered a ghost in broad daylight?

Lu Zhaojin did not know that his first use of the movement technique had given Luoxia City another tale of a ghostly shadow appearing in broad daylight. Even if he had known, he would not have cared.

Lu Zhaojin casually found a place to settle down. Glancing at the blazing sun in the distance, he thought that it was still early and decided to act after dark.

Lu Wenxiu had given him a movement technique, so he naturally had to repay that favor. He had remembered where Lu Wenxiu was attacked. After killing Cheng Yan tonight, he would go there and see whether those Xu Family people were still around.

If they were not, then after he killed Zhao Jinzhi in Lushu Commandery and returned to Luoshui Commandery, he would pay the Xu Family a visit.

Lu Zhaojin sat on the second floor of a tavern by the window. He did not drink, instead asking the waiter to bring him a few liang of beef to fill his stomach.

As the sun sank westward, rosy clouds filled the sky. Even the drifting clouds were dyed orange-red, like flames burning without restraint.

Luoxia City was called Luoxia City precisely because it possessed unparalleled sunset scenery, renowned both near and far.

The setting sun was like blood, as if swallowing its final breath, and its last thread of light dimmed with it.

Night fell, and candles were lit throughout the streets and alleys as the city began to grow lively.

But the liveliness was only temporary.

The hour of the pig.

There was not a soul left in the streets and alleys, with only the desolate wind blowing through them.

Lu Zhaojin sat atop the tavern roof. One place remained brilliantly lit, and it was also the liveliest place only at night. "The bustle belongs to them alone."

Lu Zhaojin withdrew his gaze and looked toward the city lord's manor. Most of the guards watching the city gates had gone to rest, leaving only those on rotation to patrol.

Having learned the Falling Leaves Following the Wind Movement Technique, Lu Zhaojin silently slipped into the tower he had visited during the day—the place where Cheng Yan lived.