"Another murder took place in the east of the city last night. A family of four died. I heard they were all sucked dry into mummies. That makes three cases already, doesn't it?"
"Another headless corpse case appeared in the south of the city last night! I heard the victim had been fooling around outside that night and got killed without a sound!"
"Another headless case? It's got everyone on edge! Adding the two from a few days ago and the two in the west of the city, that's five dead already!"
"Isn't that so? Getting their heads chopped off in their sleep—who knows whose turn will come next?"
"I heard the Demon Suppression Division has already stepped in!"
"Widow Wang didn't come out to sell tofu today. I really miss her!"
"Day one of missing that old tofu!"
Great Xia Dynasty, Ji'an Prefecture, Xiaolin City, Auspicious Cloud Teahouse.
It had once been called Auspicious Cloud Restaurant, but later it had downsized and switched to selling tea.
People came and went every day, making it a fine place to gather news.
Unlike the noisy bustle in the main hall, a young man sat quietly before the teahouse counter. He looked only seventeen or eighteen.
His head of white hair and the two dark circles beneath his eyes were especially conspicuous.
At that moment, he rested his chin in one hand with a troubled expression, seemingly lost in thought.
He was the teahouse attendant, Zhang You, a man from another world who had accidentally arrived in this world over half a year ago.
In his former world, an accident had left him blind.
Yet after arriving in this world, his sight had somehow returned!
He would never forget the scene he had seen upon first arriving in this world!
Though it had been brief, it had left an indelible impression!
The air had been thick with deathly aura, while the sky was chaotic and formless, filled with unknowable vortices and streaks of white mist stretching straight into the heavens!
That scene had looked exactly like a painting by an Impressionist painter from his former world named Vandy!
In short, there was something wrong with this world!
And after everything he had seen and heard over this time, he had gained a rough understanding of it.
This was also a world where demons, monsters, ghosts, and fiends ran rampant!
When he had first arrived in this world, lightning had struck him too. Yet perhaps his life was tough enough that it had not killed him!
Later, a kindhearted person had rescued him and brought him to Xiaolin City.
At that time, Auspicious Cloud Restaurant had not yet become a teahouse.
Starving beyond endurance, he had eaten the first free meal of his life. Naturally, the consequences had been miserable!
Afterward, Shopkeeper Li had allowed him to remain at the establishment, paying off his debt through odd jobs while receiving food and lodging!
So he had stayed behind as an attendant until now.
Ordinarily, he might have been interested in listening to the gossip around him, but today he had no such inclination.
Or rather, all he could think about now was how to stay alive. He had no time to care about any other damn nonsense!
Because last night, he had discovered something that concerned his very life!
Shopkeeper Li and his companions at the teahouse were planning to eat him!
That was right! In the literal sense—they intended to swallow him whole and flay him alive, claiming he possessed some special constitution and was needed as a sacrifice for some sort of formation!
Of course, he had refused. So early this morning, he had risen before dawn, avoided the crowds, and slipped out through the city gates.
He had sprinted wildly down the small roads, passing Mass Grave Hill along the way.
In any case, he had run for his life with his head down, running and running. He wanted to escape this place that devoured lives!
He did not know how far he had run, but he was utterly exhausted. By his reckoning, he must have covered at least several miles.
Just as he thought he had escaped the devil's clutches, he looked up.
Well, damn—it turned out he had returned to the vicinity of Mass Grave Hill!
He was certain he had not gone the wrong way!
Refusing to believe it, he chose another direction. This time, he had not even run straight along the road.
But before long, he found himself back near Mass Grave Hill again!
After testing it several more times, he finally reached a conclusion.
It seemed he could not escape!
Just like the legendary Ghost Wall, he was running in circles with no way out!
In the end, he could only return to Xiaolin City with a heart full of worries.
That day, Shopkeeper Li was not at the teahouse. He had gone out to handle business.
Helpless, Zhang You could only open the teahouse as usual, though he remained absent-minded all day!
Like a lamb awaiting slaughter, he was truly panicking!
"Attendant, brew a pot of tea and bring me a plate of peanuts!"
A booming voice suddenly interrupted Zhang You's thoughts!
A middle-aged man walked in from outside and chose a sparsely populated corner to sit down.
This man was named Pang Biao. He had a full beard, and Zhang You had seen him many times before.
Moreover, this man had been among those who had plotted with Shopkeeper Li to eat him last night!
They had originally planned to knock Zhang You out with drugged smoke, but for some reason, Zhang You had not been affected at all. He had acted as normal and secretly learned of their filthy scheme...
Pang Biao was no ordinary man. He was a public official of the Demon Suppression Division—a Demon Suppression Guard!
As for the Demon Suppression Division, Zhang You had heard that it had existed since the founding of Great Xia and specialized in handling strange incidents.
Zhang Lin forcibly suppressed the fear in his heart and brought out the tea and snacks.
He had originally intended to set the items down and leave at once, lest they notice anything.
But the moment he drew near Pang Biao, an indescribable sensation suddenly arose within his body, as though an electric current had coursed through him.
Then his eyes widened as he watched a wisp of blue-white aura fly from Pang Biao's body and instantly enter his own.
It seemed no one else could see that wisp of aura. Only he could!
Soon, a tingling, numb sensation spread through his body.
He felt his body lighten, as though some shackle had been unlocked.
It felt as though he had swallowed a miracle strength pill. He instantly became invigorated, as if he possessed inexhaustible strength!
Moreover, his mind was more active than ever before, and even his senses had become clearer than before!
"Hey! What are you standing around for? Why haven't you served the tea?"
Pang Biao's words suddenly interrupted Zhang Lin's thoughts.
"My apologies..."
After apologizing several times, Zhang Lin hurriedly set down the tea and peanuts before turning away!
But just as he sat back down before the counter, his nose suddenly grew hot and a warm stream flowed out!
He raised a hand to touch it. He actually had a nosebleed!
That evening, once no one remained, he immediately closed up the teahouse!
The day passed amid Zhang Lin's wild thoughts!
Yet he still had no clue about the blue-white aura, nor did he know whether the thing was harmful!
In any case, he spent the entire day trembling in fear, terrified that he might suddenly drop dead the next moment!
Just after midnight, Zhang Lin felt the call of nature and unwillingly went to the latrine.
Creak!
Having just finished and prepared to return to his room to rest, the back courtyard gate sounded. A bone-piercing cold wind poured through the crack in the gate and instantly flooded the courtyard.
Zhang Lin jumped in fright and could not help shuddering.
Turning his head, he saw that it was Shopkeeper Li, whom he had not seen all day, returning from outside covered in dust and travel-weariness.
As the other man approached, that strange electric shock sensation suddenly surged through Zhang Lin's body again.
Before Zhang Lin's astonished eyes, three wisps of blue-white aura, denser than those he had seen during the day, flew from Shopkeeper Li and were instantly absorbed into his body.
Zhang Lin forced himself to calm down, nodded at the other man, and returned to his room.
Shopkeeper Li stared thoughtfully at Zhang Lin's retreating back. He nodded, narrowed his eyes, and revealed a faint smile!
After Zhang Lin returned to his room and lay down, he discovered that the tingling numbness from absorbing the blue-white aura had not faded. Instead, it grew increasingly intense, even stimulating pain throughout his body!
"What's going on?"
The violent pain had begun spreading across his entire body. Not only did his muscles ache, but even his bones felt as though needles were pricking them!
But this was only the beginning. Soon, he felt as though he were being sliced by a thousand blades and hacked into ten thousand pieces.
Cold sweat streamed down his face. He endured the pain without making a sound, and eventually even his consciousness began to blur.
But in the end, he held on!
During that time, black blood seeped from his skin, along with other pitch-black, foul-smelling substances.
He had a feeling that if he survived this ordeal, he might undergo a complete rebirth!
The sensation of being worse than dead lasted for over half a shichen before finally ending.
He did not know how he had endured it in the end, but at least he had escaped disaster without injury!
Dragging his exhausted body, he got up and took a bath.
Recalling the two previous times he had absorbed blue-white aura, Zhang Lin realized that this resembled the descriptions of Martial Arts body tempering in the books!
Thus, he felt that he might have awakened the ability to temper his body!
With nothing better to do, he named the changes the blue-white aura brought to his body Minor Body Tempering.
And when Minor Body Tempering accumulated to a certain degree, it would trigger a Great Body Tempering.
What had just happened was clearly a Great Body Tempering!
At that moment, he could clearly sense a force within his body, but it required proper guidance before he could draw it out.
That allowed him to see a sliver of hope for survival!
The winter night was especially desolate!
Whoosh!
A black shadow suddenly flashed past outside the window!
"Can't you fucking give me a break?"
Zhang Lin, who had only just lain down, snapped back to attention. Still shaken, he looked toward the window.
Yet nothing happened!
About half a quarter-hour later, a black shadow slowly stretched beneath the door, and the temperature throughout the room began to plummet.
"Who's there?!"
He swallowed, steeling his courage as he reached beneath his pillow for the short blade.
At the same time, he cursed inwardly, Motherfucker!
Before you continue