Sure Enough, They Came

"Alright!"

A moment later, Old Man Liu let out a breath and removed the Silver Needles from the man's body one by one.

"First Brother, how is it?" The remaining three men crowded around.

The man clenched his fist and carefully felt himself over, a smile appearing on his face. "I'm better!"

"Wonderful! Second Brother, you go next!"

Then another man sat down before Old Man Liu and stripped off his clothes without a word.

As Old Man Liu inserted the needles again, Lu Zheng faintly sensed cold qi seeping from the needle holes on the first man's upper body.

Old Man Liu had not completely removed it from them.

But that was normal. This was medicine, not immortals' arts. Even a modern cold required a full course of medication, much less acupuncture in ancient times.

Still, these people were clearly no decent sort. Old Man Liu had no choice but to treat them due to the circumstances, but he was surely only dealing with the immediate problem, intending merely to send them on their way.

Was he supposed to remind them to come back tomorrow for another treatment? "Pretty boy, what are you staring at?" Another man glared viciously at Lu Zheng.

Lu Zheng smiled and looked away.

These fellows were human, not ghosts, and townsfolk passed outside from time to time. Lu Zheng had no desire to act in broad daylight and invite official trouble. If they investigated closely, he was a man without legal registration.

"Hmph!"

Seeing Lu Zheng avert his gaze, the man snorted smugly, then turned his lecherous eyes toward Liu Qingyan. "Little lady, where are you from? What's your maiden name?"

Liu Qingyan shrank back, while Old Man Liu raised his eyes to look over.

"Third Brother!" The leader shot the lust-crazed man a glare.

"Hehe, I was only asking. I didn't mean anything else." The man fell silent awkwardly.

It took a full half hour before Old Man Liu removed the cold qi from all four men's bodies—well, at least they felt that it had been removed.

"Thank you, Doctor. We are endlessly grateful." The leading man cupped his hands with a smile.

"You're too kind, you're too kind. A Doctor's Benevolent Heart. Still, you gentlemen should avoid those especially cold and yin-ridden places in the future. If cold qi enters your bodies again, it will only become increasingly troublesome." Old Man Liu hurriedly returned the gesture.

"Thank you for the reminder, Doctor. We won't need to go to such places ever again."

The leading man replied, exchanged glances with his three brothers, and all of them broke into cheerful grins.

Now that their illness had been treated, Third Brother seemed ready to harass Liu Qingyan again. But the leading man tugged him away, and he reluctantly left with the others.

"Alright, it's getting late. Let's hurry home." Old Man Liu stretched his aching old back.

"What kind of people are they?" Lu Zheng asked with a frown.

"Grave robbers." Old Man Liu answered casually. "I've practiced medicine for decades. I could never mistake that cold qi mixed with the aura of death."

"Lu Lang, those people are no simple characters. Their blood and qi are vigorous. Though they have yet to cultivate Martial Blood Qi, they are no opponents ordinary people could handle. You may have cultivated Daoist True Qi, but if you faced them head-on, you likely still wouldn't be their match!"

Old Man Liu's gaze at Lu Zheng turned grave, and he hurriedly advised, "The less trouble, the better. They probably aren't from Tonglin County. Now that they're unharmed, they should leave overnight. We'd best not provoke trouble."

Everyone in the Liu family knew that Lu Zheng had obtained a martial cultivation manual, but none of them imagined that in just a few days, he had already cultivated Martial Blood Qi—even before Daoist True Qi.

"Alright. Don't worry, I won't act rashly."

They had the shop assistant tidy up the store while the three of them headed back to Tong Yi Alley together.

As usual, they kept Lu Zheng for dinner. When he returned home, even Aunt Liu rarely teased him, saying, "Why does this place feel like somewhere you only come to sleep, Young Master? When will you be sleeping in the Liu residence?"

After returning home, Lu Zheng did not travel back to the modern world. Instead, he sensed inwardly, then added one strand of luck to his physique, one strand to his spirit, two strands to his blood qi, and one strand to his true qi.

Four strands of Light of Luck remained in the Jade Seal.

On another note, spirit was a bodily attribute Lu Zheng had only recently discovered could be independently enhanced. He had immediately spent one strand on it then.

Like physique, spirit comprehensively strengthened Lu Zheng's mental power, including abundant energy, sharper focus, improved memory, greater resistance to confusion, and other traits.

It was too all-encompassing, and one strand of luck still could not increase it by much. But it perfectly suited Lu Zheng's desire to develop comprehensively as a six-sided warrior.

Changing into a short outfit suited for fighting, Lu Zheng took the Embroidered Spring Blade and sat beneath the Persimmon Tree in the courtyard.

When he had turned into the entrance of Tong Yi Alley earlier, Lu Zheng had glanced back and happened to see Fourth Brother among the four men. Concealed by the crowd some distance away, he had been secretly following them.

Breaking into a home to commit murder was different from killing someone in the street. With irrefutable evidence, just as when Lu Zheng had apprehended and delivered that Flower Plucking Thief to the authorities, even killing them would not leave him worried about official trouble.

"First Brother, I've found the place. There are four family members and two old servants. Besides that pretty little lady, there's also a young girl. And the old man's wife is a half-aged beauty too, her charm still lingering!"

"Hehe!"

"I like virgins!"

"Leave that old ginger to me!"

"What nonsense are you talking? Brothers naturally take turns playing with them!"

"Hahaha!"

"Move quickly. We'll play for half the night, then leave overnight."

"What about the goods?"

"Send them out of the city first!"

"Alright!"

Dusk deepened, and beneath a bright moon and sparse stars, it was unexpectedly a rare night of clear moonlight.

With a leap, Lu Zheng jumped directly onto the Persimmon Tree in the rear courtyard. Through the hazy darkness, he could see lights in the Liu family's back courtyard and hear Liu Qingquan shouting about something.

An hour later.

Tonglin County gradually fell silent, each household extinguishing its lamps and turning in for the night.

The Liu residence was no exception. It had already fallen into darkness a quarter hour ago.

Just then, Lu Zheng's gaze sharpened as he saw four figures silently dart into the Liu family's front courtyard.

Lu Zheng saw clearly that these four truly possessed remarkable skills. If he had not... exchanged for Martial Blood Qi, then relying only on his practiced saber techniques, he might not necessarily have been able to defeat them.

But now...

"Third Brother, Fourth Brother, deal with those two old servants first. Then split up. Make absolutely sure they cannot make a sound."

"Don't worry, First Brother. Tonight, we'll get to have some real fun!"

Third Brother and Fourth Brother crouched low as they crept together toward the side room in the front courtyard.

Just as they came within five feet of the side room...

Swish!

Lu Zheng, who had long since silently made his way onto the roof eaves of the Liu family's front courtyard, drew his blade. He had kept it hidden behind his back to prevent reflected light.

Under the bright moon, a blade flash like a bolt of white silk flickered and vanished.

"Ah!"

Third Brother screamed miserably, clutching his hands as he rolled aside, blood spraying wildly along his path.

Lu Zheng moved like thunder in an instant, slashing three times in swift succession. In the blink of an eye, he severed the tendons in Third Brother's hands and his right foot.