On the Road I

"His body is still too weak. A few months of training are far from enough." The moment Lu Sheng stopped, he immediately felt pain coursing through his entire body.

Fortunately, the inner energy continuously circulating through the Jade Crane Skill was now spreading countless threads like a spiderweb, connecting to every aching part of his body.

As the inner energy continued to flow in and nourish him, the places that had been hurting began to tingle with faint numbness and itchiness.

"Sure enough, the effect is astonishing. This itchy numbness should be the sensation of wounds healing and flesh growing back."

Lu Sheng guessed inwardly.

Glancing at the corpses on the ground, he followed the breach Zhao Shuanghuo had entered through and went inside.

On the other side of the breach was another household's backyard.

Entering the backyard, Lu Sheng swept his gaze over the footprints on the ground, then followed them into the household's rooms.

The instant he entered, his expression froze at the sight before him.

Hanging from the ceiling beam was Lu Qingqing, wearing only a little white underclothing.

The girl had fainted. If not for that tiny scrap of cloth covering her, everything would nearly have been visible. Most of her upper body was exposed as well, with only a small piece of fabric concealing it.

It seemed that if Lu Sheng had arrived even a little later, Lin Shuanghuo would certainly have finished.

"Thank goodness, thank goodness."

Lu Sheng hurried forward, took off his outer robe, wrapped Lu Qingqing in it, and lowered her down.

No one else could be allowed to learn of this, or Lu Qingqing's reputation would be utterly ruined.

Lu Sheng decided to conceal the fact that Lu Qingqing had been captured.

For a young woman in this era, if others learned she had encountered such a situation, who would dare guarantee that Lu Qingqing had remained untouched?

A maiden's purity was an extraordinarily important thing at this time.

In some families, girls who lost their purity before marriage would be drowned in a pig cage.

Holding Lu Qingqing, Lu Sheng gently patted the girl's face several times.

If he could control his inner energy freely, he had thought perhaps he could send it into another person's body like the internal force he had heard of before, helping heal their injuries.

Unfortunately, the inner force of his Jade Crane Skill would not move at all.

After repeatedly giving her several light slaps, Lu Qingqing slowly and weakly regained consciousness.

Her eyes were unfocused, and having only just awakened, she was still somewhat bewildered.

Only when she felt cold all over did she suddenly remember that she had been beaten down by those villains and then tied up.

The abnormal state of her body made her tremble. Once she understood, she stared at Lu Sheng, her eyes instantly reddening as tears brimmed in their rims, ready to spill at any moment.

"Get dressed quickly! The family will be here soon."

Lu Sheng urged her. Uncle Zhao and the others should find this place very shortly.

From the time he entered to when he fought the Ghost Head Saber Brothers, only a short time had actually passed. It was precisely because of that that Lu Qingqing had been given enough time to recover herself.

Lu Qingqing's expression froze, and she quickly understood what he meant. She was no fool and knew what Big Brother was implying.

Hearing that there was still hope of salvaging things, she swiftly forced up her weakened body and picked up the clothes that had been torn off her from all around the room. Some of them were damaged, however, and could not be fully put back on.

Even though her body was exposed while she dressed, she could not care about that now.

Lu Sheng consciously turned his back.

He only turned around after Lu Qingqing had finished dressing.

Seeing how considerate her elder brother was, Lu Qingqing let out a long breath. Her face was still somewhat red, but she was much better than before.

"Big Brother, where are those villains!?"

Hatred appeared on her face.

"I killed them."

Lu Sheng replied calmly.

"Where's Xiao Ba? I didn't see him."

"I don't know. I never saw Xiao Ba come."

After Lu Qingqing answered, she suddenly realized something and froze.

So many people, several experts among them, had been killed by Big Brother alone? She found it hard to believe.

In her impression, Lu Sheng had always been a refined young gentleman. Though he had only recently begun practicing martial arts, those men's martial skills were so high that even if her master had come personally, success was not guaranteed. How could Big Brother possibly do it alone?

"We'll look for Xiao Ba later. Are you ready? In a while, say that you and I joined forces to kill those men, understand? When I arrived, you were still circling around and fiercely fighting their disciples."

Lu Sheng was preparing their story.

"Mm!"

Knowing the consequences were serious, Lu Qingqing did not ask further and nodded solemnly.

Yet when she thought that Big Brother had probably seen her entire body, an odd sense of shame rose in her heart.

It felt as though simply standing in front of Big Brother was the same as not wearing any clothes.

Thinking of that, her cheeks reddened again, and she quickly lowered her head to hide it.

Lu Sheng tidied up the traces and items in the room a little more. He put away the rope used to bind people.

When he was only halfway done, Uncle Zhao and the others finally arrived.

The hurried footsteps of a group of people surged into the neighboring courtyard.

Then came a burst of startled cries.

"It's the Head Severing Saber and the Ghost Head Saber Brothers!" an older guard suddenly shouted.

The crowd erupted into commotion, then fell silent for a while.

Only then did Uncle Zhao's voice sound again.

"Search for Young Master and Second Miss."

"We're fine!"

Lu Sheng led Lu Qingqing back to the previous courtyard.

Uncle Zhao, dressed in fitted black clothes and holding twin sabers, stood in the center of the courtyard.

The other guards and retainers were searching separately, examining the corpses and traces in the small courtyard.

"Brother Sheng! It's good that you're all right!" Uncle Zhao's eyes relaxed, and the sharp presence around him swiftly eased.

"This isn't a place to talk. Let's return first."

After speaking, he looked at Lu Qingqing behind him, his gaze thoughtful. Their concealment might fool ordinary people, but not an old hand like him.

Lu Sheng nodded. Knowing someone in the estate had already reported the matter to the authorities, the two of them took Lu Qingqing and the guards outside, where they stopped a carriage.

The three rode in the carriage while the rest rode horses or ran on foot, swiftly returning along the same route.

Several people were also left behind in the courtyard to deal with the Government Office officials.

They returned all the way to the estate.

Then the gates were tightly shut.

Lu Quan'an, Second Mother, and the other family members were already waiting in the main hall.

After changing clothes, Lu Qingqing was brought to the main hall.

Lu Sheng did not go. He told Uncle Zhao the entire situation, except he changed Lu Qingqing's part into a version where, when he arrived, Lu Qingqing was still entangled in a desperate fight with the other side's disciples.

Afterward, he used his injuries as an excuse and returned to rest first.

The physician who had prescribed his medicine also came over to examine his injuries.

Several muscle strains, minor bone fractures, a little internal bleeding, a partially dislocated shoulder bone, and so on.

Lu Sheng hated this sort of three-hall interrogation most. One person spoke after another, and a simple matter took ages to explain.

After washing up, Xiao Qiao served him with tear-filled eyes, helping him remove his outer robe and get into bed.

Once the physician left, Lu Sheng felt that his injuries had recovered quite a bit more during that short time. His vigor was abundant, his blood and qi full, and there was not the slightest sign on him of having just gone through a great battle.

After reaching the highest level, the Jade Crane Skill's healing ability was indeed formidable.

Lying flat on the bed, Lu Sheng rubbed the belly that had just downed a bowl of ginseng chicken soup. His entire body felt warm and comfortable.

"This trip was a false alarm after all.

I never expected that what Second Sister had stirred up was not demons or ghosts, but two murderers and wanted criminals from years ago."

The reason he had been uneasy was because he had once encountered something wrong on that street.

That was why he had acted with exceptional caution.

Yet unexpectedly, it had not been ghosts or monsters, but a man-made calamity.

Lying in bed, he carefully recalled the course of today's battle.

"From beginning to end, my attacks could have been more concise. If I could flexibly use the numbness produced by that trace of Tiger's Roar from the Black Tiger Saber, perhaps I could have avoided that head-on exchange with those two."

His brow furrowed as he began to reflect.

"Facing opponents stronger than me is indeed troublesome. As a saber wielder, strength should not be my weakness. Perhaps I should find some external martial arts that increase strength and practice them."

He had never tried those hard-body external arts before, so he did not know what effects those techniques would have after being modified by the Modifier.

Lu Estate's main hall.

Lu Quan'an sat in the seat of honor, staring darkly at Lu Qingqing below.

Second Mother, Third Mother, and the others sat beside him.

The entire family had gathered for a three-hall interrogation.

Lu Qingqing and Uncle Zhao stood below, along with several guards.

"...That is roughly what happened." Uncle Zhao refined the version Lu Sheng had given him and told it to everyone.

"I've already made arrangements with the Government Office. This case is Brother Sheng's achievement, and no one will be able to steal it." Uncle Zhao immediately smiled as he spoke of this.

"Brother Sheng enjoys martial arts. Who would have thought that this time, he would consecutively kill the Head Severing Saber and the Ghost Head Saber Brothers? It is clear that his strength is already quite extraordinary. Such talent—he may have bloomed late, but he is destined for greatness!"

"I am very satisfied with little Sheng, and very relieved."

Lu Quan'an's expression eased slightly. His anger was also soothed considerably by having such a promising son as Lu Sheng.

Then he looked at Lu Qingqing again.

"Qingqing, look at your elder brother, then look at yourself.

Other than causing trouble for the family and trouble for your elder brother, can't you do something proper for this household?"

Lu Quan'an said sternly.

"I sent you away to learn martial arts, not so you could come back and create chaos!"

"Father, your daughter knows she was wrong." Lu Qingqing also regretted things deeply. If Big Brother had not arrived in time this time, her entire life might have been ruined.

"You know you were wrong? When have you not said that? And what happened? Every single time, it was the same!"

The more Lu Quan'an spoke, the angrier he became.

"Once you recover from your injuries, I'll find you a husband. Get married and bear a son—at least that will make you settle down."

"No!"

The moment Lu Qingqing heard marriage mentioned, she was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, nearly jumping up.

"I won't marry! No! Father, your daughter was wrong. From now on, I'll definitely help the family properly! I won't cause trouble! Please rest assured! Really! This time, it's absolutely true!"

Lu Quan'an ignored her and looked instead at the physician who had just entered.

"How are little Sheng's injuries?"

This physician was actually a distant relative of the Lu Family, though their duties differed. After the Lu Estate prospered, they had all been gathered here.

"Not too bad, merely superficial injuries. With ten days to half a month of rest and recuperation, he will recover."

The physician hurriedly answered.

"That's good. When the time comes, ask him whether he still intends to go to Yan Mountain City to study martial arts."

Thinking of this, Lu Quan'an felt somewhat irritated as well.