Returning to Niushi Town, United in Hatred

The Light Spirit Talisman was a defective product of the first-tier talisman Spirit Light Talisman, worth only seventy or eighty taels of silver apiece. Ordinary constables had limited means and simply could not afford one.

Lu Yang had only just become a captain. There was no way his net worth could be very high.

In this man's eyes, a mud-legged peasant like Lu Yang, even if he had a little money on hand, would have had to spend it on buying cultivation arts. There was no way he would be willing to spend dozens of taels of silver on a consumable like a talisman.

Moreover, with the arrangements they had laid out beforehand, killing a mere Houtian First Level should have been as easy as stretching out a hand.

In his view, the plan had long since been foolproof, and there had been no need to rely on external objects at all.

His judgment had not actually been wrong.

After spending his entire fortune at the Qianfeng Merchant Association to buy the Returning Origin Art, Lu Yang had very little silver left on him. He simply could not afford even a single talisman, not even a low-grade, unranked talisman like the Light Spirit Talisman.

"Man proposes, but Heaven disposes," Lu Yang thought.

It just so happened that the talisman master of the Qianfeng Merchant Association had recently produced a batch of defective talismans.

Because the association had rules forbidding the sale of unranked goods, in order to preserve the association's reputation.

Therefore, whenever unranked weapons, cultivation arts, martial arts, talismans, pills, and the like appeared, the association would treat them as complimentary gifts, taking out one item and giving it to customers whose spending exceeded one thousand taels of silver.

This matter could hardly be considered a secret throughout all of Great Jun.

Lu Yang had arrived at just the right time and happened to receive a Light Spirit Talisman from Xu Ya.

He had originally thought he would not need it for the time being, but to his surprise, it had saved his life in the blink of an eye.

"Although Xu Ya was only acting according to the rules, this Light Spirit Talisman saved my life in the end. I'll have to find a chance to thank her in the future," Lu Yang thought.

The sky gradually darkened. The mountain forest was not safe.

After shaking off the Wang Family's men, Lu Yang did not turn back onto the road home.

The Wang Family's ambush had failed this time. They would definitely order people to block him on the necessary route back to Black Mountain County.

Lu Yang was very clear that before he mastered the Returning Origin Art, returning to Black Mountain County was seeking death.

After all, as a captain, he had been investigating under orders. Even if Sheng San had sold his information to the Wang Family, logically speaking, the Wang Family still should not have directly tried to kill him.

Unless the Wang Family had someone to rely on in the County Yamen, and knew that his investigation into them concerned the grave crime of colluding with demons.

It was even possible that the leak of his information had also been partly thanks to an insider within the County Yamen.

If he returned to the County Yamen now, he feared that when the time came, he would be surrounded and killed before he even saw the gates of the county town.

At that point, he would not have a second Light Spirit Talisman to flee with.

Even if he did, after learning from the previous lesson, the Wang Family would likely equip their killers with Light Spirit Talismans as well. It would not have much effect.

"Looks like I need to stay outside the city for a while."

Lu Yang swallowed a Healing Pill issued by the County Yamen, then found a quiet place to circulate his qi and regulate his breathing for a short while.

Although his back still burned with fiery pain, the wisp of true qi that man had struck into his body earlier had finally been worn away by Lu Yang.

Lu Yang's complexion also improved a little after that.

"Time to go."

"Once night falls, staying in the woods won't be safe."

After thinking it over briefly, Lu Yang decided to return to Niushi Town.

This place was relatively close to Niushi Town. Before nightfall, the only place he could reach was there.

Moreover, Niushi Fort could be considered one of the rare safe places in the wilderness outside Black Mountain County.

Lu Yang had helped Niu Hanshan before, in a way. The man would more or less show him a little face.

When night fell, Lu Yang finally arrived outside Niushi Fort.

At this moment, the night patrol team happened to be assembling. Only a few short days had passed since Lu Yang slew the demon, and many people recognized him at a glance.

Atop the tall, heavy fort tower, Niu Hanshan stood there, imposing without anger.

His steel-needle-like hair had grown even blacker and denser, and seventy to eighty percent of the aged look on his face had faded. His qi and blood were abundant as a bear's, as though he had returned to the prime of his life.

Behind him, Chen Fang was still following along.

At this moment, both their gazes landed on Lu Yang in unison.

"Hahaha!"

"Captain Lu, what brings you here?"

Niu Hanshan leaped down from the fort tower and gave Lu Yang a hearty smile.

Niu Hanshan had quite a favorable impression of Lu Yang.

Not only had the other party slain several Black Skins and helped Niushi Town resolve the Demonic Calamity, he had also generously sold that Demon Treasure to him at a low price, helping him expel his hidden injuries and make an old tree bloom with new flowers. He could be called a noble benefactor in Niu Hanshan's fate.

Lu Yang also smiled. "Congratulations, Brother Niu, on breaking through to Houtian!"

"Hahaha, it's all thanks to Captain Lu's Demon Treasure that I was able to have toda... eh? Brother Lu, are you... injured?" Niu Hanshan frowned slightly.

As soon as he drew close, Niu Hanshan keenly noticed that Lu Yang's aura was somewhat unstable.

Lu Yang gave a bitter laugh. "To be honest, I was ambushed outside the city today and nearly lost my life. I have come here shamelessly to impose on you because I want to borrow your precious place to lie low for a while, and treat my injuries for a few days while I'm at it..."

After that, Lu Yang roughly recounted what had happened to him that day.

"Hmph!"

"Colluding with demons and bringing disaster upon their own kind! Have the great clans of Black Mountain County already rotted to such a degree?" Niu Hanshan's brows knitted tightly as he said in anger.

Chen Fang's expression was also extremely ugly. "With clans like this around, no wonder the pleas for aid we sent to the County Yamen were tampered with. They want all of us to become blood food for those demons. Their hearts deserve execution!"

Niu Hanshan said, "Captain Lu, just settle down in Niushi Fort without worry. You saved Niushi Town once. This time, we naturally ought to protect you in full."

"Then many thanks!" Lu Yang said sincerely.

Even though Niu Hanshan had broken through in his cultivation, he was still only at the first level of the Houtian Realm, with limited strength.

If the Wang Family's people found this place, then if he sheltered Lu Yang, he would have to bear an enormous risk.

With the slightest misstep, the whole of Niushi Fort would be destroyed in one stroke.

No one knew whether the Wang Family's people would chase him here.

After receiving Lu Yang into the fort, Niu Hanshan gave the order that no one in all of Niushi Town was to leak Lu Yang's whereabouts to the outside.

With Niu Hanshan's prestige, along with Lu Yang's kindness to Niushi Town, the matter was pushed through that very night, and naturally there was not a single person in Niushi Town who refused.

That night, Niu Hanshan entertained Lu Yang with fine wine and good meat, and summoned the most skilled physician in the fort to apply medicinal herbs to Lu Yang's wounds.

After a night of rest, when he rose the next morning, the clotted blood around his wounds had already dissipated somewhat.

Niu Hanshan came to visit him first thing in the morning. "Brother Lu, how are your injuries recovering?"

Lu Yang smiled. "Thanks to Brother Niu's physician, I'm much better now."

"That's good, then."

Niu Hanshan took out a pitch-black medicine bottle and handed it to Lu Yang. "This is Blood Warming Ointment, developed by Doctor Li himself. Though it is an unranked medicine, it can be considered miraculously effective in treating external injuries. Brother Lu, you must not refuse it."

Lu Yang accepted the medicine bottle and pulled out the stopper. A rich medicinal fragrance rushed into his face.

"Earth Star Grass! I've truly troubled Brother Niu." Lu Yang cupped his hands in thanks.

Niu Hanshan waved a hand. "Brother Lu has helped me a great deal. This small token of my regard is not worth hanging on the teeth. If there is anything you need, just tell me. As long as I can provide it, I absolutely won't refuse."

"Many thanks!"

Lu Yang shook the small medicine bottle in his hand and said with a smile, "With these, it's enough."

The two of them were chatting idly in the courtyard when Chen Fang, who had been waiting outside, suddenly burst in, the expression on his face somewhat grave.