Blood Locking Art

The restaurant's third floor.

"You broke through to the Bone Forging Realm?"

"Not bad."

Nangong Wan'er sat cross-legged by the window, watching Qin Shuang practice his fists in the courtyard behind the restaurant. A flicker of surprise showed in her beautiful eyes.

She had thought that after taking the Tiger Blood Pill, Qin Shuang had only a fifty-fifty chance of reaching the Bone Forging Realm. Even if he broke through, he would need at least ten days of hard training. She hadn't expected him to do it so soon.

"Now that he's in the Bone Forging Realm, his Qi and Blood are spilling out. He needs to hide them."

With that thought, Nangong Wan'er flashed into the courtyard. Looking at Qin Shuang, she said, "Congratulations on your breakthrough, Qin Shuang."

"I owe it to Miss Nangong's Tiger Blood Pill. I wouldn't have broken through so quickly without it. I'll remember your kindness and repay you someday!"

Qin Shuang looked at Nangong Wan'er and clasped his hands.

"Think nothing of it. You let me stay in your house and helped me evade the search. That's repayment enough."

Nangong Wan'er spoke calmly. "Now that you've entered the Bone Forging Realm, your Qi and Blood have surged, and you can form a Qi and Blood Gauze Robe. Anyone with greater strength could easily see through you. I'll teach you a mantra. Once you've mastered it, you can lock your Qi and Blood inside your body so that not a trace escapes. Unless you make a move, even someone in the Marrow Jade Realm won't see through you!"

"A mantra to lock away Qi and Blood? Great!"

Qin Shuang's eyes lit up.

"Listen while I recite it."

Nangong Wan'er immediately recited the mantra for Qin Shuang. It was only five or six hundred characters long, and he had memorized it in no time.

"Practice it well. By the way, don't cook for the next few days. Buy prepared food instead, and don't buy too much at once. Get it in several batches, and make sure no one follows you."

After Qin Shuang had memorized the mantra, Nangong Wan'er thought for a moment, then reminded him.

There were many gangs and Jianghu experts searching outside. Hiding on the third floor, she had seen three Marrow Jade Realm experts pass over the rooftops. She had to be cautious.

Still, she had recovered some of her strength. With her concealment technique, no one would discover her unless an expert from the Divine Saber Sect came.

Those from the Divine Saber Sect were the ones she feared.

Qin Shuang returned to the kitchen, while Nangong Wan'er went back up to the third floor.

[Blood Locking Art (Blood Refining Scroll): (Not started, fifty repetitions a day, can be mastered in one day)]

[Simplified advancement condition: Hide blood ten times]

"Hide blood? Does that mean I have to hide the blood away?"

Qin Shuang looked at the panel in his mind, then at the basin of congealed pig's blood behind the stove. He reached in and picked out a lump. It was quite springy.

This was genuine pig's blood.

Nothing like those bricks from his previous life, made with starch and who knew what else.

Qin Shuang tried covering the pig's blood with a pot lid, then checked the panel. Nothing happened. He stuffed the blood into his shirt, then into his pocket. Still nothing.

"Hmm? Is pig's blood no good? Does it have to be fresh blood from something else? Or am I doing it wrong?"

Seeing no reaction from the panel, Qin Shuang furrowed his brow, deep in thought. He picked up the kitchen knife and lightly sliced the tip of his left index finger.

A small cut appeared on his fingertip, and a drop of crimson blood welled up. Qin Shuang grabbed the pot lid and covered his bleeding finger.

[Hide blood +1!]

[Hide blood +1!]

[...]

"So it has to be a person's blood..."

Qin Shuang looked at the panel's prompt and thought to himself.

[Ding! Your Blood Locking Art (Blood Refining Scroll) has been mastered!]

When Qin Shuang had hidden his blood ten times, a system notification rang out in his mind.

A stream of information flowed into his mind. It was the cultivation method for the Blood Refining Scroll.

Qin Shuang focused his attention and checked the panel.

[Blood Locking Art (Blood Refining Scroll): (Mastered, fifty repetitions a day, can be practiced to proficiency in half a year)]

[Simplified advancement conditions: Hide blood a hundred times, play hide-and-seek for half an hour.]

[Fierce Tiger Fist: (Perfect) can break limits]

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[Simplified break-limit conditions: 1. Observe the Tiger Roar Painting for three hours. 2. Kill a Hanging-Eyed White-Forehead Tiger.]

"Reduced to playing hide-and-seek?"

Qin Shuang looked at the prompt on the panel, his eyes lighting up. Now that was simplified.

"To break the limits of Fierce Tiger Fist, I have to kill a tiger and observe the Tiger Roar Painting for three hours?"

Qin Shuang looked at Fierce Tiger Fist on the panel and thought for a moment. He remembered that a Tiger Roar Painting hung in the main hall of Golden Tiger Martial Arts School. There was one on the screen in the school's training ground, too.

It seemed he'd have to make two trips to Golden Tiger Martial Arts School when he had time.

"I'll practice the Blood Locking Art to proficiency first, then sleep for a while. I'll make my move tonight!"

Qin Shuang silently planned his next steps.

Boss Qi had to die tonight. There was still some time before nightfall. He had been up all night skinning tigers and could barely keep his eyes open. He needed to sleep for an hour and gather his strength.

[Blood Locking Art (Blood Refining Scroll): (Proficient, one hundred repetitions a day, can be mastered in three years)]

[Simplified advancement conditions: 1. Hide blood a thousand times. 2. Evade the scrutiny of a Bone Forging Realm expert with Qi and Blood Wolf Smoke.]

Half an hour later, two notifications rang out in Qin Shuang's mind.

A stream of information flowed into his mind. It was the cultivation techniques and insights for the proficient level of the Blood Locking Art (Blood Refining Scroll).

Qin Shuang circulated the proficient-level Blood Locking Art. In the next instant, the Qi and Blood Gauze Robe around his body vanished, all of it drawing back inside him.

"Not bad!"

Qin Shuang looked at his hands, satisfaction in his eyes.

Night.

At nine o'clock, on the second floor of Fusheng Restaurant.

Qin Shuang wore black night clothes and a mask. He was about to leave when a voice like an oriole rang out. "Take this with you. It'll make things safer."

As she spoke, Nangong Wan'er appeared before Qin Shuang, dressed in black, and handed him a dark object.

"What's this?"

Qin Shuang took the object from Nangong Wan'er. It was a foot-long, forearm-thick black thing, heavy in his hand, with more than a dozen holes the size of grains of rice at one end.

"This is the Ice Soul Cold Star Needle! I took it from an enemy. Anyone below the Marrow Jade Realm is sure to die!"

Nangong Wan'er explained how to use it.

"Thank you, Miss Nangong. You've helped me so much."

Qin Shuang looked at Nangong Wan'er gratefully.

"I'm borrowing your house to recover from my injuries. Consider these payment. I have no use for them anymore. Go on!" Nangong Wan'er waved Qin Shuang away, then flashed up to the third floor.

Five li behind East Gate Street, beside Clear Water River, stood a wharf called East Gate Wharf. It had once belonged to the Clear River Chamber of Commerce, but now it belonged to the Flying Eagle Gang.

Black-canopied boats, rafts, and small skiffs of all sizes were moored at the wharf.

"Big! Big! Big!"

"Small! Small! Small!"

A cluster of grand halls stood on the eastern side of the wharf. One of them was lit up, and noisy voices spilled out.

"Lost again! Damn it, what rotten luck! Ever since I got back from searching for the culprit, I haven't won a single round!"

The burly, bearded man in a blue robe, Qi Yunfeng, stared at the dice on the table, his heart heavy with frustration.

"Boss Qi, how about I take you to Gentle Haven for some fun and to turn your luck around? We can come back tomorrow."

"That's right, Sect Leader. It's late. Your luck will surely be better tomorrow!"

"..."

The six men around the gambling table, each with an eagle embroidered on his chest, chimed in to persuade him.

Boss Qi was their superior, after all. His luck was so bad it was like he'd been pawing through dog shit, and he'd already lost nearly a hundred taels of silver. They didn't want him to lose even more, but their boss insisted on making them shake the dice.

"No. I'll go relieve myself, then come back and play!" Qi Yunfeng's one eye had gone red from losing. He was a Sect Leader, yet he'd lost to his own men. He couldn't let that stand.

He had to win it back!

Maybe he'd turn his luck around after relieving himself!