Mornings in Nujiang County were always accompanied by the clamor of the docks and the damp breath of the river.
But today, the atmosphere felt different.
Oppressive.
Heavy.
Like the suffocating stillness before a violent storm.
Yet Lu Chen's courtyard was utterly peaceful.
Since slipping back yesterday, he had kept himself locked away in the secret chamber.
His breakthrough had been far too rushed. Though he had forced his way through with the help of the Marrow Cleansing Pill's medicinal power, his foundation was still a little unstable. And the Profound Nether Cold Qi in his body, overtaxed to the limit, remained in a weakened state.
After a night of regulating his breath, Lu Chen had finally stabilized his realm at the early stage of the Bone Refining Realm.
Now, he felt strength coursing through his entire body.
With the slightest exertion, his bones crackled and popped like Tiger Leopard Thunder Sound.
"So this is the Bone Refining Realm..."
Lu Chen clenched his fist, feeling the terrifying force in his palm.
Before, he had relied on Iron Cloth Shirt's defense to grind his opponents down. Now, he was a true humanoid beast.
His strength, speed, and explosive power had all increased several times over!
"Knock, knock, knock!"
A frantic pounding shattered the courtyard's peace.
Lu Chen furrowed his brow, stopped his cultivation, and rose to his feet.
He opened the door to find Wang Xiaoliu standing there in a panic, drenched in sweat and missing one shoe.
"Boss! This is bad! Something terrible's happened!"
The moment he saw Lu Chen, Wang Xiaoliu dropped to his knees with a thud, his voice choked with tears.
"What are you panicking for?"
Lu Chen said coldly. "Did the sky fall?"
"Close enough!"
Wang Xiaoliu swallowed and tremblingly pulled a crumpled sheet of paper from his clothes.
"Boss, take a look..."
Lu Chen took it.
It was a notice.
More precisely, a Wanted Notice.
It bore a portrait of a man.
The drawing was a little crude, but those cold eyes and that distinctive broken eyebrow made him instantly recognizable to anyone—it was Lu Chen!
Beneath the portrait was a line of shocking, blood-red characters:
[Wanted Notice]
[Criminal: Lu Chen]
[Charges: Colluding with Demons, slaughtering fellow martial artists, murdering Flying Horse Merchant Association manager Qian Tong and several guards, and stealing the Association's treasures!]
[Reward: Five thousand taels of silver for information! One hundred thousand taels of silver for his head! The title of Ye Family Guest Elder in Canglan Prefecture will also be granted!]
[Issued by: Ye Family of Canglan Prefecture]
"Whoa..."
Even Lu Chen couldn't help drawing a sharp breath when he saw the figures.
One hundred thousand taels!
The Ye Family sure knew how to throw money around!
In this world, an ordinary person's life was worth only a few taels of silver. Even a Body Tempering Realm martial artist was worth no more than a few hundred.
One hundred thousand taels could buy half of Nujiang County!
And that title of Ye Family Guest Elder was a protective talisman countless Rogue Cultivators dreamed of obtaining!
"Boss, the whole place has gone mad!"
Wang Xiaoliu said miserably. "They plastered these Wanted Notices all over the streets and alleys of the county this morning. Not just here in Nujiang County—word is, they've posted them in several neighboring counties too!"
"Every martial artist in town is looking for you! Even among our own men... quite a few of them are looking at you funny!"
Money could move the human heart.
Faced with such an enormous reward, the so-called brotherhood of the jianghu was as thin as paper.
Lu Chen stared expressionlessly at the Wanted Notice in his hand, his fingers lightly rubbing the bright-red seal stamped with the character "Ye."
He wasn't surprised.
Qian Tong was dead. The Ye Family was bound to be furious.
But he hadn't expected them to react so quickly, or so viciously.
They had even slapped him with the charge of "Colluding with Demons"—a huge accusation meant to ruin his reputation and turn him into a rat everyone wanted to beat!
"So that Signal Flare really was for sending a message."
Lu Chen sneered inwardly.
The signal Qian Tong had sent before dying had not only revealed Lu Chen's location but also sent his "crimes" back to the Prefectural City.
"Boss, let's run!"
Wang Xiaoliu wrapped both arms around Lu Chen's leg. "While nobody's blocking the doors, we can leave by river! Once we get into the Great Marsh Mountain Range, they'll never find us!"
Lu Chen looked down at his loyal subordinate, feeling a faint warmth in his heart.
In a situation like this, the boy was still thinking about helping him escape. At least he knew how to stand by a friend.
"Run?"
Lu Chen shook his head, crumpled the Wanted Notice in one hand, then released a surge of force from his palm. The paper instantly turned to powder.
"Why should I run?"
"This is Nujiang County. This is my territory."
"If they want to kill me, let them come."
"Let's see whether their blades are faster, or my bones are harder."
Wang Xiaoliu was stunned.
Looking at Lu Chen's frighteningly calm face, he suddenly felt a dominance unlike anything he had ever experienced.
That air of unshakable composure, as though a mountain could collapse before him without changing his expression, miraculously calmed Wang Xiaoliu's panicked heart.
"But... that's the Ye Family..." Wang Xiaoliu stammered.
"So what if it's the Ye Family?"
Lu Chen turned and walked back inside, his voice even. "A powerful dragon can't suppress the local snake. Besides, I'm no snake."
"I'm a dragon."
Meanwhile.
At the Black Water Gang's Main Hall.
Gang Leader Chen Wanli sat in the Tiger Skin Throne that symbolized his power, his face so gloomy it looked ready to drip water.
On the table before him lay an identical Wanted Notice.
In the hall, Zhao Tieshan, the War Hall Master, and several other high-ranking members all kept their heads bowed, scarcely daring to breathe.
"Who can tell me what this is about?"
Chen Wanli pointed at the Wanted Notice, his voice low and stifled. "Wasn't Lu Chen sent to scout the route for the Flying Horse Merchant Association? How did he suddenly become a wanted criminal accused of murder and robbery?"
"Gang Leader..."
Zhao Tieshan stepped forward reluctantly. "There's... probably been some misunderstanding. I know Brother Lu. He can be ruthless, but he's not the kind of man who'd betray his word. The Flying Horse Merchant Association must have tried to rob him, only for Brother Lu to strike back!"
"Strike back?"
Chen Wanli sneered. "That was Qian Tong! And four experts from the Association! Could Lu Chen have taken them all on by himself?"
"Well..." Zhao Tieshan was at a loss for words.
It did sound unbelievable.
Unless Lu Chen's strength had already far surpassed anything they could imagine.
"Whether it was self-defense or not, the problem now is that the Ye Family is furious!"
Chen Wanli slammed his hand on the table. "The Ye Family has already made it clear: if the Black Water Gang doesn't hand over Lu Chen, they'll wipe us out too!"
"What?!"
Everyone turned pale with shock.
Wipe out the Black Water Gang?
The Ye Family was far too domineering!
"Gang Leader! We can't hand him over!"
Zhao Tieshan grew frantic. "Brother Lu is a hero of our gang! If we hand him over, who'll be willing to risk their life for us in the future?"
"That's right, Gang Leader. We need to think this through..."
"Think it through, my ass!"
Chen Wanli roared. "That's the Ye Family of Canglan Prefecture! A colossal force that could crush us with a flick of its fingers! Are we supposed to bury the entire Black Water Gang with Lu Chen?!"
The hall fell silent at once.
Everyone understood what their leader meant.
Sacrifice the pawn to save the king.
It was cruel, but it was the most rational choice.
Zhao Tieshan clenched his fists, his eyes full of frustration, but he had no way to argue.
In the face of an overwhelming difference in strength, loyalty was sometimes nothing but wishful thinking.
Just then.
A commotion suddenly erupted outside.
A moment later, a gate guard stumbled into the hall.
"Gang Leader! Something's wrong!"
"What is it now?!" Chen Wanli snapped impatiently.
"Someone... someone's broken in!"
"Who would dare?!"
"It's... it's..."
Before the guard could finish—
"Boom!"
Someone suddenly kicked open the Main Hall's doors.
The two heavy wooden doors flew out as though made of paper, crashed to the ground, and kicked up a cloud of dust.
Through the swirling dust—
A figure in a blue-green robe, hands clasped behind his back, slowly walked inside.
He looked to be in his forties, with refined features like a schoolteacher.
But the moment everyone saw him, they felt their breath catch.
It was as though the figure entering wasn't a man at all.
But a mountain!
The terrifying pressure made even Chen Wanli, a Meridian Connecting Realm expert, rise from his chair, every muscle taut.
"Who are you?" Chen Wanli asked in a low voice.
The man ignored him and looked around the hall, his gaze as indifferent as still water.
At last, his eyes fell on the Wanted Notice on the table.
"The Ye Family certainly moves fast."
The man chuckled softly. Though his voice wasn't loud, it rang clearly through every corner of the hall.
"But there's one thing wrong with this Wanted Notice."
He extended a finger and pointed from a distance.
"Whoosh!"
The Wanted Notice on the table suddenly burst into flames and turned to ash in an instant.
This display of projecting inner energy and igniting a fire from afar made everyone's pupils contract.
An expert!
An absolute expert!
"Lu Chen killed Qian Tong because Qian Tong deserved to die."
The man spoke calmly. "As for the stolen treasure..."
He turned to Chen Wanli, the corner of his mouth lifting in a meaningful smile.
"It was unclaimed property to begin with. It belongs to whoever deserves it."
"Wouldn't you agree, Gang Leader Chen?"
Cold sweat streamed down Chen Wanli's forehead.
He couldn't gauge the man's strength, but he could sense that he was dangerous.
More dangerous than the Ye Family!
"Who are you, sir? Why are you interfering in the Black Water Gang's internal affairs?" Chen Wanli asked, forcing himself to speak.
The man didn't answer.
He simply turned and walked toward the door.
"Tell Lu Chen."
"I'll wait for him at the Ten Mile Pavilion outside the city."
"If he doesn't want to die at the hands of the Ye Family."
As soon as he finished speaking, the man's figure vanished beyond the door like a ghost.
Only a roomful of Black Water Gang higher-ups remained, staring at one another.
Lu Chen's small courtyard.
Lu Chen was wiping his Hundred Refinements Steel Saber.
Its blade gleamed like snow, reflecting his calm eyes.
The winds outside were growing fiercer.
He could sense several powerful auras closing in.
There were greedy Rogue Cultivators, government spies, and even old enemies from his past.
They were all waiting to kick him when he was down.
"Come on."
Lu Chen murmured, "You'll make fine offerings for my blade."
Just then,
someone knocked on the courtyard gate again.
This time, the knocks weren't hurried.
They came in a distinct rhythm: three long, two short.
Lu Chen raised an eyebrow.
It was a secret signal used within the Black Water Gang.
Only people at the hall master level knew it.
Could it be Zhao Tieshan?
Lu Chen walked over and opened the gate.
But the person standing outside wasn't Zhao Tieshan.
It was someone Lu Chen had never expected.
The Black Water Gang's leader, Chen Wanli.
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