A heavy frost fell in the night, and the leaves withered away.
After the terror of the bandits storming the city and ransacking it had yet to settle, the heavens began to spit a fine snow resembling little silver pearls.
By the latter half of the second day, the snowflakes grew gradually larger, tumbling down in a flurry like willow catkins and poplar blossoms.
Inside the Tiger Martial Arts School, the charcoal fire burned a brilliant red.
A pot of green scallions and tofu bubbled noisily over the stove, its fragrance wafting through the air.
Nearby, Hu Xuezhi was currently enjoying Tian Youji massaging and manipulating his injuries with Golden Wind palm force to aid his recovery, humming and sighing with pleasure as he spoke.
According to what the returning eldest miss of the Wang Family said, the mysterious person who saved her was of advanced age, perhaps approaching sixty.
Yet the moment he struck, he disposed of three experts, which included two bone-refining ones like Ding Ying; this was definitely a powerhouse of the Blood Change Realm.
It is just a pity that this person was as elusive as a dragon seeing its head but not its tail, perhaps merely a righteous traveler passing by whose strength might even surpass yours and mine, though I wonder how he compares to that Lord Lin of the Demon Suppressing Division.
Right, half a day has already passed, why has Lord Lin yet to return?
With a resounding crack!
Tian Youji slapped Hu Xuezhi across the back, and said unhappily, How would I know how the Golden Sparrow Tiger Guards of the Demon Suppressing Division operate?
I didn't even know the exact time when this Lord Lin arrived, and his methods of doing things are even harder to predict; perhaps he went to observe the stronghold of that Heaven and Earth Incense Cult.
As he spoke, Tian Youji furrowed his brow, withdrew his hand to wipe away the medicinal liquid with a towel, and walked to the window to look outside.
The white-as-snow snowflakes drifting down through the deep night curtain also appeared listless.
A nameless unease inexplicably welled up in his heart as well, and he said in a deep voice, Both of you and I are injured, so for now we can only pin our hopes on this Lord Lin of the Demon Suppressing Division. Let's tend to our injuries properly first, restore order within the city, and set up defenses.
If Lord Lin has yet to return by tomorrow, I will personally lead a team out of the city to take a look!
After a night of rain and snow, every household and roof in Linyuan City was draped in a pure white plain attire.
The city wall resembled a giant snake with a white ridge, stretching far away into the grayish-brown dusk and mist.
Inside the bedroom of the Chu Family Main Residence, Chu Ge's face was flushed a radiant red as he sat cross-legged and slowly gathered his technique.
He had practiced for the entire night and refined four strands of strange energy, feeling his vital blood become even more vigorous.
The vital blood energy, when visualizing the Tiger Crouching Technique visualization diagram, could already condense one-tenth of a tiger's head.
Now he only needed to cultivate his vital blood until he could condense a complete tiger's head, which would mark his stepping into the Blood Change Realm Peak, allowing him to attempt the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top, ignite his own spirituality, and charge through the barrier of the Force Condensation Realm.
Three thousand silver taels in exchange for these Tiger Crouching Technique essentials is not a loss.
This era is a grand martial arts era, and martial arts might ultimately unravel the mystery of my transmigration.
My heart holds only martial arts leading to divinity! Left-hand paths are also techniques to safeguard the path, and other minor paths are nothing more than entertainment and diversion.
After giving himself a routine pep talk in his mind, Chu Ge opened his eyes, glanced at the two bed-warming maidservants, Little Spring Flower and Little Bai Cui, who exuded alluring charms to the side, and with his seated body remaining completely motionless, he said calmly.
Still sleeping?
Ah!
Young Master, this maid knows!
The two maidservants rubbed their sleepy eyes, immediately scrambled up, and brought over hot water, fragrant broth, and a winter brazier to wait upon Chu Ge as he dressed and washed.
After finishing breakfast.
Chu Ge intended to head out and check on the conditions within the city.
With the bandits wreaking havoc yesterday and another night of rain and snow falling last night, the commoners' lives would likely be even harder, and he wondered if that official from the Demon Suppressing Division had successfully wiped out the bandit leaders.
The snow on the streets was quite thick, making it difficult even for carriages to move forward.
Chu Ge had no intention of troubling himself with a human-paved sedan chair either, so he called over a few servants and took to the street.
He saw that with a day having passed, quite a few commoners had successively appeared on the streets, which were no longer as completely deserted as yesterday.
Even so, many people still wore terror and lingering fear written across their faces.
The bustling streets that used to see a continuous stream of carriages and horses now lacked even the shouting peddlers and traveling pawns.
Instead, a crowd had gathered outside the County Yamen gate, all inquiring about news of yesterday's bandits.
Upon hearing that the bandits had all been executed and that an official from the Demon Suppressing Division had also come to provide reinforcement, bursts of cheers erupted from the yamen.
People gradually ran about shouting to pass the news along, and the city seemed to slowly regain a bit of vitality.
The elimination of the bandit leaders has yet to be announced; could it that Lord Lin of the Demon Suppressing Division hasn't finished off that Iron Token Envoy yet?
Standing steadfast at the entrance of Fulailai Inn, Chu Ge thought about it and figured it wouldn't be appropriate to immediately go find Tian Youji to inquire about specific news again.
At least with that Lord Lin of the Demon Suppressing Division around, the city would experience a period of stability.
Chu Ge looked at the diverse crowd all around him, observing how the expressions of some neighborhood commoners had gone from initial apprehension to current relaxation, and he sighed inwardly.
An ordinary person's definition of happiness is really very simple.
Perhaps simply having a relatively comfortable environment to live normally is already a precious and hard-won happiness for most ordinary people in this world.
An evil cult sect like the Heaven and Earth Incense Cult can repeatedly commit crimes in the Great Zhou without being wiped out; I'm afraid it's not just as simple as a single sect or faction...
Currently, the leader is still just a Blood Change Realm envoy of the so-called mortal tier; if one were to encounter a savage criminal of the Force Condensation Realm...
Although the city was temporarily stable, Chu Ge once again felt a sense of urgency welling up in his heart.
He still needed to continue improving his strength and strive to step into the Force Condensation Realm as soon as possible.
Before that, he should remain as low-profile as possible and not easily step forward with his true identity, so as to avoid courting trouble.
After all, the Heaven and Earth Incense Cult had more than just one stronghold, and above the Iron Token Envoy, there were definitely even more formidable experts.
Leaving the inn, Chu Ge made another trip to Baolin Pavilion and walked through the fish market.
Unfortunately, Baolin Pavilion had closed its doors for good since yesterday and remained unopened today, clearly acting like birds startled by the mere twang of a bow, which dashed Chu Ge's idea of acquiring some antique objects.
There were plenty of fish merchants selling fish on the cheap at the fish market, but not a single Spirit Fish was to be encountered.
Helpless, Chu Ge could only select two baskets of top-quality kiln charcoal for the winter on the street.
After informing the charcoal seller of his household's location, he changed course and returned to the residence.
The strange energy currently accumulated within his Dragon Clock was left with only ninety-one strands.
This amount, aside from the daily consumption of one strand of strange energy to maintain the Crimson Scale Claws, left the remainder somewhat stretched for everyday cultivation, only enough to sustain him for about eighteen days.
That was not even mentioning that researching the Shadow Puppets, Shadow Lanterns, and maintaining the Crimson Scale Claws also required the consumption of strange energy.
Alas, he could not acquire antique objects or rare treasures for a moment to refine strange energy.
Fortunately, the five people led by Ding Ying whom he had killed yesterday, when sacrificed to the Dragon Clock, could convert into a bit more than fifty strange energy strands based on their strength and status as bone-refining and muscle-refining warriors.
This could also be considered a replenishment.
At this moment, the corpses of the five men lay quietly inside the Dragon Clock.
Ding Ying: Introduction: (Bone-refining warrior, outer peripheral disciple of the Heaven and Earth Incense Cult, proficient in the Great Accomplishment Snow Blade Technique, Minor Accomplishment Mandarin Duck Complementary Technique).
Zhu Congxun: Introduction: (Bone-refining warrior, outer peripheral disciple of the Heaven and Earth Incense Cult, proficient in the Minor Accomplishment Breath Holding Technique, Minor Accomplishment Movement Technique, Great Accomplishment Blood Shadow Palm).
Mou Yungui, Xiang Cheng, Miao Zong: Introduction: (Muscle-refining warriors, omitted).
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