All Fear Stems from a Lack of Firepower

There was still medicinal power remaining, so Lin Zheyu did not let it go to waste.

"Use 1 unit of Source Power to upgrade Golden Goose Technique."

As the thought was transmitted, his Source Power decreased by one unit.

The cultivation progress belonging to the Golden Goose Technique began to jump rapidly.

Lin Zheyu's mind fell into a special state.

He felt as if he were placed in an inexplicable space, where he had only one thought: to practice the Golden Goose Technique!

He did it over and over again, never stopping, never tiring, like one possessed.

The progress jumped rapidly: 40%... 60%... 100%. In an instant, it broke through to the second level, and it continued to rise.

It finally stopped when it reached 24% progress on the second level.

Mysterious energy surged from the depths of his cells, beginning to nourish and transform Lin Zheyu's body, focusing primarily on his legs.

He felt the muscles in his legs become increasingly firm and powerful, his tendons and membranes strengthening, and his bone density rapidly increasing, becoming harder and more explosive.

[Heaven Rewards Diligence]

Name: Lin Zheyu

Source Power: 2

Skills:

Bull Fist (Proficient 4%)

Golden Goose Technique (Second Level 24%)

Turtle Breathing Technique (Third Level 0%)

"Second level, Bone Refining Realm."

Lin Zheyu opened his eyes and stretched his muscles and bones; he did not feel the slightest bit of Blood Energy depletion.

His body was no longer as feverish as before; the medicinal power in the soup had been mostly consumed, with only a tiny bit left.

"Blood-Nourishing Bone-Strengthening Soup is truly extraordinary."

Lin Zheyu thought to himself. He planned to use this prescription from now on; not only was the medicinal power potent, but it was also convenient.

He only had two units of Source Power left, so he could not upgrade the Golden Goose Technique to the third level.

There was no rush for that, however.

Although he had the Turtle Breathing Technique to conceal his strength, his use and comprehension of the Golden Goose Technique could not be faked, and it would be easy to reveal during actual combat.

In the coming days, he would be going to Master Liang's house every day to spar with Senior Brother Han Mo.

Improving slowly could be explained away as having amazing comprehension, allowing him to advance rapidly through daily sparring.

Three days later.

On the way to Bidan Tea House, every household was setting off firecrackers and worshipping the gods.

Crackling—

The sound of firecrackers rose everywhere, and children played and chased each other, having a great time.

"Three for the Kitchen God, four for sweeping the house, five for steaming buns, six for slaughtering the pig..."

"We're going to have pork to eat..."

They sang the proverb while chasing each other in play.

Looking at the familiar scene before him, Lin Zheyu couldn't help but think of his childhood in his past life.

Back then, he was just as carefree and joyful as these children.

Arriving at Bidan Tea House, Lin Zheyu asked curiously, "Steward Wu, what day is it today? Why is everyone setting off firecrackers and worshipping gods?"

"Today is the day to worship the Kitchen God Siming Zhenjun. Does your family not worship the gods?"

Steward Wu said it as a matter of course, but quickly realized that Lin Zheyu had come as a refugee and had been separated from his family and friends on the road.

"Sorry, I spoke without thinking," Steward Wu said apologetically.

"It's fine."

Lin Zheyu waved his hand and said, "Worshipping the Kitchen God Siming Zhenjun, no wonder it's so lively today."

In many aspects, this world was very similar to his past life.

Worshipping the Kitchen God Siming Zhenjun could ward off disasters and evil, bless the whole family with peace, and ensure a bountiful harvest with plenty of fish and meat in the coming year.

Besides the Kitchen God, there were also the Door God, Earth God, Bed God, Well God, Toilet God, River God... hmm... Water God, and so on.

In the Great Wei, the power structure was quite interesting; it did not emphasize the divine right of kings, but rather the royal right of gods, as all deities were enfeoffed by the Emperor.

Take the Kitchen God, for example. His full title is the Heavenly Venerable of Yellow Heaven, Controller of Fate, Bestower of Fortune, and Reporter of Good Deeds, and he is the deity in charge of the imperial kitchen.

The ancestor of the emperors is the Supreme Yellow Heaven Myriad Dao Exalted Golden Palace Sovereign Emperor, referred to for short as the Yellow Heaven Emperor.

In this world, the emperor is not the Son of Heaven; the emperor is Heaven itself!

"There are far fewer people today!"

Lin Zheyu glanced at the patrons in the teahouse; there were significantly fewer than before.

"It can't be helped. With Anyi City having fallen, more and more people are worried that the unrest will spread to our Songyi City," Steward Wu sighed.

Recently, because the number of bandits outside the city has been increasing, the cost of transporting goods for merchant caravans has risen, causing prices within the city to climb as well.

If it weren't for the City Guard, like Han Mo and his men, heading out to suppress bandits from time to time to keep the trade routes open, prices would have likely skyrocketed long ago.

In the last few days, even the storyteller who usually seeks out Lin Zheyu for content has had less work, because people have stopped tipping.

Everyone is poor, and everyone has started to tighten their belts.

There is still about half an hour until the storytelling begins.

Lin Zheyu walked over to join Jia Yanyong and the others for a chat.

Having joined the Flying Rainbow Gang for some time now, Lin Zheyu has become quite familiar with them.

As they chatted, Steward Wu also wandered over.

"Steward Wu, come, sit."

Seeing Steward Wu, Lin Zheyu invited him to take a seat.

Since the number of customers dropped, the smile on Wu Yinghe's face has faded, often replaced by a look of worry.

"Times are tough, and there's no telling when it will end," Steward Wu sighed.

With bandits increasing outside the city, refugees are now strictly forbidden from entering.

Previously, scholars who had studied and skilled workers with a trade were still permitted to enter the city to find work, but now that has been completely banned.

"People pouring in from other cities are increasing, and things are starting to get chaotic inside the walls. Yesterday, there were three separate conflicts on Baiwei Street," Xie Jiang said. The order in the city has begun to crumble as panic spreads among the people.

Even though the Flying Rainbow Gang is everywhere maintaining order and handling conflicts, incidents still occur from time to time.

When order breaks down, business becomes difficult to conduct, and protection fees become harder to collect, meaning their own futures won't be easy either.

The group ordered some dishes and drank a little wine to pass the time.

At this moment, Steward Wu said mysteriously, "Have you heard? Something happened over at Qinghe Mountain."

"The Qinghe Mountain belonging to the Nine Star Gang?" Lin Zheyu asked.

During this period, he has gained a better understanding of the factions within the city.

Qinghe Mountain is a coal mine with rich resources, and it belongs to the territory of the Nine Star Gang.

The Nine Star Gang is composed of several major families, and the income generated from mining the coal is distributed among these families according to a pre-arranged agreement.

"That's right, the one belonging to the Nine Star Gang."

"Hurry up and tell us, what big thing happened?"

Jia Yanyong became interested; he was always happy to hear that the Nine Star Gang had run into bad luck.

He had a conflict with people from the Nine Star Gang a while back and was even slashed in the neck during a fight, taking quite a long time to recover.

"I heard that place, Qinghe Mountain, is haunted. A lot of people have vanished for no reason."

"Some people saw their dead coworkers wandering around the camp as wisps of ghosts, and they were scared half to death."

"Many of the men who went into the tunnels to dig coal were so terrified they ran back, and among them were several from my Wu Village," Wu Yinghe said with a grave expression.

No one from his Wu Village died this time, otherwise, the village would have brought people over to cause a scene.

"Pfft, I thought you meant bandits had raided the place."

"What's so special about being haunted? In coal mines and iron mines like that, there's all sorts of strange stuff underground. You're bound to dig up something unlucky eventually."

"Is that really worth making a fuss about?" Jia Yanyong curled his lip, not taking it seriously.

"It really isn't."

"Back when I used to guard the mines, I ran into things even weirder than that."

"Don't panic when you run into them; just toss a few rounds of explosives and be done with it. It's no big deal," Xie Jiang added.

The Flying Rainbow Gang has its own mines, and members of the gang take turns guarding them to prevent bandits and other factions from causing trouble.

Out in the wilderness, encountering such things is nothing out of the ordinary.

Only someone like Steward Wu, who spends his time in the city, would find it surprising.

Lin Zheyu couldn't help but be speechless upon hearing this.

He had been interested just a moment ago, but after hearing Jia Yanyong and the others speak, his interest vanished instantly.

As expected, all fear stems from a lack of firepower.