Night Talk, Liang Shuisheng's Hidden Talent, and the Idea of Forming a Demon Hunting Squad

Luo Bin's sudden words were like a thunderclap. Wen Li was still basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking,

but even so, she had to take what he'd said seriously. Her slightly tipsy, dewy eyes turned toward Luo Bin, and she let out a soft sigh.

"Ah Bin, I still can't hide anything from you."

Wen Li was about to continue, but Luo Bin covered her lips.

"It's fine. I used to call you Aunt Wen, then I called you Sister Wen, and now I call you A Li. I just don't want you hiding anything from me...

Now that we've talked it out, there's nothing more I need to ask about.

When we get to Tianhai, I'll still find Wen Xue and bring her to your side."

Wen Li's mind was hazy and dazed. The broad-chested, solidly muscled young man before her had grown into a real man. He no longer had to scrape by on the thin gruel she'd once given him. He now had what it took to make a place for himself in this chaotic world...

"Ah Bin, you... Even though we're close now, what will the old-timers in the compound, like Big Brother Xu Ping, think of us...?"

Luo Bin chuckled and tightened his arm around the curvaceous, dewy woman beside him, pulling her close as he said,

"Strength is what gives you the right to speak. Uncle Xu and the others won't say much. They'll just marvel at my good fortune."

Wen Li pouted and scolded him, "You little rascal!"

The early-summer night breeze was gentle. Inside the tent, passion and tenderness flowed without end.

It wasn't until noon the next day that a nimble figure appeared in a remote, deserted corner of Pei Family Manor. The figure moved swiftly, running along the courtyard wall and vaulting over it like someone crossing rooftops, before landing in the alley outside.

It was Luo Bin, after a night of passionate lovemaking.

By Luo Bin's standards, a woman had to have a big, generous bosom, and Wen Li undoubtedly fit the bill. What made her even more intoxicating was her cool-on-the-outside, smoldering-on-the-inside nature, which struck right at his particular tastes.

So after a night of passion, his legs were a little unsteady.

"My lower back's a bit sore. I might as well walk around the streets and loosen up."

Ping City was bustling at midday. There were all kinds of steamed and boiled foods, general stores, and even plenty of female students from Ping City Women's Normal School over in New Territory out looking for something to eat.

After walking for a while, Luo Bin spotted a familiar young man sitting at a street stall, hunched over a bowl of braised offal and eating with gusto. The delicious aroma drifting through the alley made Luo Bin's mouth water, too.

"Hey, young master, what are you doing here?" the young man said in surprise when he noticed Luo Bin approaching.

Luo Bin waved a hand, found a stool, and sat down across from the young man. This was Liang Shuisheng, the rickshaw puller who had dragged him all over the city when Luo Bin was searching for Chen Jing.

That day, Luo Bin had been frantic to find Chen Jing and had followed the trail of moisture as he searched in every direction. He'd noticed Liang Shuisheng's strange stamina, but after the fight with the old Daoist Jia Yao, the thought had slipped to the back of his mind...

Now that they'd met again, he finally remembered Liang Shuisheng's peculiar talent. The man had pulled a rickshaw with Luo Bin riding in it all over half of Ping City, yet he hadn't even been breathing hard. His breathing had stayed steady, and he hadn't broken a sweat.

His eyes held a clear, limpid light.

"I was passing by and saw you eating braised offal. I got a little hungry, too, so I came over to mooch a bowl," Luo Bin said with a slight smile. He took off his suit jacket and casually set it on a small stool beside him.

He waved to the shopkeeper. "Boss, two more portions of braised offal. Be generous with the broth, and bring four baked flatbreads, too..."

After calling out, Luo Bin noticed Liang Shuisheng staring at him in amazement. "What is it?"

"Young master, you sure can eat. A big bowl of braised offal like this is enough to fill up someone doing hard labor if they have half a flatbread with it. But what you eat in one meal is enough for two or three meals for us starving folk... That's a rare sight."

Liang Shuisheng seemed like a naturally friendly sort. Even when faced with Luo Bin, who looked like the young master of some prominent family, he wasn't intimidated. Instead, he chatted away with him.

Still, Liang Shuisheng wasn't entirely unawed. He occasionally slipped in a compliment or two when talking to Luo Bin. After all, he'd witnessed the spectacular "kidnapping and rescue operation" in Ping City the day before, and the city's powerful families all seemed to have some connection to the young master in front of him...

Despite the occasional flattery, Liang Shuisheng's innate composure and levelheadedness stirred a hint of appreciation in Luo Bin.

"I practice martial arts, so of course I eat a lot," Luo Bin said with a smile.

Liang Shuisheng looked surprised and secretly sized up Luo Bin's build. The muscles beneath his shirt bulged in ridges, straining the fabric. Even a glance at him conveyed an explosive strength.

It was enough to make a person's heart skip a beat.

"So the young master practices martial arts. No wonder you're so strong and dashing!"

When the braised offal arrived, Luo Bin blew on the hot broth, took a hearty gulp, smacked his lips, and said,

"Do you want to learn martial arts?"

The street was full of people and noise. Liang Shuisheng seemed not to have heard him clearly, and asked uncertainly, "What did you say, young master?"

"I said, do you want to practice martial arts?"

A flash of light immediately came into Liang Shuisheng's eyes, but it dimmed again in an instant. "Young master, surely you're joking. How could people like us practice martial arts? I haven't been pulling rickshaws for long, but I do know how to read and write.

"Since ancient times, Great Xin has had a saying: 'The poor study, the rich practice martial arts.'

"Someone like me can't even reach the threshold of 'poor man's studies,' let alone practice martial arts.

"And I don't even know if I have the talent for it..."

As he spoke, a layer of moisture clouded Liang Shuisheng's eyes.

Luo Bin went on eating on his own. After Liang Shuisheng finished speaking, he pushed the bowl of braised offal beside him toward the man and split off a piece of flatbread for him.

The two fell silent for a short while.

"I know you haven't had enough to eat. I eat a lot, but much of what I eat is meant to help me practice martial arts. This braised offal is just to satisfy a craving... The extra bowl and flatbread are for you." After finishing the broth in his own bowl, Luo Bin set it down and looked toward the crowded street.

Liang Shuisheng definitely had some talent beyond the ordinary. His physical condition, his state of mind, and even the fact that he knew how to read and write were all rare in the Great Xin Republic, where social order was in disarray and day had turned to night.

It was all the more unusual.

So Luo Bin meant to bring Liang Shuisheng under his wing and have someone teach him martial arts. Perhaps he'd surprise Luo Bin one day.

He also had another consideration: Crimson consumed the spiritual essence in precious medicinal ingredients, and then there was the matter of modification points.

There were all sorts of ways to obtain spiritual essence. All he had to do was eat something containing refined energy, and his spiritual essence would increase. Medicinal ingredients, precious beast meat, and so on all qualified. Precious beast meat came from monster creatures.

The way to obtain modification points was the simplest and most direct: hunt Demon Ghosts...

Whether he wanted to acquire treasures, precious beast meat, or hunt Demon Ghosts, he couldn't do without the Martial Master system. If Luo Bin tried to gather resources all by himself, his growth would be far too slow.

So Luo Bin had always kept an idea tucked away in his heart.

He wanted to build a force of his own.

After carefully reviewing everything that had happened recently, he realized he'd become far too dependent on the Chen Family. Chen Tianren could provide him with medicinal ingredients and resources, but much of it was low-grade stuff that circulated on the open market.

As he consumed more and more common medicinal ingredients, precious beast meat, and other things containing spiritual essence, his strength did indeed improve. But the amount of spiritual essence he needed to advance to the next stage kept increasing, too.

That created a problem: the spiritual essence in the medicinal ingredients and precious beast meat he'd been eating was no longer enough.

That was why Luo Bin wanted to form a Demon Hunting Squad—one absolutely loyal to him, one that could become a sharp blade for him to carve a path through this chaotic world of warlords, crumbling social order, and Western meddling.