Cao Jichuan, White Ape Shakes the Mountain, and a Strange Fragrance

Chen Residence.

Luo Bin returned with Chen Tianren. To everyone's surprise, Chen Manqing also came back to the Chen Residence with them.

"Luo Bin, you've protected Manqing once again. What would you like—"

Before Chen Tianren could finish, Luo Bin raised a hand to stop him. "Uncle Chen, I happened to be at Zhenyuan Escort Agency nearby. It was no trouble, so there's no need to thank me...

"Besides, sparring with Shao Yancheng was what I wanted in the first place."

Chen Tianren was an astute man. From the extent of the damage, Luo Bin's neat clothes, and the snippets of conversation from the onlookers by the roadside, he had already deduced that Luo Bin hadn't suffered much. Even so, he couldn't help sighing.

"You've improved so quickly that I still think of you as the young man I first met that day... Now I see you've grown into a man who can protect others!"

Luo Bin smiled without replying, quietly listening to Chen Tianren's reflections.

"I don't know much about Shao Yancheng, but I do know he made quite a name for himself in Jinmen a few years ago. Later, the Jiang Family recruited him, and he returned to Ping City to make his mark. He must be at least at the middle stage of Jade Bone Pass...

"Even when the old master was still around, there weren't many people like him in the Chen Family," Chen Tianren said with a sigh.

At that, Luo Bin remembered how he'd privately complained that the Chen Family was "putting on an act." It was a powerful clan that had held sway over Ping City for years, yet it seemed they'd never even encountered a Jade Bone Pass martial master. It was bizarre.

Noticing his puzzled expression, Chen Tianren explained, "The Chen Family isn't really a martial arts family. We inherited the right to practice the extraordinary Yellow Court Inner Landscape thanks to a stroke of luck and the good karma my father cultivated when he was young.

"There used to be a few Jade Bone Pass martial masters in the family, but Eldest Brother took them all to Jinmen. He's short on manpower over there..."

Luo Bin understood. So the eldest young master, Chen Du, had transferred their people elsewhere... What kind of presence was in Jinmen that he'd had to bring people from home? What strange and fantastic things lurked beneath the waters that the Gushang Peace-Waves Society had to face?

Chen Tianren continued, "Ping City is only a small place, comparatively speaking. Great Martial Masters at Profound Mastery, who can withstand modern weapons, generally don't stay in places like this. Martial masters who can't withstand guns, on the other hand, have to keep their heads down in Ping City...

"After all, our Chen Family isn't stingy when it comes to these things, so there's no need for us to recruit and equip too many martial masters."

Two words popped into Luo Bin's mind.

That made sense.

Low-level martial masters couldn't beat guns. With one in hand, even an ordinary person could live like "a man who didn't eat beef."

The questions that had puzzled him for so long suddenly fell into place... The Chen Family had its reasons after all. They weren't deliberately "putting on an act."

"Uncle Chen, what's the story with Commissioner Cao's son from the Southern Democratic Alliance staying in Ping City?"

Luo Bin was genuinely curious.

Luo Bin and Chen Tianren sat on the sofa as a maid filled their teacups and brought over some dried fruit.

Chen Tianren snorted at Luo Bin's question. "The Southern Democratic Alliance has a nice ring to it, but it's little more than a loose alliance... Why is 'Southern' in the name? Because it's just a separatist regime.

"Why call it 'democratic'? Because it's a monkey wearing a crown, trying to imitate the systems of Western powers like Balun and Yingluo Kingdom.

"And why 'alliance'? Because it's a regime formed by countless warlords, great and small, banding together. As luck would have it, its territory reaches our Ping City, right on the border."

"We're right at the boundary between the Southern Democratic Alliance and the territories of several northern warlords... Commissioner Cao, Cao Hua, originally planned to stay in Ping City and meet with a few important figures from the north, but he changed course at the last minute and went to Tianhai.

"His son, Cao Jichuan, is very interested in Ping City's ancient culture. So he parted ways with his father and decided to bring his people to Ping City."

After listening to Chen Tianren's explanation, Luo Bin finally understood all the ins and outs. Ping City sat on the boundary between the northern and southern factions, far from safe. War could break out at any moment.

"Cao Jichuan is only nineteen, but he's no harmless youngster. Rumor has it he often takes pleasure in killing people..."

Luo Bin's breath caught. Scenes from films he'd seen in his previous life surged through his mind: that slick-haired warlord's son who also made a game of killing.

"There sure are a lot of lunatics in the Great Xin Republic. The Pei Family dances with demons, Cao Jichuan doesn't eat beef, and the warlords are surrounded by strange demons and monsters..."

Damn it, when would he finally get to settle down and marry eighteen concubines?

Luo Bin cursed inwardly. After ending his conversation with Chen Tianren, he returned to Qinghui Courtyard, which had already been tidied up. With its artificial hills, flowing water, pavilions, and elegant rooms, it was a comfortable and refined place... Jiang Ling had even transferred the two pretty maids, Chuntao and Xiahe, to Qinghui Courtyard.

They would see to Luo Bin's daily needs.

The next day.

Luo Bin lay on the soft bed and brought up Crimson to check his information.

[Luo Bin]

[Realm: Golden Skin Pass, Complete]

[Techniques: White Ape Through-Arm Fist (Second Layer, 2/6), Primordial Stance (Third Layer, 5/20)]

[Essence Soul: Water Ghoul · Phantom]

[Modification Value: 2]

[Spirit Charm: 5]

[Techniques: Pure Yang Body-Forging Technique (Third Layer, 5/20), White Ape Through-Arm Fist (Second Layer, 2/6)]

The Chen Family's food was probably excellent. Chen Tianren occasionally sent over tonic herbs and precious medicines, and Luo Bin accepted them all, but his Spirit Charm still accumulated far too slowly... Since he wanted to develop steadily in the early stages, he kept his ability to grow stronger by eating "good things" hidden under wraps. That excessive caution had also made him lax about searching for "heavenly treasures" rich in Spirit Charm.

So his next goal was to find a way to eat.

But though his direction had become clear in recent days, he still had to take it one step at a time.

He put all five points of Spirit Charm into White Ape Through-Arm Fist. In an instant, a complex yet invigorating understanding poured into his heart like sweet dew from the heavens. A feeling of sudden, blissful clarity welled up in his mind.

[White Ape Through-Arm Fist (Minor Mastery)]

Luo Bin stared at the display on Crimson and couldn't help freezing. Why did it say Minor Mastery... Shouldn't it be Third Layer?

He racked his brains for a while but couldn't figure it out. In the end, he could only chalk the change up to the nature of White Ape Through-Arm Fist: after the Third Layer, its stages might simply become more straightforward.

It was also possible that the technique only underwent a major change every three layers from then on... hence the simplified interface.

Luo Bin gathered his thoughts and immersed himself in the wealth of fresh insights into the fist technique. After White Ape Through-Arm Fist reached Minor Mastery, its former traits—"Muscle and Bone Might" and "Through-Arm Wind Splitting"—disappeared, replaced by four killing moves: "Mountain Shaker," "Wave Subduer," "Tiger Hunter," and "Dragon Capturer."

The killing move he mastered effortlessly through his Minor Mastery insights was Mountain Shaker.

After upgrading his martial art, Luo Bin went outside Qinghui Courtyard to stretch and greeted Jiang Ling. In the blink of an eye, he spotted several white cars rushing through the entrance to the residence. An old man and a young man stepped out of one of them.

With the steward, Fang Zijing, leading them, they headed for the main hall.

Luo Bin stood some distance away and caught a faint fragrance on the breeze... He stayed where he was for a long while, then suddenly felt his heart jolt.

"This fragrance... Why is it exactly like the one by the Fu River at the River God Festival at Ying Shui Ferry?"