Black Bodhisattva

He took off his outer clothes and shoes, leaving only his close-fitting watersuit. With a thought, he activated his [Phantom] talent, and his presence instantly blended with the river's dark waters.

Like a soundless black fish, he slipped into the Fu River.

The underwater world was utterly different by day.

Moonlight could penetrate only the shallows; beyond them lay a murky darkness.

But Luo Bin's eyesight was hardly affected underwater. His [Phantom] talent let him see as clearly beneath the surface as above it. Following the faint fragrance, which grew clearer by the moment, he swam deeper, heading straight for the spot where the Water Mountain Ghoul had leapt out last time.

Before long, a cramped-looking lair appeared in his blurred vision.

Luo Bin pushed aside some fallen rocks and squeezed inside. A faint, fishy stench hung in the lair, but beneath it, the clean, delicate fragrance stood out even more clearly to Luo Bin's skin, which sensed the flow of his qi and blood. Its source was unmistakably beneath the rock wall at the far end of the lair.

There was a small hollow there, covered in silt and broken stones.

Luo Bin cleared away the debris. At the bottom of the hollow lay a palm-sized object shaped like a feather. It was a dusky red all over, with a faint metallic sheen. Though it had lain buried beneath the river for who knew how many years, it still felt slightly warm to the touch, and nearly invisible reddish-gold patterns glimmered along its edges.

The faint fragrance came from the dusky-red feather. But the Water Mountain Ghoul's lingering, baleful stench had masked it for so long that it had grown extremely weak. If Luo Bin hadn't made progress in the Pure Yang Body-Forging Technique and deliberately used its aura to draw it out and search for it today, he would never have noticed it.

[Discovered an object containing a special Spirit Charm: "Luo Fire Mourning Feather." It can be absorbed and refined. Absorb it?]

The "Crimson" prompt appeared in his mind. Together with the faint fragrance, it confirmed that this object was extraordinary.

Luo Bin didn't hesitate. He gripped the dusky-red feather and silently thought, Absorb.

The feather suddenly grew scorching hot. Its reddish-gold patterns flared brilliantly, then shattered inch by inch, transforming into countless sparks of light like flowing fire. They surged along the meridians in Luo Bin's arm and poured into his body!

"Urgh!"

Luo Bin grunted. A fierce, blazing heat exploded through his limbs and bones, instinctively clashing with the cool, watery aura of [Phantom]. His meridians throbbed with a tearing pain.

He immediately circulated the Pure Yang Body-Forging Technique. The qi and blood he had tempered to perfection at Golden Skin Pass roared like a furnace as he guided, suppressed, and refined this foreign, scorching power with all his might.

The murky water inside the lair churned as if stirred by an invisible force.

Fine beads of blood seeped from Luo Bin's pores, then quickly diffused and faded in the river.

He gritted his teeth and held on, sinking his awareness into his body and guiding the surging power into his dantian, where the "Crimson" modifier greedily devoured it.

This Spirit Charm was scorching and pure, far beyond any precious medicine he had taken before. It also contained a unique hint of "fire," as if it could burn the soul itself.

Who knew how long passed before the violent heat in his body gradually subsided, turning into a docile, vigorous warmth that nourished every inch of his bones, muscles, and flesh.

His meridians seemed to have widened slightly after being torn, growing more resilient.

That unique hint of "fire" also seemed to mingle with the Pure Yang Qi and Blood of the Pure Yang Body-Forging Technique. The "quality" of his qi and blood appeared to have improved in some subtle way, becoming more concentrated and scorching.

[Absorption complete. Spirit Charm obtained: 472 points.]

[Special insight fragment obtained: Burning Breath of Fire (weak).]

Luo Bin opened his eyes. A flash of light gleamed in them, then vanished.

Holy shit, what a haul!

He had enough Spirit Charm to last him for quite a while.

And he'd gained insight into "Burning Breath of Fire"!

But this wasn't the place to linger. He immediately swam upward, his silent figure melting into the night like a ghost.

By the time Luo Bin and Liang Shuisheng returned from Yingshui Ferry, it was already late at night.

He had Liang Shuisheng drop him off near Stone Slab Alley, then gave him thirty silver dollars before disappearing around a corner.

Luo Bin drifted over the high wall of the Pei family's old residence like a fallen leaf.

A light still shone in Wen Li's room. Her slender silhouette was cast on the window paper as she bent over her needlework.

Warmth welled in Luo Bin's heart, along with a sudden, blazing thrill. He lightly tapped the window frame.

The movement inside stopped. A moment later, faint footsteps approached.

The latch clicked, and the door opened a crack. Wen Li's face appeared behind it, startled in the dim lamplight. When she recognized him, disbelief turned to delighted surprise, and then a blush crept over her cheeks.

"Y-you... why are you here so late?" she whispered, hurriedly pulling him inside. She quickly shut the door and leaned against it, her chest rising and falling.

Luo Bin looked at her.

She wore only a plain white nightdress, with a slightly worn, lotus-colored vest over it. Her dark hair was loosely pinned up, with a few wisps falling beside her neck. A faint scent of soap clung to her.

"I missed you," Luo Bin said simply, brushing the hair away from her cheek.

Wen Li blushed even more and lowered her eyes, her long lashes trembling. "You're all sweet talk... Have you eaten? I'll warm up some soup for you..."

Before she could finish, Luo Bin swept her up into his arms.

She let out a soft cry of surprise and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face against his shoulder. The tips of her ears turned crimson.

"I don't want soup." Luo Bin carried her toward the bed in the inner room, his voice low. "I want you."

The red curtains fell, veiling the room in a swaying springtime haze.

Panting and soft cries mingled, charged with the urgency and tenderness of their long-awaited reunion.

At first, Wen Li tried to stifle her voice, but soon she could no longer hold back. Her fingers dug deep into his back as she called his name beside his ear, her voice breaking into a tearful moan.

When the storm had passed, Wen Li's sweat-damp hair clung to her flushed cheeks. She curled into Luo Bin's arms, weary but content. He gently stroked her smooth back, feeling the abundant Spirit Charm within him slowly settle as he circulated the Pure Yang Body-Forging Technique, blending it with his qi and blood. The barrier at Golden Skin Pass seemed to have loosened a little more.

At the same time, at the Jiang family's estate, in Pine Wave Garden.

The study blazed with light. Jiang Lin, head of the Jiang Family, sat in a rosewood armchair, his expression dark as water.

Several people sat below him. One of them was Shao Yancheng.

"So that means Luo Bin really has reached the peak of Golden Skin Pass? And even you couldn't stop him?" Jiang Lin asked slowly.

Shao Yancheng bowed his head. "That's right, Patriarch. The sheer strength of this boy's qi and blood and the concentrated force of his attacks have indeed reached the limits of Golden Skin Pass.

"His footwork is also unfathomable, and he seems to have some ability to hide himself. When he fights, he can be like a blaze rushing at you one moment and a ghost slipping through the shadows the next. His methods are hard to predict."

A shrewd-looking old man with a goatee spoke up from the side. He was the Jiang Family's adviser, Du Wenyuan.

"According to our inquiries, this boy came from a humble background. He used to be a servant at Pei Mansion, then joined the Green Bamboo Gang after the Pei Family fell. Chen Tianren took notice of his talent for cultivating extraordinary techniques and brought him into the Chen Family. In less than two months, he's accomplished one major feat after another.

"Now he's extremely well-known in Shunzhi District, especially among the laborers at the bottom and the dockworkers. Plenty of people say the Chen Family has landed itself a fierce dragon."

"A fierce dragon?" Jiang Lin gave a cold laugh. "A loach grows golden scales and thinks it can turn into a dragon? Chen Tianren has quite the plan, using a country bumpkin who stumbled into a lucky break to shore up his family's reputation and challenge my Jiang Family?"

A middle-aged Martial Master with a stern face and prominent temples spoke in a low voice. "Patriarch, this boy is growing too quickly. If we let him live, he'll surely become a menace. Why not let me take a few capable men and find an opportunity to..."

"Fool!" Jiang Lin snapped. "He's a rising star of the Chen Family now. Chen Tianren will certainly have people watching him. If we make a move in Ping City, we'll be declaring open war and handing the Chen Family a weapon to use against us! Commissioner Cao's people from the south are about to arrive. We can't act openly at a time like this."

Du Wenyuan stroked his beard. "A spear in the open is easy to dodge; an arrow in the dark is hard to guard against.

"Luo Bin may be good at fighting, and famous, too. But fame can be a double-edged sword. Shunzhi District is a place where all sorts of people mix together. There may be just as many people who want him dead as there are people eager to praise him."

Jiang Lin turned to him. "Wenyuan, what clever plan do you have?"

"I hear the Black Bodhisattva's men have been very active in Shunzhi District lately," Du Wenyuan said unhurriedly. "Those desperadoes will do anything if the price is right. And they seem to take a special 'interest' in young fighters 'with potential.'"

Shao Yancheng frowned. "The Black Bodhisattva?"