Regret

Lu Ming's heart tightened, and he felt relieved he hadn't stayed in the city overnight.

The Red River Restaurant seemed to be near the Li Family Bank; if he'd stayed there, he might have been caught up in it.

He stopped watching the commotion, turned, and walked into the Military Service Bureau. In his view, if there was any place safest when a demonic beast attacked, this was it.

Wei Jinlin might be stingy, but his cultivation was unfathomable—even the heads of the three major families in the city dared not act presumptuously before him.

Yet just as he stepped into the Military Service Bureau, he heard a harsh shout:

"Stop!"

He looked up and saw someone blocking the way ahead—it was the tall, triangular-eyed Wu San.

Wu San glanced at the bulging bundle on Lu Ming's back, a flicker of greed in his eyes, then sneered:

"Lu Ming, you're quite impressive today! A young hero, famous across Red Cloud County! And you've come back loaded!

"But you left the Military Service Bureau without permission, and now you're sneaking back during the Public Kitchen meal time—you think no one noticed?"

Childish. Lu Ming gave him a faint look. In a good mood today, he wouldn't stoop to argue. He sidestepped Wu San and headed for his own courtyard.

Seeing this, Wu San's face flushed with anger, then he thought of something and sneered:

"What exactly was buried under that mound of dirt in the woods that day? I went to ask Li Hu, but the guy's tough—he took the beating and wouldn't talk.

"I searched the place and found nothing, so it must be on you. What that treasure is, I think I'll know soon enough."

Lu Ming stopped abruptly, turning to fix a sharp gaze on Wu San.

Thinking of how Li Hu had limped when he visited his courtyard earlier, it suddenly clicked.

So Li Hu hadn't tripped while training—he'd been beaten by Wu San, forced to spill the details of the Bone-Unraveling Technique.

So Wu San, though he'd left the woods that day because of Lu Ming's status, hadn't given up on the treasure under the dirt.

Li Hu hadn't told him about this, clearly afraid Lu Ming would go after Wu San and bring trouble on himself.

Seeing Lu Ming's expression change, Wu San sneered, then stepped forward and barked:

"Lu Ming, I'm taking you to see Master Wei!"

As he spoke, he moved to act, and from the dark corners on both sides, several figures darted out, ready to seize Lu Ming together.

Just then, a loud shout came from the sky:

"Stop!"

Wu San and the others' faces changed. They looked up and saw Wei Jinlin descending from the sky, his sharp gaze sweeping over them.

Everyone hurriedly lowered their heads, none daring to meet his eyes.

Wu San's face shifted slightly, and he quickly said:

"Master Wei, Lu Ming hasn't reached the Skin Refining Perfection level, yet he left the Military Service Bureau without permission—that's a serious crime. I was about to bring him to you for judgment."

Wei Jinlin said flatly:

"No need. Lu Ming informed me beforehand.

"Moreover, he has a talent for finger techniques. At the Skin Refining level, he passed the Stone Tablet Nine Palace Stakes, which already qualifies him to freely enter and leave the Military Service Bureau."

At these words, Wu San and the others' faces changed dramatically. They stared at Lu Ming in disbelief.

He had passed the Stone Tablet Nine Palace Stakes, achieving the Nine Breaks in One Breath level at Skin Refining!

How was that possible?

Wei Jinlin paid them no further attention and said to Lu Ming, "You may go."

Lu Ming replied, "Yes, thank you, Master Wei, for resolving this."

With that, Lu Ming shot a cold glance at Wu San and strode away. Wei Jinlin also drifted off.

Wu San and the others exchanged looks.

Wu San turned his head and saw Shen Jue waving at him from under a nearby eaves. He gave a slight bow, then dispersed with the others.

Under the eaves, Shen Jue's face was grim, a trace of regret flickering in his eyes as he said:

"I didn't expect Lu Ming to have talent not only in lightness techniques but also in finger techniques.

"And today on the arena, they say even Chu Wufeng, who took a Blood Explosion Pill to temporarily break through to Skin Refining Perfection, couldn't beat him.

"If I hadn't given up so easily when I saw Li Youning recruiting him, maybe..."

Today's arena match, though the Li family won, didn't change much. But the perfect chance to crush the Li family cleanly had been ruined by Lu Ming, a suddenly appearing disciple of the Military Service Bureau.

This had greatly displeased their elders, who thought the two of them were useless in the Bureau, failing to report any sign of this in advance.

It affected their standing in their families to some extent!

After all, though they were direct descendants of the Shen and Li families, the clans were large, and internal competition was fierce.

If Lu Ming had been recruited by him and stood on the other side of the arena, the situation would have been vastly different.

Shen Jue suddenly said, "Brother Chen, what do you think—if I try to recruit Lu Ming now, is there still a chance?"

Chen Jinyang smiled faintly. "Lu Ming sided with the Li family just for pills and Qi-Nurturing Powder. If you're willing to spend big, you can naturally recruit him. But is it worth it?"

Shen Jue asked, "Brother Chen, do you think it's not worth it?"

Chen Jinyang said, "Of course it's not worth it."

"Today he killed Chu Wufeng, who was the cream of the younger generation of the Red Snake Gang. Do you think Gang Leader Yin will look favorably on him?"

"Besides, the matter of the Li Family Bank involves that one!"

Hearing this, a trace of reverence and anticipation flickered in Shen Jue's eyes as he said:

"That one... when will he arrive?"

Chen Jinyang said, "Soon, within these few days."

Shen Jue slowly nodded and immediately dropped the topic of recruiting Lu Ming.

Lu Ming stepped into the Military Service Bureau. After a moment's thought, instead of heading straight back to his own compound, he sought out Li Hu's small courtyard.

"Thump, thump, thump." He knocked on the door.

Soon, footsteps sounded from inside, and the door opened. Li Hu looked out in confusion, and upon seeing him, hurriedly said:

"Senior Brother Lu, you've finally shown up. Where did you go today? You didn't even come to the Martial Arts Arena."

Lu Ming said, "I already informed Master Wei in advance. No need to worry."

Hearing this, Li Hu let out a huge sigh of relief, scratched his head, and grinned foolishly:

"That's true. Senior Brother Lu lives in the compound area, unlike us."

Lu Ming stared at his leg. "How's your injury?"

Li Hu quickly replied, "Thanks to the medicine Senior Brother Lu gave me, it's almost healed."

Lu Ming took out his last two bottles of wound medicine and handed them over:

"Don't skimp on the medicine. Recover and get back to training as soon as possible. There's still nearly two months until the big exam. If you work hard, you might still have a chance."

Li Hu said gratefully, "Senior Brother Lu, this..."

"Take it. This stuff is useless to me now. The Bone-Unraveling Technique you gave me helped me a lot, so don't be polite." Lu Ming said.

He wasn't lying. He now had the Sweet Dew Powder gifted by the Li Family, which was more effective, and Sweet Dew Powder couldn't be mixed with other external wound medicines, so the wound medicine was indeed useless to him.

Li Hu would rather take a beating than reveal anything about the Bone-Unraveling Technique to Wu San. Even the fact that the technique was on him was something Wu San had guessed himself.

Since Li Hu was so loyal, Lu Ming ought to show his appreciation.

Li Hu held the two bottles of wound medicine, but in his heart, he thought that he had given the Bone-Unraveling Technique to Lu Ming because Lu Ming had saved him from Wu San and his companion.

Now Lu Ming had given him wound medicine several times, and he had nothing to repay. He quickly said:

"Thank you, Senior Brother Lu. If there's anything you need my help with, just say the word."

Lu Ming said, "I like martial arts manuals, all kinds of martial arts manuals. If you can get me some, that would be best."

Lu Ming smiled, then turned and left without a care.

The matter of the Bone-Unraveling Technique was a one-time thing. He didn't think Li Hu could get him any more martial arts manuals. He only said this to put Li Hu at ease about using the medicine.

Li Hu watched Lu Ming's retreating figure, feeling troubled.

Martial arts manuals? That's a bit difficult!

Martial arts manuals, by their very nature, almost all had owners.