"Add points to Physique!"
At a thought, 75 points of General Experience instantly poured into the progress bar representing his Physique.
"Vmm—!"
[Physique Level Increased!]
[Physique: Copper Skin Iron Bone Lv.4 (0/3000)]
[General Experience: 40 points]
Before Lu Zhen could even marvel at the change, a tumultuous upheaval suddenly erupted within him.
"Boom!"
A muffled thunderclap seemed to explode in his mind.
This was no longer the tearing sensation of Tendon Stretching and Bone Strengthening. It was a vibration that pierced deep into his bones and reached his organs. Lu Zhen felt the skin covering his whole body contract and tighten in an instant, as if he'd been wrapped in a thick layer of old bullhide, tough beyond compare.
Then a piercing itch welled up from deep within his bone marrow.
"Crack, crack..."
As his bones gave off a series of tiny popping sounds, Lu Zhen's body—thirty years battered by hardship and worn down by the elements—began to undergo something like the "washing of the marrow and cleansing of the sinews" described in Daoist texts.
Chronic ailments hidden within him, the cold damp toxins accumulated from pulling rickshaws in his younger days, and impurities in his blood were all forced out by that mighty surge of vital energy.
Threads of viscous, ink-black sludge squeezed out little by little through the hundreds of thousands of pores covering his body.
In less than the time it took to drink half a cup of tea, Lu Zhen looked as if he'd been dragged out of a filthy ditch, covered in a thick layer of oily, blackish-gray grime.
An indescribable stench, mixed with sour sweat and the odor of ancient muck, instantly filled the cramped back room.
Lu Zhen opened his eyes and looked down at the filth on his hands. Rather than feeling disgusted, his eyes flashed with delight.
Now that he had Copper Skin Iron Bone, ordinary blades and swords would probably fail to pierce even his skin unless they were reinforced with inner force!
The smell, though, was truly overpowering.
Lu Zhen pushed open the back-room door a crack and called to Shen Yun, who was clearing the table outside. "Sister Shen, sorry for the trouble, but could you boil two more pots of water? I've sweated buckets, and I need a good bath."
Shen Yun caught a whiff of the strange odor drifting from the room but didn't ask any questions. She assumed he'd sweated a lot while training and replied warmly, "Sure, I'll get right on it. Little Lu, take a rest. The water will be ready soon."
Before long, the cramped washroom beside the kitchen was filled with steam.
A person-tall wooden tub stood full of scalding water.
Lu Zhen swiftly stripped off his training clothes, now caked in black grime, swung his long legs over the tub, and sat down inside.
The scalding water enveloped him. Lu Zhen picked up a rough loofah and scrubbed himself hard. The foul sludge softened in the hot water and came away in clumps, soon leaving a layer of murky black water floating on the surface.
He changed the water three times before finally washing away the pungent stench.
With the grime gone, his skin showed a healthy, powerful bronze hue.
His muscles weren't excessively bulky, but clung to his bones like tightly wound steel cables, radiating the fierce air of one forged through a thousand trials.
Lu Zhen leaned against the edge of the tub and closed his eyes, savoring his renewed body. His heart felt lighter than ever.
"Little Lu..."
Just then, the curtain over the washroom entrance suddenly parted a crack.
Thinking Lu Zhen was still scrubbing himself, Shen Yun worried he might not have clean clothes to change into. With her head bowed, she stepped inside carrying a set of coarse underclothes, faded from many washings but neatly laundered and pressed.
"Those clothes you had on were too filthy to wear again, so I brought you a clean set. I'll leave it on the stool..."
Before she finished speaking, Shen Yun instinctively raised her eyes.
Through the hazy white steam, she caught sight of Lu Zhen just as he rose slightly from the tub.
His back was broad as a mountainside, his chest and stomach sharply defined, and droplets of water wound their way down his bronze skin. An intensely masculine, powerful aura surged toward her in the narrow washroom.
Shen Yun's voice abruptly stopped. Her mind buzzed, going completely blank.
Her lovely, fair face, so gentle in its features, instantly turned crimson as if covered by a fiery cloud. In a flash, the blush spread to her ears and even crept down her slender neck.
"I... I'll leave the clothes here. I—I'll head out first!"
Shen Yun hurriedly shoved the clothes onto the bench, hardly daring to look at him again. Covering her burning cheeks, she fled, even stumbling over the threshold outside.
Lu Zhen sat back down in the tub, the hot water reaching his chest.
But for some reason, he couldn't get the sight of Shen Yun's flustered, bashful expression out of his mind: her sparkling peach-blossom eyes, her slender waist, so soft it seemed he could encircle it with one hand, and the ample curves beneath her thin jacket...
The images wouldn't leave him. A nameless flame suddenly shot up from his dantian.
His blood surged downward. Lu Zhen felt his mouth go dry, and even the hot water in the tub seemed to turn scalding.
"Whew—"
Lu Zhen abruptly scooped up a handful of water and splashed it on his face, shaking his head hard as he tried to drive away those improper thoughts.
He cursed himself inwardly.
I, Lu, always conduct myself with perfect integrity. I'm nothing if not a gentleman!
When I asked Sister Shen to move in with me, it was purely to protect her from He Gui and his gang of thugs—and to find my little sister some company. My intentions were perfectly innocent. How could I have had even the slightest thought of using a favor to take advantage of her?
There's no way I, Lu, am letting my thoughts run wild!
"This must be the fault of that Red Scale Treasure Fish Brother Gu gave me!"
Lu Zhen blamed it all on Gu Yanzhi.
Mutated Treasure Fish was a potent tonic. It didn't just strengthen the blood and vital energy; its aphrodisiac heat was fierce too, making his blood surge in the middle of the night and leaving him in this embarrassing state.
"Hmph!"
Lu Zhen grunted in irritation, closed his eyes, and silently began using the breathing method he practiced while standing in a stance, forcing down the unruly heat within him.
Zhou Family, Tofu Alley, in the south of the city.
A dim Ocean Lantern hung from the ceiling of the cramped main room, barely illuminating the peeling Eight Immortals table at its center.
The whole family, young and old, sat around the table eating dinner.
The meal was meager: a large basin of mixed-grain rice made with sorghum and sweet potato flour, two plates of pickled mustard greens darkened by age, and a bowl of cabbage in watery broth.
The only meat dish was a plate of pork stir-fried with garlic shoots, placed in the very center of the table.
To call it stir-fried pork was generous. It was really just a few thin slices of pork belly, mostly there to render fat and add flavor. The dish had been deliberately pushed to the far end of the table, closer to the men.
In this household, the rules were strict.
Elder brother Zhou Wencheng kept accounts at a grain shop in the east of the city, and his brother-in-law Zhou Wenjing was a schoolteacher. The two men were the family's mainstays. Then there was Zhou Ming, Zhou Wencheng's adolescent son, who was still growing. The sole meat dish had been set aside especially for the three of them.
As for the mother-in-law, the sister-in-law, and Lu Fang, none of the three women had reached for the meat. They simply shoveled mouthful after mouthful of coarse rice into their bowls in silence.
"Chomp, chomp..."
His nephew, Zhou Ming, picked up a glistening piece of fatty pork and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing until grease ran down his chin.
After swallowing, his eyes shone startlingly bright. He set down his chopsticks and exclaimed excitedly, "Second Uncle, Second Aunt! Have you heard? Uncle Lu Zhen has become famous!"
The atmosphere around the table immediately froze.
Zhou Wenjing stopped with his chopsticks halfway to his mouth, his brow furrowing slightly. His mother-in-law rolled her triangular eyes, clearly not impressed by Lu Fang's poor younger brother, who made his living pulling rickshaws.
Lu Fang's heart gave a jolt. She quickly set down her bowl. "Ming'er, what happened to your uncle? Did he get into trouble on the job?"
"Not at all!"
Zhou Ming was so excited that he waved his arms, spittle flying. "Uncle's now an Inner Sect disciple of the Iron Arm Martial Arts Hall! I heard he's already reached the Mid Force Refining Realm. A casual swing of one arm has five hundred jin of strength!"
"A couple of days ago in Pig Cage Alley, He Gui's gang of thugs went there to cause trouble with big sticks. Uncle Lu Zhen was like a god descending from the heavens! One punch caved in a grown man's chest and killed him on the spot! Then he broke the arms and legs of all the rest!"
"Even Captain Li from the Constabulary politely offered Uncle a cigarette and called him 'brother.' He's got quite the presence!"
The room fell utterly silent.
Zhou Wenjing froze, astonishment written all over his scholar's face. Zhou Wencheng had even forgotten to eat, staring at his son.
"Ming'er... This is a serious matter involving a death. You mustn't make things up!"
Lu Fang's hands trembled around her chopsticks, disbelief filling her face. How had her younger brother, who'd been crippled for over a decade and lived by doing hard labor, suddenly become an Inner Sect disciple? And how had he killed a man in broad daylight and walked away unscathed?
"Second Aunt, I wouldn't dare make it up!"
Zhou Ming thumped his chest so hard it boomed. "The whole south side of the city is talking about it! If you don't believe me, ask around tomorrow. Oh, right—"
As if he'd just remembered an even juicier piece of gossip, Zhou Ming lowered his voice and added with an animated grin:
"Really! The neighbors all saw it. After Uncle chased off the thugs, he turned around and brought that beautiful widow, Shen, straight back to his house to live with him!"
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