These scions of great families really did have some skill.
The whole fight had been utterly one-sided.
But Wang Yu's body was hard as iron, as if he were hiding inside a tortoise shell. It had taken a great deal of effort to finally kill him.
Lu Li let out a long breath and swept his cold, snake-like gaze over the members of the Wang Family.
They were instantly scared out of their wits and scattered in every direction.
Some even trembled like leaves in the wind, dropping to their knees and kowtowing repeatedly.
Lu Li paid them no mind. They were all nobodies, not worth the effort.
He used his lightness skill to run along rooftops and leap across walls, hurrying toward the next place.
The young miss and Huang He had watched it all.
Seeing Lu Li sweep through his foes with such ease, they both shuddered.
"Wang Yu had been in the Organ-Refining Realm for quite some time. Even I would have been intimidated to face him."
"I never imagined the Blood Ghost could kill him so easily. How terrifying!" Wang He stroked his beard, visibly shocked.
The young miss nodded. Her beautiful eyes followed Lu Li, rippling like spring waters and gleaming with wonder. She was utterly dazzled.
"His strength is almost on par with mine now."
"Hahaha! Excellent! The Wang Family has lost a great general, and we've traded some territory for Wang Yu's life. It was worth it!" Wang He laughed heartily, the gloom in his heart swept away.
"Father, the Blood Ghost is getting farther away. I'm going after him."
This time, Huang He didn't stop her.
She hurried down from the pavilion and rushed toward where Lu Li was.
She ran at full speed, her figure a blur, afraid that Lu Li might get away.
She soon reached him.
A fragrant breeze swept over Lu Li. He turned to look.
A young woman stood behind him, dressed in white and graceful as a willow, with a full bosom and a curving figure. It was none other than the eldest young miss of the Huang Family, Huang Rongyue.
"Miss Huang, is something the matter?" Lu Li asked in a flat, hoarse voice.
Huang Rongyue bowed to Lu Li and smiled sweetly. She seemed rather bold, with the air of a chivalrous woman of the martial world. "Mr. Blood Ghost, do you have a grudge against the Wang Family?"
"Whether I do or not, what has it to do with you?" Lu Li said, then turned and walked away. He was afraid that saying too much might expose him.
He had only just entered the martial world and had little experience, so naturally he had to keep a low profile.
"Mr. Blood Ghost, let me get straight to the point."
"I'd like to invite you to become an honored guest of the Huang Family. You'd receive the same treatment as the family head: a thousand taels of silver every month, and free access to our treasury."
The offer was already on par with what the family head received. Huang Yuerong was willing to sacrifice the bait to catch the big fish.
She had always been generous, especially toward her friends.
The only reason she hadn't addressed Lu Li as a sworn brother was that he seemed rather distant.
Lu Li shook his head. The Wind and Rain Pavilion offered even better things.
It wasn't worth sacrificing his freedom for a thousand taels of silver.
Just as he was about to leave, Huang Rongyue fluttered in front of him again.
She smiled radiantly, her beauty dazzling. "Why are you so distant, Mr. Blood Ghost? If you don't want to be an honored guest, how about becoming a friend?"
"You'd be free to come and go, and only need to help us in times of crisis. Everything else would remain the same. What do you think?"
Lu Li shook his head again, then used his lightness skill to slip around Huang Rongyue like a ghost. After a few nimble turns and leaps, he vanished.
The offer was certainly tempting, but he already served as a guard for the Huang Family. He couldn't split himself in two, could he?
So Lu Li firmly rejected her.
That left the eldest young miss, Huang Rongyue, standing dumbfounded where she was, her long hair flying as the wind tossed her into disarray.
"A thousand taels a month for doing nothing— even the Wind and Rain Pavilion doesn't offer anything like that." Huang Rongyue wondered to herself, growing even more curious about Lu Li.
She had a wide circle of friends. Whenever she offered benefits, people would call her sworn brother, yet he was the first to treat money like dirt.
"Mr. Blood Ghost has such a noble, free-spirited nature. He does as he pleases, without restraint," Huang Rongyue thought.
Still, after failing to recruit him, she felt hollow and disappointed.
Being rejected for the first time was never easy.
She sighed and returned to the pavilion.
Seeing her daughter's expression, Huang He could already guess what had happened, but still asked, "What did Mr. Blood Ghost say?"
Huang Rongyue sighed. "He turned me down. I offered him a thousand taels of silver a month, free access to the treasury, and the same treatment as the family head, and he still refused."
"That's a first in all my years of making friends."
Huang He shook his head. "I've told you before: what matters most in friendship is character. If you use money to lure people in, you'll only make fair-weather friends."
Huang Rongyue didn't take it to heart. "It's mutual. If I treat people sincerely, they'll treat me sincerely too."
Huang He looked at his daughter's confident expression and sighed helplessly.
When she'd roamed the martial world and joined a sect, the family had sent her a great deal of money—at least ten thousand taels. She'd squandered it all making friends.
The fact that not a single person had come to help when the family fell into trouble was proof enough that people's hearts could be cold.
"Forget it. She'll have to learn the hard way sooner or later. Maybe a little suffering will teach her a lesson," Huang He muttered to himself.
Realizing he'd been away for too long and was covered in the stench of blood, Lu Li decided to go home first.
When he reached the Outer City, he could hear fighting in the distance.
Lu Li ignored it and went home. He took off his black robe, bathed, and changed back into his usual clothes before heading out again.
On the way back, he stuck to dark, secluded places.
Some sections were blocked by high walls, but for Lu Li, whose Flying Swallow Step had reached perfection, climbing over them was easy.
By the time he returned to the pharmacy, it was around the chou hour. Li Qing and the others were still hiding in the room, probably unable to sleep.
They had no idea that his appearance had caused the Wang Family heavy losses.
Only then did Lu Li relax. He returned to his room, lay down, and crawled under the covers.
Only then did exhaustion flood his whole body, and he fell into a deep sleep.
The night passed in the blink of an eye.
Lu Li stretched and walked out the door.
Li Qing and the other two had dark circles under their eyes and looked listless.
Seeing Lu Li wake up from a sweet sleep, refreshed and full of energy, they couldn't help feeling envious.
Yesterday had really put them through the wringer.
"How did you manage to sleep? Weren't you afraid?" Li Qing asked curiously.
Lu Li smiled. "There were Huang Family experts holding the line up front. What was there to fear? It's not like they could break in here, right?"
As soon as he finished speaking, footsteps suddenly sounded outside, drawing nearer.
There came a series of thuds as someone kicked the door. The main gate shook violently, on the verge of collapsing.
At last, it cracked and fell to the ground.
Several members of the Black Wolf Gang appeared, armed with cudgels and cleavers and looking menacing.
Their clothes were spattered with blood. They, too, had been through a fight.
It seemed last night's battle had been a clash between gangs.
However, the man at their head surprised Lu Li.
He had a gaunt face, narrow eyes, and the look of a schemer. It was none other than Er Gou!
"Damn, the Inner City really is something. Even a mere pharmacy is this big. There's definitely plenty to loot!"
His shifty eyes swept around the room. He gave a sinister grin and raised his saber. "Brothers, hack them down!"
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