Chapter 22

The window pushed open quietly.

A dark shadow took advantage of the night to slip into the room without a sound.

The entire room was already shrouded in toxic smoke.

Holding his breath, the shadow gripped a sharp blade and crept cautiously to the bedside, reaching out to flip back the quilt.

Under the quilt, there was still no one.

The shadow did not linger, immediately retreating through the window and arriving outside the window of the first room.

"Creak..."

The window pushed open.

The shadow entered the room with practiced ease and approached the bed.

He flipped back the quilt, but the bed was still empty.

"It seems that brat hid in the third room."

A cold glint flickered in the shadow's eyes as he immediately exited the first room and arrived outside the window of the third.

"This time, let's see where you can run, you little brat!"

The shadow gritted his teeth, carefully pushed open the window, and vaulted inside.

The room was pitch black, but the silhouette of a raised quilt could be vaguely seen on the bed.

A cruel grin spread across the shadow's face. He tightened his grip on the dagger and walked step by step to the bedside, slowly reaching out a hand to uncover the quilt.

Just then, he suddenly stepped on something.

"Snap!"

A soft sound echoed!

The shadow reacted with lightning speed, instantly leaping backward from his spot.

However, it was too late!

The moment he jumped, a piercing pain shot suddenly from his right foot!

He couldn't help but let out a miserable scream.

After landing, he quickly endured the agonizing pain and retreated to the wall. With no time to check his foot, he immediately raised his dagger, staring at the bed with a gaze that was both panicked and ferocious.

But the attack he expected did not come.

The raised silhouette on the bed remained motionless.

The shadow shivered from the pain before lowering his head to look at his foot, discovering a massive bear trap with its iron teeth clamped tightly shut around his right foot.

Blood surged from his foot, and waves of excruciating pain washed over him.

The shadow's face turned pale. He glared at the bed a few more times, then, raising his dagger and enduring the agony, he dragged the bear trap as he limped to the bedside and yanked the quilt away.

Under the quilt lay two pillows.

The muscles on the shadow's face twitched violently.

He had no time to curse. He immediately sheathed his dagger, sat on the floor, and grabbed the upper and lower jaws of the trap with trembling hands, beginning to pry it open with all his might.

He gritted his teeth, his body shaking from the pain and drenched in sweat, nearly fainting.

Finally, the sharp iron teeth that had been biting into his right foot gave way under his desperate strength, pulling away with a trail of crimson blood.

"Click..."

Hearing that soft sound, he felt as if he had been granted a reprieve.

His teeth chattered from the pain and his body trembled uncontrollably, leaving him nearly exhausted, but he dared not rest on the floor. He immediately scrambled up and, dragging his injured foot, limped out of the room.

In the dark of night, his face was pained and hideous.

"Little bastard..."

He seemed to grit his teeth and mutter a curse under his breath.

The room returned to silence.

Only the blood-stained bear trap on the floor and a long pool of blood remained to tell the tale of what had transpired that night.

"Swish!"

In a remote corner of the backyard, inside a pitch-black stone hut, the sound of whistling fists rang out.

Luo Qingchen was practicing his punches inside.

As his bones heated up and popped, the medicinal effects within his body began to flow rapidly through his skeleton.

A hot, tingling sensation permeated from the surface of his bones deep into his marrow.

As soon as fatigue arose, it vanished instantly.

His punches grew faster and more powerful with every strike.

Outside the window, the dark night slipped away quietly.

Unknowingly, the light outside had begun to brighten.

He finished his final set of fist techniques, withdrew his energy, and began to check his internal cultivation progress.

The 12/1000 from last night had now become 40/1000!

The rate of growth was staggering!

Moreover, he had only refined a tiny fraction of the medicinal efficacy absorbed into his bones.

After a night of tempering, he could clearly feel his entire skeletal structure slowly growing and changing amidst the soreness.

"Continue tonight!"

He tidied up the room briefly, opened the wooden door, and stepped outside.

It was already dawn, but the light remained dim and gloomy.

When he reached the third room, he found a pool of blood left at the threshold, and the door was left ajar.

His expression shifted as he pushed the door open and entered.

A long trail of blood dragged across the floor, and near the bed, the animal trap he had specifically placed the night before was stained with blood, almost entirely dyed crimson.

The quilt on the bed had also been tossed aside, revealing two neatly arranged pillows.

Someone had indeed come last night!

He immediately left the room and went to check the second and first rooms, discovering faint footprints on the windowsills and the floors inside.

He had specifically scattered some crushed leaves and dust on the floors of all three rooms.

It seemed that the uninvited guest had visited all three rooms last night.

Fortunately, he had been prepared.

After a moment of thought, he left the room and went to Chen Ju's door, raised his hand to knock, and called out, "Brother Chen!"

The room was silent; no one responded.

"Brother Chen!"

He called out a few more times, but still, no one came to open the door.

At this moment, his gaze shifted toward the room shared by Wang Long and Wang Hu, as well as the rooms of the others.

After considering it, he stopped knocking, went to the well to fetch water, and returned to the third room to clean away the blood at the entrance and on the floor, washing the blood off the animal trap as well.

Judging by the situation, telling anyone about this would be useless and might only attract unwanted attention and covetous eyes from others.

For now, he only needed to remain cautious and focus on his cultivation.

After cleaning the room, he went to the well to bathe.

Just as he returned to the second room, a maid delivered his breakfast: a steamed bun and half a sweet potato.

After eating, he bolted the door and windows and went to bed.

Even though it was daytime, he still cautiously placed objects behind the door and under the window so that he would hear a sound if anyone entered.

Body tempering required sufficient sleep.

Only by resting his mind and allowing his body to fully relax could he undergo high-intensity tempering once again.

He slept until evening.

Upon waking, he felt refreshed, his muscles and bones brimming with strength.

After finishing the dinner brought by the maid and returning the bowls and chopsticks to the kitchen, he ran into Sun Tong and Zhou Yan, who were returning from outside.

Both were burly men; they greeted him with a fairly friendly attitude and reminded him once again that the events of that night in the building must not be spread, lest it affect the business.

In truth, after the incident that night, both Zhang Jiu and Sun Ping had personally come to warn everyone.

"By the way, Brother Sun, Brother Zhou, have you seen Brother Chen Ju? I don't seem to have seen him all day."

Just as the two were about to leave, Luo Qingchen suddenly asked.

Sun Tong said, "He's probably hiding in his room to cultivate, or he went to some secluded place outside to train. That guy is extremely diligent. Do you need him for something?"

Luo Qingchen replied, "No, just asking."

The two said nothing more, glanced at him once more, and headed toward the backyard.

Luo Qingchen watched their retreating figures, thinking to himself: Is he really cultivating?

Nightfall descended quickly.

Luo Qingchen returned to the backyard, cast a thoughtful glance at the three rooms in front, and went straight into the second room.

He would continue his cultivation tonight.

If that person from last night dared to come again, he wouldn't mind letting them taste the sharp teeth of the animal trap and his own fists once more.

After bolting the door and windows and returning to the bedside, he instinctively touched his chest.

But there, it was empty.

"Tomorrow, I can go retrieve the Ten-Soul Banner... I hope the repair process goes smoothly..."