Chapter 22

The window slid open silently.

A shadow took advantage of the night and slipped into the room without a sound.

The entire room was shrouded in poisonous fumes.

Holding his breath, the shadow gripped a sharp blade and cautiously approached the bed. He reached out and lifted the blanket.

There was still no one beneath it.

The shadow didn't linger. He immediately slipped back out the window and went to the window of the first room.

"Creak..."

The window opened.

The shadow entered the room with practiced ease and went to the bed.

He lifted the blanket. The bed was still empty.

"Looks like that brat's hiding in the third room."

A cold glint flashed in the shadow's eyes. He immediately left the first room and went to the window of the third.

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

The shadow gritted his teeth, cautiously opened the window, and climbed inside.

The room was pitch-black, but he could just make out a blanket bulging on the bed.

A savage grin crept across the shadow's lips. He tightened his grip on the dagger and walked step by step toward the bed. Slowly, he reached out, ready to lift the blanket.

Just then, his foot suddenly stepped on something.

"Snap!"

A faint click sounded!

The shadow reacted swiftly, springing backward in an instant.

But it was too late!

The moment he leaped, a piercing pain suddenly shot through his right foot!

He couldn't help crying out.

After landing, he quickly retreated to the wall, enduring the agony. Without even checking what was beneath his foot, he raised his dagger and stared at the bed, his gaze both wary and vicious.

But the attack he'd expected never came.

The bulge beneath the blanket remained motionless.

The shadow shuddered a few times from the pain before lowering his head to look at his foot. He saw a massive beast trap clamped shut, its iron jaws biting tightly into his right foot.

Blood had already begun to gush from the wound, and waves of searing pain kept stabbing through him.

The shadow's face went pale. He glanced at the bed a few more times, then raised his dagger and, enduring the pain, dragged the trap toward it, limping step by step. He yanked the blanket away.

Beneath it lay two pillows.

The muscles in the shadow's face twitched violently.

He had no time to curse. He immediately put away his dagger, sat down on the floor, and trembling, gripped the upper and lower jaws of the trap with both hands. He began to wrench them apart.

He clenched his teeth. His whole body shook with pain, sweat poured down him, and he nearly blacked out.

At last, through his desperate strength, the sharp iron teeth that had clamped onto his right foot finally let go, reluctant to release their hold even as bright-red blood welled around them.

"Click..."

Hearing the faint sound, he felt as though he'd been granted a reprieve.

His teeth chattered from the pain, and his whole body trembled uncontrollably. He was nearly drained of strength, but he didn't dare rest on the floor. He scrambled up at once and limped out of the room, dragging his injured foot behind him.

In the darkness, his face was twisted with pain and ferocity.

"You little bastard..."

He seemed to grit his teeth as he muttered the curse under his breath.

The room fell silent once more.

Only the blood-soaked beast trap and the long smear of blood on the floor remained, bearing witness to what had happened that night.

"Whoosh!"

From a secluded corner of the back courtyard, the sound of fists cutting through the air rang out inside a pitch-black stone room.

Luo Qingchen was practicing his punches inside.

As the bones throughout his body warmed and cracked, the medicinal effects within him began to flow rapidly through them.

A hot, tingling sensation spread from the surface of his bones all the way into the marrow.

The moment fatigue stirred, it vanished again.

His fists moved faster and faster, each strike growing more powerful.

The night outside the window slipped quietly away.

Before he knew it, the light outside had begun to brighten.

After finishing the last set of punches, he completed his routine and checked his cultivation progress.

Last night, it had been 12/1000. Now it had become 40/1000!

The speed of his progress was astonishing!

And the medicinal effects absorbed by the bones throughout his body had only been refined in a tiny fraction.

After a night of tempering, he could now clearly feel his bones slowly growing and changing amid the soreness.

"Tonight, I'll keep going!"

He tidied up the room, opened the wooden door, and went out.

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

When he reached the third room, he saw a pool of blood left outside the entrance, and the door stood slightly ajar.

His expression shifted. He pushed the door open and entered.

A long trail of blood smeared across the floor. Near the bed, the beast trap he had deliberately set out last night was covered in blood, its surface almost entirely dyed red.

The blanket on the bed had also been lifted, revealing two neatly arranged pillows.

Someone had indeed come last night!

He immediately left the room and went to inspect the second and first rooms. He found faint footprints on the windowsills and across the floors inside.

He had deliberately scattered bits of leaves and dust across the floors of all three rooms.

It looked like the unwelcome visitor had searched every one of them last night.

Fortunately, he'd been prepared.

After thinking for a while, he left the room and went to Chen Ju's door. He raised his hand and knocked. "Brother Chen!"

There was no sound from within, and no one answered.

"Brother Chen!"

He called several more times, but no one came to open the door.

Then his gaze turned to the room shared by Wang Long and Wang Hu, as well as the other rooms.

After thinking it over, he decided not to knock on any more doors. He drew water from the well, carried it to the third room, and cleaned away the blood outside the entrance and across the floor. He also washed all the blood off the beast trap.

Judging by what had happened, telling anyone about it wouldn't help. It might only draw the others' attention and make them covet what he had.

For now, all he needed to do was stay cautious and focus on his cultivation.

After cleaning the room, he went to the well and took a bath.

As soon as he returned to the second room, a maid brought him breakfast: one steamed bun and half a sweet potato.

After eating, he secured the door and windows, then climbed into bed.

Although it was daytime, he cautiously placed a few objects beneath the window and behind the door. If anyone came in, he'd hear them.

Body tempering required plenty of sleep.

Only after he'd regained his energy and allowed his body to rest and relax fully could he undergo another round of intense tempering.

He slept until dusk.

When he awoke, he felt refreshed, as though his muscles and bones were brimming with strength.

After eating the dinner the maid brought him, he took the dishes back to the kitchen and ran into Sun Tong and Zhou Yan, who had just returned from outside.

Both were burly men. They greeted him cordially enough and reminded him once again not to tell anyone about what had happened in the brothel that night, lest it affect business.

After the incident, Zhang Jiu and Sun Ping had personally gone around to remind everyone.

"By the way, Brother Sun, Brother Zhou, have either of you seen Brother Chen Ju? I don't think I've seen him all day."

Sun Tong said, "He's probably holed up in his room cultivating, or he went somewhere secluded outside to cultivate. That guy works incredibly hard. Were you looking for him?"

Luo Qingchen said, "No, I was just asking."

The two men said nothing more. After another glance at him, they headed toward the back courtyard.

Luo Qingchen watched them go, thinking to himself, Is he really cultivating?

Night fell soon enough.

Back in the courtyard, Luo Qingchen glanced thoughtfully at the three rooms in front of him, then went straight into the second.

Tonight, he would keep cultivating.

If that person dared to come again, he wouldn't mind letting him taste the beast trap's iron teeth—and his fists.

After securing the door and windows, he returned to the bed and unconsciously touched his chest.

But there was nothing there now.

"Tomorrow, I can go retrieve the Ten-Soul Banner... I hope the repairs go smoothly..."