Undercurrents

After Lu Bai had squeezed every bit of information out of the three men, they knelt before him in a posture of extreme humility.

Their foreheads were pressed hard against the ground, and cold sweat streamed down their faces.

The moment of their fate had arrived.

They hoped that Lu Bai was a man of his word and, in exchange for them having answered every question respectfully, would spare their lives.

Among these three bandits, the one with the most potential was the thick-browed, large-eyed man. Since entering the Martial Forest Dimension, he had condensed a skill slot, which, for an ordinary person, was considered a standard state.

The other two also possessed incomplete skill slots, allowing them to utilize modules in a shallow, rudimentary way.

As long as they entered the dimension a few more times, they could also become Travelers.

Of course, for people like them, that was likely difficult.

The cost of entering a dimension each time was immense.

Dimensions like the "Martial Forest" could only be opened about once every three months, and each entry was limited to a maximum of nine people; due to certain restrictions, this number was usually kept between three and five.

For an ordinary family, every opportunity to enter a dimension was an unreachable chasm.

Large companies naturally possessed more than one Dimension Key, but every time a dimension was opened, the demand from personnel within the company far exceeded the supply.

"It's no wonder so few slots ever leak out."

Every slot perhaps represented a potential Traveler.

People like Lu Bai, who possessed three skill slots the moment they entered a dimension, were few and far between; many had to enter a dimension multiple times before they could become complete Travelers.

Furthermore, becoming a complete Traveler did not mean one no longer consumed entry slots.

On the contrary, the demand for slots became even greater.

They needed to enter different dimensions to perfect their own skill systems.

Besides, even without that reason, once you had witnessed the scenery of different worlds, could you truly endure a reality that was gradually becoming monotonous?

Becoming a Traveler was not the end; on the contrary, it was merely the beginning.

Most of the slots for dimension travel each year were occupied by these Travelers.

Only the scraps they deemed unworthy were released, allowing ordinary people to become Travelers.

And most of those were actually occupied by large companies, serving as production bases for various modules.

Under these circumstances, it would be difficult for these three to become Travelers later on; aside from selling themselves, they could hardly afford the price of entering a dimension again.

Since that was the case.

Lu Bai's gaze gradually softened, and his imposing aura relaxed.

The bodies of the three men on the ground seemed to relax as well; it appeared they might survive.

However, three soft sounds followed, and the three men collapsed to the ground as blood slowly pooled beneath them.

Lu Bai pulled the iron skewers from their bodies and squatted by the three corpses, extracting three modules after a short while.

These three men had no bottom line; they would confess anything to stay alive.

At the same time, they knew Lu Bai's identity in reality. If he let them run loose, they might stir up some kind of trouble.

Now that the opportunity presented itself, killing them to silence them and cutting the weeds to pull up the roots was inevitable.

Lu Bai had spared Qi'er before because he didn't care. At the time, she posed too little threat to him, was merely a native of the dimension, and was pregnant. Since he would only be staying for two or three months, it didn't matter whether he silenced her or not.

Back then, seeing her answer his questions and noticing she held little hostility toward him after regaining her senses, Lu Bai had let her go since it was inconsequential.

Qi'er becoming the Phoenix Flying Lady later on was an accident, but even so, that had already reached her limit.

But these three men, no matter how poor their aptitude, had the potential to become Travelers.

The real world was not like the Martial Forest Dimension where Lu Bai couldn't act recklessly; naturally, he had to silence them.

The modules condensed by the three were very ordinary, just three simple Vitality Modules that could be used as fuel.

This result left Lu Bai somewhat disappointed, though he understood it soon after.

If Travelers could extract special modules from one another, the problem would be truly massive.

Conflicts between Travelers would be many times more frantic.

Killing the Bandit Leader Boss Zhang and obtaining most of his modules could already be considered an unexpected windfall.

Soon, people came to carry away the bodies, but Lu Bai could feel that the way the servants looked at him had gradually changed.

"Young Master, the title 'Blood-Stained Rivers and Mountains' is quite loud these days," Qi'er said, walking out of the room and smiling as she noticed the servants' expressions.

"In the rumors outside, Lu Bai of the Blood-Stained Rivers and Mountains is nine feet tall, nine feet wide at the waist, with red hair and red eyes. He goes mad from time to time, and when he does, he loves to kill, taking pleasure in slaughter and enjoying covering everything in blood."

"There are plenty of storybooks about it, too—saying 'Blood-Stained Rivers and Mountains' is the Heavenly Demon descended to earth, kidnapping women, slaughtering the innocent, washing the world in blood, and committing every evil imaginable."

"At night, the common folk are even using you to scare their disobedient children."

Qi'er spoke of these things with a smile, and one didn't need to think to know that the Hundred Flower Grave was behind the spread of these rumors.

The utility of public opinion was, at times, still quite important.

Take these servants, for instance. They were arranged by the Luo Family, and having served Lu Bai these past few days, they knew full well that he was nothing like the rumors suggested.

However, after Lu Bai killed the three men who had been brought to him, they subconsciously began to overlay his image with the one from the rumors.

Under such circumstances, these people were prone to problems.

With their minds wavering, it was easy for others to exploit them. They might not dare to strike at him directly, but there were plenty who would jump at the chance to leak information about Lu Bai.

Lu Bai had to change his medicine every day, and information regarding these changes, his shifting diet, and even how long he remained active each day—

All of this could be used to report back on the state of his injuries.

Even his minor habits and gestures could be considered intelligence, potentially becoming a fatal flaw for him.

Over the next few days, everything in the small courtyard seemed unchanged from before, yet something felt different.

The Luo Family did not have much contact with Lu Bai, and these servants were nominally no longer affiliated with them, as their indentures were now in Lu Bai's hands.

Everything had been cleanly severed.

It was on this very morning that a carriage drove into the city and headed straight for the courtyard.

Two large banners were erected on either side of the carriage.

The left read "Lu Bai, the Heaven-Killing Demon," and the right read "Return My Qilin Son." At the very top, a horizontal banner declared: "Avenge the Grudge."

A large crowd followed behind the carriage.

It was clear that the family of that brat who had vented his anger on Lu Bai back at Heshan Pavilion had arrived.

Judging by this display, there was likely someone behind them providing support and funding.

In short, trouble had come knocking at the door.