Gains

After ransacking the room, he searched the two corpses as well.

Mm, quite a haul.

Besides the Treasure Fish that had originally belonged to him,

there were the Foundation-Cultivating Soup Pills the martial hall had issued the two men yesterday,

and a total of seventeen taels of bright, shining silver.

After stripping the corpses of their spoils,

the Corpse Puppet took out a fire starter he had prepared in advance and casually tossed it into the woodshed. The room promptly went up in flames.

The night was dark and windy. Fanned by the wind, the fire blazed higher and higher.

The fat on the two corpses inside the room crackled continuously as the flames consumed them.

The Corpse Puppet hastily erased any evidence of his presence. Once everything was done, he immediately vanished into the night.

In the distant mountain forest, Lin Yi watched the fire below grow stronger, his expression cold.

Shouts of "Fire!" gradually rang out below.

But when the fishermen saw that the burning house belonged to Zhang Mingxi, they went back home dejectedly, pretending they knew nothing.

In the end, only two or three people went to put out the fire.

Lin Yi had played through tonight's events in his mind countless times.

He had thought everything was foolproof and that he wouldn't be discovered. And on top of that, Li Niuhe's attempt to kill Zhang Mingxi had been an unexpected stroke of luck.

After taking one last look down below, the Corpse Puppet turned and disappeared completely into the night.

He returned to his lodgings and put the spoils back in the secret passage.

The next day.

Even though he had just killed someone the day before,

Lin Yi didn't sleep for long. He woke with the dawn.

Without those two around,

this was the first time Lin Yi had slept so comfortably at the martial hall.

Lin Yi got up, washed, and ate.

He ate half a jin of dried meat with some water.

He didn't eat any dry rations early in the morning, to avoid a blood sugar fluctuation after waking.

That would affect his martial arts practice later.

It was a habit he'd picked up in his previous life, and he had kept it in this one.

He ladled a bowl of water.

Then he took a bottle of Foundation-Cultivating Soup Pills from his clothes.

These were specially supplied to the martial hall. Only as a member of the hall could one purchase a batch from the county's Peace Guard each month.

Officially, they weren't available for purchase elsewhere.

At the black market, however, one could buy a portion for five taels of silver.

They could help speed up progress toward breaking through the Martial Pass, and even after becoming a Martial Artist, they could help refine one's blood energy.

Rainbow Martial Hall issued three bottles each month, with three pills to a bottle. One bottle could last one or two days, and was meant for martial arts cultivation.

With the pills issued by the martial hall yesterday and the ones he had taken from Zhang and Li,

Lin Yi now had three bottles, enough to last five or six days.

He gently dropped a Foundation-Cultivating Soup Pill into the bowl. The pill dissolved as soon as it touched the water.

The water in the bowl suddenly turned into a pale yellow medicinal soup, which gave off a rich herbal aroma.

Once the pill had completely dissolved, Lin Yi drank it all in one go, then headed for the training field.

It took less than half an incense stick's time to get from the communal sleeping quarters to the training field.

But during that time, the medicine's effects were already surging through him.

Lin Yi felt his blood boiling all over, and his thoughts grew exceptionally clear.

Without any hesitation,

Lin Yi began that day's training at once.

His blood energy surged as the technique ran furiously. Lin Yi could feel himself improving at a speed visible to the naked eye.

He was progressing twice as fast as he had the day before, when he hadn't taken the Foundation-Cultivating Soup.

[Long Rainbow Technique proficiency +1]

[Long Rainbow Technique proficiency +1]

Two hours later

[Long Rainbow Technique (Third Layer)]

[Proficiency: 752/1000]

Lin Yi's face lit up with delight.

He had still underestimated the Empathic Sense he'd gained from Hu Ma.

He had previously estimated that he would need at least twenty days to break through the fourth Martial Pass.

Now, it seemed he could break through as soon as tomorrow.

After finishing his training, Lin Yi returned to the communal sleeping quarters.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, Lin Yi abruptly stopped. A hint of wariness flickered through him.

There was someone inside!

Lin Yi instinctively assumed the worst.

He wondered to himself,

Could someone have found out that I killed Zhang and Li? Had my identity as a member of the Corpse Puppet Path been exposed too? Were people from the Peace Guard inside the room investigating?

No, I left very few traces yesterday. Even if they were quick to investigate, there was no way they'd suspect me after just one night.

"..."

Lin Yi hesitated for a while. Rather than going straight in, he listened for what was happening inside.

"Junior Brother, since you're back, come on in."

A familiar, clear voice suddenly came from inside.

Lin Yi was startled. He stepped into the room and cupped his fists toward the person inside.

"Senior Brother Liu."

The newcomer wore a blue-green robe. He had a handsome, square face and a sturdy build. He was none other than Liu Lie, the martial hall master's third direct disciple.

"Mm." Liu Lie nodded, then smiled amiably. "Just got back from training?"

Lin Yi nodded.

"You're certainly diligent. I think you have a good chance of breaking through the Martial Pass."

Lin Yi replied solemnly, "Thank you, Senior Brother. You flatter me."

Liu Lie thumped Lin Yi on the shoulder and chided him with a laugh, "Those of us who practice martial arts should have boldness, a sense of justice, and a touch of the jianghu about us. Don't go around talking in such a stuffy, bookish way."

The blow made Lin Yi sway. He smiled and said, "Well... Senior Brother has a good eye."

Liu Lie laughed too. "Hahaha, you little rascal. Who'd have thought you had a bit of a rebellious streak in you?"

"Though I'm not as strong as Master, you can ask me if you run into any problems in your cultivation before you break through the Martial Pass."

Lin Yi nodded and thanked him.

Liu Lie had an excellent reputation at the martial hall. He was upright, never used his strength to bully the weak, and treated everyone equally. He was generous and had a strong sense of the jianghu. Quite a few people at the martial hall had received Liu Lie's kindness.

At the very least, Lin Yi didn't dislike people like him.

Lin Yi's smile faded a little. "Senior Brother, you must have come for something else, right?"

Liu Lie said,

"Ah, it's nothing much. There are four beds in your room, but only three people were staying there, right? So I found you a new roommate."

"A roommate?"

Lin Yi raised an eyebrow.

Just then,

there was a noise from the latrine in the courtyard.

Lin Yi turned to look, his brows knitting slightly.

A boy in a gray-white hemp robe came jogging toward him.

For a moment, Lin Yi couldn't make out the boy's face.

First, the sunlight was strong and a little blinding.

Second, the boy's Aura of Fortune was strikingly intense, and what was especially strange was that the person before him had a thick, pitch-black Aura of Fortune.