Lu Yuan exchanged all the silver ingots and jewelry he had seized this time for banknotes, keeping only a few dozen taels of silver on him for pocket money.
Then he headed home.
As for the others, they hurried off one by one to collect their rewards.
Although this outing had been dangerous, it had brought them gains they had never experienced before. They had earned merit and silver, both of which could be exchanged for supplies. Now all they had to do was work hard to improve themselves.
Lu Yuan headed home. When he returned to Ice Valley Lane, he pushed open the gate and entered the courtyard.
He had been gone for quite a while. Although dusk had fallen,
he could still just make out green plants sprouting from the ground. Even the iron tree in the courtyard had put forth tender buds.
Once he stepped inside, the house no longer felt as bitterly cold as before. At the very least, there was no need to light the stove anymore.
For the people of Great Yong, this was definitely a good thing.
They had finally made it through the bitter winter.
He tossed his bundle onto the kang, took off his armor, then sat down and opened the system.
[Name: Lu Yuan] [Age: 17] [Martial Art: Second-Rank Manual Five-Tiger Array-Breaking Blade (33091/30000, Perfection, Break through?)] [Third-Rank Manual Tiger-Subduing Stance, Tendon-Refining (10281/10000, Greater Mastery, Break through?)] [Second-Rank Manual Iron-Bone Golden Bell Cover (4013/50000, Force-Entry Realm)] [First-Rank Formation Cloud-Piercing Crane-Wing Formation (31031/30000, Perfection), Additional Effects: Wind Borrowing, Armor-Piercing, Break through?] [Unranked Manual Wolf-Chasing Archery (63010/50000, Force-Entry Realm, Use ten thousand proficiency points to derive a manual?)]
"Break through."
As Lu Yuan's voice fell,
his body began to change dramatically. First came the Five-Tiger Array-Breaking Blade. A flood of experience and insights surged into his mind, and then his body changed as well. His arms seemed stronger and more agile. Movements he had once been unable to perform now came easily.
[Martial Art: Second-Rank Manual Five-Tiger Array-Breaking Blade (3091/50000, Force-Entry Realm)]
Next, the major tendons throughout his body seemed to have been tempered, bulging here and there like little snakes beneath his skin.
His strength also grew, increasing several times over.
[Third-Rank Manual Tiger-Subduing Stance, Tendon-Refining (281/30000, Perfection)]
Insights into the Cloud-Piercing Crane-Wing Formation flooded his mind.
[First-Rank Formation Cloud-Piercing Crane-Wing Formation (1031/50000, Force-Entry Realm), Additional Effects: Wind Borrowing, Armor-Piercing]
Now, if Lu Yuan led troops into battle, the boost to his subordinates' strength would reach fourfold.
Their other attributes would increase greatly as well.
In other words, if he faced that unit of Silver-Armed Iron Sparrowhawks now, he could probably deal with them several times more easily than before.
Just as he finished absorbing his insights into the formation, Lu Yuan's fingers changed too. They were far more nimble than before, and even his eyesight had improved.
A completely new archery style appeared in his mind.
[First-Rank Manual Wind-Chasing Archery (3010/10000, Greater Mastery)]
This improvement had once again raised Lu Yuan's strength in every way.
As for the rank of his manuals, he was already quite satisfied. After all, with the Zhang Clan's resources, all they had managed to acquire was a third-rank manual.
As long as he kept practicing, these manuals would eventually rise in rank.
"Today must be my birthday. I'd forgotten. Before I knew it, I've turned seventeen."
Thinking of this, Lu Yuan decided not to cook for himself today.
He would go out and get something to eat.
"Knock, knock!"
Just then, someone knocked on the courtyard gate.
"Coming." Lu Yuan answered, left the room, and opened the gate. Zhou He stood outside, beaming.
"Why aren't you home at this hour? What are you doing here?"
"I just crawled out of a heap of corpses. Why rush home? Let's go have a drink." Zhou He was still unmarried, and his father managed some businesses for the Zhou Family in Yan City.
So for now, he had no one to feed but himself.
"That's right, my lord. Give me a chance." At some point, Old Huang had poked his head out too.
His tangled hair was still stained with blood.
The fellow was living comfortably these days and had no interest in getting married. Every so often, he found himself a new woman. After this return, he would probably be out carousing again for a while.
"Fine. Let's go." Lu Yuan didn't stand on ceremony. It was his birthday, after all.
What he hadn't expected was—
Wei Yong and Zhang He were waiting at the mouth of the lane too.
"Well, look at that, the whole gang's here. Where should we go? The Beef Offal House?" Lu Yuan asked as they walked.
Old Huang immediately replied, "My lord, with your status, that place isn't suitable anymore. Today, we're going to the Spring Breeze Pavilion."
Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow. He had never been there, but he knew what kind of place the Spring Breeze Pavilion was.
A brothel.
It wasn't especially large in Ice Plain City, but neither was it small. Generally, only those in the army with money to burn went there.
The ordinary soldiers and the City Guard wouldn't even dream of it.
He hadn't expected Old Huang to be so generous.
"Fine, then let's go."
As he spoke, he headed onward.
A short while later, they arrived at a three-story building along the street. Red lanterns hung from its quaint, old-fashioned facade, swaying in the wind.
Their glow made the whole building shine. Upstairs, scantily clad young women danced, waving handkerchiefs.
As Lu Yuan and the others entered, a wave of fragrance washed over them.
Then a crowd of women came into view.
A woman in her thirties approached. She was full-figured, with mature, alluring features, and her gleaming collarbones caught the light.
"Welcome, gentlemen. Would you prefer a private room on the second floor or a table in the main hall?" As she spoke, she leaned against them.
"The second floor. Does our lord look like someone who'd sit in the main hall?" Old Huang was the first to answer.
His beady eyes roamed over the women, gleaming.
Although it was Lu Yuan's first time here, he wasn't daunted. He followed the woman upstairs. Once they reached a private room called Flower Language Pavilion, all sorts of fine wine and meat were brought in before long.
A crowd of women came in as well.
The room was soon filled with the scent of powder.
Apart from Old Huang, the rest were all young men. Lu Yuan managed to stay composed, but the others had already let themselves go.
Although Lu Yuan didn't care for the women here, he had no objection to his subordinates enjoying themselves.
Before long, the mood in the room had improved considerably.
Just then, a figure slowly approached the Spring Breeze Pavilion from outside.
Anyone who recognized him would have realized that he was the man who had spoken with Helian Shang outside the Captain's Mansion.
After entering, he wore a cold expression that warned everyone to keep their distance. He glanced at the woman standing by the entrance, waiting on guests with care. Before she could approach, he asked calmly, "Are there any guests on the second floor tonight?"
"Business has been slow lately. Only Flower Language Pavilion has guests. Are you here for some fun, my lord?" As the madam of the Spring Breeze Pavilion, she knew how to read people. This was someone she couldn't afford to offend.
"Thud!" He tossed a pouch onto the table. A pile of objects spilled out—gold ingots, one after another.
He said coolly, "I'm booking the entire second floor tonight. Have all the girls come upstairs and wait outside Flower Language Pavilion. I have a few words to exchange with a friend."
With that, he headed upstairs. He was the steward of the Yellow Sand City Captain's Mansion, as well as a distant relative of the Helian Clan. His name was Helian Black Fox.
He had come to recruit Lu Yuan and poach him from the Zhou Family.
As he climbed the stairs, the cold aura he had exuded vanished in an instant, replaced by a smile as warm as spring.
He stopped outside Flower Language Pavilion and spoke loudly enough for those inside to hear. "Lord Lu, I'm Helian Black Fox, steward of the Yellow Sand City Captain's Mansion. I request an audience."
The next moment, the private room fell silent.