Encounter (First Update)

Bang!

A figure burst violently through the window of a dilapidated house.

"Damn it, what rotten luck..."

Ji Hong, an incense master of the Azure Dragon Gang, crashed into an alley. One hand braced against the wall while the other used his saber to support himself on the ground, and he spat out several mouthfuls of blood.

"Clumsy Tiger, just a Silver Envoy at the second blood-and-qi barrier, and he ruined my plans..."

He had originally been following his elder brother Ji Qing's orders, leading men to collect a round of loan shark payments before meeting up and withdrawing.

He had never expected to suddenly encounter an ambush by the White-Robed Society, led by the Silver Envoy Clumsy Tiger.

Though he talked tough, he himself was only close to breaking through the first barrier, far inferior to Clumsy Tiger. Fortunately, he had trained in lightness skill, and with his subordinates dying to cover his escape, he had managed to get away.

"Gale-Shaking Hammer... It hurts too much." Ji Qing looked at the horrifying depression in his left shoulder, blood pouring from it, and gritted his teeth as he ran forward. He had heard movement following him from behind.

Suddenly, he stopped.

"Benefactor, it seems you need Buddha-Light Healing."

A plump, smiling monk stood ahead of him. He wore a gray monk's robe and looked somewhat slovenly.

"Where did this stinking monk come from..." Ji Qing was about to raise his saber and slash him when his vision blurred, and the monk vanished.

It was as though he had never appeared at all.

Yet Ji Qing discovered in astonishment that there was now a wooden Buddha statue in his hand.

And a voice kept echoing in his mind: "Holy Buddha, Holy Buddha, purify heaven and earth. In this bitter sea of the mortal world, I am the sinking vessel. Without wind or waves, I sink and drift amid hardship. Only the Holy Buddha can ferry me to liberation..."

This wooden carving... seemed as though it really could save him.

For some reason, at the end of his rope, Ji Hong developed a conviction in this wooden Buddha statue.

Unable to help himself, he lifted the carving over his head and kowtowed in worship. Following the words in his mind, he began chanting aloud, knocking his head against the ground again and again. Blood slowly stained the ground red and splashed onto the wooden Buddha statue, which began to emit a faint red glow...

Elsewhere, at a gambling house in Qingyuan Ward.

A white-clad figure emerged with one hand on his sword hilt, shaking his head with a sigh.

"My luck is awful. I lost every last coin."

Bu Zheng felt that his luck truly was terrible. After only three rounds, he had lost all his capital, and his plan to earn some silver from the gambling house had gone up in smoke.

At this rate, when would he ever save up enough blood and qi to break through the second barrier?

"Ah, my luck is just too bad." Bu Zheng left the gambling house in Qingyuan Ward and walked into an alley, only to see three dark figures suddenly drop one after another.

Bang! Bang! Bang...

Three corpses landed before him.

"Can someone's luck really be this bad?"

Bu Zheng was truly terrified. The fortune-teller at the street corner had been right—his fate was clashing with the Grand Duke of Jupiter this year. Unless he encountered an even more fearsome baleful star to counter his fate, the misfortune in his life would never fade!

Sure enough, he had barely walked a few steps before corpses fell from the sky!

The blood on these three corpses was still fresh! And judging by their exceptionally sturdy bodies, they had certainly practiced martial arts!

There had to be some vicious killer committing crimes nearby!

And each of them had only one bloody hole, piercing straight through their torsos and bellies. The murderer was clearly ruthless beyond measure, killing with no more than a single strike...

Furthermore, judging from the features of their clothing, they should have been from the Azure Dragon Gang.

Could it be an expert from the White-Robed Society? What should he do next...

Bu Zheng immediately drew his sword. Trembling, he pulled out a fireworks tube and looked around.

When he found no one nearby, he immediately retreated into the corner by the wall and prepared to take out his flint...

"Brother Bu?"

At the sound, Bu Zheng froze and saw Li Mu appear.

"Li Mu, it's you..." Bu Zheng was startled.

"Great, you're here. Help me out and escort Sister-in-law."

Li Mu quickly explained what had happened, emphasizing Xing Lishi's identity.

Bu Zheng listened in astonishment. Although Li Mu had made it sound simple, how could he fail to see that Li Mu had killed all three men with a single sword strike?

Even if he had acted himself, he might not have managed it so cleanly.

But Li Mu had only studied the sword for four months... This boy truly had extraordinary talent in the way of the sword.

Seeing the young woman and little boy behind Li Mu, looking so pitiful and helpless, Bu Zheng was already about to agree. But recalling his recent misfortunes, he still hesitated. "My luck is very bad..."

He wanted to report it to the authorities. It felt safer to have the government escort them; his luck was too terrible, and if something happened...

Just then, he spotted several constables walking past. One of them even glanced this way, and Bu Zheng was pleasantly surprised.

But before he could speak, the constable's expression changed slightly. He said something, then hurried the others away.

A faint remark drifted over: "The Azure Dragon Gang and the White-Robed Society are at war again. Hurry up. We'll come back to collect the bodies once things settle down..."

"..." Li Mu and Bu Zheng both heard it and were left speechless.

Li Mu now understood why no constables had come to deal with this. Many of those constables had not even broken through the blood-and-qi barrier. They earned only a few coins a month and had no desire to risk their lives over this, fearing that if they interfered, some gang might show up at their homes the very next day.

And the county magistrate had no intention of conducting a large-scale purge of the gangs. He merely kept a firm grip on the prosperous market districts around the government offices and maintained peace in the inner city.

As for the outer city... if he did not see it, there was no need to deal with it.

Bu Zheng realized it as well. The outer city was truly chaotic now.

Li Mu had to deal with the corpses. If Bu Zheng did not help escort them, this young mother and son would likely be in danger.

"Brother Bu, I can only ask this of you." Li Mu spoke solemnly.

Bu Zheng looked at Li Mu and suddenly recalled the fortune-teller's words... Li Mu had encountered something like this the moment he entered the city and had killed three men in a row. Did that count as a baleful star?

If he wanted a baleful star to counter his fate, then according to the fortune-teller, he needed to become entangled in karma... Besides, he wanted to help anyway. If the prediction truly came true, that would instead be a good thing.

Bu Zheng steeled himself, pressed a hand against the sword hilt at his waist, and nodded heavily. "Brother Li Mu, don't worry. I'll definitely escort them safely to the Fishers' Guild."

"Brother Bu, we've truly troubled you. There is nothing at home with which to thank you. Once we reach the Fishers' Guild, we will surely offer spirit fish as payment." Xing Lishi suddenly remembered what Li Mu had said. Seeing that Bu Zheng was also a sword-bearing servant who practiced martial arts, she spoke repeatedly.

"Spirit fish... Sister-in-law, there's no need to be so polite. Let's go." Bu Zheng smiled. His blood and qi had already become difficult to advance, and it was not as though he had never eaten spirit fish before. He did not hold out much hope.

"Big Brother, be careful." Xing Xiaolang was still rather muddled, but he felt close to Li Mu. He knew that Li Mu had protected them just now.

Li Mu stroked Xing Xiaolang's head. "Hold your mother's hand and stay close to this big brother."

Bu Zheng swiftly led Xing Lishi and her son away.

Li Mu withdrew his gaze.

He hoisted the three corpses onto his shoulders. Using the explosive force of Yellow Dragon Spits Emerald, Li Mu instantly rushed to a blind corner at the mouth of an alley and dumped all the corpses there.

This place was extremely secluded. More than half the households had abandoned their homes, and uncleared garbage lay everywhere.

He had also erased some of the traces around the Xing residence from earlier.

Having done this much, Li Mu had already done all he could. If the Xing family suffered another calamity, they could only rely on Xing Yuanjia himself.

As he flashed away, Li Mu relaxed slightly, and the Sword Register appeared in his vision.

[Blood and Qi: 15.3↑ (exotic beast meat being digested)]

[Water-Questioning Sword Manual: 5/2000 (minor mastery)]

"The nourishment from spirit fish meat combined with dried Black Mountain Wolf King meat is taking effect so quickly."

Li Mu felt the warmth in his body recede slightly, while the blood and qi listed on the Sword Register had actually increased.

This showed that the spirit fish and Black Mountain Wolf King meat complemented each other, magnifying their nourishing effects.

"I really want to find somewhere to practice my sword."

Li Mu felt his blood and qi boiling, the urge intense, but he still had matters to handle.

Suddenly, a cold wind stabbed against his back.

Alarm bells rang in Li Mu's heart, and he swung his sword in a slash.

Bang!

Li Mu's sword struck like lightning, fiercely blocking a broadsword that had suddenly hacked down from behind him.

He had gone through many battles and learned from Cao A-Man's lesson. At a moment like this, he never held anything back.

Li Mu turned and steadied himself, clearly seeing the person who had launched the ambush. The man wore a short blue outfit stained with large patches of blood. His round leopard-like eyes held a strange crimson glow, and he gripped a heavy saber as he looked at Li Mu with an eerie smile.