Those two demands of Jiang Feng's were decidedly excessive.
An ordinary woman would never agree to such an unreasonable condition. Jiang Feng himself thought there was little chance she would say yes.
But he never expected that Liu Ruyan would blush and give a slight nod.
"Benefactor, you saved my life, and now you're willing to lend me a hand. These two requests... aren't unreasonable. I'm willing."
She paused, then asked cautiously,
"There's just one thing I don't understand. Aren't you worried those bullies from the Sun family will come back? Should we move somewhere else?"
Jiang Feng waved his hand unconcernedly, his tone confident and casual:
"You don't need to worry about that. I'll take care of it. Since you've agreed, you can stay in this cellar tonight."
Jiang Feng had been about to say something more, but as soon as the words left his mouth, his expression suddenly turned extremely grim.
"Remember what I asked of you earlier. I have other things to take care of now, so I'll be going."
Then he snatched up the cultivation manual and hurried out of the cellar without looking back.
By then, night had fallen completely. Outside the cellar, Mute was still crouching obediently in the same spot, waiting for him.
Jiang Feng didn't even spare the skinny dog a glance. He charged straight into the main room and slammed the door shut.
He tore off his shirt as fast as he could. Using the bronze mirror, he saw the strange black markings on his chest writhing wildly, as though some living thing were trying to claw its way out from beneath his flesh.
The stabbing pain made him grit his teeth, veins standing out across his forehead. He had barely managed to hold on in the cellar just now; if he'd waited another moment, he might have let his weakness show in front of Liu Ruyan.
Until he knew what that woman was really like, maintaining a strong front was the safest choice.
The pain showed no sign of easing. Jiang Feng stopped hesitating, sat cross-legged at once, and circulated the Linglong Breathing Technique with all his might. He began to mobilize all the qi and blood in his body, trying to suppress the pain through cultivation.
Meanwhile, inside the cellar.
The moment Jiang Feng disappeared up the stairs, the pitiful expression on Liu Ruyan's face melted away like a thin sheet of ice.
In its place was a cold, haughty look. The peach-blossom eyes that had seemed ready to brim with tears just moments ago now held only detached scrutiny.
"It seems the three Sun brothers must have died at the hands of that young man.
What a bunch of useless trash. One at the eighth level of the Blood Tempering Realm and two at the fifth, and they still couldn't deal with someone at the seventh.
They deserved to die."
Disdain flickered in her eyes and vanished. She quickly returned to her unruffled expression, speaking as though to herself—or perhaps calculating something:
"Still, having this kid around isn't so bad. He can't hide the infatuation in his eyes when he looks at me. He should be easy enough to manipulate."
At that, she furrowed her brow slightly, her voice tinged with regret and impatience:
"It's a pity he's tainted by the mark of an evil spirit. He probably won't live much longer. Once he's dead, I'll have to find a few new spies. What a hassle.
Mortals really are too fragile."
At midnight, Jiang Feng finished his cultivation right on time.
He slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he did was look down at his chest. The strange black markings had finally grown still. They no longer writhed, lying dormant beneath his skin like a dead vine.
他这才长长地松了口气.
He got up, opened the door, and glanced toward the cellar.
The night was deep. The hidden door hadn't budged, and there wasn't a sound out of place. Only after making sure everything was in order did he close the door again.
That's right—he still didn't trust Liu Ruyan.
He'd deliberately left the cellar unlocked to see whether she'd behave, or do something suspicious in the dead of night.
Judging by the results so far, the woman was at least being cooperative.
Jiang Feng gave it no further thought and opened the panel.
Daily settlement refreshed.
[Slayed a Blood Tempering Realm eighth-level martial apprentice, slayed one wraith.] [Yesterday's Rating: Excellent!] [Reward: Linglong Breathing Technique proficiency +125, Iron Stake Technique proficiency +50, Beginner Cultivation Boost Aura (24 hours), Enhancement Point +1] [Name: Jiang Feng] [Realm: Blood Tempering Realm, Seventh Level (35/100)] [Profession: Alchemist, First Level (11/100)] [Cultivation Techniques: 铁桩功(大成153/300) 玲珑呼吸法(小成175/200)] [Skills: 识草术(大成129/300) 房中术(入门5/100) 气血丹(小成10/100)]
"This settlement didn't just renew the aura; it even gave me an attribute point!"
Jiang Feng stared at the panel, the fatigue vanishing from his eyes. He was very pleased with this reward.
Yesterday had truly been a brush with death. Whether he was facing Sun Bowei, a desperate fighter at the eighth level of the Blood Tempering Realm, or the wraith possessing Fan Qingyang's corpse, he hadn't been at all certain of victory.
If even one stroke of luck had gone the other way, it was anyone's guess whether he'd still be standing here now.
This reward was well worth what he'd gone through.
"This time, I have to plan carefully how to use this attribute point. I can't be as careless as last time."
He tamped down his excitement and forced himself to calm down, but his thoughts still drifted to the strange markings on his chest,
"If this one attribute point could just erase that thing from my body...
But what is it, really? Can getting stronger suppress it completely?"
He wasn't sure about this guess. After all, he knew far too little about evil spirits.
He'd been low-ranking at the apothecary and had no access to these secrets of martial arts. It was only after suffering this loss that he realized how far behind he was.
However much he thought it over, he couldn't avoid going through the apothecary if he wanted to learn about this side of things.
After a moment's silence, his gaze gradually grew resolute.
"In that case, I'll take another risk."
With his mind made up, Jiang Feng thought no more about it. He toppled onto the bed and fell fast asleep.
Perhaps because he'd been so drained the previous day, or perhaps because of the strange mark on his chest, Jiang Feng slept straight through until late morning.
He could have slept longer, but an unusual fragrance kept drifting into his nose and dragged him out of his deep slumber.
"That smells wonderful...what is it?"
He frowned, got out of bed, and followed the fragrance to the door. The moment he stepped out of the main room, he froze.
The wooden table in the courtyard was laden with food. Every dish looked and smelled delicious, and just looking at them made his mouth water.
He'd been quite satisfied with the meal he'd had at the little inn in town yesterday, but compared with this spread, it was worlds apart.
The skinny dog Mute paced around the table anxiously, drool hanging from its mouth in thin strings. Several times, it planted its front paws on the table's edge, as though it were about to leap up and gobble everything down.
"Benefactor, you woke up at just the right time. Breakfast is ready and can be enjoyed at any time."
A sweet, melodious voice came from the side, followed by a faint waft of fragrance as someone approached lightly.
Jiang Feng turned to look. Liu Ruyan was carrying a freshly cooked dish, smiling as she came out of the kitchen.
She was dressed differently today.
She was no longer wearing yesterday's plain white ruqun. Instead, she had on a coarse cloth dress washed pale with wear. The indigo fabric had faded unevenly, the cuffs and hem were visibly frayed, and the sash around her waist even had two patches sewn onto it.
Her clothes were as plain as could be, shabby even, yet on her they made her face look all the more breathtakingly alluring.
Like a pearl veiled in dust, the more unremarkable she seemed, the more she drew the eye, making one wonder what kind of radiance lay beneath that drab disguise.
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