Xunshan Peng Clan, Top Ten of the Heavenly Ranking

The carriage left Liangshui Town, moving at an unhurried pace along the dirt road.

"Twenty li ahead is my home village, Tianjia Village. We should reach Yi Region before nightfall today."

Before becoming a coachman, Tian Wang had been a farmhand. He seemed reserved at the Yahang Agency, but once he was on the carriage, he proved quite talkative.

During the time since leaving the city, Lu Li had chatted casually with him and learned much about the local customs around Cloud Province City. The two had grown somewhat familiar with each other as a result.

After waking, Liu Yueling had recovered much of her energy. Fortunately, she was well-behaved and made no fuss, simply sitting quietly and listening to the two converse.

As they chatted, Lu Li suddenly asked, "Old Tian, do you have a map? When I bought provisions, I looked all around and didn't see anyone selling maps."

"A map? What would you need that for? How could Liangshui Town have something like that? Illiterate folk like me wouldn't understand one even if we had it, and those who can read don't drive carriages. Coachmen like us keep a map in our heads."

Tian Wang replied offhandedly as he drove the carriage.

Lu Li was somewhat disappointed to hear there was no map, but when Tian Wang said he had one in his head, his eyes brightened slightly.

Memories of the opportunities awaiting him began surfacing in his mind.

The thousand-li journey from Cloud Province City to Nanliu Prefecture passed through three major prefectural cities: Qingzhou Prefecture, Huangzhou Prefecture, and Cangxing City.

Qingzhou Prefecture was only a little over a hundred li from Yunzhou, and if he remembered correctly, an opportunity lay somewhere along the way.

"Old Tian, do you know White Crow Town?"

With that thought in mind, Lu Li immediately asked Tian Wang.

Without hesitation, Tian Wang answered:

"Of course I do. It's only two hills away from my hometown. When I was little, I often drove cattle over there to graze."

Lu Li was delighted to hear this. The dilapidated Buddha statue in Rebirth Temple in White Crow Town concealed the Heart-Breaking Buddha Body. It should still be another twenty years before someone took it.

"Can we stop in White Crow Town?"

Lu Li looked at Tian Wang, who readily agreed. "Of course."

At a fork in the road, Tian Wang drove the carriage in another direction.

The shortest route to Qingzhou Prefecture passed through Yi Region, but White Crow Town was not much of a detour. Besides, they could have some fun there.

Nanliu Prefecture was a long way off. This employer clearly knew how to enjoy himself and understood that one had to relax along the road. The journey probably would not be too dull.

Tian Wang hummed a little tune, in high spirits. Thinking of White Crow Town made his hands itch, and he could not help quickening the whip.

Lu Li nodded in satisfaction at the sight.

As a body-tempering martial art, the Heart-Breaking Buddha Body had ultimately become the signature technique of Zhao Xingming, one of the top experts on the Heavenly Ranking in the martial world version. It possessed an exceptionally special effect: Mind's Eye!

When activated, Mind's Eye could greatly enhance one's perception, identify flaws in an opponent's martial arts, and launch a counterattack.

Lu Li's Poison Astral Body required Deadly Poison, poison capable of inflicting fatal injuries upon martial artists. Ordinary poisons were useless.

When purchasing provisions, he had searched all over Liangshui Town without finding anything that met the requirements. After asking around, he learned that Deadly Poison was generally available only in large cities on the prefectural level.

Therefore, he could not cultivate the Poison Astral Body for the time being before reaching Qingzhou Prefecture City. But if he could master the Heart-Breaking Buddha Body, not only would his defense increase, he would also be able to break others' techniques.

Demonic martial arts did not lack raw power. If he also cultivated other martial arts with complementary mechanics, their might would only become stronger.

"The day's work begins in the morning. Cultivation cannot be neglected."

Having settled his plan,

Lu Li closed his eyes, sat cross-legged in the carriage, and continued refining the blood qi within his body.

Tian Wang glanced at him and wisely said no more. He merely focused on driving, the rhythm of his whip growing noticeably faster.

The journey remained smooth and unhindered. As the sky gradually darkened and they approached White Crow Town, a woman's voice, brimming with grief and resentment, drifted faintly over. A woman stood in the carriage's path.

"Hm?"

The carriage abruptly jolted to a stop. Sensing the disturbance, Lu Li opened his eyes and frowned slightly. He lifted the curtain and followed the voice with his gaze.

The woman blocking the road wore a ragged, filthy dress. Supporting herself with a cane in one hand, her tangled, disheveled hair and dust-covered body made her look exactly like a beggar.

More chillingly, the woman appeared simple-minded. She kept mumbling and whimpering, her voice mingling with the wind. Faintly, one could make out, "My son... my poor son!"

"Move! Get out of the way!"

Tian Wang did not seem surprised by the sight. He merely raised his whip and cracked it through the air with a sharp report.

As if startled, the woman staggered and fell, then hurriedly crawled to the side of the road.

The carriage slowly rolled past. Liu Yueling leaned by the window, looking at the shivering woman by the roadside.

Lu Li, however, scrutinized her with a frown and noticed something unusual.

This woman knew martial arts.

Seeing Lu Li and Liu Yueling looking over with displeased expressions, Tian Wang hurriedly explained:

"Master, this madwoman is a well-known lunatic in White Crow Town. She stops every traveler and carriage heading into town. I only cracked the whip because I was afraid she might offend you."

"What happened to her?"

Lu Li lowered the curtain again. Liu Yueling also withdrew her gaze and turned curiously toward Tian Wang.

At this, Tian Wang shook his head and sighed.

"This madwoman is pitiful too. They say she's been in White Crow Town for nearly ten years. I heard from others that when she was young, she was quite beautiful. She married a butcher and gave birth to a healthy ten-jin baby within a year."

"Her life had been happy enough, but nine years ago, who knew what evil spirit White Crow Town attracted? Every child in the town under the age of three was abducted, and the madwoman's child was among them. Since then, she's been stopping people on the road, asking whether they've seen her son."

After hearing this, pity and confusion filled Liu Yueling's clear black-and-white eyes.

"What about her family? Don't they take care of her?"

"Ah, that's strange too."

Tian Wang waved his hand, clicking his tongue in wonder.

"Her husband's family tried everything. They locked her in a cellar, shut her in a cage... but that woman seemed to have a thousand tricks. They just couldn't keep her confined. Eventually, her husband's family stopped bothering."

Lu Li's gaze shifted as he fell into thought.

Tian Wang seemed to have opened the floodgates and poured out everything he had heard in one breath.

"She's a strange one. She spends every day disheveled and filthy, living like an animal. At first, seeing her like that, her husband's family sent several strong men to bring her back, but who would've thought that several burly men couldn't restrain her..."

"Besides being mad, she also raised a litter of wolf cubs outside town. Over the years, she cried herself blind and her hair turned white, yet every wolf cub in that litter grew plump and strong."

By then, Lu Li's memories had become completely clear, and he had confirmed the woman's identity.

Madam Peng, a descendant of the Xunshan Peng Clan and Zhao Xingming's adoptive mother!