An Encounter with Li Cai

Lu Shaolin picked up his tea bowl and drained it in one gulp, then rose and walked toward Li Cai.

Li Cai, who was carrying goods, found himself enveloped by a shadow. He looked up and saw someone vaguely familiar.

"Wasn't Brother Li working as a clerk at a coffin shop? How did you end up at the docks?"

Lu Shaolin asked.

"Y-you're Brother Lu?"

Li Cai's mouth fell open in utter surprise.

"It's me. Has half a month been enough for Brother Li to forget me?"

Lu Shaolin said with a smile.

"No, it's just that Brother Lu, your build has changed so much that I didn't dare recognize you at first."

Li Cai said with an awkward smile.

"Come on, let's sit at the tea stall and talk."

Lu Shaolin invited him.

Li Cai nodded and followed Lu Shaolin to the tea stall.

The two chatted over tea.

After talking for a while, Lu Shaolin learned why Li Cai was no longer working at the coffin shop. He had been fired.

Some time ago, Li Cai's mother had fallen seriously ill, so Li Cai could only stay home to care for her.

His father had long since passed away, and he had no brothers or sisters.

Since he was caring for his mother, Li Cai could no longer work at the coffin shop. Naturally, the shopkeeper would not pay him for nothing.

And because Li Cai had taken leave for too long, the shopkeeper had eventually dismissed him.

"I can't find another job for now, so I came to the docks to work as a laborer and keep the household going."

Li Cai sighed.

"Well, if you don't mind, you can work for me. I'm now a leader in the Blackwater Gang's External Affairs Hall, and I happen to have vacancies under me."

"But the External Affairs Hall has to risk its life fighting demons, monsters, and strange entities. If you're not afraid of death, come with me. I can't guarantee your safety completely, but it won't be terribly dangerous."

"Members of the External Affairs Hall receive ten taels of silver a month, with additional rewards for killing demons, monsters, and strange entities."

Lu Shaolin said solemnly to Li Cai.

Li Cai had helped him before. Lu Shaolin was the sort of person who never forgot those who had helped him. If Li Cai was willing to follow him, then with his current strength, Lu Shaolin might not be able to protect him completely, but at least Li Cai would not die so easily.

Besides, Li Cai was quite clever and quick-witted. He was someone worth cultivating.

After hearing Lu Shaolin's words, Li Cai fell into deep thought.

After a long while, Li Cai slammed his fist onto the wooden table. A fierce gleam shone in his eyes. "I'm in! A man dies sooner or later; if he doesn't die, he'll live for ten thousand years! Rather than be some clerk, I might as well risk my life and make a fight of it. I'll be relying on Brother Lu to look after me from now on."

"Good! Now that's what a real man should be like. You don't need to worry either. You can leave whenever you want. The monthly pay is ten taels, after all. We can collect a few months' worth first."

Lu Shaolin laughed heartily.

"How about this? Wait for me here tomorrow, and I'll take you to join the gang. You saw it today—without clothes to cover yourself, it wouldn't be proper to go to headquarters."

Lu Shaolin continued.

"Alright. In that case, I'll get back to work first. I'm already halfway through it, after all."

Li Cai scratched his head.

"Go on, go on!"

Lu Shaolin said with a smile, waving his hand.

Li Cai cupped his fists in salute and returned to the docks.

Lu Shaolin could not be bothered to sit around any longer. After greeting Old Man Zhang, he mounted the Black-Mane Horse and sped toward Panshan Village.

Half an hour later, he arrived at his own door.

He knocked on the door. Dong Linger opened it, saw Lu Shaolin bare-chested, and immediately covered her eyes, her little face flushing red!

Lu Shaolin did not know whether to laugh or cry. He rubbed her head and walked into the courtyard.

Dong Jia, who had heard the sound, came out and saw Lu Shaolin. Her pretty face instantly turned bright red, and she hesitantly asked what had happened to him.

Lu Shaolin gave a brief explanation, then entered his bedroom to spare Dong Jia any embarrassment.

"Big Sister, Young Master is so strong! Stronger than an ox!"

After Lu Shaolin entered his bedroom, Dong Linger ran to Dong Jia's side and said.

"You little girl, what nonsense are you talking about?"

Dong Jia tapped Dong Linger on the head. Thinking of Lu Shaolin's powerful body, her cheeks turned even redder.

As soon as Lu Shaolin entered his bedroom, he lay down on the bed and fell asleep, sleeping straight through until noon.

He did not even go out for lunch, instead having Dong Linger bring it into his room.

After lunch, he went straight back to sleep. His clothes would not be ready until the afternoon, so he could only stay home for now.

After sleeping another two hours, Lu Shaolin finally got up.

Grabbing the Black Iron Spear, he mounted the Black-Mane Horse and headed straight for the county town.

The afternoon weather had already turned very cold. If not for his powerful physique, an ordinary person riding through the wind like this would surely catch a chill.

Upon reaching the county town, Lu Shaolin did not delay in the slightest and headed directly for the clothing shop.

When the proprietress, Wu Qingmei, saw Lu Shaolin arrive, she greeted him with a charming smile.

Lu Shaolin had no time to waste chatting with her. He took the clothes and left, leaving the proprietress quite annoyed.

After changing into his new martial outfit, Lu Shaolin rode out to buy several live chickens. He then left the county town, found a shallow bank at random, and waited for nightfall.

He wanted to see whether the system had patched the loophole.

The sky slowly darkened. Lu Shaolin stood boldly by the riverbank without the slightest hint of fear.

Seeing that the time was about right, Lu Shaolin slaughtered a live chicken and tossed it into the river.

He waited a full hour before a River Demon surfaced.

Lu Shaolin blew the River Demon's head apart with a single thrust of his spear.

As the River Demon died, the sound of gaining one Source Point rang directly in Lu Shaolin's mind.

Hearing the sound, Lu Shaolin still reached down to touch the River Demon's corpse, but there was no reaction whatsoever.

He curled his lip slightly. The system had indeed fixed the corpse-touching loophole.

It had changed things so that killing demons, monsters, and strange entities directly granted Source Points. It seemed the system was somehow absorbing certain special energies from dead demons and monsters at a distance.

Whatever. As long as he got Source Points, that was enough. At worst, if anyone tried to steal demons and monsters from him in the future, he would kill them first!

Lu Shaolin slaughtered another chicken and tossed it into the river.

This time, there was still no response after an hour.

Could it be that he had killed all the River Demons along this stretch of river?

Seeing that no River Demon was going to emerge, Lu Shaolin stopped waiting. He swung onto his horse and headed straight for Panshan Village.

No one dared travel at night like Lu Shaolin did. Even he only dared to travel such a long distance because his strength had greatly improved today.

The horse's hoofbeats rang out incessantly. There was not a single person on the entire official road. Lu Shaolin's eyes constantly swept the road ahead, his right hand tightly gripping the Black Iron Spear, his mind on high alert.

He made it all the way to his front door without encountering anything unusual.

He jumped off the Black-Mane Horse and knocked on the door.

In the utterly silent village, the knocking sounded especially distinct.

"Is that Young Master?"

A wary voice came from inside the courtyard.

"It's me!"

Lu Shaolin answered with a smile. The moment he heard the voice, he knew it was Dong Jia.

With a creak, the courtyard gate slowly opened, and Dong Jia appeared behind it wearing an outer robe.

Lu Shaolin led the Black-Mane Horse into the courtyard, and Dong Jia hurriedly shut the gate.

"Why did Young Master return so late?"

Dong Jia asked softly.

"I went to verify an idea."

Lu Shaolin replied as he tied the reins.

"You should get some sleep first. I'll rest after I bathe."

Lu Shaolin said as he turned around.

"Alright, then Young Master should rest early too!"

Dong Jia nodded and returned to her room.

After tidying up, Lu Shaolin took a refreshing cold bath, crawled into his bedroom, and went to sleep.