Lu Shaolin lifted his tea bowl, drained it in one gulp, then rose and walked toward Li Cai.
Li Cai, who was carrying goods, was suddenly shrouded by a dark shadow. Looking up, he found the man somewhat familiar!
"Brother Li, weren't you working as a clerk at the coffin shop? How did you end up at the docks?"
Lu Shaolin asked.
"Y-you... are you Brother Lu?"
Li Cai's mouth fell open in utter shock.
"It's me. It's only been half a month—have you already forgotten Brother Li?"
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 embarrassed smile.
"Come on, let's sit in the tea shop and have a chat."
Lu Shaolin invited him.
Li Cai nodded and followed Lu Shaolin to the tea shop.
The two chatted as they drank tea.
After talking for a while, Lu Shaolin learned why Li Cai was no longer at the coffin shop. It turned out he had been dismissed.
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 already passed away, and he had no brothers or sisters.
Because he had to look after his mother, Li Cai had been unable to work at the coffin shop. Naturally, the shopkeeper would not keep paying him for nothing.
And Li Cai had been on leave for too long, so in the end, the shopkeeper dismissed him.
"I can't find work for the moment, so I came to the docks to work as a laborer first, just to keep the household going."
Li Cai sighed.
"Mm. If you don't mind, you can work with 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 stake its life against demons, monsters, and strange evils. If you aren't afraid of death, follow me. I can't guarantee your safety one hundred percent, but at least it won't be too dangerous."
"The monthly pay for External Affairs Hall members is ten taels of silver. Killing demons, monsters, or strange evils also earns separate rewards."
Lu Shaolin said gravely to Li Cai.
Li Cai had helped him before. Lu Shaolin was the sort of man who never forgot those who had helped him. If Li Cai was willing to follow him, then with his current strength, while he could not guarantee Li Cai's protection one hundred percent, Li Cai would at least not die so easily.
Besides, Li Cai was quite clever and had a quick-witted spark about him. He was someone worth cultivating.
After hearing Lu Shaolin's words, Li Cai fell into deep thought.
After quite a while, Li Cai slammed his fist onto the wooden table with a bang, a fierce gleam in his eyes. "I'm in! When a man dies, his little bird faces the sky; if he doesn't die, he'll live ten thousand years! Rather than be a clerk, I might as well risk my life and fight for it. From now on, I'll be relying on Brother Lu to look after me."
"Good! Now that's more like a man. You don't need to worry either. You can leave whenever you want. The monthly pay is ten taels, after all—we can pocket a few months' worth first and talk later."
Lu Shaolin laughed heartily.
"How about this? Wait for me here tomorrow, and I'll take you to register with the gang. You saw it today—without clothes to cover yourself, it wouldn't be good to go to headquarters."
Lu Shaolin continued.
"Alright. Since that's settled, I'll go back to work first. I've already finished half of it, after all."
Li Cai said, scratching 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 any longer. After greeting Old Man Zhang, he mounted the Black-Mane Horse and charged toward Panshan Village.
Half an hour later, he arrived at his own doorstep.
He knocked on the door. Dong Linger opened it, saw Lu Shaolin bare-chested, and immediately covered her eyes, her little face flushing crimson!
Lu Shaolin did not know whether to laugh or cry. He rubbed her head and walked into the courtyard.
Hearing the noise, Dong Jia came out and saw Lu Shaolin. Her pretty face instantly turned bright red as she hesitantly asked what had happened to him.
Lu Shaolin gave a brief explanation, then entered his bedroom so Dong Jia would not feel awkward.
"Big Sister, Young Master is so strong! He's stronger than a bull!"
After Lu Shaolin entered the 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 the bedroom, he lay down and slept, sleeping straight through until noon.
He did not go out for lunch either, instead having Dong Linger bring it into his room.
After lunch, he went back to sleep. His clothes would not be ready until the afternoon, so for now he could only stay at home.
After sleeping another two hours, Lu Shaolin finally got up.
He picked up the Black Iron Spear, mounted the Black-Mane Horse, and headed straight for the county town.
The afternoon weather had already turned very cold. If not for his robust physique, an ordinary person riding through the wind like this would surely catch a chill.
Upon reaching the county town, Lu Shaolin did not waste a moment and went straight to the clothing shop.
The proprietress, Wu Qingmei, saw Lu Shaolin arrive and came out to greet him with a coquettish smile.
Lu Shaolin had no time to dawdle with her. He took his clothes and left, greatly irritating the proprietress.
After changing into his new Warrior Uniform, Lu Shaolin rode out to buy several live chickens. Then he raced out of the county town, casually found a shallow bank, and waited for nightfall.
He wanted to test whether the system had patched the loophole.
The sky gradually darkened. Lu Shaolin stood openly by the riverbank, showing not the slightest trace of fear.
Seeing that the time was about right, Lu Shaolin killed a live chicken with one stroke and tossed it into the river.
He waited a full hour before a River Demon finally surfaced.
Lu Shaolin blew the River Demon's head apart with a single spear thrust.
As the River Demon died, the sound of one Source Point being added rang directly in Lu Shaolin's mind.
Hearing the sound, Lu Shaolin still reached out to touch the River Demon's corpse, but there was no response at all.
The corner of his mouth curled slightly. The system had indeed fixed the corpse-touching loophole.
It had changed things so that killing demons, monsters, and strange evils directly granted Source Points. It seemed the system was remotely drawing some kind of special energy from the dead demons and monsters.
Fine, as long as there were Source Points. At worst, if anyone tried to snatch demons or monsters from me in the future, I'll wipe them out first!
Lu Shaolin killed another chicken and tossed it into the river.
This time, even after waiting an hour, there was no response.
Could it be that he had killed all the River Demons in this stretch of river?
Seeing that no River Demon was coming up at all, Lu Shaolin stopped waiting. He swung himself onto his horse and headed straight for Panshan Village.
At night, no one would dare travel as Lu Shaolin did. He himself only dared to cover such a long distance because his strength had greatly improved today.
The clatter of hoofbeats rang out without pause. Not a soul could be seen on the entire Official Road. Lu Shaolin's eyes constantly swept the road ahead, his right hand gripping the Black Iron Spear tightly, his mind on high alert.
He made it all the way to his own doorstep without encountering anything unusual.
Jumping down from the Black-Mane Horse, Lu Shaolin knocked on the door.
In the village, quiet to the very extreme, the knocking sounded especially distinct.
"Is that Young Master?"
A wary voice came from inside the courtyard.
"It's me!"
Lu Shaolin replied with a smile. The instant he heard the voice, he knew it was Dong Jia.
With a creak, the courtyard gate slowly opened, and Dong Jia appeared behind it with an outer robe draped over herself.
Lu Shaolin led the Black-Mane Horse into the courtyard, and Dong Jia hurriedly shut the gate.
"Young Master, why did you return so late?"
Dong Jia asked softly.
"I went to verify an idea."
Lu Shaolin replied as he tied the reins.
"You should go sleep first. I'll rest after I bathe."
Lu Shaolin said, turning around.
"Alright, then Young Master should rest early!"
Dong Jia nodded and entered the room.
After putting everything in order, Lu Shaolin took a thoroughly refreshing cold bath, then burrowed into his bedroom and went to sleep.
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