Blood-Qi Perfection

Sun Feifei knew that Han Can had always wanted to break through to the First Realm, to the point of obsession.

But she had never imagined that he would consider using sinister arts.

"That must be it."

"After killing us all, he would have blamed our deaths on the Evil Spirits and Weird Beings in Xu Family Village."

Lu Mian agreed.

"Thank goodness you woke up, Lu Mian."

"What should we do next?"

Sun Feifei had no idea what to do.

"First, burn the bodies of Han Can and the others so they don't rise again as Evil Spirits or Weird Beings."

"We'll abandon this Elimination Mission and return to Thousand Chimes Commandery City to report what happened."

Lu Mian spoke gravely.

Destroying the bodies and erasing the evidence was a must.

Otherwise, if the higher-ups launched a thorough investigation, they might uncover some clues.

"All right."

Sun Feifei had completely lost the ability to make her own decisions.

Lu Mian left the ancestral hall and gathered a large amount of firewood from the nearby village houses.

In less than the time it took an incense stick to burn, flames roared through the ancestral hall, reducing the bodies of Han Can and the others to ashes.

Afterward, the two stayed in Xu Family Village until dawn before heading back to Thousand Chimes Commandery City.

They rode without stopping.

At last, that afternoon, they returned to the Guard Hall in Thousand Chimes Commandery City and reported the incident to Shen Ruiwen, commander of the Falcon Guard.

Inside a hall.

After hearing Lu Mian and Sun Feifei's account, Shen Ruiwen was deeply shocked.

"Neither of you is lying to me?"

Shen Ruiwen's expression darkened.

"Commander Shen, every word is true."

"This is a Ritual Banner I found on Han Can's body."

To lend credibility to his account, Lu Mian produced the Ritual Banner.

Shen Ruiwen took the Ritual Banner and examined it carefully for a while, his brow furrowing ever deeper.

"Commander Shen, Han Can ambushed me and knocked me unconscious too."

"And he really did set up some sort of strange ritual formation."

Sun Feifei added her testimony.

Shen Ruiwen closed his eyes and pondered for a moment.

"This could be a minor matter or a major one... Go back and rest, both of you. Remember, you must not mention this to anyone. You are also forbidden to leave Thousand Chimes Commandery City and must come whenever summoned."

Shen Ruiwen spoke gravely.

Lu Mian and Sun Feifei immediately took their leave.

Shen Ruiwen also hurried out of the hall.

"It looks like that Ritual Banner really does hold some secret. Even Commander Shen couldn't sit still."

Sun Feifei spoke quietly.

"We can only wait for further news from Commander Shen."

"By the way, I killed a few Evil Spirits and Weird Beings last night. Where do I collect the money?"

Lu Mian still had the presence of mind to think about his reward.

Every little bit counted.

"Just turn in your Evil-Sensing Talisman at the storeroom."

"They'll pay you in silver on the spot."

Sun Feifei explained.

"Great."

"I'll go collect it, then."

Lu Mian waved and headed toward the storeroom.

After he had gone some distance, a trace of doubt appeared in Sun Feifei's eyes.

She felt that Lu Mian must have concealed something.

But Sun Feifei thought playing dumb was the best approach.

That way, she wouldn't offend anyone.

After collecting four hundred taels of silver from the storeroom, Lu Mian went straight to the Artisans' Hall.

In the outer city, supplies were not controlled as strictly as in the Refugee District. As long as one had money, medicinal ingredients of all kinds were freely available.

Lu Mian was generous with his spending, paying three hundred taels of silver for ten packets of Blood-Replenishing Medicine Potion.

After all, he had already consumed nearly half his Qi-Nourishing Pills. Once they ran out, he would have to make do with these Blood-Replenishing Medicine Potions.

Carrying the medicine back to his residence, Lu Mian first removed the Soft-Scale Silver Armor he was wearing and hid it beneath his bed.

This inner armor is definitely a treasure, but selling it would be difficult. I'll have to use it myself for now.

I wonder how the people at the Guard Hall will react next...

Deep down, Lu Mian also felt that Sun Feifei was right.

That Ritual Banner must have signified something to provoke such a strong reaction from Shen Ruiwen.

That was just as well. The murkier the waters became, the harder it would be to uncover his own little secret.

Lu Mian stopped worrying about it.

He would deal with whatever came his way.

He had already done everything he could.

The outcome was beyond his control.

Rather than waste his energy on such matters, he might as well take this opportunity to train diligently.

After all, he still owed Chen Xiuzhu a favor.

Next, I need to advance my Tortoise-Snake Fist to blood-qi perfection.

Lu Mian took a deep breath, left his room, and began practicing his fist technique in the courtyard.

Inside a secret chamber in the Guard Hall.

"Commander Shen... Was this Ritual Banner really found on Han Can?"

A powerfully built old man with graying hair and beard and thick eyebrows stared at the Ritual Banner in his hand, his expression grave.

"Hall Master Fan, there should be no mistake."

"Han Can belonged to a collateral branch of the Han Family. In recent years, his family had placed great hopes in him, wanting him to break through to the First Realm and return to the main family."

"But Han Can hit a bottleneck and failed to break through for a long time. He must have been under considerable pressure."

"I never imagined he would take such a desperate risk and make contact with the Void Cult."

Shen Ruiwen spoke gravely.

After hearing Shen Ruiwen's analysis, Hall Master Fan nodded slightly.

With a motive established, everything naturally made sense.

"Fortunately, Han Can had a bit of bad luck... Otherwise, he really might have succeeded."

"If that had happened, even I might have been in trouble."

With a Void Cult spy hiding in the Guard Hall, he, as hall master, would certainly have been punished by the powerful figures in the Inner City. It would have been difficult to escape responsibility.

Of course, the situation was different now.

They had uncovered Han Can's wrongdoing themselves.

This instead presented an opportunity.

"I can't decide this matter myself either. I must make a trip to the Inner City."

"First, send men to keep watch over this branch of the Han Family."

"And investigate who Han Can regularly associated with and maintained close contact with."

Hall Master Fan gave his instructions.

"Rest assured, Hall Master."

Shen Ruiwen nodded.

In the blink of an eye, another ten days passed.

Over those days, the deaths of Han Can and the others seemed to have quietly blown over.

No one came looking for Lu Mian, allowing him to focus on training at home.

He had consumed all his Qi-Nourishing Pills, so he could only boil Blood-Replenishing Medicine every day to nourish his body. Though it was far less effective than the pills, it was enough.

Nourished by the potent effects of the Qi-Nourishing Pills, Lu Mian's blood-qi had steadily grown stronger. With the aid of Bookworm Heart, his understanding of Tortoise-Snake Fist had also deepened.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh-

That morning, light snow began drifting down over Thousand Chimes Commandery City again.

Lu Mian stood in the courtyard, practicing the moves of Tortoise-Snake Fist.

The tortoise and snake are one... Each nurtures and restrains the other...

At that moment, Lu Mian performed Snake Fist with his left hand and Turtle Fist with his right. Despite their vastly different styles, the two techniques flowed together in perfect harmony under his control.

As that thought arose, his understanding of Tortoise-Snake Fist surged.

The instant he completed the sequence, Lu Mian suddenly felt his blood-qi churn wildly inside him like a giant python.

But with another thought, it was as though he had sent a tortoise into hibernation. The flow of his blood-qi slowed to almost nothing.

Spirit Turtle Conceals Its Breath, Serpent Moves Through the Nether!

"I've finally reached perfection!"

Lu Mian slowly exhaled.

His breath was scorching hot, melting the drifting flakes as they fell.

He summoned the system.

Name: Lu Mian

Remaining lifespan: 30

Talent: Ten Thousand Ghost Furnace

Weird Being abilities: Starvation Wraith Stomach, Scholar, Sickness-Death Wraith Miasma, Deluded Monk Truth

With his blood-qi reaching perfection, his remaining lifespan, previously only ten years, had suddenly increased by another twenty.

This change was still within Lu Mian's expectations.

"Next, I'll start figuring out how to avenge Captain Chen."

Lu Mian muttered to himself.

His training over the past few days had burned through money like water, and he couldn't sell the Soft-Scale Silver Armor.

As it happened, Chen Xiuzhu's enemy, Yin Qianlang, was the leader of the Black Snake Gang. He was bound to have plenty of money.

Lu Mian was already thinking about how to make a fortune off him.

He could avenge Chen Xiuzhu and make money at the same time-two birds with one stone!