Acquisition

But now he had no choice left. If he dared refuse, the young master might well dare to die right before his eyes the very next moment!

"Ah, fine! But Fourth Young Master, promise me you'll only look at it, not practice it. Your body can't bear it."

Zhou Muzhi naturally knew that. In his current state, he was like a desperately ill man grasping at any remedy, determined to try it whether it would help or not.

Since the young master had no energy to read, Lao Xu simply recited the Body Condensation Method from memory.

"Let the breath linger, faint yet unbroken; keep the mind at the mystic pass. Breathe in and out in accord with heaven and earth; let qi and blood flow throughout the body. Relax the waist, sink the hips, drop the shoulders to strike. Hold the crown lightly aloft, draw in the chest..."

Lao Xu recited the entire Body Condensation Method, a little over a hundred words long.

Zhou Muzhi listened with his eyes closed. Only after hearing it more than twenty times did he barely understand it, after which he opened his eyes and glanced at the Deduction Board.

[Name: Zhou Muzhi]

[Status: Curse/Life Lock (three days)]

[Skills: None]

[Deduction Points: 0]

There was no movement whatsoever. He could not help growing anxious, unsure why the Body Condensation Method had not appeared in the skills field at all.

From the looks of it, Gate Knocking was out of reach for now.

His open eyes settled on Uncle Chen, and his weak voice sounded.

"Let Lao Xu leave for now."

Lao Xu had long wanted to flee. Hearing this, he hurried out of the room.

Uncle Chen stayed. Seeing that the young master was still looking at him, he knew there was more to be said.

Zhou Muzhi gathered his emotions. His voice was low and feeble, yet every word became a little knife in Uncle Chen's ears.

"You watched me grow up, Uncle Chen. Now that I'm like this, it's too late for regrets. I'd been thinking that, since you're getting old, I should let you return to your hometown and enjoy a few more years of comfort. Now I'm afraid that may not happen."

The original owner's feelings toward the old steward had been complicated.

Throughout his memories, from childhood onward, the man had been like an elder willing to catch him whenever he fell.

The original owner could not truly regard him as a servant no different from livestock.

As for Uncle Chen, he had watched the young master grow up, after all. Even a servant had flesh and blood of his own, and feelings of his own.

Uncle Chen was about to speak.

"Fourth Young Master, you-!"

Zhou Muzhi raised his hand slightly, cutting Uncle Chen off, and continued in his half-dead tone.

"There isn't much time left. If you want me to live, Uncle Chen, please find out what happened to me as soon as possible.

"And another thing.

"Have people we can trust ask around. Find out which households have encountered something like this, and how they resolved it."

Only with repeated pauses did he finish saying those few words.

Another wave of weakness passed through his body, as though something were constantly draining the life from it.

Uncle Chen nodded solemnly and said he understood.

Then, as though remembering something, he pondered for a moment before adding, "Fourth Young Master, I have heard of an unusual man who encountered something similar. He mentioned it while drinking tea at a teahouse. He said it was fortunate he'd learned martial arts beforehand, and he's still alive now."

"Can you be sure it's true?"

"Seventy percent sure. I'll go ask right away."

"Good!"

Their conversation ended.

Seeing that Zhou Muzhi could no longer hold out, Uncle Chen came over to support him around the waist, then used the strength of his arms to help the Fourth Young Master back to bed.

Lying flat did indeed make him much more comfortable, but he could not open his eyes. The moment he did, he grew dizzy.

In his haze, he slipped into sleep.

When he woke again, bright daylight shone outside the window.

Birds chirped clear and crisp, and he could smell the fragrance of osmanthus.

After that sleep, his body had actually recovered a good deal of strength.

Instinctively, Zhou Muzhi looked toward the eight-immortals table.

The white candle, as thick as an adult's arm, still burned with a bean-sized flame. A considerable amount of hardened wax was visible around its base.

He withdrew his gaze and instinctively clenched both fists.

Exerting a little strength, he found that he was not as limp and powerless as the night before, so he tried propping himself up with his palms.

Rising from the bed inevitably brought another bout of top-heaviness and unsteady feet.

He paused.

Only after adjusting did he lower both feet to the floor.

Wearing slippers, he walked to the table and sat down without anyone supporting him.

After all those movements, he had not even broken a sweat.

He was indeed much better than he had been last night.

Before long, hurried footsteps sounded outside the room. Their owner spoke with some anxiety, his voice sounding very young.

"Where's my fourth brother? How is he?"

It was the voice of Zhou Buren, the Zhou family's second son. With the sound of the door opening and a maid's soft exclamation, he entered.

A man in his prime, his back straight as a pine, walked behind the screen. He wore a futou cap and a deep-purple brocade robe with sleeves, with a palm-wide horn belt fastened around his waist.

Zhou Buren's eyes were glossy black as lacquer, his gaze sharp, his nose high and straight.

Though he managed the lineage's business and owned shops, he had none of a merchant's calculating shrewdness about him. Instead, his presence surged like a rainbow, with the force to swallow a tiger.

His expression was deeply anxious, and upon seeing Zhou Muzhi's deathly pale face,

he hurried forward.

He called out,

"Brother, who did this to you? Tell your second brother, and I'll go deal with them right now!"

Of the Zhou family's four brothers, the second and fourth were closest. The two were more like brothers who would fight a tiger together.

Influenced by his body's lingering feelings, Zhou Muzhi felt considerably closer to Zhou Buren before him, but merely shook his head with a bitter smile.

"Second Brother, I don't know what happened either. Yesterday, Father and Mother found someone and only then managed to obtain this candle to keep me alive. As for what happens next, I can only leave it to heaven."

Zhou Buren's pupils trembled. He had heard tales of ghosts and gods.

He had simply never imagined that such a thing would happen to someone close to him, much less the younger brother he cherished most. He felt his heart twist painfully.

Only after a long while did he slump.

He went over and sat in the eight-immortals chair opposite Zhou Muzhi.

He half-reclined against the table, then looked up after gathering his thoughts, choosing his words carefully.

"I know Father and Mother went to the True Immortal Temple, but the Profound Sect has never found it easy to deliver people from suffering. Fourth Brother, no medicine can cure your condition, and I can't think of a solution just yet."

As he spoke,

his tiger-like eyes reddened.

He clenched both hands until his knuckles turned white.

It was clear that he truly treasured their brotherly bond.

"But I've already posted notices asking capable people with unusual talents to come. We'll see what heaven has decreed."

It would have been a lie to say Zhou Muzhi was unmoved. He also began to feel a sense of belonging to the Zhou family as a whole. At the very least, this family truly wanted to save his life.

"I have some leads."

He spoke only after careful consideration.

Zhou Buren immediately stood and looked at his younger brother. "Tell me, Fourth Brother. Your second brother will dig three feet into the earth if that's what it takes to find justice for you."

"I remember that when I lost consciousness, I was deep in an alley on Liu Street. When you investigate, Second Brother, you could see whether anyone did anything there that day."

A thoughtful look crossed Zhou Buren's face, and he nodded.

Though these leads were not actually much use, they at least offered a direction. He immediately waved his large hand.

"Someone, come."

A personal servant stepped forward from outside the door.

"Deliver my visiting card to the county's Iron Divine Constable. Tell him Zhou Buren of the Zhou family will be troubling him with a visit today. Remember to prepare a generous gift!"

He was a man who acted as soon as he spoke.

Since his younger brother had given him information, he would follow that thread and dig deeper.

If he could not do it himself, he would find an expert, and the Iron Divine Constable was the most renowned constable in Suming County.

A complicated look filled Zhou Muzhi's eyes. Before he could speak, Zhou Buren placed a White Jade Buddha Plaque on the eight-immortals table.

The white jade Buddha had an amber-like appearance and was clearly an old object.

"Fourth Brother, this is an old piece a friend of mine bought from the cities to the west. They say it can ward off evil. Keep it for now."

With one hand, Zhou Buren slowly pushed the Buddha Amulet right beneath Zhou Muzhi's eyes.

Zhou Muzhi smiled inwardly, taking it merely as a gesture of comfort, and prepared to accept it.

But the instant his fingertip touched it, he froze.

[Deduction Points: 0.12]

The Deduction Points on his cheat

had changed!

He closed all five fingers around the Buddha Amulet, as though grasping hope.

The numbers began changing faster along with it.

0.15, 0.23, 0.45, 0.89, 1.12...

Finally, they gradually slowed.

Then the number stopped.

[Deduction Points: 1.5]

The all-important Deduction Points had actually been obtained this way.