Wei Shao'er

"My grandmother took pity on me and taught me some martial arts and Law Treasure. I don't know where she lives; I just met her in this pavilion!"

The woman's name was Wei Shao'er.

Perhaps feeling that Zhang Xuezhou was of the same ilk and that there was some leverage over him, the other party also revealed his name.

However, Wei Shao'er knew very little about the Holy Mother of Wudang.

She was just lucky to have met the Holy Mother of Wudang and learned martial arts from her.

"You've reached the Integration Realm just by casually learning here?"

Zhang Xuezhou's guess was correct; Wei Shao'er was indeed close to the Divine Ability Realm, but had not yet broken through to the Divine Ability Realm.

This is the realm that more than 90% of talented cultivators are stuck at, and Wei Shao'er is no exception.

Upon hearing that the other party had only cultivated for five years before reaching the Integration Realm, Zhang Xuezhou felt utterly envious.

"I didn't just learn it casually; I put in a lot of effort," Wei Shao'er corrected Zhang Xuezhou's mistake, "Of course, Grandma gave me a lot of pills to eat, and those pills played a significant role in opening up my meridians and acupoints!"

"Then you've really met a wonderful mother-in-law!"

Zhang Xuezhou thought about how he needed to rely on himself, and then about how Wei Shao'er had been almost guaranteed to reach the Integration Realm, and couldn't help but feel extremely envious.

Cultivation through drug use is undoubtedly the fastest method, but even with sufficient cultivation resources, the difficulty of continuously advancing in cultivation is still very high.

This requires not only sufficient conditions for individualized instruction, but also extremely high talent in spiritual practice.

Wei Shao'er's resources and treatment are undoubtedly top-notch, and Wei Shao'er's talent is also top-notch, far exceeding the scope of ordinary people.

Zhang Xuezhou envied the other person's resources and conditions, as well as their talent and abilities.

Over the years, he has worked his way up and is quite proud of his skills and abilities, but compared to Wei Shao'er, Zhang Xuezhou is undoubtedly inferior.

This comparison makes it clear that Zhang Xuezhou was neither capable of stealing from the palace nor of escaping Li Guang's archery skills.

Whether you call Wei Shao'er a novice with great courage or just reckless, the fact remains that the other party succeeded.

Although the opponent's outcome wasn't good.

Lying sprawled on the straw mat under the pavilion, Wei Shao'er continuously circulated his Qi and Blood to regulate his body.

How's your cousin doing?

It wasn't until sunset that Wei Shao'er finally rolled over and slowly got up.

Having restrained her Demon Power, the horns on her head slowly retracted, and the fine scales on her chest and abdomen transformed back into normal skin. However, Wei Shao'er felt that she had not become as powerful as she had imagined.

She not only has difficulty walking horizontally, but even walking upright causes her abdominal pain.

This inevitably reminded Wei Shao'er of another person who had consumed the Essence Blood of the Ancestral Dragon.

"My cousin's condition depends on when we can return to the city to see him," Zhang Xuezhou said, shrugging. "If you're interested in his condition, you can come along and take a look!"

"I have some connections in the city. With our mobility, we can get into the city tomorrow!"

The stolen goods have been disposed of, and Wei Shao'er is no longer afraid of the inspection in Chang'an City.

She tidied up briefly, and then led Zhang Xuezhou on a journey around the mountains.

Although Zhang Xuezhou was somewhat anxious, he did not demonstrate his flying skills or the black and white twin horses, but instead followed Wei Shao'er forward.

In previous years, he had traversed east and west, and while his legs weren't exactly swift, they were certainly capable of walking, making it easy for him to keep up with someone like Wei Shao'er who was skilled in martial arts.

The two walked through the night by the light of the stars and a sliver of moonlight, and it wasn't until the fourth watch of the night that they entered a residential area.

This residential area was filled with sewage, reeked of stench, and riddled with rats. Most of the houses were only the size of pavilions, supported by a few bamboo poles and covered with dry grass for waterproofing.

Occasionally, Zhang Xuezhou could even smell a bloody odor.

This made him frown slightly.

"Judging from your appearance, it seems you've never been here before?" Wei Shao'er asked.

"Where is this place?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"Outer city of Chang'an, the slums, a place where chaos, hope, and despair converge!"

Wei Shao'er pointed to the distance.

"They grow the vegetables that the city's rich eat there, along with some pigs, cattle, sheep, and dogs," Wei Shao'er said. "Many people have made a fortune from this, bought property in the city, and left this place!"

"This is hope!"

"But many more people toil their entire lives without ever seeing the end, ultimately dying of illness or freezing to death in their thatched huts!"

"Despair!"

"There are also those who try to gain something for nothing, constantly exploiting those who are already suffering through oppression!"

"Confusion!"

As Zhang Xuezhou was summarizing Wei Shao'er's words as usual, Wei Shao'er suddenly thrust out the short sword with a silk thread tied to its waist, and two muffled groans of death came from a thatched hut.

When Wei Shao'er sheathed his short sword, Zhang Xuezhou lifted the cover of the thatched hut to peek inside, then quickly covered it up again.

"It's hopeless!"

Zhang Xuezhou shook his head.

"When their lust takes over, they don't care about a woman's frail health, or whether she's well-fed and strong enough to endure their torment," Wei Shao'er said. "Here, pretty women don't live long; most die in their twenties or thirties!"

As if he were used to everything, Wei Shao'er spoke in an extremely calm tone, showing no concern for his killings.

The Chang'an City was heavily guarded and appeared orderly, but this slum lacked law and was governed by local tyrants who were in charge of their respective areas.

Everyone formed cliques and factions.

Being caught up in such a group, one can only maintain a normal life by constantly paying protection money; it is extremely difficult for an individual to break away and become independent.

Some people lack money and are ultimately forced to sell themselves into servitude.

But this is not the end of the hard times; rather, it is a constant approach to the gates of death. It is normal for these people who sell themselves to be resold several times, and it is not surprising if they are sold dozens of times.

The poor, who grew like weeds, died and were reborn, multiplying like ants, and were not valued by anyone. After they died, their bodies would rot and be hastily buried, and that was the end of it.

Wei Shao'er murmured.

Once she found a thatched hut that occupied several dozen square meters, she pushed the wooden door and went inside.

A small oil lamp with a pale yellow glow was lit, and Wei Shao'er pointed to the area of dry grass spread in the corner of the ground.

"Sit wherever you like, you can rest if you're tired. We'll go into the city after dawn!" Wei Shao'er said.

"Is this your house?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"You could say that!"

Wei Shao'er nodded in agreement.

"This house looks pretty good!"

"This used to belong to a man named Chen Biao. He drugged and tampered with my belongings, so I stabbed him to death with a sword, and then this house became mine!"

The style of this thatched house didn't seem like a place for women to live. Seeing the surprise in Zhang Xuezhou's eyes, Wei Shao'er explained in a low voice.

"You got a house really fast!"

Wei Shao'er is extremely ruthless and merciless.

Thinking back to how he was almost beaten to death that night, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but be more wary and tried to keep his distance from the woman.

After entering Chang'an City and parting ways, Zhang Xuezhou felt it would be best if everyone went their separate ways and never saw each other again.