Chapter 78: Scouting
Chapter 78: Chapter 78: Scouting
Another four full hours passed before the violent medicinal power finally began to subside.
Chen Shouye snapped his eyes open. He felt his organs fortify, his muscles and bones strengthen, and his skin become exceptionally tough. His vital energy and blood were condensed and potent, surging through his body like liquid mercury.
Great Success in the Blood Refining Realm!
"How do you feel?" Chen Li asked.
Chen Shouye let out a long breath. "Dad, I feel strange," he said. "It’s as if I’m wearing heavy armor. I get the feeling that ordinary swords and sabers can’t hurt me."
Chen Li nodded. Before he could speak, Shouheng came over, looking at his father with eager eyes. "Dad, let me try one."
It turned out that Chen Li had been guarding Shouye, causing them to miss dinner. Shouheng had come to call them to eat, but seeing his younger brother refining a treasure, he had waited on the side.
"You think this is just a piece of fruit?!"
Chen Li chided him with a laugh, but after a moment’s thought, he took one out and handed it to him anyway.
Shouheng didn’t practice Horizontal Training Skills, so this item wasn’t a perfect match for him and might not even be useful.
But on second thought, the rascal had a knack for attracting trouble. Giving him a little more skill would grant Chen Li some peace of mind.
"Thanks, Dad!"
Shouheng was overjoyed. He took the fruit and stuffed it into his mouth without a second thought.
The pulp dissolved, and a majestic, fierce energy instantly surged through his limbs and into his very bones.
The intense pain was far beyond his imagination. He couldn’t help but let out a cry, "AOOO!" His whole body instantly turned crimson, sweat poured down like rain, and his muscles twitched violently.
Shouheng felt as if his body were being torn apart and reassembled. At the very moment his vital energy and blood were tempered to their absolute limit and his body achieved a state of bizarre purity...
His Dantian suddenly jolted.
A thread of Inner Qi—extremely faint, yet gentle, enduring, and utterly different from the power of vital energy and blood—was finally born in the depths of his Dantian and began to slowly circulate.
The Qi Realm!
Shouheng had already reached Blood Refining Perfection. He was only a single opportunity away from breaking through to the Qi Realm.
He hadn’t expected that under the fruit’s intense stimulation, his vital energy and blood would churn, his spirit and qi would merge, and he would actually succeed in taking that final step.
"Ugh... AHH!"
Shouheng let out a low roar, a sound of both pain and relief. He was completely drained, but his face was filled with incredulous joy.
[Congratulations. The Host’s eldest son, Chen Shouheng, has broken through to the Qi Realm. Reward issued: Dragon Suppressing and Tiger Subduing True Skill.]
The system notification ringing in his mind left Chen Li stunned.
He had originally planned to teach Shouheng the Five Grains Qi Storage Technique and the Five Directions Twenty-Four Solar Terms Wuxiang Fist after he broke through to the Qi Realm.
With the arrival of the Dragon Suppressing and Tiger Subduing True Skill, his eldest son could now walk his own path.
...
The moon was bright and the stars were few.
Lingxi.
A shadow, almost one with the darkness, glided silently over the staggered rooftops.
The figure landed as lightly as a feather. Even the old cat dozing by the woodpile only twitched its ears, not waking up.
The Thief King, Bai San, scanned a large, three-courtyard mansion built of blue bricks not far away, his eyes exceptionally bright in the darkness.
"Damn it, this errand is more tiring than robbing the county magistrate back in the day..."
He couldn’t help but tug at the sweat-soaked cloth covering his face, feeling the damp chill of the night dew as he spat under his breath.
Bai San—no, he preferred to be called Bai Wuhen.
Years ago, Bai San had been just a little beggar on the county town’s streets, bullied by everyone and never having enough to eat.
It was only because he had accidentally saved a blood-soaked Jianghu Traveler on the verge of death in a ruined temple. After the man recovered, he taught Bai San a Light Body Skill for escaping and a Pile Skill.
With this stroke of luck, he, Bai San, had stumbled his way onto the path of the Martial Dao.
But practicing martial arts cost money, and the Medicinal Cuisine alone was a bottomless pit.
Where was a beggar like him supposed to get money?
Forced by desperation, he had no choice but to start down a path of no return: thievery!
In his youth, he had been daring, targeting only wealthy households. With his extraordinary Light Body Skill, he succeeded time and again, gradually making a name for himself in the Jiangnan region as the "Thief King."
But fame only brought fiercer pursuit from the Jingwu Bureau and the Ghostwriters. He lived in constant fear, like a rat scurrying across the street.
The last time, he was cornered in a dead-end alley by a Ghostwriter and barely escaped with half his life.
After that, he was truly scared. He took his savings, washed his hands of the business, and went to Jiangzhou to live a quiet life under a new name.
But the man had only one vice in life: a weakness for brothel madams.
Over a few years, his meager savings flowed like water into that bottomless pit, and now he was about to hit rock bottom again.
With no other choice, he had to come out of retirement and take on jobs again.
This job was to scout the grain stores of the large households in the villages of Jingshan County. The pay was generous.
As for the reason, he had no idea.
He couldn’t be bothered to ask, either. After all, in this day and age, there was a demand for everything.
Bai San agreed without a second thought. It was just scouting, not stealing, so it wouldn’t attract the attention of the Government Office. It was safe, and the pay was high. He liked that!
By now, he had already cased two landlord families in Lingxi, and he soon approached another large residence.
Compared to the previous houses, this one seemed cold and desolate. The walls were high, but the courtyard was pitch-black and silent. It seemed completely deserted.
’Could it be some miser, too cheap to hire guards for his home?’
Bai San made his judgment. Like a weightless dead leaf, he drifted over the high wall and landed without a sound.
He held his breath and focused, listening intently for a moment. He confirmed there were no man-made sounds, only the chirping of cicadas and insects.
With a light tap of his toes, his figure became a blurry afterimage in the darkness as he darted toward the granary at the side rear of the estate.
Before coming to Lingxi, he had already been to some twenty villages, scouting more than a hundred wealthy landlords.
Practice makes perfect. By now, he could tell how much grain a family had with a single glance at their granary.
’Five thousand shi! If not more!’
A moment later, Bai San had figured out this family’s situation. He immediately pulled a small booklet from his robes and jotted it down.
He had already asked around during the day. This estate belonged to the Chen Yongxiao family. They were much wealthier than the previous two.
He squatted in the shadow of the granary wall, a flicker of shock and irrepressible greed in his eyes.
’Should I go for it?’
The enormous grain reserve meant immense wealth. Even better, the estate seemed to be empty.
Bai San loved single-person households the most.
After you killed them, there was no one to report it to the authorities. For the reclusive types, it could be weeks before anyone even noticed something was wrong.
He could then slowly and secretly move all the family’s valuables away.
At this thought, Bai San’s breathing grew heavier.
The commission from his employer was substantial, but if he could swallow this old landlord’s entire fortune, that fee would be pitiful in comparison.
’I’ll go take a look.’
Gritting his teeth, Bai San began to sneak toward the main courtyard and the front courtyard.
Soon, he had checked the main house and the side rooms.
The air in the side rooms was thick with dust and the smell of mildew, carrying the cold aura of a place long uninhabited.
Only one of the main rooms seemed lived in, and even that was empty right now.
’No one?’
Bai San froze, then a wave of ecstasy washed over him. ’Heaven is on my side! This is a gift from the gods!’
’Scouting?’
’To hell with scouting!’
He no longer hesitated and immediately sprang into action.
His figure moved like the wind, rummaging through the house quickly and silently.
He expertly checked the wardrobes, drawers, and under the bed. He even gently tapped the bricks in the corners of the walls, testing them with his experienced touch.
KLATTER...
In his haste, he pulled a drawer open a little too quickly, and it made a faint noise.