“Done!”
After a moment, Old Man Liu exhaled, removing the silver needles one by one from the man’s body.
“Boss, how’s it feel?” The other three crowded around.
The man clenched his fist, tested his body, and grinned, “All good!”
“Great! Second Brother, you’re next!”
Another man sat before Old Man Liu, stripping off his shirt without a word.
As Old Man Liu began needling again, Lu Zheng faintly sensed a lingering chill from the needle marks on the first man’s body.
Old Man Liu hadn’t fully cleared it.
But that was expected, medical skill, not magic. Even modern colds require a full course of treatment, let alone ancient acupuncture.
These men clearly weren’t upstanding types. Old Man Liu, under pressure, treated them just enough to send them on their way.
Suggest they return tomorrow? Hardly.
“Pretty boy, what’re you staring at?” Another man glared viciously at Lu Zheng.
Lu Zheng smiled and looked away.
They were human, not ghosts, and with passersby outside, Lu Zheng didn’t want to act in public, draw attention, and risk trouble as an undocumented resident.
“Hmph!”
Seeing Lu Zheng avert his gaze, the man snorted smugly, then leered at Liu Qingyan, “Little lady, where’re you from? What’s your name?”
Liu Qingyan shrank back, and Old Man Liu glanced over.
“Third Brother!” The leader shot the lecherous man a glare.
“Heh, just asking, no harm meant,” the man muttered, shutting up.
…
It took a full half-hour for Old Man Liu to treat the four men’s chills, or at least make them feel treated.
“Thank you, Doctor, much appreciated,” the leader said with a clasped-hand salute and a smile.
“No trouble, it’s a healer’s duty. But avoid those cold,阴 places in the future. Another chill could be worse,” Old Man Liu replied, returning the gesture.
“Thanks for the advice, we won’t need to visit those places anymore.”
The leader exchanged a glance with his three companions, all chuckling.
With their treatment done, the third brother seemed ready to bother Liu Qingyan again, but the leader yanked him back, and they reluctantly left together.
“Right, it’s late. Let’s head back,” Old Man Liu said, stretching his back.
“What’s their deal?” Lu Zheng asked, frowning.
“Tomb raiders,” Old Man Liu replied casually, “I’ve practiced medicine for decades. That chill mixed with deathly aura, unmistakable.”
“Lu Lad, these men aren’t simple. Their vitality is strong, not quite martial blood qi, but no ordinary person could handle them. You’ve got Daoist true qi, but in a straight fight, you might not win!”
Old Man Liu saw Lu Zheng’s intense look and quickly cautioned, “Better to avoid trouble. They’re likely not from Tonglin County, and now they’re fine, they’ll probably leave tonight. Let’s not stir things up.”
The Liu family knew Lu Zheng had acquired a martial cultivation manual, but none suspected he’d already developed martial blood qi in mere days, even before his true qi.
“Alright, don’t worry, I won’t act rashly.”
The hired hands tidied the shop, and the three walked back to Tongyi Lane together.
As usual, Lu Zheng stayed for dinner. On his way home, Aunt Liu teased, “Feels like this place is just for sleeping, Young Master. When’ll you stay at the Liu’s?”
Back home, Lu Zheng didn’t return to the modern world. Instead, he meditated, allocating one strand of fortune to physique, one to spirit, two to blood qi, and one to true qi.
Four strands of fortune’s light remained in the jade seal.
A side note: he’d recently discovered spirit as a distinct attribute to enhance, having spent one strand on it already.
Like physique, spirit bolstered his mental strength comprehensively, boosting energy, focus, memory, and resistance to confusion.
It was broad, and one strand didn’t add much, but it suited Lu Zheng’s goal of balanced, all-around growth.
Changing into combat-ready short robes, Lu Zheng took his Xiuchun blade and sat under the persimmon tree in the courtyard.
Earlier, at the entrance to Tongyi Lane, he’d glanced back and spotted the fourth brother tailing them, hiding among the crowd.
A home invasion was different from public murder. With solid evidence, like when he’d turned in that flower thief, even killing wouldn’t bring legal trouble.
…
“Boss, found the place. Four people, plus two old servants. Besides that pretty lady, there’s a young girl, and the old man’s wife, still quite the looker!”
“Heh heh!”
“I want the young one!”
“Leave the old ginger to me!”
“Quit yapping, we’ll share and swap!”
“Hahaha!”
“Move quick, have fun for half the night, then we leave.”
“The goods?”
“Sent out of town already!”
“Good!”
…
Dusk fell, the moon bright and stars sparse, a rare clear night.
Lu Zheng leaped onto the persimmon tree in his backyard. In the dim light, he saw the Liu household’s rear courtyard lit, with Liu Qingcuan’s voice chattering.
…
An hour later.
Tonglin County quieted, households extinguishing their lamps.
The Liu residence darkened a quarter-hour earlier.
Lu Zheng’s eyes sharpened as four figures silently slipped into the Liu’s front courtyard.
He saw clearly: these men were skilled. Without his exchanged martial blood qi, relying only on practiced blade techniques, he might not have stood a chance.
But now…
“Third, Fourth, take out the two old servants first, then split up. Not a sound.”
“Don’t worry, Big Brother, we’re in for a good time tonight!”
The third and fourth brothers crouched, creeping toward the front courtyard’s side room.
As they neared five feet…
“Swish!”
Lu Zheng, already perched silently on the Liu’s front courtyard roof, blade drawn and hidden to avoid glinting, struck downward.
Under the moonlight, a flash of blade light vanished as quickly as it came.
“Ah!”
The third brother screamed, clutching his hands and rolling aside, blood spraying.
Lu Zheng moved like lightning, slashing three times in a blink, severing the third brother’s hand tendons and right foot tendon.
