Li Che hummed a tune, feeling extremely cheerful, and deliberately went to a pork shop in the west of the city to specifically get two pounds of pig’s head meat, planning to have a good drink with Old Xu and Old Chen in the evening.
Having just obtained the third Dao Fruit, his capital for settling down and establishing himself in this world had increased somewhat, naturally putting him in a very good mood.
The long street was fluttering with snow.
Since Xi Xi’s birthday was in the cold winter, every time Xi Xi’s birthday approached, there would be heavy snow accompanying it.
The piercing cold cut to the bone, but now Li Che, having achieved Bone Tempering Great Achievement, with vigorous qi and blood, was of course unafraid of the cold.
Suddenly, Li Che’s scalp tingled slightly, and the Dao Fruit of “Pure Heart” inside his chest thumped.
Li Che paused mid-step, frowning.
It was a feeling… of being watched.
The face beneath the hat suddenly lifted, and looking up, he saw an old man leading a child with Nezha braids, staring blankly at him from the distant snowy street.
Li Che immediately felt somewhat puzzled; with so many people coming and going on this street, why was the old man solely fixated on him? Surely he wasn’t coveting the pig’s head meat he was holding?
Li Che also looked back, only to see that the old man leading the child with Nezha braids had shifted his gaze away.
Feeling that something was odd, Li Che instantly became vigilant.
However, Li Che was just on guard, as they passed by each other, and not until they were far apart did the old man make any move.
Only then did Li Che relax, feeling that he was being overly cautious and nearly noted the old man down in his “little book.”
…
…
“Master? What’s up?” Lu Chi noticed something was off with his master and couldn’t help but ask.
The old man closed his eyes, dispelling the “Observation Skill” and shook his head, feeling extremely regretful and heartbroken.
“What a pity… really such a pity…”
“Immaculate and pure, clear as water, like a blank sheet of paper…”
“To think there exists such pure new-born divinity between heaven and earth…”
“Such divinity is highly malleable, but it’s such a pity… It resides in a young man, and he’s merely a Muscle and Tendon Warrior whose age is far too advanced.”
“A spiritual child in his twenties? Strange.”
“Spirit Infant Children cultivate their divinity differently from ordinary martial artists; they are born with divinity, so they start nurturing nature right from the beginning, fostering their own divinity, and by adulthood, they usually reach the stage of ‘Nurture Nature like a Lamp,’ possibly striking the Divine Foundation before thirty, and hopeful of condensing the Divine Minister within sixty years…”
The old man shook his head, having seen pure white divinity in Li Che through the Observation Skill; he truly… was tempted for a moment.
Unfortunately, the divinity resided not in a tender child but in a rough man.
“The age is a bit too much, and he’s currently only at Sinew Transforming in his martial cultivation, far from Blood Exchange. Before thirty… to forge a Divine Foundation, it’s a bit difficult.”
“Such divinity, wasted.”
…
…
After returning to Xu’s Wood Carving Shop, Li Che still had the old man on his mind.
It was very strange, and subtly, it brought him a strong sense of crisis; the warning of the Dao Fruit must have its reasons.
Fortunately… throughout his life, Li Che had always valued peace in dealing with others and hadn’t run into any mess.
“Fei Lei City is becoming more and more chaotic, various powers, all sorts of strong individuals… are emerging one after another.”
Li Che shook his head.
Back in the courtyard, Xi Xi was nurturing her divinity under the guidance of Xu You.
“Xi Xi is a Spirit Child, full of divinity, learning to cultivate early to lay a solid foundation, which is beneficial for her future. For Divine Cultivators, age milestones are crucial.”
Xu You, dressed in white with a sword at his waist, smiled when he saw Li Che return.
“By the way, A Che, the shop has formed a security team, all composed of wood carvers, and you need to take part in the patrols. I’ve scheduled shifts for every Wood Carver, separating yours from Old Chen’s, so that Xi Xi’s safety can be ensured.”
If Old Chen and Li Che were both away at the same time, then Xi Xi’s safety would be unsecured. Xu You had made the arrangements with this in mind.
As night fell.
Xu You walked shoulder to shoulder with Li Che along the snow-covered alley, patrolling Xu’s Courtyard, protecting and securing the safety of the families of the many wood carvers living within.
Li Che carried a long spear on his back. The martial technique he openly cultivated was the “Xu Family’s Eight Consecutive Bone-Shattering Spears.” Now he modestly displayed his cultivation — Complete Meridian Opening and the spear technique at major accomplishment — earning him the title of “genius” within Xu Ji.
Cultivating martial arts for two years, from Skin Refinement to Complete Meridian Opening, was naturally quite impressive.
“A couple of days ago, the Inner City Yang Family’s courtyard set in the Outer City wood carving shop was breached by the fiends of the Spirit Infant Sect…”
Xu You’s hand rested on his sword’s hilt, staring into the dark sky, speaking in a somber tone.
Li Che’s heart tensed, as this was news to him.
“Fiends of the Spirit Infant Sect… so rampant?” Li Che said solemnly.
“The Spirit Infant Sect has many strong members. Since being expelled from the Inner City, they’ve settled in the Outer City. Now they’re targeting the Spirit Infant Children of various families in the Outer City… Several wood carvers died in the Yang Family Courtyard, and one of the Spirit Infant Children was abducted.”
Xu You clenched his fist tightly, his veins popping.
“Because… there’s news of a Divine Sect cultivator descending down the mountain towards Fei Lei City.”
“The Spirit Infant Sect must act before the Divine Sect cultivator steps into Fei Lei City, otherwise… the truly promising seedlings will undoubtedly be taken away by the Divine Sect cultivators.”
“Hence, these days… the Spirit Infant Sect has gone completely mad.”
“Doesn’t the Xu Family of the Inner City send strong people to sit in the Outer City?” Li Che frowned and couldn’t help but ask.
Hearing this, Xu You fell silent.
“Xu Family of the Inner City…”
“It’s not a big problem, we can hold them off ourselves,” Xu You said with a forced smile.
But in his face, Li Che saw a trace of sorrow and helplessness.
…
“`
…
Inner City of Thunder, Golden Splendor Pavilion.
A breeze swept through the hall, causing the curtains to billow.
A figure, bowed in posture, moved respectfully down the corridor and, after a short moment, arrived at a hanging pavilion within the Golden Splendor Pavilion.
In the center of the pavilion, a stove boiled water.
Si Mubai sat in a chair with a beautiful woman by his side, lightly made up and extremely beautiful, elegantly brewing tea, showcasing her tea art.
“Young Master, Zhao Chuanxiong has arrived,”
a deep voice came from outside the door.
Following this, Zhao Chuanxiong entered the pavilion in casual dress, with a side knife at his waist.
“Young Master Si, may I know why you have summoned me?” Zhao Chuanxiong said with a subservient smile, his expression somewhat humble.
Although he was a government officer of the Imperial Court, he was merely an arrest officer from the Outer City and naturally did not possess much confidence when facing a direct lineage son of the powerful Si Family.
“I hear… you’ve fought the Bull Demon and lived to tell the tale?”
Si Mubai sipped the tea prepared by the beautiful tea artist without even glancing at Zhao Chuanxiong below, and said indifferently.
At those words, Zhao Chuanxiong was momentarily stunned; he had not expected Si Mubai to summon him to discuss such a topic.
His complexion changed slightly.
For, his encounter with the Bull Demon occurred when he approached the demon as a Deputy Incense Master of the Spirit Infant Sect, alongside a Bagua Staff martial artist…
Si Mubai… knew of his identity?
Zhao Chuanxiong was startled, and his skin twitched.
“Relax, your identity has not been a secret for a long time, and not just you… I am well aware of the identities of quite a few members within the Spirit Infant Sect.”
Si Mubai finished his tea, toying with the jade teacup, his face a blend of a smirk and a sneer.
“I have a cooperation with your Dharma Master, to whom I have shown sincerity, and naturally, your Dharma Master will also offer sincerity in return. The Dharma Master agreed to create a second-tier ‘Godly Essence Sculpture’ for me, but, it requires a Spirit Child as a catalyst…”
Zhao Chuanxiong’s face showed difficulty: “Does Young Master Si wish for me to find another Spirit Child in the Outer City to bring to you?”
“But Young Master Si, in the past two years the Outer City has nearly run out of Spirit Infant Children, and those remaining kids possess poor divinity, utterly ordinary… useless.”
“Just a while ago, even that Spirit Child from the Yang Family Courtyard was taken away…”
“So, finding another Spirit Child will take some time, or even wait until a new batch of babies are born to be sure.”
Zhao Chuanxiong let out a sigh.
Si Mubai: “Isn’t there a Superior Grade Spirit Child inside Xu’s Wood Carving Shop?”
Upon hearing this, Zhao Chuanxiong immediately thought of Li Che and recalled that a disciple had died in the wood carving shop because of that Superior Grade Spirit Child who made the Dharma Master descend the Three Heads and Six Arms Angry Spirit Infant Statue.
“Are you referring to… the daughter of the wood carver Li Che from Xu Ji?”
Zhao Chuanxiong ventured.
Si Mubai fiddled with the teacup, his demeanor indifferent and cold: “Are there any other Superior Grade Spirit Children?”
Zhao Chuanxiong’s skin twitched: “To not hide it from Young Master Si… I suspect that the criminal Bull Demon might be related to Xu Ji.”
“I…”
Si Mubai waved his hand dismissively: “No need to say, I know what you are afraid of…”
“For this year, you’ve stayed out of sight, never traveling alone, all to avoid the Bull Demon, right?”
“Back then, you used the widow of Sun Changbiao as bait, luring the Bull Demon in for the kill, which you consider as having fought with him. After the death of the Bagua Staff holder, you got scared…”
Zhao Chuanxiong wasn’t embarrassed; what’s there to be ashamed of if it’s for survival?
Consider that Bagua Staff holder; does he have any pride left now?
Once dead, all is lost.
“This Bull Demon, based on his several interventions, seems to harbor grudges against the Spirit Infant Sect, and furthermore, there appeared to be some connections with Xu Ji.”
“It seems likely that the Bull Demon originates from Xu Ji.”
Si Mubai leaned back in the Taishi chair made of pear wood, his long fingers tapping lightly on the table.
“I am also very curious… just who from Xu Ji is this Bull Demon?”
“Able to move freely in and out of Inner and Outer Cities, and possessing a Bone Tempering Completion cultivation… Who could it be? It can’t be Xu Heli, nor Xu Beihu, and it’s even less likely to be the third Xu brother…”
“No matter who it is, just eliminate him. That will do.”
Si Mubai’s eyes gleamed with a mix of sobbing and smiling, as he turned his gaze toward Zhao Chuanxiong.
“You handle this job for me, and I’ll take care of the Bull Demon for you.”
“Since the Bull Demon is so keen on killing you… let him come for you.”
Zhao Chuanxiong’s face darkened instantly, his heart… quite tempted!
If the Bull Demon could indeed be dealt with, he really could live without always looking over his shoulder.
The Bull Demon must die; without that, he could not rest easy. The death of the Bagua Staff holder was vivid in his mind, like a nightmare!
Zhao Chuanxiong’s eyes flickered…
But still, there was trepidation in his heart…
After all, what Si Mubai called taking care of the Bull Demon…
Was damn fishing – using him as bait!
No, fishing for a bull!
He had avoided trouble for so long; in the end, he feared…
If the bull isn’t caught, he, the bait… might get eaten first!
PS: Seeking Monthly Tickets, recommendation tickets, and followers!
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