Chapter 45: Chapter 40: The Owner of the Mansion
“Cough cough~ there are indeed skilled masters out there.”
In the pitch-black night, he stood next to a building, steadying his body with a hand against the wall that felt like asbestos board.
Tao Yu clutched his broken ribs, and aside from the bulletproof vest, his shoulder bore a fierce gunshot wound. With the infusion of Yuan Force, his ribs quickly healed, and the wound expelled the bullet.
Constantly replenishing his stamina in the forefront had consumed over three thousand Yuan Force, allowing him to maintain a high level of endurance.
Shadows could enter at any time, and an outburst could happen at any moment.
He had used another thousand Yuan Force to heal his injuries, which was a huge loss!
In truth, eating could have also aided in recovery, but there wasn’t time for that now; Tao Yu had no choice but to bear the cost.
Looking at the large bundle wrapped in bed sheets before him, filled with miscellaneous items, Tao Yu had no idea how much he’d be able to recoup.
He had no way to thoroughly search them.
Although he had cleared his way from the perimeter to the inside, there were probably no survivors left in the Li family; even the eggs were scattered. In the end, he had even started a fire with kerosene.
But he couldn’t stay at the scene forever!
All he could do was hastily take these seemingly valuable items, mainly those related to Yuan Force.
“Are these considered dirty goods? Aren’t they too conspicuous?”
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Tao Yu picked up a small Yuan Force knife, sensing its sharp and bleeding properties, but ultimately decided to absorb it directly as pure Yuan Force.
They seemed to be auxiliary items. Although indeed worth more than pure Yuan Force absorption, Tao Yu clearly did not have the time to deal with them and simply absorbed them all at once.
Then, he absorbed a total of about eight thousand Yuan Force…
“What a pity. If I sold them all, they would be worth at least ten thousand or even more. I wonder if these kinds of families have an emergency treasure stash somewhere…”
Tao Yu sighed a little; from that whole bedsheet of items, he only kept two.
One was a seemingly ordinary handgun with the ‘bullets path precision’ Yuan Force property, a very common yet practical Yuan Force item. Absorbing the Yuan Force in it would yield only four hundred, but it could likely sell for about two thousand.
Since it was a high-demand item, Tao Yu decided to keep it.
The other was a long dagger, which could also be used as a short sword, possessing only two hundred in Yuan Force reserve but characterized by ‘armor penetration,’ ‘wear resistance,’ and ‘sharpness’—three quite remarkable Yuan Force properties, making it a small gem.
The rest had their Yuan Force fully absorbed, turning them into ordinary items.
Indeed, these could still sell for some money, yet after some hesitation, Tao Yu opted to bury them somewhere instead.
He was in need of Yuan Force, but it wasn’t worth taking the risk…
…
“Actually, I didn’t want to take a risk at night either. With the environment before, a stray bullet might have hit my head, and even instant use of Yuan Force to heal might not have worked. I wasn’t keen to try.”
Tao Yu eventually returned to bed with a sigh.
Initially, he wanted to keep disseminating the message and spreading the risk, but the Li family had pushed things too far…
“No, I must continue to offer the message to the dojo tomorrow, else if the manager learns about the Li family being wiped out, and entertains the thought of hoarding the information, what if he doesn’t report it?”
Tao Yu reviewed his situation and identified new problems.
This world was too dark, and the thought of them coming overnight to silence him was chilling…
…
The next morning, Tao Yu ate breakfast like nothing had happened.
On his way to the Hound Fortress for Wanliu Dojo to practice Fist Technique, the scene was nearly the same as the day before.
A group of Outsiders lined up, waiting to enter the fortress.
Given that communication among the common people in South City was all about shouting, the tragedy that occurred in the Public Security residential area wouldn’t spread the news so quickly.
However, when it was Tao Yu’s turn in line to enter, he saw three people dressed in Public Security uniforms hurriedly running towards them.
The trio rushed straight to the gate of the fortress. The urgency of their movements drew many eyes, leaving onlookers curious about what had happened.
“Attach these notices to the walls of your fortress and arrange for people to read them aloud for the next three days.”
The three members of Public Security walked up to the entrance and tossed a stack of freshly inked notices over, seemingly just printed moments before.
The guards, who normally acted high and mighty towards other Outsiders, instantly plastered smiles on their faces and nodded in agreement upon seeing these Public Security members.
A guard captain even handed over a few homemade rolled cigarettes.
“Gentlemen, what happened this time?”
Another attendant quickly went to fetch water.
Rushing over in a great hurry and actually feeling a bit thirsty, a security team member then tugged at his collar, stood still, and lit a cigarette, speaking with a sickly expression,
“Something big has happened. The Li family has been exterminated.”
“Exterminated?”
“The Li family?”
People entering the fort at the side also pricked up their ears to listen.
“Which Li family?”
The captain of the fort’s guards was a bit confused.
“The Li family from South City.”
All three members of the security team also looked somewhat frightened. The crime scene was in the security team’s residential area, so close to the Inner City walls—could it be they were wiped out?
What kind of grudge was this? How powerful must one be?
Hiss~
Everyone nearby inhaled sharply upon hearing this.
It really was a big deal…
…
“Tao Yu, what’s the matter? You look so troubled.”
When Smith saw Tao Yu come over in his dojo training suit, a smile also appeared on his face.
“Hey, don’t mention it. I just heard that the Li family from South City was wiped out when I entered the fort.”
“What? The Li family from South City?”
Smith had obviously heard of the fame of the Li family from South City.
“I heard their ‘Knight Breathing Technique’ was unmatched. They, they’ve been exterminated just like that?”
Smith was also very shocked.
Outside the city, things were always somewhat chaotic. Just on the day of awakening alone, who knows how many people would die, and bodies in the sewers were a common occurrence.
But it was still rare for a major household to be wiped out.
“Yeah, I was in the same class as one of their young men. Brother, can I see the dojo master? I have some things I want to discuss.”
Tao Yu put on a worried look.
Although Smith had stumbled upon big news, after all, it was just idle gossip. Hearing what Tao Yu had to say, he was actually pleased,
“Speaking of which, the dojo master wanted to see you after hearing about your situation. Come with me; you might have a chance to receive personal guidance from the master.”
Compared to the unrelated extermination of the Li family, the dojo master and this junior brother mattered more. Smith led Tao Yu directly to a separate, relatively smaller wooden hut.
Though this wooden hut was not very large, it was quite exquisite and much more elegant than the other buildings of the dojo.
A nondescript middle-aged man was sitting cross-legged outside the hut on a cushion, with a cup of freshly brewed hot tea beside him.
When he saw Smith bringing Tao Yu over, the man, also dressed in a dojo suit and appearing very ordinary, nodded and smiled at Tao Yu,
“You must be the talented student Smith mentioned, truly an impressive figure.”
Liu Yi, the master of Wanliu Dojo, really looked very unremarkable, without any exaggerated muscles visible on his body.
But simply sitting there casually, he gave Tao Yu a sense of natural integration.
And even though he appeared very gentle when smiling, with casual behavior,
Tao Yu still felt an indescribable sense of tension, akin to the unconscious anxiety ordinary people feel in the presence of a wild animal.
The master was indeed very strong!
This feeling was even stronger than Li Hui from yesterday.
Li Hui gave off such a strong oppressive aura that it made Tao Yu stack all his skills in one go. After the kill, had he not replenished a bit of Yuan Force, he would have almost not recovered…