Chapter 8: Rising Sun Skill
Ji Qing reached into the flesh of his abdomen and pulled out a hidden weapon.
It was a Bone Penetrating Nail.
Blocked by Ji Qing's internal energy, it only pierced two inches into his flesh.
“Hmm?”
“The hidden weapon isn't poisoned?”
The blood on the Bone Penetrating Nail was still bright red, not like he had been poisoned.
Although Ji Qing had killed the Lingdong Three Oddities with one strike, he was also hit by a hidden weapon. Fortunately, it didn't hit a vital spot, causing only a minor injury.
Ji Qing squatted down and tore a strip of cloth from the Lingdong Three Oddities' corpse to bandage his abdominal wound.
Then, he began to search the bodies.
Not only the Lingdong Three Oddities, but he also didn't spare the corpses of the Desert Eighteen Riders.
From a total of twenty-one bodies, he only found a little over one hundred taels of silver.
“People of the martial world are really poor…”
Ji Qing shook his head.
However, he did find a martial arts manual on one of the Desert Eighteen Riders.
He didn't look closely and didn't know what kind of martial art it was.
“By the way, Chief Escort Han, is there a bounty on the Lingdong Three Oddities?”
Ji Qing looked at Han Jin.
Han Jin quickly shook his head and said, “Although the Lingdong Three Oddities are martial artists of the jianghu, they are not evil people, nor have they committed any major crimes. There is no bounty on them in the jianghu.”
Ji Qing was thoughtful.
These Lingdong Three Oddities looked strange and had eccentric personalities, yet they weren't actually bandits.
No wonder the Bone Penetrating Nail wasn't coated with poison.
“However, the Desert Eighteen Riders have a bounty from the government, and quite a substantial one at that. Each of them has a fifty tael bounty.”
“Fifty taels?”
Ji Qing's eyes lit up.
Fifty taels of silver per head, eighteen heads would be nine hundred taels of silver.
That's a lot!
It's just that he had to travel a long distance and was also carrying Ji Yao, so he couldn't possibly carry eighteen heads.
Ji Qing returned to the temple and held out his hand to Han Jin.
“Alright, hand over the silver! Just eight hundred taels, and the bodies of the Desert Eighteen Riders are yours. You'll even earn a hundred taels in profit.”
“Uh…”
Han Jin's expression stiffened.
In the end, Han Jin still handed over eight hundred taels in silver notes.
After all, the bodies of the Lingdong Three Oddities were still lying on the ground. Did he dare to refuse?
He had to make this “profit,” whether he wanted to or not!
“Brother, you're bleeding…”
Ji Yao was on the verge of tears.
“Minor injury, it's nothing.”
Ji Qing applied some hemostatic trauma medicine himself, then closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.
At the other end of the temple, Miss Lin looked at Ji Qing's figure with some surprise.
“Chief Escort, the eighth on the evil person list doesn't seem as vicious as the rumors in the jianghu suggest…”
Miss Lin asked in a low voice.
“Miss Lin, I, Han, have traveled the jianghu for many years and know that many jianghu rumors are unreliable. Regardless of Young Master Ji's temperament, the major crimes he has committed are well-documented. It's best for us not to have too much contact. We'll go our separate ways at dawn tomorrow.”
Han Jin gently reminded Miss Lin.
Miss Lin frowned slightly.
Her “Third Uncle” had always wanted her dead. Even if she could successfully enter the city this time, what then? She would probably still have to fight with her Third Uncle, and it was hard to say who would win in the end.
Ji Qing could kill the Lingdong Three Oddities with one strike, showing his great strength. If he was willing to enter the city to help her, her chances of winning would be much greater!
As for his reputation…
If her Third Uncle could take in the Desert Eighteen Riders, why couldn't she take in Ji Qing?
Thus, Miss Lin had already made a decision in her heart.
She walked out of the crowd and approached Ji Qing.
“Young Master Ji, if you can accompany me into the city and lend me a hand, I will surely reward you handsomely!”
Miss Lin said softly.
However, Ji Qing seemed not to have heard her, still closing his eyes without any response.
“If Young Master can lend me a hand, I am willing to reward you with three thousand taels of silver!”
Miss Lin moved her lotus-like steps lightly, continuing forward, and offered an even more enticing condition.
“Stop!”
“Cross the line, die!”
Ji Qing didn't even lift his head, his tone icy cold.
Miss Lin's face turned pale.
She looked down at the line drawn with charcoal; she was almost about to cross it.
The person in front of her was no kind soul, but the eighth on the evil person list, a great devil famous throughout the world!
If he said 'cross the line, die,' then she would surely die!
“Miss, please go back quickly…”
The maid hurriedly pulled Miss Lin's hand, returning her to the crowd of Weiyuan Escort Agency.
Han Jin sighed and said, “Miss Lin, Young Master Ji is not interested in your affairs, don't force it. There are still loyal people left by Old Master Lin in Licheng who will surely protect Miss Lin.”
Miss Lin looked at Ji Qing with a complicated expression, and finally nodded.
Ji Qing meditated and regulated his breathing for an hour before opening his eyes.
He was not affected by Miss Lin's “little interlude” just now. Instead, he took out a martial arts manual he had found on the Desert Eighteen Riders.
“Rising Sun Skill.”
Ji Qing examined it carefully. This was a third-rate martial art for cultivating internal energy, but it should be quite outstanding among third-rate martial arts.
This martial art could only be practiced every morning when the sun rose, so it was very time-consuming.
But once mastered, the internal energy would be fierce and domineering, continuous and endless, much more powerful than the Jade Skill, making it a top-tier third-rate martial art!
Ji Qing currently had no second-rate martial arts. To break through to second-rate, he could only cultivate a few more third-rate martial arts.
This Rising Sun Skill met all his requirements.
In a blink of an eye, it was the second morning, and it was still dark.
Ji Qing woke up early.
He looked at the sky, then sat cross-legged, secretly circulating the “Rising Sun Skill,” cultivating with the morning sun's energy as the sun rose.
Indeed, this Rising Sun Skill could only be cultivated in the morning.
Ji Qing had tried to cultivate the Rising Sun Skill last night, but he was unable to get started.
Now, cultivating in the morning, a trace of internal energy was born within his body in no time.
This trace of internal energy was different from the Jade Skill; it seemed to be of higher quality and more domineering.
After cultivating for half an hour, Ji Qing stopped his internal energy circulation.
The Rising Sun Skill could only be cultivated for half an hour each morning; more time would be counterproductive.
At this moment, Ji Qing's body also had an extra wisp of Rising Sun Skill internal energy. Although his Rising Sun Skill was currently only barely at the entry level, his internal energy, which had been stagnant for many days, finally had a slight improvement.
This was great news!
As long as he cultivated the Rising Sun Skill step by step, his internal energy would continue to improve.
Unfortunately, his source point was used up.
Otherwise, he could use the source point to quickly advance the Rising Sun Skill to Great Accomplishment, or even perfect mastery!
Without the source point, Ji Qing could only temporarily cultivate the Rising Sun Skill on his own.
How far he could cultivate it depended entirely on his own talent.
Ji Qing glanced at the Weiyuan Escort Agency group.
The two parties spent the night in the dilapidated temple, minding their own business, and all was peaceful.
“Yao'er, it's time to go.”
He gently patted Ji Yao's head, waking her up.
Ji Yao rubbed her eyes, then obediently nestled into the back basket.
Ji Qing got up, carrying the back basket, and strode out of the dilapidated temple.
Watching Ji Qing's slowly disappearing figure, Miss Lin sighed, “This person's martial arts are incredibly high, but unfortunately, he cannot be used by me. Otherwise, he could surely help me reclaim my father's legacy!”
Han Jin shook his head: “Miss Lin, in fact, we have already escaped a disaster. If it weren't for the Lingdong Three Oddities and Young Master Ji last night, the Desert Eighteen Riders would have wiped us out.”
“Moreover, Young Master Ji can be ranked eighth on the evil person list; the troubles he carries are probably no less than ours. If he were to stay by Miss Lin's side, whether it would be a blessing or a curse, it's really hard to say…”
Miss Lin was startled.
Yes, she only focused on Ji Qing's high martial arts, but she didn't realize the troubles Ji Qing carried.
The eighth on the evil person list, how much trouble must that be?
“Thank you for the reminder, Chief Escort…”
Miss Lin no longer thought about Ji Qing's matters and continued to follow the Weiyuan Escort Agency group towards Licheng.