"Who is it?!" Ning Yue asked grumpily.
The person outside didn't stand on ceremony. The door creaked open, and in walked Wei Xian, a smile on his face. After entering, he carefully closed the door.
Ning Yue frowned even more, opening his mouth to curse, "What can't wait until tomorrow? Sneaking around like a thief."
Wei Xian, however, fumbled in his embrace for a long time and then presented a thick stack of silver notes, respectfully placing them on the table. Ning Yue roughly estimated there were at least ten thousand taels.
As the saying goes, "Like master, like disciple." With an official like Ning Yue setting the example, Wei Xian followed suit, completely developing the skill of looting corpses.
Now, he didn't even spare the living, let alone the dead.
While sending them for medical treatment, he conveniently emptied the money pouches of Chen Ye and Feng Hai. Alas, the silver they had accumulated over half their lives went to someone else for free.
Ning Yue's eyes gleamed. His frown disappeared, and his previously troubled mind instantly cleared.
Yet, he still asked, puzzled, "You... you... what are you doing? After all, they were my comrades in the military. How can you commit such an unjust act?"
He reached out and picked up the silver notes. The rustling sound of the paper money hitting the air entered Ning Yue's ears, making it sound so pleasant to him.
"Oh my! Isn't this like taking out their coffin money?!"
Wei Xian chuckled, "Which of them was any good? They abandoned our Zongqi when he was gravely injured, and that's one thing, but today they dared to draw swords against you! I saw every single one of those blades aiming for your vital points!"
"Your subordinate is merely acting on behalf of Heaven. Consider this money their payment for their lives."
The smiling Wei Xian at this moment did not fully comprehend how significant a step he had just laid for his own future.
He only knew that when Mo Yingshuo brought Shi Lei to humiliate him, his superior had fiercely retaliated on his behalf!
He even paid with a Earth-grade cultivation method for it!
Although Wei Xian was also greedy for money and fond of women, he understood how to repay kindness.
"That makes sense!" Ning Yue pulled out a thousand taels of silver notes and slapped them onto Wei Xian. "This is your reward. That slap you took the other day wasn't in vain."
Wei Xian firmly refused to take it, saying in a deep voice, "I believed that my Lord had already avenged me that day. Wei Xian's actions today are not for money."
With that, he bowed deeply and added, "I only wish... I only wish that if my Lord prospers in the future, you would take your subordinate with you. Your subordinate is willing to hold your horse and stirrups, and serve you like a dog or horse."
Xue Ren's severe injuries were not mentioned by anyone now, yet they still hung like a thick cloud of gloom over everyone's hearts.
Ning Yue sighed silently, wondering when this play would end and if he could escape unscathed.
He found it inconvenient to say more at this moment, so he could only help Wei Xian up and comfort him, "Don't worry. None of our brothers who want to follow me will be scattered!"
So Wei Xian bowed again, thanked him, and then left the room.
Tonight, Xue Ren in the 'mansion' was not happy about rooting out the subordinates with hidden malicious intentions. He tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
Tonight, Ning Yue, with excitement and sadness intertwined in his heart, also did not sleep.
【Host: Ning Yue】
【Bone Structure: Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone】
【Talent: Heavenly Martial Star】
【Realm: Lian Rou Realm Consummation】
【Internal Skills: Military Department Skin Grinding Method (Consummation), Gold Jade Skin Grinding Art (Consummation), Profound Gang Body Tempering Art (Consummation), Three Calamity Dragon-Tiger Mixed Yuan Skill (Initiation)】
【External Skills: Cloud Chasing Step (Consummation), Star Mark Step (Great Accomplishment 71%), Night Battle Eight Desolations (Consummation), Cold Star Archery (Consummation), Jie Mai Qinlong (Arresting Dragon Vein) (Minor Accomplishment 30%)】
【Secret Techniques: Startling Swan Blade, Stepping on Clouds, Three Arrows Chase Stars】
【Wealth: 13315 points】
After consuming the Dragon Heart Fruit, this time the icy current was exceptionally fierce, surging through his meridians like a mighty dragon crossing a river, unstoppable. The acupoints that had been opened during the reconstruction of his bone structure, like underwater whirlpools, devoured the icy current frantically, as if it were a rare delicacy.
After further nurturing, wisps of blood essence were expelled, nourishing his internal organs, forging his physical body, inhaling and exhaling, in a continuous cycle.
The great tendons hidden within his body were sometimes taut as iron, indestructible, and at other times soft as silk, being pushed up and down, swaying left and right by the icy current, as if struggling against immense force.
Only when the first light of dawn appeared did Ning Yue slowly conclude his cultivation. The great tendons supporting his bones and connecting his flesh bulged, then seemed to fall asleep, lurking within his body.
Ning Yue suddenly clenched his fist, and a soft "snap" sound echoed in the room. This was the air within his palm being crushed, the sound itself extinguished within his fist.
Ning Yue contentedly stretched his fingers. If he were to encounter someone like Feng Hai again tonight, he was confident that no one could withstand a single punch from him!
【Ding! Congratulations, Host! Three Calamity Dragon-Tiger Mixed Yuan Skill has cultivated to One Calamity Minor Accomplishment (39%), and your realm has advanced to Yi Jin Realm Initial Stage!】
Cost: six thousand taels!
Blood essence still occasionally gushed from his acupoints, scattering throughout his body, like small volcanoes erupting lava from time to time.
Ning Yue felt his entire body warm, as if bathed in sunlight. He looked up, and the sky was already bright.
...
April 7th, as the morning sun rose, purple qi came from the east.
The battle last night was unknown to the unconcerned, but those who paid attention were secretly astonished.
Mo Yingshuo chuckled coldly, wondering who he was gloating over.
Shi Lei secretly felt fortunate that he hadn't rashly confronted Ning Yue that day. Feng Hai, who was among the top thirty in the grand competition, had only been recruited as a personal guard by Commander Han Yu yesterday. Who knew that after just one night, that fierce Ning Yue had severed his right arm, destroying his future.
Shi Lei racked his brains for a long time but couldn't find an appropriate way to describe his feelings upon hearing this news; it was simply unbelievable.
He knew his own capabilities. When he was a Xiaoqi, he couldn't compare to Feng Hai, and even now that he had entered the Yi Jin Realm, he still wouldn't dare to cross swords with Feng Hai.
Among three thousand Xiaoqi, ranking thirty, a hard-earned strength achieved by one in a hundred, was something that 'watered-down' Zongqi like them couldn't match.
Two years ago, during a battle with the demon race, he personally witnessed Feng Hai, with a long saber, kill a third-rank Azure Blood Snake Demon. The foul, stinking snake blood drenched him from head to toe, extinguishing all his ambitions.
After that battle, he joined the Mo family, and has been with them until today.
"But now, it's my time to rise!" Shi Lei's gaze fell upon the Jie Mai Qinlong (Arresting Dragon Vein) technique in his hand, his eyes burning with fervor.
It was laughable to think that after serving Mo Yingshuo like a dog for nearly three years, the favor he received was not as great as that given by Ning Yue, whom he had only met twice.
"Indeed, the ways of the world are unpredictable," Shi Lei chuckled softly, patting his hands.
On the morning of April 7th, only one event occurred.
Yu Chengdong and Feng Yong, two of Ning Yue's junior clerks, despite Wei Xian's repeated attempts to dissuade them, jointly submitted their resignations to Ning Yue, deciding to seek opportunities elsewhere.
Ning Yue did not try to keep them, nor did he ask where they were going. He simply gave them a substantial sum of money.
The two men shed tears on the spot, weeping profusely, but still left with resolute determination.
Meanwhile, the news of the three Xiaoqi officers being either injured or having resigned spread like water in a river, without a single ripple.
...
It wasn't until after noon that Xiao Wenjie emerged from the Martial Arts Pavilion.
He first went to the Judicial Inquiry Division and gathered dozens of men, then headed straight to Xue Ren's sleeping quarters!