Free Web NovelChapter 115: Chapter 114: Old Turtle, Bai Du Bridge
GURGLE—
Fu Juemin stood on the edge of a frozen, hard-packed earthen slope. Below his feet, a clear, palm-wide stream trickled by.
The Du Mountain Reservoir was built during a previous dynasty to irrigate the downstream rice paddies. But in the chaos of war in earlier years, gunfire and cannons had destroyed much of the farmland. The downstream villagers had either died or fled, leaving only a few households behind. As a result, the place had gradually fallen into a state of semi-disrepair, imbued with a desolate sense of being forgotten by time.
Looking down at the entire reservoir from above, one could see that the surface of the water had taken on a stagnant, leaden-gray color that was nearly black.
The "Lesser Snow" solar term had just passed a few days ago. A layer of cloudy, whitish, thin ice had formed in the shallow areas near the reservoir’s edge. It looked like a vast sheet of shattered glass, pressed irregularly against the black, muddy shore.
On the mountain face directly opposite, a niche seemed to have been deliberately carved out. Inside sat a small, dilapidated shrine. It was impossible to tell if it was dedicated to a Mountain God or an Uncle Shui.
"That Old Turtle Spirit usually hides down there. It occasionally comes up to forage and has been spotted a few times by people living nearby.
It’s cold now, so it should be hibernating at the bottom of the water..."
Gu Shouyu was wearing a thick, old-fashioned long robe from some forgotten era, but he was still so cold in the early morning mountain air that the tip of his nose was red and his body was trembling.
He had actually taken the advice, though. After going back, he had cut his hair, taken a bath, and shaved, making him look much more refreshed.
Fu Juemin stared at the water’s surface without a word. He had just used [Yao Ling] to probe the area and had sensed an obscure but powerful aura of a Demon Species beneath the reservoir. However, he couldn’t determine its exact appearance or location.
The reservoir was dug very deep and might even connect to a subterranean Dark River. Even [Yao Ling] seemed to fall short.
On Du Mountain in winter, the trees had lost all their leaves, leaving only bare, blackened trunks. A few men from the Qinglian Gang, wearing padded jackets and breathing out puffs of white air, walked up to report, "Young Master, there are several leaks down below..."
Fu Juemin nodded slightly.
If they were to deal with the Old Turtle Spirit, now was undoubtedly the best time. They could drain the reservoir and, for the hibernating Old Turtle, perform a literal "catching a turtle in a jar."
However, doing so would require using explosives to breach the reservoir dam, as well as managing the evacuation and resettlement of the downstream population, and taking measures to deal with the impact on the surrounding area.
Fu Juemin was also currently handling a Tai Sui and would have to trouble Aunt Ding again for certain things. So, he wasn’t in a hurry, figuring he would take it one step at a time.
After inspecting the reservoir, the group started their journey back.
Just before getting into the car, Fu Juemin remembered something and asked the person beside him, "Have you found that police officer Director Gu mentioned?"
A man from the Qinglian Gang replied, "We found him. The old man’s name is Ma Guangwei. He lives with his family in the Concession and keeps two mistresses.
We’ve already captured him and are holding him at the gang headquarters..."
"Then bring him over now."
Fu Juemin looked at Gu Shouyu, who was sitting obediently in the car. He smiled at him through the window, but his verbal order was delivered in a faint, detached tone, "If Director Gu can’t make up his mind, you all remember to... handle it for him."
"Yes."
Ever since seeing the Tai Sui a few days ago, Gu Shouyu’s importance in Fu Juemin’s eyes had skyrocketed. He planned to personally forge his own Demon Hunting Team, and Gu Shouyu was to be the first core member of that team.
Back at the Ding Family’s Ink Garden in the blink of an eye, Fu Juemin changed his clothes and headed straight for the Martial Arts Training Ground.
The Ding Family already had a Martial Arts Training Ground. Knowing Fu Juemin needed it, Madam Ding had ordered a greenhouse on the edge of the training ground to be demolished and converted into a training chamber specifically for him to practice the Five Aggregates Poison Technique.
Orders for the Five Phases Poisonous Creatures had already been placed with all the major apothecaries in Shenghai. He just had to wait a few more days for the training chamber’s conversion to be complete, and then Fu Juemin could resume his progress on the "Five Aggregates Profound Slaughter Technique."
In the Martial Arts Training Ground, Fu Juemin sat cross-legged under the skylight falling from the dome, his eyes lowered in quiet contemplation.
Over the past few days, the last few imperfections in his Blood Refining Realm had been completely mended, allowing him to finally reach the so-called Blood Refining Perfection Realm.
At this moment, the Qi Blood in his body surged like a tide. Even while sitting perfectly still, an unusual amount of heat naturally radiated from the pores all over his body, dispelling the winter chill around him.
His power surged forth like a rising tide and receded like a falling one. Boosted by 23 points in [Attack], the strength in a single arm of his was well over a thousand jin.
If he were to face the man in colorful clothes from the Civility Venerable Sect, who was at the Blood Barrier Realm, again, Fu Juemin was confident he could kill him with a single palm strike on sight, even without using [Soft Bone] or his Poison Technique.
’The next step is the Blood Barrier.’
As he entered the later stages of Blood Refining, Fu Juemin could already vaguely sense the existence of the Blood Barrier.
Once he reached Blood Refining Perfection, it became even more distinct. The feeling was as if his body and limbs were being pulled by invisible ropes, creating a sense of being shackled and a desire to break free.
’If I don’t break through the Blood Breaking Barrier, my strength in the Martial Dao will stagnate...
If I need to use Qi Blood to break through this barrier, then I should be able to do it easily by adding points to [Attack].’
Fu Juemin had already saved up nearly two Attribute Points. At his current rate, he could accumulate one point in about twenty days, which wasn’t slow. Still, he didn’t want to waste them if he could avoid it.
"Big Cat."
Fu Juemin looked up. Big Cat’s figure slowly emerged from the shadows at the edge of the skylight. As if guessing what he wanted to ask, Big Cat spoke calmly, "I have thought of a method to help the Young Master quickly break through the physical and mental obstacles of the Blood Barrier.
It just requires the Young Master to take some risks and endure some hardship... I wonder if the Young Master is willing to try?"
Fu Juemin’s eyes flickered. "Let’s hear it."
........
「December 7th. Heavy Snow.」
Shenghai, Bai Du Bridge.
The sky was a hazy gray, like a wad of old cotton wool soaked in ice water, pressing down heavily on everyone’s head.
Passersby all clutched their clothes tightly, their steps hurried, as if terrified that the damp chill would seize the opportunity to seep into their very bones.
At the docks, which were lined with warehouses, cargo containers and miscellaneous junk were piled up into small mountains. Within a narrow alleyway between them, constricted like an intestinal tract, a man with a sallow, yellow face, wrapped in a gray padded coat, was walking briskly.
The man was tall and thin. Perhaps feeling the cold, he kept his neck scrunched down and his hands tucked into his sleeves. He seemed to be rushing somewhere, walking at a very fast pace.
Suddenly, two figures in blue shirts emerged silently from behind the containers on either side. Without a word, they raised the foot-long, single-edged straight sabers in their hands and slashed viciously at the man.
The man with the yellow face seemed oblivious to the danger before him, not even lifting his head.
With two sharp CRACKS of breaking bone, the man with the yellow face slipped through the gap between the two attackers, completely unscathed. His hands remained tucked in his sleeves, and his pace did not slow in the slightest.
The two blue-shirted swordsmen who had blocked his path, however, had their chests bizarrely caved in. They vomited mouthfuls of blood and collapsed slowly with looks of utter disbelief on their faces.
"Kill!"
The men had barely hit the ground when a ferocious, murderous roar followed.
More blue-shirted men with sabers swarmed out from the container-lined walkways on all sides, rushing the man in the center. For a moment, the glint of blades surged toward him like a wave.
The man with the yellow face still made no overt movements, maintaining his posture of a man with his head down and hands tucked, hurrying on his way.
The blue-shirted men charging from either side were like air to him. He continued to walk briskly forward, and wherever he passed, the swordsmen blocking his path were sent flying like straw scarecrows, unable to hinder him for even half a step.
In just a few moments, the narrow container-lined alley was strewn with the bodies of the blue-shirted men, all of them unable to get up. Nearly every one of them had broken bones and ruptured tendons, caved-in chests, and was vomiting blood. Many were clearly dead on the spot.
Those who had yet to attack were now pale with fright. They stared at the ordinary-looking man with the yellow face as if they were seeing a ghost, all of them crowded into the alley, too terrified to charge forward.
Just as the man with the yellow face was about to walk out of the cargo area unimpeded...
Suddenly, the sound of chaotic footsteps rang out—a large group of uniformed Patrol Police, holding foreign rifles, had appeared at the end of the cargo area.
Upon arriving, they didn’t issue any warning. They simply took their stances, aimed their long rifles directly at the man with the yellow face, and rapidly pulled the triggers.
BANG! BANG! BANG!—
The dense volley of gunfire echoed across the docks. At that moment, the man with the yellow face, who had kept his head down the entire time, finally deigned to pull his hands out of his sleeves.
The instant the first shot rang out, he had already leaped up like a hawk, landing on a nearby stack of cargo.
However, the dozen or so blue-shirted swordsmen who had been cautiously following behind him had no time to dodge and were riddled with bullets, turned into human sieves by the indiscriminate gunfire.
.....
Got off work, quickly pounded out a Chapter. Will write two more after dinner. By the way, please vote with your monthly tickets, the early-month tickets are really important, thank you everyone orz! Thanks
