Free Web NovelChapter 121: Chapter 120: Everything is Ready, Prosperous Martial Luck, Demon Boar, Snowy Night
"...When a Martial Artist advances to the Gratitude Sensing Realm, their senses—sight, hearing, smell—are all greatly enhanced.
They can pick out a specific voice in a bustling city and see in the dark as if it were day.
They develop an uncanny premonition for danger, making it very difficult to hit them with ordinary Hidden Weapons or bullets.
Of course, if they’re caught in a hail of bullets, it’s still difficult to escape unscathed."
As Fu Juemin listened to Big Cat’s description, a term came to mind: Anticipating the Enemy’s Move.
"You could say that."
Big Cat nodded. "Once they enter the Gratitude Sensing Realm, a Martial Artist becomes very difficult to kill.
Unless experts of the same level work together to set a trap and ambush them..."
’Is Uncle Tong in the Gratitude Sensing Realm?’
The thought suddenly popped into Fu Juemin’s head.
He thought for a moment, then asked, "Are there any Gratitude Sensing Realm Martial Artists in Shenghai?"
"Of course there are."
Big Cat replied calmly, "The most famous among them is Zhao Jigang. He once won the title of Shenghai Martial Champion and is now the president of the Shenghai Martial Dao Association."
"Zhao Jigang..."
Fu Juemin murmured the name.
’A regional Martial Champion and a Gratitude Sensing Realm expert. Impressive.’
’Unfortunately, in this age of rampant firearms, even a great Martial Dao master at the Gratitude Sensing Realm would die if they took too many bullets at once.’
’No wonder his son, Zhao Tianpeng, was ranked last among the Four Young Masters. After my own sudden rise, he was pushed out of the running entirely.’
"Oh, right."
Fu Juemin changed the subject. "Have the live crocodiles and elephants I need for my training arrived?"
"They arrived in Shenghai a week ago. They are being carefully looked after, ready for the Young Master’s use at any time."
Fu Juemin nodded.
’Once my Blood Barrier is broken, I can officially begin cultivating the Dragon Elephant Wisdom Seal, one of the four great Iron Body Strange Skills.’
’Everything is ready. Tomorrow, I’ll go home and personally invite Li Tong over.’
"How is the collection of the Five Beasts Skill legacies coming along?"
Fu Juemin asked.
Big Cat replied, "It’s mostly done. Two were specially sourced from out of town. I’ve tested them all for you, Young Master. They shouldn’t be fakes.
By piecing them together, we should be able to complete the Five Beasts.
Actually, there is a complete lineage of the Five Beasts in Shenghai, it’s just..."
"Just what?"
Fu Juemin raised an eyebrow.
Big Cat replied, "They’re unwilling to come here to teach. They insist that you, Young Master, must go to them in person and become a formal disciple before they’ll impart the skill."
"Not even for money?"
Fu Juemin frowned.
Big Cat shook his head. "He said it’s not about the money."
’If he says it’s not about the money, then it’s definitely about the money.’
Fu Juemin thought for a moment and said, "Becoming a disciple is too much trouble. Try offering more money.
I’ll start by practicing with the other branch legacies first. Perhaps I won’t even need his."
"Yes."
In any case, for any Martial Arts, Fu Juemin only needed to practice it to the Entry Level. If money could solve the problem, he had no desire to get tangled in a master-disciple relationship for no good reason.
"Right, what’s the progress on Gu Shouyu’s end?"
The cultivation of the Dragon Elephant Wisdom Seal and the Five Beasts Skill was about to be put on the agenda, so he naturally couldn’t fall behind on Skill Points.
Fu Juemin had personally gone to see the Tai Sui at Eight-Row Alleyway twice; the work was progressing in an orderly manner.
The method Gu Shouyu mentioned was particularly effective. At the current pace, it would probably only take half a month to a month to dismember most of the Flesh Tai Sui’s "body" and successfully locate its core.
However, in the meantime, Fu Juemin wondered if he could take down a few more Demon Fiends.
’The new year is approaching. I can’t just count on one Tai Sui to see me through.’
"Director Gu had someone deliver a list yesterday. I haven’t had a chance to show it to you yet, Young Master."
Upon hearing this, Big Cat immediately pulled a rolled-up letter from his pocket and presented it.
Fu Juemin opened it and found that the paper contained exactly what he had previously assigned Gu Shouyu to do.
[Name: Iron-Maned Demon Boar
Description: Haunts the downstream sections of the Huangling River and Su River. Enjoys eating live humans, livestock, and floating corpses... Built like a water buffalo, its hide is harder than Iron Armor, its tusks are venomous, and it has a violent temperament. It will proactively attack boats and people on the riverbanks...
Category: Demon Species
Strength: Wolf-Tiger Level
Extermination Strategy: Requires a large number of rifles, dynamite, and manpower... A five-to-ten-meter-deep pit can be dug to lure the Demon Boar in. It can then be strafed with rifles and bombed with dynamite...]
[Name: Five Passes Evil God
Description: ...]
The paper listed in great detail four or five Demon Fiends, ranging from Fox Level to Tiger Level.
It was clear Gu Shouyu had put considerable effort into selecting these Demon Fiends. The files not only detailed each one’s origin, appearance, and abilities, but also provided a preliminary assessment of its strength. Furthermore, for each Demon Fiend, he had listed one or more extermination strategies.
The extermination strategies were also divided into live capture and kill.
Whether Director Gu’s theoretical strategies were actually effective was another matter, but he had clearly been diligent. Fu Juemin was quite satisfied.
"Demon Boar, Five Passes Evil God, Wharf Tiger-Sprite, Water Demon Mother..."
Fu Juemin looked through them one by one and finally chose the one listed first, the Iron-Maned Demon Boar.
The reason was simple. He had briefly scanned the strategies Gu Shouyu had devised for the other Demon Fiends, and they all seemed like nonsense. Only this method for hunting the Demon Boar looked somewhat feasible.
This "dig a pit and toss in explosives" approach reminded Fu Juemin of the method he’d used to kill the Merciful Rat Demon at the Luan River. The two strategies were different, yet achieved the same effect.
Fu Juemin casually handed the paper back to Big Cat and ordered, "Help me arrange for manpower, kerosene, and firearms... Don’t ask Aunt Ding for money. Bill it to my personal account.
Oh, right, what’s the maximum number of people I can requisition from the Qinglian Gang?"
Big Cat replied, "Aside from the thirty-odd men who normally guard you when you go out, Young Master, any further reinforcements would require asking the Madam’s permission."
Fu Juemin pondered for a moment, then said, "Then don’t make things difficult for Aunt Ding.
Find a way to recruit a group of men for me. They need to be fearless, and it’s best if they know how to use guns...
Money is not an issue."
In Shenghai, things like firearms and dynamite weren’t actually that hard to get, as long as you had money and weren’t trying to bring them into the Concession.
What Fu Juemin needed more was manpower.
Although he was currently under Madam Ding’s protection, the Qinglian Gang was not, after all, a place where Aunt Ding had the final say. If he were to use Qinglian Gang members for his life-or-death missions, putting aside whether the summoned men would even be willing, the news spreading within the Gang would reflect poorly on both him and Aunt Ding.
Besides, he didn’t want his Demon Fiend hunting to become common knowledge. The fewer people who knew, the better.
At the same time, Fu Juemin also hoped to have a team that was completely loyal to him. Now, using Aunt Ding’s connections to build one from scratch, was the perfect opportunity.
After hearing Fu Juemin’s words, Big Cat pondered for a moment and replied, "During the Warlord period, many scattered and defeated soldiers were left behind in Shenghai. Most of them were recruited by Luo Zhengxiong, but some are still scattered around Zhabei and South City...
If the price is high enough, we should be able to recruit a group willing to risk their lives.
These men have been on the battlefield, seen bloodshed, understand tactical coordination, and are skilled with Firearms. They fit your requirements well, Young Master.
It’s just that these guys are mostly unruly and hard to tame. They have little integrity and can’t keep a secret..."
"Doesn’t matter."
Fu Juemin said dismissively, "I’m not raising an army to fight a war. As long as they can do the job for money, it’s fine.
Recruit a batch first. This hunt will be a good chance to test their mettle."
Big Cat nodded and said no more.
After giving a series of orders, Fu Juemin suddenly remembered something. He looked up at Big Cat, thought for a moment, and his tone softened slightly. "Big Cat, don’t you want to ask me...
why I spend so much money and effort, mobilizing so many people, to do this sort of Demon Fiend hunting that seems to have no benefit?"
Fu Juemin had already prepared several excuses in his mind to handle Big Cat’s question, but unexpectedly, Big Cat answered almost without thinking, "I can roughly guess..."
He glanced at the letter in his hand and said in a deep voice, "After the fall of the previous dynasty, the National Fortune collapsed, which is why demons now frequently appear in the world.
I’ve heard that in the North, there are rogue Warlords who cultivate both military and martial skills, and their progress is a thousand miles in a single day.
For the Young Master to achieve what you have in the Martial Dao at such a young age... you must have obtained a similar cultivation method."
He looked up at Fu Juemin, his gaze clear and bright:
"By sweeping away the impure and the malevolent, one’s martial fortune flourishes!"
Hearing Big Cat’s words, Fu Juemin was stunned at first, but soon he nodded with a look of agreement and a peculiar glint in his eyes. "Big Cat, oh, Big Cat, you are surprisingly well-informed.
I never thought... that you’d have seen through your Young Master’s secrets so long ago.
Aunt Ding doesn’t also know already, does she?"
Big Cat smiled calmly and was just about to speak when Fu Juemin raised a hand to stop him.
"Alright, enough about that. You and Kitty, come spar a few rounds with me."
"Yes, Young Master."
...
「Nightfall.」
No stars, no moon. The wind and snow grew fiercer.
A furtive figure emerged from the side gate of Ink Garden. Braving the swirling snowflakes, it hurried forward, stumbling through the deep snow.
After about a quarter of an hour, the sound of a car horn suddenly echoed across the vast, snowy landscape, followed by two beams of orange light that abruptly cut through the snowy night.
Seeing this, the figure quickly ran towards the parked car.
As he reached the car, the light revealed the ordinary face of a Qinglian Gang member.
The Qinglian Gang member from Ink Garden walked to the front of the car. The rear window of the waiting sedan immediately rolled down halfway, revealing a handsome but gloomy profile.
"Master Ding."
The Qinglian Gang member bowed respectfully to the person inside the car and then began to report quickly.
If Fu Juemin had been present, he would have recognized that the man was reporting every detail of his movements outside the estate for the past while.
No detail was too small. Which restaurants he had visited, what dishes he had ordered, what tea he had drunk, who he had met, what he had said... everything was reported.
When the man finished speaking, the handsome man in the car couldn’t help but frown.
"The Public Concession Territory Prison?
What was he doing there? Could it be he’s also after the Gold from the White Dragon?"
"Most likely."
A slightly deep voice sounded from beside the handsome man—it turned out there was another person sitting in the back seat.
"Ding Moshan has received his orders from that person named Wen and is going all out to track down the Gold. Since that brat wants to curry favor with Ding Moshan, he’s naturally looking for a chance to show off..."
...
