Free Web NovelChapter 141: Chapter 140: Gold in the Fish’s Belly, Copper Hide and Iron Armor
"Undying?"
Fu Juemin stared at Xu Hengjiang and pressed for more information.
He had witnessed the power of the man from Toad Palace—Gratitude Sensing Realm, very strong.
Ordinary firearms were almost completely useless against him. Even a volley of bullets couldn’t touch the hem of his clothes.
But no matter how strong the man from Toad Palace was, he was still human. And humans have weaknesses. They bleed, they get injured... they die!
But that fellow who looked like a Western gentleman sent a chill down his spine.
He had hunted and killed several Demon Fiends, but this was the first time he had ever seen an "undying" "person"?!
People always fear things that transcend their understanding... and Fu Juemin was no exception.
"It’s not that absolute!"
Xu Hengjiang shook his head. "I don’t know the full details of these contraptions from the Western World’s industries.
But one thing is certain: they aren’t easy to create.
They’re abominations refined using living people as raw material, then turned around to slaughter our own countrymen. These Westerners... every last one of them deserves to die!"
Xu Hengjiang gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with undisguised hatred and fury.
Fu Juemin was silent for a moment before turning his gaze to the opposite riverbank. He waved over two men from the Qinglian Gang and ordered them to cross the river and search the area where the man from Toad Palace and the white-suited gentleman had fought, to see if they could find any useful clues.
After giving the order, his gaze returned to the river before him.
"Those two... they seemed to be after that Fish Demon from just now."
"Probably for the gold."
Big Cat, who was standing nearby, chimed in.
Fu Juemin turned his head at the sound of his voice, slightly surprised. "You know something about this?"
Big Cat said, "A while ago, a rumor spread that the gold from the White Dragon was hidden in a ’fish’s belly’.
The police in all the major Concessions scoured every fish stall and person with the surname Yu in all of Shenghai. Thinking about it now, that ’fish’s belly’ probably wasn’t an ordinary one, but the ’belly of a Fish Demon’.
Given the size of the Demon we just saw, it’s certainly possible it could have swallowed half a ship’s worth of gold.
It hides underwater, moving between the Huangling River and the Su River, making it difficult to track... Whoever came up with this plan is truly brilliant."
After hearing Big Cat’s explanation, Fu Juemin finally understood.
However, he had little interest in the gold. He was far more curious about the "Yang Xiao" Xu Hengjiang had mentioned than the Fish Demon with a belly full of gold.
After waiting by the riverbank for a while, the two Qinglian Gang men he had sent out returned, and they had actually brought something back for Fu Juemin.
It was a piece of a metal tag, about half a thumb long.
One end had been cleanly severed by a sharp blade.
The face of the tag was engraved with a Western letter "H," followed by a blurry, partial serial number.
Fu Juemin gently rubbed the cool surface of the metal tag with his fingertip, feeling an extremely faint aura of a Demon Fiend.
He recalled what Gu Shouyu had mentioned before—that the Westerners also seemed to be conducting research related to Demon Fiends. His eyes darkened as a vague theory began to form in his mind.
The biting river wind blew away the last trace of restlessness in his heart.
Fu Juemin put away the metal tag and, without lingering, gave the order for the group to ride back.
.....
After parting ways with the remnants of the Ghost Camp, Fu Juemin returned to Ink Garden without stopping.
As soon as he got back, Big Cat went to find Madam Ding, presumably eager to report what he had witnessed at the riverbank that day.
Fu Juemin dismissed his attendants and hid himself away in the training room. The first thing he did was prepare to test the new Talent he had just acquired.
’[Copper Hide]...
’Judging by the name, it seems to be related to Defense.’
Fu Juemin took off his shirt and stood on the solid wood floor of the training room. He took a deep breath and slowly activated the Talent Ability, which originated from the Iron-Maned Demon Boar.
Activating the Talent for the first time followed a familiar process. A vast collection of fragmented memories belonging to the Iron-Maned Demon Boar flashed through his mind.
Fu Juemin endured it out of habit. Once the slight discomfort faded, he looked down at himself and discovered that large patches of "dark red" had appeared all over his chest, shoulders, and arms.
The surface of his originally smooth, fair skin looked as if it were covered in a thick crust of rust.
Amidst the mottled dark red, faint, bright-orange patterns flowed and flickered, exuding a strange, primeval, and demonic aura.
"So this is [Copper Hide]?"
A flash of novelty appeared in Fu Juemin’s eyes as he carefully examined the changes in his body.
His skin’s hardness had clearly increased a great deal, but the areas covered by [Copper Hide] also felt noticeably sluggish and heavy, as if he were wearing a suit of invisible, heavy metal armor.
’I should test its Defense. If it’s not even better than the snakeskin vest Second Uncle gave me... then I might as well just let [Soft Bone] devour this Talent.’
With this in mind, Fu Juemin took out the revolver his second uncle, Fu Guoping, had given him.
Ever since his power had increased, he rarely had a use for the gun.
The revolver’s power was too low; most of the time, it was less effective than just using his bare hands.
With a flicker of his will, the "Copper Hide" that had originally covered only his chest and back began to "spread and grow" down his arm like a living thing, completely enveloping his entire left hand in an instant.
Fu Juemin’s entire left arm swelled by a size, the contours of his muscles bulging faintly beneath the Copper Hide.
He then picked up the loaded revolver, aimed the barrel at the palm of his left hand, and pulled the trigger—
BANG!
With a sharp crack, the bullet shot out of the revolver’s barrel. The moment it struck his palm, it was directly deflected, grazing past his side and ricocheting into the nearby wall.
"Impressive."
Fu Juemin’s eyes lit up as he looked at his slightly smoking palm.
His palm was completely unscathed. Despite being shot with a handgun at such close range, it had only left a small, dark scorch mark. When the bullet hit, he had only felt a slight numbness and a stinging vibration.
A Defense of this level was very useful indeed.
[Copper Hide] could, at most, cover his entire body. By sacrificing some speed and agility, he could gain a "bulletproof vest" that was truly Immune to Blades and Guns. At a critical moment, it would be enough to save his life.
’With this Defense, why would I even bother slogging through Iron Body Martial Arts training? Isn’t this far stronger than the vast majority of Iron Body Martial Arts?’
Fu Juemin clicked his tongue in admiration.
But he was just saying that.
[Copper Hide] was strong, but its consumption was also high. Partial coverage was manageable, but he wouldn’t be able to maintain full-body [Copper Hide] for long with his current Qi Blood intensity.
Besides, it sacrificed too much agility. It was fine for blocking bullets from firearms, but in a fight against a person, he would just become a "punching bag" unless he could find a way to kill his opponent with "reflected damage."
Regardless, it was still an extremely useful Talent Ability.
Deactivating [Copper Hide], Fu Juemin checked his character panel. The Iron-Maned Demon Boar had given him over 1 Skill Point, and he planned to save them.
Later, he could just find a couple of ghosts to kill, and once he had two points, he might be able to add them directly to his Pharmacist Skill.
Just as he was thinking this, a servant from Ink Garden suddenly rushed in to report.
"Young Master, a gentleman with the surname Gu is here to see you."
Gu Shouyu?!
Fu Juemin’s eyes lit up. "Let him in, quickly," he said hurriedly.
Before long, Gu Shouyu’s figure appeared at the door.
The moment they saw each other, Fu Juemin couldn’t help but ask, "Is there news about the Tai Sui?"
...
Another Chapter will be added later.
