Chapter 59: Cannot Block It!

"I just heard you all say that Qingyike has struck again?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Yuan grew suspicious and immediately walked forward to question the two Wrestlers.

These two Wrestlers were disaster victims who had entered the park with Lu Yuan previously; now, they had both become sturdy, powerful men, and they immediately replied respectfully:

"Yes, Brother Yuan, we also just heard it from the brothers who do odd jobs at the arena."

"It is said that last night, Qingyike sought out the home of Song Yunhua, the administrator of the East City Yamen, and slaughtered almost his entire family. The large amount of wealth that Song Yunhua had extorted was also plundered entirely by Qingyike."

"Alright, I understand."

Lu Yuan's expression sank. He immediately walked out of Boxiyuan and went onto the street to inquire further.

The result was indeed as the two Wrestlers had said: Song Yunhua, the administrator of the East City Yamen, along with his legal wife and eldest son, had been found with their throats slit at home last night, and the signature blood-written characters were left at the scene.

Nowadays, there were hardly any clean officials among the Jin Dynasty's ranks. Although Song Yunhua was only a minor seventh-rank official, he was a well-known corrupt official, and the Silver Yuan he had accumulated through corruption over these years was likely not a small amount.

Many people in the teahouse were talking about this matter, but their expressions and the intensity of their tone were not as fervent as before, as if they had become completely accustomed to it.

"Preposterous."

After a good while, Lu Yuan, who had walked out of the teahouse, had a strange expression; he was somewhat annoyed and somewhat amused:

"Have I become a substitute?"

Without a doubt, the death of Song Yunhua was the work of someone impersonating Qingyike.

And what was very interesting was that even though he did not do this, as the news spread, scattered amounts of Qi Luck had already begun to gather.

Clearly, even if an impostor took action, the Qi Luck brought by the people's expectations still fell upon his head, though the quantity was far lower than before.

"Interesting. Who could it be?"

Lu Yuan felt a faint suspicion in his heart and immediately returned to Boxiyuan.

As soon as he returned, he happened to see Xu Dahu and Xu Erhu, one carrying a jar of wine in his hand and the other draping an outer garment over Li Junxian, in a posture ready to go out.

Seeing Lu Yuan return, Xu Dahu urged:

"Junior Brother, you've returned just in time. We were just about to call someone to go out and find you. Hurry up and tidy up; we are leaving together."

Lu Yuan asked curiously: "Master, where are we going?"

Li Junxian smiled: "Your Junior Uncle Lin is hosting us at his residence. Do you need to tidy up?"

Such a coincidence?

Lu Yuan's heart stirred: "This disciple has nothing to tidy up; we can leave at any time."

Thus, without further ado, the four of them immediately left Boxiyuan and headed toward Lin Xingchao's residence.

Lin Xingchao rented a house in the East City, not far from Boxiyuan, and soon they arrived at a residential block.

They saw that this area was composed of small courtyards with white walls and grey tiles; it was neither dilapidated nor prominent, belonging to a place where well-off families lived, though the alleys were crisscrossed and appeared quite complex.

Upon arriving in this area, Li Junxian merely inspected it briefly and said: "Not bad, still quite cautious. With this terrain, even if surrounded by hundreds of Firearm soldiers, the probability of escaping with one's life is greatly increased."

Lu Yuan and the others immediately looked at each other in dismay.

Soon, they arrived in front of a residence with a gate, and Xu Dahu stepped forward and knocked on the door five times in succession.

Afterward, the gate opened, and they saw Lin Xingchao personally welcoming them with two disciples: "Senior Brother, please come in, please come in."

It was already early winter, and although it hadn't snowed, the weather was cold. Li Junxian walked through the door and smiled helplessly:

"If one offers courtesies without a reason, they are either a traitor or a thief. You, fellow, called me here for no reason—is there something up?"

"Senior Brother, oh Senior Brother, you are wronging me now."

Lin Xingchao laughed aloud:

"Your Boxiyuan has too many eyes and ears. If I go there too often, I might bring you trouble in the future, so naturally, I could only invite you here."

Although this house only had two courtyards, it was quite spacious. He led everyone into the room, where a round table had already been set up. On the round table were two copper pots, bubbling as they cooked meat, and the table was filled with large platters of sliced meat and vegetables.

Hot pot was not commonly seen in Fengyang Prefecture, and the aroma wafted toward them. Li Junxian's expression changed slightly, and Lin Xingchao said:

"I know that in the past, Senior Brother liked dog meat hot pot the most, so I specially prepared it. I wonder if it suits your taste."

"Junior Brother is very thoughtful."

Li Junxian sat down with Lu Yuan and the others, then picked up his chopsticks, plucked a piece from the copper pot in front of him, and put it into his mouth.

After chewing slightly, he nodded and said with a touch of emotion:

"Not bad, very fragrant. This taste reminds me of when you and I, brothers, had just left the mountain and were penniless, only to encounter a few petty thieves on the road. After we dealt with them and obtained quite a bit of Silver Yuan, we ate that meal of dog meat hot pot at a street stall."

Lin Xingchao also had a nostalgic look in his eyes and laughed aloud:

"It's rare that Senior Brother still remembers. I remember that time we ate a full fifty catties of dog meat, eating all the dog meat the boss had prepared to sell for the night clean. I still think of that taste often even now."

"Indeed..."

Li Junxian, lost in sentiment, looked at Lu Yuan and Xi Beichen, who were sitting properly, and smiled:

"Don't just listen to us two old fellows talking; you all should hurry up and use your chopsticks too. We aren't outsiders."

Lu Yuan and the other juniors did not hesitate, picked up their chopsticks, and began to feast on the meat in the other copper pot.

"When the dog meat rolls, even the immortals can't sit still." It had to be said that the dog meat hot pot Lin Xingchao prepared tasted excellent, and everyone was full of praise.

During this time, Lu Yuan stood up to open the wine they had brought, poured it for the elders on both sides, and took the opportunity to ask:

"Master, Qingyike appeared again last night. Does Junior Uncle Lin know?"

Li Junxian gave a faint smile:

"If I am not mistaken, that Qingyike is disguised by your Junior Uncle Lin. How could he not know?"

As expected!

Lu Yuan appeared surprised on the surface, but in his heart, he said, "As expected."

And besides him, Xu Dahu and Xu Erhu were also shocked:

"The Qingyike who appeared last night was disguised by Junior Uncle Lin?"

"Why is that?"

Lin Xingchao smiled without speaking, and his eldest disciple, Xi Beichen, explained on his behalf:

"This is naturally because Qingyike is far too mysterious. We have no information on him at all, and if we want to invite him to meet, we can only let him take the initiative to come to us; that is why we resorted to this poor strategy."

Xu Erhu asked hesitantly:

"Will that be dangerous?"

"It shouldn't be."

Lin Xingchao said slowly:

"According to past deeds, Qingyike has never attacked innocent people. Although I have impersonated him, I consider myself to be upright and honest, and the people I have killed were also corrupt and lawless villains. It does not count as killing the innocent indiscriminately, so even if he comes looking for me, he will not immediately resort to shouting and killing."

However, Li Junxian frowned and advised:

"Junior Brother, doing this still carries some risks. The Martial Suppression Bureau has been driven nearly mad by Qingyike over these past two months and is trying every possible way to catch him. If you make a move at this time, it is very likely that you will be targeted by them instead."

"Senior Brother, rest assured, I am aware of the implications here."

Lin Xingchao did not take it to heart:

"I will be extra careful, and in this Fengyang Prefecture, there is almost no one who can threaten me."

Lin Xingchao's words were plain and calm, yet they faintly revealed confidence and dominance; Li Junxian immediately said no more.

Unlike him, who had fallen ill and whose Martial Arts had declined, Lin Xingchao had always been advancing courageously on the path of Martial Arts, having already stepped into the Fifth Realm of Martial Arts, the Refining Blood Realm, ten years ago.

A Refining Blood Martial Artist has internal organs as tough as iron, and their strength penetrates to the bone marrow; combined with secret medicines to regenerate blood, it makes the martial artist's blood like mercury, as if they have been reborn. The strength of one person can allow them to fight and kill hundreds of elite armored soldiers with bare hands, and they even possess the qualifications to start a sect.

Although Fengyang Prefecture is the capital city of a province, there are not many top-tier experts of this level to be found, so as long as he is cautious, there is indeed no one who can do anything to Lin Xingchao.

Yet he could never have imagined that the true culprit was right in front of him.

Lu Yuan shook his head inwardly:

"The method this Martial Uncle thought of is quite creative, but unfortunately..."

Since he had made up his mind not to participate in the assassination, he naturally could not reveal himself to meet with Lin Xingchao.

This also destined that no matter how the other party intended to attract Qingyike's attention later, it would all be in vain.

Next.

They no longer discussed this topic.

After exchanging toasts and eating their fill, the conversation turned to their respective juniors.

Lin Xingchao had two daughters, but they were currently in Jinjin and had not come here.

Originally, he had planned to adopt one out to Li Junxian once he had a son, but he had never been able to fulfill that wish.

As for his two disciples, Xi Beichen and Gu Yourong, one was brought back and raised by him personally from an orphanage in Jinjin where he specifically adopted abandoned infants, and the other was the daughter of a fallen comrade-in-arms.

Both of them had excellent talent and bone structure for Martial Arts, and both had stepped into the Bone Forging realm. In particular, the eldest disciple, Xi Beichen, could be called exceptionally gifted; at only twenty-seven years old, he had already reached the perfection of Bone Forging and was about to charge toward the Fourth Thunder Sound Realm.

By comparison, Xu Dahu and Xu Erhu, who were of similar age, were undoubtedly a notch inferior.

However.

Upon learning that Lu Yuan was a disciple Li Junxian had only taken in this year, Lin Xingchao was greatly astonished:

"What, Lu Yuan has been studying Martial Arts under Senior Brother for less than a year!?"

Receiving an affirmative answer, he examined Lu Yuan repeatedly, even standing up to touch and measure his tendons and bones, his gaze filled with disbelief:

"Dragon Tendons and Tiger Bones, an extraordinary physique, vigorous Qi and blood, and spirit naturally contained within—this kind of bone structure and constitution is simply rare in ancient times..."

"For Senior Brother to be able to take in such a world-class talent, this is truly..."

Li Junxian smiled without speaking, while Xi Beichen and Gu Yourong had strange expressions upon hearing these evaluations; the former could not help but ask:

"Junior Brother Lu, what realm has your Martial Arts reached now?"

Lu Yuan thought for a moment and spoke the truth: "It should count as the Bone Forging level."

"Bone Forging in one year?"

Xi Beichen's gaze sharpened, and he pressed:

"Or is it that Junior Brother was already trained before becoming a disciple?"

Lu Yuan said: "Before being taken in by Master, I studied at a martial arts hall in the county for a year or so; I don't know if that counts as being trained before becoming a disciple."

"Even if it does, going from zero to the Third Realm Bone Forging in two years is simply too..."

Perhaps stimulated by a bit of alcohol, Xi Beichen clearly did not quite believe it and could not help but say:

"Junior Brother, would you be willing to spar with me?"

Lin Xingchao immediately scolded: "Beichen, your Junior Brother is a guest visiting; who taught you to treat a guest like this?"

"It is fine."

Li Junxian laughed instead:

"A Yuan, go and spar with your Senior Brother Xi. A person who practices Martial Arts should not shut themselves away to build a cart; as fellow disciples of the Shenquan Sect, you should communicate more with your peers."

Seeing Li Junxian say this, Lu Yuan naturally had no objections and immediately stood up, cupping his hands: "Very well, Senior Brother, let's go outside."

They arrived outside the house.

The cold wind blew sharply, but although Lu Yuan was wearing only a single layer of clothing, he felt nothing; he arrived in the courtyard and stood still, saying:

"Senior Brother, how shall we spar?"

Although Xi Beichen saw that Lu Yuan was somewhat extraordinary, he did not attach much importance to it due to his own confidence, merely smiling:

"Junior Brother, just attack with all your might; I guarantee I won't hurt you."

"Very well."

Lu Yuan said nothing more, simply setting his stance, and then took a step forward while exhaling and shouting.

At this moment, he instantly transitioned from extreme stillness to an earth-shattering eruption, like a long-accumulated mountain flood breaking through a levee, with overwhelming power surging out violently.

In less than the blink of an eye, his figure crossed a distance of nearly a zhang as if teleporting, throwing a punch toward Xi Beichen, the wind of the punch exploding with a roar like a thunderclap!

!?

A ferocious gust of wind from a punch rushed toward his face; Xi Beichen, who had not cared much before, felt the hairs all over his body stand on end, and his expression changed.

Because this punch came far too quickly, the shadow of the fist magnified rapidly in his vision, and the whistling wind of the punch had already squeezed and drained away all the air, leaving him with nothing but a terrifying sensation of impending suffocation.

Paralyzed by the effects of alcohol, for a split second, there was only one slightly sluggish thought in his mind:

That is, he could not block it!

(End of this chapter)