Chapter 153: The Secret Manual of True Qi

"Little brother, don't be in such a hurry to refuse." The old man revealed a rare look of embarrassment and said, "Actually, I have a small matter and would like to ask that In-Jin senior of yours for a favor."

Lu Yu narrowed his eyes slightly, a hint of scrutiny in his gaze, and asked, "Are you sure it's just a small matter?"

"It really is just a small matter." The old man hurriedly explained, "I just want that senior of yours to make a trip to Yongan City and help me deliver an item."

"Deliver an item to Yongan City?" Lu Yu frowned. After thinking for a moment, he shook his head decisively and said, "Sorry, old man, that elder of mine is very busy on weekdays; I'm afraid he won't be able to spare the time to do this for you."

This old man had quite the nerve, thinking he could get an In-Jin Martial Artist to run an errand for him with a mere few dozen yuan.

Besides, who knew if this matter was truly as simple as he claimed? Perhaps there was some unspeakable secret hidden behind it.

"Little brother, I beg you, please do me this favor. It really isn't anything dangerous."

The old man looked helpless and continued to plead, "In a few days, it will be my granddaughter's twentieth birthday. I just want to send her a birthday gift; it really is that simple."

"Then why don't you go yourself?" Lu Yu pressed.

"This... from Zhou Family Fort to Yongan City, it's nearly a hundred miles. At my age, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to hold out halfway there."

The old man's eyes flickered as he looked elsewhere, seemingly trying to deliberately conceal something.

"Old man, I'm truly sorry, but we really are unable to help with this."

Lu Yu sighed softly, took two hundred-plus yuan out of his pocket, carefully counted it, picked out two hundred and forty yuan, and handed it to the old man.

The people around them saw this scene and all wore expressions of envy.

"Little brother, how about this." The old man still wouldn't give up and said, "As long as that senior of yours is willing to do me this favor, I am willing to give him a complete Secret Manual!"

"A complete Secret Manual?" Lu Yu's ears perked up. He was both surprised and curious, and hurriedly asked, "What kind of Secret Manual?"

"It is a Secret Manual for cultivating True Qi."

The old man cautiously looked around and lowered his voice, saying, "Isn't that senior of yours an In-Jin Martial Artist? After reaching the In-Jin stage, one must cultivate True Qi to advance further.

As long as he is willing to help, I, this old man, guarantee that I will present this True Qi cultivation Secret Manual with both hands. It is absolutely the real deal!"

"Are you sure?" Lu Yu felt tempted, but his years of experience kept him skeptical.

"If I'm lying to you, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death!" The old man swore a poisonous oath, his emotions appearing exceptionally agitated.

Lu Yu stared intently into the old man's eyes and confirmed once more, "Is it really just as simple as delivering a gift?"

"It is."

The old man sighed helplessly and said, "If that senior of yours is willing to help, I will give you the item and the address later.

After arriving in Yongan City, it would be best if they are willing to accept the gift; if they aren't, then so be it. You can just come back then, and I'll take the item back from you."

Lu Yu calculated in his mind. A complete Secret Manual for just such a favor—it seemed he wouldn't be losing out.

He seemed to understand a little why this old man was so cooperative today; it turned out he had been waiting for him to take the bait all along.

"Old man, if this matter is truly as simple as you say, it's not impossible to consider. However, if that senior of mine discovers something is wrong when the time comes, you'll have to pay more."

"No, no, that won't happen." The old man shook his head hurriedly. "It really is just delivering a gift, nothing else." As he spoke, he cautiously pulled a small box from his pocket.

Seeming to sense Lu Yu's concerns, the old man specifically opened the box to let Lu Yu take a look.

Inside the box was a grasshopper meticulously woven from straw rope, with a note placed beside it.

"Just delivering this?" Lu Yu couldn't help but blurt out.

"Just this." A smile appeared on the old man's face.

He closed the lid of the box again and instructed, "The address is on the note. Once that senior of yours arrives in Yongan City, he just needs to follow the address to find it; it's very easy to find."

"That's fine, but before that, you have to give me some compensation," Lu Yu said.

His intuition told him that this matter was likely not that simple and might hide some underlying story.

However, seeing that the item being sent was so ordinary, the possibility of encountering danger shouldn't be high.

Besides, it was rare to come across such an opportunity; it would be a real shame to miss it.

"Fine." The old man gritted his teeth and said, "When you come back next time, I'll give you another complete Martial Arts Manual. You should agree now, right?"

"Include the incomplete ones too."

"Fine!" The old man agreed helplessly. He really didn't have many complete Secret Manuals left, but he could still produce a few incomplete ones.

"Then, happy cooperation." Lu Yu smiled slightly at the old man.

This way, when he came back next time, he would be guaranteed to get two complete Secret Manuals, one of which was for cultivating True Qi.

Using the phrase "someone brings a pillow just when you're sleepy" couldn't be more appropriate.

"Little brother,"

The old man didn't rush to hand the item to Lu Yu, but instead said with a serious face, "When you come back next time, I'll have to ask you a few questions to confirm whether that senior of yours actually went to Yongan City. If he didn't go, I won't give you the Secret Manual."

"Don't worry, old man. That elder of mine always keeps his word. Since he has promised you, he will definitely do it," Lu Yu said.

The "elder" he spoke of was, naturally, himself.

After all, he was also an In-Jin Martial Artist.

Besides, he had originally intended to make a trip to Yongan City to purchase some weapons, Pills, and the like; doing this favor along the way could be considered a small effort.

"Good, little brother, with your word, I can rest easy." Only then did the old man feel reassured enough to hand the small box to Lu Yu.

Lu Yu's gaze fell back onto the dozen or so Secret Manuals on the street stall and asked, "Old man, I can take a look at these too, right?"

"Look, of course you can look." The old man answered hesitantly, clearly lacking confidence, his expression somewhat guilty.

Lu Yu understood what was going on instantly, but still holding onto a glimmer of hope, he examined them carefully.

Sure enough, these Secret Manuals were all fake.

"Old man, let's leave it at that." Lu Yu stood up, preparing to leave.

"Little brother, you must keep the item safe. It would be best if you could deliver it to my granddaughter's hands personally; if you really can't, that's fine too." The old man sighed, his face full of regret.

"Mm." Lu Yu nodded to show he understood, then turned and walked toward the exit.

Not until Lu Yu's back completely disappeared from sight did the old man reluctantly withdraw his gaze and let out a heavy sigh.

"That's great!" After hearing Lu Yu's account, Ji Bingyu said excitedly.

"Mm, that guy committed many evils and deserved to die. It's just that the force behind him isn't easy to deal with. If your Spirit has recovered enough, you can use your ability to help predict and see if anyone will come looking for trouble," Lu Yu said.

Ji Bingyu was now able to exert her special ability a little, which was indeed a significant help to Lu Yu.

In truth, he was not particularly worried that the other party would come directly to his door to deal with him; what he was truly worried about was them launching an attack on the Zhai while he was away. That would be a huge problem.

"Mm, I will," Ji Bingyu nodded heavily, then asked curiously, "Is the force behind him very powerful?"

"Mm, that person's older brother is an Awakened," Lu Yu paused and said slowly, "I heard he is even a C-Class Awakened, and his ability is Mental Control."

"A C-Class Awakened, Mental Control!" After hearing this, Ji Bingyu's reaction was exceptionally intense.

"What's wrong?" Lu Yu instantly realized something was amiss and asked hurriedly, "Do you know him?"

Ji Bingyu's eyes widened, and her eyes held both fear and, even more so, deep hatred.

"Wang Dewei, that person is one of the masterminds who held my sister under house arrest!" Ji Bingyu said through gritted teeth.

No wonder she had felt the name Wang Dezhi sounded familiar when she heard it earlier, but she hadn't thought much of it at the time.

She hadn't expected that these two were actually from the same family!

Lu Yu fell into silence for a moment. Although this was somewhat beyond his expectations, thinking about it carefully, it was within reason.

After all, the C-Class Awakened in Yongan City could be counted on one's fingers, and besides them, there was truly no one else who had the strength to control Ji Bingyu's sister.

He took a deep breath, looked steadily at the red-eyed Ji Bingyu before him, and asked, "You really want to save your sister, don't you?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Bingyu nodded silently, but immediately lowered her head again.

Because she knew in her heart that even her sister was no match for those people, let alone herself.

As for Lu Yu, although his strength was not bad, those people were equally strong and also held the advantage in numbers.

"I will help you," Lu Yu's voice was firm and powerful.

Ji Bingyu looked up abruptly, her eyes filled with an expression of disbelief.

Lu Yu smiled slightly and said, "I will definitely help you rescue your sister and let you sisters reunite. Believe me, that day will not be too far off."