Chapter 99: This Scholar, How Ruthless!

The night was deep and quiet.

Outside, the wind whistled, causing the wooden door to creak.

After the Young Maid fell asleep.

Luo Zijun took out that Copper Mirror again, studying it carefully.

After calling out "Fairy" once, the Fairy still did not reply.

"Yaochi Fairy?"

Thinking of the name on the other side, he felt that the person was very likely also a middle-school-syndrome teenager.

No, it should be a middle-school-syndrome teenage girl.

Also not quite right; it was more likely a middle-school-syndrome woman, or an old granny.

Of course, it could also be a super perverted Han who picks his feet.

However, this thing was truly strange.

While stroking and studying the Copper Mirror in his hand, he secretly marveled at it.

He had not expected that in this world, there would actually be such a thing.

After looking at it for a long time, unable to put it down, he finally put it back into his Storage Bag and began to focus on cultivation.

Although he had already made a breakthrough, he must absolutely not slack off.

In his Dantian Sea, that Inner Strength Seed had already grown to the size of a broad bean.

The Internal Energy contained within it was almost double what it had been before.

Whether it was explosive power or endurance, he should now be much stronger than before.

"Hoo..."

He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

He closed his eyes, calming his mind and focusing his spirit.

Soon, he entered a state of cultivation.

A stream of energy, difficult to see with the naked eye, followed his breathing into his body and began to flow slowly through his meridians.

In the Dantian Sea, the Inner Strength Seed lit up with a glow.

Like a beating heart, it flickered rhythmically and incessantly.

Outside the window, all was silent.

It was not until the fourth watch that he finished his practice, savored the strange sensation in his body for a while, and then prepared to sleep.

But at this moment, he suddenly thought of another technique, the Liehuo Finger.

That day, his Internal Energy was insufficient; the air current rose from the Dantian Sea, wound its way up through the Zhongfu point, and after reaching the Chize point, it lacked the strength to continue and retreated.

Now, his Internal Energy had doubled, and he wondered how far it would go.

Thinking of this, his heart itched, and he decided to try it again.

Eyes closed, spirit focused.

In the Dantian Sea, the Internal Energy began to surge slowly, entering the Zhongfu point.

Then, it began to wind its way upward.

Zhongfu... Yunmen... Tianfu... Xiabai... Chize...

Upon reaching Chize, he felt a moment of tension.

But unexpectedly, the Internal Energy did not pause at all and continued to crawl slowly upward.

Kongzui... Lieque... Jingqu... Taiyuan...

When the Internal Energy reached the acupoint above Taiyuan, it suddenly paused, seemingly lacking the strength to continue.

At this time, in the Dantian Sea, that Inner Strength Seed was also flickering rapidly.

Luo Zijun knew that some techniques required one continuous effort to break through.

At this moment, that stream of Internal Energy had already reached the base of his thumb, and it was only two steps away from reaching the final acupoint.

He certainly did not want to give up.

He immediately took a deep breath, concentrated his energy once more, and desperately urged the Internal Energy in his Dantian Sea to continue moving forward.

That stream of air, which had been about to fade, suddenly regrouped and continued forward.

Yuji... Shaoshang...

Only one last step left!

At this moment, his right thumb began to tremble and heat up.

At the same time, that Internal Energy also began to hesitate at the final acupoint, moving forward for a moment, then retreating, then moving forward again...

Back and forth, as if timid and afraid to take the final step.

Luo Zijun immediately held his breath, clenched his teeth, and urged the last bit of Internal Energy remaining in his Dantian Sea, sending it along the meridians and acupoints he had just traversed, rushing toward his thumb.

"Break!"

When that scorching heat gathered in his thumb and trembled incessantly, he could not help but roar internally, and his thumb thrust outward violently.

"Chi—"

A soft sound.

It was as if a passage that had been blocked for a long time had suddenly become unobstructed.

A stream of air rushed out from his thumb.

But it seemed to only rush out an inch before it died down.

The tip of his thumb was bright red, as if scorched by fire.

He touched it lightly with another finger and immediately felt a wave of intense heat, as if it were a red-hot branding iron.

Yet the burning thumb felt only a trace of heat.

Clearly, he had succeeded!

Internal Energy flowed smoothly from the Dantian Sea all the way to the Shaoshang point, and successfully surged out from the thumb.

He could absolutely cultivate this technique!

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and let the Internal Energy in his body slowly recover.

After the time it takes for one incense stick to burn.

He once again channeled the Internal Energy in his Dantian Sea, starting toward his thumb.

This time, the Internal Energy was even smoother.

It wound its way upward, quickly reaching the arm, and then quickly reaching the palm.

Next, it arrived at the tip of the thumb.

The thumb began to heat up, began to turn red, and began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Hiss—"

A stream of air surged out from the fingertip once again.

This time, Luo Zijun suddenly saw a few tiny sparks appear!

"It really is a good technique!"

Luo Zijun was excited and couldn't help but want to try again, but he discovered that the Internal Energy in his body was insufficient, and it was almost dawn outside.

He had to hurry and sleep for a while.

Since he had succeeded tonight, it would be much easier when he cultivated next time.

That meridian would be unobstructed.

The Internal Energy consumed would also gradually decrease, and the air stream surging from the thumb would also gradually grow stronger.

Liehuo Finger Beginner Level: The air stream is like a blade, capable of cutting raw wood; though only one inch, it can be fatal.

He was very much looking forward to the moment he could cut wood with his finger!

He closed his eyes.

Calming his heart and gathering his spirit, he soon fell asleep.

The next day.

After finishing breakfast, he went out.

He had intended to go straight to the Academy, but after thinking about it, since it was still early, he would go to Tianxian Pavilion first.

It had been some days since he last went to Tianxian Pavilion.

Since he knew the truth and was no longer leaving, he would certainly have to continue selling books to earn money in the future.

However, he did not know if that Liu Mama had fulfilled her promise and let that Liu go.

If the other party had already left, then the matter of publishing books would likely be troublesome.

It was currently morning.

In other places, this was the busiest time, while the Brothel was at its quietest.

Therefore, it was most appropriate to go at this time.

He soon arrived at Tianxiang Pavilion.

Just as he was preparing to turn into the side alley, Liu Mama's voice suddenly came from the main entrance: "Young Master Luo!"

It turned out Liu Mama was seeing off a guest and happened to see him.

Seeing this, Luo Zijun had no choice but to go over.

Seeing him, Liu Mama's face was full of smiles; she hurriedly and affectionately took his arm and pulled him inside, saying with a smile: "Young Master Luo hasn't been here for many days, why have you come so early today? Are you looking for Shui Shui, or for Ziwei? I will go have someone notify them."

Luo Zijun said: "I am looking for Liu."

"Looking for Liu?"

Hearing this, Liu Mama was stunned; she immediately stopped in her tracks and looked at him with a face full of surprise: "Young Master Luo, are you here to look for Liu today?"

Luo Zijun nodded, watching her expression as he asked: "Has Liu already left?"

Liu Mama immediately gave a bitter laugh and said: "Naturally she has left; how would I dare to delay her. With the amnesty the day before yesterday, her parents were both fine, so she was in a hurry to leave. I also promised you, Young Master, that I would let her go, so naturally I dared not stop her. Rest assured, Young Master, I did not ask that girl for a single penny."

Although Luo Zijun felt a bit disappointed in his heart, he was still happy for that girl.

Forget it, he would think of other ways for the book publishing matter.

"Many thanks, Liu Mama, since that is the case..."

He cupped his hands in thanks, preparing to take his leave.

Liu Mama asked with some confusion: "Did Liu not go to find you, Young Master? Strange, the day she left, she originally intended to leave a bag of silver with me, saying that when Young Master Luo came, I should give it to you. But in the end, she said again that she intended to go find you, Young Master, in person... Could it be that the girl didn't find out where you live?"

At this moment, Shui Shui suddenly walked over and said: "Young Master Luo, you finally came! Liu asked me to bring you a message: if you, Young Master, want to find her, go to Inner City South Street Eighteenth Alley; there is a Liu Mansion there, and Liu lives there."

Upon hearing this, Liu Mama laughed: "So Liu wanted Young Master Luo to go find her in person, and even to go to her home to find her."

"Inner City South Street Eighteenth Alley."

Luo Zijun noted down this address and cupped his hands: "Then I shall not disturb you further."

Shui Shui immediately looked at him with watery eyes and said with a resentful expression: "Young Master, now that Liu is gone, will you not come to Tianxian Pavilion anymore? Although Liu has left, there is still Shui Shui here; Shui Shui misses you so much every night that I cannot sleep."

Luo Zijun said: "I have been a bit busy lately. How about this, in a few days, I will come to find you, Shui Shui."

"Really?"

"A gentleman's word is as good as a team of four horses."

"Hmph! You're lying again!"

"This time it is true!"

After Luo Zijun finished speaking, he immediately took his leave; when he reached the door, he turned his head and said: "We scholars never lie; Shui Shui, remember to make it free for me when the time comes."

Shui Shui pouted her little lips and said, "If Young Master really comes then, not only will I not charge you, but I will also give you a big red envelope! And I will bring Sister Mei'er and Sister Rong'er along to serve Young Master together."

Luo Zijun pretended not to hear and walked away quickly.

The sky was thick with dark clouds.

The wind whistled, causing the lanterns under the eaves by the roadside to sway back and forth.

Many vendors were busy packing up their stalls. Luo Zijun looked up at the gloomy sky.

It looked like it was going to rain again.

He quickened his pace.

When passing Bao'an Hall, he couldn't help but take another look.

The shop door was still locked.

He wondered where his master and senior sister were at this time, and whether they would get caught in the rain.

He sighed inwardly.

When passing West Lake, he couldn't help but look at the lake surface and the Broken Bridge again.

He didn't know where those two snake demons had gone either.

"Patter..."

At this moment, raindrops had already begun to fall from the gloomy sky.

!

Luo Zijun immediately quickened his pace.

By the time he reached the foot of the mountain, a light rain had already begun to fall.

He immediately climbed the stone steps.

Just as he was getting rained on, climbing the stone steps, and thinking about things, a man's voice suddenly came from above: "Brother, are you still going to the Academy in this rain?"

Luo Zijun looked up.

A young man wearing the Academy's Confucian robe was holding an oil-paper umbrella, standing on the steps above, looking at him with a smile. Seeing his gaze, the man laughed and said, "If it's raining, you don't have to go; studying at home is the same. By the way, which classroom are you from, brother? Why do you look a bit familiar?"

Luo Zijun looked at him for a few moments, did not reply, and walked up.

When he reached close by, he looked at him and said, "Was it you speaking just now? The wind is strong, I didn't hear clearly, say it again."

As he spoke, he leaned his ear over.

The young man smiled and said, "I was just asking..."

"Pfft!"

Before he could finish, a cold glint flashed in Luo Zijun's hand, and he stabbed him right in the heart with a Dagger.

After stabbing him, he turned and ran down the steps.

The entire process was as fast as lightning!

"..."

The young man froze in place, seemingly unable to react for a moment.

He stood dazed for a few seconds before lowering his head to look at his own heart.

It was ice cold there.

A stream of bright red, hot blood gushed out.

"Ah..."

He finally reacted, hurriedly covering his wound, and roared in shock and anger toward the bottom: "Quick! Kill this little bastard!"

Luo Zijun had only run a short distance when he suddenly stopped.

On the steps below, two men were approaching quickly, holding sharp blades.

It was raining now, and there were no other students on the road.

Luo Zijun did not hesitate at all, turned around, and ran into the woods on the left.

Those two men also immediately left the steps and followed him into the woods.

Luo Zijun ran a few steps and suddenly stopped.

The woods ahead were deep, and the surrounding bushes were lush, making it impossible to see the direction clearly.

What if there were people lying in ambush in the woods?

Or if there were other traps hidden...

He paused, looked left and right, and suddenly "whooshed" as he climbed up a large tree nearby.

The two men chasing behind saw this scene, were stunned for a moment, and immediately gave chase quickly.

When they reached the tree, Luo Zijun had already climbed onto the branches above, sat down, and then looked down at them from a high vantage point.

At the same time.

The man who had been stabbed in the heart by his Dagger also came running over, staggering while clutching his wound.

Blood gushed out rapidly along his hand, staining his Confucian robe red.

Then, it flowed all over the ground.

With a pale and ferocious expression, he raised his head and looked at the youth sitting on the tree branch, shouting in shock and anger: "Little bastard, why... why did you stab me?"

He had just stood there and said two sentences, and he was full of smiles and polite; most importantly, he was wearing the same West Lake Academy Confucian robe as the other party!

He really couldn't understand why this seemingly gentle little bastard would suddenly take out a Dagger and stab him?

He ran away immediately after stabbing, without saying a word.

Could he at least give a reason?

Luo Zijun sat on the tree and did not answer his question.

The man's eyes widened in anger, and just as he was about to curse again, he suddenly trembled all over, feeling dizzy and his legs going weak.

Fear suddenly struck.

"Quick, quick, help me stop the bleeding."

He clutched his chest, from which blood was gushing, with both hands, trembling as he spoke in a panic to his two companions, his face deathly pale, on the verge of tears.

However, no sooner had he finished speaking than he suddenly felt the world go black, his body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground, eyes wide, twitching a few times before falling completely still.

To have lasted this long after being stabbed in the heart was truly remarkable.

At this moment, even a god could not save him.

He lay on the ground, his chest still rapidly gushing bright red blood, his eyes wide open, looking as if he could not die in peace.

The other two men were terrified by this scene.

They had only heard their companion shouting earlier and did not know he had been stabbed; now, seeing someone who was alive a moment ago suddenly collapse and die, with blood flowing all over the ground, their legs went weak with fear.

"You little bastard, you... you are so ruthless!"

"You are a scholar, how can you be so vicious?"

The two looked up at the youth perched in the tree, feeling a chill in their hearts, and the sharp knives in their hands began to tremble.

"You little bastard, if you have the guts, come down!"

"Come down!"

One of the men, who had a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks, raised the sharp knife in his hand and roared in a shrill voice.

His voice was sharp and loud, seemingly to bolster his own courage.

The other tall, thin man hurriedly said, "Keep it down, don't let people outside hear! Let's climb up together and kill him! He's just a weak scholar, what is there to fear?"

As he spoke, his voice trembled, and his gaze involuntarily flickered toward the corpse of their companion on the ground.

The gurgling blood had already stained the grass, turning it into a pool of bright red.

It was a shocking sight.

The rain fell harder and harder, drizzling down, drumming against the surrounding flowers, plants, and trees.

The two men shivered, whether from fear or the cold.

"Forget it, let's go, we'll report to the authorities and say this brat is killing people at the Academy."

The tall, thin man's eyes darted, and he suddenly gave a wink to the man with the sharp mouth and monkey cheeks beside him.

The man with the sharp mouth and monkey cheeks understood immediately and said, "Right, let's go report it!"

The two looked at each other and turned to leave.

After walking a distance, the two could not help but look back and, seeing that the youth was still perched in the tree and had not come down, they had no choice but to stop in their tracks together.

"You little bastard, are you a monkey? Why do you keep sitting in the tree? Where is the refinement of you scholars? You are a disgrace to scholars! Are you a mute? Why don't you say a word?"

The man with the sharp mouth and monkey cheeks could not help but burst into a torrent of abuse.

Luo Zijun still ignored him and even reached out to pull the dense branches and leaves overhead to block the top of his head, using them as an umbrella.

The two were both anxious and angry.

"Let's go! We'll climb up together, hold our sharp knives upright, and stab his feet!"

The two discussed it in low voices and immediately turned back.

Then, holding their sharp knives in their mouths, they began to climb the tree from left and right, their eyes full of hatred.

As they climbed closer and closer, joy and ruthlessness appeared in their eyes, preparing to stab this little bastard into a cripple in a moment and then torture him properly.

"Pfft—"

Who would have thought that at this very moment, clouds of Lime Powder would suddenly descend from the sky.

Because both were climbing the tree with their faces tilted upward, they could not dodge in time and were instantly covered in it, in their faces and mouths.

"Pfft, cough cough cough cough..."

The two hurriedly stopped, took the Dagger from their hands, and while shaking their heads rapidly, spat out the Lime Powder in their mouths.

But no matter how they shook their heads, the Lime Powder on their faces and in their eyes would not fall off for a while.

And it just happened to be raining.

The dampened Lime Powder stuck tightly to their faces, in their noses, eyes, hair, and ears.

At the same time, it continued to be sprinkled from above as if it cost nothing.

Unable to bear the pain in their eyes and the fear any longer, the two screamed and jumped down from the tree.

As soon as they landed, they fell and sat on the ground on their backsides.

Then, while coughing, they desperately used their hands to wipe the Lime Powder from their eyes.

"Whoosh!"

At this moment, Luo Zijun also climbed down.

As soon as he landed, he closed in on the two, a cold glint flashed in his hand, and with two "pfft" sounds, he stabbed each of them in the neck with one strike.

He retreated immediately after stabbing.

"Ah—"

The two screamed in terror, scrambling to get up from the ground to run.

But after running only a few steps, they both clutched their necks, one after the other, and collapsed to the ground, rolling in pain and despair.

Blood gushed from their wounds.

The fear of death drove them to the depths of despair.

"You little bastard, you... you are so ruthless..."

The two struggled on the ground for a while before falling completely still.

Luo Zijun waited for another moment, then cautiously walked over and stabbed each of them in the heart once more, then wiped his Dagger with their clothes and prepared to leave.

At this very moment, his body suddenly stiffened and he froze in place.

A fine, hazy rain fell.

A tall, thin young man wearing a long gown slowly walked out from the woods nearby.

"Brilliant, truly brilliant."

"I truly never expected that a weak scholar could so easily kill three street thugs who spend their days loafing about."

"It seems we misjudged you."

The tall, thin young man walked through the fine rain toward him as if he were strolling through a courtyard.

Luo Zijun paused for a moment, then suddenly pointed behind the man and said, "Look, a beautiful woman!"

A trace of mockery appeared on the young man's face, but his gaze remained fixed tightly on him.

(End of chapter)