Chapter 118 - 83: What Is This Monster?
’This world... just how many things are there that I don’t know about? How much more of this strange stuff is out there?’
’Oh well. No need to rush. I’ll take it one step at a time. One day, I’ll find out everything.’
’Besides, this guy seemed to be a member of the Yellow Heaven Corps.’
Lu Yun’s gaze fell on the tattered yellow cloth shirt on the ground, and he was reminded of the deranged man from earlier in the day.
’The Yellow Heaven Corps?’ He narrowed his eyes. ’Forget it. For now, I’ll go dig up what’s buried under that tree first.’
’Then I’ll pay a visit to this so-called Yellow Heaven Corps.’
’If there are more monsters like that there...’ A slight smirk played on Lu Yun’s lips.
’Then he would just have to settle down here in Nanling Province. And however many there were, that’s how many he’d kill.’
He couldn’t help it. Lu Yun was too desperate to advance. The Realm beyond a Grandmaster of Huajin was like a feather, constantly tickling his heart, driving him mad with an unbearable itch.
A moment later, Lu Yun pulled his thoughts back to the present. His gaze fell upon the seven strapping security guards before him.
’Perfect. A ready supply of beasts of burden. It would be a waste not to use them.’
Just as Brother Song and his men straightened up, they were met with Lu Yun’s ambiguous, unsmiling grin.
All seven of them shivered in unison.
"Bro... Brother Song, is it?"
"You don’t need to thank me. We all wander the martial world. Sometimes I help you, sometimes you help me."
Here, Lu Yun paused. "Now, it’s this old man’s turn to have a little trouble, and I must bother you gentlemen for your help."
"Huh?"
Brother Song froze for a second, then his expression shifted. He had a bad feeling about this.
’A dignified Grandmaster of Huajin... what level of existence is that? What kind of "little trouble" could he possibly have that would require help from a few small-fry mountain guards like us?’
’It couldn’t be... something as absurd as starting a rebellion, could it?’
Lu Yun saw his on-guard expression and lied through his teeth. "Relax, it’s nothing serious. Just helping this old man dig something up."
"Dig... dig something up?"
"That’s right. Years ago, this old man passed through here and buried something. Now that I’m older, it’s inconvenient to dig it up alone. I was hoping to trouble you gentlemen for a hand."
Brother Song blinked, then blinked again, muttering under his breath, "Just digging something up? Right now?"
"Yes."
After confirming, Brother Song let out a long sigh of relief. His heart, which had been lodged in his throat, finally dropped back into his chest.
’As long as it’s not a rebellion, it’s fine. It’s just a bit of digging, right?’
’All seven of us are practitioners. Patrolling and climbing the mountain every day is like walking on flat ground for us. The one thing we don’t lack is strength.’
"Alright!" He pounded his chest and agreed without hesitation.
"Senior, please wait a moment!"
Brother Song turned and ordered the men behind him, "Xiaoliu! You and Chen Chaojie help Ah Biao down the mountain to the hospital! Go quickly and come back quickly!"
"Brothers, let’s go! Time to help the senior!"
The six men, carrying oil lamps, followed Lu Yun toward the old tree on the mountainside.
...
「Over two hours later.」
Six men were slumped at the base of the old tree, gasping for breath and drenched in sweat.
Above them was a canopy that blotted out the sky; at their feet was a massive pit, dozens of feet deep.
Brother Song wiped the sweat from his face, looked down at his blistered and bleeding hands, then looked up at Lu Yun, who stood by the edge of the pit, perfectly composed and without a single drop of sweat on him.
He suddenly felt that he had spoken too soon when he said, ’It’s just a bit of digging, right?’
’This wasn’t "a bit of digging"! This was clearly more exhausting than digging up someone’s ancestral graves!’
At the foot of the mountain, in the dead of night, Lu Yun leaned on the Wisteria Spirit Staff with his right hand, while his left held the small wooden box he had just dug out of the pit.
Seeing that no one was around, he stopped and casually tossed the small wooden box onto the ground.
Then, Lu Yun raised his right hand. From a distance of ten meters, he controlled the Huajin pulsing from his palm. The Qi snaked out from his hand and precisely slipped into the crack of the wooden box.
The lid lifted gently, revealing something wrapped in dark gold silk lying quietly inside. It was about the size of a baby’s fist, and it was pulsing.
Through the silk, he could clearly see the object rise and fall, rise and fall, its rhythm slow and steady, like the breathing of some living creature.
Lu Yun’s eyes narrowed. He continued to control the strand of Qi, using it to gently peel back a corner of the silk.
Under the moonlight, the object finally revealed its true form.
A pulsating black chunk of flesh! It contracted and expanded, brimming with vitality, and was identical to the "Immortal Flesh" he had obtained from Zhao the Third.
Lu Yun stared at it for a long time. Every time he saw this thing, he couldn’t help but ponder the same question.
’What on earth is this stuff?’
’Is it cut from some kind of creature? Or does it grow naturally in the world? If it’s from a creature, then what kind of creature?’
No one could answer Lu Yun, but he didn’t need an answer. All Lu Yun knew was that this thing wasn’t harmful to him.
As soon as he swallowed it, the [Extreme Blue Martial Arts Modifier] in his mind would instantly refine it, converting it into pure "modified value."
Any of the other miscellaneous junk in it never even had a chance to enter his body before it was completely absorbed by the Extreme Blue Modifier.
Perfect conversion, zero residue. This was why Lu Yun felt safe eating this bizarre piece of flesh.
Confirming there was nothing unusual in his surroundings, he drew it toward him with a flick of his will. The silk automatically wrapped around the baby-fist-sized piece of Immortal Flesh, which then flew through the air and landed steadily in Lu Yun’s palm.
He tucked it into his robes, keeping it close to his body. The most urgent task now was to find a place to consume it.
Half an hour later, on a bustling commercial street in Nanfu City, the lights were bright and the air was filled with the clamor of voices.
Western-style buildings stood one after another, neon lights flickered, and as far as the eye could see, there were hostesses in cheongsams standing at the entrances to dance halls.
Rickshaws shuttled back and forth, and occasionally women on the arms of men in suits could be seen laughing and chatting, while street-side stalls sold steaming hot food.
Of course, there was also no shortage of the one thing that was most abundant in these times: gang fights.
Lu Yun had just reached a crossroads, and before he could even find a rickshaw, the street ahead erupted into chaos.
"KILL!!!"
A group of burly men in short jackets with red cloths wrapped around their arms charged out of an alley, brandishing gleaming machetes.
The few men in the lead were even holding Mauser pistols, and they fired several shots into the air. BANG! BANG! BANG!
Another group charged out from the opposite side.
This group was dressed differently, in green shortcoats and conical straw hats, with fish harpoons and short knives tucked into their belts. At a glance, they looked like fierce bandits who made their living on the water.
The leaders of this group also had guns. Without a word, they unleashed a barrage of gunfire on the men with the red armbands.
As bullets flew, they tore into the street-side signs and walls, sending wood splinters flying everywhere.
Nearby pedestrians screamed and scattered, vendors pushed their carts into alleys to hide, and the hostesses at the dance hall doors, their faces pale with fright, hiked up their dresses and ran inside.
Just like that, the two groups faced off in the middle of the street, madly hacking at and shooting each other.
Lu Yun stood on the street corner, watching the scene with a sense of helplessness. The moment these bastards started their fight, everyone on the street had fled faster than rabbits.
The rickshaw pullers, especially, were gone as if their feet had been greased, disappearing into the night with their empty carts without a single look back.
Before long, the victor was decided.
The gang in green shortcoats and straw hats was clearly more ruthless. Armed with more guns, they forced the red-armbanded gang into a steady retreat.
Just then, one of their leaders shouted a threat over his shoulder as he fled.
"You sons of bitches! Qingli Gang, you just wait! I, from the Red Saber Sect, won’t let this go!"
However, before he could finish his threat, a bullet blew the top of his head off.
His body fell stiffly into a pool of blood, twitched twice, and then went still.
"Fuck you! Red Saber Sect? Ptooey!"
The Qingli Gang’s sub-leader spat on the ground, shoved the still-smoking Mauser back into his belt, and waved to his men. "From now on, this is the Qingli Gang’s territory! All of you, remember that!"
"Let’s go! Carry our brothers’ bodies back!"
A group of Qingli Gang members hastily lifted their fallen comrades’ bodies and quickly disappeared into the night.
All that remained on the street were the scattered corpses of the Red Saber Sect and shocking pools of blood.
Then, the guards finally made their belated appearance. Dressed in black uniforms, they ambled over unhurriedly, carrying oil lamps.
After glancing at the bodies on the ground and looking around, their faces showed no signs of surprise.
"Haul ’em away, haul ’em away," a captain said with a wave of his hand.
A dozen or so guards came forward and loaded the Red Saber Sect’s bodies one by one onto a flatbed cart, which they then pulled in the direction of the police station.
Immediately after, another group of people ran out. Carrying buckets and brooms, they efficiently began washing down the street.
In less than half an hour, the street was once again bustling with people, the neon lights were flashing, music drifted out from the dance halls again, and the vendors had returned with their carts.
The rickshaw pullers also reappeared on the street corners in twos and threes, cigarettes dangling from their lips as they waited for customers.
Everything returned to its former bustling prosperity. The music played on, and the dancing continued.
Lu Yun silently walked forward and picked a rickshaw puller who looked reasonably honest.
"Take me to the best place to stay."