Enlightenment: Beginning as a Disposable Warrior-Chapter 116 - 104: King Yama Claims Lives, Yijin Attained! (Update 3)
The five men were stunned on the spot, thinking they must have misheard. This was not at all like the famous righteous Hero Li in the rumors, but he certainly hadn’t forgotten that assassins lived on the edge of a knife.
Prioritizing their own lives, the man leading the group, wearing a black bear mask, turned around.
"Hero Li, three hundred taels, is it..."
"Say one more word and it’s another hundred taels."
Su Mu interrupted indifferently.
The five men exchanged glances, then reluctantly emptied their pockets, but still didn’t have enough. With a look of reluctance from his companions, the black bear-masked man handed over a crumpled silver note with both hands.
"Hero Li, this is all we have on us."
Su Mu unceremoniously snatched the silver note. He had already counted while they scraped together their money: one thousand and fifty taels. After spending five hundred taels on medicinal herbs, he could still profit five hundred and fifty taels.
"Get lost, and if there’s a next time..."
Su Mu’s dantian had a Strength Pill spinning lightly, and he casually threw a punch.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, thunder roared out of nowhere, akin to lightning streaking through the grim sky. Amidst a series of explosion sounds, dust flew while the ground in front of the five men erupted into a pit nearly a zhang wide. The splattering clods of frozen soil painfully struck their faces.
"That’s what will happen."
With that, Su Mu, quite satisfied, turned around and left, his lips slightly upturned. It seemed his reputation in the Qingyun area still carried some weight.
By the time all the dust settled, Su Mu’s figure had already vanished into the snow-covered landscape. The masks on the faces of the few men, including the one with the black bear mask, were shattered. They touched the blood marks on their faces, breathing heavily, and knelt on the ground.
The dissatisfaction in the hearts of several underlings with their leader’s easy surrender of money quickly dissipated.
"So strong!"
After a long silence, they managed to say just this.
This Li Feiyu not only acted differently than rumored, but his strength was also beyond expectations, even deeper and more unfathomable than the stories. Such power was the most magnificent and terrifying they’d ever witnessed.
To strike such a large pit in the ground from five steps away—if this Hero Li’s fist landed on them, it wouldn’t leave them in one piece. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
The black bear-masked man stared at the pit that appeared out of thin air and rasped in a hoarse voice.
"This isn’t just the Unparalleled Boxing and Stick Skills... it’s like King Yama himself!"
Frightened out of their minds, the group vowed never to provoke Li Feiyu again.
...
The setting sun, like a pool of blood, dyed the Qingyun Avenue and the northern Qingfeng streets dark red.
Deep in the Qingfeng Lane adjoining the avenue, stood a particularly conspicuous courtyard with high vermilion walls, the stronghold of one of Qingyun City’s five major powers, the Qingfeng Gang.
Outside the courtyard, several strong men in close-fitting garments with treasure sabers at their waists patrolled back and forth, their scabbards gleaming coldly in the sunset. None of the passing citizens dared to look up or speak, quickening their pace.
Deep in the courtyard, a smaller courtyard named ’Tingyu Pavilion’ featured winding corridors and reflected shadows from piled rocks.
In the study’s interior, a man of about forty sat with eyebrows like knife blades, a strong murderous aura emanating from his slightly furrowed brow.
The man abruptly swept his sleeve, sending the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone on the table cascading down in disarray, plunging the room into chaos.
"Good-for-nothing! What use do I have for you? You can’t even find out the background of a mere assassin?"
The reporting Qingfeng Gang disciple turned pale with fright and fell to his knees.
"Vice Gang Leader, that Li Feiyu is especially cautious, only appearing to accept bounty tasks and collect rewards, and even his salary is only collected every few months."
"Recently, it seems other families are also inquiring about this person’s whereabouts, and I didn’t dare to act recklessly."
"I’ve already bribed a constable in the Demon Slayer Bureau. The moment Li Feiyu appears next time, he’ll report to me immediately."
"Good, I’ll give you another chance then." The man’s rage subsided upon hearing this, and he casually retrieved a money bag from his sleeve and tossed it out.
"This hundred taels is for you to buy some wine."
"Thank you for the reward, Vice Gang Leader. I’ll definitely track down Li Feiyu’s whereabouts as soon as possible."
"You may leave now. I don’t want anyone else to know about this."
"Understood, sir!"
After the Qingfeng Gang disciple left the study with the money bag trembling in his hands, Shangguan Feng picked up the ink-stained portrait of Li Feiyu from the desk.
"Second brother, rest assured. I will avenge you."
With that, he crumpled the portrait into a ball and threw it into the brazier. The flames twisted upwards, reflecting Shangguan Feng’s face full of murderous intent.
...
Before the dim, setting sun completely vanished, Su Mu safely arrived at the gates of Qingyun City.
"First, drop the herbs off with the Pharmacist."
As Su Mu left Qingyun City, he suddenly felt a tickle in his nose and sneezed. "Could someone be thinking of me? Surely not the three master teachers?"
At the Yunhe Clinic, the Little Doctor practiced the Five Animals Qigong outside the pharmacy. After a busy day, practicing a bit of Five Animals Qigong made the Little Doctor feel particularly comfortable and warm.
At a certain moment, the Little Doctor suddenly gazed towards the clinic’s entrance and somehow felt that Su Mu had arrived. He stopped his training and ran to the clinic door, just in time to see Su Mu about to knock on the door.
"Brother Su, it’s really you. I just guessed it was you who had come!"
Then, the Little Doctor laughed and talked about a feeling he had during his earlier training. Su Mu was taken aback but didn’t think much of it, attributing it to coincidence.
Inside the pharmacy, the Pharmacist checked the medicines bought from the auction, nodding repeatedly with his whiskers twitching, "The quality of these medicinal herbs is excellent, especially this Three-leaf Flame Ginseng, which is at least a hundred years old."
"A hundred years?"
Su Mu’s eyes glistened. Compared to the appraisers at the auction, Su Mu certainly trusted the Pharmacist’s insight more. Most likely, the White Jade Gang’s appraiser had made an error, allowing him to seize this opportunity.
"Brother Su, this is the medicinal wine master refined yesterday."
Before the Pharmacist could speak, the Little Doctor busily brought several bottles of medicinal wine to Su Mu. The Pharmacist’s hand paused as he stroked his beard, and he chuckled as he changed the subject.
"However, the wine in Qingyun City ultimately lacks some intensity." The old doctor reminisced, eyes glistening, "If I could find Canghe County’s ’Canghe Brew’, the effectiveness of the medicine would surely increase by threefold."
Canghe County, Canghe Brew?
Su Mu’s heart stirred as he recalled Xiaohu had mentioned the Canghe Brew in his letter to him, but before he could speak, someone else spoke first.
The Little Doctor blinked his eyes: "Canghe Brew?"
"That’s right." The Old Doctor pointed north, "More than two hundred miles north of Qingyun City, the tributary of the Canglan River flows through the county, hence called Canghe County. The waters of Cang River are clear and sweet, the banks are lined with distilleries, and in the season of wine production, the entire Cang River is filled with the fragrance of alcohol..."
At this point, the Pharmacist suddenly swallowed, "Especially this Canghe Brew, made with early spring river water from March, opening a jar fills the room with aroma. Can the cloudy wine of Qingyun City compare to it?"
The Little Doctor tilted his head suspiciously, staring at his master’s cheek: "Master, are you not just craving drink, using medicine-making as an excuse to have Su bring you some private wine?"
The Pharmacist blew his beard and glared at his disciple whose elbow always turned outward.
Su Mu noted it down, thinking to visit Uncle Li and Xiaohu, and take a bounty from the Demon Slayer Bureau in Canghe County, thus accomplishing three tasks at once.
As he secretly made up his mind, the Little Doctor eagerly looked over, pulling Su Mu’s sleeve with his small hand.
"Su, are you coming to stay up with Master and me again this year?"
"Tomorrow I’ll go to the Forging Workshop to talk to Uncle Wu and then move here."
"You’re the best, Su." The Little Doctor jumped for joy, while the Pharmacist glared at Su Mu too this time.
Next day, Su Mu explained his intention at the Forging Workshop.
Uncle Wu greeted him with a smile, "Xiaomu, you came at just the right time. Today, a notice on closing the doors needs writing. In past years, Zhao Ju the Master always wrote it. How about you do it this year?"
"If Uncle Wu doesn’t mind, I will humbly attempt it."
"Come with me."
Su Mu followed Wu Lie into the courtyard. Wu Qiao’Er, dressed in light yellow jacket, walked out yawning from a side yard, curious at seeing Su Mu arrive.
"Daddy, Su Mu, what are you going to do?"
"Mind your manners, Su Mu is a year older than you. Call him brother."
"I won’t, just won’t."
Saying so, Wu Qiao’Er scrunched her mouth, making a face at Su Mu.
"Go get the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone from inside."
"Okay."
Wu Qiao’Er quickly fetched the writing tools, then suddenly understood, "I get it now, the master craftsmen must have gone home early this year, and Daddy can’t write well, that’s why they grabbed you...
"Cough, cough, what are you saying?"
Uncle Wu coughed walking out, "Xiaomu, I’ll say a phrase, and you write a phrase."
"Year-end sealing furnaces, New Year blades opening, from this day the workshop is closed for rest..."
Su Mu wielded the brush to write, and Wu Qiao’Er came closer to look, her lashes flickering. Su Mu’s writing seemed no worse than Zhao Ju the Master’s, even three points more orderly, looking far more elegant compared to her benefactor’s handwriting.
"No, benefactor writes dragons and snakes in swift strokes...not the same, benefactor’s writing is still better, stronger and more powerful."
Wu Qiao’Er whispered to herself, shaking her head resolutely, her ponytail waving like a drum, deciding Su Mu’s writing still couldn’t compare to her benefactor.
Wu Lie suddenly saw his daughter shake her head, stepped forward and took a look, eyes brightened, "Iron strokes and silver hooks, good writing!"
"Xiaomu, this writing is good enough to set up a calligraphy stall in the East Market!"
"Is it truly that good?" Wu Qiao’Er’s red lips pursed, she looked a few times, felt uninterested, and slipped out, her skirt sweeping over the threshold, with Daddy’s voice sounding behind.
"Xiaomu, since you’re writing, this yard still lacks a few Spring Festival couplets, write them too."
That day, Su Mu wrote ten couplets before leaving the Forging Workshop. Before he left, Uncle Wu suggested he move to the workshop to celebrate the New Year together.
The conversation was full of concern, Su Mu was touched but politely refused.
"Uncle Wu, I have two friends in the city who are both teachers and friends, I plan to spend the New Year with them."
"I see, that’s good too."
After leaving the Forging Workshop, Su Mu went to Hundred Elixir Tower, spent one thousand taels to buy ten doses of Five-Complete Muscle-Strengthening Soup. Over the half-month, Su Mu found Five Treasures Marrow-Nourishing Soup actually had little difference in efficacy from Five-Complete Muscle-Strengthening Soup, the only difference being the Five Treasures Marrow-Nourishing Soup had milder effects.
Ordinary martial artists might highly value this point, but for Su Mu, it was not a concern. He cared not if the effects were mild, only about their potency.
In the few days after moving to the clinic, Su Mu once again became the Little Doctor’s assistant, roaming the streets and alleys to shop for New Year’s goods. The fourth refining force, third bone forging Unparalleled Boxing and Stick Skills Li Feiyu became the errand carrier.
After finishing the New Year’s shopping, the days ahead were quiet as water.
In the daytime, practicing boxing, the three would sit together drinking tea, eating snacks, and copying medical books with Little Doctor.
On this day, the Little Doctor handed Su Mu a plain piece of paper, fingertip trembling, "Brother... how do you find this poem?"
Su Mu took it; the paper contained elegantly written ornamental calligraphy of the poem "Plum Blossom": A few plum branches by the corner of the wall, blossoming alone against the cold. Distant, it seems not snow, for fragrance arrives secretly.
"The poem is good, the writing is good too."
Before Su Mu’s words even left his mouth, the Little Doctor’s ears grew red, hastily changed the topic, "This poem...came from Shuangbai Poetry Gathering, someone said it’s written by the hero who eliminated Ghost-Hand Scholar..."
Su Mu’s heart moved at the mention, a thought sprouted about the gift he planned for Little Doctor this year.
Days before the year passed quietly like water, just like this passed day by day.
The round moon hung high, moonlight illuminating bamboo forest.
"Creak, creak, creak!"
In the dousing tub, Su Mu sat quietly within, his twelve major tendons, Eight Extraordinary Meridians, Ren and Du Meridians all trembled, sending out clear and pleasing sounds, as if music of lute and zither echoed within.
Su Mu’s physique was already strong and deep, far superior to ordinary people. With Muscle-Protecting Pill and abundant resources, Su Mu’s first nurturing of tendons met no hurdles.
With Comprehension breakthrough’s warm current aiding, it took just over a month to smoothly reach the transformation threshold. At this moment, Su Mu’s whole body’s tendons resonated.
Everything ready, any moment could charge to Seventh Grade of Muscle Changing Realm!
"Brother, the Lantern Festival is about to start, hurry up."
Outside, the Little Doctor’s call blended with rising flute sounds from the streets and lanes.
Shortly after, Su Mu opened the door and stepped out. The Little Doctor suddenly experienced an illusion, feeling Su Mu seemed taller by three points compared to yesterday, the aura around him had subtly changed.
...
