Chapter 75 - 69: Killing Bai Xiang
For the next few days, Jiang Mu returned to his reclusive daily routine of cultivation.
It couldn’t be helped.
Ran Qingshan had given him strict orders to keep a low profile and cultivate peacefully at home for a while.
It was clearly to avoid the trouble brewing with the Chang Residence.
Jiang Mu knew this perfectly well, so he went with the flow and became a shut-in.
Besides, he still had some reserves left in his Demon Slot, enough to support a few days of cultivation without issue.
Luckily, Ling Ye had made it clear she wouldn’t be leaving the city for a few days. So, by a strange twist of fate, he had fulfilled the request from the Little Demon, Qiu Yuexin, to "keep her here."
This would save him from that lady climbing his rafters and scaring him in the middle of the night again.
His Cultivation Level was now approaching the Middle Stage of the Third Realm, a truly astonishing speed.
After all, cultivating AFK twenty-four hours a day without rest required a level of grueling perseverance beyond that of any ordinary person. It really wore Jiang Mu out.
Meanwhile, his Spirit Snake Body Step had broken through to the minor success stage.
Jiang Mu discovered that this footwork had a strange synergy with his Saber Skill.
First, he would use the Spirit Snake Body Step to maneuver and entangle the enemy while building up his saber’s momentum, then suddenly unleash the Heaven-Breaking Slash. The power was far greater than just crudely drawing his blade.
As for that "Purple Apex Art," it was still stuck in the introductory stage.
Jiang Mu had no idea what this Cultivation Technique was for.
It didn’t help his Cultivation Level in the slightest, but the special aura inside his Dantian was constantly accumulating, showing faint signs of forming a Solidifying Pill.
Jiang Mu couldn’t be bothered to worry about it. In any case, it was the shadows doing the work, so it wasn’t tiring him out.
’I need to find a way to slay more Demon Fiends and recharge my ’cheat.’ Two Demon Shadows just isn’t enough.’
Jiang Mu gazed at the two diligent shadows in the bubble, calculating to himself.
’In a few days, I’ll go ask Ran Qingshan for a mission.’
Besides cultivating behind closed doors, he also occasionally went to the Government Office to spar with the Zhang Daxie brothers.
He learned from Zhang Xiaokui that his older brother, Zhang Daxie, had reached the verge of a breakthrough and was preparing to ascend to the Fourth Realm.
This was great news.
If the Eighth Hall could produce a Fourth Realm expert, it would be a great boost to their prestige.
As their leader, Jiang Mu naturally couldn’t be stingy. With a wave of his hand, he used his merit points to exchange for a pile of Pills and Talismans to aid the breakthrough and tossed them over.
The two rough-and-tumble brothers were moved to tears.
They almost knelt down on the spot and called him "Godfather."
...
Time flowed like water, and several days passed in a flash.
「That afternoon.」
Jiang Mu was bare-chested, his figure weaving and dodging around the courtyard.
The Blood Blade in his hand cast a sky full of cold light.
As his speed increased, he left several afterimages in his wake that were hard to distinguish from reality. The wind from his saber howled, kicking up dust like a fog.
Not far away, Yuan Ahqing watched, dazzled, her mouth slightly agape.
SWISH!
Jiang Mu’s figure came to a sudden halt.
The afterimages filling the sky gradually dissipated like bursting bubbles.
In the next instant, he drew his saber—
"Heaven-Breaking Slash!"
The blood-red Saber Gang erupted like a furious dragon bursting from the sea, its momentum terrifying, as if it could tear a crack in the heavens.
Spirit Snake Body Step, mastered!
Jiang Mu’s eyes gleamed. "Just as I thought. Once the footwork is cultivated to the mastery stage, its power combined with the Heaven-Breaking Slash is even greater."
For the past few days, he had focused single-mindedly on practicing the Spirit Snake Body Step.
With his main body and two Demon Shadows all practicing—a three-core drive—his progress was lightning fast.
"Wow! Master is so amazing!"
Yuan Ahqing’s eyes were full of adoration, and she clapped her little hands until they were red.
In the vegetable garden, Bai Xiang, who was bent over tending to the seedlings, looked up, a complex emotion flitting across her beautiful eyes.
’This guy... really is a cultivation prodigy.’
Jiang Mu sheathed his saber, took the towel Yuan Ahqing handed him, and casually wiped the sweat from his well-built chest.
Without putting on a shirt, he sauntered over to the edge of the vegetable garden bare-chested.
"Need any help?"
Jiang Mu grinned.
Bai Xiang’s gaze lingered for a moment on the man’s clearly defined chest and abs before she looked away and gently shook her head.
"Never mind, I’ll help you water them."
Jiang Mu spotted the water ladle resting by the vegetable patch, picked it up, and began watering the seedlings.
Although his rejected marriage proposal had been a blow to his ego, seeing as the woman had been making amends for days by cooking all sorts of delicacies, the magnanimous Eldest Young Master Jiang decided to "pardon" her for the time being.
Seeing this, Bai Xiang paid it no mind.
After he finished watering, Jiang Mu playfully teased Bai Xiang, who was squatting down to prune some leaves:
"I’ve helped you with your chores. Aren’t you going to thank your master?"
Bai Xiang smiled, stood up, and gave a graceful curtsy.
A gesture of thanks.
Her posture was gentle and graceful, like ripples on a spring pond, so soft that it would be impossible for anyone to get angry with her.
After spending these days together, the two had developed a tacit understanding for this kind of playful banter.
Just as Jiang Mu was about to make another wisecrack, there was a knock on the courtyard gate.
Yuan Ahqing ran to open the gate and called back in her clear voice, "Master, it’s Miss Chu."
Chu Lingzhu?
Jiang Mu was taken aback.
’What’s this girl doing here? Inviting me to dinner?’
The other day, she had indeed wanted to treat him to a meal to thank him for saving her friend, Lan Rou’er, but Jiang Mu had refused.
’How could eating be more important than cultivating?’
Jiang Mu grabbed his outer robe from a rack, threw it on, and walked to the entrance.
Outside the gate stood a refreshingly beautiful figure.
The young woman wore a green ruqun, her black hair held up by a simple hairpin. She was pure and beautiful, but her brows were furrowed with a touch of worry.
"What is it?"
Jiang Mu raised an eyebrow. "If you’re here to treat me to a meal, forget it. You might as well just give me the cash instead."
"Who wants to treat you to a meal!"
Chu Lingzhu shot him an annoyed glare. "I have serious business to discuss with you."
"Oh? Then come in and talk." Jiang Mu stepped aside to let her pass.
"No."
Chu Lingzhu glanced into the courtyard and wrinkled her delicate nose. "I hate seeing that woman."
She pulled Jiang Mu aside and began to explain the situation in a low voice.
It turned out that some time ago, a merchant who ran a pharmacy in Yan City had ordered a batch of expensive medicinal herbs from out of town.
But because of a rebellion brewing in Yan City, the roads were unsafe, so he entrusted Chu Lingzhu’s father, Chu Dahai, to store them for him.
Since the two had done business before and were well-acquainted, Chu Dahai agreed and stored the herbs in his shop’s warehouse.
But over the past two days, when Chu Lingzhu went to the warehouse to sort her own family’s medicinal herbs, she kept feeling that the smell of the stored goods was off.
Having followed her father in practicing medicine since childhood, her sensitivity to the smell of medicinal herbs was far beyond that of an ordinary person.
One could even say she had a special gift for it.
She suspected there was a problem with the herbs, but since they were someone else’s sealed goods, she couldn’t just open them without permission.
And this shop was a property under Jiang Mu’s name.
If the herbs got damp or something else went wrong in the warehouse, Jiang Mu, the Boss, would ultimately be responsible for compensation.
The young woman couldn’t keep things to herself. The more she thought about it, the more worried she became, which was why she had run over to discuss it with Jiang Mu.
"What did your father say?" Jiang Mu asked.
"Father said it’s normal," Chu Lingzhu said, sounding wronged. "But I’m sure of it, the smell is definitely not right."
Jiang Mu fell into thought.
’This girl really does have a talent when it comes to medicinal herbs.’
If something really had gone wrong with the herbs in his own warehouse, it would be a huge hassle.
"Let’s go take a look."
Jiang Mu made a swift decision.
He turned back to say goodbye to Bai Xiang and Yuan Ahqing, then followed Chu Lingzhu toward the pharmacy.
...
「Shortly after Jiang Mu left.」
In the distance, from a hole in the wall of a dark and narrow alley, a weasel scurried out, covered in filth.
"Ptooey! Ptooey! It fucking stinks!"
The Huangshu Little Demon cursed as it vigorously wiped the grime from its face.
To wait for the right opportunity, it had hidden beside a cesspit for several days and now reeked horribly.
The stench was so bad he wanted to die.
Looking toward the Jiang family’s small courtyard, a savage grin spread across the little demon’s face.
"Hehe, that guy is finally gone."
"You dare kill my Grandpa Huang Si, and you dare ruin Her Ladyship’s plans? I might not be able to beat you, but killing one of your servants is more than easy enough for me!"
It kicked off with its hind legs and shot toward the courtyard wall like a yellow shadow.
Other demons might not dare to touch the family of a Demon-slaying Bureau official, but he did.
He was super brave, after all!