Chapter 209
Chapter 209: Seven Heart Golden Scorpion Poison, Disciples of the Lyu Family
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Because of losing all consciousness, he didn’t feel much pain especially when the pithy formula united with the Yanfu Inner Strength. This enabled Yanfu Inner Strength to be much smoother. Internal Qi was flowing through the whole body. When it flowed to the parts where the meridians were damaged, it slowed down, bringing himself waves of searing pain.
Though the speed slowed down gradually, it didn’t stop. It progressed as slowly as a turtle and almost made one crazy, at the same time, repairing the tendons and meridians and muscles and bones in his body. The effect was extremely great. As long as this Internal Qi circulated through the whole body, it would very quickly force out the Dead Qi and killing intent that Buyan Gerel had left in his body. It would also finish repairing all his tendons and meridians that were damaged.
It needed time, however, and the only thing that Junior Leopard could do was to wait silently.
Based on his estimation, it required 10 days. After 10 days, the injuries in his body would completely heal. It was better for him to be more well-behaved during this period.
“Okay, you all should go down first. Laihong, let the doctor return as well. I’ll mind my own business!”
“Yes, Your Excellency!” Even though Junior Leopard’s face was still pale, his spirit turned much better, so Lu Laihong agreed. Ever since he saw Junior Leopard killing Buyan Gerel, he had borne a kind of blind confidence in Junior Leopard.
Such confidence was natural. In this world, apart from Junior Leopard the monster, no one would possess such strength at the age of 15. Who else could, with a Level Four cultivation, force a Level Eight expert to explode in a one-on-one situation?
None!
It had never been heard of before!
Ever since Junior Leopard had killed Buyan Gerel in public, this group of soldiers, who escorted the rations with him, had developed an extreme kind of blind worship towards Junior Leopard.
It could be said that in the eyes of some of them, Junior Leopard had become the term for invincibility.
“Laihong, my injuries are not too serious. However, I do need time to rest. Get them to prepare a quiet room for me. I want to go on closed-door training for 10 days!”
“Yes, Your Excellency!”
Junior Leopard went on closed-door training in Maojiang for 10 days to quietly recuperate.
In Jianghu, when he challenged bypassing rank successfully and killed Dragon Granny, a Level Seven expert, some people would still say he was lucky. After all, Dragon Granny’s strength was at the lowest tier among Level Seven. Though it was surprising that she would be carelessly killed by Junior Leopard, such a thing was not unbelievable.
Regardless, Buyan Gerel’s death belonged in the category that the people found unacceptable.
A Level Four expert who was only 15 years old actually killed one of the Four Wolves in the prairies who had been famous for 30 years!
That was unbelievable!
Buyan Gerel was not an expert who luckily advanced to a level like Dragon Granny. Depending on his own strength and unparalleled talent, he became a Level Eight expert at the age of 30. Even in the entire Jianghu, he could be considered as one of the best. But now, he ridiculously died in Junior Leopard’s hands.
Zhou Bao must have a celestial device with strong attack force or know an extremely powerful secret technique!
After going through an entire ruckus, almost all of Jianghu came to such a conclusion.
In actual fact, there could only be one such explanation!
As long as it was someone with a brain, he would understand that based purely on his own strength, it was impossible for Junior Leopard to defeat Buyan Gerel. He must have resorted to some external force. What kind of external force could it be?
A celestial device or secret technique!
The former option was more possible. After all, secret techniques had a very harsh requirement on the cultivator. With Junior Leopard’s Level Four cultivation and body toughness, it was impossible for him to cultivate a powerful secret technique. A celestial device must be the best explanation.
Only celestial devices with a strong attack force could possibly help him kill bypassing ranks.
In this way, another problem arose.
“Since Zhou Bao could use a celestial device to kill a Level Eight expert, then why couldn’t I do the same?”
“If I had one such celestial device, then I could do it as well. I could be famous in the Jianghu, too. I could become one of the tops in the younger generation!”
Under these circumstances, before things being confirmed, Junior Leopard had already been targeted by numerous greedy eyes.
“Truly there are no fools in the world. Can a Level Four expert kill a Level Eight expert? It is weird not to have anything fishy going on here!”
After 10 days, Junior Leopard’s injuries were completely healed. He stood refreshed in front of everybody and then learned first hand of the Jianghu rumor.
A celestial device, special technique, and secret skill!
Only when he possessed one of the three could he possibly kill a Level Eight expert.
Special techniques and secret skills would impose a heavy burden on the body. With his current cultivation, even if he could display a special technique or secret skill at that level, there would be dealing damage to him. It was impossible to say if he could recover in 10 days. Since that was the case, there was only one possibility!
“Your Excellency, recently a lot of suspicious pugilists have been to Maojiang. I think they are aiming for you!” Lu Laihong carefully looked at Junior Leopard. He wanted to fish out some information from Junior Leopard.
He was disappointed. Junior Leopard smiled as if he just exited the quiet room, “Enough, Laihong, don’t speak about that useless stuff. I haven’t eaten a good meal these few days. Since you have been in Maojiang Prefecture, you must know where there is good stuff to eat!”
“Of course!” Hearing Junior Leopard mention about eating, Lu Laihong was pretty joyful. This fella was famous for being a foodie in the personal guard camp. His hobby was to eat. No matter where we went, within three days, he would be able to have a good grasp where were the nice places to eat — Where the good restaurants were, where the famous one was, he would be able to state it all.
Maojiang was a small place. Its position was also not optimal; hence, it had always been desolate.
For the past few days, this originally desolate city had become boisterous. From time to time, there would be pugilists armed with swords and sabers appearing. Most of them were at the cultivation of Level Two to Three. There would also be a few whose cultivation had entered into the Bone-Forging Realm. For a Bone-Forging Realm expert, presence in such a small town was an extremely rare thing.
Junior Leopard and Lu Laihong changed their clothes and came out. Lu Laihong was about 30 years old. His face seemed younger as if he was just 20 years old. Junior Leopard’s age was even younger. When they walked on the road, they were just like a pair of normal brothers. They didn’t attract anybody’s attention.
Under Lu Laihong’s direction, they arrived at a restaurant. “Your Excellency, this restaurant’s dog meat is extremely tasty. It is said that the skills are passed down from their ancestor. Your Excellency must try it!”
“Since you, Lu Laihong, has recommended it, I naturally have to try it!” Junior Leopard smiled. Lu Laihong’s smile was almost as flattering as that of Zhu Ba, impressing Junior Leopard.
Some changes happened unknowingly.
Lu Laihong was a veteran in the personal guard camp. His skills were also not bad. As a personal guard, he naturally had some arrogance. Although Junior Leopard was the Vice Commander of the personal guard camp and owned high cultivation at the same time, he was still a newcomer. Even if he squeezed into the personal guard camp by virtue of his cultivation and convinced the entire crowd, there was no need for them to flatter him in such way. Ever since Junior Leopard reached Jiang City and performed a few great feats, for example, killing a Level Seven expert Dragon Granny, his position became different.
Being a Level Seven expert with a cultivation like that, if he was not under Li Yuan but under the imperial court, he could at least be an Admiral. Of course, it was possible for him to be invited to the capital and become one of the members of the Heavenly Dragon Society in Palace Guards.
Heavenly Dragon Society in Palace Guards was an especially good place for the imperial court to search for the world’s experts. Those who could enter the society had a cultivation of at least Level Five. The highest was Level Eight.
Although the experts in Heavenly Dragon Society’s owned little power, their treatment and rank were extremely high. Each of them had a position higher than common Admiral.
Although Junior Leopard only had a cultivation of Level Four, with his combat capability, it was sufficient to join Heavenly Dragon Society.
That was also the reason why, when Junior Leopard returned to Li Yuan’s personal guard camp, no one protested even if he was promoted to be the Vice Camp Supervisor.
This time, Lu Laihong personally witnessed the duel between Junior Leopard and Buyan Gerel. The time was not long, but the impact it left was unprecedented.
In this world, those whose cultivation above Level Seven were extremely few. Each of them was a precious treasure and was rare to encounter by ordinary people. Lu Laihong had lived for 30 years more, and his martial arts were of a famous origin. And yet, he had only seen a Level Seven expert twice. One was Wang She, whom he met when attacking Zhonghejun City. The other was Buyan Gerel, who dueled with Junior Leopard half a month ago.
When Junior Leopard dueled with Buyan Gerel, the time was not long, but the force was immense especially when their hammer spirit and fist intent started to collide. Lu Laihong and the others’ cultivation were not high enough, and they didn’t have divine thoughts. They couldn’t see the spirit with just their naked eyes. What he saw was two people standing and facing each other, not moving at all. Both of them were enshrouded in a mysterious light. Yet their surroundings had lightning flashing like tides. Within 300 feet of the space where two of them were standing, there was nothing. It seemed to be extremely powerful, and all caused a chill in him. He then understood that Junior Leopard’s cultivation had exceeded their imagination. He was different from what he had been before. He thought since Junior Leopard was only 15 to 16 years old, and he already had such achievements, his future must be limitless. Hence, his attitude towards Junior Leopard made a subtle change. He began to take notice of the little details when hanging out, and unknowingly these little details turned into flattery.
Facing this, Junior Leopard was helpless. He didn’t want to change anything at all. In the path of cultivation, strength was everything. When your strength had reached a stage where it was difficult for others to catch up, others would naturally be respectful and afraid of you. Lu Laihong was not the first. Of course, he wouldn’t be the last. The most important thing was that he could hold his own desire.
The surface area of the restaurant was not big, yet it was extremely boisterous. Just standing at the door, one could smell the fragrance of the meat.
That must be the so-called “Dog meat rolled thrice and the immortal wasn’t able to sit still.”
What was more, this restaurant’s secret recipe to cook dog meat was passed down through generations, differing greatly from other places. That fragrance was impressive enough to attract all. Even though Junior Leopard was not a foodie like Lu Laihong, he could also be considered as a greedy person. Once he smelled it, he couldn’t restrain his appetite. He lifted his steps and walked into the restaurant.
The restaurant’s business was extremely good. Even though it wasn’t lunch time yet, rooms were all filled up. There was only a little space in the corner left.
Junior Leopard and Lu Laihong were not picky people. They found an empty space and sat down. They called the waiter and ordered their dishes. They also ordered two plates of peanuts. Although the dog meat wasn’t ready yet, it was somewhat carefree to eat peanuts while drinking wine.
Lu Laihong was initially a bit restricted in front of Junior Leopard, but after downing a few cups of wine, those feelings slowly disappeared. At first, Junior Leopard’s expression was positive. After drinking a few cups, however, he seemed to have discovered something that made him uncomfortable, and he started to become gloomy.
“Your Excellency, what’s wrong?!”
“Nothing, just a fella that doesn’t know his place,” Junior Leopard said gently and indicated to Lu Laihong to continue drinking.
Lu Laihong had doubts in his heart. Seeing Junior Leopard’s expression, he didn’t dare say much but only lowered his head and kept drinking.
After a while, the servant came with a big bowl of dog meat.
“Two guests, please enjoy your food!”
“So fragrant!” Seeing the dog meat, Lu Laihong didn’t want to restrain anymore. He picked up one piece and shoved the meat into his mouth at once without caring whether it was hot or not. He didn’t realize that Junior Leopard hadn’t moved his chopsticks until swallowing the meat. For a while, he felt embarrassed.
“Alright, you and I are brothers, don’t be so formal,” Junior Leopard said. He also snitched a piece of meat and swallowed it. Once the meat entered his mouth, the corner of his lips flashed a trace of a cold smile.
There was poison in the meat!
Fatal poison!
Slow fatal poison!
Junior Leopard had the Poison-absorbing Green Bead with him. During his stay in South Yuezhou State, he had absorbed countless Invisible Bug poisons. Finding a kind of extreme cold Evil Qi, he would have the chance to refine the Poison Cold Shield. Although the poison on this dog meat was superior, it was impossible to do anything to Junior Leopard. Once the poison entered his mouth, it was absorbed by the Poison-absorbing Green Bead as nutrients.
“This Poison-absorbing Green Bead is really powerful. After it is kept by me, I’m almost immune to poison now. I wonder who this guy is and how dare he use poison against me! Although this poison is fatal, it won’t act up in a short while. If I haven’t guessed wrongly, the time it should act up is in the evening. The person who used the poison will appear at that time to steal my celestial device. Hehe, that is interesting. My Asura Yin Evil Needles have never been revealed in front of living people, and no one knows what my celestial device is. Just because of a conjecture, so many people appear in Maojiang. This scene is the same as those days when the Golden Goose Cup surfaced in the world. It seems this world has so many greedy people!” Junior Leopard thought in his heart.
The restaurant had many people, all of them were men in Jianghu, discussing matters of the Jianghu.
What was the most resounding news in Jianghu now?
It wasn’t the war between Northern Yuan and Jin. It wasn’t the two Grandmasters chasing after Wang She. It also wasn’t the imperial court using rewards to entice pugilists to enter Northern Yuan to reduce the power of the grasslands pugilist world.
It was about the vice Camp Supervisor in the personal guard camp of Li Yuan, the General in Qing Province, killing Buyan Gerel, one of the four Great Wolves in the grasslands, when he was escorting the rations to Yunzhou.
It was earth-shaking!
And people in Jianghu were naturally also affected. Hence, in this restaurant, as long as he was a person, he would be discussing this matter. Junior Leopard’s image in the hearts of these Jianghu people was sometimes big, sometimes ferocious, sometimes mystical, sometimes strange. Anyway, there wasn’t any description that really fit him.
Although the Jianghu rumor might sound interesting at first, it gradually became boring later on.
“Your Excellency, what about leaving now? The Jianghu rumor is too pointless!” Lu Laihong said, seeing Junior Leopard’s face change.
“Just some Jianghu rumor, never mind, but I have heard enough today!” Junior Leopard said. He didn’t say much but settled the bill and left the restaurant.
When they left, the second floor of the restaurant had one window opened. A head slowly emerged and watched them leave. His face revealed a satisfied smile.
“It is really fancy finding by sheer luck what I have searched for far and wide. Zhou Bao should come here to eat! Since he is poisoned by my Seven Heart Golden Scorpion Poison, he will definitely die this time!”
What he didn’t know was that from the moment he popped his head out from the window, he was already seen clearly by Junior Leopard. Even his mutter was unable to escape Junior Leopard’s sharp senses.
“God knows what background that guy has. How should he possess such potent poison!” Junior Leopard didn’t realize that the poison within the dog meat was completely outside of his expectations until he walked for another while.
He had refined the Poison-absorbing Green Bead, and now the Bead was already one entirety with him. What movements the Bead had, he knew clearly.
When he had the first bite, he sensed the abnormality in the Bead. He then knew the dog meat had poison in it.
Initially, he only thought that it was normal poison. Hence when eating, he not only absorbed all the poison in that wok of dog meat but also circulated the Bead’s energy to absorb the poison in Lu Laihong’s body.
Until now, he had just realized when being absorbed by the Bead, the poison continued boiling within the Bead. It seemed to be more overbearing than the Invisible Bug he absorbed in Yuezhou that day. The Poison-absorbing Green Bead actually spent a longer time than the Invisible Bug in refining this special poison into one entirety.
After successful refining, there was a luster on the Bead’s surface. Its color was jade green and extremely fresh.
“I’d better return to Yunzhou in one day and try to master the Yin and Yang Heavenly Sword and Poison Cold Shield!”
Junior Leopard once again thought of the earth vein of Evil Qi in the West Mountain Pass. His heart itched.
…
…
The sky was dark hiding the moon. Between the heavens and earth was a pitch black.
Within the Maojiang Prefecture, it was very quiet. Apart from the occasional patrol passing by, there wasn’t any sound at all.
A black figure under the cover of the night sky, like a piece of rotten leaf, easily passed over the high walls and silently landed on the roof of a room at the back of the government house.
The black figure twisted his body and landed on the eaves. His eyes slowly got closer to the window. He licked his right thumb and softly pierced through the white paper of the window. His head moved even closer. He wanted to have a clearer look at the inside.
He saw a smiling face!
A cold smiling face!
“Jesus!” He cried lowly. He wanted to borrow the pushing force by waving body to get away, but Junior Leopard’s hands already passed through the window and locked onto his face.
“My friend, since you have already come, don’t rush to go away. Otherwise, people will say that I don’t know how to treat guests well!”
Junior Leopard’s cold laughter rang in his ears, and strong force enveloped and dragged his entire body into the room.
The window’s broken wooden batten produced popping sounds.
Although the sound was not loud, it was extremely clear when put in this peaceful night. Instantly, the whole courtyard awakened.
“Nothing serious, it’s just a thief. I’ll handle it myself. All of you go back to sleep!” Junior Leopard’s voice rang out and spread across the whole courtyard.
“How brave this thief is. He must be foolish enough to try to steal from our Excellency!”
“I guess this fellow must suffer great pain then!”
“He is just a rotten egg!”
…
…
After discussion, the noisy courtyard gradually returned to its quietness.
Junior Leopard pulled the person into the room. His Internal Qi went through his body and instantly sealed several vital acupoints of the person causing him to be immobile.
He then threw him down on the floor.
“You are pretty fearless! You didn’t even cover your face when coming to me. Do you really think I’m dead?!” Junior Leopard glared at the young man lying on the floor. He coldly laughed and said, “Tell me, who are you and why did you poison me? Why have you sneakily come into my room in the night?”
Though the young man on the floor was sealed by Junior Leopard, he didn’t have any frantic expressions. However, when he was charged to use poison, his expression stiffened.
“Camp Supervisor Zhou, you must speak with proof. When did I poison you? If I really poisoned you, how could you still talk to me here? I only heard that Camp Supervisor Zhou’s martial arts are powerful and have killed a grassland expert. You are a famous hero, hence, I have a sense of admiration. I happened to pass by Maojiang Prefecture, so I want to seize the opportunity to visit you!”
Junior Leopard was surprised to see this emboldened young man.
“Visit me? Is there anyone paying such a visit?”
“I know what I did is not suitable. However, Your Excellency is a famous Level Eight expert. I’m just at Level Three. Even if I visit you in this way, I won’t trouble you so much.”
“Damn you!” Junior Leopard didn’t want to talk rubbish with him anymore. He stamped onto his face.
“Ah, you, you, you, so daring!”
The young man, whose face was stamped by Junior Leopard, shouted, “Do you know who I am? To actually be so disrespectful towards me? Hurry, take away your foot!”
Junior Leopard’s eyebrows furrowed. This man’s words and tone caused Junior Leopard to dislike him. From his tone, he seemed to be someone from a strong background.
“I obviously don’t know who you are. You didn’t tell me!” Junior Leopard smiled, his feet adding more strength. The man howled painfully.
“Quickly, quickly, take it away. You, you dare! I, I, I am a Lyu Family disciple! Quickly take your foot away!”
…