Chapter 247: The Old Man Emerges from Seclusion

For the entire afternoon, Yan Jing's left hand remained completely rigid.

Fortunately, his heavy veil concealed it, so Fei Yu and Tiger didn't notice anything unusual.

He didn't finally relax until he sensed the Little Messenger return to Bianliu County, sending it a mental command to pull the item out and leave it in a cave in Tranquil Valley.

In the blink of an eye, dinnertime arrived.

Xiao Yu prepared the food, Tiger set out the bowls and chopsticks, and the group got ready to eat in the courtyard.

"Master Liu hasn't come out yet?"

Yan Jing pushed his bowl out past the veil. Fei Yu immediately understood and picked up a piece of spicy braised cured fish for him.

This was Xiao Yu's specialty, and also Young Master Luo's favorite.

Fei Yu was an excellent cook, many times better than Yan Jing, who had spent a few years as a kitchen helper. However, she usually didn't cook poultry. Neither chicken nor duck ever appeared on their daily dining table.

But if they were entertaining guests, Yan Jing had seen her stew an old duck soup that was simply phenomenal.

"Not yet,"

Fei Yu replied, placing some salted bamboo shoots into Yan Jing's bowl.

"These are the bamboo shoots Wang's Dry Goods sun-dried at the start of the year. Try them."

"Very good."

Yan Jing scarfed down a few mouthfuls of rice with the bamboo shoots, his chopsticks clattering against the bowl.

"Did you leave Master Liu's food at his door?"

"I did."

Fei Yu said, "But he hasn't touched it for two or three days."

"Ever since he took the medicine you gave him and went into his room, he hasn't come out. I replace the food at his door with fresh meals every time."

"You don't think he forgot to eat, do you?" Tiger asked suspiciously.

"You don't think he fainted, do you?" Fei Yu's eyes widened.

She quickly shook her head. He probably hadn't fainted; every so often, a loud bang like a firecracker echoed from the room.

"As long as he doesn't start to smell, let Master Liu do as he pleases."

Yan Jing turned to Tiger.

"Huzi, have you thought about what I told you last time?"

"Thought about what?"

Tiger blinked. "Which matter are you talking about?"

Tiger was trying to play dumb.

"Going to Luohe County,"

Yan Jing called him out directly.

"Oh! That..."

Tiger lowered his head and shoveled a few bites of food into his mouth. "I'm still thinking about it."

"Well, once you've made up your mind and this current business is over, we'll take a trip to Luohe County," Yan Jing said.

"So soon?!"

Tiger's hand trembled, and Yan Jing heard his chopsticks clatter against his bowl.

"Um... Young Master, I... I'm not ready yet."

Tiger hastily tried to decline.

He wanted to discuss this with Mr. Yi Ji first.

"It's fine, Huzi. Take your time."

Yan Jing pushed his bowl out past the veil again.

"I'm just saying that if you've decided, we can head there on the way."

"On the way?" Tiger blinked.

"Yes, on the way, because I want to make a trip to Paima County right next to Luohe County."

Clack.

As Yan Jing finished speaking, he heard chopsticks hit a bowl again. But this time it wasn't Tiger; it came from the bowl he was holding out past the veil.

"The rib I was giving you accidentally fell on the ground,"

Fei Yu said softly, quickly bending down to clean it up.

Tiger didn't notice anything amiss. He remained immersed in his own thoughts until he finally made up his mind and said, "Alright. Before this competition ends, I will definitely give you an answer, Young Master."

"Good."

Yan Jing nodded and pulled his hand back.

A while ago, he had drawn a bunch of pictures for Fei Yu and learned a lot about her past.

Paima County wasn't just the Old Man's hometown; it was also where Fei Yu and Young Master Luo first met.

The matters of Old Sin City were to be resolved in Old Sin City. The matters of Bianliu County would be left in Bianliu County. Naturally, the matters of Paima County had to be settled in Paima County.

Over the past few days, he had been thinking hard and felt he was on the verge of figuring out exactly what Young Master Luo's dying wish was.

He coveted the Dotting the Eyes ability of this identity.

Last time, when he killed Lin Changgui at the Lin Estate, he had relied on this method to continuously draw avatars of himself. In battle, this technique of splitting his Weird Energy into thousands of streams could likely serve as a miraculous trump card to end a fight.

After eating his fill, Yan Jing switched his identity and retrieved two letters along with the Refined Ghost Steel Bearing from the Little Messenger.

First was the one from Old Chen.

"I am Chen Nian."

"Everything is fine in Old Sin City. In fact, because we now have a Lord of the Domain, the Weird Energy is much denser than before."

"Although the bottleneck to the Fourth Tier still cannot be broken, according to my estimates, we only need to follow the path of return for about a third of the way, and this bottleneck will disappear."

"When that happens, there should be an explosive surge of advancements in Old Sin City. A batch of people currently stuck at the peak of the Third Tier will be the first to break through."

"However, there are two main issues to worry about right now:"

"First, once Old Sin City makes contact with the outside world, where do we go from there? After all, Old Sin City's overall combat power is simply too weak."

"Even though Mantou Girl has become the Lord of the Domain, that position can at most boost her strength to nearly the Fifth Tier. If enemies invade, she can move freely anywhere within Old Sin City, but she's not the only person in the city."

Yan Jing frowned as he read this.

Indeed, compared to the outside world, Old Sin City's combat strength was lacking.

One had to understand that there were probably more Fourth Tier experts in Bianliu County and its surrounding areas than in the entirety of Old Sin City once it entered the outside world.

As he pondered, the next part of the letter caught his attention.

"But since the migration of the Domain can be planned over time, the second problem at hand is far more serious."

An even more serious problem?

Yan Jing's brow furrowed tighter as he looked further down.

"The second problem: my car-building project is on the verge of bankruptcy."

"..."

Yan Jing let out a long, speechless sigh. He had been wondering what terrible crisis it could be.

"You definitely think this isn't a big deal."

???

Yan Jing's eyes widened. Chen Nian had predicted his reaction?

"But the problem is genuinely serious. First is the fuel tank. I don't know what's wrong with the energy conversion device I have on hand right now, but its conversion rate is incredibly low. I feel like there's wear and tear at the piston joint above the combustion engine's cylinder, so..."

"..."

"...Any of the thirteen situations above are possible."

"So if possible, I need a list of materials you can provide from your end. Of course, if you have any needs, please let me know anytime."

"Your messenger is far from simple. With him, our organization will surely develop rapidly."

"—Chen Nian"

Yan Jing finished reading the letter. Chen Nian had said a lot, though naturally the bulk of it was about his journey in car repair.

However, it did provide quite a few new lines of thought.

The refined bearing the messenger had transported this time was specially hand-picked by Chen Nian.

To test the messenger's load-bearing capacity.

Well.

To be exact, it was to test the load-bearing capacity of Yan Jing's left hand.

Now, as long as an object didn't exceed this weight, they could try transporting it.

Yan Jing reached out and picked up the bearing. His hand immediately dipped under its weight.

This ring-sized bearing was indeed extraordinary. It actually felt like it weighed ten to twenty jin.

The letter mentioned it was made of a material called Refined Ghost Steel.

Yan Jing looked at the huffing Little Messenger and consoled it, "You've worked hard, Xiao Xin."

Xiao Xin was the name he had given the messenger.

"Yiyi yaya!!!"

The Little Messenger's small face was tight as it flailed its arms and legs.

It clenched its tiny fists and fiercely punched the air, as if fighting an invisible enemy.

It was telling Yan Jing that if he ever met the person who made it carry such a ridiculously heavy thing, he had to beat them to a pulp.

He could easily imagine that with the abilities of the deity known as the Messenger, they had never considered—nor did they ever need to—transport heavy objects using this little messenger.

This was highly likely the little guy's first time doing so.

All he could say was that he had set a bad precedent.

"Don't worry. When I see him, I will definitely beat him up good!"

He promised with absolute certainty.

When looking after kids, coaxing was key.

Next was a letter from Mantou.

There weren't many words on the letter, and the writing was crooked without a single straight line. But it was clear the writer had pressed down very hard; the pen had left groove-like indentations in the paper.

"Yi Ji"

"Mantou is doing well"

"Pleas— (crossed out) Plees— (crossed out) Please don't worry"

"Yi Ji. Take good care of your health"

"Yi Ji. Mantou misses you very much"

"————Mantou"

Mantou had learned how to write!

Noticing the tear stains on the stationery, Yan Jing read the letter several times before folding it up and tucking it into his pocket.

Immediately after, he wrote another letter and had Xiao Xin deliver it, specifically instructing it to be given to Chen Nian.

Specifically, to that red egg from last time.

In it, he detailed the current situation in Bianliu County and emphasized that a major battle was imminent, asking for Chen Nian's advice.

Since Xiao Xin had already been to Old Sin City once, the trip went smoothly. Two or three hours later, the reply arrived.

Yan Jing opened the letter. He had initially just wanted to hear Chen Nian's thoughts.

To his surprise, based on the situation he described, Chen Nian provided a completely new strategy:

Find the motorcycle they had ridden there.

"Judging by the degree of damage to your physical bodies, my motorcycle shouldn't have suffered too much damage."

"You can find that vehicle. If your side really has a lot of Cultivators like you said, you can try finding an oil Cultivator to add some fuel to it."

"If you can't win the fight, you can ride it to escape."

It was indeed a great idea.

Whether they could win or not, at least they would have a way out.

As the saying went, having a vehicle was always better than not having one.

"The motorcycle has an auto-avoidance function and would have landed in a secluded spot. Check if there are any desolate, uninhabited areas nearby."

Desolate, uninhabited areas... that would be either Tranquil Valley or Stone Mountain.

If it was in Tranquil Valley, it wouldn't be too hard to find. After all, Luo Sheng was now the Lord of the Domain; sweeping the area shouldn't be a big problem.

If it was Stone Mountain, things would be a bit troublesome.

Late at night.

The quiet Lin Estate was suddenly engulfed by a massive boom.

Yan Jing, who had been sleeping in a chair, snapped his eyes open.

What was going on?

He rushed out the door, just in time to bump into Tiger and Fei Yu emerging from their respective rooms.

"Assassins!!!"

Fei Yu screamed.

"Where are the assassins?!"

Tiger shielded Yan Jing behind him.

Instead, they saw a robust, muscular figure walk directly out of the room next to the main hall.

When Tiger and Fei Yu saw the person, their eyes immediately bulged wide.

The figure used Blink to arrive right in front of Yan Jing and cupped his fists in a salute:

"Young Master!"

"Master Liu! You succeeded?"

Yan Jing asked in surprise.

He wanted to see what the Old Man looked like now, but since he couldn't step outside the veil, he asked Fei Yu and Tiger to describe him:

"Old but vigorous," "offending public morals," and "rejuvenated in his old age." Those were Fei Yu's descriptions.

"Muscles all over," "shirtless," and "handsome as hell." Those were Tiger's descriptions.

Yan Jing roughly pictured it in his mind.

"Master Liu, you look incredible!"

He gave a thumbs-up.

Outside the veil.

Old Master Liu currently stood with a long, flowing beard. His shredded shirt hung loosely at his waist, and a layer of dense, rock-hard muscle clung tightly to his bones.

The muscles weren't overly exaggerated, and the definition wasn't even particularly stark. However, Fei Yu, who understood a bit of the Martial Dao, could tell at a glance that this was the physique every true martial artist pursued: agile, swift, and overflowing with power. It was a genuine Martial Body.

More importantly, Fei Yu noticed that the hidden injuries plaguing the Old Man's body had genuinely been mostly cured. That was the only way he could have seemingly reversed his aging and returned to his absolute peak.

No, rather, even setting aside cultivation levels, the Old Man's current martial prowess was definitely far greater than during his prime.

"Young Master, I already know the mission for the next phase,"

The Old Man cupped his fists and said.

"What's the plan, Master Liu?"

Yan Jing asked.

The Old Man reached out both hands, splaying his ten fingers wide.

"Are you saying everything is well in hand?"

Fei Yu chimed in from the side.

The Old Man shook his head:

"I want to fight ten of them!!!"