Relying on sight and hearing that far surpassed martial cultivators of the same realm, Li Weiyi quietly surveyed the streets outside the courtyard and indeed spotted several suspicious figures.
Evidently, they were already under surveillance.
"We didn't provoke anyone, yet we've barely moved in and we're already caught up in such a huge mess. It turns out Jiuli City isn't a safe haven to settle down in either. All we want is to survive, just to live in peace. Why does it have to be so hard?" Qin Ke said, full of worry and pacing restlessly.
She had not drunk the Golden Crow blood. Most of the expedition members who had drunk it ended up like Old Liu, sprouting massive bird heads. Dr. Cai and Gao Huan's metamorphosis into Pure Immortal Physiques was a rare anomaly.
She still cared deeply about retaining her human appearance.
"Survival is the same everywhere. Every place has its own hardships."
Zhao Zhizhuo addressed the newcomers, "Any gang capable of gaining a firm foothold in the outskirts of Jiuli City must have a powerhouse of the Wuhai Realm backing them. We can't afford to provoke them. It didn't use to be like this; I don't know who is backing this Changlin Gang, but they're brazen. How about this—while it's still early, why don't we head into the city to hide for the night? Or we could just abandon this courtyard; after all, it's only rented."
"That was two thousand six hundred silver coins—one month's rent plus a deposit."
Li Weiyi sat on the steps beneath the eaves and added, "Besides, they've already set their eyes on us. Why would they give us a chance to escape into the city? If we run now, it will only reveal our weakness. They'll know we're easy targets and strike with even less restraint."
Zhao Zhizhuo came up with another plan: "I could pretend to go out for supplies, but actually head into the city to see the young clan leader. If he intervenes, the Changlin Gang will definitely back down."
"I'm only worried the Changlin Gang will be thorough and leave us no such chance."
For the safety of everyone in the courtyard, Li Weiyi had to compromise, however reluctant he was to become entangled with the Cangling Tribe. Yet he was very worried that Zhao Zhizhuo would meet with foul play once he stepped out of the estate.
Zhao Zhizhuo smiled. "My life should have ended back in Immortal Burial Town. It was Brother Li who saved me, allowing me to live until now. Now that everyone is in danger, someone has to risk it to carve out a way forward, and I won't shirk from that. Besides, the Changlin Gang might not be quite that cautious."
With lives hanging in the balance, Li Weiyi dropped any further hesitation. But as he saw Zhao Zhizhuo off, he said solemnly, "If we make it through this, I will repay you handsomely in the future."
"Master Jar, how do I actually use these spring-piercing needles?"
Li Weiyi did not know when the Changlin Gang would strike, nor how formidable the enemy was. But having read *The Water Margin*, he knew surrendering was useless; surrender only led to a more wretched end.
The only way was to fight!
Only by fighting could they carve out a foothold for themselves.
Only by fighting could they secure a measure of peace.
Right now, he urgently needed greater power. If he could break through and open the fifth spring, he would be able to control the evil camel bell to some extent, giving him a much better chance against the tempest that might hit tonight.
Inside the freshly swept room, Li Weiyi stripped off his upper garment, sat cross-legged, and opened the jade box containing the spring-piercing needles.
The spring-piercing needles were fine as strands of hair, yet crystalline and transparent, exuding wisps of chill as if condensed from some medicinal spring.
"First adjust your condition to its peak. Once this spring-piercing needle is driven into your Zhongshu acupoint, it will swiftly melt, using its medicinal potency to soften the barrier and make it easier for you to open the spring orifice.
"The medicinal power of a single needle lasts only half an hour... Well, barely a dozen days have passed since you opened your fourth spring. Forcing open the fifth spring won't be easy; you need to be mentally prepared."
*Whoosh!*
From the blue-and-white ash jar, a wisp of soul mist drifted out, condensing into a semi-translucent hand that pinched up a spring-piercing needle.
As Li Weiyi cycled his breathing technique, he felt a clear difference from before. The natural law between heaven and earth seemed extraordinarily rich and lively, and the flow of magic power through the forty-eight trace veins in his body was slightly faster.
Such were the benefits of a provincial capital metropolis; its cultivation environment was incomparable to other places.
Living here long term would definitely speed up breakthroughs.
He soon entered a tranquil state of harmony with nature, focusing all his conscious perception toward the Zhongshu acupoint at the center of his back. He sensed himself, the magical energy of heaven and earth, and the barrier lying in between.
*Hiss—*
The spring-piercing needle flew out, striking the Zhongshu point with dead accuracy and sinking into the barrier.
A burst of icy chill instantly radiated outward through his entire body from the Zhongshu point.
Li Weiyi shuddered as if plunged into an icy cavern. His limbs went numb, robbed of feeling. Only within his forty-eight trace veins did magic power continue to flow in an unbroken stream.
No wonder Master Jar had said opening the fifth, sixth, and seventh springs carried danger; it was indeed different from the first four springs.
Fortunately, Master Jar's technique was masterful, applying the needle with absolute precision. Had any other martial artist rushed like this, the risk would have been immense.
As time passed, under the wearing effect of four forces—the natural energy mobilized by the breathing technique, combined with the vitality, magic power within his body, and the spring-piercing needle—the barrier grew noticeably thinner.
Yet even after the needle's medicinal power was exhausted, it still had not broken through.
"Use the second one," Li Weiyi said.
"Use it now? There's no such thing as using them back-to-back." Master Jar worried his body couldn't endure it.
Li Weiyi said, "I don't feel any discomfort. It shouldn't be a problem."
"Strange indeed! After using a spring-piercing needle, the acupoint usually aches for a long time and needs several days to recover. Even a Pure Immortal Physique isn't built as tough as you."
Master Jar muttered as he pinched the second needle and drove it in.
Half an hour later, when the medicinal potency of the second needle ran out, Li Weiyi finally felt pain at the Zhongshu acupoint, but a thin layer of the barrier still remained. Under normal cultivation, a few more days would have been enough to break through naturally.
However, Li Weiyi did not know what tonight had in store, and he had to break open the fifth spring. He said, "Use the third one. I can take it."
"It's not a question of whether you can take it..."
Master Jar hesitated; using a third needle gave him no peace of mind at all.
"Don't worry, the last thing I'd do is joke with my own life. I'm not acting tough; I genuinely feel the pain in the Zhongshu point is within bearable limits," Li Weiyi said.
***
In another room, Zhao Meng was also running his breathing technique. Perhaps the natural laws of Jiuli City were exceptionally rich, perhaps the outside pressure was great, or perhaps he had simply accumulated enough foundation.
He unexpectedly broke through the spring orifice at the sole of his foot in one go, opening his first spring.
As magic power flowed through the trace veins across his body, his slightly golden skin took on a golden luster. The reddish-gold hair atop his head looked like blazing flames.
With such a physique and such a spectacle, any cultivator who didn't know the truth would probably assume he had the battle prowess of at least the Wuhai Realm.
***
Dusk gradually settled, and Qin Ke finished preparing the meal.
In the courtyard, Old Liu and Old Guan waited in anxious distress, possessing no appetite whatsoever. Their eyes flicked between the front gate and the rooms inside.
So much time had passed, yet Zhao Zhizhuo had still not returned. Most likely, something had happened to him.
The two cultivating behind closed doors had not emerged either.
By the time the setting sun sank completely behind the hazy Mount Mang Range, the sprawling estate was swallowed by darkness. No one dared light a lamp. The naturally timid Qin Ke crouched silently in a corner, shivering at every little sound.
*Creak!*
Zhao Meng crawled out through the door of the three-story main hall. His body was no longer glowing, having returned to normal, and he grumbled, "This door is way too small. Once I earn some money, I have to build a giant house and make an eight-meter-long bed. What are you all doing over there? Light the lamps, or people will think we're scared!"
Just then, Li Weiyi pushed open his door and stepped out as well. "That's right! Even if we die, we die in the light. Everyone must be hungry. Sister Qin, go warm up the food. Uncle Liu, Uncle Guan, move the table under the poplar tree, and bring the lamp over too. We'll eat right here in the courtyard."
Seeing Li Weiyi so calm and composed, Qin Ke and the others seemed infected by his bold spirit. Most of their fear dissipated, and they set about their tasks.
Zhao Meng sat beneath the tree like a giant Buddha. "Zhao Zhizhuo has definitely run into trouble. No one is coming to save us tonight; we can only rely on ourselves."
The dishes on the table were piping hot, their aroma filling the air.
The four of them sat around the table.
Li Weiyi had a hearty appetite. Enduring the throbbing ache in the Zhongshu point at his back, he held his bowl and continually picked up food. Hearing Zhao Meng's words, he paused slightly. "Then they'd better pray to the Jade Emperor that the Changlin Gang doesn't let me survive tonight. Otherwise, I will make them pay the most gruesome price!
"When the fighting starts later, everyone hide inside. Senior Brother, protect them!"
Night deepened.
Outside, the hustle and bustle faded away. Only the grand brothel situated diagonally across the street, a hundred paces off, still sent sounds drifting on the wind—string and woodwind melodies, carriage wheels and horse hooves, coquettish laughter, and drunken shouts.
The protective screens of light rising over the moat and city walls were far more dazzling and brilliant than during the day.
Li Weiyi sat alone beneath the old poplar tree. A bone lamp hung from the branch overhead, and the Yellow Dragon Sword rested against the trunk beside him.
***
On the third floor of the distant brothel, two middle-aged men stood by a window, gazing across at the solitary lamp and lonely figure in the dim courtyard.
One of them, tall and thin with a dark mole between his brows, remarked, "To be so calm and collected—what courage. What's that set on the table beside him... a spirit tablet?"
"Is that laid out for us? How arrogant!"
The other middle-aged man had a thick beard and streaks of gray at his temples. "Have Master Qi make a move. Let's test his mettle first."
***
Hearing movement outside, Li Weiyi ceased practicing the spirit soul cultivation technique with Senior Tablet. He cast his gaze toward the open front gate dozens of feet away. "I'm not one to kill the innocent needlessly. Tonight, this threshold is the line. Cross it, and die."
*Swish! Swish!*
Answering him were two arrows hurtling from the darkness.
There was almost no sound of parting air, and their speed was blindingly fast. Clearly no ordinary arrows, he might not have detected them in advance had he not broken through to the fifth spring and greatly sharpened his senses.
Li Weiyi sprang from his seat. Flashing through the air, he reached out and snatched both black arrows mid-flight.
The arrows were a foot long and thin as iron wire.
Yet they were remarkably rigid and eerily heavy, weighing well over a jin.
Trained in the flying needle technique, he flicked his wrists, and the two black arrows flew back in an instant. With two thuds, they pierced through the half-foot-thick courtyard wall. In the darkness outside, two muffled groans immediately rang out, followed by the thud of bodies hitting the ground.
Suddenly,
*Rustle!*
An eerie disturbance sounded from beneath the earth. The ground warped and buckled, and wisps of black smoke rose from the soil.
Chapter 47