CHAPTER 63: CHAPTER 62: UNEXPECTED GAINS

As soon as they entered the main gate, they saw three or four bloody and mangled corpses lying on the ground, dead beyond doubt.

Among them was an old man with a head full of white hair, gazing at the sky with his mouth open and eyes wide, as if accusing the world of its injustice, leaving a deep impression on anyone who saw him.

"These bastards, they went too far, not even sparing the elderly!" Lu Yang said angrily.

"That’s right!" the others nodded in agreement.

It’s not that Lou Yi’s men were good people.

But even the most malicious person has a trace of compassion in their heart, unable to bear witnessing others commit evil, especially if they have grievances with those doing wrong.

Taking this opportunity, Lou Yi spoke up, "We became bandits because we were forced to, but how we conduct ourselves is our choice. You must have an idea of my style by now."

"Let me be clear upfront, I don’t want people without limits under me.

You can seek wealth, but if anyone is found continuing to harm the innocent, they must know that my axe doesn’t have eyes!"

"Yes!"

Upon hearing Lou Yi’s words, Lu Yang, Liu Yuan, and the others felt a shiver in their hearts.

No one could forget how, just a few hours ago, Lou Yi finished off the martial artist Hu Yifei with a single axe swing.

They saw Lou Yi walk towards the corpses, covering the eyes of those who died with eyes open, tidying the clothing of those whose clothes were disheveled.

He turned to the others and said, "I’ll do what I need to, you all go on with your tasks."

Everyone had different thoughts and soon dispersed within the manor, searching for valuables.

Meanwhile, Lou Yi still wandered aimlessly within the manor, inspecting every deceased person he encountered.

Some bandits saw this and reported it to Xu Xi, to which Wu Yiping sneered, "Big brother, this guy is trying to win people over!"

"We need to find a good opportunity to get rid of him." Xu Xi’s eyes revealed undisguised killing intent, treating Lou Yi as a thorn in the side, "Think of a way."

On the other side, Lou Yi was unaware of Xu Xi and Wu Yiping’s scheme against him.

He was busy harvesting energy points, his total energy having surpassed twenty, reaching as high as twenty-three.

As Lou Yi walked deep into Hu Family Manor, in a room used for worship, his ears suddenly twitched.

His senses far exceeded those of an ordinary person, perceiving a sound coming from below.

Lou Yi scanned his surroundings.

A floor of blue stone, redwood chairs, a square table, two extinguished red candles, a plate of withered yellowish fruits, and a colorful portrait of a smiling lady hanging on the wall.

The deity worshiped by Hu Family Manor was called Huangmei Lady, ordinary in appearance.

Her most distinct feature was her golden eyebrows, being one of the most widely worshiped mythical figures outside of Tai City.

The bandits who had come in earlier were obviously cautious, not daring to destroy the fixtures inside, making this room the cleanest and tidiest in the manor.

Lou Yi gently tapped the square stone slabs with his foot, emitting dull ’clack clack’ sounds.

When he tapped the slab directly under the table, the sound suddenly became a bit crisper.

Lou Yi’s eyes lit up as he crouched down to inspect the slab.

He could clearly see that the seams around it were less dusty than the other slabs.

’Smack!’

Lou Yi slapped the blue stone slab, bending his fingers slightly to grasp the surface and then lifted it sharply upward.

The slab was lifted without resistance.

Suddenly, a knife emerged from the revealed hole, thrusting swiftly at Lou Yi!

But the knife was slow and weak, easily deflected by a light slap from Lou Yi, sending it flying away.

The space beneath the hole was small, only about two or three square meters.

A disheveled young woman was clutching a child, trembling as they stared at Lou Yi.

"Please, please brave warrior, can you spare us?"

Lou Yi observed the woman, noticing the top-grade silk of her clothes, indicating that she held a significant status in the manor.

The child she was holding was also different from typical village children, though only seven or eight years old, his face was filled with hatred as he stared fixedly at Lou Yi.

Seeing Lou Yi remain silent, the woman panicked, "As long as you spare my son, I’ll submit to the warrior’s wishes."

After speaking, she brushed aside her hair to reveal a delicate face, somewhat pretty.

"That depends on whether your sincerity is sufficient enough," Lou Yi remained unmoved, raising his axe with a cold voice, "I only give you one chance. If you can’t impress me, I’ll send you both to meet King Yama."

"Brave warrior, I’m just a weak woman, I have no treasures..." The woman pleaded tearfully, clutching the child desperately.

But seeing Lou Yi’s axe getting closer, she stopped crying, eyes showing panic, "Yes, yes, the lord left me a box..."

"Where is it?"

Seeing Lou Yi’s axe hovering overhead.

The woman retrieved a small black box from the hidden area beneath her skirt and handed it to Lou Yi tremblingly.

The box was made of expensive rosewood, slightly larger than an A4 sheet, about an inch thick, with a small gold lock hanging from it.

Lou Yi took out the silver needle Liu Si had given him and easily unlocked the gold lock in a few tries.

Inside the box were three items:

Two thin booklets and one mask made of special material.

The first booklet, blue with over twenty pages, had three large black characters on the cover: ’Light Body Technique.’

This was a martial arts body technique. Lou Yi now mastered axe skill and was proficient in fist techniques, lacking only a body technique.

The second booklet was green and very thin, only three pages, but the paper was tough, seemingly made from leather parchment.

Lou Yi’s eyes shone as he felt exhilaration overflowing in his heart.

’Hu Family Breathing Technique,’ five characters in dark gold, exuding a higher level of excellence than the previous booklet.

A breathing technique, one he had dreamed of; and it was obtained so easily?

...

Opening to the first page, he saw lines of handwritten ink characters, strong and vigorous:

By any breathing technique, refining flesh and blood to obtain secret blood, one must follow a single path and must not practice other methods concurrently. If so, it is easy to suffer from internal energy conflict, risking death.

Does this mean that once you practice this breathing technique, you can’t practice others?

Lou Yi quickly turned to the last page, which was only half a page, and read: Forced by traitors, unable to retain the complete breathing technique, had no choice but to destroy the content beyond the second layer...

Lou Yi could even see the remnants left from torn-out pages.

So this was an incomplete copy? Lou Yi was speechless.

However, having something is better than having nothing; it can serve as a backup.

Most people in the world would find it difficult to even obtain an incomplete copy like this.

He was just not sure if dear Master Xu had the full version he needed.

Lou Yi looked toward the mother and child hiding in the underground hole.

The two were huddled together, trembling with fear that he might decide to silence them.

Lou Yi sighed, gently placing the slab back, and it fit precisely into the opening with a ’click.’

He continued to examine the spoils.

The third item, the mask, was flesh-colored, extremely thin, and smooth to the touch.

Lou Yi put it on his face, feeling the mask slowly adhere to his skin, as if melding together.

He walked to another room with a copper mirror, seeing a completely different face.

The appearance was utterly unremarkable, someone you wouldn’t remember after seeing several times in a crowd.

"What a great item."

This thing could conceal his identity, almost tailor-made for a fugitive like Lou Yi.

Lou Yi hid the human skin mask securely, then began to study the breathing technique.

...