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Chapter 76: Chapter 75: Manager Cai, you don't want others to know, do you?
Chapter 76: Chapter 75: Manager Cai, you don't want others to know, do you?
After entering the Inner City, Shen Qing returned to the inn where he usually lodged as if nothing had happened.
As usual, he called Shen Xiaohu to have a casual meal together.
Since they had a hearty lunch at noon, neither of them was very hungry by evening.
Seeing that there were fewer guests in the hall, Shen Xiaohu moved his stool closer to Shen Qing and said, "Brother Qingzi, something bad has happened."
Shen Qing, holding a chopstick with a peanut between them, threw it into his mouth, clueless, and asked, "What happened?"
"Ouyang Tie Niu is dead. Not long after you left, Senior Brother Ouyang came to our school in mourning to request the presence of our uncle, the Hall Master, to preside over the funeral."
Shen Qing almost lost his grip on the chopsticks in his hand, exclaiming in surprise, "Ah, Ouyang Tie Niu is dead? We just ate lunch together, how could this have happened so suddenly?"
"I know, I didn't expect him to die so soon either," whispered Shen Xiaohu, continuing with regret, "You don't know, our uncle, the Hall Master, looked terrible when he left. Now, everyone in the outer gate is saying that the Hall Master's enemy has come knocking, and everybody is really scared. I reckon a few more people won't show up tomorrow."
Shen Qing fell silent for a moment, then said no more.
Shen Xiaohu pondered, "Actually, Ouyang Tie Niu was rather fortunate to have a brother to claim his body. Yang Zhao Ping is the one to pity, being the only one left in his family. If he died, there would be no one to claim his corpse."
Shen Qing changed the subject and asked, "Are there not many disciples left at the outer gate now?"
"Not many," Shen Xiaohu said honestly, "You remember when we first went there, there were around thirty or more? Now only about a dozen show up each day, and even those dozen aren't there every day. They all say the Hall Master is in danger and might not make it through this time."
"You just focus on your training, don't worry about the rest. With fewer people, you might be able to stay at the outer gate a bit longer and learn more."
"I understand. We're only staying because of auntie's sake, leaving now would make things even harder for her. We're all family; we can't do something that would let our family down," said Shen Xiaohu earnestly, "A single chopstick is easily broken, but a bundle is much harder to break. We need to stand together."
Shen Qing looked at Shen Xiaohu and said, "Where did you learn all this?"
"My mother taught me," he replied.
"Auntie taught you well," commended Shen Qing.
After dinner, Shen Qing and Shen Xiaohu returned to their respective rooms.
The inn here was very cheap, with a night's stay costing just sixty to seventy wen per room.
For Shen Qing, with his current financial status, this was a mere trifle.
Shen Xiaohu might have been young, but when he slept, his snores were thunderous.
With such lodging costs, Shen Qing decided not to share a room with Shen Xiaohu anymore.
The sixty to seventy wen room in the inn was quite basic inside.
There was a table, a bed, and a chair.
The oil lamp, the size of a soybean, flickered in the night wind as if it might go out at any moment.
Shen Qing sat on the worn wooden chair, and with a shift in consciousness,
a flash of sharpness gleamed in his eyes, a water ink vision unfolded before his sight, dyeing the air with lines of water ink text.
[Skill: Hunting (Level of Mastery)]
[Progress: 300/300 points]
[Status: Upgradable]
[Note: Having awakened Skillful Baiting and Poison Shadow, these new skills greatly increase the success rate of hunting. Continuing to increase progress may grant a certain probability of inducing a transformation and advancement in the awakened skills.]
During this period, Shen Qing certainly hadn't forgotten his signature skill; he had been continuously practicing and making progress.
With the constant use of his hunting skills today, he had unknowingly met the conditions for a breakthrough.
Whenever there was a breakthrough in the past, his body showed some abnormalities, more or less.
Now, when no one was around, it was a good opportunity to break through and adapt.
Shen Qing took a deep breath, willed his consciousness to move, and broke through.
At that moment, on the Water Ink Panel, the skill level relating to hunting quickly jumped up, shifting from the level of mastery to Great Perfection.
All the progress reset to zero again.
Boom!
When the realm information jumped, Shen Qing's entire body shook, and the muscles and breath throughout his body underwent unbelievable changes.
A surge of memories flooded into his mind.
At a certain moment, Shen Qing seemed to have lived through decades, polishing his hunting skills over and over during this time.
Finally, at one moment, he comprehended a new skill—Turtle Breathing Technique.
[Skill: Hunting (Great Perfection)]
[Progress: 0/400 points]
[Status: Cannot be improved]
[Note: Your continuous practice has allowed the hunting skill to break through consistently. Skillful Baiting, Poison Shadow, and other skills have undergone transformation and advancement, awakening the Turtle Breathing Technique. With this skill, you can conceal your figure to the utmost, generally undetected by your prey.]
Shen Qing looked at the lines of water ink information in front of his eyes, so excited that he almost jumped out of bed.
Turtle Breathing Technique! It was actually the Turtle Breathing Technique!
That's great.
With this skill, his ability to save his life has greatly increased.
No one would have an easy time discovering him.
Late at night.
Near the outer gate of Outer City, the corner of the gate emitted grinding sounds of bricks and stones.
Crackling sounds echoed.
A few bricks were skillfully removed from inside by a hand.
After a short while, a doghole just big enough for one person to get through was gradually dug out beneath the city wall.
Dressed in cotton clothes, Cai Jia Sheng squeezed out slowly from the doghole.
When he was almost out, he suddenly sprang forward, much like meat being squeezed out of fingertips—his entire upper body emerged from the doghole.
A gleam of joy appeared on Cai Jia Sheng's face as he propped himself against the city wall with his muscular arms, and his lower body elegantly extricated itself from the doghole.
Upon landing, he scanned his surroundings alertly, seeing no one else around.
Cai Jia Sheng quickly turned around to rebuild the removed bricks.
"This hole was dug too small, and it's a bit of a struggle every time I use it. It's alright for skinnier people, but someone bigger than me would probably be unable to squeeze through. I'll have to find someone to fix it up later."
After covering his tracks, Cai Jia Sheng glanced left and right, avoided the night watchman's patrol route, and skillfully navigated through several alleys before returning to his small courtyard home.
Inside the house, candlelight rose once more.
Cai Jia Sheng placed the wooden box he had acquired today on the table, and he also took out two other wooden boxes from under the bed, lining them up neatly.
He opened them one by one, revealing three delicacies inside: Blood Bird's Nest, Tiger King's Penis, and Jade Deer Tendon.
Looking at these three delicacies, a satisfied smile appeared on Cai Jia Sheng's face: "Finally, all three are gathered. Truly the blessing of heaven, Wang Qiyao died out of the blue, and now my position as the Shopkeeper should be secure."
"Knock, knock, knock!"
Just then, a knocking sound came from outside the door.
"Who is it?" Cai Jia Sheng quickly closed the three wooden boxes.
"Who I am is not important, but who you are, is very important. Manager Cai, you wouldn't want others to find out that you're Huang Tian Sect's Envoy, would you?"
A deep voice came from outside, causing Cai Jia Sheng's face to change drastically.