“I haven't lived this life in vain. I've seen people get kidnapped, but kidnapping someone's ancestral tablets is a first...”
“You have to admit, kidnapping tablets is a lot easier than kidnapping people...”
Outside Wuzui Mountain, the strong laborers hired by the Chen family whispered excitedly among themselves.
They had already heard about what happened to the Chen family, and each one was incredibly curious.
“Shut the hell up, all of you...”
Seeing Chen Yu's grim expression, the steward barked.
The whispering crowd immediately shut their mouths.
“Young master, the master has sent a signal.”
Just then, the steward noticed the wolf smoke rising from the direction of Peace Town and quickly alerted Chen Yu.
Chen Yu stood up abruptly, then shouted to the family servants and the hired strong laborers:
“Listen up! Whoever catches a thief this time will be rewarded with an extra fifty taels of gold...”
“Fifty taels of gold! I couldn't earn that in a lifetime!”
“With fifty taels, I can buy a few acres of land, build a house, and marry a wife...”
...
As soon as Chen Yu finished speaking, the crowd erupted in gasps of astonishment.
Their faces flushed red with excitement, and they couldn't wait to catch some thieves and claim the reward.
“Charge...”
At Chen Yu's command, the crowd grabbed their sickles and clubs, sprinting toward Wuzui Mountain as fast as their legs could carry them.
But when they reached the foot of the mountain, they found the carriage parked peacefully where it had been.
The several large chests of gold and silver on the carriage were gone.
“After them... They can't go far carrying all that gold and silver.”
“Catch the thieves, get a wife!”
“Catch the thieves, build a house!”
“Catch the thieves...”
The crowd surged up Wuzui Mountain with unstoppable momentum.
On the way, one of the strong laborers noticed Lu Ming, who had blended into the crowd, and couldn't help but speak up:
“Young Master Lu, you're here to catch the thieves too?”
Lu Ming replied with an excited face, “Yeah, I'm here to catch the thieves and earn fifty taels too...”
“Then you should at least find a weapon to defend yourself!”
As he spoke, the laborer brandished the sickle in his hand.
“Ah... Oh... Right, thanks!”
Lu Ming's mouth twitched, and he quickly picked up a rock to use as a self-defense weapon.
When Chen Yu saw Lu Ming, he merely raised an eyebrow and didn't say much.
Right now, the most important thing was catching the thieves.
However, even after turning over Wuzui Mountain so thoroughly that they disturbed sleeping mice and nesting rabbits, they couldn't find a single thief, nor did they find any sign of the gold and silver.
“Search! Keep searching!”
Chen Dayou, who had already returned, roared with an ashen face.
He truly couldn't fathom how several large chests of gold and silver could have been carried away right under their noses without a sound.
Yet, no matter how hard they searched, there wasn't a single trace.
Not only did they fail to find the chests of gold and silver, but the thieves also seemed to have vanished into thin air.
Seeing that it was getting dark, Chen Dayou had no choice but to call off the search and send everyone back.
They searched for several more days, but still, not a single clue turned up.
From that day on, a legend began to spread about Wuzui Mountain.
It was said that there was a treasure hidden there, and whoever found it would become the richest man in Peace Town.
...
“Oriental Great Emperor, guard me. I am about to begin my cultivation.”
Lu Ming looked at Big Yellow beside him with a serious expression.
“Woof, woof!”
Big Yellow also looked at Lu Ming with a serious dog face, as if saying: Don't worry, with me here, there won't be any problems. But will we succeed this time?
Lu Ming pulled out the damaged technique scroll from his storage bag, looked at Big Yellow, and said confidently:
“Don't worry, I am the protagonist. I will definitely succeed in my cultivation...”
After bringing the gold and silver back from Wuzui Mountain, he had repaired his few dilapidated thatched huts.
Since then, he and Big Yellow had been studying the scroll at home every single day.
He had tried to cultivate it several times, but it never worked.
Lu Ming chalked it up to the tribulations that every protagonist must face.
At this moment, Lu Ming sat cross-legged once more and began to cultivate according to the damaged technique.
“Nirvana's end, myriad forms shapeless, devouring the Dao and swallowing spirits...”
Reading up to this point, Lu Ming frowned. Because of the damage to the scroll, two characters here were illegible.
No matter, he would just skip over them. “...Selfless, returning to the universe as one...”
As Lu Ming formed hand seals, he carefully sensed the so-called spiritual energy around him.
Just as Lu Ming was about to fall asleep, a loud, smelly fart erupted with a pfft, bringing his cultivation to an abrupt end.
“Woof~”
Big Yellow barked in disgust, as if saying: Boss, can you not fart every single time you cultivate? I highly suspect the reason you haven't succeeded is because of your farting.
Lu Ming felt a bit helpless. He didn't want to either! But he still said with a straight face:
“A gentleman is open and honest, and his farts are loud and proud! Besides, flatulence is but the essence of life's breath; how could one not release it?”
Big Yellow looked at Lu Ming with utter speechlessness. It was just a smelly fart, do you have to make it sound so grand?
Feeling a bit embarrassed under Big Yellow's gaze, Lu Ming rubbed his nose awkwardly and quickly changed the subject:
“Big Yellow, I've analyzed the situation. My constant failure in cultivation has nothing to do with me. It must be because the spiritual energy here is too thin!”
“Woof, woof?”
Big Yellow looked at Lu Ming, as if asking: Are we going to venture into the cultivation world now? Didn't you say it was too dangerous?
Lu Ming had been telling it recently that they would venture into the cultivation world once he successfully cultivated.
Because of this, Big Yellow had even yielded its position as the absolute boss of Peace Town's canine world to another dog.
“So, I've decided to try using spirit stones along with a Spirit Gathering Pill... to make up for the lack of spiritual energy.”
Big Yellow's eyes sparkled as it nodded, as if saying: Boss, you're so smart.
“Big Yellow, guard me. I'm going to try again.”
Big Yellow sat down inside the door without hesitation, staring outside seriously, even though the door was closed.
Lu Ming sat cross-legged once more. Then, he retrieved a spirit stone from his storage bag.
He also popped a Spirit Gathering Pill into his mouth.
If any cultivator were present, they would surely think Lu Ming had gone mad.
You're a damn mortal, yet you're taking a pill meant for the Foundation Establishment stage? You must be suicidal!
Boom...
As soon as he swallowed the pill, Lu Ming felt a world-destroying power surge into his body.
At the same time, an agonizing, heart-wrenching pain shot through him.
He quickly circulated his technique to guide the spiritual energy.
Guided by Lu Ming, the violent spiritual energy tore right through his meridians.
It surged all the way into his dantian.
Crack... The sound of his dantian shattering echoed.
Pfft... Lu Ming spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
He felt a sharp, agonizing pain in his lower abdomen.
“It's fine, it's fine... I'm the protagonist. This must be my dantian expanding. It has to be...”
Lu Ming muttered to himself, desperately circulating his technique.
Protagonists always faced endless trials and tribulations. As long as he survived this, he would definitely succeed.
As his dantian shattered, the violent spiritual energy inside Lu Ming's body seemed to find an outlet, dissipating outward.
But as Lu Ming frantically circulated his technique, the escaping spiritual energy was pulled back into his body once more.
Guarding the door, Big Yellow looked at Lu Ming with deep worry:
Boss, you're not going to play yourself to death, are you? This doesn't look very good!
Lu Ming's face was currently pale, and he was drenched in sweat...
Pfft...
As Lu Ming spat out another mouthful of blood,
Big Yellow rushed to his side in a single bound.
It paced around Lu Ming in an anxious frenzy, having no idea how to help him.
It could only pray silently: Boss is the protagonist. He won't die, he won't die. We still have to become emperors and reign supreme over the cultivation world...
Rate on N.U.
