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Lu Sheng came to a halt, his entire body aching. "My body is still too weak... A few months of training is far from enough," he muttered, wincing as the pain radiated through him.
Fortunately, the internal energy of the Jade Crane Art continued to circulate. It spread like fine threads of silk through his meridians, resembling a spider web weaving itself across every painful spot.
As the energy nourished his body, the sharp pain dulled. A tingling, numb itch spread through the affected areas.
"It's really amazing. This numb and itchy feeling must be the wounds starting to heal and regenerate," he thought to himself.
Casting one last glance at the corpse on the ground, he slipped through the gap Zhao Shuanghuo had used to enter.
Beyond it lay the backyard of another home.
Lu Sheng stepped into the yard, eyes sweeping over the ground. He spotted a trail of footprints and followed them toward the main house.
As he stepped inside, his expression changed—shock flashing across his face.
Hanging from the beam inside was Lu Qingqing, clad in nothing but a thin layer of white undergarments. She was unconscious. Her clothes had been mostly stripped away, her pale, tender skin exposed in humiliating fashion. Her legs were tied apart, her posture degrading. If not for the last scrap of fabric, nothing would have been left to the imagination. Her upper body, too, was barely covered—only a shred of cloth remained across her chest.
It was clear that if Lu Sheng had arrived even a little later, the unthinkable might have happened.
"Thank heavens..." he breathed, rushing forward. He tore off his coat, wrapping it around her trembling form before carefully cutting her down.
This incident could never be made public. If word got out, Lu Qingqing’s reputation would be utterly destroyed. In this era, even the suspicion of such an ordeal could doom a girl. No one would care whether she had been raped or not—the stain of impropriety was enough. In some families, girls deemed to have lost their innocence before marriage were subjected to cruel punishments, even drowned in pig cages.
Holding her gently, Lu Sheng lightly patted her pale cheeks.
Lu Sheng wondered to himself—if he could one day control his internal energy freely, perhaps he could guide it into others' bodies to help heal their wounds, just like the stories he had heard about powerful martial artists using their inner force to treat injuries.
Unfortunately, the internal energy from his Jade Crane Art remained locked within his own body. It couldn't be transferred outward.
After gently slapping Lu Qingqing’s cheeks several more times, she finally stirred. Her eyelids fluttered, and she slowly regained consciousness.
Her gaze was foggy with confusion, unsure of where she was or what had happened. Then, a chill crept over her skin—and everything came rushing back.
She remembered the ambush, the struggle, and being bound by those men.
As the realization hit her, her entire body began to tremble. She looked down at herself, sensing the disarray and exposure—and then looked up at Lu Sheng.
Her eyes widened in shock. A flush of humiliation and fear surged to her face, and her eyes welled with tears, the rims already red.
"Hurry up and put on your clothes! The family will be here soon," Lu Sheng said urgently, glancing toward the entrance. Uncle Zhao and the others would likely arrive at any moment.
From the moment Lu Sheng entered to his clash with the Ghost-Head Blade brothers, only a short span of time had passed. Yet precisely because of that, Lu Qingqing had just enough time to react.
Startled at first, she quickly grasped what her brother meant. She wasn’t foolish—she understood immediately.
Realizing there was still hope of salvaging her dignity, she forced her weak body upright and hurried to gather her scattered clothes from all corners of the room. Many of them were torn and barely wearable, but she did her best to dress herself regardless.
Even though she was still exposed in places as she dressed, she paid no mind to it.
Lu Sheng, understanding the situation, turned his back to give her privacy.
Only once she finished did he turn around again.
Seeing how thoughtfully he had behaved, Lu Qingqing let out a soft sigh of relief. Her face was still slightly flushed, but the tension in her shoulders eased.
"Brother, where are those bad guys!?" she asked, anger flashing in her eyes.
"I killed them," Lu Sheng replied calmly. "Where’s Xiao Ba? I didn’t see him."
"I don’t know... I didn’t see Xiao Ba come in," Lu Qingqing answered, but as soon as the words left her mouth, she froze.
All those people... several skilled fighters... and her brother had killed them all by himself?
She found it hard to believe.
In her eyes, Lu Sheng had always been a gentle and elegant man. Even though he had recently begun practicing martial arts, the enemies tonight were formidable—so much so that even her master might have struggled to defeat them.
Could he really have done it alone...?
Lu Sheng’s voice cut through her thoughts. "We’ll look for Xiao Ba later. Have you packed up? When the others arrive, I’ll say we fought those men together. Got it? When I came in, you were already fighting their apprentices."
He was preparing a cover story.
"Yes!" Lu Qingqing replied firmly. She understood the seriousness of the situation and didn’t press further, nodding with resolve.
Yet despite the urgency, an uneasy feeling lingered.
The thought that her entire body had probably been seen by her elder brother filled her with a strange, burning sense of shame.
It felt as though she were still standing exposed before him, as if the clothes on her now weren’t enough to erase that moment.
Her cheeks flushed red once more, and she quickly lowered her head, trying to hide it.
Lu Sheng cleaned up the traces of things in the room a little bit. Put away the rope that tied people.
When he was halfway through the cleanup, Uncle Zhao and others finally came.
A rush of footsteps echoed as a group of people stormed into the courtyard next door.
A cry of surprise quickly followed.
"It’s the Ghost Head Guillotine Blade brothers!" an older guard shouted.
The courtyard erupted into noise—gasps, murmurs, scattered questions—until it all fell into sudden silence.
Then Uncle Zhao’s calm, commanding voice rang out.
"Look for the eldest young master and the second lady."
"We’re fine!" Lu Sheng called back as he guided Lu Qingqing out from the shadows and into view.
Uncle Zhao stood in the center of the courtyard, dressed in black and gripping two swords. His presence was steady and formidable.
All around him, the guards were moving efficiently—checking the bodies, scanning the ground for any remaining signs of the battle.
Upon seeing Lu Sheng and Lu Qingqing unharmed, Uncle Zhao's stern expression softened.
"Brother Sheng! I’m glad you’re all right." The tension melted from his posture, and the dangerous energy around him faded.
"This isn’t the place to talk. Let’s head back first."
He gave a meaningful glance toward Lu Qingqing. Though their quick cover-up might fool most people, it wouldn’t escape the notice of someone as experienced as him.
Lu Sheng gave a quiet nod. He could tell that the mansion had already notified the authorities. Without delay, he, Lu Qingqing, and the others left the courtyard and flagged down a carriage.
The three of them boarded it, while the rest of the guards either rode on horseback or ran alongside, quickly retracing their path back.
A few men stayed behind to coordinate with the government officials and manage the aftermath.
The group returned swiftly to the Lu family mansion, where the gates were immediately shut tight behind them.
In the main hall, Lu Quanan was already waiting, flanked by Second Mother and several other concerned family members.
After changing into fresh clothes, Lu Qingqing was brought to the lobby to explain herself.
Lu Sheng, however, did not accompany her.
Instead, he gave Uncle Zhao a full report of the events—though he carefully altered the details of Lu Qingqing’s involvement. In his version, she had still been struggling against one of the enemy’s apprentices when he arrived.
Then, using his injuries as an excuse, he withdrew to rest.
The doctor who had prescribed the medicine returned to examine Lu Sheng’s injuries.
Multiple muscle strains, minor bone fractures, internal bruising, and a partially dislocated shoulder—the list went on.
Lu Sheng hated this kind of drawn-out examination, where each issue was addressed one at a time like a formal court trial. Everything is dragged out, he thought with irritation. Such a simple matter, yet it takes forever to get through.
After he washed up, Xiaoqiao silently helped him out of his coat, tears welling in her eyes. Without a word, she helped him to bed so he could rest.
Once the doctor left, Lu Sheng realized just how much he’d already recovered. Despite the diagnosis, his body felt energized, his blood strong and vibrant. It was as if he hadn't just been in a life-or-death struggle.
The Jade Crane Art, once fully mastered, had truly remarkable healing abilities.
Lying in bed with a warm stomach after finishing a bowl of ginseng chicken soup, Lu Sheng sighed in relief. His whole body felt relaxed and comfortable.
"This whole ordeal was a false alarm after all," he muttered to himself. "I didn’t expect Second Sister to encounter not demons or ghosts, but two old murderers who were wanted for years."
He had been on edge ever since noticing something unusual on that street earlier, which was why he had acted with such caution. Yet in the end, it hadn't been a supernatural threat—it was a man-made disaster.
Lying back against the pillow, he carefully replayed the entire fight in his mind.
"From start to finish, my moves could’ve been more concise. If I had made better use of the numbing effect from the Tiger’s Roar in the Black Tiger Saber Techniques Technique, I might’ve avoided a direct clash with those two." He frowned, deep in thought.
"It’s really difficult to face opponents stronger than me. As a swordsman, raw strength shouldn't be my weakness. Maybe I need to look into external techniques to enhance my power."
He hadn’t tried cultivating hard-body or external martial arts yet, so he wasn't sure how effective they would be once modified through his unique method.
....................
Lu Mansion, Main Hall.
Lu Quanan sat in the seat of honor, his expression dark as he stared down at Lu Qingqing. Seated beside him were Second Mother, Third Mother, and other family members—the entire household had gathered for what felt like a formal interrogation.
Below, Lu Qingqing stood with her head bowed. Beside her were Uncle Zhao and several guards.
"...That is roughly the situation," Uncle Zhao concluded, having subtly improved upon the version Lu Sheng had given him.
"I’ve already reported the incident to the authorities. This case is credited to Young Master Sheng—no one else can claim it." A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Young Master Sheng has always been fond of martial arts. I didn’t expect that he’d be able to take down both the Guillotine Blade and Ghost-Head Blade in one go. Clearly, he’s reached a remarkable level of strength. A late bloomer, but a talented one!"
Lu Quanan’s expression softened. The pride he felt in Lu Sheng seemed to wash away much of his previous frustration.
"Little Sheng has truly impressed me," he said, his voice tinged with satisfaction.
Then his gaze shifted sharply to Lu Qingqing.
"Xiaoqing, look at your brother—now look at yourself. Aside from causing trouble for the family and burdening your brother, have you done anything meaningful for us?" His tone turned stern.
"I sent you away to train in martial arts, not to come back and bring chaos into this house!"
"Dad... your daughter knows she was wrong," Lu Qingqing murmured, regret filling her voice. In truth, she knew just how close she had come to ruin—had her brother not arrived in time, she might not have been able to face anyone again.
Lu Quanan’s voice rose sharply.
"You know you’re wrong? Haven’t you said that every time? And what’s the result? The same nonsense over and over again!"
His anger built with every word.
"Once you recover from this injury, I’m going to find you a husband. You’ll settle down, get married, and raise a son—that’ll calm you down."
"No!" Lu Qingqing shot up, as if someone had stepped on her tail. Panic flashed across her face.
"I don’t want to get married! Please, no! Dad, I was wrong—I swear I’ll help the family from now on! I won’t cause any more trouble, I promise!" Her voice was desperate, pleading. "Really! I mean it this time!"
Lu Quanan said nothing more. He simply turned his head and looked toward the physician who had just entered the hall.
"How is Little Sheng’s injury?"
The physician, a distant relative of the Lu family, stepped forward respectfully. Though his duties differed from the main branch, he had been brought into the household after the family's rise to prosperity.
"Fortunately, it’s just superficial injuries—some muscle strain and bruising. He should be fully recovered in ten days to half a month."
"That’s good," Lu Quanan said with a nod, though his expression remained troubled. "Then I’ll ask him whether he still intends to go to Yanshan City to continue learning martial arts."
The thought of it left him slightly agitated—his son had already experienced danger. The idea of sending him off again stirred unease in his heart.
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