Chapter 15: Into The Forest Part 3

“Is he the one you talked about, Daluo? He is just a child.”

Daluo looked sheepish under the scrutinous gaze of the middle-aged man perched upon a cushioned chair. Behind him stood a young man who didn’t look a day older than fifteen.

Luo Ling felt a heated gaze on him and tore his eyes away from the man in traditional white robes—the cultivator. When he followed Daluo in, this man threw him a casual glance. But that one glance made the hairs at the back of his neck stand up in warning.

This man could probably kill him with a slap— such a thought emerged in his head.

Even without looking, Luo Ling knew who was the owner of those fiery eyes. Turning his head, he flashed a smile at the curious teen. The boy was taken aback at first but nodded his head nonetheless.

“Lord Ping, would a plebian like me dare to lie in front of you” Daluo’s stocky arms shook animatedly as he hurriedly explained himself. Luo Ling’s attention was drawn over by the conversation.

He had to admit, despite his wretched appearance the unkempt baldy knew how to string his words together. Thanks to his concealed flattery, the gorgeously-dressed man relaxed his expression.

“Then explain yourself.” Lord Ping demanded.

Luo Ling noticed the lack of reproach in his tone and sighed inwardly. He had underestimated the gatekeeper. The man he thought to be brash and brutish turned out to be sly as a rat. It was an eye-opener for the reincarnated martial god.

“He might be a kid, but believe me, Lord Ping, he’s way ahead of those so-called hunters in the town. He knew those treacherous woods like the back of his palm. And his sense of direction is far better than mine.”

Even with thirty years of experience in life, Luo Ling still struggled to hold a straight face as Daluo praised his abilities to the high heavens. Especially a few bits that were exaggerated like the tale of him escaping from a pack of wolves. Daluo’s narration was so vivid that even Luo Ling nearly believed it.

He had indeed made a successful escape from a rabid pack many days ago, but they were not wolves but wild dogs. There was a chasm of difference between them.

As expected, the middle-aged man was sold to Daluo’s tall tales.

“I didn’t expect a child yet to hit puberty to be so brave,” the cultivator said, sounding impressed. “Luo Ling, is it? Would you like to guide us to the forest?”

Luo Ling didn’t need Daluo’s awkward winking to grasp the situation. He nodded with a decisive air.

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Tomorrow morning, we’ll set out. Meet us here at dawn.”

~-X-~

“This better be worth it, gatekeeper Daluo.” Luo Ling snapped as they walked out of the inn. “I even agreed without stating my condition as per your request. If they insist on going to the inner parts of the woods, I’m running.”

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Everyone knows danger lurks in the deeper parts of Hundred Beast Forest. Not to mention ferocious advanced beasts, there were even rumors of ghosts and undead floating around. If not because of the reward Daluo talked about on their way here, he’d have never even approached the cultivators.

“Heh,” Daluo snorted in derision. “You’re giving those people too much credit, Ling.”

Luo Ling waited for an explanation, but none came. Daluo had already turned and was walking away, heading in the opposite direction of the orphanage.

Watching his broad back melting into the crowd gathered to watch the ‘immortal,’ Luo Ling recalled the bits of information about the reward. According to the gatekeeper, a Blood Refining pill could cleanse the internal organs and wash the meridians, strengthening them slightly. His chance of sensing the Qi would increase by a huge margin.

It was because of such wonderous properties of the pill that Luo Ling agreed to take the risk. Or given his cautious personality, he’d have never bit more than he can chew.

Setting aside the meridian strengthening aspect, which was a foreign concept to the reincarnated martial god, just the internal organs strengthening was enough to push his Iron Muscles Steel Veins Body Forging technique to the next level. Luo Ling could enter the first-rate martial warrior level much sooner and begin awakening his mental force.

With the help of this pill, Luo Ling could save himself a month of ‘hard work.’ He was tempted.

Luo Ling blinked, then tore his eyes away from the sea of people that quickly swallowed the hulking gatekeeper. Within seconds, even Daluo’s shiny bald head had vanished from sight.

He looked up at the horizon where the sun was gradually sinking into the arch between tall hills, bathing the sky in orange gold. The night was nigh, approaching with unstoppable momentum, but would still take some time before painting the world in inky darkness.

After much deliberation, he trotted to the training ground. It was impossible to go back to bed and continue his napping. All semblance of sleepiness had left his body when it went into overdrive due to the gatekeeper’s erratic knocking. His only hope remained to work out a sweat and tire himself out enough for sleep to reclaim himself.

~-X-~

The night passed uneventfully for the people of Five Fragrance Village. After the initial excitement of meeting an immortal died out, everyone went about with their lives.

Luo Ling donned his usual hunting gear, secured his bow and quiver, and arrived at the designated place— the inn.

“You came,” the youth he saw the day before was there to greet him with a nod. The middle-aged cultivator was nowhere to be seen. “Master is cultivating. Please wait for a few minutes.”

“Understood.”

Luo Ling nodded in acknowledgment and leaned against a wall. Closing his eyes, he peered into his inner world.

Yesterday, in the evening, he trained until he was tired and didn’t have the time to verify his fruits of labor. Since his employer had not arrived yet, might as well get it over with.

[Iron Muscles Steel Veins Body Forging Exercise (Second Level)] – Proficiency: 220/500

[Archery (Houtian III); Penetration (Rank 1); Weakness (Rank 1)]— Proficiency: 1244/5000

Since he could not do the body forging exercise anymore that day, Luo Ling invested his efforts into archery and sword practice. Especially, Archery. And seeing huge numbers beside the proficiency made his lips stretch into content smiles.

Last night, he shot arrows until his muscles screamed in protest, and thanks to that the body forging exercise benefitted a few tens of points. The ‘cheat’ method could grant him proficiency points for Archery but his main cultivation method didn’t benefit from it. Only practicing in the traditional way could do that.

Those massive numbers on the [Records of Toil] ignited Luo Ling’s desire to train harder. Tangible benefits could make anyone put in more effort. If this continued, Luo Ling estimated he’d step into the 1st-rate martial warrior stage in only fifteen days.

“Luo Ling, my master is here,” the youth’s gentle whisper broke through Luo Ling's concentration, pulling the reincarnated Murim expert out of his immersive inner world. Blinking, Luo Ling took in his surroundings. But aside from the youth, who stood as if in deep meditation, there was no one else in sight.

Perhaps he noticed his confusion, the youth broke into a smile as he explained. “Master just sent me a voice transmission. Oh wait, you don’t know what a voice transmission is, right? Let me explain…”