29: Return to the city

“How are you? Are you injured?”

A familiar voice came, and Lu Ming subconsciously turned his head to look.

“Lord Zhao, I’m fine.”

Lu Ming saw that the person who came was Zhao Bufan, he shook his head and immediately responded.

Zhao Bufan had always been paying attention to Lu Ming, so he naturally knew that the other party was not seriously injured in the battle. Not only that, but the other party’s performance in today’s battle truly made his eyes light up.

“I know what you’re thinking. We live in this damned world, and it’s already fortunate to be able to take care of ourselves. If you want to make a change, besides having the necessary courage, you also need to possess a certain level of strength.”

Zhao Bufan earnestly taught him. As the only son of his old friend, Zhao Bufan was teaching Lu Ming not as a superior, but as an elder.

“I understand, Lord Zhao!” Lu Ming nodded.

He knew that the other party had good intentions, and although he had his own ideas, he also knew what should be done and what shouldn’t be done at this time.

Seeing the seriousness in Lu Ming’s eyes, Zhao Bufan nodded slightly, satisfied.

“Oh, by the way, you should have already broken through to the Initial Realm, right?”

In today’s battle, Lu Ming killed several powerful enemies in the Initial Realm, relying on more than just Blade Aura. With Zhao Bufan’s shrewdness, he naturally noticed it.

“Yes, after obtaining the Cultivation Technique from the storeroom that day, I Cultivated day and night, and that’s how I managed to Breakthrough by chance,” Lu Ming humbly replied.

Hearing the confirmed answer from Lu Ming, Zhao Bufan couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth slightly.

How much time had passed? The other party had actually crossed this obstacle. It seemed he had underestimated his nephew’s Aptitude.

“I won’t say more. With today’s merits, you can just wait for your reward.”

Zhao Bufan patted Lu Ming’s shoulder and then left.

The incident in Xiao Wang Village came to an end. Although Chen Zhong committed suicide by taking poison, Liu Tongzheng, the primary target, was still alive. Although the same black pill was found on him, he clearly did not have the courage to commit suicide... As the sun set, large swathes of afterglow fell on the stone-stacked city walls. The solitary city tower appeared solemn and majestic under the dim yellow sunlight.

At the city gate, as night approached, both pedestrians and merchants became much fewer.

Several Government Soldiers guarding the city gate stood there, chatting while yawning, complaining about why it wasn’t time for the shift change yet.

Looking out at the vast plain, a long convoy of vehicles, their shadows stretched long, was approaching the city gate.

The first to notice the situation were the Government Soldiers on duty on the city wall. Upon seeing the unusual convoy, they immediately prepared to raise the alarm.

However, after getting a closer look at the clothes worn by those people, the slightly flustered city guards quickly calmed down.

“It’s people from the Demon Suppression Division!” someone exclaimed.

This convoy was naturally Lu Ming and the others who had left Xiao Wang Village. Besides those riding, there were also three simple carriages in the team.

The foremost carriage carried several severely injured Demon Suppression Division members who couldn’t move, while the middle carriage held the fallen Demon Slayer Guard. As for the last carriage, it was piled with blood-stained heads, not only those of wolf demons, but even the heads of those traitors from the Tie Sha Sect had been cut off.

Lu Shan and his Government Soldiers were not among them. After dealing with everything, they bid farewell and returned to their station.

After all, as Government Soldiers, they were forbidden to enter the city without orders.

A strong, bloody stench assailed them, causing the several Government Soldiers who came forward to greet them to quickly stop. Looking at the terrifying heads, the psychological and olfactory stimulation made them feel a wave of nausea.

“Lord… Lord Zhao!” the leading captain said somewhat flustered.

His peripheral vision glanced at the grotesque Devil Heads, among which Yan Qi’s was the most striking.

“Pile these heads into a Jingguan (a mound of heads), so that people know that the wolf demons near Lianbo City have been eliminated, and put up a notice stating that the Tie Sha Sect colluded with demons and their crime deserves death,” Zhao Bufan said indifferently.

The captain heard this and dared not disobey in the slightest, nodding like a chick pecking at rice.

“Let them through, quickly let them through!” A loud cry rang out, and the group entered the city gate after the path had been cleared.

After returning to the Demon Suppression Division, Zhao Bufan ordered everyone to disperse.

Lu Ming returned to his room. After bathing and changing, and handing over his blood-stained clothes to a specialized person for washing, fatigue set in. He rolled onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, the story of Xiao Wang Village spread throughout Lianbo City. Upon learning that the Demon Suppression Division had fought a bloody battle outside the city yesterday and killed dozens of demons, it quickly became a hot topic of discussion among people after meals and tea.

Of course, these things didn’t have much to do with Lu Ming. After a peaceful morning, in the afternoon, Zhao Bufan summoned him alone in the inner hall.

“Sit down. I don’t have anything urgent to discuss today. Let’s just drink tea and chat, as uncle and nephew,” Zhao Bufan said with a smile.

After everyone dispersed yesterday, Zhao Bufan, as a Qianhu, did not idle. Instead, he quickly organized manpower to issue arrest warrants and interrogated Liu Tongzheng.

After a night of busyness, there was no trace of fatigue on Zhao Bufan’s face, and his injuries seemed to have recovered.

Seeing that the other party was fine, Lu Ming couldn’t help but marvel at how powerful the recovery speed of an Extremity Realm martial artist truly was.

Lu Ming didn’t think that at this time, the other party was truly idle and had no reason to seek him out, but he didn’t speak and instead sat down as he was told.

He took a sip of tea, which was bitter with a hint of fragrance, leaving a lingering aftertaste.

“This tea has been in my collection for many years. Even your father hasn’t drunk it many times. I remember the first time I met your father was ten years ago. Who would have thought that so much time would pass in a blink of an eye,” Zhao Bufan said with emotion.

“I remember the first time I saw you, I thought you were one of those pampered young masters, but in the battle of Xiao Wang Village, who would have thought your strength was so impressive? Even that guy Yuanwu praised you endlessly.”

Facing Zhao Bufan’s praise, Lu Ming showed no pride, responding humbly and calmly: “I merely did what I could. If it weren’t for your support, Lord Zhao, even if I wanted to kill demons, I’m afraid it would be difficult to change the situation.”

Zhao Bufan smiled faintly upon hearing this and did not continue to discuss the topic.

After taking a sip of tea and clearing his throat, he then spoke: “Since you have already learned the Blood Refining Yuan Gathering Skill, what do you want? With your merits from Xiao Wang Village this time, no one will say anything.”

This was the real purpose of Zhao Bufan summoning Lu Ming this time.

In this battle, he killed more than thirty demons, plus the traitors from the Tie Sha Sect. This merit was undoubtedly immense.

As a Qianhu, Zhao Bufan could naturally help Lu Ming obtain some necessary items within his authority to ensure his Cultivation progressed steadily.

Most importantly, Lu Ming’s performance in this battle was exceptionally outstanding!