92: Chapter 92: Gift of Cultivation Techniques, A Sign of the Beast Tide

After dealing with the enthusiastic villagers, Lin Ye strode toward Wang Gang's house.

The courtyard was still the same courtyard, except that a few new wooden fence posts had been replaced at the entrance, and the date tree in the corner had grown a bit taller since he left.

At this moment, Wang Gang was squatting in the courtyard chopping wood; he only looked up when he heard the sound of footsteps.

The next second, the axe in his hand froze mid-air.

“Brother Gang.” Lin Ye stood at the door and smiled at Wang Gang.

Wang Gang froze for a moment, then immediately threw down his axe and strode over.

“You brat, you didn't even say a word before coming back!”

Wang Gang's voice was a bit hoarse, clearly somewhat emotional.

“Haha, I just wanted to give you a surprise, Brother Gang.”

Lin Ye laughed it off, then followed Wang Gang into the house.

Wang Gang poured a bowl of tea, and Lin Ye picked it up and took a sip.

“Brother Gang, I brought you something good this time.” Lin Ye put down the bowl and said mysteriously.

“Ah? What is it?” Wang Gang was taken aback.

Lin Ye didn't answer, but instead took out a jade pendant from his robes and placed it on the table.

The jade pendant was pale green and white throughout, with smooth edges and fine patterns carved on the surface.

Wang Gang clearly didn't recognize the object; he picked up the jade pendant and turned it over to examine it.

“Is this for me? It looks nice; it must be worth a lot of money.”

Hearing this, Lin Ye explained with a smile:

“Brother Gang, you've misunderstood. This isn't just some simple ornament; it has an Internal Skill Mind-Cultivation Technique recorded inside called the Yangqi Formula.”

Wang Gang's hand holding the jade pendant trembled.

His lips moved, and it took a while before he could speak: “Brother Lin, this... this is too precious, I...”

“Brother Gang.” Lin Ye interrupted his next words.

“There's no need for such talk between us.”

“Besides, I promised to find an Internal Skill for you, so naturally, I can't break my word. Just accept it with peace of mind.”

Saying this, he pushed the jade pendant back as Wang Gang was about to return it.

“If you can successfully enter the ranks because of this, it will fulfill a wish of mine.”

Wang Gang fell silent upon hearing this, clutching the jade pendant tightly in his hand before nodding seriously.

“Don't worry, with the Cultivation Technique you've given me, Brother Lin, if I still can't enter the ranks, I might as well kill myself by running into a block of tofu.”

As he spoke, he carefully tucked the jade pendant into his robes and took a large gulp of tea, as if trying to suppress his emotions.

“Haha, it's not that extreme.

With Brother Gang's Aptitude, entering the ranks will be as easy as reaching for something in your pocket.”

“The way to use the jade pendant is also very simple; just find a quiet place and crush it.”

Seeing Wang Gang accept it, Lin Ye smiled with satisfaction, then changed the subject: “By the way, Brother Gang, I encountered many wild beasts on my way back.

Have the wild beasts on Heifeng Mountain increased in number recently?”

Wang Gang nodded at the words: “They have indeed increased quite a bit.”

Lin Ye frowned: “I cleared the outer beast groups before I left; logically, they shouldn't have recovered so quickly.”

“I'm not too sure about that either.

Moreover, when I used to go hunting on the mountain, I might not even encounter a few big ones in a whole day.

Now, when entering the mountain, you can run into a large pack before you've even walked two li.

Two days ago, when I went hunting with Wang Laosi, we were almost surrounded by a pack of wolves.”

At this point, Wang Gang added another sentence: “However, there haven't been any cases of beast groups coming down the mountain to pillage; it's just that hunting in the mountains is more dangerous than before.”

Lin Ye nodded, silently taking note of this.

After chatting with Wang Gang for a while longer, he rose to take his leave: “Then you get busy, Brother Gang. I'm going to find Captain Zhao to ask about the situation.”

“Alright.”

Wang Gang saw Lin Ye to the door.

“Brother Lin.”

“Hmm? What is it?” Lin Ye turned his head.

“Thank you.” Wang Gang only said two words, but they seemed to contain a thousand more.

Lin Ye smiled and waved dismissively, then strode toward the Martial Arts Training Ground.

The Martial Arts Training Ground was still the same as before, with its bluestone floor polished smooth and several training sabers and spears resting on the weapon racks on both sides.

At this moment, Captain Zhao was standing in the center of the field, guiding a group of Militia as they hacked at wooden posts one by one.

Lin Ye didn't interrupt, but instead walked silently to the edge of the field to watch.

However, Captain Zhao had clearly noticed Lin Ye and immediately put down his saber and walked over.

“You're back. How have you been in town?”

“Quite good.” Lin Ye nodded with a smile.

Zhao Shanhe looked him up and down:

“Mm, I can tell, your aura has become stronger!”

“Thanks to you, Captain, my strength has improved slightly.”

“Come, let's go inside and chat.”

Instructing the Militia to continue their training, Zhao Shanhe put his arm around Lin Ye's shoulder and walked into the nearby courtyard.

“Returning this time for...”

Zhao Shanhe poured a cup of tea for Lin Ye.

“Mainly because I haven't seen you all in so long, I missed you.”

“Haha, a good man's ambitions lie in the four corners of the world; being too homesick isn't good.”

Zhao Shanhe laughed, then asked with concern: “Did you run into any trouble in town this time?”

“No, no. I just came back to visit. Also, there's something I need to tell you, Captain.”

“Oh? What is it?” Zhao Shanhe was curious.

“Wei Chongshan is dead.”

The expression on Zhao Shanhe's face changed: “How did he die?”

“He was killed by Lord Shen.”

Lin Ye gave a rough description of the events.

After listening, Zhao Shanhe looked toward the distant mountains and remained silent for a long time.

“Speaking of which, I was the one who dragged you into this.”

Lin Ye sighed.

Lin Ye waved his hand: “Captain, don't say that.”

“If it weren't for you, I might not have caught Lord Shen's eye, and I certainly wouldn't have entered the Demon Suppression Division.”

Saying this, he took out the demon suppression token from his robes.

“I am now a Ninth-Grade Demon Suppression Guard of the Demon Suppression Division; I'm someone with an official position now.”

Zhao Shanhe glanced at the token, a smile appearing on his face: “My teacher's judgment was naturally correct.”

“Since you've entered the Demon Suppression Division, work hard.”

“Don't worry, Captain.” Lin Ye put the token back in his robes.

He wasn't in a hurry to tell Captain Zhao about the marrow cleansing pill; primarily because it couldn't be exchanged for in the short term.

If any accidents occurred in the future, it would only be a disappointment for the Captain.

Besides, based on Lin Ye's understanding of Zhao Shanhe, if he knew that thing was worth 100,000 merit points, he would surely refuse adamantly.

Therefore, Lin Ye planned to act first and explain later.

Once the deed was done, the Captain wouldn't be able to refuse even if he wanted to.

“By the way, Captain, I just came from Brother Gang's place.”

“I heard from him that the wild beasts on Heifeng Mountain have increased quite a bit recently. Do you know what's going on?”

Hearing this, Zhao Shanhe's expression became quite solemn.

“Is that so? This was an oversight on my part.”

“If large-scale beast groups have truly appeared on the outskirts of Heifeng Mountain, then it's eighty percent likely that some incident has occurred deep within the mountain!”

“Over ten years ago, when I was still a head catcher in Black Stone Town, I encountered this situation once.” Zhao Shanhe's voice became very low.

“Back then, the mutated beasts on Heifeng Mountain went crazy for some reason, driving tens of thousands of beasts to swarm down the mountain like a tidal wave.”

“The villages along the way were completely trampled, and even Black Stone Town almost fell.”

“Fortunately, my teacher arrived in time and slew the leading Strange Beast King with a single strike, forcing the beast tide to retreat.”

Lin Ye's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this: “Are you saying that this might be a precursor to the formation of a beast tide?”