Chapter 31: Unclaimed Wealth and Anomalies

Stepping out of the courtyard, Xu Guang touched the silver coins on him. Between the silver and the Large Blade Coins, he had about sixty taels. He wondered if it would be enough.

In the Inner City, amidst the driving snow, stood the Nameless Iron Workshop.

The bustling shop radiated intense heat, melting the snow so completely that not a single flake accumulated within ten meters of the premises.

CLANG CLANG CLANG!

The sound of hammering iron echoed in Xu Guang’s ears, intermingling with the howling blizzard. Dressed in black, he stood before the shop and exhaled slowly. According to Master Zhao, this was the place.

There were quite a few blacksmith shops in the city, but this was the only one bold enough to forge Armor and long Weapons for individuals. Despite the heavy snow, the workshop was incredibly busy, with burly men and sturdy women constantly rushing in and out carrying firewood and charcoal.

Xu Guang’s presence was quickly noticed.

"You over there, what is your business?" someone called out. "We do not accept private orders here."

Xu Guang took out the letter Master Zhao had given him from his cloak. "I am a disciple of Immortal Zhao," he replied in a low voice. "I am here to seek Master Niu to forge some items."

A sturdy woman dropped her firewood and, without even glancing at the letter, hurried inside.

A moment later, she led Xu Guang into the shop.

A blast of fiery heat washed over him, making him feel instantly sweltering.

Master Niu appeared to be around fifty years old. He was exceptionally tall and bare-chested, revealing knotted, explosive muscles that made him look like a human-shaped beast. Pinching the letter Xu Guang had handed him, he sized the young man up.

"It’s a letter from Old Zhao. Young man, tell me, what kind of Weapons do you want?"

Xu Guang let out a somewhat simple, honest smile. "I was born with greater strength than average and am preparing to join the army to suppress bandits outside the city. Therefore, I want to forge a heavier Weapon. Does Master Niu have any recommendations?"

"Innate Divine Strength?" Master Niu suddenly seemed interested. "Your master mentioned in the letter that you have achieved Skin Grinding Mastery. How much physical strength do your arms hold?"

Xu Guang fell silent for a moment before replying hesitantly, "My arms can lift a three-thousand-pound cauldron."

Hearing this, Master Niu’s eyes immediately lit up. His gaze lingered on the white cloth wrapped around Xu Guang’s forehead. "Are you one of the Abnormal People?"

Xu Guang remained silent. He was about to leave the city to kill, so he didn’t want to expose himself. However, since he came today to get a suitable Weapon forged, revealing some details was inevitable. Yet, under no circumstances could he disclose his Bloodline Power to anyone.

"Master Niu, you misunderstood," Xu Guang said. "I truly just have Innate Divine Strength. Otherwise, Master Zhao would not have agreed to let me leave the city to suppress bandits."

Master Niu chuckled. "Forget it, I won’t pry. Since that is the case, let’s establish a plan. Given your Divine Power, I will forge a full-body Leather Armor weighing around three hundred pounds. As for the Weapon...

"Since you will be killing enemies on the battlefield, the Torrential Rain Sword Technique from your Golden Willow Skill is indeed unsuitable. I will forge a Long Spear for you. There are many formidable warriors in the military who use Long Spears."

Clapping his hands, he ordered his apprentices to prepare some samples for Xu Guang to try.

A moment later, with the help of two sturdy women, Xu Guang put on the full-body Armor. He grabbed a red-tasseled spear with one hand. A heavy sensation washed over him, but to him, it was a piece of cake.

This Long Spear was over four meters, nearly five meters long. It was a Big Spear in the truest sense. He had never practiced any Spear Technique, but he casually twirled it to create a few spear blossoms, making it look quite impressive.

Although Xu Guang felt it was handy, he thought it lacked something. It would be even better if it had a chopping function.

He did have a Spear Technique, which he had bought at the black market for twenty silver taels the other day. That Cultivation Technique included a Skin Grinding Chapter and a Bone Forging Chapter, and its complementary Technique was exactly a Spear Technique.

Master Niu noted the joy on his face and knew he was satisfied. "The Armor is 300 taels of silver, and the Long Spear is sixty taels."

Xu Guang remained respectful. Even though he only had sixty taels on him, he hadn’t fully exhausted the locations of unclaimed wealth he previously found via the Searcher, so he wasn’t overly anxious.

"I will leave it to Master Niu," Xu Guang said. "I also have some ideas I would like to discuss with you."

He pondered for a moment and suggested adding some leather pouches to the Armor to hold items like flour.

Master Niu looked at him strangely. "It’s fine to make such preparations when traveling, but this makes it seem like you’re just brawling with street thugs. You’d be better off practicing Hidden Weapons."

Hearing this, Xu Guang had a moment of realization. Master Niu was truly an expert in forging. The blacksmith then made some design adjustments that better suited Xu Guang’s preferences.

Finally, Xu Guang paid a sixty-tael deposit, with the remaining balance due upon pickup. The Weapons would only take seven days, but the Armor’s complex, custom fabrication would take over a month.

Xu Guang breathed a slow sigh of relief.

...

"Brother Guang, you’re back!"

Ji Xiaolu, dressed in black peasant garments and swinging a long braid, greeted him. Following right behind her like a clingy shadow was the Little Black Tiger.

Xu Guang gently kicked the Little Black Tiger away and let Ji Xiaolu take off his cloak before asking, "Did anyone cause trouble after I left?"

Ji Xiaolu shook her head. "Your sister’s husband came by earlier. I had him take some of the venison that Senior Brother Xu brought. He also tried to give us some silver. I refused, but he insisted."

Xu Guang smiled and nodded. "It’s fine. If your sister’s husband wants to give it, just accept it. They are merely worldly possessions. If my eldest sister’s family faces difficulties in the future, we can simply send it back to them."

"I’ll listen to you."

"By the way, from now on, you and Mother should also eat the venison Senior Brother Xu sent with every meal. It’s good for your health." Having eaten Exotic Meat, Xu Guang naturally knew that the energy it contained far surpassed ordinary meat.

He didn’t really mind either way; with his Blood Eye, as long as he had blood, he was fine. But both Ji Xiaolu and Mrs. Xu had rather frail constitutions.

"No, we can’t..."

"Just listen to me. When you cook it, stew it until it’s tender for Mother."

Moved by his words, Ji Xiaolu’s hands began trailing affectionately over Xu Guang’s body. As she caressed him, she reached up to untie the white cloth around his forehead.

Since they were in their own room, Xu Guang hesitated but did not stop her.

However, Ji Xiaolu seemed to recall something. During their past few moments of intimacy, she had seen his forehead covered in sweat and wanted to untie it, but he had refused. She knew then that there was likely a secret hidden beneath the white cloth.

Xu Guang’s current attitude was very clear, but she chose not to untie it. Instead, she just smiled.

"Brother Guang, it’s cold outside. I’ll go boil some hot water so you can wash your face."

Xu Guang shook his head. "I’ll practice my martial arts first."

He planned to enlist in the army at the Three Guards Department in three days. Not a single moment of practice time could be wasted.

Soon, the sound of Xu Guang throwing punches and shouting echoed in the courtyard.

Night fell.

Pouting, Ji Xiaolu drifted off to sleep with a hint of dissatisfaction.

She felt a little panicked. For some reason, Xu Guang no longer sought intimacy with her at night, even though he constantly claimed it was to let her nurture her health.

But she always felt her body was perfectly fine.

Her mother-in-law was still hoping to hold a grandson soon.

Xu Guang looked helplessly at the delicate wife in his arms, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

He didn’t know the exact condition of Ji Xiaolu’s body and dared not act rashly. He could only endure it for now.

[The current search results are as follows:]

[1. Ji Xiaolu’s body can generate a type of Abnormal Power. Xu Guang can engage in intimacy with Ji Xiaolu to widen his meridians. The Abnormal Power in Ji Xiaolu’s body requires accumulation, allowing his meridians to be widened once a month.]

[2. Beneath the Wei River, there is an Alien Species named River Woe. This beast lives in the frigid depths of the water, yet its heart’s Essence Blood is boiling hot. Long-term consumption can widen meridians. Under a specific pill recipe, this beast’s Essence Blood can be used to refine the Bone Forging Pill. After consumption, it can drastically accelerate Bone Forging progress, but a large amount of Secret Medicine must be used to wash away hidden internal injuries. River Woe’s current location is as follows:]

[3. Xu Guang possesses the Blood Eye. By honing himself through combat under the Blood Refining Abnormal Power of the Blood Eye, he can widen his meridians through destruction and subsequent reconstruction.]

[4. Xu Guang can first cultivate one Cultivation Technique to Bone Forging Perfection before practicing others. This will yield twice the result with half the effort, allowing him to rapidly complete his Bone Forging cultivation.]

[Note: The current Searcher displays 4 results (Adjustable).]

Before even finishing reading all the search results, Xu Guang’s eyes lit up sharply at the "Note" in the final column. The Searcher had indeed evolved.

Previously, it only displayed the required time before a search. Now, it could adjust the number of search results.

He wondered if its functions would become even more perfect in the future. Would it provide search results in seconds, just like the internet search engines from his previous life?

Furthermore... it actually gave him a "buy one, get one free" deal, revealing Ji Xiaolu’s uniqueness. Although he didn’t know what kind of constitution she had, the search results indicated it should be harmless to her.

Filled with absolute anticipation, Xu Guang carefully examined the four options provided by the Searcher.

Almost all of them approached the solution by widening his meridians.

Only the second option, the aquatic Exotic Beast River Woe, introduced him to a novel concept.

The Bone Forging Pill...

He didn’t know how effective it would be. If the Wei River area was safe, he could try hunting in the water.

[Search Keyword: Unclaimed wealth. Related words: Suitable, harmless. Search Scope: Feiyun City. Number of search results: 1.]

[Searching... 2% (Estimated duration - three days)]

...

On the night of the third day, after Ji Xiaolu fell asleep, Xu Guang went out again. The search result for the unclaimed wealth had appeared, and he needed to go pick up the money.

This time, it was located within a gang’s territory in the city.

Xu Guang felt somewhat helpless. He didn’t understand why the Searcher produced such a result. This clearly didn’t seem like unclaimed wealth.

The Fierce Tiger Gang was located in South Suburb Square and was the undisputed overlord of this market area. Its Gang Leader, Han Hu, was known as Master Hu.

Wearing a strange expression, Xu Guang sneaked into the Fierce Tiger Gang’s stronghold following the location provided by the Searcher. The deeper he went, the stranger he felt.

It was too quiet.

Gang members were notoriously rowdy, whether it was day or night. This complete silence gave Xu Guang a spine-tingling sensation.

He thought, "I just want to take the money. Everything else has nothing to do with me."

With this in mind, Xu Guang pressed his body against the corners of the walls, moving silently as he quickly crossed through one small courtyard after another.

The entire path remained deadly silent, evoking a terrifying feeling.

Xu Guang grew increasingly uneasy. He had added "harmless" to his related words, so what was going on?

Despite his worries, to his great surprise, when he found a chest filled with silver taels and Gold a few minutes later, absolutely nothing happened.

It was as if... this place truly was an ownerless land.

Xu Guang strapped the chest to his body and was about to leave, but for some inexplicable reason, he glanced at the cellar in the courtyard.

Was there something in the cellar?

Xu Guang narrowed his eyes but didn’t court death by going over to investigate. Instead, he turned around and swiftly departed.

No matter what it was, it had nothing to do with him. He was only here to collect the money.

About half an hour after he left, a woman dressed in black walked into the premises under the cover of night.

"Bind!"

The next moment, dense crashing sounds erupted from the cellar, like a pack of wild beasts slamming against the walls.

In the darkness, a human figure with twisted limbs slowly crawled out of the cellar...

[Author’s Note: I heard from other authors yesterday that recommendation tickets and actual fan counts can boost the ranking on the new book charts. If possible, please cast some recommendation tickets. Also, feel free to drop a two-coin tip on random paragraphs; this also helps improve the new book ranking. I have about a hundred thousand words stockpiled, so there’s no need to worry about me dropping the book. Thank you, everyone.]