Chapter 136 - 106: Spirit Vein, Dragon Vein!

Chapter 136: Chapter 106: Spirit Vein, Dragon Vein!

"Arghhh!"

Agonizing pain instantly swept through his entire body! It wasn’t superficial flesh pain, but a burning and tearing sensation originating from the depths of his marrow, vital energy, and internal organs. The silver liquid coursed wildly alongside his blood. Wherever it passed, it felt as if countless glowing-hot steel needles were traveling through his blood vessels. It also felt like it was trying to break through the constraints of his skin and burst out of his body.

He felt his body being shredded, modified, and reshaped from the inside out. The boundless agony lasted for an unknown amount of time.

When he regained consciousness, he found himself lying in an exquisitely furnished room. Surrounded by soft pillows and a brocade quilt, steaming delicate pastries were laid out on a small side table next to him. There were even maids standing by respectfully with their hands at their sides. It was as if the purgatory from before was merely a nightmare.

Later, he learned that this was the Defense Command, the residence of Commander Bai’s Personal Guard, the Leopard Camp.

At a banquet, he saw the legendary Commander Bai from a distance. He had an elegant appearance, chatting and laughing merrily. Commander Bai gently encouraged them, these newly minted Personal Guards. Leopard One wept tears of gratitude; his lingering fear was thoroughly replaced by profound thankfulness. At that moment, the seed of loyalty took deep root in his heart.

The fragmented memories flowed rapidly. Lu Jing’an was like a silent bystander, witnessing all of Leopard One’s training and missions after becoming a Personal Guard. He also saw the process of Leopard One regularly returning to that white room to receive injections to maintain his condition.

Lu Jing’an carefully distinguished the foreign words that occasionally slipped out when those Voiders conversed. Combining this with what Leopard One saw from his perspective, Lu Jing’an gradually pieced together some information.

Aside from the Leopard Camp, there were also the Wolf Camp and the Tiger Camp, each with different directions of modification. The Wolf Camp focused on using chemical stimulants to accelerate cultivation, while the Tiger Camp dealt with much more dangerous demon fiend grafting experiments. Jishantang was nothing more than a front for the Bai family’s collaboration with the Voiders to screen suitable test subjects. Those who survived became obedient tools; those who died were silenced forever in formalin pools or incinerators.

But what concerned Lu Jing’an the most was the final, nearly blurry fragment of Leopard One’s memory. It happened when he went in for his injection. Two Voider technicians were fiddling with their instruments while casually chatting in a foreign language. They likely assumed that this silent Martial Artist from the East couldn’t understand them at all.

"The fluctuations of the ’Dragon Vein’ are becoming more and more obvious. It’s deep underground, right at the junction of the three counties," one technician said.

"Isn’t our push for the merger precisely to make the ’Dragon Vein’ fully manifest? According to our Ancient Texts, they call it a ’Spirit Vein’ in the East," the other replied.

"We must carry out the ’purification’ before it completely manifests. This kind of primal Earth Vein Energy does not conform to the Empire’s scientific order."

"Those local families, like the Hu family... They seem to have noticed as well. I’m afraid their goal is control."

A Spirit Vein? A Dragon Vein?

Lu Jing’an’s mind jolted. His review of the memory ended there, and he slowly opened his eyes.

The medicinal bathwater had long gone cold. The chill seeped through his skin, but it couldn’t compare to the icy coldness in his heart.

"A Spirit Vein... A Dragon Vein... It really isn’t as simple as I thought," Lu Jing’an muttered to himself, his voice exceptionally clear in the silent room.

He had initially thought that the merger of the three counties was just a naked plunder of local wealth by the higher-ups. Now it seemed this pool of water was much deeper and far more dangerous than he had imagined. What was implicated beneath all this was likely a secret concerning Earth Vein fortune and even higher-tier powers that he had never come into contact with before.

"Secretary Hu hasn’t mentioned a single word about this..."

Lu Jing’an stood up from the wooden tub, water droplets rolling down his smooth, well-defined muscles.

"Does he feel that we thugs aren’t worthy of knowing, or does he have other ulterior motives? Could he even have some kind of game or tacit understanding with the Bai family and the Voiders regarding this Spirit Vein?"

Tearing off all pretenses with Secretary Hu right now was definitely not a wise move. But if he dove in headfirst without knowing anything, he probably wouldn’t even realize how he died. He first had to thoroughly investigate the background of this ’Spirit Vein’ and ’Dragon Vein.’

Having made his decision, Lu Jing’an stepped out of the bathtub. Orchid, who had been standing by quietly, immediately stepped forward with a soft, dry towel. She carefully wiped the water droplets from his body.

Once he was dried off and changed into comfortable everyday clothes, Lu Jing’an walked over to the telephone by the mahogany table, gripped the receiver, and cranked the handle.

"Connect me to the Public Security Bureau."

After the dial tone, a sleepy response from the officer on duty came through.

"This is Lu Jing’an." His voice was steady, but it carried an unquestionable weight. "Get the person who was in charge of maintaining security at the theater stage today on the phone."

"Yes! Please wait a moment, Young Master Lu!"

The sleepiness on the other end was instantly scared away. A flurry of panicked footsteps and shouts could be faintly heard. Before long, a voice so nervous it stuttered rang out from the receiver. "Y-Young Master Lu, d-do you have any orders?"

"Have those people at the stage left?" Lu Jing’an asked directly.

The person on the other end clearly gasped, his voice growing even more panicked. "A-Answering Young Master Lu, they l-left... They left before dark. They... they paid a huge sum of money and hired many craftsmen. The stage was r-repaired very quickly..."

The security officer spoke extremely fast, terrified that a slow response would bring disaster upon himself. However, Lu Jing’an didn’t pay any mind to the man’s fear. He had only called on a whim to ask casually. Since those people were capable of working under Commander Bai’s Personal Guard in the Provincial City, their comings and goings naturally couldn’t be stopped by a mere county Public Security Bureau.

"Mhm, got it," Lu Jing’an said with an unruffled tone. "If they’re gone, they’re gone."

CLICK.

He hung up the phone.

Hearing the dial tone from the receiver, the security officer on the other end felt his legs give out. He almost collapsed onto the floor. Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he murmured with lingering fear, "Thank goodness... This Young Master Lu isn’t like some of those nobles who demand people’s lives at the drop of a hat..."

Provincial City, Defense Command.

The night was as black as ink. Several figures, as swift as leopards, quietly vaulted over the high walls. Landing in the courtyard, it was Bai Bao’s subordinates who had fled back in a sorry state. Carrying Leopard One’s already stiff corpse, they headed straight for the guard post of Bai Bao, the Commander of the Leopard Camp.

Bai Bao looked down at Leopard One’s ashen face, which still bore traces of shock, fury, and unwillingness.

Bai Bao was secretly alarmed as he thought, "That Lu Jing’an actually has such capability?"

He knew Leopard One’s strength well; he was considered a top expert even within the Leopard Camp. He had even undergone the Silver Bone enhancement, yet he had been killed so easily. Lu Jing’an’s strength likely far exceeded all their previous estimates.

"Stand guard here, and don’t make any reckless moves," Bai Bao ordered in a deep voice. He immediately turned around and walked briskly into the depths of the headquarters, heading toward Commander Bai’s living quarters. This concerned the loss of a precious Silver Bone Personal Guard, as well as Lu Jing’an, a massive variable. He had to report it immediately, even if it was late at night.

Inside the brightly lit study, Commander Bai, wearing a silk nightgown, had yet to retire for the night. He was holding half a glass of red wine, standing in deep thought before a giant military map. After listening to Bai Bao’s detailed report, he slowly swirled the liquid in his glass. It was as crimson as blood.

"Leopard One is dead..." Commander Bai took a sip of wine. His tone betrayed little emotion, holding only a faint trace of regret. "It’s quite a pity. Nurturing a qualified ’Silver Bone’ is no small expense."

Bai Bao kept his head bowed in silence, waiting for instructions.

"He ran into this accident while handling matters for the Li family." Commander Bai turned around. The dark night outside the window cast a somber shadow over his face. "According to the rules, the Li family should pay the pension. Furthermore..."

He paused, a flash of shrewd calculation crossing his eyes.

"Go tell the Li family that because their intelligence was severely inaccurate, it led to the senseless sacrifice of one of my elite Personal Guards. They need to pay an additional ’compensation.’ Leopard One’s life cannot be thrown away in vain."

"Yes, Commander." Bai Bao understood tacitly. The Commander wanted to use this incident to scrape another layer of fat off the Li family.

Commander Bai waved his hand, and Bai Bao bowed before retreating.

The study returned to silence. Commander Bai walked to the window and gazed in the direction of the county town, his fingers lightly tapping the windowsill.

"Since this Lu family is a bit troublesome, I’ll ignore them for now. Anyway, once we deal with the Hu family behind them, the Lu family will fall right along with them."

As a local overlord, Commander Bai had to consider the big picture. He wasn’t going to follow Secretary Hu’s design and waste a massive amount of time, energy, and strength on the Lu family. Since dealing with the Hu family would naturally bring down the Lu family with it, Commander Bai never had any intention of playing along with the Hu family’s schemes from the very beginning.

The night grew deeper, like an invisible behemoth silently devouring the outline of the town. Only the scattered lights in the distance flickered in the darkness, like the eyes of a dormant beast. A storm was brewing, and the undercurrents were already surging violently beneath the ice.