Chapter 87: Chapter 84 Xue Lin

The morning sun fell upon the city.

Under the wall, the icicles that lined up had melted quite a bit, leaving only pieces the size of fingertips.

Chen Mu, dressed in dark green official robes, was followed by several head constables as he walked down the spacious main street of Wutong Grove District. He noticed between the streets there were still small amounts of snow yet to melt, but most places had been swept clean.

"Prefecture Chief, Sir."

"Prefecture Chief, Sir."

Passersby who saw Chen Mu hurriedly greeted him with respectful salutations.

If before this holiday season, the common people of Wutong Grove district harbored more fear toward Chen Mu, the newly-appointed Prefecture Chief of the City Defense Division, now they felt more awe. Just the act of dispatching soldiers to aid disaster victims had spread his good deeds throughout the lower echelons of Wutong Grove.

"It seems that in a few days, the rest of the snow will also melt away."

Chen Mu, inspecting the streets and alleys, spoke evenly to Shang Qinglai and the others following him.

Shang Qinglai said, "The days ahead are warming up over time. This bitter winter has passed. I've heard that the ice on the protective moat to the west has already broken, and some pleasure-boats have begun to attract customers."

After saying this, he suddenly felt he might have said something inappropriate and cautiously glanced at Chen Mu.

Chen Mu didn't mind, however. Pleasure boats and song and dance, brothels and music halls—there were always those who enjoyed them, as long as it wasn't a business of coercion and force, then there was no issue.

Speaking of which,

in the past he did entertain some notions of revelry, but as his strength and status gradually improved, his interest slowly waned. Though he had socialized a few times and experienced it twice.

After inspecting another neighborhood and marketplace with Shang Qinglai and others, Chen Mu then dismissed the group and headed home.

In the backyard,

two little maids were frolicking, chasing each other happily.

When Chen Mu walked in, Ku'er, who was running towards him, failed to dodge in time and crashed straight into him.

"Mas… Master…"

The impact made Ku'er feel like she had hit a wall, but upon seeing Chen Mu, she was even more startled and hurriedly knelt down.

Chen Mu kept a stern face, saying, "Clumsy as you are, go to Ni'er and take five strikes on the palm of your hand."

"Yes…"

Ku'er's little face showed bitterness as she uttered a compliant voice and headed inside.

Chen Mu shook his head, thinking that if Chen Yue were here, she would probably say that he spoiled the maids around him too much, letting them off with just a light punishment for bumping into their master. But in truth, he really didn't want to punish the little maid too harshly, although to prevent spoiling her too much, strictness was sometimes necessary.

However, the few little maids in his courtyard, though young, were all sensible and well-behaved. Searᴄh the NôᴠelFirё.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"Master."

Le'er, who had been playing chase with Ku'er, also greeted Chen Mu timidly.

Chen Mu raised his hand, tapped her forehead gently, and then walked past, "Alright, get up, go boil some water."

Back in his bedroom,

Chen Mu took out the Black Jade Tendon Changing Pill from the cabinet.

Almost two months had passed, and the Tendon Changing Pill was still the size of an infant's fist, but its color was no longer the deep black but had turned much duller.

This indicated that the medicinal power inside had been nearly exhausted and was gradually turning into dregs.

"It probably can be used for about ten more days,"

Chen Mu carefully examined it.

He had already entered the stage of Tendon Changing, and in the subsequent refinement, the Tendon Changing Pill was no longer essential. Without Jiao blood, gathering several other medicinal powders to refine was equally effective; of course, the Tendon Changing Pill was always one of the best ingredients.

However, Chen Mu had not been able to obtain a second Black Jade Tendon Changing Pill recently.

With a thought, he summoned the system interface.

[Black Jade Tendon Changing Method (45%)]

[Experience Points: 8]

Since the Black Jade Tendon Changing Method reached over 30% and passed the threshold of Tendon Changing Minor Achievement, the progress of improvement had slowed down, requiring 20 experience points for each percent increase.

Chen Mu wasn't surprised by this, as Body Refining and Tendon Changing have always become more difficult with increased intensity; otherwise, people like him, who achieved the limits of Skin Toughening and Body Refinement Perfection and cultivated a Pure Gold Body, would not be so rare.

Even so, his cultivation progress remained very fast, advancing from 30 to 45 percent in just over a month, almost halfway through Tendon Changing.

In fact, as the Tendon Changing progressed, his power could be said to grow every day, and the cumulative change was quite significant. On the other hand, nothing would change in Martial Arts Artistic Conception until he accumulated enough experience points.

"With an estimated month or so at most, I should be able to step into Tendon Changing Major Achievement, followed by Tendon Changing Perfection,"

Chen Mu closed the system panel.

With his physique and Martial Arts Artistic Conception, once he stepped into Tendon Changing Major Achievement, he was confident he could compete with Bone Tempering martial masters who hadn't grasped any Artistic Conception. And upon reaching Tendon Changing Perfection, the Bone Tempering Realm would actually be within reach.

Without considering the 'Viscera' Realm big players from the four major families of the Inner City, in reality, grasping Artistic Conception and stepping into Bone Tempering was reaching the true pinnacle of Yu City.

Metropolitan Commander of the Outer City District!

Chief Officer of the Demon-Slaying Office!

Commander-in-chief of Yu City!

One by one, truly high-ranking and powerful individuals were situated within that realm.

Since the last time he killed the notorious Zhang Lang of the Villains Guild, Chen Mu hadn't engaged in fights anymore. He always acted prudently, striking fiercely when needed without hesitation, and keeping low-profile when it was time to hide his abilities, avoiding showing off even the slightest bit.

Boiling water, refining medicine, Tendon Changing.

After completing the routine Body Refining practice, he then immersed himself in the contemplation of the Thunderclap Diagram, sitting in the bedroom until evening.

Chen Mu had thought that the day would pass like any other, but just as he came back to his senses from a moment of insight, gathered his thoughts, and stepped out of the room to call for someone to prepare a meal, a young servant from the front yard came to report.

"Master, Liu Song has arrived."

A stir passed through Chen Mu's expression as he said, "Let him in."

Liu Song was still holding a post in the City Defense Division, but in secret, following Chen Mu's orders, he had organized a group of people specifically responsible for gathering various kinds of intelligence.

This was something he had learned from Min Baoyi, who, while in charge of the City Defense Division of the Ninth District, also had his own network of informants keeping him updated about everything happening in various places, working both overtly and covertly in collaboration with the City Defense Division.

Soon enough.

Liu Song appeared in the courtyard, and after hurrying over, he quickly reported several matters to Chen Mu.

Upon hearing this, Chen Mu's brows knitted slightly as he asked, "Is there any news from the Chief Officer's side?"

Liu Song shook his head.

After a brief pause, Chen Mu waved his hand and said, "Alright, I understand."

For more than a month, he had been peacefully situated in Wutong Grove District, facing no obstacles in disaster relief or other affairs. He had only heard that there had been quite a few overt and covert struggles on the Chief Officer's side, with He Mingxuan trying to stir things up in Xu Hongyu's absence, but all were suppressed by Ning He.

This time too, the matter was not directed at him but at Ning He. Compared to him, a Prefecture Chief, He Mingxuan clearly preferred to completely remove Ning He from the picture.

However.

This time, the situation seemed quite unfavorable for Ning He, yet she hadn't notified him, likely wanting to handle it on her own.

Nonetheless, now that he was aware, he couldn't just turn a blind eye. Since he had nothing pressing at the moment, he might as well sneak over and see for himself.

...

At the westernmost bank of Wutong Grove District.

The city's moat.

The surface of the water still bore some broken ice floes, not yet navigable for boats, but some ornate pleasure boats had already opened for business. The sky had darkened, and lights were shining brightly inside several pleasure boats.

Because the moat itself belonged to neither City West nor South City and was not under the jurisdiction of any party, pleasure boats and gambling dens thrived here. Although the cold winter had not fully passed, a small part had already begun to do business.

The backgrounds of these pleasure boats were basically directly linked to the Inner City, and the visitors here weren't just the local gentry and lords from the South City District and west side, but also included dignitaries from the Inner City.

Inside one of these pleasure boats.

In a brightly lit cabin ornately and luxuriously furnished, the most eye-catching features were the four red, round beads embedded around the room. They continually radiated visible heat, filling the entire cabin with warmth. Despite the snow and ice outside not having completely thawed, it felt as though one had entered the warmth of spring here.

Several lightly-veiled, lithe women danced to the sound of zithers, a spectacle of extreme opulence.

He Mingxuan sat in a corner of the room.

But he was not in the main seat, and seemed to be merely an accessory, occasionally engaging in light-hearted banter.

The man these people, including He Mingxuan and several youths with the air of aristocrats, surrounded and seated in the main position was a young man in his late twenties. He casually embraced a young girl, sipped from a cup of wine, and then tilted the cup against the girl's cheek to let a drop of the crimson beverage fall.

The girl dared not resist and drank the single drop of wine. But as soon as it touched her mouth, her body trembled, and visible heat rose from her forehead amidst slight shivering.

The young man laughed heartily and tossed the girl aside. She tried to leave hurriedly but couldn't get up, only managing to crawl a few steps before collapsing to the floor.

"This fiery wine is indeed potent. Brother Xue, it seems that this batch you brought has something special about it?" He Mingxuan said with a chuckle.

The young man known as 'Brother Xue' grinned and replied, "Indeed, I happened to hunt a red-scaled demon serpent a few days ago and used its gall to brew a few jars of this new fiery wine. Its potency is several times stronger than ordinary fiery wine. Even a Martial Man with Body Refinement Perfection would fall after no more than two cups."

The others around him lavished praises, saying all manner of flattering things, and looked at the young man with a hint of awe in their eyes.

Xue Lin!

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A stand-out figure among the fourth generation of the Xue Family, not only the most distinguished amongst the Xue family's younger generation but also the undisputed top figure amongst the young generation in the Inner City, towering over those from other families.

He was now the Deputy Governor of the Demon-Slaying Office in the Inner City and had already stepped into the Bone Tempering Realm.

He Mingxuan, even the more direct and core members of the He Family, would have to humble themselves in front of Xue Lin and couldn't compete with him.

At this moment.

Aside from Xue Lin and He Mingxuan and their company, there was a young man about twenty years old, who bore some resemblance to Ning He and was in a rather sorry state, soaked from head to toe, tied with ropes, and kneeling not far away, shivering continuously.

Both Xue Lin and everyone else ignored him, with only He Mingxuan occasionally glancing at him with a cold smirk passing through his gaze.

Ning He...

Just a servant following Xu Hongyu, yet daring to oppose him at every turn. How would you end things today?

Today's incident was actually quite unforeseen. He had only come to the pleasure boat with Xue Lin to enjoy himself when by chance, they encountered Ning Yu, Ning He's brother. With a little scheming, Ning Yu fell into the trap and offended Xue Lin directly!

Ning He, holding authority on behalf of Xu Hongyu, indeed made him hard to handle, but after all, Ning He's surname was Ning, not He.

Finally.

The music came to an end.

Someone pushed open the door of the pleasure boat and walked in slowly. With a somber face, dressed in a simple gray outfit, was Xu Hongyu's maid, Ning He.

"Sister..."

Seeing Ning He enter, Ning Yu, who was tied up on the ground, showed a look of shame and bowed his head deeply, clenching his fists.

He knew that he was the one who caused trouble for Ning He today.

He even wished that Ning He wouldn't come to save him, but now that Ning He had already arrived, all he could do was keep his head down and not cause any more chaos.

Ning He's gaze quickly swept across the room. She saw He Mingxuan and her brother Ning Yu but did not linger on them. Eventually, her eyes settled only on Xue Lin, as she stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

"Your humble servant Ning He pays respects to Demon-Slaying Officer Xue."