Unorthodox Wuxia: While Others Practice Martial Arts, I Cultivate Immortality - Chapter 26

Chapter 26: Need More Money

After killing Man Li, Yuan Zhao calmly sheathed her blade. She lightly patted the apron she was wearing, and after confirming no blood had splattered on it, she finally let out a small breath of relief.

This apron was brand new—Ah Qing had just made it for her!

Done, she called out to Xiao Kong Kong: “Kong Kong, come clean up the courtyard. Don’t let the guests get frightened.”

Xiao Kongkong immediately dashed over.

“Got it, right away.”

He began swiftly clearing away the corpses scattered across the ground.

Meanwhile, Yuan Zhao dragged the Heaven-Prison Blade back toward the house. As she walked, she addressed the guests: “Everyone, please go back to your meals. Sorry for the disturbance just now. I’ll give you all fifty percent off—take it as my apology.”

“Miss Yuan is so generous!”

“Thank you, Miss Yuan.”

***

The guests cheered happily. Though a bowl of noodles wasn’t worth much, who didn’t like a discount?

Once back inside, Yuan Zhao rehung the Heaven-Prison Blade on the wall. Now, everyone in the shop regarded the weapon with new eyes. Before, they had only thought it unusual, but they had never seen it drenched in blood.

Today was different. They had personally witnessed Miss Yuan use it to slay the infamous third boss of the Sha Long Gang.

Rumors were one thing. Seeing it with their own eyes was another.

‘From now on, best to behave honestly in this shop, never cause trouble.’ Everyone thought this in unison.

The day passed quickly, and by evening, their busy work finally came to an end.

Just as Yuan Zhao came out of the kitchen, Xiao Kong Kong walked up to her. He placed a pile of things before her.

“Boss, these were all taken from those Sha Long Gang members. The total is: fifty taels of silver, eight strings of copper coins, and a jade pendant.”

Yuan Zhao nodded, picked up the jade pendant, and examined it. But she couldn’t tell if it was valuable, so she asked: “Is this worth anything?”

Xiao Kongkong nodded. “Top-grade warm jade. Easily worth a thousand or so taels.”

As a thief, identifying valuables was a basic skill.

Yuan Zhao nodded, satisfied. ‘Not bad.’

After putting away the jade, her eyes suddenly caught something else. She frowned. “Why is there a piece of human skin here?”

Xiao Kongkong explained: “This was found on Man Li’s back.”

Yuan Zhao looked disgusted. “Her skin?”

Xiao Kongkong hurriedly clarified: “It should be something she implanted into her body with some secret technique—it wasn’t her real skin. See? When I peeled it off, there wasn’t even a drop of blood.”

“…It’s true.”

Looking closely, Yuan Zhao noticed that the human skin was covered with dense writing. Reading carefully, she was shocked. “This is actually a Medical Canon?”

Xiao Kongkong nodded. “Correct. Man Li must have used the secret techniques from this Medical Canon to control Lang Mingyue. If the rumors are true, that man is truly pitiful.”

His whole family massacred, and then forced to become a puppet for his enemy, mocked across the martial world as the Dog-Servant Swordsman.

That title “sword” (jian) didn’t just mean he was a swordsman—it also carried the meaning of “cheap” or “debased.”

Before, people who didn’t know the truth thought he was just a grown man debasing himself, obeying a woman who treated him like a tool. What could be more disgraceful?

“By the way, where’s Lang Mingyue now?” Yuan Zhao asked.

“Still unconscious,” Xiao Kong Kong replied.

“Take me to see him.”

Xiao Kong Kong nodded and led her to the next room.

Ah Qing was keeping watch there to prevent Lang Mingyue from suddenly waking and causing trouble.

Seeing her sister enter, Ah Qing quickly stood up. “Sister!”

“How’s his condition?” Yuan Zhao looked at Lang Mingyue. His face was twisted in pain, his forehead drenched in sweat, as though trapped in a nightmare.

Ah Qing glanced at him too. “Can’t tell. But he hasn’t shown signs of waking. Like he’s bound in a nightmare.”

Indeed, Lang Mingyue was trapped in an endless nightmare.

In it, he was back in his family estate, surrounded by corpses and blood. Bodies hung like kites from the beams, swaying in the wind.

This was his home. And those corpses—his family.

Lang Mingyue came from a martial clan, not a famous one, just an ordinary one. His first twenty years were smooth and happy. His parents were alive, harmonious. He had a younger brother and sister who adored him. Life was peaceful, simple, and full of joy.

Until he met Man Li.

That rainy day, they met in a pavilion. Her rain-flushed face captivated him at first sight. He fell deeply in love, pursued her ardently, and eventually won her heart.

He brought her home, and under his family’s witness and blessings, they married. Everyone liked the gentle, beautiful Man Li. Life was blissful.

But it was the beginning of a nightmare.

One day, Man Li told him shyly that she was pregnant. His entire family rejoiced; he was ecstatic.

He went out hunting that day, eager to bring back good food to nourish her.

But when he returned home, he saw his parents, siblings, and clan members strung up at the gate.

And the mastermind was Man Li.

She smiled as she revealed everything. Their “chance meeting” was a carefully planned setup.

She cultivated a forbidden technique, Tian Kui Art, which allowed her to completely control a person like a puppet. But it required a compatible host.

When she discovered Lang Mingyue’s body constitution fit the requirements, she staged their meeting. She wasn’t a delicate maiden at all, she was a member of the notorious Sha Long Gang.

But why slaughter his entire clan?

Because to truly enslave someone with the Tian Kui Art, their spirit must first be utterly broken.

So, before his eyes, she slaughtered all eighty-plus members of his family, leaving no corpses intact.

From that day on, Lang Mingyue’s spirit shattered. He became her puppet.

With his strength, she climbed the Sha Long Gang’s ranks, becoming its third boss, earning infamy across the martial world.

Ah Qing, seeing his twisted expression, whispered: “Sister, will this man survive? He looks like he’s in unbearable pain.”

Yuan Zhao replied: “Let fate decide. If he lives, he lives.”

Ever since Old Doctor Zhou’s death, Tianmen Town had no doctor. Even if they wanted to call one, it was useless.

“Oh…” Ah Qing nodded.

Just then, she noticed the human skin in Yuan Zhao’s hand and asked curiously: “Sister, what’s that?”

“See for yourself.” Yuan Zhao handed it to her.

Ah Qing took it and began reading, gradually becoming absorbed.

Meanwhile, Yuan Zhao left the room with Xiao Kong Kong.

As soon as they stepped outside, Yuan Zhao suddenly attacked, her fingers darting across his body.

“Boss, what are you doing?!” Xiao Kong Kong panicked, thinking he had angered her and she was going to kill him.

Yuan Zhao rolled her eyes. “Feel it yourself!”

Xiao Kong Kong froze, then his eyes widened with joy.

His qi had returned!

“Boss, you—?” He looked confused.

Yuan Zhao said calmly: “You’ve fulfilled your promise. I should honor mine. From today onward, you’re free.”

Xiao Kong Kong froze when he heard that. He lowered his head, lost in thought for a long moment.

Finally, he suddenly looked up and said: “Boss, how about I stay and keep working as your waiter?”

Now it was Yuan Zhao’s turn to be stunned. She sized him up from head to toe, completely puzzled.

Hadn’t he been wanting to leave all along?

Then, a thought suddenly struck her, and her eyes grew a little strange as she stared at him. “You’re not… in love with Ah Qing, are you?”

Xiao Kong Kong looked annoyed. “What’s this ‘in love’ stuff? Boss, either say yes or say no. If you don’t agree, I’ll leave right now. But don’t look at me with that weird face.”

Yuan Zhao: “Then why do you want to stay as a waiter?”

Xiao Kong Kong shrugged. “I just don’t have anywhere else to go for now. The moment I feel like leaving, I’ll leave. Don’t worry, I won’t take a wage—just food and board. Oh, but I refuse to sleep in the woodshed!”

“Fine. If you’re willing, I’ve got no reason to say no. It’s free labor, after all.” Yuan Zhao agreed readily. “I’ll ask Ah Qing to get a proper room ready for you later.”

Night fell quickly. When Yuan Zhao finished cooking and went to call Ah Qing, she found the girl still poring over that human-skin scroll.

“What’s this? You like it?” Yuan Zhao asked as she came closer.

“Ah?” Ah Qing was startled by her sister’s sudden voice. “Not that I like it, but… I was just thinking—if I had known medicine back then, maybe I could have saved Grandpa.”

Yuan Zhao sighed, stroking her sister’s head. “Don’t dwell on the past. Come on, time for dinner. If you want to keep reading, you can do it afterward.”

“Mm~” Ah Qing smiled and nodded, taking her sister’s hand as she stood.

After dinner, Yuan Zhao and Xiao Kong Kong went to the courtyard and practiced Swallow’s Shadow Skimming the Waves on the plum-blossom stakes. The two darted and chased each other, leaving streaks of afterimages in the air.

One had to admit, while Xiao Kong Kong’s combat ability wasn’t impressive, his lightness skill was absolutely top-tier.

Even using the same technique, Yuan Zhao couldn’t so much as touch him, no matter how hard she tried.

Looking back, she thought—if she hadn’t borrowed the power of heaven and earth that day, she never could’ve caught him.

Meanwhile, Ah Qing sat in the courtyard, absorbed in studying the Medical Canon.

As for Lang Mingyue, he remained unconscious, showing no sign of waking.

Time slipped by, and in a few days, Yuan Zhao noticed something odd, more and more wandering martial artists had appeared around Tianmen Town lately, and as a result, business at the noodle shop had been booming.

One evening, just after Yuan Zhao had finished the day’s work, Old Wolf suddenly came running, looking panicked.

“Awoo~ awoo~”

He howled at Yuan Zhao nonstop, but no matter what, she couldn’t understand what it meant.

Growing more anxious, Old Wolf finally grabbed her sleeve in its teeth and tugged hard, forcing her to follow.

Only when they reached the house next door did she understand why the wolf had fetched her.

Lang Mingyue had woken.

His mind seemed clear enough, apparently with Man Li dead, the Tian Kui spell on him had been broken as well. But his face was deathly pale, his body frail, his spirit more so than his flesh.

When he saw Yuan Zhao, Lang Mingyue immediately slid off the bed and knelt on the floor.

“Thank you, miss, for saving my life!”

What was with the kneeling? Yuan Zhao said helplessly: “Get up. It was just chance, not like I saved you on purpose.”

But Lang Mingyue said, “Miss not only saved me, but also avenged my clan’s destruction. I have nothing left to repay you with, only this broken body still of use. If you’ll accept me, I swear to follow you.”

At those words, Yuan Zhao’s first thought was: ‘A life-saving grace can only be repaid with marriage.’

Was he trying to offer himself to her?

But no—that was her misunderstanding. He simply meant he wished to follow her.

Besides, Lang Mingyue was already past thirty, nearly forty. Old enough to be her father.

After years of torment under Man Li, his hair had already turned more than half white, though he wasn’t even forty yet.

Understanding his true intent, Yuan Zhao felt a little awkward. Really, she had read too many webnovels in her past life!

Still… she thought: Lang Mingyue’s skills weren’t bad. If he wanted to follow her, why not?

Looking at his weathered, grief-etched face, Yuan Zhao suddenly had an idea.

“Mr. Lang, do you want to destroy the Sha Long Gang?”

She had killed their Third Boss, there was no guarantee the gang wouldn’t come after her someday. In that case, why not strike first?

“Want? I dream of it!” Lang Mingyue ground his teeth.

Man Li had annihilated his clan, but she was also part of the Sha Long Gang. So his hatred extended to the entire gang. And besides—during the years he’d been enslaved, other gang members had abused him plenty as well.

“Good. Then let’s wipe them out together.” Yuan Zhao smiled in satisfaction.

After speaking with him a while longer, she went to find Xiao Kong Kong.

He was washing dishes, hands covered in grease, and looked at her in puzzlement. “Boss, what is it? I’m busy here.”

“Xiao Kong Kong, can I trouble you to run an errand for me?”

“What kind of errand?” he asked, suspicious.

“Go to Blackstone City and deliver this letter to the Marshal of the Great Liang stationed there—Mo Guanshan!”

She pulled an envelope from her robes and handed it toward him.

Xiao Kong Kong’s face instantly soured. “I agreed to be your waiter for free, but errands like this aren’t part of the deal.”

“What will it take for you to go?” Yuan Zhao asked.

Xiao Kong Kong said: “Money!”