’The Entry Level for the *Pharmacist Buddha’s Glazed Body* requires an understanding of the Purity of Mind, and mastering the *Purifying Light Saber* requires an epiphany in Buddhist Teachings.
If I can’t overco this bottleneck, it will be difficult for my power to make a fundantal leap...’
Fu Juemin ran his hand over the edge of the short saber, a light swirling in the depths of his eyes.
The *Purifying Light Saber* wasn’t the issue. The main problem was the *Pharmacist Buddha’s Glazed Body*. He needed a Centennial Mire Lotus Seed to reach the Entry Level, and he had already used two seeds in two attempts at the dicated Bath. Now, only one remained.
In other words, if Fu Juemin’s third attempt failed, he had no idea when he would get another chance.
This made Fu Juemin anxious, but his reason told him that at a critical mont like this, impatience was the last thing he needed.
The contradiction left him feeling as if a ball of foul air were lodged in his chest—he couldn’t swallow it down, nor could he cough it up.
"Young Master."
A servant hurried into the training room, leaned in close to Fu Juemin, and reported in a low voice, "Huang Fang, your Eight Trigrams Saber instructor, says he won’t be coming back."
Fu Juemin frowned slightly. "Did he say why?"
"He said your skill with the saber has far surpassed his own. He feels there’s nothing more he can teach you and would be too ashad to continue."
"It’s not for so other reason?"
The servant shook his head. "He said it wasn’t."
Fu Juemin’s eyes flickered. After a mont, he said coolly, "Fine. I understand.
Give him an extra ten silver coins for today’s lesson."
"Yes, sir."
The servant withdrew. Fu Juemin picked up a nearby towel, wiped away his sweat, threw on his clothes, and walked out of the training room.
He strolled to the garden. It was now November, and the trees were bare. Even with dedicated caretakers, the Fu Family’s garden was an ashen gray, a pale shadow of its forr glory.
After walking for a while, Fu Juemin only grew more frustrated. He called for Cao Tian, deciding to go out for a while.
The butler, Uncle Chen, had a car prepared imdiately. Once Fu Juemin was settled in his seat, the driver looked in the rearview mirror and asked, "Young Master, where to?"
Fu Juemin thought for a mont before finally saying, "To the pier."
...
「Luan River Pier.」
In late autumn, the river had lost its sumr turbidity, its waters now clear, green, and chillingly cold.
The surface rippled with fine, fish-scale-like waves as a small steam freighter, spewing clouds of coal smoke, slowly docked.
Fu Juemin stood on the bank. His eyes seed to be gazing at the distant river and the laborers bustling back and forth, shouldering heavy sacks between the ship and the shore. In truth, his entire consciousness was focused on the waters below.
He activated Yao Ling, his Perception spreading out silently like an invisible spider’s web.
A myriad of sounds flooded his ears, and he filtered through them layer by layer. In addition to Yao Ling, Fu Juemin was also trying to use his pure Demon Fiend instinct to sense the water monkey’s presence.
Gradually, he seed to "hear" sothing.
A bone-deep chill slowly crept up his spine, and a dark, blurry scene ford in his mind.
Turbid black water, weeds tangled with silt like strands of black hair... filth, decay...
Slowly, Fu Juemin seed to "see" a strange figure curled up sowhere in the darkness, seemingly deep in slumber.
He kept pushing aside the murk before his "eyes," trying to draw closer.
Bit by bit...
The very instant Fu Juemin was about to "see" the sleeping figure’s form clearly, a pair of wicked, ghostly green eyes, like burning will-o’-the-wisps, snapped open in the gloom and glared viciously at him!
"Young Master Fu!"
The shout pulled Fu Juemin back to reality. His shoulders trembled as he was violently wrenched from that delicate state of perception.
Turning around, Fu Juemin saw a man standing a few steps away, smiling and cupping his fist in greeting.
He was a young man in his late twenties with a well-proportioned build, high cheekbones, and long, narrow eyes. His features carried an air of innate callousness and severity.
He wore a deep maroon long-robe, and a large jade thumb ring was on his left thumb, a deliberate attempt to appear more mature and steady.
"Wu Pozhou?"
Fu Juemin’s eyes flickered as he looked at the young man before him.
"I am."
The young man smiled. "I often hear my adoptive father ntion the great na of Young Master Fu, Fu Lingjun. Seeing you today, I can see you are truly extraordinary."
As Fu Juemin sized up Wu Pozhou, Wu Pozhou was likewise observing the young master of the Fu Family.
Though his words were complintary, flashes of shock occasionally flickered in the depths of his eyes.
The man before him was handso, with a powerful build. Though he wore a Western suit and stood casually, an intangible yet heavy pressure washed over Wu Pozhou in waves, like a rising tide.
Wu Pozhou was a martial artist himself. He had often heard the gang’s Red Sticks, who were sent to the Fu Family as sparring partners, endlessly praise how powerful the young master was and how astonishing his Talent was.
He had assud they were just singing his praises because they were on the Fu Family’s payroll, but seeing the man in person, he realized their words were no exaggeration at all.
’This is no dissolute playboy, as the street rumors claim. This is a young Tiger, lying dormant in a grand mansion, its ferocity just beginning to surface!’
’Indeed, how could formidable n like Fu Guosheng and Fu Guoping possibly raise a diocre, incompetent heir.’
"Is the Water Demon at the bottom of this river still around?"
Fu Juemin asked, gesturing toward the river.
Wu Pozhou answered after a mont of thought, "It’s hard to say. Things have been quiet since the river ceremony.
Perhaps because winter is approaching and the water is getting colder, it hasn’t caused any trouble for a while..."
Fu Juemin nodded and turned his gaze to the distant river, saying nothing for a long ti.
Wu Pozhou didn’t dare break the silence. Here at the pier, he was the Gang Leader of the Black Shark Gang, commanding a thousand n. Yet standing beside Fu Juemin, he felt like a re attendant, completely overshadowed in both status and presence.
The feeling was unsettling, but there was no escaping it.
Suddenly, Fu Juemin spoke out of the blue. "Gang Leader Wu, have you ever thought about avenging your father?"
Wu Pozhou was taken aback, unsure of Fu Juemin’s aning. After a mont, he replied, "Of course I have. But the Water Demon is cunning and its thods are unfathomable. Even Second Master can’t do anything about it.
I may be full of courage, but I have no way to use it."
"When you were sacrificing livestock to it, did you ever consider using poison?"
Fu Juemin asked, turning his head slightly.
Wu Pozhou gave a bitter smile. "Of course we thought of it. We even tried.
But that Water Demon has a discerning palate. It can taste the difference in the essence and blood of a poisoned animal.
What’s more, if it ever eats a poisoned animal, it’s guaranteed to co ashore that very night to kill soone. It’s extrely vindictive. After a few attempts, we didn’t dare try again."
"What if we were to lure it out of the water, gather enough n, trap it with iron nets and steel cables, and then blast it with gunpowder.
Could we kill it then?"
Fu Juemin asked pensively.
Wu Pozhou considered this for a mont, then shook his head. "It might be feasible, but only if you could lure it far enough onto land. The mont it gets back in the water, all our efforts would be for naught."
"I understand."
Fu Juemin nodded and slowly turned around. "If I need Gang Leader Wu’s assistance in the future, I will call on you again."
"I am at Young Master Fu’s disposal at any ti."
Wu Pozhou cupped his fist respectfully.
"Take care, Young Master Fu."
Wu Pozhou led a group of Black Shark Gang mbers and stood under the gateway of the Luan River Pier. He waited until the car was completely out of sight before finally relaxing his formal, deferential posture.
Watching the car disappear in a cloud of dust, the Master standing beside Wu Pozhou, who had visited the Fu Family several tis, couldn’t help but sigh. "That young master of the Fu Family certainly is sothing else. Right now, Governor Song’s son, Song Lin, is trying every trick in the book to go after the Fu Family, yet he still has the ti to worry about the Water Demon at this pier..."
"Who knows."
Wu Pozhou replied casually.
Seeing Wu Pozhou’s unconcerned expression, the Master hesitated for a mont before he could no longer hold back. He said in a low voice, "Gang Leader, now that the Fu Family is being targeted by the Songs, we should be making our own plans.
When the Elder Gang Leader passed away suddenly, relying on the Fu Family’s influence to secure your position as Gang Leader was an excellent strategy.
But now the Fu Family can barely protect itself. If we don’t distance ourselves from them soon, I fear we’ll be dragged down with them...
I know you value loyalty, Master. Since you took the Fu Family’s Second Master as your adoptive father, you’re surely unwilling to act like a petty villain.
But then again, the Elder Gang Leader died because of the Fu Family in the first place. When you get right down to it, they’re the ones who owe you. You’ve done so much for them these past few months; any debt you might have had is more than repaid...
And to be blunt, even if you don’t care about your own safety, you should at least think about everyone in the Black Shark Gang.
You can’t sacrifice the lives of several thousand of our brothers for the sake of the Fu Family, can you?..."
Listening to his Master’s earnest persuasion, Wu Pozhou’s eyes flickered, and his brow gradually furrowed.
He turned his head to look at the muddy, churning waves in the distance and remained silent for a long ti.
After a mont, Wu Pozhou finally spoke in a low voice, "Don’t worry, Master.
I will make the necessary plans for this matter ahead of ti..."
The Master let out a soft sigh of relief, his expression a mixture of complexity and gratification as he nodded.
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