activa-t Chapter 23 The Moonlit Night
Chapter 23 The Moonlit Night
"Old Wang, Little Sun, you two go first."
"Then Uncle Chen, please be careful by yourself."
Uncle Wang and Brother Sun, unsuspecting, told him to go back early and then strolled on.
Uncle Chen watched the two walk away, the smile on his face slowly fading, replaced by a complex expression mixed with fear and hesitation.
He took a deep breath, as if he had made up his mind, and turned into the narrow, dark alley next to him.
As they ventured deeper, two figures suddenly emerged from the shadows.
The moonlight outlined the contours.
These two men were clearly the two skilled fighters from the Liefeng Hall, Chang Song and Song Hai, whom Jiang Qi had encountered by chance at the alley entrance at dusk.
Uncle Chen trembled and hurriedly bowed, saying, "Master Chang...Master Song."
Chang Song and Song Hai stood in the shadows, their expressions indistinct, only their eyes gleaming eerily in the darkness.
"How is it? Is there anything unusual about that kid?" Chang Song asked in a sinister tone.
Uncle Chen's body trembled again, his head drooped even lower, and his voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz: "Reporting to Master Chang, Master Song. Jiang Shuitou... he's no different from yesterday, from the days before."
"I just came back from martial arts practice, I'm a bit tired, and I've had dinner... Gentlemen, is there... a mistake?"
"A mistake?" Chang Song took a step forward from the shadows, moonlight illuminating half of his somber face, a cold smile playing on his lips. "Old man, so you're saying... you didn't ask a single question?"
Uncle Chen raised his head in horror, his face as pale as paper in the moonlight: "Master Chang, Master Song, please calm down! It's not that I didn't want to ask, it's just... I really didn't have a chance to ask!"
Moreover, Jiang Shuitou is really just an ordinary person. We beg you two gentlemen to have mercy and release Jiang Shuitou...
Bang!
Before the words were finished, a muffled thud!
Uncle Chen felt a tearing pain in his abdomen, and his whole body flew backward like a broken sack, his back slamming heavily against the brick wall before sliding softly to the ground.
He was curled up, his internal organs felt displaced, and he couldn't even cry out in pain; he could only gasp for breath.
Song Hai withdrew his foot, snorted coldly, and said in a tone full of impatience and violence: "Old man! You eat the food of my Liefeng Hall and take the silver rewarded by my Liefeng Hall, how dare you disobey me? I think you're itching for a beating again, have you forgotten the lesson last time!"
Chang Song slowly walked up to Uncle Chen, squatted down, and lifted his chin with his hand: "Since you don't know what's good for you, then don't blame us for being ruthless."
He leaned closer, a sinister smile on his face. "Tomorrow, have your girl all cleaned up and waiting for me. Otherwise..."
His cold smile widened, revealing his gleaming white teeth: "I'll make sure your whole family of three, like your two missing sons, reunite at the bottom of the Li River!"
Uncle Chen's pupils suddenly contracted, and he was instantly overwhelmed by immense fear and despair.
He wanted to beg and resist, but the excruciating pain and suffocation prevented him from making a complete sound, and his vision blurred.
Finally, he couldn't catch his breath, his head lolled to the side, and he fainted.
"Old man, stop pretending to be dead!" Song Hai cursed as he walked over and kicked him again.
Uncle Chen showed no reaction, only his body twitched.
"Alright, forget about this trash." Chang Song stood up, dusted off his clothes, and his eyes turned greedy. "The important thing is to quickly capture that kid, extract his blood, cook his flesh, and reach the mid-stage of the Blood Refining Realm."
A fierce glint flashed in Song Hai's eyes as he licked his lips: "You and I are both at the peak of three Qi and Blood, while that kid only has two. If you ask me, there's no need for all this trouble."
"Taking down that kid shouldn't be difficult, but if the gang finds out, we'll be in big trouble, so it's best to be cautious."
......
The water shop was dimly lit.
Jiang Qi took out ten taels of silver: "Take it."
Zhao Xiaoqi quickly pushed the silver back: "Qi-ge'er, I have silver!"
"You have money?" Jiang Qi looked at Xiao Qi calmly. "Where did it come from? You've only been receiving your monthly allowance from the water shop for two months."
Upon hearing this, Zhao's mother looked at her son with concern.
Zhao Xiaoqi's eyes flickered, and in the flickering candlelight, the paleness between her brows seemed even more pronounced. She forced a smile and explained:
"When I came out of Zuixianlou, didn't I mention that I found a job moving goods at Xinglong Wharf by the Lishui River? The pay there is good, and when there's a lot of work, I can earn over a hundred coins a day."
"I've been saving every penny lately, and I've managed to save over ten taels of silver, enough to pay the entrance fee to the martial arts school."
Upon hearing this, Zhao's mother's eyes immediately reddened, and her voice choked with emotion: "No wonder...no wonder you've been leaving before dawn and returning after dark lately, and your complexion has been getting worse and worse...It's all my fault for being so weak and dragging you down..."
Zhao Xiaoqi replied in a relaxed tone, "Mother, Qi-ge'er, don't worry. Once I go to the martial arts school to learn martial arts, I'll be just like Qi-ge'er."
He delivers water in the morning, practices martial arts at the gym during the day, and quits his job at the docks.
Hearing him say that, Zhao's mother calmed down a little.
Jiang Qi looked at Zhao Xiaoqi with suspicion in his heart.
Xiao Qi's complexion was indeed rather poor.
In the past, he wouldn't have thought much of it, simply assuming it was because the cargo at the dock was heavy and the work was arduous.
However, Xiao Qi drank the Moon Essence Water, so her complexion shouldn't be like this.
However, with Zhao's mother present, Jiang Qi didn't ask any further questions to avoid worrying her.
He paused for a moment, then went to the water room and retrieved a bamboo tube: "Take this back with you. Take a little each day and mix it with water to boil medicine or drink it daily."
Zhao Xiaoqi naturally refused, but Jiang Qi said that there were requirements for training at the martial arts school, and one's physical condition had to be up to standard, otherwise one could not get in even if one had money, so he accepted the bamboo tube.
"Thank you, Qi-ge'er!"
"Thank you for your help, Aqi," Zhao's mother said gratefully.
"It's getting late, Xiao Qi, we should go back and let A Qi get some rest."
"Alright, okay." Zhao Xiaoqi helped his mother to her feet. "Qi-ge'er, we'll head back now."
"Take care on the way." Jiang Qi escorted the two to the alley entrance and stood there for a moment.
A cool evening breeze swept through the alley, swirling up a few fallen leaves.
His gaze swept over the dark houses on both sides, his eyes darkened slightly, and then he turned and went back to the water shop.
......
Inside the water pavilion, the moonlight was like water.
Jiang Qi stood by the well, concentrating and calming himself.
I looked up at the bright moon in the night sky and a thought stirred in my mind.
"Moonlight".
The moon reflected in the well came to life, slowly contracting and condensing inward, eventually transforming into ten warm, pearl-like moon-white specks of light, which floated one by one onto the palm of the hand.
As his blood and qi increased and his physique became stronger, his mental strength also rose accordingly. Now he can continuously condense ten drops of moon essence water.
My consciousness swept over the [Book of a Hundred Trades]:
【Occupation: Moonlight Envoy】
[Level: 1 (556→577/1000)]
As your profession advances, the experience gained by a Moonblossom Envoy mainly depends on condensing Moonblossom Water using the [Moonblossom] skill, while the experience gained from fetching water daily is significantly reduced.
He put ten drops of moonlight into a bamboo tube and then went into the water room.
Inside, the lamplight was dim.
The shadow was cast on the wall, swaying and flickering.
After a brief pause, Jiang Qi took the small ceramic bowl given to him by Liu Ying, poured the Eight Treasures Nourishing Soup into clear water, and then stirred it with chopsticks.
Then, he held his breath and stared intently at the mixed soup in the bowl.
"Out of water".