Immortality begins in Goose City

Chapter 86 Mother and Child Connected

"My love, we're of one mind..."

Lin Zhihua's pupils contracted sharply, her legs went weak, and she fell backward, about to fall to the ground... when a hand steadily supported her.

Huang Shujian had appeared behind her without her noticing, and placed his hand on her shoulder, his voice calm:

"I found this by chance; he was a pitiful person. How can you, with such a cowardly nature, go into a tomb?"

Lin Zhihua was still in shock, her face pale, but she quickly calmed down, pulled away from Huang Shujian's hand, and forced herself to remain composed:

"Who...who's a coward? I just slipped."

She took a deep breath, mustered her courage, walked towards the pottery jar, and reached out to touch the beautiful head.

But he stopped halfway through reaching out his hand.

"Cough cough..."

Just then, Huang Shujian coughed. The sound wasn't loud, but it was particularly abrupt in the quiet study.

Lin Zhihua jumped up in fright, looking like a startled rabbit, and glared angrily at Huang Shujian: "You're so mean! You scared your sister!"

After saying that, she dared not linger any longer, turned around and ran away, forgetting to even close the door.

Huang Shujian smiled, walked back to his desk, and sat down.

He picked up the cup of coffee, took a sip, and found it bitter, astringent, and had a burnt taste. It was indeed a low-quality product.

He put down his cup, recalling what Lin Zhihua had said.

"Summon Wu Zhi to come."

Wu Zhichong arrived in less than fifteen minutes.

He was dressed in shorts and a Mauser pistol tucked into his waistband. He bowed as he entered and said, "Young Master."

"I want to form a demon-catching team," Huang Shujian said bluntly, "a team specifically for capturing and killing demons and evil spirits."

Wu Zhichong's eyes lit up: "Young Master means..."

"First, select twelve people," Huang Shujian said. "They must have a foundation in martial arts, at least four or five acupoints, and be proficient in marksmanship. Most importantly, they must be loyal."

Wu Zhichong patted his chest and said, "Leave it to me! I have several servants who meet the requirements, all of whom have been carefully selected and their loyalty is absolutely guaranteed! There are also some good men in Goose City that I can call over."

Huang Shujian nodded: "We'll assemble at the firing range tomorrow morning. I want to personally inspect the selection process."

"Yes!" Wu Zhichong accepted the order and left.

After returning to his desk, Huang Shujian fell into deep thought.

Twelve people—that's just the beginning.

His goal was to build a team of seventy-two people.

They need the best guns, the best equipment, and special training; they're not fighting humans, but demons and monsters.

Exquisite is not expensive.

These twelve people are the core, the seeds.

In chaotic times, joining forces with warlords is nothing more than handing your life over to others; the only right thing to do is to hold the gun yourself.

Of course, one's own strength is fundamental.

Use the demon-hunting team to hunt down evil spirits and gain free attribute points.

Strengthen yourself!

A short while later, there was another knock on the door.

Hu Wan pushed the door open and came in, holding a brown paper bag in his hand.

"Young Master, there's been progress on the matter you asked us to investigate."

Huang Shujian took the paper bag and pulled out the documents inside.

It is an investigative report on the "Heart-Shattering Palm".

A month ago, he was assassinated. The assassin used this palm technique. Huang Shujian had instructed Hu Wan to investigate long ago, and now there are finally results.

He opened the document and read through it page by page.

Heart-Shattering Palm is a martial art of the Northern Zhenwu Sect.

It is not an ordinary martial art, but a technique exclusive to Yin martial artists.

Yin Warrior, a special profession among martial artists.

It is said that when mastered to its peak, one can astral projection, travel a thousand miles at night, and kill without a trace. This Heart-Shattering Palm is even more vicious; once mastered, a single strike can shatter internal organs, and those struck will die without healing.

However, it is extremely difficult for Yin Wu practitioners to enter the sect, and the Zhenwu Sect has long since declined, with very few successors.

Records show that decades ago, the last generation of Zhenwumen was massacred by warlords. Only one anonymous disciple escaped and went south, never to be seen again.

However, the characteristic of mastering the Heart-Shattering Palm is...

Huang Shujian's gaze fell on the last line of text:

"Her hands are as smooth as jade, and feel warm to the touch."

His eyes narrowed immediately.

Just then, Zhao Ming knocked on the door and came in, holding a roll of blueprints in her hand.

"Young master, this was delivered by a servant from the Lu family. They said it was from Miss Lu Yu for you."

Huang Shujian took the blueprints and unfolded them.

It's a survey map with fine lines and clear annotations; it's clear that a lot of effort was put into it.

The image shows part of the structure in front of the entrance to Prince Rong's tomb.

Upon closer inspection, Huang Shujian was stunned.

The tomb is not located deep in the mountains or in the old forest, but in underground water.

The entire tomb is built underwater in an underground river, requiring diving to enter.

No wonder Lu Yu said that without them, Huang Shujian wouldn't be able to find them even if he dug three feet into the ground in Goose City.

Below the drawing, there is a line of smaller print:

"Diving equipment is needed. We don't have any here, so please ask Young Master Huang to prepare it."

That's the real reason for sending this blueprint.

Huang Shujian closed the blueprints and instructed Zhao Ming, "Go find Hu Qian and tell him I need several sets of diving equipment, the best of the best."

Zhao Ming responded and left, leaving Huang Shujian alone in the study once again.

Huang Shujian discovered a note tucked in the crevices of the picture book.

Upon closer inspection, the handwriting was different from that in the picture book; it must have been written by Murong Xue.

"Most of the royal tombs of the Great Ying Dynasty have a blood pool barrier, which requires a large amount of human blood to pass through."

There was only this one line of text, and it was placed in the crevice of the booklet.

After a moment's thought, Huang Shujian understood.

Murong Xue told him this privately, away from Lu Yu, reminding him that he needed human blood, and a lot of it!

He opened the desk drawer and pulled out a yellowed ancient book.

The Book of Blood and Flesh Medicine.

This was obtained from the beggar woman in the variety show troupe. It contains many strange and unusual prescriptions and secret techniques, some orthodox, some wicked, and some... hard to say.

Huang Shujian turned the pages one by one, his gaze finally settling on one page.

The page depicts two worms, one large and one small, tightly pressed together.

The text next to it reads: "Mother-and-child heart-connected worm."

Huang Shujian stared at the two worms for a long time, then closed the book and muttered to himself:

"This is it."

……

June 14th, 1939 (Republic of China, Year 8).

As soon as it was light, the Goose City shooting range was already packed with people.

Huang Shujian sat on a makeshift platform with a grand master's chair beneath him and a huge oil-paper umbrella behind him, shielding him from the already scorching morning sun.

He held a cup of tea in his hand, sipping it slowly, his eyes looking down at the audience.

There were forty or fifty people standing below the stage.

The first row consisted entirely of Huang's servants, all dressed in black cloth trousers, shirtless, revealing their well-developed muscles.

The second row was a mixed bag of clothes: some wore patched coarse cloth shirts, some wore faded shorts, and a few were even shirtless, wearing only tattered trousers.

These are locals from Goose City. Some are apprentices at martial arts schools, some are escorts from security companies, and a few are retired veterans.

Huang Shujian's gaze swept across the room and he saw several familiar faces.

Zhang Hu, Zhao Long, two servants, and Ma Yongzhen.

Wu Zhichong jogged onto the stage, stood in front of Huang Shujian, and bowed to report:

"Young Master, everyone is here, forty-eight in total, all of whom have been screened according to your requirements."

"At least four orifices were opened, and Ma Yongzhen even opened seven orifices."

"They're all tough guys who can fight, dare to fight, and aren't afraid of death."

"I've also tested the marksmanship; from thirty paces away, I hit seven out of ten times."

Huang Shujian nodded.

This is a pretty good result for this era.

For ordinary soldiers, being able to hit five out of ten shots is considered good, and hitting seven out of ten shots is already at the elite soldier level.

But what he wanted was not elite troops.

They are elites.

"Twelve," Huang Shujian said, making sure all forty-eight people in the audience heard him clearly.

"I only need twelve."

Huang Shujian put down his teacup, stood up, and walked to the edge of the platform.

Forty-eight pairs of eyes in the audience turned to look at him.

Huang Shujian waved his hand, and Zhao Ming brought out a wooden box from the side.

The box was heavy, and even Zhao Ming, who was naturally strong, struggled to move it. Finally, she placed the box at Huang Shujian's feet and stepped back to the side.

Huang Shujian kicked the box over.

"Splash—"

The white ocean water poured out, tumbling down from the high platform like a silver waterfall, crashing onto the yellow earth of the training ground.

One, two, ten, a hundred...