While Zhang Ming was meeting with his daughters, the other bandits were busy purchasing supplies for the Brown Boar squad. None of them objected to the Body Tempering practitioner assigned as escort taking a walk through the city. Since the return route led through dense forest, they packed the goods into large crates and carried them on their backs. Leaving the city, they looked like a line of twenty-four ants.

  Before heading back to the stronghold, Zhang Ming did not forget to buy wine for the old drunkard who measured all debts in jugs. He paid Lu Piao with a skin of fine liquor for his help and silence. For Xiao Mei, he bought a box of promised sweets, and a sack of good dried meat for the other girls. All in all, he loaded himself more than anyone else, yet thanks to the strength of the second stage, he barely felt the weight.

  For several days, the two dozen bandits traveled through the forest, following the experienced guide of the Brown Boar squad. By the end of the journey, everyone except Zhang Ming was utterly exhausted, barely dragging their feet. When the familiar walls of the stronghold came into view, smiles spread across their dirty faces. As soon as the bandits carried the goods bought in Puyang to the warehouse, they rushed off to stuff their bellies and then sleep for several days straight. Meanwhile, still full of energy, Zhang Ming headed toward the livestock yard.

  “Hello, Brother Lin Bo!” he called out from afar. “Mind if I leave some things with you for safekeeping?”

  “Hey! You’re back already?” the farmer replied with a smile. “Of course, leave them here.”

  “Hello, guys,” Zhang Ming greeted the others as he came closer. “Hard at work as always? And where’s old Yu? He usually loafs around here, watching others work.”

  “Haven’t seen him these past few days,” Lin Bin shrugged. “He’s like a drunken wind, disappears and reappears. Probably went to scrounge up money for booze.”

  “No one really knows what he does,” Lu Han added.

  “So how’s the big city?” Xiao Bai asked. “Is it impressive? Must’ve seen a lot.”

  “It’s full of refugees, and who knows what’s going on there,” Zhang Ming shook his head. “Alright, I’ll go hunting for a bit. We hurried back so much I didn’t catch anything for dinner. See you this evening. I’ll be back with game.”

  “Good luck, Brother Zhang,” the four farmers said as they returned to work.

  On his way to the gates, he noticed five riders dressed far too richly for ordinary bandits, riding fine steeds clearly not from the local stables. Their black robes with red inlays were almost identical, like a special uniform. Identical pouches, scabbards, and swords hung from their belts, with similar engravings on the hilts. One of them bore a pendant of red jade engraved with the words — “Blood Cloud Sect”.

  They moved slowly along the main road toward the center of the stronghold, while the mountain bandits were already stepping aside and bowing low. Involuntarily, Zhang Ming glanced at the lead rider and immediately met his gaze. The blood-red eyes of the cultivator Ying Hua stared at him coldly. His pale face showed no emotion, yet somehow seemed filled with anger.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  That’s that terrifying man who turned people into mummies. Snakes crawled out of his arms! Why the hell is he here again? Zhang Ming instantly recognized the chieftain’s honored guest.

  He quickly lowered his head and froze in tension. For some time, the icy gaze of Cultivator Ying Hua pressed down on him. It felt like a predator studying its prey, deciding whether to eat it now or later. A crushing weight descended upon Zhang Ming’s shoulders, slowly increasing, as if sack after sack of rice were being piled onto his back. A bead of sweat slid down his temple, and his legs trembled under the pressure, yet he dared not make a sound.

  Still bowing, Zhang Ming endured the torment, listening to the fading clatter of hooves along the road. Only when the riders disappeared behind the buildings did the pressure vanish abruptly. With a sharp inhale, he collapsed to the ground. Wiping his soaked forehead, Zhang Ming looked toward the end of the street where the riders had vanished. Without even crossing blades, he had felt the monstrous difference in strength.

  Bastard, his teeth ground in frustration. Will I ever climb high enough to crack that freak’s skull…

  Shaking himself off, Zhang Ming returned to his business. The hunt did not take long, thanks to quick feet and a bit of luck, he brought down three rabbits and two large pheasants, wanting to treat the girls to proper cooked food. All this time they had been living on questionable dried meat from the bandits’ warehouse, nuts, berries, and beans, everything that stored well and didn’t spoil. He really wanted to please them, even if only with simple dishes made from fresh game.

  In the evening, when the glow of sunset painted the sky in crimson hues, he brought the catch to the livestock yard, where Lin Bo helped cook a hearty stew from the rabbits for five people. For this occasion, Zhang Ming had bought a skin of strong wine in Puyang and treated his friends to good liquor, though he himself did not drink. Tired after a long day’s work, Lin Bo and the brothers quickly became tipsy, and Zhang Ming walked them home to the hut specially assigned by Tang Gui, then returned to the pig pens.

  Although he no longer worked in the livestock yard, he still had free access, and no one found it strange to see him there. Making sure no one was around and that only the pigs’ grunts broke the night’s silence, Zhang Ming began preparing another meal for three very hungry mouths, using the two pheasants, rice, and sweet potatoes left by Lin Bo, adding a bit of wild onion. When everything was boiled and fried and the air filled with the rich aroma of meat, he headed to the old shed to let the girls out for some fresh air.

  “Papa!” Xiao Mei cried happily, throwing her arms around him.

  “Hello,” he smiled, patting the girl’s messy mop of hair.

  “Good evening, Uncle Zhang,” Hai Ling and Cao Siwen bowed.

  “How are you here? Everything alright? Come eat quickly while it’s still hot,” Zhang Ming said joyfully, seeing them healthy and lively.

  It seemed the girls had grown used to life underground or rather, it no longer weighed on them as heavily as before. In the past they would always shrink in fear, nervous and startled by every sound. Now they looked calm and at peace. After so many days in the cellar, with only a single candle that couldn’t be lit for long, they had not withered spiritually or physically. On the contrary, they had grown stronger, and their eyes no longer darted about the shed in fright.

  While the girls enjoyed the rich broth with vegetables and fragrant pheasant meat, Zhang Ming checked their inner energy. The method from the scroll had helped greatly, all three were on the verge of a breakthrough. In just a couple of days, their bodies would be ready to step into the Body Tempering Realm.

  That’s just unfair… Zhang Ming lamented inwardly, remembering how long it had taken him.

  “Mmm, delicious!” Xiao Mei praised his cooking, squinting in delight.

  “Eat more. I made plenty…”