Chapter 209 - 207: Little New Year

Chapter 209: Chapter 207: Little New Year

"BANG!—"

A gunshot tore through the winter silence of the mountains and wilderness.

Startled birds flew from the forest, flapping their wings as they soared into the lead-gray sky.

A man in a blue-gray padded jacket moved nimbly through the trees. Before long, he returned at a brisk pace, carrying a large bird with gray-blue feathers.

"Young Master, your Spear Technique is godlike! Another hit!"

The man lifted the large bird, grinning fawningly. "It’s a kite. Must weigh over three pounds."

Fu Juemin stood on a protruding rock. His brown hunting attire and black riding boots accentuated his well-proportioned, slender figure. His features, made all the more defined and handsome by the cold wind, gave him the perfect air of a noble young master on a winter excursion.

He slowly lowered the still-warm hunting rifle in his hands and smiled faintly. "Today is the Little New Year. We’ll keep all the game we catch and have an extra dish tonight.

After we get back, everyone will also receive a red envelope with fifty silver coins."

"Thank you, Young Master!"

As soon as he spoke, a chorus of responses, hushed yet unable to conceal their delight, rose from the surroundings.

Fu Juemin scanned his surroundings. His group was currently standing at the edge of a reservoir.

Of course, his trip wasn’t solely for hunting. This was the Du Mountain Reservoir, a place he had visited once before. Hidden beneath it was a hibernating Old Turtle Spirit.

He had brought his retinue of Qinglian Gang members to Du Mountain by the reservoir to hunt pheasants, wild rabbits, and resident birds for sport, while Gu Shouyu, Xu Hengjiang, and the other remnants of the Ghost Camp were spread out below, conducting a routine survey.

The entire Du Mountain area was deserted. Being the Little New Year, there wasn’t even a fisherman in sight. In this vast, gray world, it seemed as if Fu Juemin and his men were the only ones active.

Fu Juemin had been hunting for over an hour. Having shot just about every kind of game on Du Mountain, he was already growing tired of it.

Just then, a figure sprinted up from below, scaling the mountain path as if it were flat ground, his movements exceptionally agile.

Fu Juemin watched the figure silently for a moment. When the person drew near, he suddenly tossed his hunting rifle to the man beside him, his body shifted slightly, and he floated a palm strike toward the newcomer.

"Give me a hand."

The latter had just arrived from a full sprint, not yet having caught his breath, when he was met with Fu Juemin’s sudden attack. Caught off guard, he nonetheless remained calm and coolly met the blow.

Their fists and palms crossed, their figures merging and parting in a flash. After just a few exchanges, the newcomer stumbled and retreated several steps back.

Fu Juemin didn’t press the attack. He waited for the other man to steady himself, then looked at him with a smile and asked, "Close to the Blood Barrier?"

"Yes."

The man nodded.

"How come I’ve never seen you use this set of techniques before?"

The man pursed his lips and said in a low voice, "It was... taught to me by Elder Li."

Understanding dawned on Fu Juemin instantly. He walked over, patted the man’s shoulder gently, and said lightly, "Since Uncle Tong is willing to teach you, you must train diligently.

Come back with me to Ink Garden today. Get some restorative medicine and break through the Blood Barrier as soon as possible."

"Thank you, Young Master."

The one replying to Fu Juemin was, of course, Cao Tian, whom he had planted in the Ghost Camp some time ago.

These past days, Cao Tian had been eating and living with the Ghost Camp group. He had lost a lot of weight and his skin had grown dark, making him nearly indistinguishable from the other Ghost Camp remnants. He had also acquired a bit of a soldierly air.

He was utterly loyal to Fu Juemin. Every so often, he would summarize the Ghost Camp’s affairs and report back. He had likely been ostracized over there, but he never complained, nor did he ever express a desire to leave.

His Martial Dao hadn’t been neglected either. He was about to break through the Blood Barrier. Calculating the time, it had only been half a year since he had advanced to the Blood Refining stage. For an ordinary person, this was astonishingly fast progress.

This time, Fu Juemin was preparing to send Zhang Yi in as well. Little by little, he would sooner or later gain complete control of the Ghost Camp.

While he was talking with Cao Tian, Xu Hengjiang and his men returned from below with Gu Shouyu.

"...We’ve checked all the demolition points. The amount of gunpowder has been calculated repeatedly. There shouldn’t be any problems."

Xu Hengjiang walked up to Fu Juemin and said with a frown, "The only difficult part now is how to lure it out.

The reservoir is deep, and this Old Turtle doesn’t lack for food. If it really decides to hide in its shell, I’m afraid it might not show its head even by next spring..."

"Would a living person work?"

Fu Juemin asked after a moment of thought.

Xu Hengjiang turned his gaze to Gu Shouyu at his side. Gu Shouyu shook his head, unable to say for sure.

Fu Juemin didn’t have any good ideas either. It was just as his second uncle, Fu Guoping, had said back at the Luan River: the most difficult to deal with were these kinds of Demon Fiends that lived underwater.

On land, the living had a thousand ways to deal with them one by one. But against one hiding in the water, they could only stare at the surface and scratch their heads.

"What’s the status of the other targets?"

Fu Juemin asked again. Gu Shouyu immediately pulled a notebook from his satchel and said, "I was just about to tell you.

Recently, there have been more incidents of unnatural deaths among the Demon Race..."

Hearing this, Fu Juemin’s eyes narrowed. He subconsciously snatched the notebook from Gu Shouyu’s hand. On it, among the listed Demon Fiend targets marked "Pending," five were crossed out with large "X"s.

Three were crossed out in black ink, and two in a more jarring vermilion.

"What do the different colors mean?"

"The black ink means it was done by their own kind. As for the red ink..."

Gu Shouyu paused, then said hesitantly, "I reckon it was probably the Westerners."

"Their own kind? Westerners?!"

With each of the two terms Gu Shouyu spoke, Fu Juemin’s brow furrowed a little deeper.

The first reminded him of the Water Demon Mother that someone had gotten to first. Although Gu Shouyu had said he wasn’t sure, Fu Juemin had a strange premonition—it was the water monkey, hiding in the shadows, secretly growing stronger.

As for the latter....

"Any recent movements from the Jianghai Defense Command?"

Fu Juemin turned to look at Big Cat, who slowly shook his head. "Still on high alert, tight as a drum. We can’t get any information out."

"Go find Shen Yijun."

Fu Juemin’s eyes glinted as he gave the cold command: "He has many connections. Have him help check if Commander Luo or the Westerners in the Concession have recently commissioned him to buy or sell anything."

"Yes."

Big Cat acknowledged the order.

The Westerners had been conducting experiments on Demon Fiends in Shenghai for years, and none of it would have been possible without Luo Zhengxiong’s support, both overt and covert.

Lately, with various factions on the move, Luo Zhengxiong had been excessively low-key, making it hard not to suspect that he was secretly plotting something "big."

’I didn’t manage to kill him last time. His injuries should have healed long ago. This sudden need for a large quantity of Demon Fiend materials... it could be that the Westerners’ technology has had some new breakthrough...’

’Luo Zhengxiong was already difficult enough to deal with. If he were to advance even further, getting rid of him would undoubtedly become even harder!...’

Of course, whether this was true or not still required confirmation.

Fu Juemin had already decided. From now on, whenever he had time, he would go to the Jianghai Command to "eavesdrop," just like he did when dealing with Song Lin and his group back at the Luan River.

’Previously, I was only focused on how to improve my own strength as quickly as possible, but I overlooked one thing—my opponents can also make "leaps and bounds" in a short period of time!...’

At this thought, Fu Juemin’s expression slowly grew grave.

The water monkey and Luo Zhengxiong—one Demon, one man—were like two heavy stones weighing on his heart. Until they were completely removed or crushed, he couldn’t sleep soundly at night.

Tossing the notebook back to Gu Shouyu, Fu Juemin looked up at the slightly gloomy sky, thought for a moment, and said lightly, "Alright, it’s the Little New Year. Everyone can leave early for the day.

Anything that needs doing can wait until tomorrow."

As instructed, the crowd dispersed.

On the way back from the Du Mountain Reservoir, Fu Juemin’s mind was still preoccupied with thoughts of the water monkey and Luo Zhengxiong.

Both matters seemed slow-burning but were in fact urgent. If either one were to suddenly erupt, it would cause him considerable trouble.

What he feared most was both things happening at once....

The convoy entered the city from the south. As they reached Shengwu Road, they found their path suddenly blocked by a dense crowd of people.

Fu Juemin looked out the car window. On this main road into the city from the south, not only cars, but even the rickshaws had been forced to the sides of the street.

The road was teeming with people—all students wearing white scarves, holding banners and posters, staging a protest march.

Seeing this, the accompanying Qinglian Gang members frowned, and muttering curses, were about to draw their guns. Fu Juemin waved his hand from the car window, signaling his men to stand down and just follow slowly behind the procession...