Chapter 74: Blood Qi Gauze (I)

"So strong!"

Lin Zheyu clenched his fists as the overwhelming blood qi surged through his body, making him feel as if he were filled with endless strength. The immense blood qi circulated with his blood, and he could faintly hear a rumbling sound as it coursed through his body.

The density of blood qi within his body reached its peak. With every cycle of his blood, vast amounts of blood qi energy overflowed, merging into his cells and bones to further nourish and strengthen his physique.

At the same time, a thin, blood-colored membrane of energy formed beneath his skin. This blood-colored membrane was naturally born once his blood qi reached the body’s limit of capacity. The blood qi, dense to the extreme, spread out with each circulation of blood, and the overflowing energy gathered beneath his skin to form the blood-colored membrane.

"So this is the blood qi gauze?"

Lin Zheyu felt the blood-colored membrane beneath his skin. This membrane strengthened the body’s defensive energy and added a shock-absorbing effect. With a single movement, blood qi energy flooded into his legs, propelling him faster than before as afterimages appeared throughout the courtyard.

Bang, bang, bang.

His whip-like kicks struck the wooden stakes, producing heavy banging sounds. The massive recoil from the stakes spread through his skin to the blood qi membrane, causing it to tremble slightly. As the blood qi vibrated, the recoil force was dispersed throughout his body, reducing the strain on the struck areas.

Bang, bang, bang!

Lin Zheyu’s fists and feet struck the stakes repeatedly, producing a series of muffled impacts.

Boom!

Suddenly, his figure shifted as he unleashed the Barbaric Ox Fist, smashing it into a stone pier in the courtyard. With a crack, the hard stone pier split apart with countless spreading fractures.

Lin Zheyu looked at his fist, which was slightly red, but he felt little discomfort. The recoil from the stone pier had been absorbed mostly by the blood qi gauze beneath his skin, greatly lessening the impact on his body.

"Truly marvelous!"

Lin Zheyu could not help but marvel in admiration. If he continued to improve like this, he would soon be able to punch straight through steel plates.

Lin Zheyu trained for another hour before stopping, gaining a thorough understanding of his enhanced strength. He circulated the Tortoise Breath Grand Method with full force, gradually suppressing the fluctuations of his blood qi until the energy was firmly locked within his blood.

The blood qi gauze beneath his skin also merged into his flesh and blood wondrously. Lin Zheyu’s aura quickly receded, returning to the level of the Bone Forging Realm.

Bang!

He struck out with a punch, and the wooden stake gave off a muffled thud.

Lin Zheyu discovered that even though the blood qi gauze had fused into his flesh, the shock-absorbing effect had not diminished. Once again, he marveled at the wonder of the Tortoise Breath Grand Method.

Leader Xu must be on the verge of a blood qi transformation, or perhaps he has already completed one,

thought Lin Zheyu to himself.

He had reached the stage of blood qi gauze, and the blood qi within his body had reached the limit of what it could contain. Yet compared to Xu Jingwu, his blood qi was still considerably weaker. However, the gap between them was no longer significant. Lin Zheyu guessed that Leader Xu had likely only reached the first transformation of blood qi at most.

After a simple wash and a meal, he changed his clothes and went out. He intended to find the man Doctor Wu had introduced to him, hoping to learn some knowledge of toxicology from him.

That man was named Chen Peijun, and he was a few years younger than Doctor Wu. At 63, he was considered long-lived for this era. According to Doctor Wu, Chen Peijun’s enemies had sought revenge in his early years, killing his entire family. Since then, he had never remarried and lived alone.

When Lin Zheyu arrived at Chen Peijun’s home, he saw that the house was small and somewhat old, with a courtyard even smaller than the one he had previously rented.

Knock, knock, knock.

He gently knocked on the door, but there was no response from inside.

"Excuse me, is Elder Chen at home? I was introduced by Doctor Wu of Jihe Hall, and I have something I would like to consult you about," said Lin Zheyu.

There was still no response from inside. He knocked for over 10 minutes, but there seemed to be no one inside.

"Stop knocking. Old Chen isn’t home. He’s rarely ever at home," said a middle-aged woman from next door.

"Hello, may I ask where Elder Chen has gone?" asked Lin Zheyu.

"Who knows? Old Chen is very reclusive and hardly interacts with anyone. Nobody knows what he’s up to," replied the woman, shaking her head.

After a pause, she added, "But Old Chen does have three hobbies: fishing, listening to storytelling, and visiting the pleasure houses. If you really want to find him, you can try Zeyi[1] Lake or the Jade Pill Teahouse. If you can’t find him there, then he’s probably at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion."

"Alright, thank you," said Lin Zheyu with gratitude.

If not for this woman, he might have made the trip for nothing. But even knowing the places Chen Peijun frequented, it was still difficult to find him since he did not know what the man looked like. In this era, there were no photographs, so he could hardly shout for Chen Peijun to come out and meet him once he arrived.

"I’ve got it!"

Lin Zheyu came up with an idea. He went to a nearby Feihong Gang outpost, took out his Feihong Gang token, and called for one of the gang’s underlings.

"Do you know the old man living in that house?" asked Lin Zheyu.

"I don’t. That house is always shut, and I’ve rarely seen him," said the underling, shaking his head.

After a moment of thought, he added, "But A-Le should know him. His family lives nearby.”

“Oh, really? In that case, go call A-Le over," said Lin Zheyu.

"Yes, Brother Yu," replied the underling quickly, who ran off to fetch A-Le.

Joining the Feihong Gang had truly been a wise decision. With so many men at his disposal, it saved Lin Zheyu a great deal of trouble. Before long, a young man came running over, panting heavily.

"Brother Yu, were you looking for me?" asked A-Le.

"Yes. Do you know Elder Chen Peijun, who lives in that house?" asked Lin Zheyu, pointing to Chen Peijun’s courtyard.

"I do," replied A-Le with a nod.

"Very good. Then do you know where Elder Chen might be at this time?" asked Lin Zheyu further.

"I’m not sure, but I’ve heard the old man has no respect for his age and likes visiting pleasure houses. He might be at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion," said A-Le.

Chen Peijun was a solitary man who rarely interacted with his neighbors. Still, there were many rumors about him, most saying that despite his age, he indulged in frequenting the pleasure houses.

Lin Zheyu considered for a moment before saying, "Let’s first check Zeyi Lake."

It would be difficult to find him at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion since he could be behind closed doors in some private room. According to what the woman had said earlier, Elder Chen had three hobbies: fishing, listening to storytelling, and visiting pleasure houses.

Storytelling at the Jade Pill Teahouse usually took place in the afternoon, and the pleasure houses were more lively at night. That meant the greatest likelihood now was that he was fishing at Zeyi Lake.

1. 泽 (zé) means marsh, lake, or moist land. 弋 (yì) originally means to shoot with a stringed arrow, but in place names it’s mostly decorative or phonetic. ☜