Chapter 85: 85. Return
Liao Qe's unprecedentedly high-pitched scream indicated that the effects were not bad; in her urgency, she even tore the quilt in two.
Lu Yao recalled how the young lady often channeled Inner Breath to him and wanted to repay the favor.
Liao Qe felt the warm current enter her body and immediately realized what her beloved wanted to do, hurriedly saying, "You can't deplete your Inner Breath!"
With that, she pushed back with her stronger Inner Breath.
As two streams of Inner Breath surged into his body, Lu Yao was thrown into a state of oblivion, scrambling to commit this sensation to memory.
It took him a while to recover and he said, "I've already completed Organ Refining, why are you still giving me Inner Breath? You still need to cultivate."
Liao Qe caressed his back and neck, whispering softly,
"Having done Organ Refining makes me content. Now, my greatest wish is for you to recover from your illness... and for our little baby~"
"In these times, one cannot do without strength. I will arrange for someone to make an 'Immortal Pill' when I return home; just one and you'll ascend to the Jin Realm~"
The young lady looked at him with innocent and simple apricot eyes, full of disbelief, saying, "You're just trying to cheer me up~ There's no such thing as an Immortal Pill."
"Just wait and see~" After Organ Refining, Lu Yao felt his bodily functions had made a great leap and he felt ready again, wishing for a second round.
Liao Qe pushed him away with a laugh, saying, "No, no, you need to exercise restraint." Find more to read at m_v l|e'm-p y r
The young lady got up to tidy up, her fair and vibrant body radiating with youthful beauty.
~~~~~~~
Lu Yao spent his time practicing fist forms, taking tonics, and enjoying the newspapers with the young lady, happily consolidating his realm for three days.
During this period, a representative from the Prefectural Yamen came to bestow a reward.
Governor Wen had high emotional intelligence. Instead of granting favors to Lu Yao and Liao Ya, he secured a seventh-grade official title for Liao Qe! The position of Commander.
This was like giving a gift that delighted someone's wife and children, often yielding even better results.
The sisters were overjoyed, laughing and displaying their small white teeth. Official titles were not only full of privileges but were also symbols of honor, status, and a testament to family pride.
Liao Ya, holding her sister's hand, said happily, "All three of us have official titles; the Liao Family is now a bona fide family of officials~"
Liao Qe also cheerfully said, "Ha~ from now on, I'll be 'Commander Liao'~"
Seeing the two bright and joyful girls, Lu Yao was also in high spirits, silently praising Governor Wen for his people skills.
~~~~~~~
One early morning, Lu Yao practiced the Liao Family Fist suited for those in the Organ Refining Realm and suddenly leaped 7 meters into the air!
Then he moved to the side of the old carriage and lifted it with ease using both hands.
"I almost have the strength of 1 ton! It's no wonder the human physique can be so formidable... and no wonder Organ Refining Warriors are treated preferentially and enjoy privileges."
Lu Yao put the carriage down, quite satisfied with the drastic increase in his physical fitness. And this wasn't even his limit – as his realm continued to deepen, his physical qualities would improve even further.
According to the Scriptures, the limit of someone in the Organ Refining Realm is 3000 jin of strength, that is, 1.5 tons.
"With such strength, I can start doing things on Blue Star that I wouldn't have dared to before!"
After witnessing a lot during a previous city defense battle, Lu Yao had a more detailed plan for the future.
At this moment, Liao Ya wasn't at home. He instructed Liao Qe, "I'm going home for a bit; it will probably take about 5 days."
Upon hearing this, Liao Qe quickly ran inside and took out the remaining medicinal wine, saying, "Have some before you go; if you don't, my sister will finish it all."
Lu Yao laughed and took a big swig. The young lady wasn't a light drinker either, and both sisters loved to drink. But with this sip, missing a few days of tonics wouldn't be a big problem.
Liao Qe embraced her beloved, whispering softly, "Be careful and come back early."
~~~~~~~
Lu Yao confidently made his way to the apothecary, only to find it unusually quiet.
Shopkeeper He had a gloomy face as he said, "Master Lu, the fighting outside has gotten so intense that we've completely run out of stock. There's only about 20 to 30 percent of the medicinal materials left; you take a look and see if there's anything you can use."
Lu Yao made a round and indeed found the variety to be scarce, with only cow bezoars being somewhat acceptable. Other items, even if taken back, would only earn about 100,000 or 80,000, which wasn't very interesting.
He bought two pieces of cow bezoar and left, heading for the silver store.
Along the way, the clothes of the pedestrians were obviously much tattered, their expressions were more despondent, and those with pallid complexions were everywhere.
Pawnshops had become the most booming business, and the human market wasn't far behind. People of various ages sat squatting by the walls with a straw inserted in their hair, waiting for others to pick them out.
One attack by the Dacheng religion had added insult to injury for the common people who were already suffering. And this was only a low-intensity, minor battle at that, which lasted less than three days, yet it had already wreaked such havoc on civilian life.
On the road, those who recognized Lu Yao hurriedly greeted him with a bow, their gestures and expressions sincere.
They were grateful to him for killing the bandit leader and resolving the crisis in Yunzhou.
The fate of cities breached by "rebel armies" throughout history had never been good, with looting, killing, and pillaging as common occurrences.
~~~~~~
Arriving at "Liusheng Silver Store," the lady manager dressed in a cheongsam, Wang Ru, was already waiting there.
She was about to lead Lu Yao to the VIP area on the second floor, but he went straight to the first floor to look at the "ordinary goods."
The once densely packed shelves now looked sparse, with a total of maybe ten items.
Lu Yao looked around and asked, "Manager Wang, is that snuff bottle from last time gone?"
Wang Ru performed a curtsy and said softly,
"Master Lu, those items are only made when the craftsmen are inspired, there was just that one. And… there's been a war recently, many master craftsmen have fled to the Imperial City."
For a moment, Lu Yao didn't know which item to buy to resell on Blue Star. He couldn't distinguish the types of jade, a trade that would take years to learn.
But there was a way—Lu Yao waved his hand grandly, "Then I'll take all of these."
Wang Ru's face lit up with joy and she immediately said, "Please wait a moment, I'll have the staff wrap them up."
In these chaotic times, these jade and precious stones were the least valuable of goods, and it was rare to have a lavish customer.
~~~~~~
Blue Star, He Kingdom.
Lu Yao appeared silently in a desolate forest.
Finding a large tree nearly 20 meters tall, he powered his legs and casually climbed a few times with his hands to stand atop the tree.
With a weight of less than 100 kilograms, but a force of one ton, Lu Yao felt as if the gravity of the entire planet had decreased.
Standing at the top of the tree, he looked out at the distant "Wu Tian & Xin Wang Biotech Corporation."
After setting a fire back then, most of the factory area was burned down. Now, it lay deserted, with no one around.
He took out his phone to see what the news said, but… nothing was found!
The incident in Annan was at least mentioned in the news once. But there was not a single mention of "Wu Tian & Xin Wang Biotech Corporation" online.
You should know that there had been an intense firefight here, with Barrett rifles used, and dozens killed.
Yet, the internet was portraying an image of peaceful times, without a trace to be found.
Lu Yao understood in his heart, "It seems that the Foreign Affairs Bureau has sealed off the news."
Jumping down from the tree top 20 meters high, he made a 'thud' as his feet sank into the ground.
Dusting off his unscathed body, he mused, "Organ Refining Realm… I'm hardly human anymore."
Although the Bone-Tempering Realm was formidable, one could at least maintain a human semblance. But the Organ Refining Realm… it was beyond the comprehension of Blue Star inhabitants!
As Lu Yao booked his flight ticket, he pondered,
"There are many important things I need to do this time—invest in a lab for research on medicinal extraction; find someone to design Battle Armor; acquire more powerful weapons! And then there is…"
He pulled out the hard drive left behind by the tragically deceased He Kingdom scientist, "Let's see if I can crack it! It must contain many secrets, maybe it could even lead to a major news story!"