Chapter 34: All Fear Stems from Insufficient Firepower

...

There was still medicinal power remaining, and Lin Zheyu did not let it go to waste.

'Use 1 unit of Source Power to upgrade Golden Goose Skill.'

As the thought emerged, one unit of Source Power was consumed.

The cultivation progress of the Golden Goose Skill began to jump rapidly.

Lin Zheyu's consciousness fell into a special state.

He felt as if he were placed in a mysterious space, and in this space, he had only one thought: to practice the Golden Goose Skill!

Over and over again, without pause, without fatigue, like a man possessed.

The progress jumped swiftly—40%... 60%... 100%—breaking through to the second level in an instant, and it continued to rise.

It finally stopped when the progress of the second level reached 24%.

A mysterious energy surged from the depths of his cells, beginning to nourish and remodel Lin Zheyu's body, focusing primarily on his two legs.

He felt the muscles in his legs becoming increasingly firm and powerful, his fascia strengthening, and his bone density rapidly increasing, becoming harder and more explosive.

【Heaven Rewards the Diligent】

Name: Lin Zheyu

Source Power: 2

Skills

Bull Force Fist (Proficient 4%)

Golden Goose Skill (Second Level 24%)

Turtle Breath Technique (Third Level 0%)

"The second level, the Bone Refining Realm."

Lin Zheyu opened his eyes and stretched his limbs, feeling no sense of depletion in his blood or qi.

The heat in his body had subsided; the medicinal power in the decoction was almost entirely consumed, leaving only a tiny trace.

"The Blood-Nourishing Bone-Strengthening Soup is indeed extraordinary," Lin Zheyu thought to himself. He planned to use this recipe from now on; it was not only potent but also convenient.

With only two units of Source Power left, he couldn't upgrade the Golden Goose Skill to the third level.

There was no rush, though.

Although he had the Turtle Breath Technique to conceal his strength, his use and comprehension of the Golden Goose Skill could not be faked; it would easily be revealed in actual combat.

In the coming days, he planned to go to Master Liang's house and Senior Brother Han Mo every day for combat practice.

By improving gradually, he could claim he possessed astonishing comprehension, rising quickly through daily combat.

...

Three days later.

On the road to the Bidan Teahouse, every household was setting off firecrackers and worshipping the gods.

*Pop! Crackle!*

The sound of firecrackers echoed everywhere, and children played and frolicked joyfully.

"Third, worship the Stove God; fourth, sweep the house; fifth, steam the buns; sixth, slaughter the pig..."

"We get to eat pork!"

They sang proverbs as they chased and played with one another.

Watching this familiar scene, Lin Zheyu couldn't help but recall memories from his childhood in his previous life.

Back then, he had been as carefree and happy as these children.

Arriving at the Bidan Teahouse, Lin Zheyu asked curiously, "Manager Wu, what is the occasion today? Why is everyone setting off firecrackers and worshipping gods?"

"Today is the day to worship the Stove God, the Lord of Destiny. Doesn't your family worship the gods?"

Manager Wu spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world, but he quickly realized that Lin Zheyu was a refugee who had been separated from his family and friends on the road.

"My apologies, I spoke without thinking," Manager Wu said apologetically.

"It's fine."

Lin Zheyu waved his hand. "Worshipping the Stove God, the Lord of Destiny... no wonder it's so lively today."

In many ways, this world was very similar to his previous life.

Worshipping the Stove God could ward off disasters and evil spirits, ensuring the family's safety and a bountiful harvest with plenty of fish and meat in the coming year.

Besides the Stove God, there were also Door Gods, Earth Gods, Bed Gods, Well Gods, Toilet Gods, River Gods... and Water Gods, among others.

In the Great Wei, the power structure was quite interesting. It did not emphasize the Divine Right of Kings, but rather the King's Right to Deities; all gods were bestowed titles by the Emperor.

Take the Stove God, for example. His full title was the Heavenly Sovereign of the Yellow Heaven, the Lord of Destiny, the Bestower of Fortune and Proclaimer of Goodness, the deity in charge of the Imperial Palace's kitchens.

And the Emperor's ancestor was the Supreme Emperor of the Golden Palace, the Great Sovereign of Ten Thousand Paths of the Yellow Heaven, abbreviated as the Great Emperor of the Yellow Heaven.

In this world, the Emperor was not the Son of Heaven; the Emperor *was* Heaven!

"There are far fewer people today!"

Lin Zheyu looked at the customers in the teahouse; there were significantly fewer than before.

"It can't be helped. An'yi City has fallen, and more and more people are worried it will affect our Songyi City," Manager Wu sighed.

Recently, because of the increasing number of bandits outside the city, the cost of transporting merchant caravans had risen, causing prices within the city to climb accordingly.

If it weren't for the City Guards like Han Mo occasionally heading out to suppress bandits and ensure the safety of the trade routes, prices would likely have skyrocketed by now.

These past few days, even the storytellers who came to Lin Zheyu to buy content had become fewer, because people were no longer tipping.

Everyone was poor and had begun to tighten their belts.

...

There was about half an hour left before the storytelling session.

Lin Zheyu walked over to join Jia Yanyong and the others for a chat.

He had been part of the Flying Rainbow Gang for some time now and had become familiar with them.

As they chatted, Manager Wu also joined in.

"Manager Wu, come, sit."

Seeing Manager Wu, Lin Zheyu invited him to sit down.

Since the number of customers had decreased, the smile on Wu Yinghe's face had faded, replaced frequently by a look of worry.

"The times are hard. I don't know when this will end," Manager Wu sighed.

With more bandits outside the city, refugees were strictly forbidden from entering.

Previously, some educated scholars and skilled workers were permitted to enter the city to find work, but now all such entry was prohibited.

"More and more people are flooding in from other cities, and the city is starting to get a bit chaotic. There were three conflicts on Baiwei Street yesterday," Xie Jiang said. The order in the city was becoming increasingly unstable due to the widespread anxiety.

Even with the Flying Rainbow Gang maintaining order and handling conflicts everywhere, incidents still occurred.

When order breaks down, business suffers and protection fees cannot be collected; their lives would not be easy in the future.

The group ordered some dishes and drank a little wine to pass the time.

At that moment, Manager Wu spoke in a mysterious tone, "Have you heard? Something happened at Qinghe Mountain."

"The Qinghe Mountain belonging to the Nine Star Gang?" Lin Zheyu asked.

Over this period, he had gained a better understanding of the city's various factions.

Qinghe Mountain was a coal mine with rich resources and belonged to the territory of the Nine Star Gang.

The Nine Star Gang was composed of several major families, and the income from coal mining was distributed among them according to an agreement.

"That's right, it's the Nine Star Gang."

"Quick, tell us! What big thing happened?"

Jia Yanyong grew interested; he was always happy to hear that the Nine Star Gang had run into trouble.

He had clashed with members of the Nine Star Gang a while ago and had even had his neck slashed during a fight, taking many days to recover.

"I heard that the place is haunted. Many people have vanished without reason."

"Someone saw the deceased workers turning into ghosts and wandering around the camp, scaring people half to death."

"Many men who went into the caves to mine coal were so terrified they ran back. A few of them were from my Wu Family Village," Wu Yinghe said with great gravity.

No one from his village had died this time; otherwise, the Wu Family Village would have sent people to cause a scene.

"Tch, I thought bandits had raided it."

"Haunting? What's that? In these coal and iron mines, there's all sorts of messy stuff underground. You're bound to dig up something unlucky eventually."

"What's so strange about that?" Jia Yanyong curled his lip, not taking it seriously.

"Indeed, nothing much."

"When I used to guard the mountains, I encountered things far more sinister than this."

"If you encounter something, don't panic. Just use some explosives to blast it a few times and you'll be fine. It's nothing," Xie Jiang added.

The Flying Rainbow Gang also had its own mines, and members took turns guarding them to prevent bandits and other factions from causing trouble.

In the desolate wilderness, encountering such things was not uncommon.

Only someone like Manager Wu, who stayed in the city year-round, would find it surprising.

Lin Zheyu was speechless upon hearing this.

He had just become interested, but after hearing Jia Yanyong and the others, his interest vanished instantly.

As expected, all fear stems from insufficient firepower.