Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

”Have you really seen ghosts?” asked Lin Zheyu.

He had been in this world for quite some time, yet he had never once encountered a ghost. Even in the memories of his predecessor, there was no such experience, though countless folk tales about spirits and demons abounded.

”Of course. Once you’re sent to guard the mines in the future, you might run into them, too. In every mine, plenty of people have died. With so much resentment lingering, spirits are bound to be born,” Jia Yanyong said casually. ”Sure, they look terrifying, but they’re just wisps of soul, untouchable and unkillable. The worst they can do is drain a man’s essence and qi.

”But as martial practitioners, our essence and qi are abundant. We can endure a few days without trouble. If you run into a ghost, hurry straight for the fire. These things fear fire and explosives. Just blast the area where they appear with gunpowder a few times, and the problem’s solved.”

Lin Zheyu and Wu Yinghe became speechless upon hearing his words.

How did such eerie beings sound like worthless trash when spoken of by them?

”But if you run into a corpse that rises, then run as far as you can. A few years back, when I was guarding the mines with the last boss, someone dug out a coffin from a tunnel. When they opened it, by heavens, the corpse inside hadn’t rotted at all.

”The moment the coffin, it suddenly sat upright. The instant it saw the living, it lunged to bite. Scared us half to death.” Still shaken at the memory, Jia Yanyong said, ”That thing’s body was like bronze and iron. Not even explosives could kill it. Only a Blood Qi Realm expert could deal with it. All we could do was run.”

”Brother Yong, your knowledge is vast. I’m truly enlightened,” exclaimed Manager Wu in awe.

Manager Wu listened in a daze, unable to help but sigh in amazement. All his life, he had hardly ever left the city walls, and most of the stories he knew were hearsay from others. Lin Zheyu was just as astonished by what he heard.

”There’s still plenty you haven’t seen yet. The world outside is in chaos. With the rebel armies running rampant, the times are in turmoil. Before long, even the city may not be safe,” said Xie Jiang, curling his lips.

Manager Wu thought for a moment and said, ”I’ve heard the elders say that whenever chaos reigns in the world, yao appear. If this disorder continues, yao and demons alike will come forth.”

”I’ve heard my grandmother say the same thing. When I was little, she always used tales of yao and demons to scare me,” said Xie Jiang with a laugh.

The group continued chatting idly. At that moment, a man came running in from outside, glanced around once, and ran straight toward Lin Zheyu and the others.

”Brother Yong, Brother Jiang, Brother Yu, something’s wrong,” said the man while panting heavily.

”What happened?” asked Lin Zheyu as he handed him a cup of tea to let him catch his breath.

”The men from the Wuding[1] Gang are causing trouble again. This time, they’re being led by Xing Jinglong,” said the man.

”That bastard, Xing Jinglong! He’s barged into our Feihong Gang’s territory again to stir up trouble!” Jia Yanyong slammed the table and shot to his feet, anger flashing across his face as he said, ”Take us there.”

Lin Zheyu rose and handed a manuscript to Manager Wu. He said, ”Manager Wu, find someone else to tell the story today. Here’s the script.”

”Alright, be careful,” replied Manager Wu, accepting the manuscript. This was something he and Lin Zheyu had already discussed beforehand.

To avoid any mishap if trouble arose during the storytelling, Lin Zheyu had worked out a contingency plan with Manager Wu in advance.

On the way, Lin Zheyu asked curiously, ”What level of strength does this Xing Jinglong have?”

He had never fought in a group battle before. For him, this all felt strangely novel.

”He’s stronger than me. The last time I fought him one-on-one, I lost by just a single move,” said Xie Jiang gravely.

Jia Yanyong curled his lip and said, ”Don’t make it sound better than it was. You lost by more than just one move.”

Following the messenger, the group made their way to the end of Baiwei Street.

”It’s inside.” The man pointed toward the restaurant ahead. Outside, a crowd of curious onlookers had gathered.

”Make way, make way.”

They squeezed through the crowd and entered the restaurant.

”Young Master Xing, how impressive. You’ve come swaggering into our Feihong Gang’s territory to throw your weight around?”

Before Jia Yanyong even stepped inside, his voice had already arrived.

Hearing the voice, Xing Jinglong turned his gaze toward Lin Zheyu and the others, a cold smile spreading across his face.

***

”What now? I’m not even allowed to eat here? The food in this tavern is terrible, and I can’t even say so?” Xing Jinglong sneered coldly as he spoke.

He was a burly man, well over 1.9 meters in height and weighing more than 150 kgs. When he stood, his presence was utterly oppressive. Dressed in a brocade robe, Xing Jinglong looked even younger than Lin Zheyu, like some pampered young master from an esteemed family.

”If it doesn’t taste good, is there really a need to smash the place? Every time you come here, you say the food is awful, yet you keep coming back. Doesn’t that make no sense?” said Jia Yanyong while his face darkened. Leading a few of his brothers, he surrounded the other party.

”Hiding behind numbers, are you? I only wanted to see if their cooking had improved today, but it’s just as awful as always. Food this bad wouldn’t even be eaten by dogs, yet your gang dares to open a tavern? I’d say it’s best to smash the place,” replied Xing Jinglong.

He grabbed a platter of food and hurled it to the floor, then swept his cold gaze across Lin Zheyu and the others.

***

”Could this guy be from some esteemed family?” asked Lin Zheyu in a low voice.

”Mm. He’s just a young master from one of the Xing Family’s side branches. Nothing serious,” said Xie Jiang.

They had dealt with Xing Jinglong several times before. Whenever he was bullied or frustrated, he would come looking for a place to vent his anger.

”I’m guessing he must’ve been humiliated by some young master from the Xu Family, the Chen Family, or the Ren Family, so he’s come to the Feihong Gang’s turf to stir up trouble and vent it on us,” said Xie Jiang in a low voice.

The Xu Family, the Chen Family, and the Ren Family were the three esteemed families backing the Feihong Gang. Among the young masters of those families, all kinds of petty squabbles and messy affairs occurred, and every so often, one of them would show up to make trouble because of it.

If the other party came from the direct lineage of a powerful family, they could not afford to provoke him and could only report it to their superiors. But someone like Xing Jinglong, a young master from a side branch, was nothing to fear. They could handle him themselves.

”Shouldn’t we inform Lord Qiu?” asked Lin Zheyu.

Lord Qiu, whose name was Qiu Gaoxuan, was their direct superior, a cultivator who had reached the peak of the Organ Forging Realm.

”No need. Just fight it out and vent some anger. That will be enough. These young masters care too much about their reputation. If they come to cause trouble, get into a fight, and still lose, they won’t dare to keep pestering us, or they’ll only become laughingstocks.

”We’ve dealt with this fat Xing fellow several times before, but more often than not, we ended up losing. You don’t need to step in later. Just let Jia Yanyong handle it. That guy’s thick-skinned and can really take a beating. We’ll hold off the others so they don’t try to ambush us,” said Xie Jiang, signaling for Lin Zheyu to keep an eye on the men Xing Jinglong had brought along.

”Alright,” Lin Zheyu nodded. If he could avoid fighting, he preferred not to.

Soon, Xing Jinglong and Jia Yanyong came to blows. Though Xing Jinglong looked young, his strength was formidable. He, too, had reached the Bone Forging Realm.

He seized a stool and smashed it straight toward Jia Yanyong’s head, but Jia Yanyong did not flinch. He was a rough brute by nature and ignored the incoming stool, charging forward like a bandit, ferocious to the extreme. Swinging his right fist, he unleashed the Black Baleful Fist, meeting the stool head-on and shattering it to pieces with a single punch.

This guy really fights like a mad brute, thought Lin Zheyu. Watching Jia Yanyong fight with such reckless ferocity, utterly unafraid of death, he was left speechless.

1. 无 (wú) means ‘without’ or ‘lacking,’ while 定 (dìng) means ‘fixed,’ ‘settled,’ or ‘stable.’ Together, 无定 means unsettled, unstable, or without certainty. ☜