11: Chapter 11 Purchasing Martial Arts Techniques, Goodbye to Yang Liu…

"I... I..."

Hearing the question, Bai Yuhe only panicked for half a second before her good psychological fortitude kicked in.

She turned around quickly, pulled open her already loose linen garment a little, reddened her eyes, and her voice immediately became delicate and aggrieved: "Qin Feng... you woke up so suddenly, you scared me to death."

As she spoke, she shivered and crawled onto the hay bed, slithering into the blankets like a slick water snake...

"My stomach hurt just now, I couldn't hold it in, so I went to the muddy ditch outside to relieve myself."

Bai Yuhe buried her face in Qin Feng's sturdy chest, deliberately biting his collarbone gently with her teeth, breathing like an orchid as she said,

"The wind outside is so strong, it cuts like a knife, I'm freezing to death. Touch me, am I like an ice cube now?"

"Alright, I'll warm you up."

Qin Feng nodded gently, saying no more.

...

The next day.

At dawn, the morning mist in Servant District 666 had not yet dispersed, and the air was filled with a pungent, sour smell.

Qin Feng sat up from the hay bed and stretched his muscles and bones.

The Qi and blood of the third stage of the Mortal Realm surged slightly within his body, emitting a faint "crackle" sound.

"Qin Feng, up so early? Let me heat up yesterday's leftover porridge for you."

Bai Yuhe draped her clothes over herself and diligently went to the fire pit to start a fire.

She acted like a virtuous wife and a good mother, gentle and beyond reproach.

"No need, I have urgent business to attend to."

Qin Feng casually put on his linen garment, wrapped the thirty-five servant coins he earned last night in a piece of rag, and hid them tightly against his body inside his robe.

"Where are you going?" A hint of vigilance flashed in Bai Yuhe's eyes.

"Just going for a stroll."

Qin Feng bent down to put on his tattered straw sandals and said perfunctorily without lifting his head, "Those two people from yesterday might still be watching in the dark. I need to walk around more to confuse the enemy."

"This... that is true."

Bai Yuhe walked up gently and straightened Qin Feng's collar,

saying: "Then you must be very careful, don't go into the mountain range. The guards from the Management Hall don't care about things there, it's very chaotic..."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Qin Feng nodded gently,

pushed open the dilapidated wooden door, and strode out of the hay shed area.

A cold wind blew, and his mind became incomparably clear.

Seven days, it sounds like a long time, but for a life-and-death struggle, it is shockingly short.

Strength, what is most urgent right now is strength that can be converted into combat power!

Qin Feng reached out and touched the thirty-five hard servant coins in his chest.

Although there is still a gap from the fifty-coin tax due at the end of the month, he cannot worry about that right now.

If he can't pay the tax, he can figure out a way later, but if he can't beat that pair of scoundrels in seven days, he will likely become an anonymous corpse in a mass grave!

'Buy a Martial Skill, I must rapidly improve my combat ability.'

Having made up his mind, Qin Feng quickened his pace and headed straight for the Trading Shop in the center of Servant District 666.

...

The Trading Shop, as the only legal material distribution center in Servant District 666 under the protection of the Management Hall, was already bustling with noise even early in the morning.

Qin Feng did not stop at the stalls selling food and sundries, but turned into a secluded side hall behind the Trading Shop.

This was a place rarely visited by low-tier Menial Laborers: the Cultivation Technique area.

Because the Hehuan Sect did not bother to teach any Cultivation Technique to the bottom-tier Menial Laborers, those who wanted to become stronger could only purchase various basic Martial Skills and Cultivation Techniques from the Trading Shop.

The side hall was dimly lit, and a few rows of old bookshelves held only a dozen or so yellowed booklets. The air was filled with the smell of moldy paper.

Behind the counter, a chubby Middle-tier Servant was resting with one leg crossed over the other, cracking melon seeds with an arrogant expression.

Qin Feng took a deep breath, walked to the counter, and tried to make his voice sound as polite as possible: "Brother Steward, I would like to see some Martial Skill booklets suitable for actual combat. I wonder what the price is?"

The fat servant glanced at him sideways, immediately rolled his eyes, and "spat" a melon seed shell at Qin Feng's feet.

"Go, go, go, where did this low-class person come from? Do you understand the rules?"

The fat servant waved his hand extremely impatiently, "Is this a place you can enter? Do you know how much the booklets cost? Even the cheapest "Tortoise Fist" costs fifty servant coins! Do you have that?!"

Qin Feng's brows furrowed tightly, his fists clenched subconsciously, and his knuckles made a slight cracking sound.

Fifty servant coins?! All his possessions combined only amounted to thirty-five, he couldn't even afford the worst "Tortoise Fist"!

A penny can stump a hero; in this man-eating world, without money, you aren't even given the right to struggle.

Qin Feng gritted his teeth and was about to turn and leave to think of another way.

Just then—

"Yo, little Menial Laborer, hmm... should I call you Little Feng?"

A melodious, charming voice, filled with thick laziness and teasing, suddenly came from the inner door of the side hall.

The voice seemed to carry some kind of magic; as soon as it spoke, the moldy smell in the entire side hall seemed to be dispersed by a rich, rosy fragrance.

Qin Feng's body trembled, and he turned his head sharply.

He saw the bead curtain of the inner door being gently lifted by a hand as white as jade.

Yang Liu. Today, she was wearing a translucent purple gauze skirt, with a snow-white fox fur cloak draped casually over it.

The gauze skirt clung tightly to her plump, mature, and provocative curves, and with her enchanting steps, the indistinct stunning view could simply suck a person's eyeballs in.

Compared to Bai Yuhe's vixen-like charm, what radiated from Yang Liu was a kind of composure from someone long accustomed to being in a high position, holding the power of life and death, combined with the ultimate mature woman's allure.

"Thump!" The fat servant, who had been arrogant just a moment ago, was so scared that he rolled off his chair, crawling to his knees on the ground, shaking like a sieve: "I... I greet you, Madam. This lowly one didn't know this was an acquaintance of yours. I deserve to die, I deserve to die!"

As he spoke, he actually started to slap his own face wildly, "slap, slap" echoing, not daring to be slack in the slightest.

Yang Liu didn't even look at the fat servant on the ground, as if he were just an eyesore of a dog.

She stepped in her exquisite embroidered shoes, walking like a lotus blooming with every step, until she reached Qin Feng...

"What? Have you made a fortune in the last few days to be shopping here?"

"Oh my—" Yang Liu lifted her finger and gently touched Qin Feng,

and the moment she made contact, her eyes lit up, as if she had discovered a new continent. She covered her mouth and giggled, "Your little body seems sturdier. No wonder you have the guts to come buy a Martial Skill; it seems you've stepped into the third Realm, haven't you?"

Qin Feng felt a chill in his heart. This woman's eye was viciously sharp! Just by tapping his chest, she could accurately judge his current Qi and blood Realm!

He dared not be arrogant in the slightest, quickly lowered his head, cupped his hands and said: "Madam's Wisdom Eye is like a torch. This lowly one was lucky and picked some wild fruits in the mountains to sell for some servant coins. Knowing that the Servant District is not peaceful, I wanted to buy a Martial Skill to protect myself. It's just..."

Qin Feng gave a self-deprecating bitter smile, "It's just that this lowly one is short on funds, making a fool of myself in front of you."

"Giggle giggle..." Yang Liu let out a peal of laughter like silver bells. Her swaying figure made the fat servant on the ground stop breathing, though he didn't dare to look up again at all.

"Protect yourself and save your life? That sounds honest enough."

Yang Liu restrained her smile and waved her hand, "You, get out and guard the door. Without my permission, no one is allowed in."

"Yes! Yes! This lowly one will get out right now!" The fat servant, as if granted amnesty, scrambled out of the side hall and shut the door tightly behind him.

In the vast side hall, only Qin Feng and Yang Liu were left, a man and a woman alone.

The atmosphere suddenly became somewhat ambiguous and thick.

Yang Liu crossed her arms over her chest, lifting up a stunning curve, and walked slowly around Qin Feng, her gaze like she was examining a satisfactory piece of merchandise,

"Your name is Qin Feng, right? Do you know why I'm interested in you?"