Chapter 20 - 20 20

20: 20.

Return 20: 20.

Return At 4 a.m., Lu Li woke up.

His spirit was more robust than ever, and even with less than five hours of sleep, he was full of energy, his whole body brimming with endless vitality.

Lu Li took the pistol from under his pillow and clipped it to his waist before walking outside.

There were two inconspicuous pools of blood in the courtyard, a reminder of what had happened the day before.

At that moment, Lu Li suddenly felt that the two worlds were very similar.

Of course, he was referring to Moxico and the Great Jin Dynasty.

Both were equally turbulent, both regarded human life as negligible.

“And... both are flooded with opium.”

Lu Li took a deep breath and executed the “Dragon Unbinding Stance,” his arms moving in a wide, circular motion.

His movements were practiced, but his body still felt “stiff,” indicating that his “sinews” hadn’t been stretched at all.

“For me, martial arts training really is a thankless task.”

Lu Li frowned but did not slow down his hand movements; meanwhile, a thought triggered his entrance into the “Concentration State.”

Everything around him seemed to slow down as if even the morning breeze had frozen in place.

Lu Li continued to swing through the “Dragon Unbinding Stance” until he reached his limit, and the Concentrating state was lifted, time’s flow returning to normal.

“I can maintain it for two minutes now!

In three days, the strength of my spirit has doubled!”

Thanks to the “benign internal cycle,” the Spirit Refining Cultivation proceeded incredibly smoothly!

He was on the verge of reaching the limit of the Concentrating Realm, qualified to break through to “Meditation.”

But Lu Li still couldn’t understand what “Faith” was.

“Faith...

is it a wish?

I want to allow my father to rest in peace; I want to change my destiny and make a name for myself...”

Finding faith was not easy; many people never figured it out until their dying day.

After pondering in confusion for a while, Lu Li still had no clue.

Feeling a slight pain in his left knee, he stopped training and sat in the courtyard looking up at the sky.

At that moment, the door to the east wing opened, and Xiao Cha stepped out gracefully.

“Wow, you’re really diligent, getting in practice so early in the morning~”

“Not bad.”

Lu Li was sitting on the ground daydreaming, the pistol at his waist very noticeable.

Xiao Cha’s eyes lit up, and she pleaded in a sweet voice, “Hey, show me your gun~ I’ve never touched one before~”

The M1911 in Lu Li’s hand was originally produced in 1896 and was adopted as the standard military sidearm in 1911.

This was indeed the weapon of that era, and Lu Li presented it openly, even asking, “Don’t Patrol officers carry guns?”

“Only arrest officers get to hold a holster gun, I’m not qualified.

Let me play with it~”

“This thing is dangerous; I’ll teach you how to use it first.

Hold it like this, this is the safety switch...”

Lu Li patiently showed her how to use it, and Xiao Cha was a serious student, quickly mastering it, and then she pushed further:

“Can I try shooting it a couple of times~”

“You can, but remember—never point the gun at anything you don’t intend to shoot!”

Xiao Cha nodded vigorously, then raised the pistol and aimed at the ivy on the courtyard wall before pulling the trigger, emptying the seven-round magazine.

“Awesome!

I’ve always wanted to try this out!”

She was excited, her cheeks flushed red, clearly very interested in firearms, a preference for arms over dresses indeed.

Lu Li took back the empty gun and replaced the magazine with a new one, suddenly asking an unrelated question:

“Xiao Cha, do you have Faith?”

“Eh?

Of course, I do!” Xiao Cha lifted her head and puffed out her chest proudly:

“My faith is—to become a Hero with the aspiration to bring peace to the nation and remove injustices.”

Lu Li nodded, “Good faith, I wish you success.”

Xiao Cha asked in return, “And your faith?”

Lu Li was silent for a while, then said, “Still searching for it...”

“Searching?” Xiao Cha asked in confusion, “Where do you have to search to find your own faith?”

Hearing this, Lu Li froze on the spot, “That’s right, how can the path I’m willing to die for in pursuit of my ideals be something I’m merely ‘finding’?

I should be ‘establishing’ it.”

“But what exactly is my faith?”

Lu Li kept pondering this question, even when he was training and eating.

However, some things can’t be figured out just by thinking.

In the blink of an eye, two days had passed and Lu Li still had no clue.

And Yahang hadn’t come for revenge.

Perhaps they didn’t care about the death of the Wang brothers, or maybe Chief Chen’s reputation had an effect.

These past few days had been peaceful.

Everyone’s vigilance relaxed slightly, and now there was a more pressing issue at hand—Calming Incense was running low.

~~~~~~~~~

That evening, the three of them gathered in the hall as usual, preparing to light the incense.

Lu Li took out a stick and lit it, then noticed that there were only three left in the box.

300 silver coins wouldn’t last even ten days, cultivation indeed tested one’s financial strength.

Taking advantage of the incense spreading its aroma, Lu Li said, “I need to leave for a few days to take care of some business.”

Wanqing, guessing that he was going to get money, softly said,

“Young Master Lu, one stick of Calming Incense a day is too extravagant.

We could do it every three days, or once a week, to save some money.”

Lu Li replied gently, “Don’t worry, a small amount of money is not a big deal for me.

Everything will be fine when I return.”

Xiao Cha asked curiously, “Where are you going?”

“Back home,” Lu Li replied casually, just as the aroma of the Calming Incense began to take effect.

Everyone stopped talking and focused on their cultivation.

In fact, despite how easy Lu Li made it sound, he had no idea how to get money either.

There was also a troublesome issue—Beheading Gang likely already knew something had happened to Toby, and he had to be prepared for them to come knocking.

~~~~~~~~~~

In Tijuana, at a nightclub named “Light.”

With thunderous music playing, countless young men and women danced freely on the dance floor, fully enjoying their youth.

But they were unaware that directly beneath their feet, in a basement, there were several large dog cages holding many young girls chained up with iron.

This nightclub was an important asset to Beheading Gang.

Like all crime syndicates, the sex industry was a significant source of income.

However, not all the girls would behave, so there had to be dedicated people and places to “tame the wild horses.”

At that moment, Heidi—the middle-aged woman who had caused trouble at the hospital—was in the basement.

Holding a lit cigar, she made a hissing sound as she burned a girl’s eye.

Amid the girl’s piercing screams, Heidi looked somewhat deranged.

Then someone spoke up to stop her, “Wow, my dear sister, what are you doing~”

A man dressed in a sleek silver suit descended the stairs, looking at the scene with a regretful expression,

“You shouldn’t have blinded her eye.

Now...

she can only be sold for her organs.”

As soon as he finished speaking, several big men dragged the screaming girl away.

Heidi, her mind elsewhere, said, “Antonio, help me!

Something must have happened to my son, I can feel it...”

Antonio gently patted Heidi’s back, softly saying,

“Don’t worry, he might just be partying somewhere and he’ll be back at your side in a few days.

Go have a drink upstairs and relax~”

Heidi gradually calmed down and left the basement.

Antonio took out a handkerchief to wipe his suit, then told the caged girls,

“As you can see, the dog trainer is a bit unstable.

You’d better make your decisions quickly.

And just to mention, we won’t use anesthesia to save costs when removing organs~”

Soon, one of the girls broke down, shouting, “I’ll obey, just get me out of here!”

“Very good, take her for the preliminary training~” Antonio said with a smile,

“Anyone else changing their minds...

especially you, Jessica the Angel~”

Antonio crouched in front of a cage, where a girl was curled up into a tiny ball—it was Jessica.

“Ah~ a delicate and fair virgin, I believe you could earn 10 thousand dollars a week!”