Way of the Devil

As he looked at the back of the man before him, Lu Sheng was still feeling slightly worried.

‘I’m not sure if my plan worked smoothly. If it did, the Eight-Headed Griffon Tribe would certainly not leave the matter at that. However, powerful beings usually differentiate between living beings by their spirits. I don’t think putting the blame on Zhuang Jiu will be effective for long. However, as long as that Little Eight is able to do the Sky Cloud Pavilion enough damage, it’s enough for them to start bearing deep grudge with each other.’

Lu Sheng was not after some grand effect. He merely wanted to use the Eight-Headed Griffon’s furious rampage to fake his death and escape their attention.

Zhuang Jiu and the Sky Cloud Pavilion were not beings whom he could go up against. Hence, the best way for him to escape without exposing his secret was to completely die and disappear.

Naturally, there was the danger of the Green Branch Sect and Zhuang Jiu seeking him out to exact revenge. Hence, he had arranged for his family and sect members to secretly leave Great Yin to prevent that from happening and to buy himself some time.

Lu Sheng did not intend to keep this a secret for too long. After all, as long as he had sufficient time, he could also grow to the domineering level which Zhuang Jiu was at in no time. He was very confident about this.

‘I’ve summoned the Eight-Headed Griffon with wave resonance. If it went smoothly, these overlord creatures will certainly vent their anger on the Green Branch Sect and Zhuang Jiu when they realize that I’m dead. This way, the effects will be satisfactory…’ Lu Sheng simulated the possible scenarios in his mind.

However, what he did not know was that things went smoother than he had imagined.

Zhuang Jiu lost one clone. The Green Branch Sect lost the Cloud Sky Pavilion and a planet. The Eight-Headed Griffon did not receive a complete set of information regarding the incident due to its spectral image being killed.

The ending had perfectly covered up the fact that it was he who summoned the Eight-Headed Griffon.

The direct outcome was that the three forces, the World of Pain included, were greatly damaged by the Eight-Headed Griffon. While they incurred heavy losses on their part, they dared not provoke the beast more.

The Eight-Headed Griffons were notorious for being evil tyrants amidst the stars. They possessed formidable strength and terrifying talents. In addition to that, they had a vile temperament, and were born with the inclination to look down on everything else, regarding other creatures with their chins held high.

They were the only ones who laid waste to others. This was the first time in tens of thousands of years that someone had provoked them of his own volition.

Hence, the outcome had surpassed Lu Sheng’s expectations—it was perfect. He had no need for his backup plans, and this incident was wrapped up smoothly.

Lu Sheng snapped back to the present and looked at the back of the man.

“Mister, how should I address you?” he asked politely.

“Tu Jin. Just call me Tu Jin,” replied the man casually.

“My surname’s Lu.” Lu Sheng smiled. “You can call me Lu Yue, mister.”

“Lu Yue, is it? Do you know anything about herbology?”

“Uh… Maybe a little, I think.” Lu Sheng was unsure as well. If this was truly Libra City, and it if was just as Zhuang Jiu had said, that it was an immense force far greater than the Green Branch Sect’s level; his unexpected appearance here might be a good opportunity to exploit.

Hence, he decided to stay for the moment and find out more about his current situation.

“For starters, help me process the herbs,” Tu Jin said drily.

The two of them passed through the mountain forest in single file. They quickly arrived before a little grayish-brown wooden hut.

A young boy and girl who seemed to be in their teens stood before the wooden hut.

The boy had a stately appearance and exceptional bearing. His face and gaze bore the looks of a person proud of his achievements. It was clear that he was currently in the best stage of his life. Small runic patterns decorated his satin green shirt. It had a faint glow that seemed to dispel dust.

Compared to the boy, the girl paled greatly. She was practically a ball. Thick layers of fat made up the bulk of her body from her waist up to her neck. There were three horizontal lines on her chin no matter how she moved.

The white satin dress she wore resembled a bath towel. She had two black hairpins, which had qualities that would have delighted children. However, it seemed abnormally awkward with her fatty ball physique.

“Dad, you’re back!” When the fat girl saw Tu Jin returning, she immediately wiggled her short legs and ran up to him as she hopped and skipped.

“Mm-hm. I’ve plucked some green note fruits that you like. They’ll be enough to last you for a day.” Tu Jin’s expression became gentler.

“You’ve brought another man back?” The fat girl looked curiously at Lu Sheng.

Unfortunately, Lu Sheng had concealed his features. He put on a disguise and was now an average-looking young man. He paled greatly in comparison to the man before the wooden hut.

“I’ve rescued him in the forest by chance. He doesn’t have any money, so he’ll be paying with his labor as my assistant,” said Tu Jin drily. He did not seem to know how to smile. He wore that same ice-cold, indifferent expression as he faced everyone. At best, it was slightly gentler when he looked at his own daughter.

Tu Jin was already in his fifties. His Healing Art earned him a slight amount of fame in the radius of several hundred kilometers.

Many of those who lived nearby knew that his Healing Art was officially recognized by Libra City.

However, that was all.

He was a doctor, merely a doctor.

These days, no one among the younger generation wanted to cultivate the difficult Healing Art which also took time to show results. Instead, they went for the Killing Arts which enabled them to fend off enemies and protect themselves.

His great disciple Zhao Decheng was one of them. He did not study the Healing Art well; instead, he secretly joined a martial arts sect called Scarlet Cloud Sect without him knowing.

Now that he had some achievements in his cultivation, he was feeling very proud of himself.

Such was society. With the various sects and schools available, cultivation methods emerged with innumerable succession. Nobody would be interested in an ordinary Healing Art that could only be described as an outstanding inheritance at best.

Tu Jin was slightly dejected because of this. His own daughter Chenchen was uninterested as well. He reckoned that the Tu Style Healing Art would end with his generation. It would become a lost art in the future…

“Where’s De Yun?” Tu Jin entered the hut. He ignored the awkward great disciple[1. Great as in the most important, at least in terms of seniority.] at the door, and immediately asked about his second disciple, De Yun[1. The author messed up a bit with De Yun’s and Zhao Decheng’s names. He first says DY is the first one, and ZD the second one, but then changes his mind and their names get switched in the 2nd half of the next chapter. We’ve edited it so that their names are switched from the start, so hopefully there won’t be any confusion.].

“I’m here, Master!” An honest-looking big man with tanned skin hastily dashed out from a room. He was holding a green herb with its roots still attached to it.

“I was processing the xunyang herb, Master.”

“Mm-hm, carry on, don’t let me stop you.” Tu Jin nodded and waved his hand.

These days, only his second disciple De Yun could make him feel better.

Although De Yun was lacking in talent, he made up for it with his diligence. He might just be able to truly master the Tu Style Healing Art in the future.

Tu Jin brought Lu Sheng into the hut and sat down in the center.

His daughter Chenchen and his great disciple Decheng walked into the hut obediently. They stood still to his left.

“According to the standard procedure, I’ve used a vial of sweet dew lotion on you. You’ll have to work for me for 121 days. Converting that, you’ll have to process at least 300 jade fungi,” Tu Jin slowly said.

“No problem,” Lu Sheng agreed immediately.

“No problem? Well, I’ll start with introducing you to our situation here,” Tu Jin continued.

From his trademark apathetic tone, Lu Sheng quickly got a grasp on how far he had veered off course from the accident.

Libra City was very huge, being three times the size of Great Yin. It was divided into four districts. Citizens with different social status lived in the corresponding districts.

Everyone could pass through the Transport Formations, going to the main city—for a certain fee. Various recognition of major professions could be obtained in the main city. If one was strong and confident enough, one could accept the missions assigned by the main city. Missions completed would earn you contribution points, which would translate to a chance to be promoted to a citizen of the main city.

As for the distance between Libra City and Yellow Springs planet… Lu Sheng had learned that Tu Jin knew the names of many planets near Libra City because many expensive herbs originated from those planets after probing him.

As for the Yellow Springs Planet… Tu Jin had heard of it before because of a herb known as the mingyuan herb.

The fee for using the Transport Formation was so expensive that it would use up the entire savings of a small sect. The amount of expenditure sent chills through everyone’s hearts.

When Lu Sheng learned about all this, he no longer had any other thoughts. Before he even thought about going back, he had to somehow raise his own strength to a certain threshold. At the very least, he had to improve his strength up to a certain level. Otherwise, he would serve no other purpose returning back home besides becoming another casualty.

As they conversed, Tu Jin started complaining helplessly about how his daughter and first disciple did not learn the Tu Style Healing Art properly.

However, his daughter did not even care about his feelings. She instead rebuked him directly. “Dad, the times are different now. What can we do even if we learn the Healing Art? In the main city, the wage of a doctor is merely one-tenth of a professional combatant’s. Potions, powders, and many skill formulas contain healing properties on their own to begin with. Many troops don’t even need doctors. They can tend to their injuries themselves.”

“She’s right, Teacher. Look at the times, why do you still insist on continuing this traditional Healing Art? The times have changed, and the world has changed,” the great disciple Decheng chimed in.

“Do you two still not understand? The things that you’ve learnt in the outside world are things that can be learnt by anybody else. My inheritance here is the only thing that’s unique, something that you alone can have!” Tu Jin attempted to persuade them to return to studying his art.

“But we can’t possibly treat it as our main occupation. It takes way too much time.” Chenchen’s single statement was clearly in disagreement with Tu Jin’s intentions.

“Well, Dad, you should keep doing what you’re doing. I’ll head into the city with Senior Apprentice Brother for some errands.” When Chenchen saw her father’s face turn ghastly pale, she hastily pulled her senior apprentice brother and went out.

After the two of them left, the wooden hut fell silent.

Tu Jin sat quietly on the chair and remained speechless for quite some time.

Lu Sheng had waited for some time. In the end, he could not help but ask, “May I ask what can I do as your assistant?”

Tu Jin sighed, and slowly stood up. “Come with me. If you work hard, I might consider applying for your temporary residence rights.”

“Temporary residence rights?”

“Usually, outsiders whose origins are unknown, such as yourself, are only allowed to stay here for three days. Three days later, you’ll be swept away by the main city’s automatic purging system. If you wish to stay here for a longer period of time, you’ll have to obtain temporary residence rights,” Tu Jin explained as he walked.

“Only those who have contributed something to the main city have the right to stay.”

As Lu Sheng followed him into the inner house, he quickly found himself in a small room stuffed with various medicinal herbs.

“Process all the medicinal herbs here. This way, I can earn some ice money and contribution points after they’re sold. I can spare some contribution points for you. It should be enough for you to prolong your stay here,” Tu Jin gave a simple explanation.

“How do I go about processing them?” Lu Sheng inquired.

He had free time on his hands, after all. The crucial thing he had to do now was to understand Libra City’s rules as much as he could through Tu Jin.

“I’ll give you some simple explanations. Keep your eyes peeled,” Tu Jin said solemnly. “One of the directions of my Tu Style Healing Art is organ transplant. It mainly involves replacing an ailing organ with a new one and managing the rejection by the host’s body. For organ transplant, these white thread fungi are very important. They’re the key ingredient to produce suturing threads for the transplant. I’ll show you how to process them…”

“About the transplant, can you transplant all kinds of organs?” Lu Sheng suddenly asked.

“Yes, as long as the rejection reaction doesn’t surpass the capacity of your cultivation base’s control,” Tu Jin replied casually.

Lu Sheng suddenly had an idea. In the beginning, he’d merely intended to entertain this person. However, the specialty of this Tu Style Healing Art piqued his interest.