I bear witness to immortality in the human world.

Chapter 115 Xu Zhuang Vomits Blood
Outside the Black Fiend Sect's mountain gate.

Xu Family Manor.

In the main hall, Xu Zhuang was pacing back and forth in agitation.

"Sir, what's troubling you?"

At the door, a young concubine walked in and, seeing Xu Zhuang's appearance, quickly stepped forward.

However, Xu Zhuang didn't give her a friendly look. He glared at her fiercely, knocked the teacup off the table, and said, "Get out! Get out! Don't bother me!"

"Yes Yes……"

Upon seeing this, the concubine Yu Rao was startled, and her delicate face instantly became teary-eyed.

She was Xu Zhuang's most favored concubine. Hearing that Xu Zhuang seemed to be in a bad mood, she took the initiative to come over to cheer him up. However, she did not expect to be met with Xu Zhuang's cold face and scolding as soon as they met. Xu Zhuang had never been so fierce to her before.

In his frustration, Xu Zhuang saw Yu Rao's pitiful appearance and his heart softened. He paused and said, "Alright, alright, go and bring me a bowl of fresh tea."

He had been waiting for news from Bloodblade Tower, feeling anxious and restless. He had no desire for pleasure and had no interest in discussing these matters with his concubines. In addition, he couldn't just say anything to them.

After all, Wu Ming is no ordinary person. His visit to the Blood Blade Tower to place a bounty on Wu Ming's head is a very serious matter. If the Blood Blade Tower does it quietly, that's fine. But if it becomes public knowledge, the Cautious Punishment Division will definitely not let the Xu family off the hook. And facing the wrath of the Cautious Punishment Division, the Black Fiend Sect will most likely not stand up to the Cautious Punishment Division for the sake of his family. Therefore, this matter can only be handled with utmost caution.

He also entrusted matters to the butler he trusted most.

Furthermore, the 200,000 taels of silver required for the bounty on Wu Ming was genuine silver. Even though the Xu family was a wealthy household, it would still be a huge financial strain for them to come up with such a sum of money all at once. He actually wanted to pay 600,000 taels to ensure that Blood Blade Tower would take care of Wu Ming, but he simply couldn't afford that much silver.

However, 200,000 taels of silver is enough. Blood Blade Tower is renowned for its assassinations. As long as the silver is accepted, the success rate is basically 90%, and there are very few instances of assassination failure.

soon.

The concubine Yu Rao brought over another cup of fresh tea.

Xu Zhuang suppressed his irritation and took a sip of tea.

Just then, the steward, who had been out, rushed into the main hall. His face was extremely grim. He approached Xu Zhuang and whispered a few words in his ear. These words caused Xu Zhuang's expression to change drastically, and he exclaimed in shock and anger:

"Failed? What were they doing, taking all that money from me?!"

The steward's face was grim as he glanced at the concubine Yu Rao beside him.

"Get out! You!"

Xu Zhuang slapped Yu Rao across the face, his expression one of extreme rage.

Yu Rao was hit and had no idea what had happened, but seeing Xu Zhuang's rage, she was frightened and dared not respond. She covered her swollen face and fled the main hall in a panic.

After he left, the steward said in a trembling voice, "Reporting to Master, the Blood Blade Tower said that it was Lord Liu, the head of the Cautious Punishment Division, who caused the assassination to fail. Lord Liu has a close relationship with Wu Ming and is suspected of having taken Wu Ming as his disciple, which is why the assassination failed. Furthermore, the Blood Blade Tower also said that if they want to place another bribe on Wu Ming, they need to... need to... pay ten million taels of silver!"

"Ten million taels of silver, why don't they just rob it!"

Xu Zhuang's eyes turned bloodshot, and his voice became somewhat hysterical.

What does ten million taels mean? Even at the height of the Xu family's power, if they sold off the entire family business, they could only get a million or two at most. Even for the top local powerful families, those first-class families with martial artists who have reached the fourth stage of blood coagulation, it would be very difficult to come up with ten million taels of silver; it would be a huge financial burden.

To put it bluntly, this price is enough to offer a bounty on a Black Fiend Sect elder who has achieved four stages of blood coagulation at the Blood Blade Tower!

"It's possible that after the assassination of Wu Ming, Director Liu was furious and came to the Blood Blade Tower. If the Blood Blade Tower wanted to assassinate Wu Ming again, it would have to risk completely offending Director Liu, which is why it raised the price to this extent."

The old butler said with a bitter face.

Xu Zhuang's eyes were bloodshot, and he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Not only was his talented son gone, but the heir who would inherit the family business was also dead, and even the little wealth the Xu family had left was almost gone in an instant.

"No more, all gone."

Xu Zhuang suddenly looked up at the ceiling, letting out a strange "hoho" laugh. He said a few words as if he were insane, then suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and fell backward.

"Master! Master!"

The old butler's expression changed drastically, and he rushed forward to help her up.

The entire Xu family was thrown into chaos.

... Wu Ming was unaware of what was happening at the Xu family mansion, hundreds of miles away.

However, he had suspects about the assassination attempt that night, and he was particularly suspicious of Xu Mo's side. Among the various forces he had offended, if the assassins were from the Blood Blade Tower hired by the Wang family, there would be no need for them to seek reconciliation with him and offer generous gifts beforehand; it would be too much of a hassle. On the other hand, Guo Xiang's side was made up of humble origins and had no background. Only Xu Mo and Shen Lian had their own powerful forces behind them.

Since the investigation into Shen Lian's case hasn't reached him yet, the most likely suspect is Xu Mo. After all, when he dealt with Xu Mo, he found a lot of good things on Xu Mo, including a precious defensive inner armor like the Golden Silk Soft Armor.

"The Xu family..."

"That's something we can look into."

Wu Ming pondered to himself that he always sought revenge for every favor. It was only right that Xu Mo killed him for trying to steal his prey. The Xu family had secretly retaliated at the Blood Blade Tower, nearly killing his maid. He would definitely seek revenge for this in the future.

"The Wang family, the Xu family, the number of enemies who want to take my life is increasing."

Wu Ming muttered to himself, but his mind was perfectly calm.

In this world, cultivation inevitably involves competition—competing for spirit and will, competing for resources of heaven and earth. Where there is struggle, there is life and death; where there is life and death, there are enemies. These are all unavoidable. Since he has embarked on the path of cultivation, he is not afraid of provoking enemies. If he wants to forge a path of cultivation that can dominate the world, he must trample all his enemies under his feet along the way.

After leaving the brothel, Wu Mingzhong returned to the clinic and went to the inner room.

In a small, private room inside the clinic, a frail maid named Xiaomei leaned against a small bed. She was awake, but due to multiple fractures, she was unable to move and experienced sharp pain with even the slightest movement.

Despite her injuries, she only frowned slightly and did not shed a tear. Compared to the many hardships she had endured since birth, the physical pain was nothing. Especially after learning from the physician at the clinic that Wu Ming had brought her here in the middle of the night so that the physicians of the Censorate could treat her with all their might, she felt a surge of indescribable emotions.

From the time she could remember, she was never full, and no one cared about her illnesses. Even her father would just tell her to endure it when she was sick. Only her brother was taken to a traditional Chinese medicine doctor when he was sick.

However, in the end, her brother died of illness, her mother died of illness, and her father was also terminally ill. On the contrary, she herself inexplicably survived. Last night, she encountered evil people. She had already prepared herself to die, only thinking of shouting out to repay Wu Ming's kindness in taking her in. Unexpectedly, not only did she not die, but Wu Ming also personally took her to the clinic for treatment.

"Xiaomei."

Just as Xiaomei was frowning slightly, staring blankly at the ceiling, seemingly lost in thought, a deep and familiar voice suddenly rang out.

Her brow twitched, and she instinctively tried to get up, but this movement aggravated her injuries, sending waves of excruciating pain through her, causing her to cry out in pain.

"Don't move, just lie down."

Wu Ming came to the bedside where Xiao Mei was lying and stopped her movements. Looking at the little girl, who was only eleven years old and very thin, his eyes softened and he said, "I know about what happened last night. Just focus on recovering. Once you're healed, you'll be in charge of the affairs in my backyard. And when you're a little older, you'll be in charge of all the maids in the mansion."

In situations like last night, even adults would be less likely to risk their lives to shout out and warn their master like Xiaomei. Even the well-trained servants and maids bought from the school might not be able to do that. Naturally, Wu Ming treated this skinny little maid, whom he had taken in on a whim, with special regard.

His mansion will surely grow larger and larger in the future. At that time, the front courtyard will need a steward, and the back courtyard will need a head maid to manage the many maids. The selection of the person in the front courtyard has not yet been decided, but the selection of the person in the back courtyard can be decided first. As for Xiaomei's age and ability, whether she can win over the crowd, it is not important. When she is older, we can consider her martial arts aptitude. If she is good enough, we can teach her some fist and foot skills. If not, we can also see if she has the talent to cultivate the primordial spirit Dao.

"Thank you... thank you, sir..."

Listening to Wu Ming's words, Xiao Mei endured the pain in her body and spoke in a weak voice. As she spoke, her broken ribs were aggravated, and her words were trembling with pain.

Seeing this, Wu Ming reached out and stroked her forehead, saying, "Alright, no need to say anything more. Just stay here and recover from your injuries. In a few days, when your injuries are better, I will take you back to the manor to recuperate."

"Ah."

Xiao Mei tried to nod, but Wu Ming stopped her, and she only gave a soft "hmm".

Wu Ming stood to the side, then extended a wisp of his soul into her body to examine her condition. After sensing her body, he saw that her injuries had indeed been contained, all her fractures had been reset, and she was showing signs of gradual recovery. Relieved, he withdrew his soul and turned to leave the house.

Just after Wu Ming left, a physician carrying a medicine chest came in, took Xiao Mei's pulse, and seeing that it was stable, nodded slightly. He glanced at Xiao Mei and said, "You are really lucky. You suffered such a serious injury, yet your master is still willing to treat you. Lord Wu is truly kind-hearted. If it were some other wealthy family, an ordinary maid like you would probably have been abandoned and left to fend for yourself."

"It is your good fortune to be able to work at Lord Wu's residence; you must make the most of it."

The physician spoke with a sigh. He had seen Wu Ming hurriedly carrying Xiao Mei over last night and assumed that Xiao Mei was some kind of relative of Wu Ming. However, Xiao Mei's thin and bony appearance made him suspicious. Hearing Wu Ming's words today confirmed his guess. This little girl was just a maid in Wu Ming's household.

As for these words, they were not spoken casually, but rather deliberately, mainly to let Xiaomei know that it was rare to have a master like Wu Ming who was willing to send his maid to be treated, to make her cherish this blessing, and to awaken her greater will to live.

Xiao Mei's injuries were quite serious, and it was hard to say whether they would recur. The stronger her will to live, the easier it would be for her to recover. Once her condition had completely stabilized, he would be able to give Wu Ming an explanation.

Hearing the doctor's words, Xiaomei pursed her lips.

Since Wu Ming needs her and wants her to help manage the backyard in the future, she naturally has to live her life to the fullest, both to repay Wu Ming's kindness and to cherish this hard-won blessing.

　From now on, I'll be updating in the morning. My sleep schedule has finally changed, and it's finally a little past 1 a.m.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)