Seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune: Starting with death row inmates

"You guys..." Zhuang Man looked at Wang Wu and Zhao Qian in shock as they handed the money back to him.

He suddenly felt a surge of anger, but this anger was followed by an indescribable fear. His hope of pulling Shen Chen off the leadership position seemed to have been dashed.

"Boss Shen, should we take this job?" Zhang Xiaolong asked Shen Chen, holding up a notice.

Shen Chen glanced at the notice, which was about a traitor in the mountain stronghold. The traitor had turned against the stronghold, cut off the leader's head, and surrendered to the government. The stronghold was offering a reward of 30,000 coins for his head.

[Good fortune: You rejected Zhang Xiaolong's proposal and warned him that this bandit traitor was too dangerous for you to handle. Auspicious.]

[Bad omen: You agreed to Zhang Xiaolong's proposal, resulting in heavy casualties during the pursuit of the target. A very unlucky outcome.]

Shen Chen looked at the portrait and content on the notice and said, "Think about it, this traitor was able to behead the village chief, so he must have some strength. I think this job is a bit too dangerous, so it's best not to go."

Zhang Xiaolong said, "Why does Director Shen look down on us? What's so dangerous about catching a traitor?"

Shen Chen shook his head: "I was just making a factual deduction, I didn't mean to look down on you, brother."

Just as Zhang Xiaolong was hesitating, Zhuang Man came over, glanced at the notice, and said in a booming voice, "What's a worthless scoundrel? Xiaolong, I'll go with you! We'll bring his head back to the stronghold by tomorrow."

After hearing Zhuang Man's words, Zhang Xiaolong no longer hesitated. Both of them were martial arts masters in the late stage of the Visceral Realm, and their combat strength was not bad.

Zhao Qian and Wang Wu didn't get involved in this matter; they went back to prepare for body tempering, while Zhang Xiaohu, who was standing nearby, didn't have much to do.

Zhang Xiaolong was about to call his younger brother when Shen Chen stopped him: "Xiaolong, is it really necessary for Xiaohu to go? He's only at the early stage of the Bone and Tendon Realm. Are you sure he won't get hurt in a fight? I advise you to think it over carefully."

Zhang Xiaohu hesitated for a moment, but ultimately followed Shen Chen's advice. He said to Zhang Xiaohu, "Okay, Xiaohu, you stay in the village and wait for me to come back."

Afterwards, he and Zhuang Man left the village together.

After Zhang Xiaolong left, Zhang Xiaohu approached Shen Chen, took out a medicine box from his waist, and handed it to Shen Chen: "Master Shen, I heard that Master Qin has been unwell recently. This is a prescription I prepared based on an ancient book. Please take it to Master Qin."

The Zhang brothers were brought up the mountain by Qin Dai in their early years, and it was precisely because of this that they were the two who most recognized Shen Chen's leadership position in the group.

Shen Chen accepted the medicine box: "Thank you, Xiao Hu. I will definitely deliver your things. But where did you hear that Master Qin is unwell?"

"That's what Zhuang Man said," Zhang Xiaohu said.

Upon hearing this, Shen Chen pondered, "Zhuang Man must have gotten the news from his cousin. In that case, Zhuang Fu also supports Mo Yuancai replacing Brother Qin..."

Qin Pi, as the seventh leader, wields the "Iron-Faced Xie Zhi Flag" and is in charge of punishments in the stronghold. His personality is too upright, and he refuses to bend the law for personal gain, which has offended many people in the stronghold over the years.

Qin Pi recently suffered imprisonment, while Mo Yuancai has risen to prominence, and various leaders are considering taking sides. Overall, Qin Pi's current situation is extremely precarious.

That night, Shen Chen, shirtless, repeatedly punched a wooden dummy.

He no longer has any precious medicines to aid him, so if he wants to break through to the Internal Organs Realm, he can only rely on his own strength.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Shen Chen kept throwing punches. His fist technique was simple and ordinary. It was the basic fist technique that Wang Er had taught him before. After practicing it tirelessly every day, he had mastered it. Every movement was as natural as breathing.

"The most prominent characteristic of the Visceral Realm is its long and sustained breath; martial artists can hold their breath for as long as an incense stick can burn, and their internal energy is abundant."

Shen Chen's eyes were bright. He did not stimulate his body's blood and qi by punching, but rather used punching to record the rhythm of his breathing and cultivate the "Extreme Yang Breathing Method".

His lungs expanded and contracted, and a surge of heat flowed from his heart into his meridians. The Rahu mark began to assist him in refining his qi and blood.

With each punch, wisps of white vapor escaped from Shen Chen's nose, and his body temperature gradually rose.

It was now late October, and the weather was cool. Shen Chen's body felt like a hot iron in the dry, cold air, and water droplets condensed into mist above his head, like a canopy.

"Breathing should be long and deep, like the blazing sun, endless and ever-flowing." Shen Chen suddenly realized.

He exhaled a hot breath, and the sound of his heart pounding filled his ears.

At the same time, in Shen Chen's internal vision, the outlines of the internal organs became increasingly clear, eventually revealing different colored auras.

The heart is associated with the color of fire, the liver with the color of wood, the spleen with the color of earth, the lungs with the color of metal, and the kidneys with the color of water.

Under the operation of the Extreme Yang Breathing Technique, the color of Shen Chen's lung aura became similar to that of fire, like a bright sun burning away all the cold evil in his body.

Mastery of the Extreme Yang Breathing Technique!

Shen Chen had heard Qin Pi say that this was a manifestation of the Great Completion Breathing Method.

He held his breath for a full quarter of an hour before finally exhaling, his face flushed and his body showing no signs of discomfort.

Once the internal organs are in their proper place, one will be free from all diseases and possess abundant internal strength.

……

A little later, two slightly disheveled figures returned to the mountain stronghold.

The henchmen at the village gate, upon seeing the two, exclaimed in astonishment, "Hiss... Brother Zhuang, Brother Zhang, what happened? How did you get so badly injured?"

The newcomers were Zhuang Man and Zhang Xiaolong. Zhuang Man was covered in wounds, and there was a bloody scar on his face.

Zhang Xiaolong isn't in much better shape; a chunk of flesh is missing from his right arm, and it will probably take at least a month to heal.

"We've run into a formidable opponent." Zhuang Man gave a wry smile and said nothing more.

The two went to a village doctor for treatment and were cured. They walked along the road covered in dust and dirt.

"I should have listened to Shen and not gotten involved in this," Zhang Xiaolong said regretfully.

He and Zhuang Man found the traitor without much effort, but unexpectedly, the man had become a powerful figure in the government and had already reached the True Qi Realm. He single-handedly severely injured them, and the two almost lost their lives.

Zhuang Man gritted his teeth: "I will soon reach the True Qi Realm, and then I will definitely settle accounts with that traitor."

Zhang Xiaolong didn't speak. He remembered Shen Chen's advice before he left not to bring Zhang Xiaohu, and he felt even more glad that he had listened to Shen Chen.

If Zhang Xiaohu had been brought along on this trip, the latter would likely have perished. If that were the case, he would never forgive himself for the rest of his life.

Thinking of this, Zhang Xiaolong suddenly stopped and looked Zhuang Man directly in the eye: "Zhuang Man, do you want to compete with Shen Chen for the leadership position?"

Zhuang Man paused slightly, then nodded: "That's right. If you're willing to stand on my side, Xiao Long, I guarantee you, in my cousin's name, that within a year..."

"I won't stand on your side." Zhang Xiaolong turned and left before Zhuang Man could finish speaking.