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

Just as Shen Chen was pondering, Qin Pi's voice rang out from outside the door: "Brother Shen, may I come in?"

Upon hearing Qin Pi's voice, Bai Li immediately grabbed her notebook, her face tense: "I'm leaving now. If Qin Pi finds out I'm helping you, I'm doomed."

The village chief, Hu Muzhi, strictly forbade Bai Li from revealing her abilities to others. Apart from Shen Chen, no one else in the village knew that Bai Li possessed the ability to read other people's thoughts.

Shen Chen had previously asked Bai Li why she disobeyed Hu Muzhi's orders and revealed her abilities to him, but Bai Li's answer left him somewhat puzzled: "Because you are special."

At this moment, Bai Li stuffed the notebook into her bosom, jumped onto the windowsill, and turned to look at Shen Chen expectantly: "Remember to bring me something delicious next time we meet..."

Seeing Shen Chen nod, she jumped out of the window and disappeared.

Shen Chen took a deep breath: "Brother Qin, please come in."

Qin Pi entered the room and asked him, "How is it? Have you figured out who attacked you?"

[When Qin Pi asked who the real culprit was who attacked you, your answer was—]

[Good fortune: You said it was highly likely that Yuan Ying's men were seeking revenge against Zheng Yu. Auspicious.]

[Unfavorable divination: You bluntly stated that Mo Yuancai was highly suspicious, and Qin Pi immediately went to cause trouble for Mo Yuancai. The two fought fiercely, and Qin Pi was defeated, greatly diminishing his prestige. Afterwards, Mo Yuancai claimed that you had no evidence and that it was purely slander. (A fierce divination)]

Shen Chen said to Qin Pi, "I just remembered something. These people have very unfamiliar faces. They are not from the village, but from outside."

"The only person outside capable of infiltrating so many Visceral Realm martial artists into the village is Yuan Ying, the Great Yan Divine Constable and 'Divine Eagle Hand.' After much thought, I believe Yuan Ying is seeking revenge against me because of Zheng Yu," Shen Chen said.

Qin Pi frowned: "Yuan Ying... but how would he know you were hunting in Bear Ridge?"

"There are spies in the village working with him," Shen Chen said. It was common knowledge that there were government spies in Dog Tooth Mountain. When Shen Chen first joined the outlaws, some people even suspected that he was a spy sent by the government.

"The spy must be that scoundrel Mo Yuancai." Qin Pi's eyes flashed with a fierce light.

He and Mo Yuancai had a long-standing grudge. Ever since he escaped from prison and returned to the village, the latter always said that he had been turned by the government. Qin Pi always felt that Mo Yuancai was crying wolf. When Shen Chen mentioned that there were government agents cooperating with Yuan Ying, this was the first person he thought of.

"I'll go find this guy and train with him!" Qin Pi said.

"Brother Qin, you absolutely mustn't!" Shen Chen quickly dissuaded him. "Mo Yuancai is quite strong, and your poison hasn't worn off yet. You might not have the upper hand if you really fight."

"Moreover, there is currently no evidence to prove that Mo Yuan is a spy for the government. If we rashly clash with him now, we will definitely suffer the consequences."

After listening to Shen Chen's advice, Qin Pi calmed down.

He nodded: "Alright, I'll leave him alone for now. I'll teach him a lesson when I have a duel with him."

Another half month passed, and the uproar caused by Shen Chen's attack was gradually overshadowed by the hunting ceremony held in the village.

During this time, Shen Chen's injuries gradually healed. By the time he recovered, the hunting ceremony had ended. The winner of the ceremony was Lu Feng, the leader of Zhao Ying's subordinates, known as "Whirlwind Blade." He was not only skilled in swordsmanship but also in archery.

In the open space, Shen Chen practiced his knife skills for a while. After being bedridden for many days and having just fought a life-or-death battle that nearly exhausted his energy, his hand holding the knife was somewhat unsteady.

"Hoo." Shen Chen exhaled a breath of white air. It was already the end of December, and the weather was bitterly cold. Even with his cultivation at the Internal Organs Realm, he still felt a chill.

He looked at the frost falling from the sky and couldn't help but think, "How many people will freeze to death in this kind of weather?"

The world today is incredibly difficult. Foreign enemies are invading, natural disasters are frequent, the court is incompetent, and thieves and corrupt officials who disregard the law live a life of luxury, while honest and law-abiding commoners are poorly clothed and suffer from cold and hunger.

This is the essence of Qin Pi's swordsmanship. When Shen Chen practices his swordsmanship, a surge of anger always wells up in his heart. This anger does not come from the swordsmanship itself, but from his strong dissatisfaction with the world.

"Chop!" Shen Chen used the fourth move of the skinning knife technique. With a single slash, the blade collided with the hanging pig spine, producing a clear sound.

Shen Chen sheathed his sword, the cut surface of his spine was smooth and even, as if it had been opened by a skilled butcher along the gaps between the bones.

"I've mastered the slashing technique. I haven't mastered the thrusting, shaving, cutting, chopping, and gouging techniques yet. Both of these require the assistance of internal energy," Shen Chen thought.

He has just recovered from a serious illness and his body urgently needs nutrition, so he absolutely cannot abstain from grains. It seems that it will be some time before he can enter the True Qi Realm.

"I've already met the two conditions of Abstinence and Qi, so why can't I reach the True Qi Realm?" Shen Chen pondered seriously. He always felt that there was a third condition for breaking through to the True Qi Realm, but he could never quite grasp it.

"Is it innate talent? Or something else?" Shen Chen pondered, using divination to deduce the answer repeatedly, but he couldn't reach a conclusion and had to give up for the time being.

After lunch, Shen Chen went to Zhang Xiaohu's place.

After Zhang Xiaolong's death, Qin Pi originally planned to arrange a comfortable and leisurely clerical job for Zhang Xiaohu, but Zhang Xiaohu resolutely refused and instead devoted himself to the path of martial arts.

"Bang! Bang!" As soon as Shen Chen reached the door, he heard the sound of sandbags being hit.

In the dead of winter, Zhang Xiaohu, shirtless, kept throwing punches at the sandbag opposite him. He was thin, but his skin was bright red, obviously because he had used some kind of strong drug beforehand.

When Zhang Xiaohu saw Shen Chen arrive, he greeted him calmly, "Boss Shen."

He had a bruise on his face, which looked like he had been beaten up.

Shen Chen looked at Zhang Xiaohu and asked, "Xiaohu, what happened to your face?"

"It's nothing, I bumped myself," Zhang Xiaohu said. He straightened his upper body and continued to throw punches. His fists were already covered in blood, but he continued to throw punches as if he didn't feel the pain.

Shen Chen paused for a moment before saying, "Xiao Hu, your brother's death was my fault. I'm very sorry."

Zhang Xiaohu's fist suddenly stopped, but his expression remained calm: "I heard Master Qin say that it was Yuan Ying and the spies in the stronghold who were at fault. Master Shen, you are not at fault."

He suddenly swung his fist, causing the sandbag to swing violently: "I will find the traitor and that Yuan Ying, and avenge my brother with my own hands."

Then he muttered to himself, "I know my aptitude is poor, but Master Shen, isn't yours also poor? Yet you are already at the peak of the Visceral Realm, and that day you even killed five Visceral Realm martial artists."

"I believe that as long as I work as hard as you, one day I can be as powerful as you, or even as powerful as Master Qin."

Faced with Zhang Xiaohu's obsession, what do you choose?

[Winning prediction: A warning that diligence often cannot compensate for lack of talent; Draw]

[Winning the lottery: Tell him that hard work pays off, it's a draw]