The Little Demonic Cultivator in the Courtyard: Borrowing 100,000 Japanese Pirates to Heal

Before he fell into slumber, the Blood Ancestor said that each level of the Qi Refining Realm requires painstaking effort. The initial advancement relies on accumulating experience through killing enemies, while the later advancement relies on refining and solidifying the essence. It cannot be rushed.

But Xu Jiande felt that if he killed a few more Japanese soldiers and made the vortex more solid, he would be able to reach the threshold of the fourth level of Qi Refining.

He sat on the edge of the bed, placed his hands on his knees, and slowly clenched his fists.

His strength had increased again, and the protective film formed by the demonic energy on his palms was also thicker.

He looked down at the back of his hand, where faint dark red lines occasionally flashed beneath the skin, as if something was slowly flowing in his blood.

Bai Ling came in from the outer room, carrying a bowl of freshly boiled water. She placed the bowl on the table, glanced at him, and said, "You've been much more energetic during the day lately."

Xu Jiande nodded and said, "The Japanese have stopped causing trouble, the streets are peaceful, and people are more relaxed."

Bai Ling sat down next to him, remained silent for a while, and then said, "I think you should still go out every night. Be careful. Now the whole city knows that the Japanese don't dare to come out at night, so your going out will only make you more conspicuous."

Xu Jiande said he knew and really wanted to say it. "I went out not to kill people, but to practice my skills. Now that there's less resentment in the city, I can take this opportunity to sort out the things inside my body."

But it's estimated that Bai Ling wouldn't understand, and couldn't say it either.

This is my own secret.

Before long, more and more people came back from buying rice, and the courtyard finally became lively.

Xu Jiande picked up the bowl, took a sip of water, and looked up at the window.

It was completely dark, and the alley was quiet; even the distant gunfire had ceased. A few months ago, a night like this would have felt unreal. Now, however, it felt reassuring.

He put down his bowl and said to Bai Ling, "I won't go out tonight. I'll stay home and practice my martial arts."

Bai Ling paused for a moment, then nodded. She got up to check the door latch, closed the window, and then came back to sit opposite Xu Jiande, waiting quietly.

Xu Jiande sat cross-legged on the bed, closed his eyes, and began to circulate his demonic energy.

The vortex of energy in his dantian was gentler than usual. The demonic energy circulated faster and more steadily in his meridians. The gray mist of resentment melted into it bit by bit, mixing with the digested blood and qi, gradually filling the thickness of the vortex.

He could feel his cultivation level slowly increasing, not rapidly, but steadily, like water in a vat gradually rising, silently but never stopping.

That night, Xu Jiande practiced the Great Circulation for a full seven times.

When he opened his eyes, the sky was already turning white.

Bai Ling was already asleep in bed, breathing very lightly.

Xu Jiande stood up, ready to go to sleep.

I slept very well that night.

When Xu Jiande woke up the next morning, he stood at the door and took a deep breath.

I don't know if it's just my imagination, but even the smell of coal ash in the air seems much fainter.

Perhaps there are no more people in the city burning wet firewood anymore, or perhaps the Japanese have withdrawn their troops, and even a few chimneys are missing.

He didn't know. All he knew was that he was now just one step away from reaching the fourth level of Qi Refining.

He will take this step sooner or later.

The day after the Japanese notice was posted, almost the entire city knew that the Japanese had opened fire to distribute grain.

There were still some special people who didn't know this before.

"The rice is here! The rice is here! Get up, everyone! The Imperial Army is distributing grain!"

An elderly man in his sixties stood at the entrance of the alley, his breath turning into puffs of white mist in the cold morning wind.

A seven or eight-year-old child peeked out from behind the door, his eyes still swollen and drool still hanging from the corner of his mouth.

His grandfather's shout yanked him out of bed, but he didn't cry because he smelled the aroma of the pot.

Almost everywhere, people were discussing the Japanese soldiers distributing grain.

The same applies to Xu Jiande's courtyard house.

Several neighbors were standing in the courtyard, all talking about the grain distribution.

Xu Wude, wearing the old woolen coat he had kept from when he was a driver, was talking enthusiastically with Yan Bugui: "I heard it's the Imperial Army's military rations, sold at a price cap, limited to two catties per person, and you need a good citizen certificate. That's great."

Yan Bugui pushed up his glasses, and carried a basket in his left hand, which contained a piece of blue cloth and two flour sacks.

His lips were pale, but his eyes shone with an unusual brightness: "I never expected that the Imperial Army would suddenly develop a conscience."

Hearing this, Xu Jiande wanted to laugh. Conscience? The Japanese devils have a conscience? What a joke.

Thinking this, he turned around and went back into the house. He took a cold steamed bun from the stove, broke it in half, and ate it with the cold boiled water that Bai Ling handed him.

Bai Ling had already changed her clothes, her hair tied back with a cloth strip, looking neat and tidy. She sat on the threshold, her legs stretched out, wearing a pair of faded black cloth shoes.

"Are you going to queue up today?" Bai Ling asked.

"I'm not going," Xu Jiande said. "My family has grain."

Bai Ling didn't speak, but turned her head to glance at the large vat in the corner. Of course, she knew there was grain in the vat.

Xu Jiande had "brought" it back from outside a few days ago, stacking it neatly, with the last few dozen kilograms of rice left in the rice shop hidden underneath. With this, they were more prosperous than any other household in this alley during this food shortage.

"But others will see. You're the administrator, everyone's queuing up, if you don't go, it'll give you away," Bai Ling said, staring at a small hole worn into the toe of her shoe.

Xu Jiande chewed on the cornbread in his mouth, thought for a moment, and nodded.

"Then I'll go too."

Bai Ling looked up at him, the corners of her mouth curving upwards, as if she were smiling, or perhaps it was just the morning light shining in her eyes.

She handed me a cloth bag: "Here you go, I sewed this last night, it's new."

Xu Jiande took it and glanced at it. It was a coarse cloth bag with very tight stitches, and the opening was even finished with a neat edge, making it more orderly than the rice bags he kept in the shop.

He tucked the bag under his arm, said "Thanks," and got up to walk out of the yard. Bai Ling closed the door and followed behind him at a leisurely pace.

The line of people in the alley had stretched out onto the main street.

The procession stretched out from the grain store entrance, made two turns, and ended up at the foot of the archway in Nanluoguxiang.

Xu Jiande roughly counted, and there were at least two hundred people.

The group included an elderly man with a cane, a woman holding a child, and a boy carrying an empty bag.

Some people moved small stools to sit on, while others sat directly on the ground. The bluestone slabs were wet with the morning dew, and dark circles of grease seeped from their trouser legs.

At this moment, some people were whispering that they heard someone was making a big fuss and the Japanese were scared.

The words had barely left his mouth when the person next to him nudged him with their elbow and whispered, "Don't talk nonsense. Don't you know where you are? Are you out of your mind?"

The person who spoke immediately changed his expression, his lips pressed into a thin line, his eyes darted around, and he shrank his neck, swallowing back the rest of his sentence.

He was already speaking in a low voice, and now he even breathed softly, as if afraid the wind would carry his voice away, or as if afraid the rats in the corner would overhear him.

But clearly, many people think that way.

They just didn't dare say it on the street, or during the day.

Yes, for the people of Beijing, such words could only be taken home, the door closed, the bolt lowered, and whispered in the ear of their family members in a voice only they could hear.

As he spoke, his eyes were fixed on the window, as if the sound of leather boots could be heard outside at any moment.

Some people say it to their wives in bed.

Some people talk to their mothers while tending the fire at the stove.

Some people would squat by the wall and, while shelling beans, whisper a few words to their neighbors, half-jokingly and half-seriously.

They were just whispering, but it was really just a few coded words, like "Did you hear that last night?" "Yes, it rang several times." "I don't know who it was." "Who knows? Anyway, it was someone who didn't care about their life."

No one mentions names.

In short, many people vaguely knew of Xu Jiande's existence and were grateful to him.

On this day, and for some time afterward, similar idle chatter took place throughout Beijing.

"Have you heard? All the sentry posts along Dongsi Street were removed yesterday."

"Do I even need to hear about it? I saw it with my own eyes. Before it even got dark, those bastards had all scurried back inside."

"It should have been done a long time ago. You didn't see how arrogant they were a while ago, hitting people with their rifle butts at the drop of a hat. Now, they're sneaking into the barracks before it even gets dark."

"They're just scared of that guy. Think about it, someone who can blow up a dozen outposts in one night and still escape alive, is he an ordinary person? I heard that even their lieutenant colonel had his head smashed by a rock."

"Shh! Keep your voice down. If anyone outside hears us, neither of us will be in trouble."