My experience of grinding in another world

Chapter 124
The next afternoon, Xing Laoliu looked at the cheerful Ding Laotou with a look of despair, too lazy to even say a word.

Looking up at the tall figure with a blue birthmark on half of his face, I felt like my hair was about to stand on end.

Did Old Man Ding accidentally stir up trouble with a ruthless person?

Are they all ruthless people who would dare to hurt their own faces?!
Feeling utterly hopeless, yet forced to carefully get through it all, Xing Laoliu huddled in his recliner, unable to concentrate on even reading the storybook.

"This library... we can't stay here any longer!"

……

It was dusk, at the headquarters of the instructors of the Wuzi Battalion in the eastern part of the inner city.

Chen Mu jumped off the carriage, reached out and touched the Five Ghosts Pouch on his chest, where a brand new Body Refining Technique had been added. A satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Inside the library, there were only three books on advanced body-training techniques.

The others were all at the level of the Red Falcon Formation Technique, and some were even worse.

"The Blue-Faced Beast's disguise cannot be removed for now." Chen Mu examined the vermilion gate in front of him.

Before the one-month deadline arrives, he has to stay with King Chao.

Otherwise, people would be conscripting men from their homes all the time, and they wouldn't even be able to eat in peace.

Chen Mu turned around and looked at Old Man Ding inside the carriage.

This old man was a great help today.

Yang Zhi's identity was fabricated at will and was exposed as soon as it was investigated.

Thanks to the old man's skillful maneuvering, no one suspected anything.

Noticing Chen Mu's gaze, Old Man Ding immediately returned a warm smile.

This ugly man, though unattractive, earned a full five hundred taels of silver!
Looking closely, that face is actually quite...attractive.

Chen Mu gave him a terrifying smile in return, his eyes darting over the old man's limbs from time to time: "Since he's working so hard, let's give him a gift."

"Two iron lotus seeds? That's the most we can have."

Just as Chen Mu was pondering whether to hijack a car on the way or steal from his home in the middle of the night to deliver the goods,

Old Ding suddenly approached Chen Mu with a smile and said, "Brave Yang, do you also have a friend?"

"Huh? Can I still have friends?"

"Why can't we have it!"

"As long as the money is there, you can make friends anywhere!" Old Ding said excitedly!

He leaned close to Chen Mu and whispered tentatively, "You're strongmen from the north, aren't you?"

"Which mountain did you used to frequent?"

"There's war in the north, you can't make a living there anymore."

"Now you want to join King Chao?"

"Tell me about it, don't worry, I won't tell anyone else."

Chen Mu: “…”

How did I, a perfectly good person, become a strongman?!

What on earth are you imagining? You bastard!
Which mountain are you still hanging around on?!

Chen Mu glared at Old Man Ding: "I'm a member of the Liangshan gang!"

"Look! I guessed right!" Old Ding said smugly.

"I've seen plenty of people like you lately!"

"Let me tell you, as long as the money is there, there will be absolutely no problem with your identity!"

"Come, tell me, how many of you still want to pledge allegiance to King Chao?" Old Man Ding said kindly.

Chen Mu thought about the medical books and toxicology books on the first floor, and then about the other precious books on the second floor.

One hundred and seven!

"One...one hundred and seven?!" Old Man Ding stared in disbelief. "Are they all experts like you?"

“Each of them possesses unique skills,” Chen Mu said confidently.

"This...this...this is a huge deal!" Old Ding's eyes were bloodshot.

Chen Mu looked dejected: "I know there are a lot of people, but if you can arrange three or five more..."

"Not much! Not at all!" Old Ding's neck turned bright red.

Five hundred taels per person, one hundred and seven people...

"I'm making this deal with you! I said it! Even King Chao couldn't stop me!"

Chen Mu gave Old Man Ding a thumbs-up with admiration: "What a spirit!"

……

He reluctantly declined Old Man Ding's elegant invitation to Chunfenglou.

Chen Mu watched the other carriage leave with regret.

"I wonder if I'll ever see Miss Yutao again."

After all, once he's done with the role-playing, he should leave Nanyang.

Chen Mu turned to look at the vermilion gate of the Wuzi Camp behind him, took a deep breath, and said, "See you tomorrow."

Immediately turned around and left.

He needs to prepare the dye; if his face isn't blackened, how can he portray Song, the Black Third Brother, the Timely Rain Jiang?

……

The night was cool and still, dispelling the daytime heat.

Taohuafang, located in the fourth courtyard on Dingyou Street.

After dinner, Chen Mu finished practicing his Heavenly Serpent Form Refinement Technique for the day, as usual.

After fetching a bucket of cool well water and washing himself briefly, Chen Mu, wearing an open-fronted t-shirt, entered the room.

In the center of the square table in the room sat a fist-sized bronze incense burner. Wisps of smoke rose, filling the room with a faint medicinal, insect-repelling fragrance.

Under the bright light of an oil lamp, Chen Mu looked contentedly at the three manuals on the table.

"Seven-Horned Black Deer Form Refinement Technique", "Green Ox Form Refinement Technique", "Black Sheep Form Refinement Technique".

Of the three body-refining techniques, even the Xuan Yang Body-Refining Technique, which has the fewest variations in breathing methods, still has 206 variations. The other two have as many as 360 variations!

"Fortunately, there was no divine intent," Chen Mu thought with a chuckle.

If such advanced body-refining techniques contained divine intent, they would have long been sealed and treasured by aristocratic families.

After flipping through it a couple more times, Chen Mu stopped thinking about it.

Black smoke billowed as the three books were collected into the Five Ghosts Bag.

"No rush, there are still more than ten books waiting for me!"

……

Eighty li outside the city of Nanyang Prefecture, there is a gently sloping hillside called Xiulin Slope.

On the mountainside, the once lush forests have been cleared away, and a military camp has sprung up.

Thousands of strong soldiers dressed in black leather armor were stationed here.

Inside the central main tent.

Shangguan Ji sat on the low couch, his face pale.

"Father, here, Zhaodianhong." Shangguan Yu handed Shangguan Ji a porcelain bottle, his face full of worry.

Since he was a child, Shangguan Ji had always been the best in Nanyang. Unexpectedly, he was seriously injured this time.

"I underestimated that demonic ape that slaughtered the mountain." A cold glint flashed in Shangguan Ji's eyes.

"You broke through my protective aura with just your armor."

"That person might be an illegitimate child of a noble family."

"His bloodline is thick, and his armor is as hard as spiritual light. His physical strength is extraordinary, far exceeding that of ordinary people."

"What if we run into them on our way back to the city..." Shangguan Yu said worriedly.

Shangguan Ji waved his hand: "It's alright, it was my carelessness this time."

“If it really comes down to a head-on fight, I can’t kill him, and he can’t kill me.”

Shangguan Yu breathed a sigh of relief: "The evil-repelling mirror is ready. When shall we return to the city?"

"What did the Jinghong Gang say?" Shangguan Ji asked.

“Jin Wuduan said that the evil spirits attacked, and they suffered heavy losses and were unable to help.” Shangguan Yu frowned.

"Old fox," Shangguan Ji said with a sneer.

"No rush, let's wait."

Shangguan Yu asked, puzzled, "Wait for what?"

Shangguan Ji chuckled: "Wait for Chao Fang to help us clean up Nanyang Prefecture."

Shangguan Yu's eyes lit up: "Is it to use Chao Fang to eliminate all disobedient forces and families?"

“A blank sheet of paper is easy to draw on.” Shangguan Ji said meaningfully.

"Father is brilliant!"

……

The next day, Chen Mu arrived at the inner courtyard library with the dark face of Xiaoyi Heisanlang.

Xing Laoliu, who was registering at the entrance, was not there; instead, a dull and honest middle-aged man took his place.

Just like the previous three days, after registering his name, team, and time of visit, Chen Mu walked into the library with familiarity.

This time, he didn't rush to the second floor to copy the training techniques.

Anyway, the three best books are already in the Five Ghosts Bag.

Chen Mu walked to the row of medical books and poison books.

Because of his knowledge of pharmaceutical medicine, he was quite interested in these kinds of books.

I was so busy acquiring the Body Refinement Technique that I didn't have time to pay attention to it. Now I can finally take a look.

He had asked before and was told that he could take the books from the first floor of the library as long as he paid enough.

"The Essentials of Decoctions"? I've already read it.

"The Essentials of Traditional Chinese Characters"? It's in the Five Ghosts Bag.

"Bone Reading and Face Reading"? I don't read faces for people.

"The author is Xing Ming. Xing?" Could he be an ancestor of that dark-skinned, thin old man?

Chen Mu couldn't help but look at a couple more things.

"Human bones are born naturally and formed later in life; their shape follows certain principles, and their skin and flesh are similar..."

Chen Mu watched with great interest.

"Old Xing really knows how to read a person's bones," Chen Mu remarked.

It also introduced several drugs for disguising appearances. With his fourth-level pharmaceutical skills, he understood them immediately.

"Shaving bones and filling flesh? Cutting open the face, letting worms devour the bones; applying ointment, causing flesh to grow back? How ruthless!" Chen Mu couldn't help but look closely.

The more I look at it, the more familiar it seems.

"How come this effect is almost the same as my second-tier Transformation Technique?"

Upon closer inspection, he couldn't help but chuckle: "It really does look like it!"

He laughed for a while, then his laughter stopped: "Old Xing, judging people by... bones?!"

This is terrible!

How the hell am I supposed to play the 108 heroes?!

(End of this chapter)