Chapter 7

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Boom!

Boom!

…..

Kneeling, Lu Erlai lifted his head and then slammed it down again, turning his forehead bright red in a matter of moments.

“I beg the Mountain God for forgiveness… I beg the Mountain God for forgiveness… I won’t do it again, I truly won’t dare.”

Compared to the dizziness and headache, the intense itching all over his body and the excruciating pain from the chicken’s feathers being pulled out were the most terrifying. The torment he was experiencing made him feel as if life was worse than death

The person who had suggested the plan to Lu Erlai hurriedly said: “Admit your sins to the Mountain God. Maybe things will get better.”

With his forehead pressed to the ground, Lu Erlai’s mind was in disarray.

“Mountain God, Erlai was wrong… I won’t imitate the dog and steal chicken or harass other women again… Please show mercy and let me off this time.”

“He admitted it! Mountain God, punish him for another two days!!” Someone outside shouted loudly among the onlookers.

Among them were some elderly villagers, their beards and hair disheveled. They waved their canes and shouted: “You scoundrel finally admit your fault. The crops in my field were ruined by you!!”

The elder’s sons had rushed in and began hitting and kicking Lu Erlai. They were eventually pulled away by the person who had come up with the plan. Outside, villagers who had often been taken advantage of by Lu Erlai eagerly moved forward, wanting to join in.

Lu Erlai, with blood streaming from his nose and his right cheek swollen, cried out in pain, repeatedly banging his head on the ground. He had a cowardly nature, always bullying the weak and fearing the strong, which made him panic even more. His face was smeared with tears and mucus as he continued to kowtow and apologize.

“Don’t hit me… Please… Please…”

Suddenly, he rolled onto his back and started frantically scratching his neck and chest, tearing out large patches of feathers. His bloodied and mangled appearance was disturbing to witness.

Lu Liangsheng, standing among the crowd, observed the scene. Initially, he had thought that the Feather Plucking Art was merely an unbearably itchy punishment. Now, he realized that the true torment was the inability to control the itchiness and the intense pain from having the feathers forcibly removed.

“A minor spell is like this, I can only imagine how terrifying it must be at my master’s level…”

While he was contemplating, Lu Erlai, who was rolling around, suddenly stopped moving. Someone shouted from the crowd: “Look! The chicken feathers on Erlai are starting to disappear!”

Lu Liangsheng came back from his thoughts. He saw Lu Erlai on the ground, groaning faintly. The feathers on his neck, chest, and arms were visibly retracting at a noticeable speed.

“Wasn’t it supposed to take a few days to recover…” Liangsheng looked past the crowd toward the broken statue of the Mountain God on the altar inside the temple.

“…The Mountain God?”

He shook his head, thinking: “It probably isn’t that. Maybe my cultivation level is too low to maintain this minor technique for two or three days. It must be something like that.”

His gaze fell on a broken plaque not far from the crowd. He brushed off the thick layer of dust to reveal some large characters.

Radiance… Radiance… The Glow of Dawn Endures for a Thousand Years…

“This is an inscription from the temple… and there’s still half of it left?”

Meanwhile, as Lu Erlai’s feathers retracted, he was helped up by kind-hearted villagers and sent back home. Some nearby tried to smooth things over, saying: “Today’s events are over. He’s from the same village, it’s enough that he knows his mistake. We can’t really beat him to death.”

Others shouted: “If we beat him to death, can the officials catch us all?”

“Exactly. If I’d known, I would have been the first to rush in and give this scoundrel a punch.”

“Forget it, forget it. The Mountain God has spared him, so let’s disperse. We’re all still relatives. If someone really dies, other villages will just make fun of us.”

“Whoever laughs at us, we’ll beat them too!”

Someone shouted fiercely, but despite the tough words, the crowd began to shuffle their way out of the area. Though mountain folk could be fierce, no one truly wanted to deal with the consequences of killing someone, risking a legal case, and potentially facing execution. Before long, the villagers, in small groups, began to disperse. Lu Laoshi, Li Jinhua, and Lu Xiaoxian, who had come to watch the commotion, called to Lu Liangsheng, “Time to go home.” As they walked away, excitedly discussing the day’s events.

The dilapidated Mountain God temple gradually returned to its former silence. The birds, which had flown away during the ruckus, returned to perch on the branches, observing the lone figure that remained.

Lu Liangsheng stood alone in front of the abandoned temple.

He circled the area and eventually found the missing half of the broken plaque. The remaining inscription read: Divine Might Shakes the Heavens and Earth.

Earlier, he had been pondering what he could offer his master in repayment, but his family had nothing of value. When he noticed the temple’s beautiful inscription, he thought it might be a suitable gift. After all, his handwriting was quite good… well…or at least, that’s what Lu Xiaoxian said.

After memorizing the inscription, Lu Liangsheng followed the path back and eventually caught up with his parents and sister, who were already far ahead. Together, they returned home, where he resumed practicing the cultivation techniques his master had taught him.

Over the next few days, Lu Erlai stayed out of sight, avoiding the village. Even when spotted occasionally, he kept his distance. Li Jinhua, proud of her old donkey, strutted around the village showing it off, while Lu Laoshi gathered wood and sat under the eaves, pondering how to construct a wagon frame.

Inside the house, Lu Xiaoxian curiously followed her brother. “Brother, are you going to write?”

“Hm.”

He chipped a small piece of graphite, placed it in a small dish with a bit of water, and ground it gently. He carefully moistened and softened the rabbit hair brush, following the steps of a process he had once observed at the village market when an old man had been writing for others.

Seeing an opportunity to help, Xiaoxian carefully tore a sheet of paper from the blank book and laid it out flat, smoothing it with her sleeve to keep it spotless.

Lu Liangsheng picked up the brush, dipped it in the ink, focused his energy, and began writing.

With deliberate strokes, he inscribed the words: The Radiant Glow of Dawn Endures for Thousands of Years, Divine Might Shakes Heavens and Earth!

Setting down the brush, he picked up the sheet of paper and blew gently on it to dry the ink. “Xiaoxian, how does brother’s writing look?”

“How pretty… Brother, can you draw a little fish for Xiaoxian?”

Xiaoxian didn’t understand the meaning of the words her brother had written, she couldn’t read. But to her, it didn’t matter, the strokes her brother used were very elegant, and that made him seem so impressive. Earlier, as she watched him write with a brush as if it were a dragon dancing on paper, she vaguely seemed to see a faint glow around the tip of his brush.

In fact, the young man had unknowingly tapped into his weak spiritual energy.

After the ink dried, Lu Liangsheng carefully folded the inscription and tucked it away. He pinched his sister’s cheek affectionately. “Not now. When I come back, I’ll draw one for you. Stay home and behave, alright?”

“Okay,”

The little girl shook her little pigtails and followed her brother to the door. She then plopped down on a small stool under the eaves and pouted, watching her father hammer away at some wood with clanging sounds in the background.

Outside the village, the young man walked briskly along the dirt path through the fields. He patted the inscription inside his pocket with a sense of pride and excitement. It was the first time he felt like he had written something good words, something quite meaningful, and he was eager to present it to his master.

When he reached the massive boulder at the base of the mountain cliff, he didn’t even have to speak. The stone slowly shifted and parted on its own, revealing the entrance to the stone cavern. Lu Liangsheng stepped inside, where the flickering flames illuminated a large cauldron that stood in the center. It was big enough to require two people to encircle it with their arms, and the warm water within emitted a faint, herbal fragrance. Something floated on the surface, indistinct but emitting an enticing aroma.

The old man, with his back turned toward him, waved a broad sleeve dismissively.

“Liangsheng, take off your clothes and shoes, and get into the cauldron.”

Lu Liangsheng hesitated for a moment. “Get inside?”

“Yes, get in. Didn’t I tell you three days ago that I, your master, would help you break through to the Foundation Opening stage…” The old man remained facing the stone wall, and on the nearby stone platform were strange plants, roots, and some blood-soaked meat chunks.

“…the heat, the ingredients… everything is prepared. Now, get in.”

In the shadow, with his back to the firelight, the expression on the old man’s was impossible to see.

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