Lu Shaohui is dead!?
"Uncle Chen, are you sure it's that name?"
"If I remember it, I can't be wrong. Unless someone else got it wrong and told me the wrong name. Why? Do you know him, Ah Shui?"
"I know him, but we didn't get along well. There was some tension between us."
Liang Qu returned home, his mind heavy with thoughts.
There were only three martial halls in the town, and martial artists were rare.
There was no way there could be two people with the same name.
Lu Shaohui wasn't as responsible as Hu Qi, and during the recent conflict, he had done nothing, showing a clear neglect of duty.
But as a "stand-in," there wasn't much that could be done about him.
And now, he was dead.
Did he die two days ago and was only discovered today? Or did he just die today?
Liang Qu pondered this question.
Lu Shaohui hadn't shown up at the martial hall for the past two days.
The timing coincided with the day the conflict broke out.
After it was over, Hu Qi had tried to find him but couldn't.
No, it's still early.
I need to go and see.
Thinking that this matter might be related to him, Liang Qu borrowed a wooden bucket from Uncle Chen's house.
He wrapped the demon beast's feather in a wet cloth and stuffed it into the bucket filled with water.
Then he hurried towards Peaceful Sun Town.
Whether it was for the evening dinner or to ask his senior brothers about the uses of the demon beast's feather, he had to make a trip to the town today.
The matter was urgent.
The sixteen-mile journey took Liang Qu only two and a half hours.
As he walked through the streets, he pricked up his ears.
"I heard it was a martial master. He died in a dilapidated temple. How terrifying."
"That's not what I heard. I heard he was just a martial artist, but he had already broken through three barriers and was about to become a martial master."
"Either way, he wasn't an ordinary person. He died so horribly. His entire internal organs were hollowed out. The coroner said it might have been done by some monster. Definitely not a human."
"A monster? No way. Are we in danger? Will it come for us?"
"You? You're all skin and bones. Even a monster would find you too tough to chew."
Every teahouse and small shop was buzzing with talk of Lu Shaohui's death.
Liang Qu stopped a tea server.
"Excuse me, could you tell me where the martial master Lu died? Could you point me in the right direction?"
The tea server smiled.
"Would you like a cup of tea, sir?"
"No need for tea. I'm in a hurry."
Liang Qu handed over five coins.
"Thank you, sir."
The tea server happily pocketed the money and led Liang Qu to the street, pointing into the distance.
"See that Huang's Fabric Shop over there?"
"Yes."
"Take the small path behind Huang's Fabric Shop. After about two miles, you'll see a wide dirt road. That used to be the bluestone path in front of the temple. The bluestone slabs were all removed. Follow that road for about fifteen minutes, and you'll reach the temple."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. Come by for tea sometime."
Liang Qu didn't head straight to the temple.
Instead, he made a detour to his third senior brother's shop.
Senior Brother Lu's blacksmith shop was on the way to Huang's Fabric Shop.
It was a good opportunity to ask about the demon beast's feather.
"Senior Brother Lu!"
"Junior Brother Liang? Why are you here so early? Did you change your mind about the spearhead design?"
"No, I found something while fishing last night. It's a bit tricky, so I thought I'd ask you to take a look."
"Tricky?"
Lu Gang saw the cloth in Liang Qu's hand and stood up from the furnace.
"Come on, let's go inside."
In the quiet room, Lu Gang closed the door and took the cloth-wrapped package from Liang Qu.
When his hand felt the heat even through the wet cloth, he was surprised.
"It really is hot."
"Yep."
Liang Qu helped unwrap the cloth, revealing the golden-red feather.
The high temperature it emitted distorted the air.
Lu Gang's pupils contracted.
"Crimson Mourning Feather?"
"Senior Brother, you recognize it?"
Lu Gang instinctively glanced back to make sure the door was closed, then whispered, "Where did you get this?"
Liang Qu recounted the events of the previous night, the battle between the two demon beasts, and how he found the feather the next day.
However, he changed the part about the beasts discovering him to him finding it while fishing.
"Junior Brother Liang, I don't even know what to say about your luck."
Lu Gang sighed.
"Do you know how this Crimson Mourning Feather comes to be?"
"How?"
"I can't say for sure what kind of demon beast that was in the water, but the fiery bird you mentioned is definitely a Crimson Firebird. Crimson Firebirds have incredibly tenacious life force. Whenever they face mortal danger, they infuse a part of their life essence into their feathers and scatter them in all directions to escape. Among those feathers, one will contain the most life essence—the Crimson Gold Feather. The bird uses this feather to regenerate, similar to how a gecko regrows its tail, but in this case, it's the entire body."
"So this one..."
Liang Qu's eyes gleamed with hope.
Lu Gang chuckled.
"It's definitely not the gold feather meant for rebirth. Otherwise, neither of us would be able to get close to it."
"Alright."
"Junior Brother Liang, don't be ungrateful. A Crimson Firebird only scatters about a dozen or so feathers each time. Given its size, even if this isn't the main one, it still contains a significant amount of life essence."
"What can it be used for?"
"It can aid in cultivation, but I doubt you can absorb the energy within. Life essence with fire attributes is quite volatile. Unless you're a martial master who has broken through three barriers, I wouldn't recommend trying. Also, the energy in the feather will dissipate quickly if not replenished. So, I suggest extracting the life energy all at once and using it as fuel to forge a weapon. I'm eighty percent confident it can imbue the weapon with spirit."
"A spirit weapon?"
This was the first time Liang Qu had heard of such a thing.
"Spirit weapons are extremely rare because materials like the Crimson Mourning Feather are hard to come by. An adult Crimson Firebird would require at least a Perfect Manifestation Realm martial artist to capture, and even then, it's not guaranteed because Crimson Firebirds can fly. It often takes two or three Perfect Manifestation Realm experts to corner one.
The main feature of a spirit weapon is that it can repair and grow on its own. As long as it's near materials of the same origin, it can absorb them to repair itself. A nail-sized chip can heal in about ten days.
Even the best-crafted weapons will wear out over time. Most martial artists you fight with will be at your level, and their weapons won't be shabby either. When two high-quality weapons clash, chips are inevitable.
Like your fourth senior brother, he's had me replace his sword countless times, and he always haggles over the price."
Lu Gang, who usually spoke in a steady tone, now had a rare hint of emotion in his voice.
"Then let's use it to forge my spear."
Liang Qu made the decision without hesitation.
Holding this thing barehanded was already difficult, let alone trying to absorb its energy.
Rather than let it go to waste, it was better to strike while the iron was hot.
He had stumbled upon it by chance, so he couldn't be too greedy.
Trading it for a spirit weapon was more than worth it.
"Alright, I'll prepare as soon as possible. Junior Brother Liang, have a seat."
"No, I have something else to attend to. I'll be back soon."
"Alright."
"Oh, by the way, do you know Lu Shaohui, Senior Brother Lu?"
"Lu Shaohui? The name sounds familiar. Is he from our martial hall? A two-barrier martial artist, right?"
Lu Gang thought for a moment.
He made his living as a blacksmith and rarely needed to take on martial hall duties for extra income, so he wasn't very familiar with the name.
"Yes, but if you're not familiar with him, never mind."
"What happened?"
"He's dead."
(End of Chapter)