My martial arts skill bar can be infinitely merged.

11. Conditions are met.

One tael, five taels, fifteen taels.

The price to exchange for just a few days' stay in the inner city is considerable.

"Buy whatever you can. If necessary, we'll have to go into the inner city. Don't worry about the money; I have a good amount of reward money this time."

Lu Chen started the conversation, and that set the tone. Lu Feng didn't participate much in the rest of the discussion, quietly waiting for the food to be ready.

Tonight's meal was noticeably back to its usual standard, but thankfully he brings meat home every day, so there's no shortage of meat at home, enough to meet his nutritional needs.

After we finished eating, it got completely dark.

The small courtyard outside was pitch black, and a cool breeze swept by. The world was silent, without even the chirping of insects or birds, except for the rustling of the trees in the dark wind.

The Night Ghost attacks were actually not frequent; otherwise, when the Chen family next door was wiped out, Lu Chen wouldn't have revealed the truth during a meal.

The Chen family's downfall wasn't even the beginning. Before the Chen family, someone had been killed by the Night Ghost, but not many died, and there was a two or three-day interval between them, which is why the news didn't spread.

In just these few days, the number of deaths has surged to such an extent that even ordinary people have noticed something is wrong.

In the side room, Lu Feng slept fully clothed. The night was not peaceful, so he simply slept like this to make it easier to move around.

Just as I was drifting off to sleep, a faint sound drifted in from outside the house.

"Quickly, cordon off this intersection! Don't let the Night Demon escape!"

Lu Feng woke up instantly, his groggy head returning to normal in a very short time, and he went over to open the window as usual.

Looking around, the area outside the courtyard was calm and peaceful; the only sound could be heard growing fainter and fainter until it disappeared completely.

Lu Feng frowned. The fact that his family hadn't been woken up meant that the incident occurred far from their home. The fact that he could hear the sound was naturally due to his increasingly strong physique.

Within that short period of time, the sound completely disappeared.

Without much thought, Lu Feng closed the window, nimbly returned to the bedside, and continued to sleep fully clothed.

What a joke! How could he possibly risk his life in the middle of the night just because of something he overheard? He'd have to be out of his mind.

Lu Feng did not believe in seeking fortune through danger; he believed that steady development was the only way forward.

Tomorrow I need to find out the locations of those schools so I can absorb martial arts points. The more points he has, the more confident he'll be!

early morning.

The kitchen was the first to be awakened, steam rising and aromas wafting out as Yuan Shi and her second aunt got up early to prepare the day's meals.

Lu Feng got up and left the main hall. He bent down under the jujube tree, scooped up some water from the wooden basin, quickly washed his face, rinsed his mouth with bamboo charcoal, and then walked to the door. Through the door, he asked his father a question.

"Dad, tell me the location of those houses from yesterday, so I can avoid them on the way."

The reason was so convincing that Lu Chen gave the address almost without hesitation.

"Qingning Lane, Lantern Lane, and Blacksmith Alley—these are the three key areas to avoid."

Lu Feng nodded, took the cake from Yuan Shi's hand, chewed it as he left the house and stepped onto the path outside the courtyard.

He knew Qingning Lane; it was where Sanya was located. Judging from the situation, there was indeed a problem there.

Walking along the edge towards the butcher shop, there was only one alley that could be passed by, but it required a detour, taking three extra paths before Lu Feng arrived at this alley.

The environment is better than yesterday's shantytown, but the improvement is still limited.

Early risers, dressed in gray, carry hoes or bamboo baskets, trudging along the road, toiling for a living.

Lu Feng avoided the crowd, his eyes scanning the surroundings before finally settling on a certain spot.

Stepping on a broken brick in three pieces, I approached a door and window just three steps away to my side, and seemingly casually raised my hand to wipe it.

From a distance, it looked like someone had gotten tired, leaned against a wall to catch their breath, and then continued on their way.

After Lu Feng disappeared into the alley, his martial arts points also reached nine.

Zhang's Butcher Shop, located in the eastern part of the outer city.

Today, it was still two large black pigs, brought by a donkey cart. Luo Mu, who was quite dissatisfied yesterday, didn't say anything more.

The atmosphere in the shop was very oppressive. Without Li Laowu, it felt like there was a lot less to say. Usually, Li Laowu would chime in, acting as a lubricant in the shop.

But after his entire family died yesterday, this atmosphere of laughter and conversation shattered completely, leaving only the instinctive act of working.

Tie up the pig, slaughter the pig, and cut the meat.

Lu Feng learned very quickly, or rather, he developed his talent very well. Slaughtering pigs is actually quite simple. As long as you have strength and practice a lot, you can master the skill and become a master.

Lu Feng was in charge of the second pig's slaughter, and the whole process went smoothly without any major mistakes. Apart from some minor issues with the details, everything else was fine.

Zhang Dayou watched the whole thing from the sidelines until the pig was slaughtered, then he came over, patted Lu Feng on the shoulder, and spoke.

"Not bad, you'll be a master butcher in three days at most! You're a natural-born butcher!"

To receive such praise from a master craftsman is enough to prove that one has truly mastered the art of cooking.

Luo Mu nodded in agreement. It was inconvenient for the shop to be missing one person, and it was a good thing that Lu Feng could fill in.

Lu Feng responded modestly, his mind focused on collecting the remaining black liquid and figuring out what had happened last night.

I'll ask my family when I get back; I should be able to get some information from them.

After lunch at the shop, Zhang Dayou summoned the two men and told them that they would finish their shift an hour earlier in the afternoon, but the amount of copper coins would remain the same.

There were fewer pigs, but there were also fewer people in the shop. As a result, Zhang's shop no longer needed to use up its old capital to make money.

Time flew by. After finishing his shift, Lu Feng took the five catties of meat given to him by Uncle Zhang and headed towards the nearest Qingning Lane.

He walked quickly; time waits for no one, and finding the black liquid would take a lot of effort.

Passing by the familiar Shikeju restaurant, it was still quite lively. A quick glance revealed the waiters busy inside, as well as the newly arrived young manager.

Lu Feng withdrew his gaze, strode forward, and entered Qingning Alley. The alley consisted of two sections, with a crossroads in the middle.

The area was neither too big nor too small. After selectively filtering through the area, on a rough, uneven wall covered with tiny cracks near the intersection, a smear of black liquid was clearly visible.

With a touch, the martial arts points reached ten.

Lu Feng's expression remained unchanged, suppressing all his emotions.

There's still one source of black liquid we haven't obtained. We still have time, so we need to go and collect it.

He walked out of Qingning Lane and headed towards home. Even after passing the lane leading to his home, he didn't stop and continued walking forward.

After passing through the entrances of two alleys, you arrive at the final alley, the Blacksmith Alley.

The smell here is even more pungent. If I had to describe it, it would be like a hundred or so burly men covered in sweat, getting wet and then drying, getting wet again, without having taken a bath for a whole year.

Almost frowning, Lu Feng carefully slowed his breathing as he entered the alley. Looking around, he saw that there were still people in the blacksmith alley, their clothes even more worn and patched.

This time, we didn't waste too much time; we saw the black liquid after walking only a dozen steps.

Lu Feng acted very naturally, walked over there, and pressed the button again.

[Martial arts points: 11]

Got it, time to go home!

They hurriedly left the alley and returned the way they came.