Chapter 61: Crying Must Be Timed, State of Min, Misty Rain Tower?-Despertar de Atributos: A Cultivação Começa com a Coleta de Ervas(Biscoitos pequenos de laranja)

Yang Qing'er suddenly felt a powerful hand grip her neck tightly, instantly cutting off her airflow and sending a heavy wave of suffocation crashing into her heart.

Her eyes widened in horror and disbelief; she could never have imagined that her very first rendezvous with her sister would be exposed so quickly.

This also proved that Xia He had suspected her right from the beginning!

She opened her mouth, trying to offer a word of defense, but before she could utter a single syllable, Xia He saw right through her intentions, denying her any chance whatsoever as he suddenly tightened his grip.

As Xia He's strength steadily increased, Yang Qing'er's face turned paler and paler, bringing her to the brink of asphyxiation. Yet, even in such a life-or-death moment, she clenched her teeth stubbornly, refusing to admit her true identity and purpose.

"Brother He... please, I beg you..."

"Since you are feeling so spirited, very well. I see you still possess a somewhat pleasing appearance; perhaps I should sell you to a brothel, specifically one of those bottom-tier White Houses."

Hearing this, Yang Qing'er's heart plummeted, and fear washed over her like a tidal wave. With looks like hers, if she truly fell into those filthy dens, she would likely find death a mercy compared to living.

Xia He reached out, grabbed Yang Qing'er's chin, forced it open with a rough push, and casually tossed in a dark pill.

The moment the pill entered her throat, Yang Qing'er felt it transform into a ball of scorching fire, burning its way down her throat as though it intended to reduce her internal organs to ashes.

Poison! Fatal poison!

"You have one more tea-time left to live."

"Go ahead and cry—remember, crying counts against your time too."

Yang Qing'er completely broke down.

Xia He released the arm around her neck, and she instantly collapsed limply to the floor.

Time ticked away second by second; the burning sensation in her abdomen grew increasingly severe, soon turning into agonizing cramps!

"Death... Am I going to die?!"

A tidal wave of terror nearly overwhelmed her. Finally, her resolve crumbled, and she stammered out,

"I... I'll talk."

...

"The Misty Rain Pavilion?"

Xia He wore a look of astonishment.

Initially, he had assumed Yang Qing'er was a spy sent by the barbarians, but the situation turned out to be far more complex than he had imagined.

Ever since Wanyan Bi unified the barbarian armies, he had swiftly annihilated the surrounding small nations that had long suffered under oppression.

The Rou Kingdom, a tiny state with a total population of less than a million, was one of them.

Some of its people were slaughtered during the sacking of the city, while others were displaced as refugees. Half of them surrendered to the barbarians to become slaves, while others sought refuge with the Great Qin, though the Great Qin refused to take in alien refugees.

After destroying minor states like the Rou Kingdom, the Southern Barbarians grew increasingly ambitious and brazenly declared the founding of their own state under the title "Min."

Due to his exceptional military achievements, Wanyan Bi was appointed as the State Preceptor, holding a position of supreme reverence.

The Sixth Prince had gathered some of the Rou refugees and secretly cultivated them.

The Southern Barbarians established their state as 'Min,' Wanyan Bi was revered as the State Preceptor, the Sixth Prince secretly trained the Rou refugees, and the 'Misty Rain Pavilion' was, to put it bluntly, an espionage agency.

Both the courtesan by Uncle Zhou's son's side previously and Yang Qing'er right before him originated from this organization, with their purpose naturally being intelligence gathering.

Upon learning the full story, Xia He was deeply shocked.

First came Wanyan Bi, and now out popped a Sixth Prince?

"If we can acquire the deployment maps of the Great Qin garrisons... His Highness will be able to launch an invasion."

Clearly, the Sixth Prince was not having an easy time over there either, entirely suppressed by Wanyan Bi, and naturally eager to stir up some trouble.

"When spring comes next year, a major battle with the barbarians is inevitable. Even if it's not the elite barbarian army, with this Sixth Prince pulling strings from the shadows, I'm afraid..."

At this thought, Xia He spoke up,

"If you want to live, from now on, whatever I tell you to do, you will do."

With that, he walked over, grabbed Yang Qing'er's chin once more, and popped another pill into her mouth.

After swallowing it, Yang Qing'er coughed violently, but soon felt the burning sensation in her abdomen ease considerably.

"From now on, you will get this antidote once a day."

Xia He considered the matter roughly.

The barbarians' infiltration was pervasive; killing Yang Qing'er right now would serve no purpose.

With war on the horizon and blinding ignorance about the enemy, it was far better to continue squeezing value out of Yang Qing'er and extract useful intelligence from her.

"People from your Misty Rain Pavilion—do you practice martial arts?"

"Yes, but only lightness techniques..."

"Good. Now, recite the martial arts you've practiced to me, word by word!"

Two hours passed until the sky outside grew faintly pale with dawn, and only then did Xia He depart.

Yang Qing'er slumped limply to the ground.

On his stat panel:

【Skill: Blood Refining - Superior - Eight-Step Cicada Chase (Uninitiated)】

【Progress: 0/100】

【Effect: None yet】

"The martial arts of this Misty Rain Pavilion are actually quite decent?"

Lightness techniques were already exceptionally rare, let alone superior-grade ones.

Great Qin military households did not specifically train in lightness techniques; after all, on a battlefield where soldiers crowded shoulder-to-shoulder, such skills offered no advantage whatsoever.

"It will be fine if this Yang Qing'er can be put to good use; but if she cannot..."

Xia He returned to his room and instructed his wife to go stay at her sister's house for a few days.

He told her that Yang Qing'er had discovered other relatives in the area and would be sent away in a couple of days.

As for himself, with the great battle looming, he needed to step up his training and would not be returning home for the next few days.

After Li Huilan left, Xia He glanced at the room where Yang Qing'er was staying, noting complete silence.

He went to the kitchen and took out the boiled Thunder Sable meat to eat.

It was completely different from any meat he had eaten before.

For instance, with wild boar meat, he needed to eat seven or eight pounds at a time to feel full.

Yet with the Thunder Sable meat, just a few bites brought a sense of satiation.

After practicing the barbarians' 《Blood Fiend Technique》, the baleful energy in his body was difficult to suppress, constantly generating an uncomfortable burning sensation within him.

However, the moment the exotic beast meat touched his tongue, a refreshing cool Qi instantly spread outward, beginning to suppress that surging blood-fiend energy.

"Not bad!"

Xia He's eyes lit up, and he immediately began practicing his martial arts on the spot.

His proficiency increased rapidly.

【Blood Fiend Technique Proficiency +10】

……

【Basic Trooper Blood Refining Chapter +10】

……

Xia He estimated that these two blood-refining martial arts had essentially reached the stage of Great Mastery, leaving his internal Qi and blood robust and vigorous.

This meant he could now begin preparing for bone-refining.

【Attribute Point +2】

【Hm? It actually added two points directly?】

The attribute points he had yearned for day and night had finally returned, and they came in a batch of two, thrilling Xia He immensely.

【Blood Refining - Superior - Spiraling Snake Fist (Uninitiated)】

【Bone Refining - Superior - White Ape Breathing Technique (Uninitiated)】

【Continue!】

Based on Xia He's observations, advancing a martial art from the uninitiated stage to initiated consumed one attribute point.

That was far too wasteful, as it was the simplest step and completely unnecessary to squander points on.

To his surprise, however, the White Ape Breathing Technique reached the initiated stage almost instantly!