On the other side, back at the Tongfu Inn, Bai Zhan Tang spent a sleepless night worrying, not closing his eyes until dawn.
"No news is good news. It seems that person has already left."
Bai Zhan Tang breathed a sigh of relief.
"However, we still need to be more careful in the coming days and cannot let our guard down."
Lu Yu was unaware that Bai Zhan Tang had stayed up all night because of him.
As the first rays of sunlight pierced through the window, illuminating his face, he emerged from his state of cultivation.
"This is..."
Upon ending his practice, Lu Yu discovered the changes in himself, causing him to be greatly surprised.
He saw that the sliver of internal energy he had cultivated just yesterday had now grown to the size of a finger.
Upon carefully examining his realm, he discovered that he had broken through several minor realms, reaching the peak of the Third-Rate Realm.
Such astounding progress in a single night of cultivation was truly astonishing.
However, Lu Yu, who had been fully immersed in his practice, had not noticed at all.
"To actually break through five minor realms in a single night. Besides the wonder of the Divine Wind Force, it must also be related to my own talent.
It seems that my talent is not just good, it is excellent."
Even though Lu Yu still did not fully understand the martial arts, he knew that this rate of cultivation was abnormal.
Thinking of this, Lu Yu felt a surge of joy.
This was truly a good thing.
After calming down his excitement, Lu Yu washed up briefly, then picked up his fishing rod and headed towards the nearby Xi Liang River.
He baited his hook with an earthworm he had just found, expertly cast his line into the water, and then leaned against a large willow tree by the bank, waiting for the fish to take the bait.
The wait was tedious and boring, so Lu Yu immediately activated his Divine Wind Force and began cultivating his internal energy.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Lu Yu looked surprised.
"What's going on? It feels like the efficiency of cultivating internal energy tonight is much higher than last night? My internal energy is flowing freely, without the slightest hint of stiffness. Could it be related to the state of fishing?"
Thinking this, Lu Yu released the fishing rod, and the flow of the Divine Wind Force in his body indeed slowed down.
"So it's true. It seems that the state of angling allows me to have a clear mind and accelerate the speed of cultivating internal energy. It's practically a cheat code for cultivation.
It must also have something to do with the Angling Space.
It seems that this Angling Space has many uses that I don't know about yet. I'll slowly research and explore it later."
Lu Yu smiled faintly, his anticipation for the future growing.
At that moment, a voice suddenly rang out.
"Little Yu, you're up early."
Lu Yu turned his head to look, and saw an old man dressed in coarse linen standing there, smiling at him.
This man's surname was Ge, and he was the third in his family's line, so people called him Ge San Shu. He was Lu Yu's neighbor, a kind-hearted person who often helped the Lu family.
"Yes, San Shu. I've taken over my father's job, delivering fish to the Tongfu Inn. But my skills are not as good as my father's, so I have to come here early to fish, lest I be late delivering the fish."
"You child, you're becoming more and more sensible. Why don't you come fishing with me? Your fishing is too slow."
Ge San Shu said with a hint of heartache.
After all, he had watched Lu Yu grow up.
Now seeing Lu Yu shouldering such a heavy responsibility at such a young age, he naturally felt a pang of sympathy.
"It's alright, I really enjoy fishing."
Ge San Shu sighed slightly upon hearing this.
"This child, how can he enjoy fishing? He's clearly using this as a way to think about his father. Sigh, whatever, let him be."
After indulging in a bit of imagination, Ge San Shu took two steamed buns from his bosom and handed them to Lu Yu.
"Little Yu, you're up so early, you must not have eaten yet. Here, these are steamed buns made by your aunt, they're quite tasty, have some to line your stomach."
"Thank you, San Shu."
Lu Yu felt a warmth in his heart and directly accepted the steamed buns.
In recent days, Ge San Shu had taken care of him a lot, and he also had a good impression of this kind-hearted old man.
He could see the genuine kindness in the old man's eyes, devoid of any ulterior motives.
"You child, what are you being polite to me for? I've watched you grow up since you were a child. Originally, I was going to talk about marriage for you this year, but now that this has happened, it's only right to postpone it for a while."
Lu Yu was taken aback for a moment, then smiled helplessly.
"There's no need to rush into this, I don't want to get married for now. Besides, with my current poor state, I wouldn't want to ruin a young lady's life."
"It's fine to be poor now, you child are diligent and willing to work hard, you'll have money sooner or later. Alright, enough about this, you go ahead and eat, I have to go fishing, I'll be going to the ferry later, to help everyone cross the river."
"Okay, San Shu, take care."
After watching Ge San Shu leave, Lu Yu took out the steaming hot steamed buns and ate them.
Mm, they were delicious.
An hour later, his fish basket was full.
And just as he pulled up the last fish, his cultivation of the Divine Wind Force reached its peak.
The carp entered the basket, the divine wind blew, and Lu Yu naturally broke through to the Second-Rate Realm.
"This cultivation speed is truly intoxicating. It seems I'll need to increase my fishing time in the future."
Lu Yu smiled slightly, put away his fishing rod, sorted his fish basket, and prepared to head to the Tongfu Inn.
"It's about the same as yesterday. It's true that it's better in ancient times, no pollution, plenty of fish, I don't even need to bait and I can catch a bunch.
If those fishing enthusiasts from my previous life knew, they'd definitely stuff a couple of packs of good cigarettes in my hand and ask me nicely where I fished.
Heh, I'll go to the inn to deliver the fish first, and then see what Bai Da Ge's reaction is. Hopefully he wasn't scared away by last night's incident."
The Tongfu Inn.
Lu Yu first went to the kitchen to deliver the fish, then went to the main hall to settle the bill with Lü Qing Hou, but he found that Lü Qing Hou was not there. Instead, it was the innkeeper, Tong, and Bai Zhan Tang who were in the hall.
"Zhan Tang, what's wrong with you? Did someone beat you up? Your dark circles are so heavy?"
"Sigh, don't mention it, I didn't sleep well last night, I'm still sleepy now. Oh! Little Lu is here."
Seeing Lu Yu arrive, Bai Zhan Tang greeted him.
But Lu Yu was also startled by his enormous dark circles.
"Bai Da Ge, did you go thieving last night? Your dark circles are so heavy?"
Bai Zhan Tang didn't answer yet, but a voice of anger came from the doorway.
"Thieving? What thief? Under my, Xing, the head constable's watch, someone dares to steal? Little Lu, who are you talking about?"
The voice belonged to the head constable, Xing, in a blue uniform, the only constable in Qixia Town.
"Head Constable Xing, I was just kidding with Bai Da Ge, look at his dark circles."
Lu Yu quickly explained.
"You can't make jokes like that casually, or I might know you, but the knife in my hand won't know you."
Xing tightened his grip on the handle of his official sword, putting on a fierce expression.
"Old Xing, you're making a fuss over nothing. I just didn't sleep well."
Bai Zhan Tang turned to Xing and said, but the dark circles startled Xing.
"My dear mother! Your dark circles are too outrageous. What's up? You also heard about the Male and Female Fiends? Scared to sleep?"
Male and Female Fiends?
Lu Yu was stunned, is this Guo Fu Rong coming?
"What Male and Female Fiends?"
Hearing this, Tong the innkeeper curiously stepped forward to ask.
Xing looked around, then sat down at the table and whispered, "These Male and Female Fiends are new villains who have recently appeared!
You know Zhao's daughter from Zuojia Village, right? She's nice, but she's a bit ugly, so she had trouble getting married. A few days ago, she finally got married, she was so excited, tears of joy were streaming down her face.
And then what?
The Male and Female Fiends descended from the heavens, beat the groom up, and while they were beating him, they said they were doing it for the sake of justice!
The groom was beaten up and hasn't left his house since. Zhao's daughter cries every day, if she keeps crying, she'll probably cry herself blind."
"Oh my god, that Zhao's daughter is so unlucky! How did she run into such a ruthless villain?"
Tong Xiang Yu exclaimed in shock.
"Who knows? Also, remember the beggar, Xiaomi, who often begs at your inn's door?"
"Remember, remember, that little beggar was pretty fat. But he hasn't been here these past few days."
Bai Zhan Tang interjected.
"He's not able to come now. He was sick a few days ago, he went to Shiba Li Pu to find Doctor Xue, the divine physician, to have cupping done, and he also ran into the Male and Female Fiends.
The Male and Female Fiends beat up Doctor Xue, who was doing cupping on him, and then Doctor Xue fell very ill, he hasn't opened his clinic to treat patients even now.
The little beggar's illness has not healed either.
My dear mother, it's a sin."
"This this this... They're simply insane, even beating up Doctor Xue?"
Bai Zhan Tang exclaimed.
According to the rules of the martial world, few people would attack a doctor, especially a well-known one.
After all, there are fewer good doctors, and when you're injured, there's one less person who can treat you.
And the martial world is always dangerous, no doctor is ever too many.
"Who says not? These Male and Female Fiends are bullying all the good people nearby, I came here to remind you to be careful.
Speaking of merchants in Qixia Town, whose reputation is the best? It's obviously Tong the innkeeper.
Maybe the Male and Female Fiends will target you next."
Upon hearing this, Tong Xiang Yu's face showed fear, and she looked at Bai Zhan Tang.
"Zhan Tang..."
"Don't look at me! I'm scared too."
Although he said this, Bai Zhan Tang's heart was filled with a sense of gravity at this moment.
"Could it be that the letter last night was written by the Male and Female Fiends? Otherwise, how come they just happened to be in the area near Qixia Town at this time?
If it was really them, I wonder what they'll do next."
At this moment, Xing suddenly looked at Lu Yu and said, "Little Lu, you go back and tell Ge San Shu, be careful too.
He usually ferries people across the river for free when he's not fishing, he's a truly good person, the Male and Female Fiends might harm him too.
The constable's office doesn't have enough manpower, we can't send people to protect everyone, we can only ask everyone to be more careful."
Lu Yu nodded.
"Okay, I'll go back and tell Ge San Shu."
"I've told you everything, I have to go to the next house, I have to improve everyone's safety awareness as quickly as possible."
After saying this, Xing left, leaving Tong the innkeeper and Bai Zhan Tang with heavy hearts.
Lu Yu wasn't worried, however, because he knew that this wasn't a real crisis, just a novice who had gone astray in the martial world.
He was more concerned about whether Guo Fu Rong had any objects of fortune that could be transformed into martial arts bait.