Chapter 5: Advanced

The vast mine was pitch black and eerily quiet, with only the flickering firelight from the overseer’s mess hall providing a glow, accompanied by loud, boisterous sounds coming from inside.

Xu Lian crouched low and crept over.

He reached the window, peered in, and saw a group of about ten overseers gathered around, drinking.

“Now we have the wine and the meat is being prepared. What’s missing is the woman. You can’t have a good time without one. Wine, meat, but no women, it just doesn’t feel complete”.

“If we’re going to stay here tonight, we definitely need a woman. We can’t have the guards bleeding for us, can we?”

“Why not just call our own women from home and have some fun?”

“Ugh, our own women are boring – no fun at all. Only the lively ones are worthy of such fine wine and meat…”

As the overseers continued their conversation, they jokingly urged the manager to call for the women from the town’s Li Chun Brothel.

The mine manager, a middle-aged man with a thick mustache named Han Du, was said to have connections with the town mayor. He laughed as he scolded the overseers.

“You rascals, you used to order the miners around, and now you dare to order me around? Fine, I’ll treat you tonight.”

He pulled out a silver ingot from his sleeve and tossed it to Liang Yan.

“Go ahead,” Han Du said.

Liang Yan grinned and returned the silver to Han Du. “No need to spend your own silver, manager. This big ox is too much for us to eat. Let’s just bring the girls from Li Chun Brothel, have some fun, and give them some beef afterward.”

Han Du took the silver back, waved his hand, and didn’t say anything more.

Liang Yan hurried off to fetch the women, riding in a carriage.

Xu Lian moved quietly, carefully circling around the kitchen window. He saw the cook and two assistants already butchering the ox, preparing to skin it.

His heart raced with fear. It was already dark, and if he took too long, he might run into the night patrol. Worse, if he waited until morning to take the leather, it could cause problems. He didn’t want to wait and risk losing his opportunity. With his cultivation progress on the line, it was best to complete his advancement now while he still had the chance. The power would give him the confidence to deal with both Liang Yan and anyone else who might try to harm him from the shadows.

“They need to hurry up. The night patrol will be here soon.”

Xu Lian silently thanked Han Du when he heard the manager speak, urging the workers to hurry.

But just as Xu Lian was feeling relieved, Han Du’s next words made his heart sink.

“Don’t bother to skin the whole ox. We can’t eat all of it anyway. Just skin half of it, get the meat off, and cook what needs to be stewed or roasted.”

Xu Lian winced. According to the notes from his golden finger, he needed the whole hide to advance. Han Du only ordered the cooks to skin half of it – what would happen to the other half? Would Xu Lian have to skin it himself? Could he still advance if he only had half of the hide?

If he didn’t get the whole oxhide, would his advancement fail? Or would it just be incomplete?

“Yes, Manager,” the cook replied, immediately getting to work, cutting off the meat and preparing it for cooking.

Han Du lingered for a moment longer, then turned and left with his hands behind his back.

Xu Lian watched the oxhide that had been tossed aside. He glanced at the cooks and assistants who were busy, making sure that no one was paying attention to him. He carefully crept inside.

Taking out the small blade he kept for self-defense, he started peeling off the remaining oxhide. He quickly realized, however, that it was much harder than it had seemed when he had watched the cooks do it.

“Come on, come on, where’s the butcher when you need him?”

His forehead was dripping with sweat, and the thought of “Pao Ding carving the ox” flashed in his mind. He wished he could call on that mythical butcher from another time and place to help him. In a few quick moves, he would be done with this.

“I have been at this for so long, and I have only managed so much. If I keep going, I’ll never finish. This isn’t going to work.”

He needed a new plan.

Suddenly an idea popped into his head. Since the advancement required the oxhide, could he add it directly without fully skinning it? There was no harm in trying.

He placed his hand on the oxhide, mentally focusing, and whispered, “Add material and advance!”

【Oxhide added, advancement successful】

A magical light screen appeared before Xu Lian, and he was filled with joy. This method actually worked.

Without a sound, the oxhide turned to ash.

Immediately he felt an itching sensation all over his body, as though millions of ants were crawling all over him.

Soon his body warmed up, as if he was returning to the fetal stage and being re-forged. It was an indescribable comfort, as if he possessed boundless strength.

“Is this it?”

Xu Lian was stunned, still in disbelief.

He gripped the sharp knife and drew it lightly across his palm. It made a soft “crunching” sound, as if it was cutting through rough sackcloth – difficult to cut.

“From now on, I’m a Skin Refining Stage warrior. Anyone who dares to mess with me, I’ll beat them up!”

A grin crept across his face, almost turning into a crooked, battle-ready smile.

Ah, that felt good!

“Now that I’ve got the oxhide, I might as well take some extra meat too. This is beef, the best food, and it’s very hard to come by.”

He used the sharp knife to cut off an entire ox leg, wrapping it tightly with two rags. Throwing it over his shoulder, he left hurriedly.

The road was pitch dark, and he could hear the sound of a carriage and women’s laughter ahead of him. He knew it was Liang Yan, returning from Li Chun Brothel with the girls.

Xu Lian quickly ducked behind a large tree by the side of the road.

After the carriage with the girls passed, he stepped out and continued on his way home.

The street was eerily quiet, with only the chirping of nightingales in the background.

At this hour, no one dared to go out. Every household was locked up for fear of encountering the night patrol.

Xu Lian quickened his pace.

When he reached his doorstep, he was just about to knock when he heard raised voices from inside.

Wang Cuiyun’s angry shouts came through the door. “This is the way of the world. When a man is gone, you have to bring in a strong man to take care of the family. You don’t want to, but you have to. You won’t be allowed to throw a tantrum – if necessary, I’ll tie you to the bed and get it done!”

A man’s voice followed, “Xiya, what’s so great about that Xu Lian? A little brat, no strength, barely earns enough to eat. I’ll come and live with your family and make sure you eat well every day.”

Then Li Xiya’s crying could be heard. “Brother Lian will come back. He’s probably delayed by something, but he’ll be back by tomorrow.”

Wang Cuiyun’s sharp voice cut through the air. “Stupid girl! Don’t you use your brain? Even your backside should tell you that! What could delay him at this hour? He’s dead, just like your useless father. He must have been killed on his way back from the mine, robbed of his grain. Useless!”

Xu Lian’s blood boiled as he heard this. Just because he was coming back a little late, Wang Cuiyun was already bringing in another strong man to take his place. It looked like if Li Xiya didn’t comply, they were going to force her!

Bang!

Xu Lian kicked open the door, his face dark with anger, and stormed in.

He saw Li Xiya sitting on the ground, crying, while Wang Cuiyun clung to her from behind, trying to tie her up with a rope.

A strong man was sitting at the wooden table with a sack of grain on the table, probably a “welcome gift” for entering the household.

The sudden sound of the door opening startled both Wang Cuiyun and the strong man.

Seeing Xu Lian, Li Xiya struggled free from Wang Cuiyun’s grip, got up from the ground, and threw herself into Xu Lian’s arms, crying uncontrollably.

“I’m back, it’s okay, it’s okay,” Xu Lian’s voice was surprisingly calm as he comforted her while untangling the ropes from around her.

Wang Cuiyun stood frozen with her mouth agape, not knowing what to say. Her face turned awkward.

The strong man furrowed his brow, staring at Xu Lian. His gaze flickered for a moment before becoming sharper.