After remembering the location, Luo Jiang turned and left. Walking two blocks further, he saw a squad of Japanese soldiers escorting four middle-aged men whose hands were bound tightly behind their backs. The clothes of these men were stained with blood, and they limped as they walked, clearly having been wounded.
People on the street, seeing the Japanese soldiers dragging the prisoners along, quickly scrambled away to hide, fearing they might be implicated.
Seeing the prisoners, Luo Jiang surmised they were likely underground operatives working in the city. Since he had encountered them, he decided to save them. He pretended to be frightened and hurried to the side of the road. As the squad of soldiers passed by him, he raised his hand and unleashed several Wind Blades.
"Swish! Swish..." The sound of Wind Blades slicing through flesh rang out. The squad of Japanese soldiers was instantly decapitated by the invisible blades. Luo Jiang ripped the ropes off the men, turned, leaped onto the rooftop, and vanished after a few quick movements.
Once their bonds were severed, the four middle-aged men finally came to their senses. They immediately realized they had been saved by a righteous expert. Unfortunately, they had not seen their savior's face and would never know how to repay him. The four men picked up the weapons dropped by the soldiers and vanished into a nearby alley.
By now, chaos had broken out on the street. The townspeople scattered in all directions. With soldiers killed in broad daylight, there was no doubt the city would be thoroughly searched; no one dared stay to wait for death.
While running, Luo Jiang used his Divine Sense to scout ahead. He soon located a shop owned by the Japanese. Casting an Invisibility Technique, he entered the bedroom at the back of the shop and hid inside the wardrobe.
Hardly had he hidden when he heard the voices of a woman and a child. They soon walked into the living room adjoining the bedroom. From their language, it was clear they were a Japanese woman and child; it sounded like she was tutoring the child.
Half an hour later, screams and gunfire erupted on the street outside. Sweeping the area with his Divine Sense, he saw a squad of Japanese soldiers conducting a door-to-door search.
When they reached this shop, the soldiers exchanged a few words with the proprietor. Then, several soldiers walked into the back room. The woman and child stopped their lesson and hurried to greet them, seemingly to ask if they had seen any strangers.
The woman waved her hands dismissively, saying a few words, implying that she had been teaching her child at home and had seen no one.
The soldiers were very polite to them. Before leaving, they bowed and gave the child a handful of candy. The mother and child bowed in thanks and saw them to the door.
When the two returned, Luo Jiang was already standing in the bedroom. As soon as they entered, he unleashed a Fireball, instantly turning them into ash. With a flick of his hand, he brushed the ashes into the wardrobe.
He felt no psychological burden from killing the Japanese child. Since they dared to come to the Dragon Kingdom, they had to be prepared to be burned to death. He thought of children like Gousheng and Erdan from Liu Village—what had they done to deserve being killed?
Afterward, Luo Jiang took out a spirit stone, sat cross-legged on the small bed, and began to cultivate.
After consuming about six spirit stones, he heard footsteps approaching. Using his Divine Sense, he saw the shopkeeper returning.
"Welcome back to reunite with your family," Luo Jiang said, unleashing another Fireball. The shopkeeper was also reduced to ash.
The front gate of the shop was already closed, and no one saw him inside. In the kitchen, Luo Jiang found two bags of rice, three bags of flour, and over ten pounds of beef and mutton.
In the bedroom, he found several hundred silver dollars, twelve small gold bars, a wristwatch of unknown brand, and some Japanese paper currency.
After looting the place, he went to the storefront. Seeing it was filled with fabrics, he stored them all in his Storage Ring. As long as it belonged to the Japanese, he would leave nothing behind.
He did not leave through the front door but exited over the roof. He leaped into an alley behind the building and spotted a large willow tree with fresh, green buds at the mouth of the alley.
He had not walked far when, while passing a quadrangle courtyard, a stout middle-aged woman rushed out and collapsed in front of him with a thud.
"Oh! You've killed me! Someone help me..." The stout woman wailed, reaching out to grab his leg.
Seeing her move to grab him, Luo Jiang stepped back twice. He realized immediately that she was trying to extort him. Before he could speak, a dozen people—men, women, and children—ran out from the quadrangle courtyard.
"Oh! What happened to Auntie Xu? Let's see if she's hurt! Young man, why don't you watch where you're going? Look what you've done to Auntie Liu. I think you should just pay her five silver dollars and be done with it. No need to go to the clinic; if you go there, you'll just spend more money. You don't know how black-hearted those clinics are, always fleecing us common folk."
A gaunt old man, having emerged from the courtyard, kept up a constant stream of talk. Without allowing any defense, he declared that Luo Jiang was at fault and decided the compensation should be five silver dollars.
"No! Listen to me, I didn't even touch this fat pig. Look at how far away I am from her? Are you blind, you bastard?"
Luo Jiang noticed something off about the gaunt old man. Sweeping him with his Divine Sense, he saw a pistol tucked into the man's waistband. The other dozen people also carried hidden weapons—pistols and daggers tucked behind their backs. Good heavens! This was a bandit den!
Just as he was about to retract his Divine Sense, he noticed the ornate gate of the quadrangle courtyard, which led to a covered walkway. Three of the round pillars supporting the walkway were distinct from the others; inside them were gold columns as thick as an arm.
The gold columns were wrapped in several layers of burlap, encased in thick plaster, and painted over, making them look identical to the other pillars.
He was shocked. How much gold must it take to fill a pillar that thick? And there were three of them! This quadrangle courtyard was certainly not the home of an ordinary person.
"What did you say? Young man, you're not very old, so why is your temper so foul? A good child admits his mistakes instead of making excuses! Hurry up and pay her! Otherwise, I won't be responsible if Auntie Liu insists on going to the clinic."
"Fine, fine, I admit I was wrong. Will three silver dollars do? I don't have any more than that. This is money meant for food; if my father finds out, he'll beat me to death."
As he spoke, Luo Jiang took out three silver dollars, feigning reluctance, and handed them to the woman.
"Hand it over! Watch where you're going in the future; don't walk around with your eyes closed," the woman said, her eyes gleaming with greed as she snatched the coins and scolded him.
"Alright, alright, it's over now. Everyone go back inside! If a crowd gathers here and the Imperial Army sees us, it'll be trouble."
Seeing the woman get the money, the gaunt old man waved the crowd away. Hearing the mention of the "Imperial Army," the people dispersed in fear, returning to their homes. Luo Jiang blended in with the residents of the quadrangle courtyard and followed them inside.
Using his Divine Sense, he scanned the two-tiered courtyard. In the east and west wing rooms, there were several middle-aged men; some were sleeping, others playing chess, and some were practicing martial arts in the back yard. Without exception, they all reeked of blood, suggesting they had all killed people.
"Listen, Widow Liu, you'd better be careful pulling stunts like that. The boss already told us to keep a low profile in the city. What kind of time is this? What if you attract the Japanese? Wait, why did you follow us in? Get out!"
Once inside, the gaunt old man began to lecture the woman, but then noticed Luo Jiang had followed them in. He shouted and reached behind his back, and the others, seeing Luo Jiang, did the same.
"How would I know you were all bandits if I didn't come in? And with so much gold here, it's a pity to just leave it," Luo Jiang said. He raised his hand and unleashed a Fireball, turning everyone to ash except for the gaunt old man.
"Great... Great Immortal, spare... spare my life! Everything... everything here is yours, as long as you spare my life. I... I will get the... the deed for you..."
The gaunt old man had just pulled a pistol from behind his back when he saw a dozen people burned to death. His hand trembled, and the gun fell. Before it even hit the ground, Luo Jiang reached out and grabbed it. Terrified, the old man begged for mercy repeatedly.
"This gun isn't bad! Looks like it hasn't been used much," Luo Jiang said, seeing it was a Browning M1911. He had seen one in the army when he was young. It had been fired only a few times and looked brand new. He waved at the old man to hurry up.
The gaunt old man scurried into the main room, trembling, and returned shortly with a wooden box. After seeing Luo Jiang conjure fire from thin air, he knew he had met a legendary master. He dared not have any other thoughts, only secretly cursing Widow Liu for not choosing her target better.
"Great... Great Immortal, I... I will take you to change the deed and get your residency permit." The old man watched Luo Jiang nervously as he spoke.
"Wait a moment." Luo Jiang vanished in a flash and returned shortly after. Now, every single bandit in the two-tiered courtyard had been reduced to ash, save for the old man.
"Let's go." Luo Jiang patted the gaunt old man on the shoulder, and the two left the courtyard.
The old man was familiar with the personnel at the puppet government office, clearly having handled business there often and likely bribing them well. Otherwise, a group of over thirty bandits could never have stayed in the city.
In no time, Luo Jiang's residency permit was processed, and his name was registered as the owner of the property. When he received the new deed, he finally had an estate to his name.
"Great... Great Immortal, I..." Leaving the puppet government office, the old man looked at Luo Jiang with a glimmer of hope. He wanted to be released so he could leave the city and fly to the mountains, grab his hidden gold, and flee far away.
"Fine. I'll see you out of the city, and then you can go," Luo Jiang had thought about killing everyone at the office if the old man had dared to shout, but the old man had been very sensible. Under the scrutiny of his Divine Sense, the man hadn't revealed a single flaw.
"Many... many thanks, Great Immortal." The old man was a clever man, or he wouldn't have been a bandit strategist. Hearing this, he realized Luo Jiang was simply afraid he would report them to the Japanese and wanted to monitor him leaving. This suited him perfectly; he had no intention of reporting them anyway—he only wanted to retrieve his treasures and spend his final years in peace.