Translator: Lordbluefire
On the training stage in the public square of the lone island…
Although it was drizzling and everyone’s clothes were wet, the weather still couldn’t dampen everyone’s passion.
Everyone living on the island had come.
“I heard that this fellow is a godly thief?”
“Oh right, he stole many good things before, but in the end, he ended up in the hands of the people from the Dragon Subduing Academy, and his legs got broken.”
“In that case, how is he still jumping around energetically?”
The shock felt by ordinary people was far from being as strong as the shock felt by the prison guards. One must know that when these prison guards went patrolling, they would see Yu Lin frequently.
Yu Lin would often use some small benefits to tempt the guards to make things easy for him such as bringing him some food, a change of bedding, getting a few novels, etc. In fact, some prison guards even dared to bring him out of his cell to enjoy some breeze.
This was because Yu Lin’s legs were broken, making it impossible for him to flee. So, now when the guards saw that he had completely recovered and was fighting against Sun Mo, all of them were stunned.
“I already felt that Sun Mo’s God Hands are very impressive. But only now did I realize that I’ve still underestimated him.”
Ji Han was convinced now.
No wonder the Qi Emperor wanted to become sworn brothers with Sun Mo. They themselves also wanted to do this. With Sun Mo protecting you, you would surely be able to die naturally from old age and enjoy a healthy body akin to youngsters.
Bang!
Yu Lin was blasted backward by the wooden blade, but he didn’t feel annoyed at all. On the contrary, he laughed uproariously as he climbed to his feet and lunged toward Sun Mo again.
“Satisfying! So satisfying!”
Yu Lin was so happy that he felt he could fly. “Come again!”
Numerous golden pages popped out of his head unceasingly, faster than Mario could hit coins. All of them then floated in the air.
This time around, Sun Mo had profited greatly.
This fellow, Yu Lin, not only had very high-level thieving skills, but he even knew Feng Shui and geomancy. He was a peak-level tomb raider and had raided the tombs of many true experts before.
After a while, the combat ended. The guards then came over to put leg-irons on Yu Lin and escort him back to the prison.
“Teacher Sun, your blade art is truly gorgeous!”
Yu Lin scratched his pants. His hand was itchy now, feeling like stealing it.
“Someone like you could actually become a great teacher?”
Sun Mo was very curious.
“My father was a teacher at a private school. Every time I saw those children visiting him with gifts every holiday season and respecting him from the bottom of their hearts, I would feel envious. I thirsted that there would come a day where I could become someone like my father.”
Yu Lin sighed ruefully. “I worked very hard. During my schooling time, I slept the latest and woke up the earliest. I was even reading while eating. However, I was still crushed by geniuses during exams.
“In the end, I gradually understood that no matter how hard I work, it’s impossible for me to catch up to those rich descendants who have an abundance of resources.”
Sun Mo’s lips twitched. “So, you became a thief?”
“The improvement brought along by peak-level cultivation arts is simply too great. The effort I had put into cultivation couldn’t match up to others who had only cultivated for three days. During that period, I felt that life has lost all its meaning because in this life of mine, my ending point was merely the starting point of others.”
Yu Lin bitterly smiled. “I’m unwilling to accept this. So, I started to think of ways to pilfer their cultivation arts.”
“Yu Lin, your life hasn’t ended yet, how would you know that your ending point is the starting point of others?”
Sun Mo looked at Yu Lin. “Do you look down on yourself that much?”
“Mn?”
Yu Lin was dumbfounded. Every time he spoke of this topic to others, they would either show sympathy or feel contempt for him because he wanted to take shortcuts. No one had said something like this before.
“Indeed, those who could build an impressive foundation up from nothing are very few in number. But they are not non-existent.”
In the modern era, Sun Mo had precisely met someone like this. His friend was from a farming background, yet he could establish his own business empire from zero. Although none of their rich friends was willing to address him as ‘Elder Brother Dong’ due to their sense of superiority, no one could deny that he was a genius.
“You denied yourself way too early.”
Sun Mo sighed. “I’ve seen many kids with bad backgrounds before, but they still didn’t choose to give up. Yu Lin, it’s fine to occasionally grumble to yourself and complain, but I hope to see you put in more effort and continue running after you are done grumbling.
“So what if others are born with powerful and prestigious backgrounds? Wouldn’t you feel a greater sense of accomplishment if you surpassed them with your ordinary background?”
Bzz~
Priceless Advice was activated.
A golden light illuminated the prison and lit up Yu Lin’s heart.
“You will only lose once you stop working hard!”
Sun Mo closed the cell door. “But as long as you continue walking on the path, you will have the possibility to win.”
Yu Lin started.
“I think that your father is probably the most disappointed person to see you turn out like this. Even in the underworld, he might not be able to rest in peace.”
Sun Mo left.
Yu Lin sat limply on the ground. He suddenly felt that he had been walking down the wrong path his entire life.
How good would it be if he had met Sun Mo back then during the first time he stole something.
…
There was truly plenty of stuff in Yu Lin’s mind. The golden pages Sun Mo ‘beat out’ were 15 times more compared to Liu Xiurong’s, and they weren’t complete yet.
However, he had to stop sparring because he had to go and look for Hu Xingjiang.
“Let’s go!”
Hu Xingjiang didn’t waste words. He led Sun Mo directly to the seventh underground level.
Half an hour later, the two of them stood before a cell.
Hu Xingjiang opened the door and entered.
“Hu-laoshi!”
Sun Mo called out because he smelt a thick stench of death qi here. It would surely influence one’s mind.
“Surely you would be able to resolve this tiny problem given your capabilities, right?”
Hu Xingjiang’s voice was unflustered.
Sun Mo had no solution and could only follow him in.
The room wasn’t big. Other than a single bed, there was nothing else. Hence, it seemed very spacious.
An old man covered with a white blanket was lying down on the bed. His hair was sparse and as messy as chicken fur. Dirt stains covered his face and his eye sockets were completely empty. Evidently, his eyeballs had been dug out by others long ago.
His ears had been sliced off, and even his mouth and cheeks had been slashed open cruelly.
“Hu-laoshi, this is…”
Sun Mo frowned severely and found this somewhat disgusting. Although this prisoner was covered by a blanket, Sun Mo could tell that under the blanket, this prisoner’s body was badly damaged.
Most probably, other than his body, he only had half a left hand remaining.
Swish~
Hu Xingjiang took the blanket off.
Sun Mo immediately shifted his gaze over.
“Damn!”
This person was truly in an extremely dire state. In ancient times of his world, during the Han Dynasty, it was said that Emperor Lu had once invented a torture named ‘human swine’. This person probably had a very similar fate with those who suffered the ‘human swine’ torture.
“Didn’t you say that your God’s Hand can regenerate flesh and blood?”
Sorrow appeared in Hu Xingjiang’s eyes. “Can you cure this?”
“This prisoner basically has no thoughts of wanting to live. He is just waiting for death!”
Sun Mo wanted to leave here. As someone who didn’t dare to watch horror films, he couldn’t take such a scene.
“You can go out first!”
Hu Xingjiang covered the prisoner with a blanket before walking out. “Don’t misunderstand. His injuries are due to his atonement for his crime.”
Sun Mo didn’t reply. He waited for Hu Xingjiang to continue.
“He was a person of good moral standing and reputation and had a very lofty and glorious status in the great teacher world. But one day, the few disciples he admired the most rebelled. While he was traveling far away to teach, they pillaged and plundered his properties, killing his entire clan. They even murdered the youngest daughter he doted upon the most.
Hu Xingjiang sighed.
“…”
Sun Mo covered his ears. Wasn’t this a little too miserable?
