32: Chapter 32 Practicing Stance Training

Guo Zhengning listened to the Inspector's words and fell into a slight contemplation.

Then he smiled and said, "From what you've said, I've long heard that the Tiger Gang commits all sorts of evil and wanders around harming the people. Since I've encountered them today, there's no reason for me to just stand by and watch."

Hearing this, Li Kun was overjoyed and cupped his hands in thanks: "Thank you, Brother Guo! Your great kindness is something I, Li, will never forget!"

Guo Zhengning nodded, his gaze finally landing on Ye Xuan: "Where exactly in Liu Village is the place where that thief is fighting with Constable Duan? What is the situation now?"

Ye Xuan replied, "Lord Duan and that thief are in the Qinling Mountains of Liu Village. Last night it was too dark, and this commoner couldn't distinguish the directions. I only know that Lord Duan was in a fierce battle with the thief. Now that a night has passed, I fear the situation is extremely critical!"

"There's no time to lose! Let's set out immediately!" Guo Zhengning no longer hesitated. He turned and walked out the door, his steps steady and swift.

As he walked, he said to Li Kun, "Inspector Li, immediately gather the men in your Yamen who can still move, and then rush to Liu Village to provide support and handle the aftermath."

Guo Zhengning intended to go up the mountain alone to deal with the thief.

From Ye Xuan's words, he learned that the thief could fight back and forth with Duan Peng, so his strength was likely no more than that of a Third-Stage Martial Artist, which wouldn't be difficult to handle.

He was confident that he could take down the thief by himself.

Li Kun quickly responded, "Good! Good! I'll go right away!"

To speed up the rescue, Guo Zhengning called for his carriage. Several men squeezed into the carriage and rushed toward Liu Village together.

On the carriage, Guo Zhengning saw the two men before him; they were tall and broad-shouldered with powerful arms, much stronger than ordinary farmers. If they were a few years younger, they would have been good candidates for practicing martial arts.

Guo Zhengning thought to himself, "What a pity."

Martial arts practice values childhood training most. These two looked to be in their twenties, and their bones and muscles were already set. Even if they had brute force, it would be difficult for them to Cultivate Blood Qi; at most, they would just be strengthening their bodies.

The carriage bumped along and soon arrived at Liu Village.

Many villagers had gathered in Liu Village, all waiting expectantly. Seeing the carriage arrive, they thought some important person had come and held their breath, not daring to move.

After Guo Zhengning got off the carriage, his tall stature combined with the silk robes that only the wealthy could afford made the villagers think a high-ranking official had arrived.

"Little brother, lead the way!" Guo Zhengning said, getting straight to the point.

Ye Xuan nodded and walked ahead to lead the way.

In Duantou Ao, the mist was thick.

Under Ye Xuan's guidance, Guo Zhengning saw that the Qinling Mountains were very treacherous, with jagged rocks everywhere.

After walking for about six hours, Guo Zhengning raised his hand to signal Ye Xuan and Ye Yi to stop.

"There is a thick scent of blood ahead. Don't follow me!"

After saying that, Guo Zhengning held his steel saber and vanished into the forest.

Ye Yi nervously wanted to follow, but was stopped by Ye Xuan and waited to the side.

As a Martial Artist, Guo Zhengning's senses were naturally sharper than those of ordinary people. He easily smelled the scent of blood not far away.

Reaching the source of the scent, Guo Zhengning's eyes widened. He saw the place covered in dried bloodstains, with flies buzzing around; the smell of rot was already detectable.

But there were only bloodstains and some torn clothing here, without a single person in sight.

Guo Zhengning followed the traces of torn clothes on the ground and found signs of the Constables and Bailiffs. He frowned deeply: "Where are the people?"

"Cough, cough, cough..." Just as Guo Zhengning was wondering, an old man's cough suddenly came from the bushes not far away.

Guo Zhengning gripped his large saber and shouted, "Who is it?!"

To the side, Ye Yi called out with surprise and urgency, "Is that Father?!"

A dog's bark came from the bushes nearby, and a large black dog came running out growling. From the bushes, a white-haired old man appeared; his eyes were half-closed in pain, and his clothes were in tatters.

Ye Yi was so anxious he was about to cry: "Father! What happened to you!"

Ye Jing looked up weakly and saw the large man who had appeared in the mountains, then quickly said in fear, "Is that Yier?"

"It's me! Father, are you alright? We've brought a Martial Artist to save you!" Ye Yi reached out to support Ye Jing.

Ye Jing stood up tremblingly with his son's help. His face was pale, and he seemed to have been greatly frightened.

Seeing this, Guo Zhengning stepped forward to ask, "Old man, are you Ye Jing?"

"Yes, milord," Ye Jing nodded.

Guo Zhengning immediately asked, "Old man, where are the officials who followed you up the mountain?"

As soon as these words were spoken, a look of pain appeared on Ye Jing's face, and he said with fear and dread, "They... they encountered a wild beast..."

"What?!"

Guo Zhengning was shocked. He stared at Ye Jing: "Old man, is what you say true?"

Ye Jing nodded, trembling with fear: "Sir, you don't know. At that time, Lord Guo was leading a group of people to fight the thief when suddenly a variegated white tiger pounced out from the forest. It bit off the thief's head on the spot! I was so scared that I hid in the woods and fainted! As for what happened to them... I don't know!"

Guo Zhengning looked at the dried blood on the grass and the few pieces of shredded meat. These mountains were so treacherous that encountering a wild beast was indeed possible.

Thinking of this, and seeing the old man looking so traumatized, Guo Zhengning felt a bit of a headache.

This situation where there were no living people and no corpses made things difficult for him.

He had expected a fierce battle, but now it seemed he had come for nothing.

So he waved his hand and said, "Alright, let's go down the mountain first. Later, we'll have the government people come to help search!"

After a trip to the mountain, they returned empty-handed.

The officials brought Bailiffs to search Duantou Ao for a long time. It wasn't until they reached the hollow of the mountain that they found the corpses of Duan Peng and the others, which had been eaten beyond recognition, as well as the corpse of an unfamiliar sturdy man.

According to the wanted posters issued by the government, this sturdy man was the thief the Yamen had been hunting for a long time.

Now that the thief had been brought to justice, Li Kun simply nodded upon hearing the news. He gave some money to the families of the deceased Bailiffs for their settlement and then hurriedly took the thief's corpse to the County Magistrate to claim credit.

As for the matter of the large tiger injuring people in the Qinling Mountains, they simply posted a notice and let it be.

At home, Ye Jing breathed a sigh of relief after hearing how the County Yamen handled the thief and the officials.

It seemed that no one suspected him of the thief's death.

Ye Jing told his family about his plan. Upon learning that he and Ye Xuan had killed the thief, the whole family was extremely surprised.

They hadn't expected that after only a few months, Ye Jing would have such strength.

Ye Jing didn't hide anything and brought out the Body Forging Method and Black Whirlwind Axe Technique he had obtained from the thief, letting the family try to Cultivate Blood Qi according to the Body Forging Method.

As for the Black Whirlwind Axe Technique, they would wait until they had cultivated Blood Qi and advanced to become a Third-Stage Martial Artist before trying it.

At this time, Ye Jing was trying to practice that Body Forging Method at home, striving to refine some Blood Qi.

Ye Jing steadied his breath, performing the Stake Technique and clenching his fists until his veins bulged, then relaxing, then tightening again, repeating the cycle. The goal was to let the dissipated Blood Qi slowly flow into the torso, tempering every part of his body.

This was the essence of the Body Forging Method: through countless tempering, the physical body could be strengthened and made more resilient, slowly increasing Blood Qi through breathing.

After exercising for more than an hour, Ye Jing was exhausted. He exhaled and finished his work, suddenly feeling refreshed all over.

His strength seemed to have increased quite a bit.

"Father! It's time to eat!" At this time, Wu Guiyun knocked on the door and called out.

Ye Jing opened the door and saw that Wu Guiyun's face was also damp; this was a trace of her having just finished practicing the Stake Technique.

Now the whole family, including the five-year-olds Ye Tianyao and Ye Tianhao, were practicing the Stake Technique. Not only did the family's complexion improve, but they also looked more energetic.

Only a month had passed, and the two sons' bodies were incredibly robust.

Especially the second son, Ye Yi; he seemed to be a natural-born martial arts prodigy. Under days of hard practice, his Blood Qi surged, progressing much faster than an ordinary person, and he was about to achieve a Breakthrough to become a Martial Artist.

The two daughters-in-law, Wu Guiyun and Liu Xianglan, placed a large bowl of braised pork on the table. Accompanied by the glowing golden spirit rice, the aroma was mouth-watering and greatly increased one's appetite.