11: Chapter 11 Sending Lianqiao and Yangshan on their way

Bringing Da Niu and Er Niu along, Chen Hu arrived at the courtyard where those children were settled.

Compared to yesterday, the thirty-nine children were much more spirited; after all, they had eaten their fill and were dressed in new clothes.

"Big Brother is here!"

"Greetings, Big Brother!"

"Hello, Big Brother!"

...

Seeing Chen Hu arrive, the group of brats excitedly ran forward to greet their Big Brother.

Chen Hu took out the rock candy he had bought on the way and distributed it to the little ones.

For a moment, each little one beamed with joy, and they grew even fonder of their Big Brother, Chen Hu.

"Boss, why are you adopting so many children?" Da Niu asked with some confusion.

"Just consider it me accumulating virtue and doing good deeds!" Chen Hu replied with a smile. "By the way, if you encounter orphans who have lost their parents in the future, you can also send them here!"

"Boss, you really are a good person!" Er Niu said with an expression of admiration.

Suddenly, Chen Hu's face darkened, and he slapped the back of Er Niu's head. "You're the good person! Your whole family is good people!"

Because in his past life, the term "good person" was no longer used to praise someone, but rather to insult them.

Er Niu looked at Da Niu, feeling somewhat confused and aggrieved, as if asking, Did I say something wrong?

Da Niu also didn't know why Chen Hu was so sensitive to the term "good person," so he could only pretend not to see Er Niu's questioning gaze.

After seeing the children, Chen Hu did not linger long. He left with them.

"Boss, that guy Yang Shan hasn't appeared at the stronghold for the past two days. He's likely expressing his dissatisfaction with you being promoted to Major Head!" Da Niu said in a low voice.

"It doesn't matter!" Chen Hu said dismissively. "Let him be. His presence doesn't add much, and his absence doesn't take away much. Instead, you two should focus more on your Cultivation!"

"Don't worry, Boss. Er Niu and I are both working hard to Cultivate at night!"

"That's good!" Chen Hu nodded. Returning to the public room at the stronghold, Chen Hu focused his mind on the fourth level of the "Longevity Technique." He had already Cultivated the third level to Perfection. As long as he mastered the fourth level, he could step into the Flesh Refining Realm.

In the blink of an eye, it was evening. After familiarizing himself for the better part of the day, Chen Hu had figured out the method to Cultivate the fourth level of the "Longevity Technique."

Arriving at the home of Widow Wang, he ate dinner. Chen Hu then went directly into another room. He sat cross-legged and began to Cultivate.

Under his control, the Longevity Qi energy acted like a sapper, constantly clearing out each blocked Meridian.

It was unclear if it was because the Longevity Qi energy was too overbearing, but the process of clearing the Meridians was extremely smooth. In a mere two hours, the Meridians for the fourth level were completely cleared.

"That's it for today, time to sleep!" The process of clearing the Meridians was very draining, so Chen Hu was extremely exhausted at this moment.

He went to the other room, climbed into bed, pulled the soft and fragrant body of Widow Wang into his arms, and slowly closed his eyes.

Before the Chen hour, Chen Hu had already awakened. Last night's fatigue had dissipated, and he felt exceptionally energetic instead.

Getting up and going to the other room, he began to mobilize the Qi energy within his body, circulating it along the path required for the fourth level of the "Longevity Technique." After one cycle of circulation, the Qi energy returned to his Dantian.

The original Qi energy had already undergone a transformation, becoming even more refined. "Halfway there!"

Chen Hu was secretly delighted and then mobilized the Qi energy to temper his muscles. Every time the Qi energy reached a spot, a portion of it would be consumed. The lost portion was absorbed by the muscles, and Chen Hu could clearly sense his muscles becoming more filled out.

After tempering the muscles once, the Qi energy was reduced by ninety percent, but the effect was excellent. Chen Hu could feel that his strength had increased significantly once more, by at least three thousand catties.

He took out a piece of exotic beast meat and consumed it. Soon, the consumed Qi energy was replenished. Chen Hu then continued to mobilize the Qi energy to temper his muscles.

The second tempering was completed. Chen Hu's strength increased by another three thousand catties. Consequently, after eating another piece of exotic beast meat to replenish his Qi energy, he continued to temper.

When he completed the fourth muscle tempering, his strength stopped increasing. It reached a terrifying 22,000 catties. This was almost twice the strength of the Refining Flesh Mid-Stage.

"Tonight, I will send this father-in-law and son-in-law pair, Vice Hall Master Lian Qiao and Yang Shan, on their way!"

He walked out of the room. While eating the breakfast Widow Wang had left for him, Chen Hu collected today's rewards. He received 10 taels of silver, one qi and blood pill, and 10 catties of cooked mutton.

Chen Hu walked towards the stronghold at a leisurely pace. The day passed, safe and sound. In the dead of night, Chen Hu, having applied a disguise and wearing night-walking clothes, sped towards the Lian residence.

Yang Shan appeared to have married the daughter of Vice Hall Master Lian Qiao, but in fact, it was equivalent to a matrilocal marriage. Therefore, after the marriage, Yang Shan and his wife lived at the Lian residence.

Vice Hall Master Lian Qiao had been a Vice Hall Master for many years, so the scale of their mansion was quite significant. This mansion must be worth at least five or six thousand taels of silver.

After approaching the Lian residence, Chen Hu used the invisibility card. Suddenly, a light shield enveloped him. He seemed to have vanished into thin air.

He tested it and found that his dagger could extend outside the light shield to attack. Soon, Chen Hu vaulted over the wall and entered the Lian residence.

After some scouting, Chen Hu locked onto the East Courtyard. Yang Shan and his wife lived in the East Courtyard.

Upon entering the East Courtyard, Chen Hu discovered that the study was still lit. After approaching, he could hear movement coming from inside the study.

"This Yang Shan is quite diligent, still Cultivating his Martial Skill at this hour!"

Consequently, Chen Hu pushed the door open and entered. "Who is it?"

Seeing the door open, Yang Shan immediately stopped his martial arts practice, but seeing the empty doorway, he couldn't help but feel a jolt of alarm.

"Pfft!" Suddenly, a gruesome wound appeared on Yang Shan's neck, and blood was spurting out.

Yang Shan instinctively covered his wound, his eyes wide open, his gaze filled with unwillingness and terror.

A few seconds later, the life force on Yang Shan's body was completely exhausted, and he collapsed onto the floor.

Killing someone requires looting the corpse. Chen Hu searched Yang Shan's body. He found over 20 taels of silver and 350 taels in silver notes.

After thinking for a moment, he searched the study as well. He found three large silver notes worth one thousand taels each, hidden between the pages of three books.

Chen Hu knew that given Yang Shan's status as a minor head, he shouldn't have so many silver notes; it was likely obtained through his collusion with the Venomous Snake Gang to traffic people.

The Venomous Snake Gang primarily operated brothels and whorehouses. Yang Shan would abduct beautiful women from outside and sell them to the Venomous Snake Gang.

Putting away the silver notes, Chen Hu exited the study and kindly closed the door. Then, he headed towards the main courtyard.

After finding the room of Vice Hall Master Lian Qiao, he tried pushing the door. The door was latched. Trying to lift the door bolt would definitely alert Vice Hall Master Lian Qiao.

With a thought, an idea occurred to Chen Hu. He sped away, set a few fires in the front courtyard, and then quickly returned to the door of Vice Hall Master Lian Qiao.

Sure enough, before long, shrill shouts came from the front courtyard: "Fire! Hurry and put out the fire!"

Following that, a middle-aged man dressed as a steward ran to the door of Vice Hall Master Lian Qiao, knocked, and shouted: "Master, it's bad! There is a fire in the front courtyard!"

"I know!" The voice of Vice Hall Master Lian Qiao came from inside the room, followed by the rustling sound of putting on clothes.

After twenty or so breaths, Vice Hall Master Lian Qiao opened the door and walked out, asking in a low voice: "What is going on? Why did a fire start?"

At this moment, the invisible Chen Hu arrived behind Vice Hall Master Lian Qiao. Then, he threw a punch with all his might.

The massive force of over twenty thousand catties poured onto Vice Hall Master Lian Qiao, and he was sent flying on the spot. While in mid-air, he was already spraying blood continuously. After landing on the ground, he didn't have much breath left.

Chen Hu leaped to his side and kicked him once more. The body of Vice Hall Master Lian Qiao flew up again, and after crashing to the ground, he was completely silent.

"Master!" The steward shouted in terror, while unable to help but look around in fear. However, he discovered nothing. For a moment, his heart was filled with even more terror.

Immediately following, a sharp sound erupted from his throat: "It's bad! The Master has been killed by an evil ghost."

Chen Hu ignored the steward and instead entered the room of Vice Hall Master Lian Qiao while still invisible to search. He discovered a mechanism box on the wall.

After opening it, he discovered that besides a stack of silver notes, there were over two hundred taels of gold ingots, as well as two Cultivation Technique Secret Manuals.

After putting everything into his Storage Ring, he didn't bother searching the rest of the room for anything else that might be hidden. Because the time for his invisibility was already less than five minutes.

After leaving the Lian residence, Chen Hu sped all the way back. Returning home, he took off his night-walking clothes, removed his disguise, and began to tally his gains.

The silver notes obtained from the room of Vice Hall Master Lian Qiao totaled over eighteen thousand taels. There was also 280 taels of gold that had been minted into gold ingots.

In other words, he had obtained twenty-one thousand taels of silver from Vice Hall Master Lian Qiao, and combined with the three thousand plus from Yang Shan's side, the gains for tonight were already nearly twenty-five thousand taels.

"You father-in-law and son-in-law are truly good people!" Chen Hu sighed with a smile.

But not long after, a knock came at the door. It was the lackey on night duty at the stronghold. Regarding this, Chen Hu was not surprised; Vice Hall Master Lian Qiao had been killed, and the Fierce Tiger Gang, upon receiving the news, would definitely go to investigate the murderer.