12: A punch splits blood and flesh

Spring rain is as precious as oil:

Under the anticipation of the farmers, heavy rain fell late at night.

Wearing a hemp cloak to cover his face, Chu Qing stepped barefoot on the bluestone path.

Chu Qing, like a large Mantis, moved and leaped, quietly arriving at Liu Jun's house.

Liu Jun was wealthy and had a courtyard.

Using the sound of the wind and rain as cover, Chu Qing quietly entered the courtyard, closed the main door, and latched the wooden bolt.

In the main house, the lights were bright, and the rough voices of men could be faintly heard.

Chu Qing moved and leaped, quietly landing on the rooftop.

He carefully lifted a tile, and the voices below became clear:

"That damned Young Master He Qi, he actually extorted three thousand silver from Big Brother."

"Is there no law anymore?"

"Big Brother, you've Cultivated more than ten Iron Tendons, your strength is great, and your fists and feet are powerful, why not just kill that Young Master Qi?"

Liu Jun growled:

"That Young Master Qi has Cultivated at least over a hundred Iron Tendons and knows five or six types of martial arts."

"He's even more formidable than the Deputy Hall Master."

"You want to kill him? He could crush us with a single finger."

The Crowd fell silent.

Liu Jun sighed, saying, "The silver isn't a problem, I've already handled it."

"Now, I'm giving you a task."

"Big Brother, tell us."

Liu Jun took a big gulp of wine and said ferociously, "You will take turns staking out Chu Qing."

The younger brothers pondered.

These past few days, when Liu Jun sent them to investigate the death of He Xiaogou, they learned that He Xiaogou began to flee in panic from Chu Qing's doorstep and ultimately died tragically in a secluded alley.

They suspected that Liu Xiaogou had discovered some of Chu Qing's secrets and was ultimately killed.

"Big Brother, don't worry, we will keep a close eye on him and dig out his secrets."

Liu Jun said with satisfaction, "Chu Qing has a secret, otherwise, he wouldn't have pursued He Xiaogou."

"Moreover, I also suspect that Liu Hai was killed by him."

The younger brothers said angrily, "Big Brother, suspicion is enough, let's just kill him directly."

Liu Jun sighed to the sky, "It's not easy, he's currently with Madam Jin…"

Huh, why is there an eye on the roof?

Where are my tiles? Those are top-grade green tiles, very expensive.

Drip.

Rainwater dripped, coincidentally falling into a wine cup.

Liu Jun looked at the rippling wine, then looked up at the roof.

The eyeball was gone, and the tile was also gone.

Rainwater dripped.

The younger brothers also looked up: "Big Brother, it's leaking."

Liu Jun's face changed drastically, and he growled, "Be careful, there's an enemy."

Boom!

The door exploded, wind and rain swept in, and the candlelight flickered.

A figure, like a large Mantis, rushed in, moving and shifting.

Crack!

Crack!

Fingers joined together like a blade, striking two younger brothers.

In an instant, Flesh splattered, facial bones cracked open, and brain matter flowed.

[You killed an enemy]

[You killed an enemy]

Liu Jun's hair stood on end, he growled, casually picked up a chair, and threw it.

Crack!

The hand-blade turned into a fist, shattering the chair, and amid flying wood splinters, the figure rushed to Liu Jun.

Roar!

The figure raised both hands, crossed them, like two long blades, slashing fiercely.

The burly Liu Jun, in a daze, felt as if he was facing a giant Mantis.

"Perfection Mantis Fist… who wants to kill me?"

"I don't want to die."

"Kill!"

Liu Jun growled, one leg, like a large snake, rose into the air, striking the figure.

Crack!

Hand-blades crossed, the Flesh of the thigh split open, the main tendon snapped, and the white bone fractured.

Liu Jun screamed, collapsing to the ground.

The next second, a fist fell, directly hitting his forehead.

Bang!

The fist power was like a blade, splitting open his forehead and exploding his brain matter.

Liu Jun… died.

The remaining younger brothers wailed, some collapsed on the ground, some fled in panic.

The figure rushed out, killing the fleeing ones.

One… three… the last one. He cried as he pulled open the wooden bolt, and the main door opened.

He smiled.

He had escaped.

But, the next second, a fist descended from the sky.

Crack!

His head split open, his brain matter shattered.

Thud!

The corpse fell to the ground.

The figure dragged the corpse back, closed the door, and latched the wooden bolt.

Then, he returned inside and resumed the slaughter.

In the side room, a woman, peeking through the door crack, saw the flickering candlelight in the main house, and a shadow like a Mantis, moving and shifting.

Screams rang out, but quickly died down.

The woman covered her mouth, trembling all over.

She didn't dare to leave the room until dawn… three thousand taels of silver.

A Red Snake Leg Cultivation Technique.

A Red Snake Secret medicine.

SomeSmall change and copper coins.

Killing requires searching the body.

These were Chu Qing's gains from killing his enemies.

After taking care of Liu Jun, Chu Qing felt refreshed.

"But… Liu Jun is Hall Master Liu of the Head Chopping Hall's nephew."

"Hall Master Liu will investigate sooner or later."

"This Hall Master Liu… is also a trouble."

"I just don't know how many Iron Tendons he has Cultivated, or what his methods are."

After some thought, Chu Qing hid the silver, then looked through the Secret Manual.

One minute later:

[Cultivation Technique: Red Snake Leg, Not yet initiated — Ten practices daily, initiated in ten days.]

[Promotion Condition — 1: One hundred left and right leg presses.]

The conditions were simple, Chu Qing couldn't wait to start.

He had Cultivated nine Iron Tendons in each leg, and with this leg technique, he would have an additional attack method, so he had to Cultivate it.

One… ten… one hundred… switched legs, continued.

A few minutes later:

[Cultivation Technique: Red Snake Leg, Initiated — Fifty practices daily, proficient in one hundred days.]

[Promotion Condition — 1: One thousand left and right leg presses.]

Simple, continue… Morning:

Liu Jun's neighbors, disliking that Liu Jun was a gang member, directly reported it to the yamen.

The yamen officials arrived and, seeing bodies everywhere, their expressions changed slightly.

They dragged the woman out of the side room, and she wailed, "I won't report it to the authorities, I'll handle it myself."

Slap! Slap! Slap!

An yamen runner slapped her several times, front and back, knocking out her molars.

"So many people died, how will you handle it?"

"Men, move all the items to the yamen as evidence."

The yamen runners swarmed in like locusts, moving tables, carrying rice and flour, and even stripping the silk clothes off the woman and taking her gold and silver hair ornaments.

The woman cried bitterly and was also shackled, kneeling to the side.

After a long while, a Constable and a coroner arrived.

The coroner examined the bodies, and the Constable reprimanded the woman, "Honestly confess, why did you kill so many people?"

The woman said in horror:

"I didn't kill them."

"It was a Masked Man in a hemp cloak who killed them."

She spoke incoherently, recounting everything she had seen.

As a result, the Constable sneered and still detained her as the murderer.

Not long after, the Constable and the coroner went to see the Chief Constable.

The Chief Constable's surname was Shi, from a prominent family in Shiji County, a graduate of the martial arts academy, and it was said that he had become an Outer Sect Disciple of the largest Sect within a thousand li: the Bingjia Sect, and was very powerful.

By a stroke of Opportunity, he married a woman from a powerful family within the Bingjia Sect's inner circle.

His backing was very strong.

"Sir, the culprit first eavesdropped from the rooftop, then entered through the main door and began killing."

"The deceased, Liu Jun, Cultivated Red Snake Leg and had developed over ten Iron Tendons."

"But, with just one move, his leg was split open by the assailant, and then his forehead was split open."

The Constable fully recreated Chu Qing's process of killing the enemies.

Finally, he cupped his fists and remained silent.

The Chief Constable looked at the coroner.

The coroner cupped his fists and said, "Sir, all the wounds were caused by fists and hand-blades."

The Constable beside him was astonished.

He had seen the wounds; they were clearly slashes from a long blade.

How could a person's fists and hand-blades split open Flesh and bones?

Chief Constable Shi frowned.

"In Shiji County, there are three martial arts that can create blade-like marks with fists and hand-blades: Mantis Fist, Iron Hand, and Iron Thread Fist."

"And, at the very least, they must be Cultivated to the Major Achievement level."

"Investigate those who Cultivate these three martial arts."

The Constable cupped his fists and accepted the order.

Chief Constable Shi then said, "Liu Jun… isn't he from the Blood River Gang?"

"Sir is wise!"

"Have the Blood River Gang send one hundred taels of silver to the brothers for investigation expenses."

"Thank you, Sir."

"Hmm… tell them that to find the true culprit, it will cost at least one thousand taels."

"Yes, Sir!"