193: A heartbreaking song

A cold wind howled, and snowflakes drifted down from the sky.

Soon, a thin layer of snow covered the ground.

Chu Qing's hair was tied with a golden hoop, and he wore a brocade robe, his figure tall and straight, truly a dashing young man.

He stepped through the wind and snow, heading straight for the Zhou City Martial Academy.

There were few pedestrians on the road.

Occasionally, women holding oil-paper umbrellas hurried past.

When they encountered Chu Qing, they would subconsciously glance at him a few more times, then their Faces would turn red, and they would scurry away.

Some bolder women even stopped him to ask for directions.

Chu Qing smiled, his demeanor graceful, rejecting the women's impulsive admiration.

Soon:

He arrived at the intersection of the Inner City and the Outer City.

There were constables patrolling here.

Seeing Chu Qing's brocade clothes, they initially intended to let him pass.

But, one constable recognized him.

"He is—Chu Qing!"

"Hey, you don't have a pass, you can't enter the Inner City."

The constables blocked Chu Qing's path.

Chu Qing rubbed his temples and smiled, saying:

"How much benefit did the people who made you trouble me give you?"

The constables' expressions turned ugly.

"Friend, I'm sorry, we are just following orders."

"According to the rules, those without a pass are not allowed to enter the Inner City."

"Please don't make things difficult for us!"

A constable gripped the long saber at his waist, staring fiercely at Chu Qing.

Chu Qing sneered:

"Everyone, how much do you earn a month?"

"Ten taels of silver?"

"A hundred taels of silver?"

"A thousand taels of silver?"

The constables remained silent.

Chu Qing poked their chests with his finger, looking down at them, and scolded: "With so little money each month, why are you risking your lives?"

"Do you really think I wouldn't dare to kill someone?"

"Scram!"

The scolding was not loud, but combined with Chu Qing's killing intent and Aura, the constables cowered.

They subconsciously retreated.

Chu Qing smiled.

He reached out, brushed the snow off a constable's shoulder, and smiled: "Just do your job well, and pretend you didn't see me."

After speaking, he even took out a hundred-tael silver note and tucked it into a constable's arms.

The constables exchanged glances and instinctively made way.

Chu Qing stepped into—the Inner City.

The Inner City and Outer City were not separated by a city wall.

The roads in the Inner City were smoother and wider.

There were more and larger pavilions on both sides.

Most of the goods sold in those pavilions were pastries, rouge and powder, jewelry, silk, and the like.

There were also far fewer pedestrians on the street.

Occasionally, servants walked by, purchasing various luxury goods for their masters.

When they saw Chu Qing, they would subconsciously move to the side, not walking shoulder to shoulder with him, and certainly not intentionally blocking his path.

"Madam Shi's residence is in the Inner City."

"After I'm settled at the Martial Academy, I'll go find her."

Chu Qing mused idly.

After passing a few intersections, his hurried steps slowed.

At this moment, the wind and snow grew heavier, and fingernail-sized snowflakes slapped his Face haphazardly, stinging a little.

However, this was not the reason Chu Qing slowed his steps.

The most important reason was:

At the intersection ahead, someone was blocking the way.

The one blocking the way was a blind man.

The blind man was playing an erhu.

He was also accompanied by a donkey.

The donkey's Skin and Hair were pitch black, its eyes bright, and it looked very spirited.

Even more bizarre was:

This donkey was actually drinking wine from a large wine jar.

The erhu played by the blind man was very sorrowful, similar to the 'Erquan Yingyue' Chu Qing had heard in his previous life.

Thump!

Thump!

Thump!

Chu Qing stopped about five meters from the blind man.

The wind and snow swept through.

The sorrowful melody tore through the wind and snow, clearly reaching Chu Qing's ears.

One minute... three minutes... a song ended.

The blind man lightly stroked his erhu, and smiled to the side: "Friend, how is my song?"

Although Chu Qing was cultured, he truly didn't know how to evaluate the song.

He suddenly remembered a saying from his previous life and casually said:

"A single tune breaks the heart; where in the world can one find a true friend?"

The blind man was stunned.

His fingers trembled slightly as he continued to wipe his erhu, saying: "A single tune breaks the heart?"

"Where in the world can one find a true friend?"

"Heh heh... a good evaluation!"

"However, I do have a true friend!"

"She plays the pipa, and she's even better than me!"

Chu Qing's expression was serious; he didn't want to speak.

He only wanted to—kill!

At this moment, the wind and snow suddenly intensified.

Bray... the donkey brayed.

Clang!

From the blind man's erhu, a sword light shot out, like a meteor, piercing directly towards Chu Qing's chest.

Swish!

The Dragon Snake Twin-Headed Chain Spear fell.

The long spear was like a great snake, coiling around the sword light.

The next second, it shot towards the blind man.

The blind man let out a long howl to the sky, and actually ran, moving so fast that ordinary people's eyes couldn't catch him.

Streaks of sword light bloomed and fell.

Clang, clang, clang!

The long spear and sword light collided.

The wind and snow were torn apart.

The donkey brayed, suddenly charging towards Chu Qing.

Pfft!

Pfft!

The Chain Spear pierced through the donkey.

Sword light grazed Chu Qing's chest and abdomen.

The next second:

The donkey fell to the ground.

Chu Qing's clothes over his heart were torn, but his skin was unharmed.

The blind man let out a long howl to the sky, and another long sword appeared in his left hand.

With two swords, his killing speed was even faster.

Ten seconds... thirty seconds... a minute... Chu Qing suddenly abandoned the Chain Spear and rushed into the blind man's embrace.

Savage Collision!

Boom!

The violent force sent the blind man flying.

Before the blind man could land, Chu Qing caught up in a few strides, then leaped into the air, raising one hand, forming a hand-blade, and chopped down fiercely.

Crack!

The hand-blade fell.

A large head tumbled to the ground.

Blood splattered.

Staining Chu Qing's ponytail hair red.

Thud!

Chu Qing landed, and the wind and snow beneath his feet bloomed, like blossoming plum flowers.

"Couldn't you just be a good blind man?"

"Had to come out and kill!"

"Why bother?"

He picked up the erhu, then slammed it hard into the blind man's chest.

Bang!

The erhu was embedded in the Flesh.

Only then did Chu Qing clap his hands in satisfaction, and then continued towards the Martial Academy.

Not long after he left, a woman carrying a pipa stumbled over.

Seeing the blind man's corpse and then his head, tears immediately streamed down her Face.

A moment later, she picked up the blind man's head with one hand and clutched the pipa with the other, crying as she walked away into the vast wind and snow!

Chu Qing was unaware.

At this moment, he had already reached the next intersection.

Just as he arrived at the intersection, dark figures leaped down from the surrounding pavilions in all directions.

Long sabers gleamed!

Swords like flowing light!

Kill!

The Dragon Snake Chain Spear weaved, piercing through one dark figure after another.

Bodies fell to the ground, staining the white snow red.

Creak!

Creak!

Chu Qing pulled the Chain Spear, lightly brushed the bloodstains from his clothes, and continued walking towards the Martial Academy.

A begging child suddenly leaped up to assassinate him.

An old man selling candied hawthorn skewers swung his stick to strike.

Various assassinations, one after another.

Chu Qing dealt with them all.

Next to the Martial Academy was a restaurant:

Upstairs in the restaurant, a middle-aged scholar was warming wine and drinking.

Servants constantly came to report:

"Report, the blind man A Xin has been slain!"

"Report, eighteen black-clad figures have been slain!"

"The beggar has been slain!"

"The male and female old couple have been killed!"

One report after another.

The middle-aged scholar ate peanuts, warmed his wine, and drank.

"Report, the Eight Vajra Guardians have been killed!"

Thud!

The middle-aged scholar dropped his peanuts, knocked over his wine cup, and sneered:

"A bunch of fools!"

"Chu Qing... how is he so formidable?"

"Things are getting difficult!"

The middle-aged scholar pondered for a moment and said: "Write a letter to Zheng Zhixiang, tell him I failed."

"I'm not taking his order anymore."

"Oh, and return his money to him."

A subordinate said: "Master, in our line of work, we never return money."

The middle-aged scholar sighed: "Naturally, we don't return money to ordinary people."

"But, Zheng Zhixiang is not simple; although he doesn't have a good relationship with his father, we must give him Face, and give his father Face."

"Also... please send an invitation to Chu Qing for me... Hmm, send it once he enters the Martial Academy."

A subordinate asked: "What if the Martial Academy doesn't accept him?"

The middle-aged scholar said: "Then retrieve the invitation!"

"Yes!"