43: Murderer: Heart as hard as iron, treating people like dirt
He Qi is dead!
Over 360 people in the He Family's residence in the county town were all killed.
Except for He Qi and his two personal maids, everyone else died from broken necks.
Initially, no one noticed.
At most, they were curious as to why the He Family hadn't opened its doors today.
It wasn't until dusk that Sister Lan and other Wubao Disciples went to find He Qi for a drink, only to discover that the large compound had no survivors.
Then began the city-wide manhunt... *crackle, pop*.
Torches burned.
Sister Lan and the other Wubao Disciples all gathered at the He Family's grand residence.
Their expressions were solemn; some of the more timid ones were pale and trembling.
"They killed Senior Apprentice He Qi today; tomorrow, they'll kill me."
"I want to go back to the Fortified Manor!"
Smack!
Sister Lan turned and slapped the Wubao Disciple's face, scolding, "Shut up!"
"If you leave, you might be killed as soon as you step out of the city."
The Wubao Disciple covered his face, sobbing softly.
Sister Lan discussed with several other outstanding Wubao Disciples.
First, they sent people to notify the major gangs to search the city and ordered that, regardless of whether the killer was found, some people must be killed to accompany He Qi in death.
Then, they jointly sent a dispatch to the military camp, asking them to seal off the county town.
No one was allowed to leave, only enter; and a large-scale search began.
At the same time, they also told them to kill people, spill blood, and mourn He Qi.
Finally, they dispatched seven or eight waves of servants and guards to leave the city and deliver messages.
By the time everything was arranged, it was already past 8 PM.
All the Wubao Disciples gathered in the main hall, filled with worry.
Sister Lan took a few Wubao Disciples aside to a small room for a secret discussion:
"Did He Qi discover traces of a Secret Inheritance and then get silenced?"
A Wubao Disciple said, "The rebels have a good relationship with us; they wouldn't go so far as to silence him."
"Unless... an outsider obtained the Secret Inheritance and then silenced him."
Sister Lan frowned, saying, "If an outsider obtained the Secret Inheritance, they would never stay in Shiji County."
Another Wubao Disciple speculated:
"The two shizhu pearls that should have been produced are gone."
"The rebels' Secret Inheritance also appeared in Shiji County."
"A lot of people from the Blood River Gang died a few days ago, including a hall master."
"Senior Apprentice Zhang from the Bingjia Sect suspects his enemy is also in Shiji County."
"And now, it's close to the martial arts academy's preliminary examination."
"Everyone... why are all these things happening at the same time? And why are they all converging on Shiji County?"
Sister Lan's heart stirred, and she blurted out, "All these things are related to one person?"
"And this person is in Shiji County?"
That Wubao Disciple smiled bitterly, "Sister Lan, how can one person have the ability to do so many things?"
"Behind these events is an organization that is orchestrating them."
Sister Lan was pensive.
The other Disciples suddenly realized, saying, "That's right, a single person doesn't have the ability to do such things."
"Those who have the ability wouldn't dare."
In the vast Shiji County, only about a dozen people had the ability to kill He Qi.
But even if He Qi had slept with their wives and daughters, they wouldn't dare harm a single hair on He Qi's head.
After all, He Qi was a Wubao Disciple.
"But... according to the scene, there was only one killer!"
Yes, after so much analysis, there was only one killer.
What was the background of this killer? How could he kill a Wubao Disciple as if slaughtering chickens and dogs?
Was he not afraid?
Sister Lan and the others fell into deep thought... The prominent families of Shiji County gathered immediately after receiving the news.
Although they didn't go to the He Family residence, their servants and guards did, and after careful investigation, they all frowned.
"He Qi, the seventh son of the He Family Head of the He Family Stronghold."
"His talent was average, but he had cultivated over a hundred Iron Tendons."
"Besides us, only about a dozen people could kill him."
"But do they have the guts to kill him?"
"In one night, to kill a Wubao Disciple and over three hundred people."
"This killer... is truly lawless and heartless."
"It's too terrifying."
Their faces were grim.
At this time, one Family Head said:
"Everyone... the Millennial Calamity is approaching, and the rebels are colluding with the Fortified Manors."
The Crowd looked at that Family Head in surprise.
That Family Head continued, "Shiji County, in history, is a place of strategic importance."
"Someone from the Fortified Manor died... now they can openly enter Shiji County."
The Crowd was horrified.
After a long while, a Family Head gritted his teeth and said, "Shiji County is our Shiji County."
"If the rebels want it, they can only negotiate with us."
"Everyone, go back and prepare for the Fortified Manors!"
...He Family Stronghold:
The He Family Head was over fifty years old.
But he was energetic, robust, and skilled in martial arts.
He was playing with his newly acquired fiftieth concubine when he received the bad news.
Well... it wasn't really bad news.
Isn't it just one son who died?
He had over twenty sons and more than fifty daughters.
He didn't even bother to name his sons.
One death, no big deal!
But He Qi was his son after all, and he suddenly died violently in the county town, even being chopped into minced meat, with only his head remaining.
Hundreds of servants were also killed.
"A warning from the rebels to me?"
"A warning from the Powerful in the city?"
"Or... an internal conflict among my sons?"
He thought of many things.
He never imagined that someone, because of a steward in his family, caused this massacre.
He also never imagined that Chu Qing, in his coarse linen and bare feet, would dare to be so audacious as to kill a Wubao Disciple.
"Let He Qigou take twenty Iron Cavalry to investigate."
"If the killer is one of my sons, bring him back."
"If not... then kill the killer."
A servant respectfully said, "Yes!"
...He Qigou was originally a bandit.
But after joining the He Family Stronghold, he was assigned to He Qi, thus becoming He Qigou.
He was good at tracking, had once served as a constable, and had cultivated over a hundred Iron Tendons and more than thirty Iron Bones.
His strongest Cultivation Technique was the Great Handprint at the bone-refining level.
Relying on the Great Handprint, he cultivated over thirty Iron Bones.
One Iron Bone is equivalent to five Iron Tendons.
When the Great Handprint is unleashed, its power is equivalent to the combined force of over one hundred and fifty Iron Tendons.
Its power is fierce and terrifying.
Moreover, this person was meticulous, ruthless, and most importantly—obedient.
The He Family Head trusted him to do things.
As for the Iron Cavalry, they were equally formidable.
The members of the Fortified Manor's Iron Cavalry were all composed of collateral Disciples.
Each had cultivated at least a hundred Iron Tendons, and they also had weapon Cultivation Techniques; seven or eight Iron Cavalry surrounding and attacking, even He Qigou couldn't resist.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The Iron Cavalry galloped, setting foot in Shiji County.
They arrived at the scene immediately.
He Qigou, in his forties, was strong and had a simple, honest face.
When he appeared, Sister Lan and the others breathed a sigh of relief.
With He Qigou and twenty Iron Cavalry arriving, they believed the killer would never dare to cause trouble again.
"If he's smart... he would have already fled by now."
He Qigou examined the scene.
Ten minutes... half an hour... many traces had been washed away by the wind and rain, completely invisible.
But he still simulated the general scene of Chu Qing's killing.
"The killer first eliminated the guards, then killed from the periphery inwards."
"This killer has a heart of iron, viewing human lives as grass."
"Killing so many people in one go, his hands did not soften at all."
Sister Lan and the others didn't care; someone mumbled,
"I don't go soft when I hack people either."
He Qigou said sternly, "How many people have you personally killed at one time?"
That Wubao Disciple thought for a moment and said, "At most, I killed twelve."
"The rest were killed by the guards."
He Qigou asked, "Why didn't you kill them yourself?"
"Boring? Soft-handed?"
The Wubao Disciple's face turned pale; he remembered that at the time, his hands had indeed softened.
Sister Lan and the others were pensive.
He Qigou examined He Qi's room and continued:
"The killer must have talked with Young Master Qi, and then Young Master Qi suddenly attacked him."
"Young Master He Qi should have used the Perfection Eagle Claw Skill, striking from the air; but... his hand was crushed by the killer."
He Qigou recounted the scene of Chu Qing's killing in detail, and it was surprisingly accurate.
Finally, when he went to the kitchen and saw the head on the cutting board, He Qigou's expression became unprecedentedly solemn.
"Killing people like cutting grass, with a heart of iron."
"Killing, plundering wealth, destroying bodies and traces, a Dragon-like operation."
"Heart not soft, hands not stopping!"
"What kind of person can achieve this?"