Chapter 5: Venting the Second Wave of Fire

South of Pingyang City, inside the Earth God Temple.

The first light of dawn shimmered as the morning sun began to rise.

A pile of burnt-out campfire left embers in the middle of the clearing; beside it, a jar of fine wine was empty but still wafted a mellow fragrance, surrounded by a scattered pile of chicken bones.

Three middle-aged men dressed in Black Silk Robes and wearing head cloths sat by the embers. The leader had a square face and a slightly gloomy expression.

Anyone familiar with them would surely know they were dressed in the uniforms of the Six Doors Constables.

A moment later, footsteps approached from outside the Earth God Temple.

Yan Chu pushed open the rickety wooden door and entered, his face expressionless.

"You're late!"

The leading middle-aged man spat out a chicken bone from his mouth. It fell into the embers, crackling as it was scorched by the remaining sparks.

His gloomy eyes turned toward Yan Chu as he gently stroked the Hundred-Fold Saber in his hand.

If Yan Chu gave even one wrong answer, this saber would slice him in half.

Yan Chu glanced at the two attendants with a chuckle, then fixed his gaze on the middle-aged man.

With a smile playing on his lips, he said, "Master Ma, I've brought the ledger you wanted!"

As he spoke, he pulled the account book from his robes.

"Bring it here, quickly!"

Seeing the ledger, the middle-aged man became somewhat impatient.

This was the ledger recording Tong Zhijian's bribery; handing it over would be another great merit for him.

If he could use this momentum to bring down Tong Zhijian, the Green-Robed Master would surely grant him many rewards.

"Heh!"

Yan Chu shook his head and said unhurriedly, "Trying to rely on a single ledger to topple a County Magistrate... I really don't know whether to call you naive or stupid!"

"What did you say? Are you looking for death?!"

The middle-aged man in black robes—Ma Junhao, Senior Constable of the Six Doors—was stunned for a moment before immediately shouting with a stern and harsh voice.

For some reason, the Yan Chu before him seemed different than before, possessing a sort of fearless, indomitable air.

It made him somewhat impossible to see through.

Yan Chu's expression instantly turned fierce. "You made me go undercover in the Mad Bull Gang. You got promoted and rich based on those merits, but do you know how I lived?"

"Yan Chu, how dare you!"

Yan Chu stared at him coldly. As he circulated the Qi and blood in his palms, the ledger instantly transformed into a shower of shredded paper.

Indeed, Yan Chu was not just Niu Heifeng's meat shield; he had another identity as an undercover agent Ma Junhao had planted in the Mad Bull Gang.

A month ago, when Yan Chu learned his predecessor had this identity, his mind went completely numb.

Not only did he suffer in the Mad Bull Gang, but he also had to carry the burden of being an undercover agent, suffering a second time and enduring double the misery under Ma Junhao.

Besides that, he had to risk being discovered by Niu Heifeng at any moment, living in fear all day long.

Yan Chu's heart was full of bitterness!

He stared at Ma Junhao with cold, sharp eyes as his killing intent surged upward like a volcanic eruption.

Dammit!

"Since you made me suffer twice, I'll release my second fire on you."

Boom!

Acting the moment he spoke, Yan Chu charged forward like a Vicious Beast.

"Courting death!"

"Kill him!"

At Ma Junhao's command, the three people by the fire immediately surrounded him like hungry tigers pouncing on prey.

Bang! Bang!

With violent palm force, the two charging attendants were sent flying while spitting blood, their hearts already shattered into powder.

[Slaughtered a corrupt Six Doors Constable, feeling extremely gratified, Experience +20]

[Slaughtered a corrupt Six Doors Constable, feeling extremely gratified, Experience +20]

"Watch me cleave you to death!"

Ma Junhao's expression was hideous. This minor character he used to order around at will actually dared to speak insolently to him; clearly, the man was born with a rebellious bone and could not be allowed to live today!

The saber light was like a streak of silk, flashing white against the dark, dawn-tinted sky.

This strike was angled cunningly and carried immense weight, fully displaying Ma Junhao's powerful strength at the Late Stage of the Blood Qi Realm.

Squelch!

A tooth-aching sound rang out. To Ma Junhao's dumbfounded eyes, Yan Chu struck first despite moving second, grabbing his sword-arm and tearing it directly in two.

This tearing force was so fast and fierce that Ma Junhao couldn't react in time, and it was so powerful he couldn't resist it at all.

"Argh!!!"

It wasn't until a cold wind blew into his severed arm that the piercing pain finally shocked Ma Junhao back to his senses.

A scream like a slaughtered pig echoed around the Earth God Temple, startling a flock of crows into flight.

"You!! Your strength?!"

Ma Junhao was truly in disbelief. How could Yan Chu possess such terrifying strength after not seeing him for just one day?

Yan Chu's tone was icy. "Don't have such a strong curiosity. Just be a confused ghost!"

"Argh!!! Argh!!! Mercy!!"

Ma Junhao clutched his severed arm, screaming incessantly, his body covered in cold sweat.

Bang!

A palm struck Ma Junhao's forehead. The violent Rushing Thunder Palm directly shattered his head, splashing red and white across the ground.

[Slaughtered the Six Doors villain who threatened and forced you to be an undercover agent, settling the grudge, Experience +100]

He had no intention of playing games of mutual torture; he simply ended the debt with death.

He kicked the headless corpse into the campfire.

The fire that was about to go out suddenly flared up again, burning even more vigorously with loud crackling sounds.

...

At the start of the Hour of the Rabbit, the gates of Pingyang City had just opened, and a long queue had already formed.

Several city guards yawned, watching the line of people leaving the city with sleepy eyes.

In the absence of emergencies or official documents from superiors, the gatekeepers would not overly question most people entering or leaving.

Only a few suspicious-looking individuals would draw attention.

Yan Chu's expression was normal.

A black Cold Iron Saber was wrapped around his waist, taken from Niu Heifeng's collection.

Wearing an ordinary hemp robe, he was inconspicuous in the crowd leaving the city; no one even noticed him as he exited.

It wasn't until an hour later that two fast horses galloped to the city gate, shouting, "A bandit has committed a crime in the city!"

"Strictly guard the city gates!!"

The crowd leaving the city immediately fell into chaos...

Inside the Pingyang City Six Doors.

The one in charge of the Six Doors here was a Seventh-Rank Green-Robe named Chi Yong, who possessed a cultivation in the Third Realm, the Viscera Realm.

He was sitting in the hall reviewing official documents when a subordinate suddenly rushed in to report.

"Master, this is bad!"

"What is with this flustered behavior! Have you no decorum!"

The newcomer was scolded and quickly composed himself, reporting: "During roll call today, I found that Ma Junhao hadn't come to duty. I sent someone to find him, and they discovered three corpses at the Earth God Temple in the southern city!"

"Two of them were Ma Junhao's subordinates, and after the autopsy, the other was confirmed to be Ma Junhao."

"What?"

Chi Yong was instantly enraged. "Who dares to kill someone from my Six Doors?!"

Although the prestige of the Six Doors was not what it was at the founding of the dynasty, it was still no less than any of today's top Sects.

If ordinary Jianghu people dared to touch a member of the Six Doors, they would surely be torn into eight pieces once caught.

"After investigation, I suspect it was done by the thief Yan Chu, who just committed the major crime at the Niu Manor."

"Recently, Ma Junhao had been watching the Mad Bull Gang, wanting to find evidence against the County Magistrate Tong Zhijian. This Yan Chu was the spy he planted in the Mad Bull Gang."

"Before Ma Junhao left last night, he reported to me that he was going to meet Yan Chu, and he confidently said he was about to earn a merit."

"Yan Chu had also just fled after the major crime at the Niu Manor; the timing matches perfectly."

"Killing a member of my Six Doors cannot be overlooked. Immediately issue a Sea-Arrest Warrant and offer a reward of five hundred taels to capture this scoundrel!"

"Yes!"

If the Niu Manor case was originally seen by them as just a Jianghu vendetta and they didn't care much, resulting in a weak pursuit...

...then now that Yan Chu had offended the Six Doors, he had truly poked a tiger's nest!