Pei Heng's Background

A flicker of apprehension crossed Liao Jun's eyes.

Both men were at the Early Flesh-Refining Realm, but Pei Heng had fallen from the Late Flesh-Refining Realm to the early stage because of severe injuries.

Although Pei Heng had lost a leg and his Qi and blood had declined, he had spent the past few years focused on practicing martial techniques, having no hope of breaking through. As a result, his strength had barely diminished. If Liao Jun attacked recklessly, he would have at most a thirty percent chance of winning.

"Captain Liao, long time no see."

Pei Heng slowly turned around, his expression still calm as he faced the furious Liao Jun.

"Master!"

Lu Liu looked as though he had just escaped death.

Junior Brother could be saved!

Li Shengnan hurried over right behind him and helped Lu Liu up from the ground.

"Junior Brother, are you all right?"

"I'm fine. It's just a small injury."

Lu Liu shook his head.

"And you say you're fine? You've broken several ribs!"

Li Shengnan frowned.

Lu Liu had been badly injured by a single claw strike from the yamen runner who practiced the Eagle Claw Skill.

"Junior Brother has already avenged me," Lu Liu said with a smile.

Following the direction of Lu Liu's pointing finger, Li Shengnan finally saw the two yamen runners whose hand tendons had been severed.

"Th-this was Qin Ming's doing?"

Li Shengnan could hardly believe it. These were two powerful yamen runners who had long been at the Late Skin-Refining Realm. She was at the same realm, so she knew full well how frightening they were when they joined forces.

Even she might not have gained the upper hand.

"Master, look!"

Li Shengnan called out.

Pei Heng nodded. He had seen them.

"Well done."

A faint smile appeared on Pei Heng's face. His gaze settled on Qin Ming, and the more he looked, the more satisfied he became.

To break through to a new realm in just over ten days was a truly remarkable talent for martial arts.

"Little Liu, Shengnan, you both did very well this time."

It was rare for Pei Heng to offer praise. If the two of them had not informed him in time, he would have lost this uncut jade.

"Pei Heng! How dare you ignore me?!"

Seeing Pei Heng pay him no attention, Liao Jun's anger shot three feet high.

"Captain Liao, how about we let this matter rest? We can each take a step back, and I won't pursue it any further."

Pei Heng spoke evenly.

Hearing this, Liao Jun was so furious he laughed. "Pei Heng, is your fucking brain broken? Your people stormed the yamen to break someone out of jail and injured people, and you're not going to pursue it with me?"

"Break someone out of jail? Who did they break out? Isn't everyone still right here?"

Pei Heng sneered. "As for the injuries, two at the Late Skin-Refining Realm went after one at the Early Skin-Refining Realm and had their own hand tendons severed instead. Aren't they afraid people will laugh if word gets out? My disciple was acting in legitimate self-defense!"

"You!"

Liao Jun's face turned red, and his hands trembled. "Pei Heng, you're twisting logic to suit yourself!"

"Fine, then. Since you insist on pursuing this to the end, let me ask you: why did the yamen runners arrest her? And why did they torture her?"

Pei Heng pointed at the bloodstained Embroiderer. "You beat her into this state. I'd like to hear whether this woman committed murder or arson to make you use such torture on her."

"Wang Bo, you tell him!"

Liao Jun was furious. If he had not been wary of Pei Heng's strength and background, his temper would have driven him to attack long ago.

"Ah, well..."

Wang Bo stammered, unable to give an explanation.

What crime had Embroiderer committed? They could not even find any evidence against Qin Ming. They had arrested Embroiderer entirely because of Wang Shi's personal grudge.

"Don't tell me your yamen arrested her without evidence? And tortured her too?"

Pei Heng stared at Liao Jun and sneered. "Captain Liao, is this how your yamen handles cases?"

Liao Jun's face turned alternately green and white. Right now, he wanted to flay Wang Bo alive. "What are you staring at? Release her, damn it! You're good for nothing but making a mess of things!"

Liao Jun had spent so many years at the yamen that he could guess most of what had happened at a glance. The yamen was in the wrong, and if word got out, he would be the one disgraced. With that in mind, he could only drop the matter.

"This ends here. You can go!"

Liao Jun waved them away impatiently.

At that, Pei Heng let out a snort of laughter.

"I said we should end it just now, and you refused. Now you want us to leave? It won't be that easy. Hand over the medical expenses first: twenty taels of silver."

"Twenty taels of silver?"

Liao Jun's face twitched. That was no small sum, but since they were in the wrong, he could only pinch his nose and accept it.

"Wang Bo, you clean up this mess. And don't fucking call me over again unless you have to!"

Liao Jun left in a huff.

"Take care, Captain Liao."

Wang Bo bowed as he saw him off, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

"Smack!"

Wang Bo turned and slapped Wang Shi hard across the face, his expression vicious. "This is all your fault, you cur! I'll pay the twenty taels of silver for you first, but remember to pay me back later!"

The slap left Wang Shi dazed. She knelt on the ground and begged for mercy.

Qin Ming took the silver and quickly left with Embroiderer in his arms.

He did not waste words on these people. Embroiderer's injuries were the priority now. Once he had the time, he would not let a single one of them off.

Before long, the news that Qin Ming had become a martial artist seemed to sprout wings, spreading through more than half of Qingshan Town.

Many people did not know exactly what had happened at the yamen, but they found it hard to believe that Qin Ming, a pig butcher, had become a martial artist.

In their eyes, pig butchers had the same status as brothel women, comparable to those of base status. Yet someone like that had actually become a Martial Artist.

When Wu Shi brought the news back, the shantytown erupted at once. Those who had taken things from Qin Ming's home not long ago were nearly frightened out of their wits.

"Qin Ming has become a Martial Artist, and we actually ransacked his home!"

"Quick, put everything back! Qin Ming isn't home yet, so there's still time!"

"We're finished! I ate all the pig offal I snatched!"

"Hurry and buy some ribs to replace it! Quick, or it'll be too late!"

A crowd of people scrambled to return the things they had taken, and they even took it upon themselves to scrub Qin Ming's house spotless.

Not only that, but when Wang Shun's boss heard he was Qin Ming's neighbor, he brought over the wages he owed him that very night.

Wang Shun watched it all, his heart filled with ever deeper emotion.

"When one man attains the Dao, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven."

Wu Shi said nothing.

In the yamen dungeon, she had witnessed Qin Ming's prowess with her own eyes. In the end, Pei Heng had stepped in, Liao Jun had backed down, and Wang Bo had offered compensation and an apology before respectfully seeing them out of the yamen.

She had not told her husband and daughter any of this, however, for fear of bringing unnecessary disaster upon them.

"Boom!"

In the yamen courtyard, Liao Jun smashed the rock in front of him to pieces with a punch.

"Pei Heng! This feud between us is settled!"

Not far away, Wang Bo saw this and trembled all over in fright.

"C-Captain Liao, why didn't we attack just now? Even if we couldn't beat him, we could have charged him with causing a disturbance at the yamen and had the county send someone to deal with him."

Unable to hold back, Wang Bo voiced the question on his mind.

"Causing a disturbance at the yamen?"

Liao Jun snorted. "Do you think he doesn't have anyone at the county yamen?"

"Huh? That old man has connections higher up?"

Wang Bo looked astonished. No wonder Liao Jun had not attacked just now. Pei Heng had someone at the county yamen, while they were in the wrong and weaker than Pei Heng. Fighting him would have been nothing but inviting humiliation.

"Who is it?"

Wang Bo asked quietly.

"How many people at the county yamen know the Eight Trigrams Palm?"

"You mean that person?"

Wang Bo's heart gave a jolt.

That person had a bitter grudge against Liao Jun. If not for him, Liao Jun could never have been transferred from the county to the countryside.

"Damn it, looks like I'm well and truly at odds with the people of the Eight Trigrams Sect!"

After leaving the yamen, Liao Jun headed to a brothel for drinks.

As he passed the mouth of an alley, a figure stepped out of the shadows and blocked his path.

"Captain Liao, long time no see."

The person slowly raised their head.

Once Liao Jun saw who it was, his expression abruptly hardened, and he instinctively glanced around in every direction.

"How is it you?! Weren't you burned to death?"

"I was lucky enough to escape with my life."

The person touched the half of their face that had been disfigured by burns.

"Captain Liao, I have a business deal for you. You'll definitely be interested."

"What deal?"

"Kill Pei Heng!"