Yan Yue-Ren's Background

The once cozy little courtyard now had only half a collapsed wall left standing. Faint traces of bright red blood could be seen among the ruins.

Inside the house, it was deathly quiet.

"Something's happened! Embroiderer!"

Qin Ming's heart jolted. He crossed the courtyard and rushed straight toward the inner room.

Before he got close, he smelled a strong scent of medicinal herbs.

Lu Liu was squatting in a corner, brewing the medicine the doctor had prescribed.

The moment he saw Qin Ming, Lu Liu's eyes turned red.

"Junior Brother, they..."

The bad feeling in Qin Ming's heart grew stronger. He pushed the door open and went in.

Two figures lay on the bed, one on the left and one on the right.

Embroiderer was on the left, and Li Shengnan was on the right.

Embroiderer's complexion was rosy, and she appeared uninjured. Li Shengnan was in far worse shape. Her clothes were soaked in blood, bandages wrapped several parts of her body, and her face was deathly pale. Her breath was as thin as a thread.

"Embroiderer! Senior Sister!"

Qin Ming's expression changed drastically, and he hurried forward to check their injuries.

At the side, Pei Heng looked ashamed and sighed softly.

"Qin Ming, I was useless."

"Master, what on earth happened?"

Qin Ming's face was as dark as could be. He had only gone out for a while, so how could this have happened? All he wanted to know now was who had hurt them.

"It was the Wild Wolf Gang."

Pei Heng said, "For some reason, the Wild Wolf Gang suddenly showed up and tried to seize Embroiderer. Shengnan stepped in to stop them, and a Flesh Refining Realm expert on their side severely injured her. If Junior Brother hadn't acted in time, I'm afraid Shengnan would have been beaten to death, and Embroiderer would have been taken away."

Qin Ming's face grew even darker as anger surged within him.

Embroiderer was his wife, and Senior Sister had taken special care of him when he first joined the martial arts school. He owed her a debt of gratitude. Now that the two of them had suffered this calamity, Qin Ming was furious beyond measure.

"Embroiderer, Embroiderer."

Qin Ming called softly, but Embroiderer did not respond.

"The doctor said those villains gave Embroiderer too much knockout drug, so it'll be hard for her to wake up."

Lu Liu walked over.

"What?!"

Qin Ming's eyes instantly turned red, and his fists clenched with a cracking sound.

"Yan Yue-Ren!!! I'm going to butcher you!"

A beastlike growl rumbled from Qin Ming's throat.

He didn't have to guess to know Yan Yue-Ren was behind it.

Yan Yue-Ren's lackeys must have found Embroiderer, so he had sent people to seize her.

"Qin Ming, don't act rashly. You can't touch Yan Yue-Ren for now."

Xiong San strode in.

"Martial Uncle."

Lu Liu and the others hurriedly bowed.

Xiong San was not only a Bone Refining Realm expert but also the yamen's Chief Constable. None of them dared neglect their manners.

"Why?"

Qin Ming gripped the Butcher's Knife. His strength had greatly increased, so did he still need to fear that he couldn't kill an incense master of the Wild Wolf Gang?

"The county magistrate's favorite concubine is his own younger sister. Never mind you, even I can't touch him. Not only that, he's also a favorite of the Wild Wolf Gang's leader, and now he's one of the Demon-Hunting Team's Reserve Team Members. At a critical moment like this, if you try to take revenge, you'll only offend both the righteous and the underworld at once," Xiong San said.

Everyone was shocked to hear this. None of them had expected Yan Yue-Ren's background to be so complicated.

"Qin Ming, I've already submitted your name and Yan Yue-Ren's for the Demon-Hunting Team's Reserve Team Member positions. Now the two of you are already half members of the yamen. If you kill him, I'll have no choice but to arrest you and bring you to justice according to the rules. When the county magistrate flies into a rage, you'll surely be executed at noon."

"Qin Ming, you mustn't act rashly. Shengnan's injuries have stabilized. She only needs to recuperate for a while to recover. Although Embroiderer is unconscious, there's still a chance she'll wake up."

Pei Heng hurriedly tried to persuade him.

"That's right, Junior Brother. For a gentleman seeking revenge, ten years is not too late. We'll definitely avenge this, but there's no need to rush."

Lu Liu chimed in.

"Junior Brother..."

Li Shengnan had woken up at some point.

"Senior Sister."

Qin Ming hurried over.

"Junior Brother, Junior Brother Lu is right. For a gentleman seeking revenge, ten years is not too late. If you go and kill Yan Yue-Ren now, the authorities will surely put you on the wanted list. With the land in turmoil, Embroiderer is still unconscious and needs someone to look after her. Are you really planning to take her fleeing for your lives, jolting from place to place?

"Listen to your Senior Sister. First find a way into the Demon-Hunting Team and improve your strength. There are so many capable and extraordinary people in the world; there must be a way to wake Embroiderer."

"I understand, Senior Sister."

Qin Ming nodded slowly.

How could he not understand the reasoning? He simply couldn't swallow his anger.

"Qin Ming, don't worry. I've already arranged for someone to come and look after Embroiderer. You just need to focus on preparing for the assessment and joining the Demon-Hunting Team."

Xiong San clapped his hands, and a woman of about forty walked in from outside. She was cleanly dressed and had a kindly face.

"Young Master, rest assured. I'll take good care of your wife and this young lady."

Seeing that Xiong San had already made the arrangements, Qin Ming could hardly slight his martial uncle. He cupped his fists and thanked him.

"Come with me."

Xiong San took Qin Ming to the yamen.

"My lord!"

The guards hurriedly cupped their hands in greeting.

The two crossed the courtyard.

Along the way, every yamen runner and servant who saw Xiong San cupped their hands in greeting. That alone would have been one thing, but Qin Ming actually saw a hint of fear in their eyes.

They seemed very afraid of his martial uncle.

"I've already killed the people from the Wild Wolf Gang who did it," Xiong San said suddenly. "Yan Yue-Ren's status is special. If you want to deal with him, you might get a chance during this Demon-Hunting Team member assessment."

Xiong San brought Qin Ming to a study.

It was the yamen's archive room.

By rights, outsiders weren't allowed in, but Xiong San was the boss here. With the county magistrate absent, he had the final say over everything.

"That knife you're carrying is a Sha Weapon, isn't it?"

Xiong San's words startled Qin Ming.

"I sensed it from the moment I first saw you."

Xiong San held out a hand, and it turned blood red at a speed visible to the naked eye.

What Qin Ming found even more inconceivable was that Xiong San's hand gave off Sha Qi extremely similar to that of the Butcher's Knife.

"As far as I'm concerned, my body, this hand of mine, is a Sha Weapon."

As he spoke, Xiong San turned a bookshelf, revealing a hidden compartment behind it.

Inside was a tightly bound Human-Skin Bag the size of a fist.

"There's a ghost in here. I caught it."

Xiong San's words gave Qin Ming another shock.

Xiong San really was a madman.

He had trained his body into a Sha Weapon, and he even caught ghosts!

Xiong San pressed his bloody hand against the Human-Skin Bag. The bag, which had been completely still, suddenly let out a series of shrill, anguished screams.

The voice sounded neither male nor female. It was piercingly sharp, striking straight at the soul. Qin Ming couldn't help covering his ears, feeling as though his eardrums were about to burst.

Only when Xiong San withdrew his hand did the sound gradually die down.

Yamen runners passing outside heard the sound and ran away in fright, their faces deathly pale. They knew their lord had started torturing Ghost Entities again.

"Come on, try it with your Fire Sand Palm."

Xiong San stepped aside to make room.

Qin Ming nodded and stepped forward. Once he circulated Fire Sand Palm at full strength, both palms quickly turned red like heated branding irons, giving off waves of scorching white vapor.

As his Fire Sand Palm drew near, the Human-Skin Bag soon began to move, as if something alive were writhing inside.

When Qin Ming's palms came close, the Human-Skin Bag made a sizzling sound, and wisps of white smoke rose from it.

"Heh heh, heh heh..."

An eerie sneer came from the bag. A stream of extremely yin Qi surged out of the Human-Skin Bag and burrowed into Qin Ming's palms.

His previously scorching Fire Sand Palm turned ice-cold in an instant.

Qin Ming instinctively pulled back his hands and retreated, a trace of shock in his eyes.

The ghostly thing in this Human-Skin Bag was formidable!

"Your Fire Sand Palm does very little damage to it. Use your Sha Weapon!"

Xiong San's voice came from behind him.

Qin Ming didn't hesitate. He immediately drew the Butcher's Knife tucked into his belt.

The moment the Butcher's Knife was in his hand, the eerie laughter from the Human-Skin Bag abruptly stopped. In its place came a series of frightened creaking sounds.

Looking at the Butcher's Knife in Qin Ming's hand, Xiong San's eyes flashed with shock.

"Such dense Sha Qi!!"

Sha Weapons had grades as well, and the one in Qin Ming's hand had the strongest Sha Qi of any he had ever seen!

As the Butcher's Knife gradually approached the Human-Skin Bag, the sounds from inside grew more frightened, even taking on a crying tone.

"That's enough."

Xiong San waved for him to stop, then moved the bookshelf back into place.

"Martial Uncle, is this something all the Demon-Hunting Team's Reserve Team Members have to be assessed on?"

Qin Ming asked as he put away the Butcher's Knife.

"No. I just need to confirm it in person."

Xiong San said, "I came specifically to test your strength. I heard Senior Brother say your knife is fast and your strength rivals that of the Flesh Refining Realm. Come on, try hitting me with a punch. Use your full strength."

Qin Ming nodded and punched Xiong San in the chest with all his strength.

With a bang, Qin Ming felt as if he had struck a steel plate. Xiong San's body merely swayed slightly, and his expression didn't change at all.

"Your strength has already surpassed the Mid-Stage Flesh-Refining Realm. It seems the Savage Bull Strength you cultivate mainly increases physical strength. Very good."

Xiong San's eyes lit up, and he burst out laughing.

"You've surprised me. You have the strength of the Flesh Refining Realm while you're only in the Skin Refining Realm. If you also cultivated a Horizontal Training defensive technique, you wouldn't be much inferior to someone truly in the Flesh Refining Realm."

"Martial Uncle, I found a Horizontal Training defensive technique called Iron Body Shirt at the Black Market. I wonder if you've heard of it?"

Qin Ming asked.

The stall owner had mentioned that he could cultivate Iron Body Shirt, but once it was exposed, he would be hunted down.

By mentioning Iron Body Shirt to Xiong San, Qin Ming also wanted to ask about its origins.

"Iron Body Shirt? You actually obtained that technique?"

Xiong San's expression changed drastically.

"It's an incomplete copy."

"No wonder."

Xiong San's expression eased somewhat.

"You can cultivate it without worry. As long as it isn't the complete Iron Body Shirt, it shouldn't be much of a problem."

Before long, Qin Ming learned the origins of the technique from Xiong San. It was actually connected to Buddhism's Shaolin Temple.

It was one of the Horizontal Training External Skills cultivated by Shaolin Temple's warrior monks. Incomplete copies of Iron Body Shirt had always circulated in the martial world, and quite a few people secretly cultivated it, but they made little progress.

On the one hand, it was very difficult to achieve anything substantial by cultivating an incomplete Iron Body Shirt. On the other, only Shaolin Temple possessed the original Auxiliary Medicinal Liquid that went with it. The Auxiliary Medicinal Liquid Qin Ming had was merely an incomplete, simplified version.

Cultivating Horizontal Training Martial Arts was already an extremely painful process, and it took a great deal of time. Even if one practiced until death, it was hard to achieve anything. As a result, many people in the martial world had wasted their precious years cultivating Iron Body Shirt.

Fuck! I was almost tricked by that old Daoist!

Qin Ming cursed inwardly.

Fortunately, he had the panel. As long as he had enough Free Attribute Points, he could deduce Iron Body Shirt to the Perfection Realm.

Considering that, he had still come out ahead.

"Come with me. I'll show you something good."

Xiong San turned an inconspicuous vase in the corner, and the two bookshelves in the middle slowly moved apart to either side.