The Four Seas Martial Hall did not teach lightness skills. Fang Shuwen had heard that even its master, Zheng Sihai, was utterly hopeless at them.
So Zheng never taught them and made a spectacle of himself.
As a result, Fang Shuwen knew nothing about lightness skills. But his internal cultivation ran deep, and when he ran with long strides, he was as fast as a galloping horse.
As he ran toward the main courtyard, though, he could not help wondering.
Song Li should have been killed while he was off taking a piss. It had been just over two hours since then, and this group had already slipped into the Zhou Family's home.
But why had they waited those two hours instead of striking then?
The Zhou Family's silver was what made people green with envy, yet these men wanted lives, not silver.
They were clearly no ordinary thieves. The Zhou Family had offended some deadly opponent.
As he was thinking, he heard cries ahead and saw two men in black pursuing several maids and servants.
None of the maids or servants knew martial arts. Hounded with no path to heaven and no gate into the earth, they lost a life with every rise and fall of the blades.
Killing intent flashed in Fang Shuwen's eyes. Before he got close, he clenched his right hand and drove a fierce punch through the air.
The [Four Seas Dragon Fist] he had learned came from the [Great Dragon Fist].
The [Great Dragon Fist], in turn, had evolved from mounted spear techniques, with the dragon spear discarded in favor of fighting with both fists.
After Zheng Sihai learned the fist art, he mastered and integrated its principles, created new moves, and added the words "Four Seas," turning it into the present-day [Four Seas Dragon Fist].
But at its root, the essence of the fist art still lay in spear techniques.
It emphasized thrusting, sweeping, striking across, chopping, and lifting. Its moves were broad and sweeping, relying primarily on power, with speed as a supplement.
Now that Fang Shuwen had reached great mastery in his internal cultivation, he punched through the air, his fist force like a spear, surging like a dragon.
Before he reached them, his fist force had already blasted into the chest of a man in black.
The man's body jolted. First, a spray of bloody mist burst from his back; then the force shattered his entire body, tearing him limb from limb.
The other man in black saw this, and his expression changed drastically.
Without a second thought, he turned to flee, but Fang Shuwen was already upon him. His right fist swept out, and with a bang, the blow sent the man's entire head flying.
The maids and servants had not even had time to rejoice at escaping death before the terrifying scene turned their faces deathly pale.
"What are you standing there for? Run for your lives!"
Fang Shuwen's shout snapped them out of it. Without lingering, he continued toward the main courtyard.
At the same time, he reminded himself that his internal cultivation now ran deep, far beyond what it had been before.
He needed to hold back when he struck, or the scene would be too bloody and ugly.
All along the way, screams rose and fell wherever he passed.
The intruders had burst into the Zhou Mansion and begun a massacre. Some could not even wait, tearing at maids' clothes in front of others, intent on violating them.
Fang Shuwen showed no mercy, killing every one of them he saw.
In that short time, he killed far more people than he had in the previous nineteen years.
As a result, he grew increasingly adept at controlling his strength.
It was not that he could not control it; he simply had trouble judging how much force to use. He knew how much strength he was exerting, but how much his opponents could withstand was harder to say.
The greatest thing he gained from killing his way here was learning the limits of what these men could withstand.
He could use just enough force to kill them without leaving severed limbs scattered everywhere.
At last, the main courtyard was right before him.
He sprang onto the wall and saw that Zhou Feixiong and his wife were already awake, surrounded and protected by several of their household attendants.
Fang Shuwen recognized one of them.
The man was called Wang Tao, and he had met Mo Beidou, the Four Seas Martial Hall's senior disciple, in the martial world.
They had hit it off at first sight and become close friends.
It was through Wang Tao that Mo Beidou had been able to recommend Fang Shuwen to the Zhou Family as a martial guard.
The men in black facing them were highly skilled, and their leader was a middle-aged man with a sinister expression.
He and Zhou Feixiong were staring at each other across the courtyard.
Though Zhou Feixiong knew no martial arts, his bearing was imposing. Meeting the man's gaze, he spoke coldly:
"Who exactly are you people?
"If it is wealth you want, you need only say so.
"Though I, Zhou Feixiong, am a man of little talent, I have always been generous to my friends in the martial world.
"But if you have some other aim... did you ask what manner of man I, Zhou Feixiong, am before coming here?
"Never mind how many friends I have in the martial world. Even my daughter, Zhou Qingmei, is a true disciple of the Pearl Pavilion on Nine-Congealing Mountain.
"Have you considered the consequences of what you've done tonight?"
A trace of scorn appeared in the middle-aged man's eyes.
"So the man they call Zhou Half-the-City amounts to no more than this.
"With death at your door, you actually want to use your daughter's name to save your life.
"Don't worry. You can go on ahead... Your daughter Zhou Qingmei will soon join you and your wife in the Yellow Springs!"
"What?"
Zhou Feixiong's expression changed drastically.
A succession of bangs rang out, and the attendants standing in front of him were sent flying.
Before the attendants beside him could step forward to meet the attack, a black shadow was already in front of Zhou Feixiong.
The attacker was extraordinarily fast. His five fingers curled into a claw, reaching straight for Zhou Feixiong's throat.
Zhou Feixiong's body stiffened, but he did not even have a chance to react.
Then his vision blurred, and a young man dressed as a guard dropped straight out of the sky.
A fist plunged through the air, aimed squarely at the head of the man with the outstretched claw.
The man had never dreamed that, just as he was about to succeed, someone would suddenly come flying down from the sky.
But he was no ordinary fighter either. Forcing up a breath of True Qi, he abruptly flipped his body and crossed his arms to shield his vital points.
The fist struck his crossed arms, breaking them both outright. The tremendous force continued through to his head, and his whole body crashed to the ground.
A muffled boom rang out.
The entire ground trembled, and a human-shaped pit was smashed into the bluestone paving.
The man lay motionless in the pit, beaten to death by that single punch.
"Master Zhou still owes me my wages. I can't let him die at your hands."
The one who had struck was naturally Fang Shuwen.
With that single move, he had seized the advantage from the outset.
For a moment, everyone who had been fighting stopped and, as if by agreement, turned to look at him.
The corner of Wang Tao's eye twitched, and he could scarcely believe what he was seeing.
The middle-aged man opposite also looked surprised. He glanced at Fang Shuwen, then at his subordinate in the pit, and his eyes grew grave:
"A Zhou Family guard has martial arts of this caliber?
"There really are hidden dragons and crouching tigers in the martial world.
"Little brother, are you short of money?"
"I am. I always have been."
Fang Shuwen was telling the honest truth.
"Good. No matter how much silver the Zhou Family has paid you, I am willing to pay twice that for you to stay out of today's business. What do you think, little brother?"
"That's a generous offer."
Fang Shuwen shook his head gently:
"Unfortunately, I am employed by the Zhou Family. When you take someone's money, you solve their troubles, and there has to be a first come, first served.
"In the martial world, righteousness comes first!"
P.S. The new book arrived just as unexpectedly as this, but the old rules still apply. There's no rush to sign a contract; it should still happen after forty thousand characters.
So I won't ask everyone for monthly votes for now. Even if I did, you couldn't cast them yet~