Nighttime Assassination! (Please Bookmark! Please Vote!)

The appearance of these two Skin-Peeling Puppets also indirectly proved that the true culprit lurking behind the scenes possessed more than just one Skin-Peeling Puppet.

The two Skin-Peeling Puppets vaulted over the courtyard wall and entered, landing without a sound. Only when they stepped onto the ground strewn with soybeans did they make the faintest noise.

The instant they landed, the two Skin-Peeling Puppets headed straight for Chen Yan's bedroom, their target clear.

Chen Yan watched the scene through the crack in the door, his expression unchanged as a vicious glint flickered in his eyes.

He then motioned for Facai to move aside before taking a step back, putting a meter between himself and the door. One hand rested on the hilt of the Fish Dragon Saber at his waist, poised to strike.

He had barely finished all this when the door before him was suddenly smashed open!

Bang!

Two shadows burst through the door!

Yet in that very instant—

The Fish Dragon Saber was violently drawn.

As blade and scabbard scraped against each other, a piercing shriek rang out.

Clang!

The Fish Dragon Saber broke free of its scabbard's restraint, slashing upward from below.

Blood Fiend Saber Technique!

A frigid gleam suddenly lit up the pitch-black room, ripping through the air.

Ssshh!!!

Amid billowing Black Smoke, one shadow split in two and fell to the floor—it was one of the Skin-Peeling Puppets.

Its cleaved head had its eyes still bulging wide, staring fixedly at Chen Yan.

Everything happened with blinding speed. From the moment the two Skin-Peeling Puppets broke in to the moment Chen Yan struck, only two breaths had passed. In that flash of lightning and spark of flint, one Skin-Peeling Puppet was killed instantly.

Even Facai in the distance was startled, his mismatched black-and-white eyes widening roundly. He seemed not to have expected his litter scooper to suddenly become so fierce.

Not just Facai—even the other Skin-Peeling Puppet, which possessed no intelligence, froze briefly in that instant.

But when experts crossed blows, a moment's hesitation was often fatal.

Chen Yan's gaze was cold as water. The power of his qi and blood surged endlessly through his body as he gripped the hilt horizontally and swept out in a lateral slash. The Fish Dragon Saber traced an arc as he seized the initiative!

Splurt!

Black Smoke rose.

The other distracted Skin-Peeling Puppet was cut in half at the waist. If Skin-Peeling Puppets had not been mere sheets of human skin without organs, blood, entrails, and intestines would have been splattered all over the floor by now.

Three breaths later, a sheet of human skin with half its head cleaved away and another severed at the waist lay silently on the ground.

"Phew..."

Letting out a long breath, Chen Yan sheathed the Fish Dragon Saber and looked at the two sheets of human skin on the floor, a knowing smile appearing on his face.

He had used only two strikes to instantly kill two Skin-Peeling Puppets in a single exchange.

This did not mean tonight's Skin-Peeling Puppets were weaker than the middle-aged human skin from last time. In fact, it was precisely the opposite. Since the true culprit behind the scenes knew Chen Yan was capable of killing Skin-Peeling Puppets, the ones sent this time naturally would not be weak—they were even somewhat stronger.

Yet even these two stronger Skin-Peeling Puppets had been instantly killed in a single exchange. It was not because the Skin-Peeling Puppets had grown weaker, but because Chen Yan had grown stronger.

Forget the Skin-Peeling Puppets—even yesterday's Chen Yan could not have withstood a single strike from his current self.

The Hall-Entering level Blood Fiend Saber Technique had given Chen Yan superb and refined saber experience. Combined with the Fish Dragon Saber, a weapon worthy of being called divine, the two together produced such astonishing results.

The latter in particular—the Fish Dragon Saber's performance had far exceeded Chen Yan's expectations.

Looking at the treasured saber in his hand, Chen Yan's eyes were full of amazement.

If his battle against the middle-aged human skin last time had left Chen Yan feeling that a Skin-Peeling Puppets' human skin was as tough as stubborn stone—

Then this very "stubborn stone" was like paper mache before the Fish Dragon Saber. With one slash, Chen Yan even felt as though he had cut into tofu, light as if there were nothing there.

Such a peerless saber that cut iron like mud was irresistible to every saber wielder, not to mention that the Fish Dragon Saber also possessed the attribute of suppressing evil entities and ghosts.

There was no longer any need for Heart's Yang Blood. Chen Yan could kill evil entities like human-skin puppets with the Fish Dragon Saber alone.

As for why the Fish Dragon Saber could restrain evil entities and ghosts, Chen Yan guessed it had something to do with the unfamiliar Dharma seal on its blade.

At the instant the Fish Dragon Saber had struck the Skin-Peeling Puppet just now, Chen Yan could clearly feel part of the power of qi and blood within him being absorbed by that Dharma seal. Then, with two easy strikes, he had killed the Skin-Peeling Puppets.

Thinking back to Old Daoist Liu's earlier words that the Fish Dragon Saber came from the Martial Dynasty's official arsenal, it was clear that weapons like the Fish Dragon Saber had been forged specifically by the Martial Dynasty authorities for Martial Masters to eliminate evil entities and ghosts. It suited Chen Yan perfectly.

"Come to think of it, Old Daoist Liu already knows my strength. Does that mean I can collect the reward for killing the Skin-Peeling Puppets?"

As he gathered up the human skins from the floor, the thought suddenly occurred to Chen Yan.

Previously, Chen Yan had not been able to openly go to the County Yamen to collect the bounty because he feared exposing his strength. But now that Old Daoist Liu of the Flying Fish Guard knew of his abilities, he had nothing left to worry about.

As for changing his blood overnight, Chen Yan had thought it over these past few days and realized it was not something he could truly conceal.

Anyone determined to investigate could surely uncover it. They simply would not guess that Chen Yan had completed the blood-changing process in a single night.

But he only needed to hide the existence of the Heavenly Book of Merit. As for the Great Return Pill, if anyone really questioned him, he could just make up a story about some mysterious expert passing on his cultivation. After all, the Martial Dynasty even had cultivators—was it so unreasonable for Chen Yan to have encountered a little fortuitous opportunity?

Having figured this out, Chen Yan made up his mind. Tomorrow, when he delivered the human skins, he would collect the bounty no matter what.

Three sheets of human skin—setting aside anything else, they had to be worth at least ten taels of silver, right?

It could not be helped. Chen Yan had less than three hundred copper coins left to his name. In another couple of days, he would truly be so poor he would have to eat dirt.

Uh...

Maybe not necessarily.

At that thought, Chen Yan could not help glancing at Facai, who was licking his paw nearby.

"Meow?"

Sensing Chen Yan's gaze, Facai wore a baffled expression.

"Nothing."

Chen Yan smiled faintly, revealing what he believed to be a charming smile. Seeing that dawn was nearly here, he said gently:

"Is Lord Facai hungry? I'll go slaughter that silver carp now and stew you some fish soup."

Facai shuddered under Chen Yan's stare, his fur standing on end as he gave Chen Yan a wary look, his eyes as though he were looking at an idiot.

Chen Yan did not mind. Smiling, he said, "Please wait a moment, Lord Facai. It'll be ready soon."

As he spoke, he was just about to step out of the bedroom.

But at that moment—

A sudden change erupted!

The instant his front foot crossed the doorway, an icy, bone-piercing chill suddenly surged in from all directions.

The cold was so extreme it seemed capable of freezing a person's flesh and blood solid.

Even though Chen Yan had changed his blood and his resistance to cold far surpassed what it had once been, his body still stiffened in that moment.

There was another move?!

Chen Yan's heart jolted. Then Facai's fierce cat cry rang out beside his ear:

"Miaowww!!!"