Big Fish

Shen Qing spurred his horse and hurried toward the residence of Lieutenant Official Xiao Bin.

Along the way, Shen Qing also took the opportunity to study the Overbearing Meridian Opening Art.

This was the follow-up technique to the Overbearing Body Forging Art, as well as a cultivation method for the Houtian Realm.

What one cultivated in the Houtian Realm was inner force. A martial artist had to connect the opened apertures one by one, forming a circulation within the body.

"Not that difficult."

He had merely read through it once from beginning to end when the words "Overbearing Meridian Opening Art: Beginner" appeared on his panel.

Shen Qing took several bottles of Aperture Opening Pills confiscated from the Huang Family from his robes.

Though Aperture Opening Pills were meant for opening apertures in the Body Tempering Realm, that did not mean those in the Houtian Realm could not use them.

At worst, their effects would be weaker. With enough quantity, it would still work.

Shen Qing directly poured four or five pills into his mouth, and the Overbearing Meridian Opening Art began to circulate madly.

The medicinal power swiftly broke through the nodes in his meridians, linking several apertures together.

In less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, nine apertures had connected, and a thread of inner force condensed within Shen Qing's dantian.

Shen Qing's realm naturally advanced to the Houtian Realm First Layer.

After another half an incense stick's time, Shen Qing's aura surged once more.

He broke through to the Houtian Realm Second Layer.

Lin Zikai seemed to notice something and let out a low shout.

"Lord Shen! There are people ahead!"

Looking up, they saw several Imperial Guards moving crates outside Xiao Bin's residence.

Lin Zikai rode forward and coughed lightly.

The Imperial Guards hurriedly bowed and scraped in greeting.

"Greetings, Lieutenant Shen. Greetings, Lieutenant Lin."

Lin Zikai pointed at Xiao Bin's residence.

"What are you doing here?"

One of the captains hurriedly explained.

"Oh, this?"

"Didn't Lieutenant Shen run into a little trouble while escorting the stolen goods last night? General Sun discovered that this Lieutenant Xiao... Xiao Bin had leaked the information."

"But when we came to arrest him, we caught nothing but empty air. We don't know where he got wind of it, but he had already fled."

"General Sun ordered us to confiscate all his property."

Shen Qing sneered. "What a fine method."

He had only just ransacked the Huang Family and interrogated Huang Zikun before coming straight to Xiao Bin's residence. Less than half an hour had passed.

Yet Xiao Bin had already fled?

Scholar rode forward, moved close to Shen Qing, and called out softly.

"Lord Shen."

Shen Qing glanced at Scholar. The scholarly air on his face had turned stiff, and it seemed that fury was being suppressed in his eyes.

Was one Xiao Bin worth getting this angry over? Wasn't Sun Yan still around?

At worst, Sun Yan could kick him a few more times later.

"My lord, look at that teahouse directly east. The man in purple on the second floor, near the eastern side."

"He's the one who killed Old Lei."

Only then did Shen Qing understand. No wonder he was so angry.

Old Lei and Scholar had entered the Imperial Guards at the same time, less than three or four days apart. The two had been the closest of friends.

Without betraying any emotion, Shen Qing glanced over and spotted the man in purple, leisurely sipping tea.

"How are you sure it's him?"

Scholar gritted his teeth. "I don't recognize that man, but I recognize the fan at his waist."

"The expert Old Lei faced used a fan. A black fan sealed his throat. I'll never forget what that fan looked like!"

Shen Qing nodded faintly. As long as it could be confirmed, that was enough.

Shen Qing slapped the horse's back with both feet, and his whole body shot low across the ground like an arrow.

When he reached the teahouse, he tapped the ground with his right foot and leaped high into the air. With a light touch on the wonton stall by the road, Shen Qing flew up to the second floor like a swallow and sat across from the man in purple.

Yet the man in purple remained perfectly composed and even poured Shen Qing a cup of tea.

"Someone paid to buy your life."

"I originally had no wish to create more slaughter."

"But a Lieutenant Official from the Capital City is worth—"

Shen Qing narrowed his eyes. One hand shot out with a fierce rush of wind and clamped down on the purple-robed man's head.

With a hard press, he smashed his head straight into the tea table. The thick table shattered into four pieces, tea splashing everywhere. The surrounding patrons cried out in alarm, but upon seeing Shen Qing's Imperial Guards uniform, they swallowed the curses already at their lips.

Shen Qing smiled coldly.

"A frog tattooed on a tadpole—you're pretending to be your mother?"

"You're even putting on airs like some expert?"

The purple-robed man's blow left stars spinning before his eyes. He struggled with all his strength to raise his head, as if he wanted to say something.

But Shen Qing no longer wanted to listen. He drove his eight-inch foot into the man's seven-point-eight-inch face, kicking him unconscious on the spot.

A burst of footsteps sounded on the teahouse stairs as Lin Zikai and the others rushed up, swiftly clearing out the second floor.

Scholar charged over and began kicking the purple-robed man wildly, seemingly venting the fury in his heart.

Shen Qing glanced at Scholar, who had gone mad, and cursed under his breath.

"Didn't you eat? Kick his vital spots!"

Scholar's eyes reddened, and he nodded forcefully.

"Thank you, my lord!"

With that, Scholar swept his right leg backward in a huge arc, gathered all the strength in his body, and savagely kicked at the purple-robed man's crotch.

With a bang, everyone seemed to hear the sound of eggs cracking.

The purple-robed man's eyes flew open, as though they might pop out of their sockets. The next moment, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted again.

Every Imperial Guard on the second floor instinctively clamped his legs together, as though a phantom ache had struck.

Lin Zikai clenched his legs together and slowly shuffled over to Shen Qing's side.

"Lord Shen, won't there be a problem if we beat him like this? We haven't interrogated him yet."

Shen Qing sat down beside the tea table. Lin Zikai swiftly wiped the table with his robe, found a clean cup, poured Shen Qing some tea, and handed it over.

Shen Qing took a sip. "It's nothing. Houtian Realm martial artists aren't so easily kicked apart."

Lin Zikai's pupils contracted.

Houtian Realm?

A Houtian Realm martial artist had been instantly taken down by Shen Qing with a single palm? Just what level was Shen Qing's strength at?

Somehow, Lin Zikai felt that he had not boarded a pirate ship, but a colossal vessel instead.

At that thought, Lin Zikai immediately roared, "You there, find me an iron chain!"

Then he strode toward Scholar and grabbed him.

"Scholar, just because we call you Scholar, do you really think you're some learned man? Can you put any strength into a kick like that?"

"Move aside, move aside. Let this lieutenant show you how it's done!"

With that, Lin Zikai abruptly raised his right foot. Twisting at the waist, he gathered all his strength at the tip of his foot, and the kick even tore through the air with a whistle.

The purple-robed man was kicked into the air. The sound of bones shattering was incomparably crisp, and at the same time, half a black-and-white token slipped into view.

Lin Zikai picked it up and looked at it. His expression instantly froze. Then he rushed toward Shen Qing in great strides, his breathing in disarray.

"My lord! My lord! A big fish! This is a big fish!"

Shen Qing took the token. It had a black background with a white dragon engraved upon it, and it looked very familiar to him.

Black Dog and Old Li also gathered around at the commotion. They looked at the token a few times but could not make heads or tails of it.

"Lieutenant Lin, what is this thing? How is it a big fish?"

Lin Zikai gave a mysterious smile. "You haven't been in the Imperial Guards long, so you haven't seen much."

"What this token represents was something incredible a few years ago."

Shen Qing's furrowed brows relaxed. "The White Dragon Cult, right? They haven't died out yet?"

At the mention of the White Dragon Cult, Black Dog and Old Li remembered something as well. "The remnants of Northern Yuan?"

"Correct." Shen Qing stroked the token, recalling books he had read at home as a child.

The dynasty before the Great Wu Dynasty had been the Northern Yuan Dynasty. After its downfall, its people had not been completely exterminated. The surviving remnants established the White Dragon Cult and had been stirring up wind and rain in the Great Wu Dynasty ever since.

The Great Wu Dynasty had been relentlessly hunting these remnants, even offering rewards worth tens of thousands in gold.

Looking at it that way—

This really was a big fish.